a very warm welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: saudi arabia under more pressure. president trump acknowledges jamal khashoggi is most likely dead, and talks of "very severe" consequences. well, it'll have to be very severe. i mean, it's bad, bad stuff. but we'll see what happens. backlash for the party as theresa may tries to break the brexit deadlock. —— from her own party. against a backdrop of virtually non—stop violence, afghans attempt to hold elections. we have a special report from kabul. and, merging the big screen with the big stage. how some of the world's most high—profile bands are using tech to transform their shows. hello.

pressure is building on saudi arabia to acknowledge and explain the suspected murder of thejournalist and government critic, jamal khashoggi, last seen in turkey two weeks ago. the us treasury secretary has pulled out of a high—profile investment conference in riyadh next week, so have his opposite numbers from britain and france. president trump has now declared that mr khashoggi is "most likely dead." and if the saudis are responsible, he says the consequences should be "ve we're waiting for the results of about three different investigations, and we should be able to get to the bottom fairly soon. well, it'll have to be very severe. i mean, it's bad, bad stuff. but we'll see what happens. our correspondent in washington, chris buckler, told me there has been a change of tone from the president. the president is still pushing for a pause. he says he wants to see the outcome of these different investigations

that are ongoing, and we know that there are still very active investigations in turkey at the moment. but there is definitely a hardening of language, and you get a sense that that is partly because donald trump has seen the details of multiple intelligence reports. he said that to the new york times, and he says that if saudi arabia were involved, then ultimately there will be severe consequences. but again, he's still not saying what those will be. but i think there is pressure growing notjust on saudi arabia, but also on president trump, to be seen to act on this. because he has talked about the potential of it being rogue killers, of really wanting to stop and take a break and not point the finger at saudi arabia at the moment. but at the same time, there does seem to be growing suspicions that saudi arabia could have been involved, and the longer thatjamal khashoggi is missing, the more that there are questions being asked of the saudi government itself. and yet where do you think this does go next?

it's not hard to imagine, is it, that the people in the white house behind you wish this would go away? saudi arabia is an important trade partner and ally. president trump is not the world's foremost defender of journalists. yeah, and beyond that, he does specifically avoid saying that he wants certain things. he has ruled out the idea of sanctions, he makes clear that lucrative arms sales are something he wants to defend, and it does leave that question of what happens next. you talk about the relationship with riyadh, mike. if you look at it, it comes down to three things — oil, arms sales and ultimately, also influence. and that's partly because saudi arabia is in the middle east, some would argue, america's most important ally, and with those tensions with iran, they want to keep saudi arabia on side. and there is therefore the question of what they can potentially do. if you rule out the idea of,

for example, sanctions, could you for example expel diplomats, have that kind of tension? that's something america is trying to avoid, and certainly white house is trying to avoid with saudi arabia. president trump has been asked about this — what will you do? he just simply says there are many, many options, a long list of options. he will not get into specifics. but truthfully, if more evidence emerges, and there are these suggestions of a recording, although the secretary of state, mike pompeo, has denied these reports that he's actually heard this recording, but if that recording does emerge, it does put the american authorities in a very difficult position, and president trump will find himself in a position where he inevitably has to do something. more of the day's other news for you. mexico is resisting pressure from donald trump to deal "forcefully" with a caravan of central american migrants travelling to the us. he has talked of sending the us military to defend the border, and he has sent secretary of state mike pompeo to talk to the mexican government face to face. ministers there have spoken of seeking a humanitarian

solution instead. the us department of justice has opened an investigation into accusatons of child abuse against hundreds of roman catholic priests in pennsylvania. a grand jury report in august found credible evidence that more than 1000 children had been abused by 300 priests across the state, and that church officials covered it up. the wife of interpol‘s former president, meng hongwei, has called for more freedom in china, weeks after her husband was detained there. in her first interview with british media, grace meng told the bbc that she's had no updates on her husband. chinese authorities have since confirmed he's being held on suspicion of bribery. the european commission has warned italy that its budget plans for 2019 are an unprecedented deviation from eu budget rules. the commission says the government's spending plans are too high and the deficit would rise, instead of falling. britain's prime minister is facing a significant backlash within her own party

over her latest attempt to break the deadlock in brexit negotiations. theresa may has signalled she's considering an offerfrom european negotiators to extend the transition period beyond the end of 2020. what has now emerged is the idea that an option to extend the implementation period could be a further solution to this 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, that enables us to — which is currently a blockage to completing the deal — that enables us to get on with completing the deal, that delivers on the vote of the british people, and is good for the future of the uk. prime minister may, of course. the latest on that from our political correspondent, jonathan blake, at westminster. well, theresa may's made it clear that she is at least entertaining the idea. she arrived in brussels — or arrived at day two of the summit

in brussels this morning, saying what had been reported here in the uk for the last few days, and that was that there was an idea. who has quite come up with it first, whether it was the uk or the eu, it's not quite clear, but the idea has emerged, she said, to potentially extend the transition period, or what the government calls the implementation phase. and that is the period after the uk formally leaves the eu, at the end of march next year, and the end of december 2020, when the two sides will work out the finer details of their future relationship, and implement that in place. so what has surfaced is the idea of that potentially being extended by a matter of months, according to the prime minister theresa may today, or potentially even longer, according to some on the eu side, as a way to ensure that there was more time to put in place the trade deal that was agreed between now and then. but it's fair to say that it hasn't

gone down particularly well with mps in theresa may's own conservative party here in westminster. they've described it on all sides today, both those who were in favour of brexit and those who campaigned to remain in the eu, variously as "a desperate last move", "unhelpful", "dead on arrival", and "totally unacceptable". a rogue bodyguard has shot dead at least two senior afghan security officials inside the governor's compound, in the kandahar. the taliban says it carried out the attack. the country is on high alert, ahead of crucial parliamentary elections. the taliban is increasingly active and posing a growing threat to the hopes of a new generation of educated afghans. from the capital, kabul, our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet. the palace of darul aman, place of peace, became a symbol of a painful war. now, it's being restored to its old splendour

by a new generation. najmia and nastaran — barred from school when the taliban ruled, now they're engineers. translation: everyone outside afghanistan sees the crisis we are going through, but we are staying here, daring to stand with our brothers, to rebuild our country. next door, forbidding security wraps around the american university of afghanistan. the persecution of human beings shall be forbidden... law students prepare for their exams, in a country often lawless and corrupt. two years ago, their peaceful oasis was stormed by gunmen. nazia bears the scars of that battle. glass sliced her face. i remember each and every second of that night. like, my father wanted me to go to dubai university, but ijust wanted to stay here, just because — to show taliban that they cannot scare us or intimidate us

by attacking our schools. along the avenue outside, a blizzard of posters for parliamentary polls. more young, educated afghans are running than ever before, taking on old warlords and their sons. but at this roundabout, no—one is looking at posters. they're looking for work, any work, as the day begins, desperation written all over this road of last resort. translation: most of the people you see here are educated. they basically have two choices. join the army — in a week, a month, or a year, you die — or you leave the country. this begins to tell you why so many young afghans are choosing to leave afghanistan, a place which offers them little work or safety, or even some hope that their life here will get any better than this.

the story of a country's pain is told in kabul‘s emergency hospital. mohammed — attacked by a warlord, a leg chopped off. abdullah — shot by local police. and abdulhadi — he came under taliban fire. all in the last week, all in their 20s. and farid — just a bystander during a family feud, shot in both legs, still scared to show his face. "it won't get any better", he tells me, "just worse." all eyes are on saturday's elections. in this police control room, we watch their cameras across kabul — more forces on the streets to stop threats of violence and vote rigging. afg hanistan‘s new war, between dark forces of the past and people fighting to move forward. lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we meet the british racing driver who wants a change in the strict rules on gender. parts of san francisco least affected by the earthquake are returning to life. but in the marina area, where most of the damage was done, they're more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. in the 19 years since he was last here, he's gone from being a little—known revolutionary to an experienced and successful diplomatic operator. it was a 20lb bomb which exploded on the fifth floor of the grand hotel, ripping a hole in the front of the building. this government will not weaken. democracy will prevail. it fills me with humility and gratitude to know that i have been chosen as the recipient of this foremost of earthly honours. this catholic nation held its breath

for the men they call the 33. and then... bells toll ..bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue, and chile let out an almighty roar. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the pressure is ramping up on saudi arabia. president trump says it "certainly looks like the missing journalist jamal khashoggi is dead. theresa may suggests the uk could stay tied to the eu for longer than planned. after several years of chinese economic growth, 2018 has seen a significant slowdown. analysts say consumers are saving more, and putting less money

into risky assets — the government is cutting income tax to try and boost consumption. it matters outside china too — the slowdown has had a major affect on the global economy. 0ur china correspondent, robin brant is in shanghai. china has just published china hasjust published date china has just published date for the third quarter. what is it telling you? a cool off abuse continuing. growth for the third quarter of this year is slowing. it is at 6.596. when you compare to the europe and the uk, it can use to grow at the rate is slowing. 6.5% for the third quarter of this year and that is the slowest rate of growth china has seen since the beginning of 2009. that was that

the beginning of 2009. that was that the depth of the global financial crisis. what we have is a government here in beijing, in china, trying to deal with a slowing down of its economy and at the same time is trying to deal with inherent risks. a huge boom in credit over the last ten yea rs a huge boom in credit over the last ten years and in the last year, we have seen the government increased measures in trying to clamp down on credit that the same time, it doesn't want to cause the economy to simply implode in recent weeks we have seen simply implode in recent weeks we have seen measures to simply implode in recent weeks we have seen measures to try and ensure that the banks don't have to keep as much money in reserve. it is a tight work —— tightrope walk of the chinese government as it tries to deal with an economy where growth is slowing. is try to deal with a huge explosion and availability of credit at the same time that it doesn't wa nt to at the same time that it doesn't want to bring in measures that it will make the rate of growth even more difficult even more challenging. the data is meaningful

to a nalysts challenging. the data is meaningful to analysts even though people don't really believe the exact figures. they believe it is subject to a bit of government massage. there is a huge suspicion about china's official figures huge suspicion about china's officialfigures in terms huge suspicion about china's official figures in terms of the health of its economy. for the last six years, it has pretty much stuck exactly to government forecasts and thatis exactly to government forecasts and that is unprecedented when you look at gdp goes from other countries. some analysts and experts believe the real rate of growth in the economy could be as low as 3.5%, maybe it sits at around four or five. there are very few that really realise —— that really think that the economy is growing at 6.5% at the economy is growing at 6.5% at the moment that nonetheless, we have to ta ke the moment that nonetheless, we have to take them at face value and compare them with previous figures and it's the best we've got in terms of the apparent health of the chinese economy. a bit more coming

up chinese economy. a bit more coming up later in the programme on asia business report. a person wanting to change their gender in the uk, legally, faces a number of steps — including a medical diagnosis and living in their chosen gender for at least 2 years. many feel this is all just too complicated, intrusive and expensive. the government's been looking into it and a decision will be made soon on any proposals for england and wales. this report from our special correspondent, lucy manning. 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's a racing driver. she's also a trans woman, transitioning six years ago. she's 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 for me.

having lived my life 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 ourselves judged by some kind of panel, who hold court over our destiny. the government's 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 wouldn't 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 been women—only. at parliament, nicola williams has been lobbying mps,

worried about the impact the changes could have on other women. the consultation's been quite unfair, 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 that they're a 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 the thousands of responses we've received so far show there's a real desire for reform. charlie martin says she just wants the same rights as everyone else. lucy manning, bbc news. warnings have been issued across eastern spain — ahead of what's expected to be the worst torrential rainfall in ten years. around 200 millimeters of rain are forecast in just 12 hours. it's just days since tropical storm leslie swept across the country — and flash floods in the balearic islands left 13 people dead. the sagrada familia basilica, one of spain's most popular tourist sites, has agreed to pay $41—million to authorities in barcelona, because it turns out it's had no building permit, for more than 130 years.

the money will be spent on improving public transport and access to the monument and surrounding area. the duke and duchess of sussex have kicked off their shoes to walk along bondi beach in sydney. harry and meghan met a surfing group for an event called ‘fluro friday'. the group dress in colourful clothing and discuss mental health issues. later the duke is due to climb the harbour bridge and raise a flag for the invictus games, the competition for armed forces veterans which he set up. the couple will also meet prime minister scott morrison and leader of the opposition bill shorten. some of the world's biggest brands are investing heavily in technology, to bring their products and services closer to people. that process extends to artists and performers who are developing innovative ways to bring their live shows to life. one of the pioneers of this approach is 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? 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. remember these painful scenes? one of banksy‘s best—known pictures being partially shredded just after it was sold at auction. the elusive artist released a video straight away, showing how it was done but now a more recent one reveals the stunt didn't quite go to plan. the painting — the girl with balloon — should have been completely destroyed — but got stuck instead. it sold initially for more than a million dollars to an anonymous buyer. it has since been renamed ‘love is in the bin'. just briefly, breaking news this

hour, china's gdp growth has slowed to 605% for the third quarter will stop it shows consumers are saving more and putting less money into risky assets. it matters outside china. the slowdown has had a major affect on the global economy. pressure is also growing on saudi arabia to acknowledge and explain the suspected murder of the journalist and government critic jamal khashoggi last seen in turkey two weeks ago. the uk has pulled out ofa two weeks ago. the uk has pulled out of a conference in saudi arabia next week. president trump has conceded he is now most likely dead. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — i'm @bbc mike embley.

hello again. most of us saw some decent sunshine on thursday, the sunshine on thursday, clear skies lasted into the evening. the clear skies lasted into the evening. it allowed to register really plummet away, particular across england and wales, southern parts of scotland. to the north—west, the cloud has been thickening over the last few hours. a weather front is on its way and it will bring some wet weather for the early rises. the rain quite heavy for western scotland where they will also be gale force gusts of wind in the western isles becoming quite lolly for the northern isles as well. further south, some patches of frost to start the day in the countryside, particularly in northern ireland. 0ne countryside, particularly in northern ireland. one to patches elsewhere. the two bridges directly lifting over the next few hours in scotla nd lifting over the next few hours in scotland and northern ireland because of this band of wet weather. as the front sinks southwards during the day, there won't be much rain left on it, just a few spots perhaps

across northern ireland and into north wales. the majority having a good afternoon. the majority of the sunshine in east anglia and southern counties of england where it is mild. through friday night, we will keep the clear sky and wind combination across england and wales but this time, we could see some fog patches forming as those temperatures take a bit of a dive. areas that could be particularly foggy. areas that could be particularly foggy, some of us could wake up with scenes like this taking us into the first part of saturday morning and that could hang around for a few hours as well before the sunshine comes out across england and wales. further north and west, cloudier skies with rain in the north—west of scotla nd skies with rain in the north—west of scotland easing through the day. temperature wise, 16 in newcastle. temperatures could hit 18 and possibly 19 celsius. for the second half of the weekend, high—pressure staying across england and wales so

more fine weather on the way. a cold front is pushing it to the north—west of bringing heavy rain. mist and fog slowly clearing across england and wales but once the sunshine comes out towards the south—east, it will be and other mild day. as the cold front pushes through across the country by monday, it will turn called for all of us. —— colder. the latest headlines:

president trump has now said he does believe the missing saudi journalist and government critic jamal khashoggi is "most likely" dead. and if the saudis are responsible, he said the consequences should be "ve the us treasury secretary has pulled out of a high—profile investment conference in riyadh. so have his opposite numbers from britain and france. prime minister theresa may is considering delaying the uk's departure from the single market and the customs union, to give more time to agree a final brexit deal and find a solution to trade and security issues on the irish border. but she's come under significant criticism from her own party as a result. afghanistan is on high alert ahead of crucial parliamentary elections, with militants increasingly active and posing a growing threat. the taliban says it carried out a deadly attack inside the governor's compound in kandahar. it's just after 3:30am.

it's time now for panorama. tonight on panorama — the truth about a toxic war. the chemical weapons that have terrorised people across syria. the people were hysterical. if they go up, they get bombed, if they go down, they get killed by chlorine. while president assad denies all responsibility... we have never used our chemical arsenal in our history. ..our investigation shows they'vebeen used time