tonight at 10, turkey takes military action against kurdish fighters in northern syria. president trump says it's a "bad idea". the turkish government says its aim is to create a so—called "safe zone" cleared of kurdish fighters, who they regard as terrorists. that area is needed for our safety and security for the syrian refugees to go back to, so they can go back to their normal lives and there is no vacuum to be filled by any terrorist network. many kurds were seen to flee the area. we report from the syrian border on the turkish assault. in the last half an hour or so, we've heard mortar fire and artillery rounds and there's been incoming mortarfire from across the border. the kurds say they've been betrayed by the americans, their allies in the fight

against the islamic state group. also tonight.. for the first time in nearly a0 years, the house of commons will sit in emergency session on a saturday, to try to resolve the brexit crisis. encouraging news for some thomas cook staff, as their high street shops are bought by an independent travel firm. and, at the rugby world cup, wales fight off a strong challenge by fiji to reach the quarter—finals. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news... scotland run in nine tries to thrash russia at the rugby world cup, to keep them in the running to qualify for the quarter—finals.

good evening. the long—planned turkish military operation in north—east syria has been launched, as kurdish forces, which control the area, report heavy air strikes and the start of a ground offensive, amid widespread panic. the turkish decision was prompted by president trump's announcement that us troops would withdraw from the region, where thousands of captured fighters from the islamic state group are being held by kurdish forces. president erdogan of turkey says his aim is to create a so—called "safe zone", cleared of kurdish fighters. the kurds were key allies of the us in defeating islamic state, and they say they've been betrayed by president trump. tonight, boris johnson spoke to mr trump, expressing concern about the risk of a humanitarian disaster in the region. live to our international correspondent, orla guerin, who's on the turkish—syrian border.

yes, within the past hour or so, we had that confirmation from the defence ministry here that the ground offensive is under way. turkey has moved very swiftly today, a unilateral action by a nato nation that has been widely condemned. britain has been expressing concern, saying that the turkish assault risks undermining the progress that has been made against the islamic state group and could destabilise the entire region. already tonight, we are getting reports from one monitoring group that at least ten syrian civilians have been killed. in syria, a new round of warfare. the town of ras al—ain under heavy bombardment, one of several just inside the border in the kurdish—controlled north—east. it's the start of a turkish offensive that is alarming europe, has been condemned by america and is bringing fresh instability to the middle east.

and, once again, syrian civilians forced to flee. a local journalist saw them go. thousands of people migrating to the south side. the turkish army are shelling by mortars everywhere. from across the border in turkey, we could see smoke rising in the town of tal abyad. the bbc understands turkish troops are now on the ground there. well, here at the border, we have been seeing and hearing the opening salvos in turkey's assault on north—eastern syria. in the last half an hour or so, we've heard mortar rounds and artillery fire and there has been incoming mortar fire from syria. president erdogan is calling this operation peace spring but, for civilians across the border on the syrian side, this is going to feel like one more round of battle in an agonisingly long war.

turkey says the aim of this offensive is to create a safe zone along its border and allow 2 million syrian refugees to go home. today, it was creating new ones. ankara also wants to drive out syrian kurdish forces it views as terrorists. that area is needed for our safety and security for the syrian refugees to go back to, so they can go back to their normal lives and there is no vacuum to be filled by any terrorist network, and also to make sure that syria is not divided territorially. but turkey's assault on the kurds could be costly. they've been crucial in the fight against islamic state and are holding 10,000 isil prisoners. now they'll have to focus on resisting turkey. tonight at the

border, rockets in the night sky. the invasion is well under way, is worried nations look on. 0rla guerin, bbc news, nearthe worried nations look on. 0rla guerin, bbc news, near the turkey— syria border. turkey's military operation — and the change of us strategy that preceded it — could have far—reaching implications for the region, which has been at the centre of the fight against the islamic state group. 0ur middle east editor, jeremy bowen, is here to look at the potential wider impact. turkey's president erdogan says that he's ordered the operation to close what he calls the corridor of terror along the turkish border. it's this strip of territory in north—eastern syria, and it might turn into a corridor of disaster if his critics — and enemies — are correct. several towns were hit in the first hours of the turkish offensive. that meant civilians were faced yet again with a terrible choice of abandoning their homes and risking

the dangers of the road, or staying in the firing line. in washington, president trump gave the green light to the turkish plan and says he's had enough of the region. the worst mistake that the united states has ever made, in my opinion, was going into the middle east. it's a quagmire. up to $8 trillion and we are bringing ourfolks back home. the turks have made their move because of the long and bitter battle with kurdish separatists. this was fighting in one of the mainly kurdish towns in eastern turkey in 2016. for the turks, the move into north—eastern syria is a continuation of that fight. kurdish separatists in turkey, the pkk, have strong connections with syrian kurds. the turkish state regards all the armed groups as terrorists. but it's much more complicated than

that, because of the fight against the jihadist extremists of islamic state. while the us, britain and others bombed the self—styled caliphate, as state were not recalled the territory it seized, most house—to—house contact was done by the same syrian kurdish fighters that turkey is now targeting as terrorists. since the caliphate was destroyed and recaptured, kurdish fighters, women serving alongside men, have been a key part of the battle against the remnants of is. thejob isn't battle against the remnants of is. the job isn't over. battle against the remnants of is. thejob isn't over. the battle against the remnants of is. the job isn't over. the caliphate battle against the remnants of is. thejob isn't over. the caliphate is gone but the ideology and sleeper cells remain. now, kurds of the sdf syrian democratic forces say they can't continue fighting is if they have to fight turkey, and is has potentially been handed a big opportunity. there's also a big question about is prisoners, most of

whom are guarded by kurds. with kurdish attention elsewhere, the dangers of a jailbreak could increase. the losers in this so far are likely to be the syrian kurds who fought with the americans and their western allies and now feel betrayed. russia, key allies of the assad regime in damascus, will be delighted to hear that president trump wants out of the middle east. and the risks now include an is revival, more misery for civilians, and a deeper destabilisation of a fragile land. jeremy bowen, our middle east editor, thank you. president trump has issued a statement saying the united states does not endorse the turkish attack and that he'd made clear to turkey it was a bad idea. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, is at the white house. when donald trump says it's a bad idea, does he actually mean it?

well, that's the central question he has to answer. if he thinks it was such a bad idea, why on sunday night did he agree in a phone call with president heard again and then put out a later that the long—awaited dash group a phone call with president erdogan that the assault would start soon and american troops wouldn't be in the way? all the time the troops were on the ground, there was not a chance president erdogan would have launched this offensive with the risk that american blood might be spilt, so the reach —— very few soldiers were keeping the peace, and has enraged many republicans as well as democrats. i've scoured social media to find supportive comments for what donald trump has done, and it's difficult to find any. the talk is of betrayal, what about our comrades in arms who fought with us, what happens to the prisoners, and also questions about the temperament of the president. what about the timing of this? what

about consultation? why has donald trump done this after one phone call and very little talking to military chiefs? in response to this hostility, donald trump has said, look, if president erdogan goes too far, america will act and flatten the turkish economy, and one of the reaction, short time ago, donald trump said of the kurds, apparently justifying why they didn't deserve total protection, they didn't help us total protection, they didn't help us in the second world war, they didn't help us with normandy. jon sopel with the latest from the white house. it's been confirmed that the house of commons will sit in emergency session on saturday the 19th of october to consider the way forward on brexit. the last time the house met on a saturday was during the falklands conflict, nearly a0 years ago. the session will take place a few days after the eu summit, widely seen as the last chance to agree a brexit deal before the deadline of october 31st. the former foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, told the bbc tonight that he feared a catastrophic

failure in statecraft from the eu, and accused them of failing to understand british politics. 0ur political editor, laura kuenssberg, reports. notjust her majesty will smell the new paint. a quick makeover before the week when the prime minister's political hopes might really do or die. because the biggest problem is not where to put the barriers, it's where they'll be drawn in the coming days. will there be a deal with the eu or not? speaking out for the first time like this since he left his job, the former foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, urged the eu to bend. well, i think we could be about to see a catastrophic failure in statecraft. not because of malevolence by the eu — i think they are sincere in wanting a deal — butjust because they haven't really understood what's happening in british politics right now. is it stubbornness? i don't think it is stubbornness.

i think it is a bureaucratic inertia that says this is all so difficult and so complicated. but the biggest mistake that we made in the brexit negotiations is when things get bad, you say, surely they couldn't get even worse than this — and they do. and i think that's true from the european‘ point of view — they think this is bad, just wait until what happens after boris wins an election. so he's written to his former counterparts in the eu to plead for a change of stance. it's ireland's call. if ireland chooses to take a statesman—like approach at this stage, there is a deal to be done. taoiseach, please. are there signs of any move? the irish leader will meet the prime minister tomorrow. he wants a deal but not on borisjohnson‘s terms. it is the position of the uk government that northern ireland must leave the eu customs union and must be part of the uk customs union, no matter what the people

of northern ireland think. that's their position at the moment, and that's one that is of great difficulty for us. and if it can't be done, the cabinet still claims we can leave the eu this month. we are going now into an important period, an important phase with the european council next week, but what i would say is that this government is focused on leaving on october the 31st, with or without a deal. whatever happens in brussels, the next day, on saturday the 19th of october, the prime minister's expected to call mps here to westminster for a historic sitting to thrash out what really happens next — deal or no deal. and if there is no agreement, mps have already changed the law to force him to delay. but he'll kick and scream to protest to try to avoid it and try to pin the blame on them. number ten will encounter resistance from the opposition if they try to avoid delay — whether sending two letters to the eu or refusing

to negotiate further. the prime minister has an opportunity on the 19th to announce he's obeyed the law, signed the letter, sent it off to brussels to ask for the extension, which will give us time to work out a sensible relationship with europe. 0ur politicians, though, have already had more than three years to do that. perhaps, though, now we are on the verge of decisive days. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. britain's largest independent travel agency, hays travel, has bought all of thomas cook's 555 high—street shops. the company, based in sunderland, says the deal brokered by the administrators could save thousands ofjobs. it's thought that some shops could reopen within days. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent coletta smith reports. there's been lots of tears, lots of anger. it'sjust been lonely, hasn't it? for the last two and a half weeks, thomas cook staff in hucknall have been living a nightmare. but today there are whispers of good news.

eventually, branch manager gemma gets through to the team at hays. it was on profit, yes. i'm actually sat with all of my team now, and they would all be happy to come back to the branch. brilliant, so is that it, then? is that kind of like a definite that the store's opening and we'll...? thank you for your help, bye—bye, bye! they're opening hucknall, and we've just got to all contact them! oh, god, yeah, that is amazing. hays have grown across the uk from their sunderland base and had 190 stores, but today they trebled that in a huge financial gamble. we're not a big corporate, we're a family business. we value and empower our staff like nobody else, and that's probably one of the main differentiators. 0vernight, hays have managed to buy access into really big chunks of the market in the uk. they've got presence now

in the east midlands, in scotland and in wales, as well as the north west of england. but it's a lot more concerning for staff in areas in yorkshire and in the north eeast, where there's now going to be two hays travels on high streets like this, within just a stone's throw of each other. but hays aren't lumbered with running an airline and hotels all over the world, and there is still a big appetite for package holidays — those who want a real person to deal with, young families, and those who want a fixed price whatever happens to the pound. and they're opening hucknall, and we can all have ourjobs back. and the staff have plenty of loyal customers who they think will be back through the doors now theirjobs and their lives are back on track. i can't believe it, i'm crying, yeah! colletta smith, bbc news, hucknall, in nottinghamshire. in the last hour, president trump has said us government officials will speak to anne sacoolas, an american national

with diplomatic immunity who is suspected of being involved in a fatal crash in northamptonshire in which a teenager died. mr trump acknowledged the "tremendous anger" over the incident in which harry dunn was killed near raf croughton. ms sacoolas later flew home to the united states. 0ur correspondent duncan kennedy reports. harry's parents, charlotte and tim, both wearing sunglasses, came to the foreign office hoping for answers. they say their son harry can only achieve justice in death if the american woman involved in his car crash comes back to the uk. but after spending half an hour with the foreign secretary, dominic raab, they say the meeting felt like a government publicity stunt. just disgusted, let down by both governments. just really frustrated that we could spend half an hour or more with him,

and we've come out with nothing. harry died here when his motorbike collided with a car thought to be travelling on the wrong side of the road. it was driven by anne sacoolas, the wife of an american diplomat. but soon after she flew back to the united states. today's news here at the foreign office is a real blow to the family. they'd already been told by the american state department that waiving diplomatic immunity is extremely rare, yet they came here in the hope that because this case was so serious that could have changed. tonight, in an extraordinary development, this case reached inside the white house, with president trump saying they want to make contact with mrs sacoolas. we're going to speak to her and see what we can come up with so that there can be some healing. there's tremendous anger over it, it's a terrible incident, there is tremendous anger, and i understand the anger

from the other side. this experience has hollowed out the emotions of harry's parents. they plan to travel to washington to try to meet president trump, to use his pressure, his influence for the sake of harry. duncan kennedy, bbc news. this week, we've been looking at the devastating impact of knife crime on young people and their families. figures given to the bbc show that, in london alone this year, there have been more than 3000 injuries caused in knife attacks. quite apart from the impact on the victims and their families, there can be serious effects on entire communities. in the third of his special reports on knife crime, clive myrie has been speaking to some of the people living in one borough of london that's been deeply affected by knife crime. the ripples of knife crime spread far. individuals may be wounded, but whole communities are damaged. there was members of staff

that were trying to massage this boy's heart, you know, outside our school, and they have never, ever recovered from that. the violence in a community breeds dread that your friend, your relative could be next. before, it always used to feel like it was really far away. but at this point, it feels like it's at home now. back in my day when we had a fight, fisticuffs, it was over in two days, you're finished, you know, you're 0k, you're friends again. but now people bring the blade. but there is hope. there are so many young people that are coming up and have got so much good to say and so much to do, and they're not being shown. we wanted to hear how one community in haringey in north london is coping. the borough has one of the highest rates of knife crime in the capital. these are the voices of teachers, a bus driver, social worker, a retired policewoman — ordinary citizens living in extraordinary times,

trying to do the right thing. i think about five, six years, we've lost, i think, three students. one was killed right outside our school gates. it impacted the whole school, from every member of staff that taught that student, through all those kids that even if they didn't know him very, very well, it had a very negative effect on our school in terms of how kids felt. we had to bring in lots of counsellors. people forget the wider impact it has on a community. my boys are still quite young, you know, seven and four, but there's definitely a concern, you know, living in london, inner city, everywhere you look there's gang culture, there's knife crime. you turn your head and, oh, someone else has been stabbed. i can think of three people that i know personally who have been stabbed. one of them ended fatally. and now i think it's kind of got to a point where whenever i hear things like that in the area,

i think, is it somebody that i know? the group, however, was keen to keep a sense of perspective. it is the minority that are doing the bad. it's the majority that are doing so well. and let's be clear, black children, our black boys, are not just rappers, and they're not just footballers, and they're not just athletes. they're doctors, they're lawyers, they're authors. they are so much more. but in london, more than half of male knife—crime offenders are black. our group feel a key part of the problem is the high rate of school exclusions among black boys. i had a group of year—11 boys. these guys were all big lads, big bruisers. but i remember this particular ta who was in my classroom. he was a middle—aged white guy. as far as i'm concerned, i'm seeing 15—year—old kids. he's seeing something different. so by the end of the lesson, he's like this. this is the teaching assistant. he's like this, he's shaking,

he's afraid. our kids are feared. can i say it? can ijust be blatant? if it's a white kid, big white kid, they're staying in the classroom. at this moment in london, it's young black men that are killing young black men, yeah? in other parts of the country, it's not young black men killing young black men. if everyone's got that fear of the young black man, if everybody‘s aspiration of the young black man is low, then what is that young black man going to ever be? because if no—one's inspiring you at home, if no—one's doing that in school, yeah, i tell you what — there's someone on that corner that will be doing it, yeah? and it's as simple as that. there is a sadness in this room — a seriousness too, that wider society beyond the communities directly affected by knife crime remain too complacent about what's going on. it isn't until we all wake up to the tragedies and the pain that real solutions can be found. clive myrie, bbc news.

in germany, at least two people have been killed and two others severely injured in a shooting near a synagogue in the east german city of halle. one person has been arrested. a gunman was seen wearing a military—style outfit carrying several weapons, according to witnesses. for the latest, let's join our correspondentjenny hill. yes, today halla was in a state of emergency, security services screaming through the streets responding to a series of shootings. tonight, by contrast, it is almost silent, people have been told it is 110w silent, people have been told it is now safe to leave their homes, they have been coming here over the last few hours to light candles for the victims of an attack which this evening germany's interior ministry has said was clearly motivated by anti—semitism. calm, deliberate, shattering the peace of a quiet city.

an eyewitness filmed as the gunman, dressed in combat gear, opened fire outside a synagogue in halle. he'd just tried and failed to shoot his way into the building. a woman was killed as she walked past. this man told us he came face—to—face with the gunman. "i saw a man wearing army clothes, with a gun over his shoulder," he says. "he was throwing things over the wall of the synagogue cemetery, and then there were two explosions." but he wasn't finished. not far from the synagogue, he attacked a kebab shop, killing a man inside. the gunman is believed to be a german, in his late 20s. he wore a head camera and streamed footage online. it's yom kippur, the jewish day of atonement. halle'sjews had to be escorted to safety. this evening, angela merkel joined worshippers in berlin. there is anger that,

unlike most otherjewish institutions in this country, there wasn't a police guard outside the building in halle. it's been a day of confusion and horror. people here have now been told they can leave their homes. the security services say these streets are safe. but after what happened here today, germany's jewish community may find that hard to believe. jenny hill, bbc news, halle. at the rugby world cup, wales and scotland have both enjoyed success today. scotland were runaway winners 61—0 against russia, while wales eventually triumphed in a challenging test, 29—17 against fiji. 0ur sports correspondent katie gornall has the latest from the tournament injapan. world cups are all about making your mark. so far, wales have made a good impression at this tournament. having beaten australia, a win against fiji would see them through to the knockout stages,

and then they can really start to dream of what might be. but alun wyn jones knew that fiji would demand their full attention. wales had ten days to prepare for this, yet they were undone after just four minutes. josua tuisova, the man they call the bus, was away, and there was no stopping him. fiji would race ten points clear before wales found their feet. josh adams with two tries to end the first half on a high. the lead would switch again in what was a bruising, brutal game, but wales eventually muscled their way through. this was for adams' hat—trick before liam williams gave them some much—needed breathing space with a bonus—point try. wales exhausted but still unbeaten. so wales survive a thriller against fiji to make the quarterfinals with a game to spare, while earlier the pressure was on scotland, as they knew only a win would do against russia. and scotland got off to the perfect start adam hastings, son of former captain gavin, settling any early nerves. russia needed a comeback but instead found only calamity.

a horrible slip gifted hastings another, and from there russia were run ragged, as scotland ran in nine tries to keep their world cup hopes alive. they now have to beat hosts japan in their final group game. however, organisers have yet to confirm what their plans are for dealing with an incoming typhoon, so no—one yet knows where, when or if scotland's game will go ahead. katy gornall, bbc news, injapan. that's it, now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm austin halewood. coming up on the programme. into the quarters. wales survive a scare against fiji to book their place in the last 8 of the rugby world cup. it's now all about a sunday

showdown for scotland against the hosts japan, after they run in nine tries against russia. and how one tweet has caused a diplomatic row between china and the united states, over basketball. good evening. wales are the latest team through to the quarter—finals of the rugby world cup injapan. but they had to go through a real battle to get there. they were pushed all the way by a ferocious fiji side in 0ita. eventually coming through as 29—17 winners, thanks to a hat—trick from wing josh adams. 0ur correspondent, katie gornall, watched the action.