you're watching beyond 100 days. could it take even longer for the uk to leave the european union? the eu says it's ready to extend the transition period if the uk wants to. but would those who voted for brexit sign off on a plan that would take another year and in return for billions more in contributions? what i've had from leaders around the table, over the last hours since i arrived here in brussles yesterday, is a very real sense that people want that deal to be done. the us treasury secretary pulls out of an investment conference in saudi arabia, but the white house is giving riyadh more time to investigate what happened to jamal khashoggi. they also assured me that they will conduct a complete, thorough investigation of all of the facts surrounding mr khashoggi and that they will do so in a timely fashion. also on the programme: we're in memphis tennessee where members of different political parties don'tjust vote differently

they lead entirely separate lives. shredding half an expensive painting is extravagant enough, but banksy now says he intended to rip up the whole thing. hello and welcome. i'm katty kay in washington, christian fraser is in brussels. if everything had gone according to the original plan — this european summit would have seen british prime minister theresa may and the president of the european council, donald tusk, shaking hands on a done brexit deal. instead mr tusk said that there have been no improvements and — for the moment — he doesn't plan an extra summit in november. the difficulty remains the irish border. how do you control that border without bringing back checks that could undermine the peace in northern ireland. with no fix in sight, the proposal is to extend the 21 month transition period — post brexit — by another year. thus pushing the problem

further down the road. but another year tied to the european union!? jean claude junker the commission president says it is the best option— for now. what has now emerged that an idea to extend the implementation period could be a further solution to the issue of the backstop in northern ireland. what we are not doing, we are not standing here proposing an extension to the implementation period. what we are doing is working to ensure we have a solution to the backstop issue in northern ireland, which is currently a blockage to completing the deal, that enables us to get on with concluding a deal that delivers on the vote of the british people and is good for the future of the uk. this prolongation of the transition period probably will happen, it is a good idea. it's not the best idea the two of us we had, but i think that this is giving us some room to prepare the future relationship

in the best way possible. the eu leaders may be putting a brave face on it. but each country is now making preparations for no deal. yesterday, the french government put a bill into parliament that would give them powers to act in the event there is no agreement, although emmanuel macron says british people in france shouldn't worry unduly. as for visas, i want to be very clear, we will not stop visas for uk people in case of a no deal. it's fake news, as some of the leaders would say. who could he mean? that is good news for those who spent our summer holidays for three weeks in france. i have our political editor here and europe editor, katya adler as well. laura, theresa may has managed, in

the last 2a hours, to annoy, the brexiteers, the remainers and also the eu leaders. what a hat-trick? this summit could have been a disaster, so the worst case would be that she would come here and the eu would say that they are planning for a node deal summit in november, the eu could have switched to attract that no deal is the option. that hasn't happened, that there is a small relief for downing street. what hasn't happened is that they are on track and there is a way through this. we are in this grey zone where there is an agreement for the officials to get talking again, but the whisper of compromise that theresa may has excepted, which is the idea of extending the status quo for a bit longer, hotel california brexit some google are calling it, you checkout but you never leave, what happened today is what happens so what happened today is what happens so often. there is a whisper of

compromise and then there is a conflict at home. so she will go home to a massive row raging over some of the parliamentary procedure, but also around the idea that the solution might lie in the delay. frankly, whether the remain motors oi’ frankly, whether the remain motors or brexiteers, i'm not sure tory mps will wear that. i don't think the longer transition period will get through parliament. some undefined it to me earlier is that you have membership as is at the moment, for the 21 month period bus the other year, but it is called the fool monty minus. this fills me with dread, but this means you get the benefit of the eu member ship, but you don't have a say. put that aside, i have some more bad news thatjust aside, i have some more bad news that just staying aside, i have some more bad news thatjust staying in aside, i have some more bad news that just staying in the aside, i have some more bad news thatjust staying in the hotel for one more year doesn't solve the

irish border problem. it doesn't, because it written into the divorce deal is the transition period. if they cannot get past the impasse now, there is no transition period, to extend or not to extend. what needs to be in their withdrawal agreement for the eu to sign off is the backstop to this guarantee that there will be no hard border between ireland and northern ireland, whatever future relationship will exist posed brexit between the eu and the uk. it is northern ireland specific, something that theresa may said, no prime minister could ever sign up to this. the eu are not backing off. they may put an extra sentence in there to say that perhaps we could be in a customs union for the whole of the uk and it would just be regular tory checks between northern ireland and the re st of between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. but the dup doesn't like that and the main text of the withdrawal agreement. in northern ireland specific. i was saying this about a year ago that they put the

ca rt before about a year ago that they put the cart before the horse. if they know the trading relationship, you don't have a broader issue. that's right, but downing street failed in what was their primary task to get the talks that way round. so, if people wa nt to talks that way round. so, if people want to know the technical name for the argument was at parallelism versus sequential —ism. the uk wa nted versus sequential —ism. the uk wanted to talk about it at the same time. you figure out what the future will look like and only then does it really matter how you leave. you worry about the small issues after you have sorted out the big ones. but the uk lost that argument almost straightaway. in the summer as 2017 and, no... the summer of 2016! they lost that argument in the summer of 2016. ‘s and just like a divorcing couple, one party said, the eu, said i'm sorry, how do we pay the mortgage before we talk about what

we will do no wrong time about paying for the kids to go to college 01’... paying for the kids to go to college or... the eu is adamant they wanted the departure sorted before the long term relationship was sorted out. it is too late now for people to make that complaint. first of all, there isa that complaint. first of all, there is a legal issue, so what we are under the moment is the article 15 negotiations. article 50 being the time allotted for negotiations if a member state monster to leave full stop at article, which is legal, it is part of an eu legal contracts, if you like, say that you cannot finalise the future relationship in this period. even if the uk would have wanted to talk earlier about future relations, it couldn't have been signed off at this stage. the second problem is trust, there is no trust, not because eu leaders don't like theresa may, because they see the shifting sands of uk politics. they don't know how long she will remain leader, they don't know she

has the votes to get any deal through. that is why they want the divorce deal legally watertight, with a guarantee on northern ireland, because we don't know where it is politics is going and therefore we have no idea what the future relationship will look like in the end. thank you very much. i think i am more misty eyed when i was before. but such is brexit! it's all going seemingly there in brussels question... looks like it's really good! just remind me of one thing. i cut in which year it is, i'm like laura. but during the brexit referendum campaign i don't remember a conjugated discussion about the irish border and how it might be the thing that would trip eve ryo ne might be the thing that would trip everyone up. i went to a gaming exercise for leaving the eu before the referendum vote with the former irish feminist

and he got so angry, telling eve ryo ne and he got so angry, telling everyone that this is how it would end. he was so right. the irish minister was saying today —— the irish prime minister was saying today that it is the political equivalent of climate change. it will change the relationship between britain and ireland am a big trading partners, and it will fundamentally change the relationship between britain and the eu. you wonder how money people are in dublin saying, i told you so. the us treasury secretary and the uk trade secretary have pulled out of the conference in saudi arabia. but the white house is still suggesting relations with saudi arabia are too important to sacrifice for the sake of one missing journalist. it now seems washington and riyadh are both looking for a face saving explanation, particularly for the crown prince himself. the washington post is refusing to let the story die however — today the paper devoted its entire

oped page to jamal khashoggi's last column and printed the distrubuted article in arabic as well. 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. the international trade secretary, liam fox, will not attend amid concerns about mr khashoggi's disappearance. the us treasury secretary, steven mnuchin, also pulled out, as did the french and dutch finance ministers. the us said it took 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, 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's 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 say he had been warned not to go to the saudi consulate. they believe his death was state sanctioned. this operation within the space of state space and governmental space of the consulate, and doing this in such an organisation, it's a very anonymous organisation, which cannot be carried out without the permission of any higher authority. it 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 attempt in salisbury earlier this year, they had little choice. allegations against saudi arabia were just too serious. today, the washington post published the last columns that khashoggi wrote before he went missing. he spoke of how some arab governments were trying to silence the free press. let's speak to our north america editorjon sopel. mike pompeo comes back from a trip to riyadh and turkey and goes into the white house and then the treasury secretary comes out and says that he won't go to the conference in riyadh. what did mr pompeo tell him? this is the first direct action taken by the us administration as a result of what

happened in that consulate building in istanbul. until now, we have had the president saying, we need to find out more, but we need to get the bottom of this. mike pompeo came out and the bottom of this. mike pompeo came outand said, the bottom of this. mike pompeo came out and said, they need a few more days. but this is the first direct action as the result of what has happened. the us treasuries secretary is pulling out and it shows you the awkwardness that they are in. it wants to know more but it wa nts to are in. it wants to know more but it wants to carry on the business deals with saudi arabia. threading the needle of doing the right thing is turning out the complex and difficult as it is bit them in an awkward position. thank you very much. i wonder if there is also a question about whether mike pompeo heard that tape when he was in turkey and that was something that factored into what we heard from the us treasury secretary today. for more on this let's talk to gary grappo who's the former us deputy chief of mission

in saudi arabia and whojoins us now from denver. thank you forjoining us ambassador. do you think the white house is trying to cover this up on behalf of the saudis and on behalf of the crown prince? thank you for having me. at this point in time, i would say they are not trying to cover up. probably, along with the saudis, they are trying to find a convenient exit for the saudis from this very difficult situation which i would describe as a crisis most definitely for the saudis, but increasingly for the united states, in terms of our foreign policy and how we are perceived abroad. so there is there an option to thread the needle, preserving the relationship with what has been a very important ally for the usa in a very difficult region for decades and also expose

the truth of what happened? 0r region for decades and also expose the truth of what happened? or if the truth of what happened? or if the crown prince was involved in this, or are the two mutually exclusive? i wouldn't say they are mutually exclusive, threading the needle is on the point. it is going to be extremely difficult, given what we know already from publicly released information for the saudis to find an exit without paying a very high price in terms of identifying those who were responsible and holding them accountable. i don't think this administration, i don't think any us administration, i don't think any us administration could allow itself to fall into a situation in which they would tolerate or go along with, collaborate with, the saudis in any effort to cover up. if they were to try to go down that road, it would be revealed fairly quickly by a lot

of intrepid journalists who are following this. the best advice i could give to this administration is go immediately to the high ground, go immediately to the high ground, go with what we have as our values and push the saudis hard to do a truly comprehensive investigation with all the information at hand and to hold all of those... i want to underscore all of those who are responsible for this accountable. you said on the record before that if you look back at the long history of this relationship, the united states has always liked human rights abusers. but do you think that the reticence there has been within the white house in the last 18 months to criticise saudi arabia on human rights grounds, has that led to this situation? there is certainly a question, because it would appear

that the united states has almost deferred to the saudis and specifically, to the crown prince, in handling the affairs of saudi arabia in the gulf. we have seen repeated incidents of highly questionablejudgment, repeated incidents of highly questionable judgment, whether it is the perpetuation of the civil war in yemen, the unjustified and quite frankly irrational, blockade of the fellow gcc minister. also other senior saudi officials and business executives all pointing to suspect judgment. nevertheless, the administration seems comfortable with letting the saudis handled some pretty weighty issues in a part of the world that is critical, not only for the united states, but for most of our allies around the world. it

is quite possible that the saudi leadership read into this that they would have a fairly free hand in going after the very well—known journalist jamal khashoggi. thank you very much for being with us from denver. it is notjust steven mnuchin who has cancelled, the international trade secretary, liam fox, has cancelled his visit as well. the uk at this time are trying to open of investment around the world while dealing with the brexit issue. well let's go back to our top story — the stall of the brexit talks and the possibility of an extension of the transition period. to talk more about how this summit went, iamjoined now by hungary's foreign minister, peter szijjarto. i'm sure you are in the loop as to what went on in the room last night. what did your side make of what theresa may had to say? actually, we area theresa may had to say? actually, we are a country which regretted a lot the decision of the british citizens

to leave the eu, although we never commented and criticised, because it is only the british citizens who have the right to make the decision about the future of the uk. for us, it is obvious that there must be a deal at the very end of the negotiations, because if there is no deal, then it will cause a lot of damage for the remaining parts of the eu, putting into consideration the eu, putting into consideration the uk being the second largest economy and europe and the fifth largest one in the world. also bidding into the consideration the security cooperation between the eu and the uk and the current security challenges ahead of the eu, it would be very dangerous to not have a deal. we have to make everything in order to have a deal as a conclusion of the negotiations. it is seems to be just getting past the border issue in northern ireland and once they are past that, the uk government would see hungry as one of its principal allies. aretha has invested a lot in this bilateral

relationship. we have as well, not just with theresa may, but with david cameron. so would you push with the best deal? we would push for a fairer deal. we don't like it to be called hard or soft, we want a fairer deal, something which is mutually beneficial for the uk and the eu. we want the deepest possible and the most possible comprehensive free trade agreement to be concluded at the end of the negotiations. if we are not able to do so, then the wto rules will apply when it comes to trade between the uk and the eu. you can imagine the impact of that. theresa may think a lot about the relationship, but she might be critical of the energy contract you have signed with russia. you're on the record saying there is hypocrisy from the french and british side, because they do big deals with

russia. i do believe there is a big hypocrisy in the western part of europe when it comes to a relationship with russia. above the surface, there is a big verbalfight and there is a criticism by the western europeans towards russia. but under the surface, there are extremist significant business and energy deals being made. with the -- with the —— if you look at the forum, present macron was the guest. president putin was accompanied by the ceos of many energy companies and you can see that although above the surface, there is verbal fights, and pressure, but under the surface, extremist significant businesses are being made between the western part of europe and russia. so hungary has

suffered a lot from these sanctions, we lost the opportunity of $7 billion of exports to russia in the recent yea rs, billion of exports to russia in the recent years, so we envy how tight western europe works together with russia on business issues. very interesting, thank you very much. the hungarian foreign minister does have a good point, because when you look around europe, there is no solidarity with the uk when it comes to trade deals. there aren't countries like hungary who want tighter sanctions, they want more creative and prosperous relationships with russia. something else now. the anonymous artist banksy caused a furore earlier this month when his most famous picture, the girl with the balloon, was automatically shredded seconds after it was sold at auction in london. now the controversial and elusive artist has published a video showing how he fitted a shredder into the frame of the painting but how his prank didn't exactly go according to plan. take a look at shredding the girl and balloon,

the director's cut. sold for 869! i love that! i love the expressions on the people thinking, what is going on?! it made me think, maybe some other things, because the value of that painting shot up after it was shredded, there could be other things we shred in half and the value would shoot up. maybe we would

get more ratings if good with this programme through the shredder! which half should be put through?! i was watching that with someone and they said there is an analogy with brexit, britain is halfway through the shredder and it all goes wrong suddenly. yes, but if you're that deal on the table six months ago, no body would have thought about it. but now, once you are facing the cliff edge, it is all the more valuable. that was quite good! this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — as the us mid terms approach we'll be live in texas to discuss immigration and security and how the democrats are boosting their bargaining power. hello, most of us ended the day on a fine note, it'll be clear and chilly

for most of us overnight. there is a little bit of rain on the way. not an awful lot, that will head to western scotland and northern ireland. this is the weather front that will bring the cloud and the spots of rain in the north—west. elsewhere across the uk, it is high pressure that is driving the weather, so we will see the clearer skies and the chilly conditions through this evening and overnight. let's have a look at the weather forecast then. we can see the clear skies across many parts of the country. the wind will freshen by midnight across the north—west. perhaps up to gale force and you can see the rain reaching the western isles and a few spots in northern ireland. yet, it may not be quite so cold, 10 celsius in stornoway, but we are talking about five or six in most major towns and cities elsewhere first thing in the morning on friday. the weather front will continue to come across scotland and northern ireland through the course of friday, but in the south, we have this high pressure. this is driving the weather,

so a lot of fine weather here across england and wales, the weather front will briefly bring some cloud and spots of rain to glasgow and edinburgh, maybe belfast as well. in the end, we will be left with some cloud across the north. 0n the whole, it's a dry day for most of us on friday, not bad, 17 in london and 1a in newcastle. saturday morning, we could run into some problems with fog. this could be very thick fog indeed. saturday morning, particularly across england and wales, there could be some very dense fog first thing in the morning. take it steady if you're travelling, it could cause some delays, notjust on roads, but possibly to some airports as well. it could linger in the afternoon, which means that some of these temperatures will be lower. it depends on the fog. saturday, into sunday, the weather front affects the north—west of the country. a lot of isobars, so it will be windy.

some rain will move into scotland and northern ireland. it shouldn't last for too long, but the wind will be strong. in the south, on sunday morning, there could be some more fog. very little wind, so it will be cloudy and foggy in the morning, with some sunshine later in the day. this is beyond 100 days, with me, christian fraser, in brussels. katty kay is in washington. our top stories... theresa may faces criticism from across her own party after suggesting she's prepared to consider extending — by a few months — the transition period after britain leaves the eu. the us and uk goverments become the latest to pull out of a conference in riyadh, as more time is granted to explain what happened to the saudi journalist jamal khashoggi. coming up in the next half hour... the many voices of america — we're in memphis meeting voters who live just a few miles away from each other, yet are worlds apart on their views. and taking america by storm —

wayne rooney shows his still got plenty of the old magic with this amazing goal. it's not only brexit on the menu in brussels this week. leading asian powers are in town for the 12th europe—asia summit. and amid the trade war bubbling between the us and china and the downgrading in recent weeks of the global growth forecast, perhaps there's never been a better time for the two continents to meet. the likes of shinzo abe from japan and the chinese premier, li keqiang, are all here. and theresa may will be very keen in exploring these ties for a post—brexit future. but the eu has had a bit of a head start — it's signed a deal with japan, agreed in principle a deal with vietnam, and tonight it will sign a deal with singapore. s iswaran is minister for communications and information and minister—in—charge of trade

relations. welcome to the programme and thank you for coming to see us. tell me about your trade deal with the eu which has been negotiated and ratified. is it perhaps the template for a trade deal with the uk? first of all it has not been ratified yet. it has been worked on for the past several years and it will be signed tomorrow and it has to go to the eu parliament to be ratified. there is one aspect which is the investment protection part which has to go to the different parliaments of europe. in terms of how it can be extrapolated beyond the eu, what we wa nt extrapolated beyond the eu, what we want to do, it is a very good template in terms of a progressive agreement, what it does for trade in goods and services and also in terms of the digital aspects and this is an area where we would like to push it further with europe and other partners. when you look at what is happening between the uk and europe, theresa may has met your prime

minister tonight and is very keen on something similar. what would you say to the uk side? first, in singapore we are open to working with like—minded partners because those who are committed to a good space multilateral trading system andl space multilateral trading system and i think it is in our mutual and collective interest and something we should work on but that the same time, britain is part of the eu and therefore covered by the eu fta. what happened in a post—brexit era depends on the terms of the brexit agreement and! depends on the terms of the brexit agreement and i think we will then be open to exploring opportunities. the eu- be open to exploring opportunities. the eu— singapore fta is a good baseline from which to work together. let's talk about what is going on in the world in general with this building trade war between china and the us. does that mean that the asian countries, and yet pulled away from the pacific trade agreement, does it mean you'd see europe as a better bet and getting closer as a result? we're working on

different initiatives, on the fta with europe and also on the regional co nfe re nce with europe and also on the regional conference of economic partners which is asian countries and six others, korea and japan and china and india, and were working on other initiatives. the key point is that, at this point in the world with a lot of anti—globalisation rhetoric, and some action in that regard, it is important that countries like as come together in order to reinforce the commitment to global integration economically expedient and finding ways to take that momentum forward. with respect to britain, it is another example, we want to stay engaged. you like a gateway country for the us and the west towards asia. are you finding these trade ta riffs asia. are you finding these trade tariffs that are being implemented are starting to hurt the global economy. i think what it is doing is starting to affect sentiment, consumer and investor sentiment. in terms of global supply chains, probably not yet but it persists and

that gets more intense, i think we will see more permanent structural shifts and that can be very troublesome. even at this stage, consumer and investment settlements are starting up an impact on demand and also investment positions. are starting up an impact on demand and also investment positionslj are starting up an impact on demand and also investment positions. i was in your beautiful country recently bought the kim jong—un summit. in your beautiful country recently bought the kimjong—un summit. are you planning another? we will leave it to the others to decide! very diplomatic! it is extraordinary when you think about this summit, it shows how brexit drowns out everything else. the 51 heads of state and government that are here over the next two days represent two thirds of the global population and two thirds of global gdp. and you have to wonder what they make of the brexit process. we often speak on this programme of political differences, especially with the midterms just around the corner. but it's not solely a matter of party political allegiances — there's a geographical divide too. more and more americans are choosing to live in communities,

whether urban or rural, where neighbours not only share the same values, but often vote the same way too. rajini vaidyanthan has been on the road in tennessee to explore why people who live just 30 miles apart, have opposite views on core campaign issues. america is deeply divided. i just don't feel that trump is really our voice. democrats try to divide us as a country. some say it is president trump polarising the us. very fine people on both sides. i've never heard of a good nazi. 0thers blame his predecessor. the parties started making the divisions on racial lines. can these divides the bridged? we don't want to understand each other any more. and to look at some of those divisions, we're going to take you on the shortest road trip to explain american politics. we begin in the city of memphis, home to elvis and the blues and to hope clayburn, who is a nurse by day

and a singer by night. we are lower economic class, the majority of the population here, so access to things such as health care and education and jobs are my biggest issues because those things lead to better life. the state of tennessee, where memphis lies, voted for donald trump in 2016. that's the red on the map. but downtown memphis, where hope lives, went for hillary clinton. so when i'm thinking of republicans, it is not as open—minded, it is not as accepting of people from different races or different cultures. president trump says things are better for african americans under his presidency. do you agree with that? my mom went to a segregated high school, picked cotton instead of going to school, and i'm a generation after that. we still have a lot to get over and i just don't feel that trump is really our voice in the world. but you don't have to go far to find a different view. atoka is the second stop on our road trip, where we meet guitar shop ownerjim adams.

why do you think people in rural areas were drawn to donald trump? because of the direction that the liberals have taken even the larger cities and i think they feel they have been pushed out of their voice. they identify with what trump is saying and with what trump is doing because he pushes back. do you think race is an issue in today's's america? race doesn't affect me, race doesn't affect most of the people i know. and there's another perspective, and stop, on this short road trip. to suburban america. we are in cordova, 20 miles from both atoka and downtown memphis, here to meet dee at her grandson's football game. i voted for trump. how do you think he's doing so far? i cringe a lot of times because i think, please, do you have to say that?! but, i do feel like he is promoting my conservative values. you voted for both barack 0bama and donald trump. first time, i did, i voted for barack 0bama. for dee, the jury is still out on whether she would vote

for donald trump again. i have got to see some more growth in the economy, i have got to see him do more of what he says he's going to do. # can you see. # by the dawn's early light... in a country of so many voices, american values mean different things to different people and that is at the heart of many of this nation's divides. so interesting and it is a story replicated throughout the country. let's get more with ron christie, former adviser to george w bush. we learned in 2016, there was a big survey on this, that americans are not just divided by survey on this, that americans are notjust divided by political party any more but a long neighbourhoods, ona any more but a long neighbourhoods, on a vision of patriotism, where you send your kids to school, which

church you worship in and what media you consume. how do you recover some sense of the country being united?” think that's very true, people are so think that's very true, people are so factionalised by if they lived in the flyover states, on the coast, in an urban area also what we need to recognise is that we are all americans and the one thing we have as our motto, out of many, one. we are still all americans and that is what brings us together, our fabric. you can take even an issue like climate change, for example, you might think it was nonpolitical and a question of science but it has become an issue where you can almost predict which political party someone predict which political party someone belongs to buy what they think about climate change. i don't see how the country gets back together. it is most unfortunate. we talked about this, i'm wearing a red jersey, somebody is in a blue jersey, somebody is in a blue jersey, we are all wearing the same jersey, we are all wearing the same jersey for the if you're going to

argue about climate change and takes argue about climate change and takes a democratic against republican issueit a democratic against republican issue it shows you the extent to which our politics has deteriorated and we need to fix it and find a way to find common ground and not fight with people. but they are not all on the same team over the next three weeks and the division will become even more pronounced heading to the midterms. looking at that map we put up midterms. looking at that map we put up and how it differs from suburb to suburb and state to state, how does it affect how the parties campaign? i think with 19 days to go, it is very influential on how the republicans and democrats are going to spend money. there has been of fund—raising going on and that money will be used for getting out to vote efforts, people knocking on doors, people of course going to the advertising on television and radio. what i find most interesting in the washington suburbs here is that the radio is nonstop. if you listen to some of the ads that are truly

targeting more rural areas, they are talking about trump issues, if it is more towards the dc suburbs they are talking about different things. that is the point that we're not even talking about the same issues this close to the mid—term. talking about the same issues this close to the mid-term. one thing that might unite the country and that might unite the country and that of the issues sigh of relief after the mid—term elections are over! is no question! everybody is fed up of those political ads, whether on the radio on phones or on television, everybody is fed up with them. 19 days! the public and democrat alike, they will all have had enough of them! it's been weeks that the chief of interpol, meng hongwei, vanished after flying back to china. beijing says he is being investigated for bribery, but his wife fears for her husband's safety. mrs meng denounced the disappearence of her husband after he sent her a last text with a knife emoji. she says that since seeking international assistance she has he was the face of global policing,

the international reach of the law. but there was no fanfare over meng hongwei's arrest. as a senior party official, china simply brought him home. mr meng's wife, grace, still based in france, showed journalists the last text message she received from her husband — a picture of a knife. in her first interview with british media, she told us her husband's arrest was political. because i'm not sure he's alive. they are cruel. they are dirty. this shows their cruelty, their dirtiness, as well as stupidity. it means everything they can do, including murder. you think there is no limit? yes, no limit. so that is all over china now. meng hongwei is the latest in a long line of senior chinese officials to be targeted under a sweeping

anti—corruption drive which many believe has strengthened president xi jinping's political power. this is the first time china has targeted one of its citizens with such a high international profile. the government has accused mr meng of accepting bribes and doing things his own way but there is also speculation that hisjob here at interpol may have brought him into conflict with the chinese authorities. his wife said she received threats the day she reported her husband missing and that she has not yet told their children the truth. i tell daddy is on long business trip for three days. they haven't known, this kind of question... mummy, when daddy back? i want to talk to daddy. we want his voice. that is why i must be stand up

and i don't want any other wife and children like me. mr meng's career at interpol appears to be over. a new president has already been appointed. an international profile, a global role, and a communist party position — no match for the powers back home. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. meng hongwei not the only high profile figure to disappear in china and you wonder if the eu here, talking to the likes of the eu here, talking to the likes of the chinese premier, might bring up the chinese premier, might bring up theissue the chinese premier, might bring up the issue of human rights as well as trade. there are similarities between mr meng and mr khashoggi and you hear the same shrill condemnation from the west about what has happened but the chinese would say, look at the hypocrisy for subunit americans prevaricating over

the khashoggi issue and the us president trying to find excuses for the saudi side. yes, i bet that is something that is preoccupying a lot of those conversations in muscles behind the scenes. people are noticing those parallels —— in brussels. and wondering if government think they can act with a certain degree of impunity in the current environment. this is beyond 100 days. still to come... with the midterms only weeks away, immigration is becoming a big issue again. a radio talk show host in texas joins us with his take. 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%. in total, police recorded 5.6 million offences betweenjune 2017 and 18 — a rise of almost 10% on the year before. a 25—year—old man targeted and shot

deadin a 25—year—old man targeted and shot dead in liverpool just 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 is what is happening in a range of crimes which are rare but cause the most harm. particularly in london. these officers are part of a £50 million violent crime task force, big teams targeting the most serious criminals, often involved in drugs -- £15 criminals, often involved in drugs —— £15 million. criminals, often involved in drugs -- £15 million. there we go. these men have been stopped in north—west london and it is not the first time. they have two very well—known gang members, linked to violence and weapons. crime is hard to measure, the overall trend is still damp at the overall trend is still damp at the statisticians now agree that

violence is up and it is notjust as police noticing —— distil down. violence is up and it is notjust as police noticing -- distil down. we are probably taking 40% contact from the public and we're sending 150,000 plus reports to the police every year whereas it used to be about 110,000. the causes, austerity is blamed cuts to youth work, social media may play a role and thereafter your 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. when donald trump is in campaign mode, he resorts to a few favourite themes — the economy, race and immigration. today he focused on a convoy of some 2000 hondurans making their way through central america to the us border. i am watching the democrat party led (because they want 0pen borders

and existing weak laws) assault on our country by guatemala, honduras and el salvador. i must, in the strongest of terms, ask mexico to stop this onslaught and if unable to do so i will call up the us military and close our southern border! a couple of things here — republicans control all branches of government at the moment so it's a bit of stretch to blame democrats. and closing the southern border would be disastrous for us companies. ahead of the midterms we've been taking the temperature in some key states. last week we were in florida. this week we're in texas, where immigration is a big issue, from where we're joined by talk show host pastor greg young. great to have you with us. let me ask you whether these tweets about the caravans, if they resonate with voters in texas. the first of all i wa nt voters in texas. the first of all i want to say thank you so much for having me on the programme today.

yes, it absolutely does. we are the ones that experience first hand this over running of illegal aliens. it costs us in tax revenues, it costs us in the amount of money we are spending on our school system, that is overburdened. it cost us with regards to law enforcement, in regards to law enforcement, in regards to law enforcement, in regards to lives. we have lost a lot of lives here in texas because of this influx of illegal aliens that are coming across the border. yes, it absolutely does. and the rangers down in southern texas now have to give up as many as two and three miles from the border. in other words, two and three miles of their property on the branches is basically lost to them because of the cartels. the flip side to this is the cost of lives to the people that are trying to come across

illegally. you can't come across unless you are paying a cartel, paying a coyote or somehow being exploited by someone down on the border. it cuts both ways.” understand that for much of your audience, the issue of immigration and people crossing the border illegally is one that concerned them. when the story was all over them. when the story was all over the news, did they express concern as well about the policy of separating families on the border? here is the situation. texans are quite educated when it comes to understanding the situation and the policy having to do with the separation of children was not a trump policy. the zero tolerance policy that was put in place created some separation but those pictures that were initially put out were actually from 2014 and that is when president 0bama was in charge. but

the news media has beefed that up and the american news media here, unfortunately, has ta ken and the american news media here, unfortunately, has taken a very leftist turn. pastor, actually many of the pictures came from just a few weeks ago, some were from 2014 but not all of them and you are right, the policy was on the books but it has want that this white house chose to enforce. i'm wondering, is there anything donald trump could do that your listeners would not like? anything that might lose him their vote ? anything that might lose him their vote? as long as he continues to follow the policies that he is following, continues to fulfil the promises he made to the voters that voted for him, there is really not any reason for those voters to abandon him. and let me just say, i was not a trump supporter from the very beginning. i was a senator ted

cruz supporter, all the way until the convention but after that, after donald trump was made the nominee, i took it upon myself to bring guests onto my programme that had no demand for more than 30 years because i wa nt for more than 30 years because i want to know who this guy was. as i began to know who he was and we began to know who he was and we began to know who he was and we began to delve into that, i found that this was somebody who could actually support and so, again, as long as he continues with the policies he has... there was a comment made a moment ago that it was not the fault of the democrats because republicans have the house and the senate and so forth. let's understand that in america we have a house and you have to have the right numberof house and you have to have the right number of votes house and you have to have the right numberof votes in house and you have to have the right number of votes in order to bring things through. the senate, we don't have a super majority in the senate and that has played a role in it. we have tried to work and there is a lot of bipartisan effort that have

been made to try to deal with this illegal alien issue and unfortunately there have been those who have stopped that process. ok, thank you so much forjoining the programme. god bless you all. take care. interesting to hear from texas. the numbers of people crossing the border have been falling recently but texas in the front line being the people coming across and it is something of a clearly for that audience, that is a big issue, immigration. i was desperate to ask him what donald trump was going to do about ted cruz, who he had supported, because yes called in the past lying ted and now he's in that tight race. are you going to campaignfor tight race. are you going to campaign for him? it would look hugely hypocritical. just a little! the former england football captain

wayne rooney has been showing that he's still got the magic touch here in washington. he scored a stunning 35—yard free—kick as dc beat toronto 1—0 last night to remain on course for the playoffs. take a look at this. what a goal! it's fair to say the former manchester united star has taken america by storm. his arrival in washington has transformed the club's season. dc united are now unbeaten in eight games. they are on course for the play—offs. still you don't get is an integer! you are going to the games, don't you ask him to come on?!” just go down onto the pitch! my son was at that game last night. he said the atmosphere was incredible. they love wayne rooney on the team and he has had a generosity to the younger

players on the team, coming in and captaining the team and he has taken the city by storm. some other british players who have gone over did not get involved in their communities but wayne rooney is much loved in this town. when you come, we will have dinner with him! hello. most of us ended the day of a final note. it will be clear and chilly for most of us overnight. a little rain on the way but not a lot thatis little rain on the way but not a lot that is heading to western scotland and northern ireland but not until late in the night. this weather front will bring the cloud and rain to the north—west. elsewhere, high pressure is driving the weather and we will see the clearer skies and chilly conditions this evening and overnight. let's look at the forecast. you can see the clear skies in many parts of the country, the winds freshening by midnight across the north—west and maybe gale

force, rain in the western isles and a few spots in northern ireland. not quite so cold here, even 10 degrees in stornoway but elsewhere, five or six in most major towns or cities first thing on friday. that weather front will continue to move across scotla nd front will continue to move across scotland and northern ireland on friday whereas to the south there is that high—pressure driving the weather. a lot of fine weather here across england and wales whereas that weather front will briefly bring some cloud and maybe some rain in glasgow and edinburgh and belfast. in the end, a leftover bit of cloud in the north. 0n the whole, dry foremost on friday, and not bad, 17 in london and 14 in newcastle. 0n saturday morning, the problem is the fog and it could be very thick. saturday morning, particularly in england and wales, the central areas, there could be some very dense fog first thing so take it

steady if you're travelling, it could cause some delays, notjust on the roads but at the airports. it could even linger into the afternoon which means some of these temperatures will be lower, it depends on the fog. 0n temperatures will be lower, it depends on the fog. on saturday into sunday, the weather front effecting the north—west of the country has clocked up ice bars which means it will be windy with rain coming into scotla nd will be windy with rain coming into scotland and northern ireland. it should not last long but the winds will be strong. in the south on sunday morning there could again be some fog, little wind so it means it will be cloudy and for the with possibly some sunshine later. this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 8pm. the prime minister says extending the transition period after the uk leaves the eu could be one option to help solve the issue of the northern ireland border. the eu says it's ready to consider the idea. we are not standing here proposing an extension to the implementation period. what we are doing is working to ensure we have a solution to the backstop issue

in northern ireland, which is currently a blockage to completing the deal. 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 this positively. the murder rate in england and wales reaches a ten—year high. crime figures also show increases in robberies and theft. also tonight: how easy should it be to change your gender legally?