tonight at ten — hundreds more officers on the streets on london after four fatal stabbings in less than a week. more tributes were left today for the 15—year—old killed last week. none of the four stabbings were connected. the surge in violence has raised new questions about cuts in police numbers in recent years as officers focus on the latest crimes. each and every one of those tragic murders affects families, affects friends and acquaintances, and i can't imagine the emotions and the distress they must be going through. we'll have the latest as the mayor of london warns it could take a decade to sort out the city's crime problem. also tonight... in iran, mass demonstrations as the us reimposes economic sanctions, demanding a change of course from the iranian government. the library run by volunteers because of council spending cuts — we look at the crisis for some local authorities. president trump on the stump on the eve of the mid—term elections, the first big electoral test of his presidency.

though the battle is for control of congress, this is a referendum on donald trump's presidency, and it looks like turnout will be exceptionally high. and remembrance at the tower of london — the new art installation to mark the centenary of the armistice. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news... huddersfield score at home for the first time this season, but is it enough to see off fulham in the premier league? good evening.

after the fourth fatal stabbing in london in less than a week, the city's mayor has warned it could take a decade to bring knife crime under control. in the past week, two men and two teenage boys have been stabbed to death. the rise in violent crime has provoked a new debate about cuts in police numbers in england and wales. so far this year, 118 people have been killed in london. 73 of those deaths were caused by fatal knife attacks. more than a third of all recorded knife crime in england and wales happens in london. as our home editor mark easton explains, the changing nature of london's gang culture is also a majorfactor. hundreds of extra police are on the streets of the capital tonight as officers respond to a wave of deadly stabbings thought to be driven by drug gangs. this arrest in a graveyard is connected to the latest killing in croydon. tragically we have had four murders since the middle of last week across a number of boroughs, none of them connected. and each and every one of those tragic murders affects families, it affects friends and acquaintances,

and i can't imagine the emotions and the distress they must be going through. my heart does go out to them. london's gangs have changed. where once it was largely about territory and tribes, now it's about drugs and profits. they are organised, business driven, secretive and ruthless. these men are on the way to a murder. a conventional map of london shows borough boundaries and familiar neighbourhoods, but there is another hidden map of gang alliances and rivalries. in waltham forest for instance, academics have plotted the territories of 12 gangs including a new alliance of the established beaumont crew with the feared mali boys, a secretive gang thought to be headed by men of somali origin. at the centre of their territory is vallentin road. vallentin road been described as the most violent street in britain with over 100 serious crimes, including two murders recorded by the police here injust the last two years alone.

this is the unlikely front line in a turf war between organised crime gangs wanting control of lucrative drug markets. we have had this significant shift away from it being about respect and grudges between pockets of young people and into something that is more closely related to very organised networks of people supplying drugs on the street and being very focused on money and seeking to be more underground. the murder of 20—year—old lewis elwin, stabbed to death outside a south—west london primary school in 2016, has never been solved. his brother aaron has been campaigning for more to be done to stop gangs recruiting impressionable young men and women. the gangs are in the schools, they are in the colleges. there are some people who even have to change schools just

because the gangs are waiting outside the schools, so they really have to have a look at what is going on. even if you don't want to be a part of it, you are part of it, from when you wear a tracksuit and you look like them, you are part of it. it is notjust the black culture, the caribbean culture, the african culture, it's everyone and it's notjust london, it's in the uk. the murder rate in london is actually similar to last year but 118 homicides in the capital since january represents a huge political as well as policing challenge. we are working together to try and find a wraparound approach to this subject because it can't just be about arresting people. we want to stop young people getting into harm in the first place. some blame cuts to police and council budgets, but here in glasgow where gang violence has decreased massively, they suggest treating it like a virus, implementing early intervention measures to solve the problem for the long—term. their advice to us is we are not going to solve this overnight. it took them more than ten years to solve this issue and they say

we have got to focus on a generation and the reality is it may be a generation before we get to levels of violent crime that are acceptable. tonight in clapham, a vigil at the spot where 17—year—old malcolm mide—madariola was stabbed to death last friday afternoon. two teenage boys have been arrested. but few believe we can arrest our way to beating criminal gangs who are becoming more sophisticated and more callous. mark easton, bbc news, london. the trump administration has warned that the iranian economy will collapse unless the government in tehran changes its policies. the united states has reimposed sweeping economic sanctions following persistent claims from president trump that iran has violated an agreement to limit its nuclear programme and is destabilising the region. the uk has criticised the american decision and says it will carry on trading with iran. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. across iran today they tested

their air defences, and annual their air defences, an annual display of military prowess which happens to coincide with the moment american sanctions came back into force. translation: we are in a situation of economic war confronting a bullying power, and we will proudly bypass your illegal and unjust sanctions. in tehran, protesters burned the american flag in a familiar ritual, but the sanctions on oil, banks and shipping are expecting to make it harder for people to buy food, fuel and medicine in a country already suffering economic hardship. these sanctions had been lifted ina ground—breaking dealfour years ago, when iran agreed to limit its nuclear programme in return for more trade with the west. but donald trump claims iran has not kept its word and calls it the largest state sponsor

of terrorism using the money it's raised through trade to destabilise the region. by, for example, supporting terrorist militias in syria and yemen. acting in ways that threaten american allies. for a few months, iran will be able to keep selling some of its oil to a few countries including china and india to avoid destabilising the market. but the us is clear about what it wants. the islamic republic of iran is the destabilising force in the middle east today. the iranian regime has a choice, it can do a 180 degrees turn from its current course of action and act like a normal country, or it can see its economy crumble. the question is how much these sanctions will also hit british and european businesses. firms like rolls—royce and airbus that have worked closely with iran in the past. some financial firms could also be hit.

the eu does have a plan to try and help companies avoid sanctions. but many have already pulled out for fear of losing their trade with the us. the government is disappointed by the actions taken by the united states, although it's no surprise. the action we are taking is to maintain a position within an agreement which the iranians are sticking to and we believe we should stick to as well. we do not agree with the concerns the united states have about iranian behaviour. we just think there's a different way to go about it. so there are deep divisions between europe and the united states over this whole approach to iran. the fear amongst some diplomats is that in the face of all these sanctions, iran — instead of improving its behaviour — simply hunkers down and perhaps even steps up its nuclear programme. the one thing that is clear is life for people in iran is about to get harder. east sussex county council has said it can no longer provide basic services and it's outlined plans to reduce them to the legal minimum because of severe

financial problems. roads, libraries and social work will all lose funding under the proposals from the conservative—controlled council and there are fears other authorities could face the same decisions, as our political correspondent alex forsyth reports. there's a story behind this library. i think it's really cool. not yet officially open, these children are getting a sneak preview. i think it's the best library i've ever seen in my whole life. this library is run entirely by volunteers in premises donated by a local shopping centre. they stepped in when the council library closed due to cuts. there is a wonderful feel about having a library that is being run by the community and we are very lucky in that regard here in langley, but the bottom line is the funding for libraries and community services. balancing the books is a problem for county councils across england who have faced budget cuts

and rising demand for social care. here in east sussex, the council plans to only offer essential services — that would mean less money for highways, further cuts to the library service, slower assessments for children with special educational needs, and less preventative work in children's social services. but i think it's important that we give the government the evidence that they need. the council says, unless it gets more government funding, it will only be able to provide the bare minimum for the most vulnerable. clearly, we are having to make really, really difficult decisions. as allowed by government, but it clearly doesn't take into account the increase in demographics and cost of providing those services. in last week's budget, the government gave an extra £650 million to councils to help with the costs of social care and more money for roads, and they're working on a whole new funding system, but many councils say they need more support

and are watching what happens here in east sussex to see if they might follow suit. for the people who rely on support services like these carers, it's a worrying time. michelle's partner has multiple sclerosis. social services helped us for a very short time, and then that was that. donna's mum has alzheimer's. she looks after her along with her sister. you're given that help and then nothing, so you feel abandoned. nobody understands, unless you are a carer yourself. chris's son has severe learning disabilities. at two o'clock in the morning it's you and the person you care for against the world, and that's very, very dispiriting, it's very lonely. they rely on this charity in east sussex to fill the gap left by shrinking services. their story is familiar as councils across the country continue to struggle.

alex forsyth, bbc news, eastbourne. a man from gloucester has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 29 years after admitting the murder of his wife and step—daughter. prosecutors said christopher boon killed laura mortimer after she returned home from a night out in may. he then attacked ella dalby, who was 11, as she tried to save her mother. michelin is to close its tyre factory in dundee, with the loss of around 850 jobs, after confirming that it would leave the city by 2020. michelin said the dundee site, which opened in 1971 and specialised in smaller tyres, had suffered because of a shift in the market towards low—cost products from asia. amerian voters are set to elect new members of congress american voters are set to elect new members of congress and in the process they'll deliver the biggest verdict on donald trump's presidency since he was elected two years ago. they're known as the ‘mid—term' elections and they'll decide

who controls the two chambers of the us congress — which pass laws to enact the president's policies and can also block his senior appointments. 35 out of 100 seats in the senate are being contested. but all 435 seats in the house of representatives are up for election. donald trump's republicans currently have a majority in each but the democrats hope they can win the seats needed to take control of at least one chamber. more than 30 million people have already cast their votes. as our north america editorjon sopel reports, the result will have significant consequences for us policy in the next two years. his name is not on the ballot anywhere across the united states, but the forthcoming elections are all about donald trump. he has put himself at the absolute centre of this campaign, hurtling around the country energetically. and so it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the results of tomorrow's midterm elections will be a referendum on his presidency.

today he was in ohio. everything we have created and achieved is at stake on election day, it is. if the radical democrats take power, they will take a wrecking ball to our economy and to our future. the issue that has grabbed more attention than any other is this, the caravan of immigrants making their way up from central america and heading towards the us border. the president has deployed thousands of troops and fearsome rhetoric. america is about to be invaded, he says. fear mongering, say his opponents. getting fewer headlines is health care, but arguably of far greater concern to many more americans. the administration stands accused of watering down people's ability to get insurance cover if they have pre—existing conditions. the democrats in this climate are struggling to find their voice and so they are relying on someone who seems to have lost his. if you vote, you might save a life.

that is pretty well the way it happens. barack 0bama was today campaigning today in virginia and has been the one democrat still able to draw a crowd and enthuse supporters. health care for millions is on the ballot. a fair shake for working families is on the ballot. and most importantly, the character of our nation is on the ballot. the numbers turning up at rallies, the numbers turning out to vote early, are extraordinary. these are midterm elections like no other. and we can talk tojon now at the white house. like no other, just underlined for us like no other, just underlined for us what is at stake in these elections. a huge amount. just take the language that donald trump has used over the caravan. lots of

republicans on his own side have said this is a misjudgement, we should be talking about the economy, and you are almost racist in some of the things you are saying. just imagine the republicans keep control of the house of representatives and the senate, he will feel total vindication. if he wants to shut down the investigation into russia, if he wants to pull america out of nato, if he wants to build that war on the southern border, who will be the republican who dares stand up to him and says you are wrong? i think it will be very hard, i think donald trump will be able to do exactly what he likes without hindrance. but if the democrats do well and they ta ke if the democrats do well and they take the house of representatives, which they might do, it is a com pletely which they might do, it is a completely different story. they will wrap the white house up in red tape, they will be demanding documents, they will demand donald trump's tax returns, they will demand evidence of why they

appointed brett cover not to the supreme court and donald trump's effo rts supreme court and donald trump's efforts will get thwarted all the way. it is not unreasonable to say that the future direction of the united states of america is that states in these midterm elections tomorrow. as for a prediction on the outcome, we were here two years ago and it did not work out so well. we will talk again tomorrow. we will talk again tomorrow. and you can find much more on the us midterm elections on our website, and you'll be able to follow the results there after the polls close tomorrow night. follow the links for the background. the prime minister and home secretary have both expressed their anger and disgust at images published online which show a group of people burning a cardboard model of grenfell tower and cheering at a bonfire party. the metropolitan police is studying the images and is looking into whether any crimes have been committed. this is one frame of what was shown the bbc is not showing the full video because the grenfell

families say they find it extremely upsetting. 72 people died in the grenfell tower fire in west london in june last year. daniel sandford, our home affairs correspondent, is here. the response has been very strong and understandably so. the grenfell united group of families and survivors have called the video a disgusting and hateful and inoffensive to everyone who was affected by the fire that night and have asked the police to take it very seriously. what you see is a group of people in a back garden, sitting around a fire, having a few drinks. they have got a tall cardboard box and they put the label g re nfell tower cardboard box and they put the label grenfell tower on it and there is a crude cutout of people, some of them painted brown, at the windows of the tower. everyone is laughing and saying things like, help me, help me

jump saying things like, help me, help me jump out of the window. 0r stay in your flat, we are coming to get you. they take the model of the tower they have made and they put it on their fire they have made and they put it on theirfire and they have made and they put it on their fire and burn they have made and they put it on theirfire and burn it. the video, which has been widely shared on social media, has provoked a very high—level response. the prime minister said was utterly disrespectful and the government has urged people not to share it on social media. the home secretary treated this is disgusting, shameful behaviour, these people are a disgrace. commander stuart cundy, the police officer leading the investigation, called the video callous and said his officers would be investigated in case any crimes had been committed and he said they we re had been committed and he said they were taking it very seriously. daniel sandford, our home affairs correspondent. daniel sandford, our home affairs correspondent. a look at some of the day's other main stories. brittany ferries says british holiday—makers are delaying booking channel crossings for next summer because of concerns about the impact of brexit.

the french firm says forward bookings are down from some of its regular customers. it says the decline in bookings was raising a red flag about the consequences of a no—deal scenario. the zizzi restaurant in salisbury that was shut following the russian chemical attack in the city is to reopen tomorrow with all proceeds on the day going to charity. sergei and yulia skripal ate at zizzi hours before they were discovered unconscious on a nearby bench in march. the restaurant has since been given a clean bill of health after extensive cleaning and testing by specialist teams. people in england are being told to cut back on alcohol, fat, sugar and salt in a bid to boost the nation's life expectancy by five years by 2035. the health secretary, matt hancock, has warned that the nhs in england will not be sustainable without what he called a "radical shift" towards preventing disease and illness. theresa may is due to brief cabinet colleagues tomorrow on the latest state of the brexit talks

following her phone call today with her irish counterpart leo va radkar. the uk has been warned by ireland to stand by its commitments specifically on avoiding a hard border between northern ireland and the republic, even if there's no brexit trade agreement. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg is in downing street. what is the latest state of play? at a reception in westminster tonight theresa may joke a reception in westminster tonight theresa mayjoke about brexit as the b word. while it is not a swear word around here, it is an enormous challenge on almost every front. another reminderfrom challenge on almost every front. another reminder from the irish leader today that he and the rest of the eu will not accept that so—called backstop to guarantee a return to a hard order in ireland whatever happens if it has some kind of time limit or shelf limits on it, and not also if the uk can tear it up and not also if the uk can tear it up when they feel like it. the

problem is that is exactly what some of the ministers who gathered here with theresa may want. they fear that if the uk signed up to the backstop without the way of getting out of it, when the uk decides it wa nts to, out of it, when the uk decides it wants to, and without some kind of finality, britain could potentially be locked in some kind of limbo, never really quite leaving the european union, and still being tucked in and having to obey its rules and regulations. and there are equally strong views on the other side of the cabinet table and there are ministers who believe if there is not some kind of a deal, if there is not some kind of a deal, if there is not some kind of a deal, if there is not what compromise, the government could potentially unleash some kind of genuine emergency situation if there is no deal and britain leaves without the transition period and without anything in place. but we are at that point now where there are ingredients for a deal and they are pretty much there on the table, but what is required is for the politics

in westminster and in brussels to snap into place. that could almost happen at any moment, but what theresa may well knows and health ministers will be facing her with tomorrow morning as well, if she cannot carry the cabinet with her, she can forget about the rest of the continent. laura kuenssberg with the latest on brexit at westminster. laura kuenssberg with the latest on brexit at westminster. some headteachers are describing schools in england as the fourth emergency service, ?looking after children's welfare and mental health while budgets are under pressure from rising costs and pupil numbers. ?the struggle to reconcile all these challenges is laid bare in a new bbc two documentary series which begins by looking at the hard financial decisions facing school leaders. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys sent this report from south gloucestershire. an ordinary secondary school facing ordinary problems. the school's vision, i think, will have to change and adapt in the future. i suspect there are definitely some things that you and your counterparts will have spent time on this year that we can... following the chief executive trying to solve them.

i do have to balance the budget, and i do have to make sure that the organisation is effective. one of the things that is having a real impact on... hearing about the challenges in the classroom. ..in that, as classroom teachers, i feel that we are now picking up more and more issues, pastoral issues. do you mind if i answer that? yeah, of course. we are in learning support, and we're picking up lots of children with emotional and social problems. and the financial pressures. at a meeting where senior teachers are told theirjobs are being downgraded. they face a pay cut of up to £6,000 per year to help balance this school's books. in terms of feedback for the consultation process, i think it sucked, as a word. yes. you restructure, that's going to have a massive impact on what we can provide for students, which is going to have a massive impact on results, and yet that's what we're here for. it's going to have a massive effect on these people in the room. that's going to have a massive effect on the students that we teach, day in, day out.

is everybody ready for it? i'm just worried about that, really. for example, this music room, every time it rains heavily in the winter, that happens quite a lot. you've got a huge hole in the roof there. will roberts showed me the wear and tear in one of the buildings. as chief executive, he manages the budget for seven schools. there's nothing we can do about it other than replacing the building and we simply don't have the funds to do that. these schools are in a part of england that for many years has had less money. it's meant to be getting a bigger share as part of changes that are under way. but even with that extra funding, all the demands and cost pressures that schools face mean it's increasingly difficult to balance their budgets. if we have to save any more money, we're going to have to be honest about what we can provide in return. there's no more efficiencies or savings that we can make without saying to parents that actually we can't do everything that we've done in the past.

you might want to think about adding the other sport guys as well... for each pupil, less is spent in school than eight years ago. the government says they're still getting more than ever before, and it will decide about longer term funding next year. branwen jefferies, bbc news, south gloucestershire. and you can see that programme school tomorrow night at 9pm on bbc two. thousands of flames have been lit for a second night at the tower of london to mark the centenary of the end of the first world war. the installation called beyond the deepening shadow will run each night until armistice day, november 11th. our special correspondent allan little reports on how britain's understanding of the war and its consequences has been transformed over the past century. no war in history had demanded so much, mobilised so many or killed in such numbers.

and when it was over, the men who fought it began asking questions that have never gone away. what was it for? and was it worth it? we remember them now, with public reverence, but the way that we think about the war they fought has changed dramatically in the 100 years since it ended. this is dryburgh abbey in the scottish borders, where britain's military commander, earl douglas haig is buried. when he died ten years after the war ended, he was a venerated public figure. the architect of victory and national salvation. his funeral procession in both london and edinburgh drew more than 1 million people to the streets. haig's reputation has risen and fallen over the century, as each new generation reinterprets the first world war in the light of its own values.

by the 1960s, haig was not a national hero any more, he was a public villain, the butcher of the somme who had sent hundreds of thousands of young men to their deaths needlessly. in this version, the war was, above all, futile. in 1917, the war poets wilfred 0wen and siegfried sassoon met here at craiglockhart war hospital in edinburgh. but it wasn't until the 19605 — the age of emerging youth culture, vietnam and anti—war sentiment — that their depiction of the horror and pity of the war gained widespread popular attraction. it's timed well both in terms of the cultural narrative, but also the military political scene within the world at that time. and all of those things have come colliding together and given 0wen a renaissance and a rebirth, and a message of futility really strong in people's narrative at that time. the britain that emerged from the armistice would never be the same. the war had had a powerful, democratising effect, for the men who fought it came home

to demand a new place in society for the common citizen. we were promised land for heroes to live in and all that sort of thing. but when we came home, we found nothing. there was no cheering, no singing. we were drained of all emotion, really. that's what it amounted to, you see. they started marching around the camp singing out, "we want food! we want money! " the government was obviously very concerned about what would happen when the guys came back, particularly because the labour party had grown, and then there'd be the russian revolution in 1917, so they were really scared there would be some socialist uprising. but the term citizenship comes into use in the 1920s and 19305, which never had been before, because the british were subjects