this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa barak. the headlines at eight: theresa may fights back, saying replacing her as conservative leader wouldn't make the brexit negotiations any easier, and warns of a crucial week ahead. these next seven days are going to be critical. they are about the future of this country. it's about people's jobs, it's about their livelihoods, it's about the future for their children and grandchildren. the former wales rugby captain gareth thomas speaks out after suffering a homophobic attack in cardiff. there's a lot of people out there who want to hurt us, but unfortunately for them, there's a lot more that want to help us heal. so this, i hope, will be a positive message. president trump visits northern california, following the most devastating wildfires in the state's history. and at 10:30, the travel show goes to lebanon as beiruit tries to regain its reputation as the entertainment capital of the middle east. the european commission has

suggested that the post brexit transition period could be extended until new year's eve, 2022 — two years beyond the date originally indicated. it could cause more problems for theresa may from brexiteers in her government. the prime minister has said the next seven days are "critical" for the country. she is heading to brussels to discuss britain's future relationship with the eu. and she has warned those seeking to have her removed — that a change of leadership would not make brexit any easier. here's our chief political correspondent, vicki young. it is a crucial seven days for the country

and theresa may's future. she is sticking to her brexit plan, hoping to persuade mps that it is the right compromise, leaving the eu but protecting the economy. she will also head to brussels to personally lead last—minute negotiations. this isn't about me. it is actually about what is right for the people of this country, about what is in the national interest. that is what drives me and that is what i am being driven to deliver, that is what i want to deliver for people. the draft withdrawal agreement is a legally binding document laying out how the uk leaves the eu. there's also a much shorter political declaration containing a broad outline of our future relationship with the eu. the focus this week will be on the future relationship and when we we re in the house of commons, a number of members of parliament were saying they wanted more detail on the future relationship. that is what we are working on this week. the labour leader says his party won't back the deal she is proposing. you go back to europe

and say, "listen, our parliament does not agree with this and does not accept it, the people of this country don't." there are jobs on both sides of the channel at risk here. we need an agreement, a serious, central agreement and i believe the labour options are the series options are the serious ones that could achieve that. some cabinet ministers and dozens of tory mps aren't happy, either and the former brexit secretary says the deal is not right to the country. i do think we are being bullied, subject to what is pretty close to blackmail, frankly, for your viewers at home and i think there is a point at which it should have been done before where we just say, "i'm sorry, this is the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, we cannot accept those dictated terms". two things could destabilise the prime minister this week. brexiteer cabinet members want reassurance the uk will not be trapped in a customs arrangement against its will and if they don't get that clarification and resign, it is hard to see how theresa may can carry on.

the second threat comes from conservative mps trying to force a vote of no—confidence her leadership. only this man knows how close they are to getting the 48 letters required to trigger that. the rules are very clear, that if the threshold were to be reached, i would have to consult with the leader of the party. immediately? i think the whole thing is written with the intention it should be expeditious process. theresa may's message to her rebellious mps is that getting rid of her will not make eu negotiations any easier and won't change the parliamentary arithmetic. so let's take a look at the next steps in the brexit negotitations. in the run up to the end of this year theresa may says she hopes to meetjean claude juncker, president of the european commission, before the end of the week in brussels. we'll also be getting details of the political declaration — which sets out the framework for the future relationship

between the eu and the uk. now, that meeting comes ahead of an emergency eu summit in brussels, taking place next sunday. back here and we're expecting a parliamentary vote on the brexit agreement to take place next month. earlier, i spoke to our chief political correspondent, vicki young, who started by explaining the difference between the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration. the withdrawal agreement is about how we leave the european union, the divorce settlement if you like, the money we are going to pay, the rights of citizens and british people living abroad, and then you have the political declaration. we have seen the withdrawal agreement, it is over 550 pages long, very legal, it is all about how we come out of the european union,

and the political declaration will not be a legal document, t‘s only five pages long, it is much more aspirational, it is about what happens after the transitional period, what will our future relationship look like with the european union going into 2021, and it is not as detailed, i think that is what concerns a lot of conservative mps, that they will be agreeing for the uk to hand over £39 billion worth of money to the european union with no clear idea of where we are going and what the future relationship will look like. the prime minister was saying that this week the focus will be on the political declaration and putting more substance into it, which i think she thinks will win more of her mps. lots of stumbling blocks, though, ahead, that could derail the whole thing. i think the most pressing one, probably, is the cabinet ministers to did not leave, following dominic raab

so we have a group of 5 of them who are still unhappy and one clarification, particularly about this issue of the backstop, they are concerned that the uk will be stuck in a customs arrangement with the european union, and it can only be done in agreement with the european union, and they see that as a veto and the uk being forced to take laws and not have any say in them. if they do not get any clarification this week, they might resign. i think it would be difficult for the prime minister to carry on if all of the brexit ministers were to leave the cabinet, and the other thing is this push from some of her ministers to get rid of her as leader of the party. they have to get 48 letters sent in and at the moment there are 25 publicly who have declared to say they have done that, so it looks a ways off that there may be some people who have not gone public with it. you then get a no—confidence vote which could happen quickly, but then the prime minister

would need 152 mps to back her for her to stay in thatjob. i think most people think she could win. but it could happen, she could have dozens of mps voting against her and that could damage her credibility so much that she is unable to go on. speculating very quickly, if we do not get to that summit with an agreement, with signatures, the two possibilities, of course, are no deal, is there the chance that you could stop the clock and renegotiate? how likely is it that the european union would want to renegotiate? the prime minister first has to get to that vote in the commons. if she gets to that point, the arithmetic is not looking good at the moment, but i think she is looking at the alternatives, mps will swing behind it as the only option that they can really live with. that is crucial, what mps think the alternative is, and the prime minister says it is her deal or no deal,

meaning leaving without any of those things in place in march, but there is no majority in the house of commons for that. there would be lots of mps who will try lots of things to stop that from happening. it is not easy to do but if a vast majority do not want that to happen it is difficult for a government to push ahead. at that point there could be more resignations from the other wing of the party, so some will say that no deal is the other option, others will say a second referendum, and at the moment, the numbers are not there in the house of commons, but it could all shift and others are talking about a different arrangement whereby we mightjoin the european economic area, or stay in that, but leave the european union. no majority for that at the house of commons at the moment. i think this is helping the prime minister, the fact that the alternatives to what she is putting forward do not have a majority in the house of commons,

so i think it is helping her get through this. labour's alternative seems to say, go back and persuade negotiations at the last moment. there are not many people who think that is a very realistic alternative, so until someone comes up with a realistic alternative, i think she feels she has the best option and that is what she is putting on the table. let's get the view now from europe, and i'mjoined now by the german christian democrat mep elmar brok who's in northern germany. thank you forjoining us, we have heard from jean claude juncker, thank you forjoining us, we have heard from jean claudejuncker, his message from the eu. as it stands, as we go into a new week tomorrow, what is the message to the uk from the eu?

i have not had any proposal for... 95% of the withdrawal agreement has no problem in both parts, in the eu or the uk. it is the irish problem. the united kingdom will make a proposal of the customs union for the whole of the uk and discuss this as an insurance. it is a reassurance for ireland if anything else fails. they want a transitionary period, and a free trade agreement, many other things. it could make the customs union never work. the transition period and customs union would not be part of it. it will be not afterwards, to have a final

framework on a final agreement, therefore, i do not see why this is difficult. i can only imagine there are two parts, some who don't want brexit at all, and others who want a hard brexit. ithink brexit at all, and others who want a hard brexit. i think many people will try to limit the damage of brexit. we are having a problem with the sound, irresponsible position, could you clarify this point? what is irresponsible? it is irresponsible to throw such an agreement, because you do not want to have a deal at all. especially from the united kingdom, and also in europe. 0thers from the united kingdom, and also in europe. others who would like to vote no, in order to get a new referendum, not their brexit at all.

that is a very dangerous thing, therefore, the deal which is should be ratified, it could be in two or three years' time... unfortunately, we don't have the best line on face time, we will leave it there for now, but thank you forjoining us. and we'll find out how this story, and many others, are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are peter conradi, who's the europe editor for the sunday times, and the business journalist john crowley. the former captain of welsh rugby and the lions, gareth thomas, has been the victim of a homophobic hate crime in cardiff city centre. the ali—year—old, who came out as gay in 2009, appeared bruised in a video he posted on social media, where he thanked the police for their help. nicola smith reports. with 100 caps, gareth thomas is one

of the most recognisable favourites faces in rugby. he came out in 2009 and he has been a campaigner ever since, trying to tackle homophobia in the sport. last year he made a documentary about the problem in football and has recently been involved in a bid to change the law, to make homophobic chanting at football matches illegal. now he has taken to social media. to explain what happened to him last night. i want to make what i hope will be a positive video. last night and was the victim in my home city of a hate crime for my sexuality. i wanted to be positive because i wanted to say thank you to the police who were involved and were very helpful and allowed me to do restorative justice with the people who did this because they thought they could learn more that way than any other way and also to the people of cardiff who supported me and helped me, because there are a lot of people

out there who want to hurt us, but unfortunately for them, there are a lot more who want to help us heal, so this, i hope, will be a positive message. in the hours since, hundreds of people have shown support. one of his co—presenters sent her love, along with an actress. the former wales goalkeeper told him to keep being a role model. tonight, police have confirmed that a 16—year—old male admitted assault after an incident in cardiff city centre. they say that the teenager was apologetic. after a request by gareth thomas to use restorative justice, which police say encourages young people to be accountable for the consequences of their actions. nicola smith reporting there. and in the past few minutes the local police force defyd powys police have tweeted about this case. emergency workers in california

are still struggling to contain the wildfires that have devastated large areas of the state. at least 76 people are now known to have died, thousands of homes have been destroyed and the authorities say more than 1200 people remain unaccounted for. dave lee reports from california. from here, you can see the scale of this devastating blaze. and this is a glimpse of what it was like to be right in the very heart of it. this firefighter was tackling the blaze in southern california where three people are known to have died. in the north of the state, it is a far grimmer picture, where 76 people are now confirmed dead. many hundreds more are

still unaccounted for. local officials have admitted their data may be wrong. since last night, an additional five remains were recovered, bringing the total up to 76 human remains. in the town of paradise, some 12,000 structures were destroyed. most of them houses, leaving many wondering where they will go next. this school has now become an emergency shelter and this grandmother doesn't yet know the fate of her home. i have my frustrations. we don't know what is going on about school and what to do about school for the kids. medical services are down in paradise. what is going to happen? there's not a lot of information. president trump arrived in northern california on saturday. he was greeted by california's governor and governor—elect, two men who have publicly and strongly disagreed with the president over what they consider to be the cause of these raging fires. president trump has blamed bad forest management but experts say it is a combination of factors,

including climate change. as well as the many lives lost, many thousands more lives will be forever changed. even though paradise will be rebuilt, it is clear this town will never be the same. dave lee, bbc news, northern california. the headlines on bbc news: theresa may says replacing her as conservative leader wouldn't make the brexit negotiations any easier, and warns of a crucial week ahead. the former wales rugby captain gareth thomas speaks out, after suffering a homophobic attack in cardiff. president trump visits northern california, following the most devastating wildfires in the state's history. sport, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's azi farni. good evening.

they left it late but england got their revenge on the team that knocked them out of the world cup. two goals in the last 12 minutes of the match saw gareth southgate's side come back against croatia to win 2—1, and with it book their place in next year's nations league finals. john watson was watching the drama unfold at wembley. at wembley, there are reminders of england at old. this, the next step is garnished southgate —— gareth southgate wants to win. it would see them reach the finals of the nation ‘s league, the chance to contest silverware next summer. rahim stelling is eager to get them there. pena had an opportunity of islam, he could, and perhaps should have done better. —— an opportunity of his own. could ross barkley make the breakthrough? his effort went wide.

with the margins so small, when croatia scored, it was england facing relegation. time and to send for the reinforcements. kane poked the ball/ for the substitute to score. but england is needed another. it was heartbreak at the world cup last summer, the captain kane made sure of a different outcome this time, getting the ball over the line and his team, too. we are always improving and i think in those five matches you have seen since the summer, what we haven't done is sat on our laurels and said, we are happy with what we did at the world cup and that is it for the year. we will look forward to the european championships. we have wa nted european championships. we have wanted to keep improving and i think the players have shown that mentality as well. was there was some scepticism over the nutriment, england have benefited from testing themselves in a more competitive environment, with victories over

spain croatia. now, gareth southgate's side will get the chance to win the nation ‘s outright in portugal next summer. meanwhile in belfast there was heartbreak for northern ireland as they were beaten 2—1 by austria, after conceding with the last kick of the game. austria, who had already won the group, scored first, but corry evans hit back soon after with northern ireland's first goal in four matches. the home side looked like they were heading for a draw but valentino lazaro scored the winner in the 93rd minute. heartbreaking for northern ireland. northern ireland were already relegated from group b3, but defeat means they end the campaign without a single point. alexander zverev has stunned world number one novak djokovic at the atp finals in london to take the biggest win of his career. the 21—year—old german won in straight sets to take the season ending title for the first time. zverev has previously won just three masters titles but he swept aside roger federer en route to the final.

he looked comfortable from the start, breaking djokovic in the ninth game of the first set, serving out to take it 6—4. that was first set that djokovic had lost this week. and zverev immedietely broke him in the second, leaving the top seed with a mountain to climb, going on to win the second set 6—3. zverev is the youngest to win the title since djokovic won at the same age in shanghai in 2008. and afterwards, zverev paid tribute to the world number one. everybody knows how good a tennis player you are, but i want to mention how good a person you are as well. we had so many talks, not only about tennis but about other stuff, about life. you are also very good sharer in this world. i appreciate you sharing titles with me and matches as well. obviously you could win any match that you want but i appreciate you letting me win one today. england and defending champions

west indies have already qualified for the semi—finals of the women's world twenty20 but they are playing each other this evening to determine who they will face there. the winners will come up against australia, with the losers meeting india. west indies won the toss and decided to field. england lost danielle wyatt for just 1. a few moments ago england were 2a for 2. you can follow it all with in—play highlights on the bbc sport website & app and there's commentary on bbc radio 5 live sports extra that's all the sport for now. just some breaking news from the met police, four people have been stabbed. police were called to edmontonjust stabbed. police were called to edmonton just before 6pm this evening. there were reports of a

fight, officers attended as well as london ambulance services. four men, all in their 20s, were found with sta b all in their 20s, were found with stab wins, they have been taken to north london hospitals. we don't know about their condition just yet. further detail, they understand that two vehicles were in a collision and they were found at the scene of the stabbing. the area is currently a crime scene, around the fraser haque road area in edmonton. four people in their 20s stabbed in edmonton and taken to hospital, north london hospital. —— fraser road. more information as and when we get it. president trump has said it's premature to conclude that saudia arabia's crown prince, mohmmed bin salman, ordered the murder of the journalist, jamal khashoggi. he was killed last month at the saudi consulate in istanbul. mr trump said he'd been "fully briefed" on an audio recording of the murder, provided by the turkish authorities. but he told fox news that he had not listened to it himself... we have the tape.

i don't want to hear the tape, no reason for me to hear the tape. why don't you want to? but i've been fully briefed. why don't you want to hear it, sir? because it's a suffering tape. it's a terrible tape. i've been fully briefed on it. there's no reason for me to hear it. in fact, i said to the people, "should i?" they said, "you really shouldn't, there's no reason". i know exactly, i know everything that went on in the tape without having to hear it. and what happened? it was very violent, very vicious and terrible. a murderer has escaped from prison in sussex. 56—year—old jeremy braybrooke absconded from ford prison and was seen on cctv at st faith's church in havant, hampshire, on friday. anyone who see's him has been asked to call the police on 999. nine migrants from iran have been found clambering over rocks near folkestone in kent after crossing from france in a small boat. 57 migrants have been discovered in the area over the past week having crossed the channel. there are warnings that it's

only a matter of time before somebody dies. simonjones reports. coastguard and border force officials bring its motor back to shore. the migrants once again risking their lives crossing the busiest shipping lane in the world to get to britain. the people on board the boat called the police just before seven o'clock this morning saying they were in difficulty but they didn't know exactly where they were. a huge search was launched but around 45 minutes later, the migrants were discovered clambering up the rocks here towards the shore. the fact is that, you know, the desperate people clinging to rocks in folkestone are desperate and they are vulnerable to international criminal gangs who will tell them anything to take their money off them. on tuesday, 17 migrants sailed into dover on a fishing boat, the one with the green hull, stolen from bologna. the next day, three separate boats carrying a total of 2a migrants were found. several more people were discovered on friday. it's thought some may be making

a last attempt to get across before winter arrives. i think it's got to be controlled. it's got to be planned, whoever‘s send them across and all. and the timing, to me, is this about brexit? is it that they think we're going to shut the door? and it's a big rush now to get into the country and all? the home office says it has stepped up patrols along the coast, but the reality is that did nothing to deter the nine people from iran who arrived here this morning. they have now been handed over to immigration officials. they are unlikely to be the last. a criminal investigation is under way, but experts are warning that it's only a matter of time before someone loses their life. a body believed to be that of a migrant has been found trapped underneath a bus in the eurotunnel. kent police and the fire and rescue service were called to the terminal in folkestone and the person was declared dead at the scene. enquiries are ongoing and the death is not being treated as suspicious. the government's confirmed plans

for students in england to be offered the option of "accelerated" two—year degree courses. it's proposing that universities would be able to charge higherfees for shorter, more intensive courses. they'll cost about 20% less in total than a traditional three year course. but the higher annual fee of £11,000 would have to be approved by parliament. richard lister reports. a—level results day. many of these sixth formers will now have started university, most on three—year courses. but the two—year option now given government backing will be a cheaper alternative. courses currently cost on average about £9,000 per year. under the new system, you would pay higher annual fees of £11,000 but forjust two years, a saving of around £5,500 overall. these are students in london are all on three—year courses.

what would they think studying for just two years? i do like the idea because obviously, you have a lot of spare time when you often feel a bit lost, how do you feel the time? i like the idea, definitely. people should get the choice of whether they want to rush through their degree and get into work or take more time to explore their opportunities. i think as a matter of fact, the three years really give you a chance to explore different things. you have time and especially if you do history of philosophy, you have a lot of hours that are free. this is your chance to explore so many different dimensions of yourself in the world around you. the plan requires legislation and it is not clear when that might go forward but ministers think it should. the government believes two—year courses will make universities more accessible, in particular for mature students and those with families. it believes that within ten years, up to 5% of all undergraduates could be doing two—year courses. but british universities have centuries of tradition behind them and one lecturers union has warned that

two—year courses could undermine their international reputation. richard lister, bbc news. the actorjohn bluthal has died at the age of 89. he was best known for playing the likable but dull parish council secretary frank pickle in the vicar of dibley. i need to hear a little bit for levels, tell us what you had for breakfast. toast. yes. i need a little bit more than that so just make something up, let your imagination run wild. wild? great. two pieces of toast. its star dawn french paid tribute on social media, saying "cheeky, naughty, hilarious. bye, darlin bluey." john bluthal also appeared in carry on films and worked regularly with spike milligan.