this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at 4pm... hundreds of thousands of protesters are marching through london demanding another referendum on the uk's membership of the european union. organisers are claiming it is the biggest march in the capital since the demonstration against the iraq war in 2003. saudi arabia admits journalist jamal khashoggi was killed in the consulate in istanbul. the uk says it's those responsible must be held to account. they have been a great ally in the middle east. we need them as a counterbalance to grant so it is not the simplest of solutions. —— iran. two men have been charged with murdering father—of—two ian tomlin, who was beaten to death outside his home in south—west london. also coming up this hour... bepicolombo blasts off! two satellites developed in europe and japan are on their way to the planet mercury.

it's hoped that together they can resolve the puzzles of the mysterious planet closest to the sun. and in half an hour we'll discuss the big issues of the day in detail, in dateline london. hundreds of thousands of protestors are marching in london this afternoon calling for another referendum on brexit. the event, organised by the campaign group the people's vote, involves a march and then a rally in parliament square. let's take a look at some live pictures showing the crowds in westminster. that is a platform close to parliament square west speakers have

been addressing the march. most of the main speakers have had their say by now, hence the more informal gathering. that gives you more the sense of the scale of this event. there is talks of hundreds of thousands, organisers claiming over half a million people who joined the march initially at a marble arch and then moved down park lane, to trafalgar square and then eventually down to parliament square to hear those various speakers. our reporter chi chi izundo is in central london for us. indeed, as you say, organisers have suggested that more than half a million people have come today. as you say, the speeches are starting to wind up in the rally at parliament square but there are still a lot of people walking in protest against the referendum that happened in 2016, and so far the negotiation processes towards brexit. we arejoined by dylan. why

did you decide to take part today? for a lot of reasons. i am british and proudly european. i am for a lot of reasons. i am british and proudly european. lam proud for a lot of reasons. i am british and proudly european. i am proud to be part of european union. i have colleagues who are european and they don't know what will happen to them. i have friends all over europe who don't know what that will happen to them. the clock is ticking, there are six months left to run and the only thing we can do is that the facts have come to light and we deserve another say. you said you we re deserve another say. you said you were a software engineer and you know of a number of your colleagues that have chosen to leave the uk. know of a number of your colleagues that have chosen to leave the uki know people who have already left. i know people who have already left. i know british people who are working abroad whose future is uncertain. i know people who have moved to london to try to make a career here who have decided to leave faced with this uncertainty. people can't live with this kind of chaos and uncertainty and lack of leadership. it isjust not possible. what would

you like? would you like a chance for another referendum or more detail on the negotiations in the deal? i would like the uk to remain in the european union however that is possible and however that takes place. but the prime minister has said that the possibility of that happening is non—negotiable. said that the possibility of that happening is non-negotiable. the prime minister has said a lot of things and many of them have failed to happen. so what would you like to see? if we have to get rid of the prime minister to make that happen then that has to happen. if she will listen to the people that are marching right now, maybe she will listen. people are allowed to change their minds. the electorate is, the politicians are. again, people would argue that for democracy‘s sake, the democratic vote was to leave the eu. and the one in 1973 was tojoin democratic vote was to leave the eu. and the one in 1973 was to join the eu. with -- if

and the one in 1973 was to join the eu. with —— if we can change that one why can we not change this one? dyla n, one why can we not change this one? dylan, thank you very much for joining us here. 0rganisers have suggested that more than half a million peoplejoined suggested that more than half a million people joined today's protest a nd million people joined today's protest and we will have to wait until we can get more concrete numbers. thank you very much, chi chi izundo, they‘ re numbers. thank you very much, chi chi izundo, they're in central london. speaking at the save brexit rally in harrogate, the former ukip leader and vice chairmain of leave means leave, nigel farage, said the general consensus across the country is that people want to just get on with it. nobody in the referendum talked about hard brexit or soft brexit. this is an invention that has come in since the referendum. there's one thing we want. there's one thing we voted for that is absolutely clear and undeniable. we voted in the referendum to become an independent country, not locked into a customs union which is what mrs may wants and now the labour party wants.

that is a betrayal of what people voted for. evidence suggests that about a third of those that voted remain now say, "we are democrats and we think the government should simply get on with it." and that is our message. get on with it, fulfil your promises to us. you said if we voted to leave it would happen, it needs to. the general mood across the country is just get on with it and that is what the majority of people are saying. we are going to push hard. we want our mps to understand that if they do betray brexit there will be a electoral consequences to pay. nigel farage there in harrogate. after two weeks of denials, saudi arabia has admitted for the first time that the journalist, jamal khashoggi died inside its consulate in istanbul. state television reported that he died in a fight. turkey claims he was tortured and killed by a team sent from the saudi capital, riyadh. the foreign office here says it's considering the saudi explanation and what britain's next steps might be. martin patience reports from istanbul. this was the last time that jamal khashoggi was seen alive, entering the saudi consulate.

0n saudi state tv, riyadh finally admitted, after more than two weeks, that he'd been killed. translation: the discussions that took place between him and the individuals that met with him during his presence in the saudi consulate in istanbul led to an argument and fistfight with jamal khashoggi, which led to his death. us president donald trump said he found the explanation credible. saudi arabia's been a great ally, but what happened is unacceptable. we are going to see they've arrested, just for the people at the table, a large number of people having to do with the event that took place in turkey in the consulate, the saudi consulate, and, er... it's a big first step. it's only a first step, but it's a big first step. you consider it credible, the explanation?

i do, i do. but even members of his own party simply don't believe it. senator lindsay graham tweeted: to say that i'm sceptical of the new saudi narrative about mr khashoggi is an understatement. many believe that this killing could only have happened with the permission of this man, the saudi crown prince, mohammed bin salman. and critics will see the saudi explanation as an attempt to shield them from any blame. there is now no dispute that jamal khashoggi died after going into the saudi consulate behind me, but how he was killed and who is ultimately responsible still hasn't been answered. when the turkish police release their report, we may well see things very different from the saudis. martin patience, bbc news, istanbul. earlier i spoke to our turkey correspondent mark lowen who told me the saudi admission

of what happened inside the consulate in istanbul is a radical change of story. for 17 days they were saying that nothing happened inside the consulate, initially they were saying that he simply left the consulate building. the saudi media has constantly been talking about how this is a campaign of lies and disinformation. they even claimed that the saudi hit squad, the 15 men being investigated, were saudi tourists. clearly it is a change by the saudi authorities but there are still big questions. what happened to the body? what did the saudis do to the body? did they dismember him as these macabre rumours are? did they take him back in pieces back to saudi arabia? why did they change their story? why did they lie for such a long time? who will be held responsible? did this go to the saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman? or was it, as the us president is trying to create a story or build the story, was it some kind of unauthorised unofficialjob and not actually sanctioned by the crown prince? that will be very, very

difficult to believe, certainly for turkey and for western governments as well. also, what more might turkey have to say on the subject or know on the subject that they haven't yet said? the foreign ministry gave a statement saying they will not allow this to be covered up, they vow to reveal whatever has happened and to share the evidence. clearly, even if the us tries to build a narrative in which this is swept under the carpet and the crown prince is let off the hook, turkey will simply not allow that. what is interesting is that there is a real division between saudi's allies in the arab world and western europe. for example, britain and the netherlands being far more cautious saying they want to find out who is responsible and need to consider the next steps, those responsible need to be held to account, a statement by the british foreign office says, but the uae, bahrain, egypt, they're all praising saudi arabia's statement, the egyptians even saying that that it respects the principles of law and the application of effective justice.

it almost seems like a choreographed torrent of reactions from saudi's allies in the middle east in order to try to lend credibility to their side of the story. a word about mr erdogan, turkey's leader, he is not renowned for being a restrained man, he is outspoken by and large, but he's been quite cautious with this one. he's being cautious because of the importance of the relationship between ankara and riyadh, clearly. i think he has also played this very strategically. he has drip fed bits of incriminating evidence to turn western opinion against the saudis, put pressure on them and box them into a corner, and to put pressure on donald trump to show his hand. mr trump is of course in a position where he is standing up for the saudis but members of his administration are being far tougher as well and they are more uncomfortable with his support of the saudis. he's been much more withheld than usual, we will have to see whether he maintains that stance when turkey wraps up its own investigation.

two men have appeared in court charged with the murder of a father in battersea in south london on wednesday. ian tomlin, who was a6, died from a head injury caused by blunt force trauma. michael swan, aged a5, and gary beech, aged a8, both appeared at wimbledon magistrates' court this morning. a man's appeared at newcastle crown court charged with making false claims of child sexual abuse and murder against establishment figures. prosecutors say the defendant, who is not being named for legal reasons and is known publically as nick, falsely told police he was abused as a child in the 1970s and 1980s by senior people in public life. they say he also falsely claimed he witnessed the murders of three young boys. afg hanistan‘s long delayed parliamentary elections have been taking place, with over 2,500 candidates and nearly 9 million registered voters taking part. however, the build up has

been marred by violence and the taliban has ordered afghans to boycott the vote. a suicide bomber blew himself up in an area in the north of the aghan capital kabul, killing at least ten people and wounding many more. nearly a third of all polling stations remain closed because of security concerns. i asked our chief international correspondent lyse doucet in kabul for her assessment of how the day had gone. no one was expecting a perfect day. you could never achieve that in afghanistan which is in the midst of the worst crisis in its a0 years of war. and with the taliban notjust threatening to attack these polling stations, they were attacking every day in the run—up with candidates and election officials and security forces dying. yet again today we saw the defiance of afghans determined to turn out and exercise their right to cast a ballot. at the polling station we visited here in kabul

it was absolutely packed. saying, "we are not going to let the taliban win." unfortunately, there was a dark shadow over these polls. the suicide bombing you mentioned in the north of the capital. reports are coming in that a suicide bomber detonated his vest at a checkpoint where he was stopped. possibly five policemen killed and civilians as well. there were other explosions at polling stations in kabul. there has been another enemy of this process and that is very bad organisation. some stations opened so late that the electoral commission had to apologise and say voting could take place tomorrow. the polling has closed but by now, the sun has set and everyone who turned up to vote has been told they will be able to cast their ballot. so a mixed picture but even holding this election at all is an achievement for afghanistan.

when you spoke to voters, what kind of meaningful choice did they feel they had in front of them? how about a ballot that looks like a newspaper? 16 pages that you had to flip. 800 people are running in kabul. some of them are the sons and daughters of the warlords and the millionaires in kabul and certainly some of them will get in because anywhere in the world money does matter. but more young educated afghans are running than ever before. everyone is saying that we hope these new faces get in because quite frankly the last afghan parliament which has been in the assembly for three years longer than they should has been is known more for taking bribes than taking the country in a better direction. lyse doucet, thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news...

thousands of protesters are marching through london demanding another referendum on the uk's membership of the european union. saudi arabia admits journalist jamal khashoggi was killed in the consulate in istanbul. the uk says it's those responsible must be held to account. two men have been charged with murdering father—of—two ian tomlin, who was beaten to death outside his home in south—west london. in sports, chelsea came from behind to equalise in injury time against manchester united at stamford bridge. united had led dos— one. —— 2-1. bridge. united had led dos— one. —— 2—1.jerzy mourinho jose mourinho reacted angrily to the comments made. england have won in another rain affected match in sri lankan. and after being overlooked for the england squad two days ago, danny cipriani was sent off in gloucester‘s ‘s champions cup defeat

to munster. a quick update on the other premier league games on the way. bryson, spurs and watford are all winning. a full update at 5:30pm. —— britain. —— brighton. at least 60 people have died in northern india after a commuter train ploughed into a crowd of people near the city of amritsar. hundreds of others have been injured. they were out celebrating an annual hindu festival and it's understood they did not hear the speeding train approach. jatinder dhillon reports. locals gather at the devastating scene where a high—speed train had ploughed into crowds the night before, leaving carnage. personal belongings strewn across the ground, a sign of the chaos as people tried to escape. this is the moment tragedy struck on friday evening. crowds had gathered to watch the annual hindu festival of dussehra, which marks the triumph of good over evil. hundreds of spectators were standing on the railway tracks and did not hear the train approach,

distracted by the burning effigy and the noise of exploding fireworks. children are amongst the dead. some managed to pull others to safety. translation: suddenly the train‘s come and i shouted. there were two boys. i pulled my nephew and saved him. many of the injured were taken to hospitals in other areas when the city's main hospital ran out of space. on saturday the punjab chief minister, amarinder singh, who postponed a trip to israel, visited those who had been badly injured, and has ordered an immediate enquiry. but the indian railway board denies any responsibility. translation: it was a manned level crossing on both sides, and the track was interlocked. this is a sad accident, but the railway is not responsible for this incident.

in a tweet, the indian prime minister, narendra modi, said he was extremely saddened by the accident, and described the tragedy as heart—wrenching. india's railway network — the fourth largest in the world — is poorly funded, and deadly accidents often occur. this latest tragedy has brought new demands for safety reforms. the government has announced compensation of $6,800 to the families of the victims, as a day of mourning is held across punjab state. jatinder dhillon, bbc news. two spacecraft have been launched on a mission to mercury by europe and japan. it's a joint project to reach the planet which is the closest to the sun — a journey that will take seven years. our science correspondent jonathan amos has more. the beginning of a very long journey.

bepicolombo is setting out on a 9 billion kilometre trek to the inner solar system. this is europe and japan's first mission to the planet mercury, and it will be hugely challenging. where the joint probes are headed, so close to the sun, it's as hot as a pizza oven. novel technologies must protect the spacecraft from the hellish conditions. scientists hope they'll make a raft of new discoveries. mercury is an oddball. it has an oversized iron core that no one has yet explained, and surface materials that shouldn't be there in so hot an environment. our current theories of solar system formation, including the earth and the other planets, can't explain mercury. it's an anomaly. so we need to go to mercury and find out more information about the planet so we can really understand how our solar system formed. british teams are heavily involved. they've built instrumentation and spacecraft components. the sun's immense gravity will pull hard on bepicolombo. this means the probes must be

careful not to go too fast and overshoot mercury. an arrival date has been set for 2025. jonathan amos, bbc news. rail passengers in the north of england are facing another weekend of disruption due to a long—running dispute over the role of guards on trains. northern rail says it will operate around 30% of services, and there won't be many trains running after six pm. members of the rmt union are planning further strikes for the next three saturdays — and there'll be a five days of action next tuesday on south western railway. around 1,000 protestors have been demonstrating outside the cuadrilla fracking site in blackpool. it follows the release of three men on wednesday — who had been jailed following a previous protest at the same site. our correspondent judy hobson is there. this rally is right in front of cuadrilla's fracking site. there are about 1,000 people here today.

right at the front of the march that we have just had were the three men who were jailed for causing a public nuisance here last year. they were lorry—surfing and they were jailed, but they had the jail sentence quashed and were freed on wednesday. one of the problems that people are saying here, it's not just against fracking, they are also protesting against climate change. they are saying they want the government to do more about it. but their concerns about fracking are that they don't think it's a safe industry. now, cuadrilla began fracking on monday. they say it is safe. they are saying that this is an important part of our energy mix. they say for the next 30, a0, 50 years this could be home—grown energy — a stopgap while renewables get up and running. people here say they don't want it, and they say they will carry on protesting until this industry is stopped. judy hobson in blackpool. ——julie

hobson. prince harry and meghan have attended the opening of the invictus games, for injured service personnel, at sydney opera house. the start of the ceremony, the latest stage of the couple's australian tour, was delayed by thunderstorms. our royal correspondent jonny dymond has more. the duke and duchess of sussex. in the shadow of sydney opera house, with the eyes of australia on him, the duke of sussex came to open the games that he'd created. 500 competitors from 18 different nations have come to this, the largest games yet. the duke spoke of a new generation of warriors, an invictus generation, their struggle for too long unrecognised. and he told the competitors here that they are an example to all. when all of you compete over the next week, remember that you do so not just for yourselves, not just for your families, not just for your nations. you are competing with different flags on your chests,

but you are competing together for one invictus generation. tonight in sydney, a triumphant celebration of life and perseverance. a week of fierce competition and even greater inspiration begins. jonny dymond, bbc news, sydney. almost a million people across the uk have taken part in beat the street — a free challenge which rewards competitors for exploring their town or city on foot or bicycle. the idea's to get people more active, and is currently being played in poole, weymouth, torbay, southwark and swindon. mike bushell has beento find out more. suddenly one day they appeared — nearly 200 grey boxes on lamp posts around swindon. ping. from a distance they might look like new parking meters, but when approached they make funny noises. fanfare.

they're not parking meters or anything of the sort. no, these are part of the beat the street game. 175 boxes have been put around swindon, just like this, and other towns and cities around the uk, so we can get out there and explore more our urban environment. and tap our cards on here, make it light up, and score points. and onto the next one. these little boxes have helped this family settle into their new home in swindon. they now go exploring after work and school, making friends with the place and people. ping. we are new here, but we don't have feelings like that. it encourages us to spend more family time together. i wasn't really encouraged by it, like, i thought it was boring, but once beat the street came i'm very competitive so i wanted to win. voiceover: your town is transforming into a giant, fun, free game... it's the brainchild of a doctor in berkshire who wanted to find a way to persuade his patients to be more active. and help from sport england, the national lottery and local

councils means the game is free to play. check your place on the leaderboard. you can win prizes. and help your team lead the way. many people, when they hear the word fitness or physical activity they think, i have tojoin a gym, i have tojoin a running club. and beat the street is meant to kind of bypass the barriers and show people that actually getting physically active is really simple and really fun at the same time. in swindon, this family are among the 30,000 who have been out finding the boxes, using the maps and swipe cards they got through the door. he loves it — it's something he can do. he can be a part of something that is completely mainstream. it brings the whole community together, you know? that's what i've seen. if you're not sure where a box is you can call a friend and be like, "have you seen this one on this road?" and it's like, "yeah, yeah, literally whereabouts are you? " and they will guide you that way. dumfries, one of the first towns to play the game, saw the number cycling go up by 19% and walking by 25% in the six weeks it was in town.

back in swindon, it has brought new members to the running club. pop out for a 30 minute walk into town, and two and a half hours later i came home. still looking for boxes? yeah. there's always the next box to find. it's notjust families and, say, running groups involved — there are now 68 schools around swindon, primary schools, playing the beat the street game. and they score ten points for their team, their school, if they can swipe the boxes with one of these tags. we've got to find the boxes first, though, haven't we? but it's notjust phones or apps, it's now the old—fashioned maps that they use as well to try to find them. so if we are there, what do you reckon, around this corner? oh, you know, don't you? you've been looking. glad i've got you by my side. right, let's go and find it and swipe for those points. ping. it makes a funny sound. like what? ding! when you find a box you get happy and then you just feel really proud. probably done over a mile already, haven't we, i think. we've still got another box to find, if you want to get those points. do you want to get those points?

a bit further? up for it? some boxes will score you a whopping 30 points — you just never know. and with the game soon coming to 59 more towns and cities, there is still a long way to go. mike bushell, bbc news, in swindon. a fireworks display in kent is being postponed so as not to disturb a beluga whale in the river thames. the whale, nicknamed benny, was first spotted in the river near gravesend on the 25th of september and shows no signs of wanting to leave. the fireworks were due to be set off from a barge in the thames on november the 2nd, but gravesham borough council says that benny's safety while he's in the gravesend area "must take priority". now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello there. it's been quite a sunny afternoon across parts of north—east scotland and also across much of england and wales.

but with clear skies in place across england and wales, temperatures will fall away quickly this evening and it will be a chilly night in the countryside — temperatures down to two or three degrees. at the same time, thicker cloud works into northern ireland and scotland, with some heavy rain working into the western isles and the highlands, the south—westerly wind ensuring it stays mild across these northern areas — temperatures 11 to 1a degrees. as i say, chilly in the countryside. further south, lows of two or three degrees in the countryside, and some mist and a few fog patches across the south to start the day on sunday. these will burn away with time to reveal some sunshine, the best of it across southern and eastern areas. outbreaks of rain in scotland and northern ireland push into northern england and wales whilst turning lighter and patchier as we head into the afternoon. the rain is brought in by a cold front, and behind our cold front it will be turning much cooler for northern ireland and also for scotland, compared with the weather we've seen today. that is your latest forecast. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines.

protestors calling for a referendum on the final brexit deal are marching through central london this afternoon, heading to a rally in parliament square. saudi arabia admits journalist jamal khaggogi was killed