this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 11pm: 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 towards a solution to the backstop issue in northern ireland that enables us... 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. missing journalist jamal khashoggi is most likely dead, says president trump, whose warning riyadh there will be consequences if it played a part. it would have to be pretty

severe. it's bad, bad stuff but we'll see what happens. the murder rate in england and wales reaches a 10—year high. crime figures also show increases in robberies and theft. also tonight: how easy should it be to change your gender legally? the government is soon to decide whether the rules should be relaxed amid claims they're too complicated and intrusive. also this evening, how technology is helping bands get closer to their fans. and at 11:30pm, we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, political commentators lance price and giles kenningham. stay with us for that. the prime minister is under sustained pressure tonight from different sections

of the conservative party following the outcome of the eu summit in brussels. mrs may suggested that she was now prepared to consider delaying the uk's departure from the single market, and the customs union, after brexit. some of the her critics say that extending the transition period could cost the uk billions of pounds, as political editor laura kuenssberg reports. the longer this rolls on, the more things stay the same. europe's leaders frustrated in brussels when theresa may arrives with not that much to say. but listen carefully, very carefully, there comes a hint of compromise. a 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 late—night beer drinking for angela merkel, emmanuel macron and a select band of other eu leaders last night. auf wiedersehen! but will the idea of a longer transition make it easier to say auf wiedersehen 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 it positively. maybe not. the key element for a final deal is on the british side. number 10 believes, as angela merkel says...

"where there is a will, there should also be a way." even if the idea quickens the pace in brussels, it might get stuck at home. we're negotiating in good faith and we'll keep our nerve. the cabinet's nervous. it's very nice to see you... and whether former leavers orformer remainers, it has really riled already fractious tory mps. the most common phrase to me is 'just get on with it!‘ and if this means more prevarication, more delay, not bringing compression to the commission to actually make decisions, it opens up the horror of very large sums of money possibly being handed over as we get into the next european spending round, so it's pretty unattractive. she knows her party may well try to kill her plans but, right now, she hasn't many ways out. there's a lot of hard work ahead. there will be more difficult moments as we enter the final stages of the talks, but i'm convinced that we

will secure a good deal that is in the interests of the uk and of the european union. you've been straining in the last couple of years to keep all the promises that you have made, whether to brexiteers, to former remainers, to northern ireland or to business. ultimately, you are going to have to disappoint someone. who is it 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, that would ensure that we would end free movement, end thejurisdiction of the european court ofjustice, end sending vast amounts of money to the european union every year, come out of the common agricultural policy, out of the common fisheries policy, but also protectjobs and livelihoods and protect the integrity of the union of the united kingdom. theresa may has survived this far by making different vows to different sides, both here and at home. promising to keep the uk together, saying that trade won't be damaged, even though we're 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's 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's back here — if her compromises and her leadership gets that far. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, brussels. let's talk a little more about the so—called transition period, or what the prime minister calls the implementation period. the uk is due to leave the european union on march 29th next year. that's when the transition period would begin. during that period, the uk's relationship with the eu would largely stay the same. the period is meant to end on the 31st of december, 2020.

the government hopes that by then, the new trade arrangements with the eu would be in place. the suggestion of extending that transition period, however, would have implications. it could include britain having to contribute to the next eu budget, and this could run to billions of pounds. that's angered many mps. jonathan blake is in westminster. first, jonathan, what sort of reaction has there been to all this? well, across the spectrum of conservative mps, there has been hostility towards this suggestion, an angry reaction from some, bemusement from others. to give you a flavour of the responses from various conservative mps, both brexiteers amphora remainers alike, calling it a desperate last move, unhelpful, dead on arrival, totally unacceptable. that gives you an idea of the westminster response today,

not particularly well. the responses range from those who are principled about it, they simply don't want to keep ties with the eu than for any longer than is absolutely necessary. and as you heard from laura's report there, that's potentially, potentially a financial consideration with the uk having to pay into a further eu budget as a result. from the principles to the pragmatic, some pointing out by extending the transition period it doesn't solve the main problem at the moment holding up negotiations, the moment holding up negotiations, the idea of a backstop to avoid a ha rd the idea of a backstop to avoid a hard border in northern ireland if a trade deal can't be put in place in time by the end of the transition period as it stands at the moment. no matter who you speak to, certainly in the conservative party today, this has not gone down particularly well at all. obviously there's been a lot of anger, as you describe the options there, what sort of action can the mps actually take? well, at the moment, all they

can really do is raise the pressure on theresa may and the government to change tack and to convince her that this is not a good idea. the government of theresa may has of course said today herself that this is not something the uk is proposing, it is merely an idea that is being considered but that is enough to get people worried, get conservative mps worried certainly. if they feel ever more strongly, they may want to write a letter to they may want to write a letter to the chairman of the conservative pa rty‘s the chairman of the conservative party's back bench 1922 the chairman of the conservative party's back bench i922 committee to call for a vote of confidence in theresa may, but it would need 48 of those letters to go into trigger a no—confidence vote and the mechanics and climate around that hasn't changed, and that is there's no alternative successor to theresa may around which conservative mps can unite, and they‘ re around which conservative mps can unite, and they're worried about the instability that that would cause, and potentially resulting in a

general election, and labour potentially winning that that they have held off doing so. so, for the moment, all conservative mps can do is make their feelings clear in other stronger terms. ok, jonathan blake, we'll leave it there for now. thank you. president trump has said he believes the saudi journalist, jamal khashoggi is dead and he's warned there will be very severe consequences if saudi arabia is shown to be responsible. mr khashoggi, a prominent critic of the saudi crown prince, disappeared a fortnight ago when he visited the saudi consulate in istanbul. the international community is applying more pressure to the saudi leadership, and the usa, britain, france and the netherlands have become the latest countries to pull out of attending an investment conference in saudi arabia next week. north america editor jon sopel reports. future investment initiative is the global platform... three weeks ago, this was the hottest ticket around for the global elite. an invitation to next week's saudi investment conference. the self—styled "davos

in the desert" is fast becoming the exodus from the desert. but after the apparent murder of saudi journalist jamal khashoggi, world leaders are now sending apologies for absence. ..and shapes the future of economy for the betterment of all mankind. that's as maybe, but today the us treasury secretary steven mnuchin became the latest pull—out. he tweeted, "just met with donald trump and secretary pompeo and we have decided i won't be participating in the summit in saudi arabia." this is significant because that's the first direct action sanctioned by the president in the wake of this macabre killing. though secretary of state pompeo was still saying the saudis needed more time. i told president trump this morning that we are to give them a few more days to complete that, so that we too have complete understanding of the facts surrounding that, at which point we can make decisions about how or if the united states should respond to the incident surrounding mr khashoggi. but from the president,

the language seems to be toughening, as more is discovered. reporter: what are you considering for possible consequences for the saudis based on those...? well, it'll have to be very severe. i mean, it's bad, bad stuff. investigators have been back at the consulate in istanbul continuing their forensic examination of the building. meanwhile, the washington post has printed the saudi journalist's final column, with its clarion call for press freedom in the middle east. in terms of dollars... mohammad bin salman, who was feted as a reforming hero when he came to the us earlier this year, is under immense pressure to explain what happened, why it happened and the gruesome question of how. all of which leaves donald trump, this evening off to montana, with his biggest foreign policy emergency since becoming president. he wants the relationship with saudi arabia to continue unaffected, but as more details emerge, how easy will that be? that was jon sopel there.

let's get the latest now with our washington correspondent, chris buckler. chris, the language pretty strong from president trump, but what can he actually do? he says bad, bad, bad and there will be consequences, but what options does he have on the table? the question is what those consequences could be. the obvious a nswer consequences could be. the obvious answer is to take sanctions and put them in place against saudi arabia, but he already seems to have ruled that out on the bays it would damage the american economy and threaten jobs here because they realise saudi america is a big economic player and they don't want to threaten lucrative arms sales —— on the basis. with sanctions of the table it leaves donald trump real question is. it could be expelling diplomats real question. he does value the relationship with riyadh and he doesn't want to jeopardise it partly

because they are america's arguably most important ally in the middle east —— it could be expelling diplomats —— real question. at the same time there's the question globally and inside washington for president trump to harden in his language also take some action. he's saying to pause for a minute. he says there are a few investigations still going on and he wants to see the results of those. but he says if the results of those. but he says if the saudi government were involved in jockey‘s burn, the saudi government were involved injockey‘s burn, then ultimately they are going to have to have these severe consequences “— they are going to have to have these severe consequences —— jamal khashoggi's death. at the same time, he's recognising according to multiple intelligence reports, he said that to the new york times, it does appear that he has been killed, and therefore he's going to have to address this issue very soon and certainly senators inside congress are pushing for action and pushing for him to take a harder stance. chris buckler in washington, thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news:

the prime minister says an option to extend the transition period after the uk leaves the eu could be one way to solve the issue of the northern ireland border. the uk and the us pulls out of a trade summit with saudi arabia following allegations surrounding the disappearance of journalist jamal khashoggi. the murder rate reaches a ten—year high. crime figures also show increases in robberies and theft. more on that in a moment. 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 is a rise of 14%. and there has been a sharp increase in violent crimes. they are up by almost 20%. 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 is what is 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 taskforce — big teams, targeting the most serious criminals, often involved in drugs. there you go! 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 is 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 is 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 taskforce 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 is 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 about 100,000-110,000. 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. a jury has been retracing the last known movements of two nine—year—old schoolgirls who were found dead on the south downs, in east sussex, 32 years ago. russell bishop is on trial for the second time, accused of murdering karen hadaway and nicola fellows. he denies the charges. 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 have 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. the online retailer amazon says it will create over 1,000 new high—skilled jobs in the uk, including 600 in manchester. edinburgh and cambridge will also see hundreds of new roles as part of what the web giant calls its long—term commitment to british innovation. the new jobs will focus on software development, advertising technology, and personalised shopping. the duke and duchess of sussex are continuing their tour of australia, meeting well—wishers in melbourne today. 0ne fan was particularly pleased to meet prince harry. during a visit to the city's royal botanical gardens, the teenager was overcome with tears ofjoy. the duke and duchess then travelled to sydney, where they have spent the afternoon on bondi beach talking to a local community surfing group about mental health issues. on saturday the royal couple will open the invictus games,

which the prince set up in 2014 for wounded veterans. what you are seeing there are the latest pictures from bondi beach, in sydney. questions are being raised in the transgender community about the requirements needed to formally change gender. at the moment, people have to get a medical diagnosis, live in their chosen gender for at least two years, and also pay a fee. but campaigners say the process is too complicated, intrusive and expensive. the government has been looking at the current rules and will soon decide whether they should be changed in england and wales. earlier i spoke to transgender rights campaigner dawn sims,

and she said the process of getting a gender recognition certificate is difficult. it was very, very intrusive. it was costly, and it was fraught with trying to make sure you got everything right the first time. i know some people who have been through about attempts to get one. there's only 5500 have been allowed within the country or applied for and got it. so it shows you it is quite hard to actually get, when you work out the number of trends women and trans— men are that are out there. what really upsets you the most, personally, about the 2004 act —— trans women. most, personally, about the 2004 act -- trans women. in itself i think the act was quite good. you've got to look at it as a whole. it's been a slow but sure progress. at the

moment, until 2015, you a slow but sure progress. at the moment, until2015, you had a slow but sure progress. at the moment, until 2015, you had to divorce your partner. you could not get a gender recognition certificate u nless get a gender recognition certificate unless you divorced. the moment that you are divorced you were entitled to it. in 2014, the same—sex marriage came into effect, and you are able then to get spousal approval. you still had to applied to somebody else to get you the permission to get your own proper birth certificate. along the way it has been a large learning curve across the community. a lot of people don't want to have the grc, they don't feel that they need it. they are quite happy being as they are. but you've got to accept that trans women are women. i'm sorry, that's who they are. if you don't like that, i'm sorry, the door is over here. ok, what do you think is going to come out of this collaboration process? did you fill in the q&a which was on their website? what did you think of it? sorry, i thought it was quite fair.

i think that they will lower the time living in your gender down to six months. i can tell you now, the moment you change gender, it is for life. you don't do this for fun. there are not many people who read transition back. you can't pray this away. that is not going to happen. i don't know if you are aware of the suicide rate amongst the trans community at the moment, but the younger community it is 47%. 47% of trans people attempt suicide. and we are self harming quite a bit, because of body image, and that is partly mental. the moment somebody goes into transition, they actually start to recover and become who they really are meant to be. also, just 1.ijust really are meant to be. also, just 1.i just would love to make is that we can already self identified. the moment i go into my gp surgery or another trans person does, and says by the way, i think i am trans, they

are covered. the world's first electric train has been lovingly restored to its former glory. the electric water cart was in disrepair. at one point it was used as a holiday home. now it is ready to carry passengers once again. our correspondent went to have a look. built in 1903, only two of these electric auto cars were ever made. they ran for 27 years in north yorkshire and the north—east. 0ne they ran for 27 years in north yorkshire and the north—east. one of them was scrapped. this one almost was as well. it was discovered ten yea rs was as well. it was discovered ten years ago, buried in a hedge in a north yorkshire field, where it had been chopped in half and used as a holiday home. stephen middleton rescued it, and after a decade of ha rd rescued it, and after a decade of hard work, a team of volunteers has restored it. if i knew hard work, a team of volunteers has restored it. ifi knew then, ten yea rs restored it. ifi knew then, ten years ago, what i know now, i think

imight years ago, what i know now, i think i might well have left this in the hedge. it was more work than anybody could possibly have envisaged. but looking back, it has been worth it. the train was built at a time when stea m the train was built at a time when steam dominated the railways. electric powered, it was ahead of its time. it was painstakingly rebuilt from a wooden shell in the engine shed at bolton railway. a heritage lottery grant of £500,000 has helped. i had to scour the countryside for various bits. the chassis, as we call it, came from a very old milkman going back to 1921. the brake valve is mainly come from northern ireland railways, but also some from the electric locomotives that used to run out of houston. and whistles come from a london underground stock. today, the auto car had its first test run, alongside its original carriage. 0n board were some of the volunteers,

and stephen's wife, who says the project has dominated their lives for the past decade. is it nice to see it finally finished, that you might get your husband back now? absolutely, maybe not used to it, but let's have a go. he really has been working so hard, and he deserves a really good break.|j been working so hard, and he deserves a really good break. i give her two weeks. i reckon she'll want me back here on the railway after two weeks. possible. well, from a com plete two weeks. possible. well, from a complete wreck to resplendent. the whole restoration has cost £1 million. today's test run has been a big success, so tourists should be able to ride on the electric water ca rt able to ride on the electric water cart from next year. —— auto car. some of the world's biggest brands are investing heavily in technology to bring their products and services closer to people, and that process extends to artists and performers, who are developing innovative ways to bring their shows to life, and in some cases guaranteeing

a good view from anywhere in even the biggest venues. one of the bands pioneering this approach is the rock group u2, as mark savage discovered. # 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 is almost 30 metres long. and they don'tjust project their faces on it. they climb inside. it is 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? yeah, the idea was, 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. and this end is much like a club

gig, this is much more, like, down and dirty, and the other end is a bit more formal. which do you prefer? i like down and dirty. when u2 first started playing the clubs around dublin in the 1970s, a show of this scale and complexity would have been unimaginable. but what does all of 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, i don't know. for me, i do have to hit some marks, and i did find that constraining at some points. but then, like a theatre production, i think every night's different anyway, even with the same script. technology like this comes at a cost, and 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. now it is time for the weather, with tomasz schafernaker. hello. thanks for joining hello. thanks forjoining me. let's see what mother nature's up to over the coming days, now that we are well into 0ctober. the coming days, now that we are well into october. this time of the year, mist and fog tends to be more ofan year, mist and fog tends to be more of an issue, and year, mist and fog tends to be more ofan issue, and infact

year, mist and fog tends to be more of an issue, and in fact over the coming days we will have some problems with fog. but there is also going to be a lot of fine, sunny weather. this is what is happening more or less right now. we have a weather front moving in the atlantic bringing thicker cloud and freshening winds to north—western parts of the uk, but to the south, high pressure here. so that means the early hours of the morning on friday we will have seen clearer skies, and actually quite nippy in some towns and cities, just a few degrees above freezing. in london, eight degrees, and for our friends in stornoway, 10 degrees because of the atlantic breeze and that approaching weather front. so the atlantic breeze and that approaching weatherfront. so here isa approaching weatherfront. so here is a look at friday's weather map. high pressure to the south, so broadly across england and wales, whereas in northern ireland and scotla nd whereas in northern ireland and scotland we have a weather front moving through, briefly upsetting the weather in the western isles and maybe other parts of scotland as well. i wouldn't be surprised if there is some light rain in glasgow and edinburgh and basically the front fizzles away and falls apart and we are left over with partly