today at 5. borisjohnson, and the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, say they can "see a pathway", to a possible brexit deal. following more than two hours of talks, the leaders said they believed a deal was "in everybody‘s interests". we'll have the latest on the brexit negotiations. the other main stories, on bbc news at 5. turkey steps up heavy tens of thousands of civilians flee their homes in northern syria, artillery and air attacks on the kurds, in syria. as turkish forces continue thousands of civilians their advance across the border. are reported to have fled. there've been fierce clashes we have seen turkish shelling with kurdish fighters throughout the morning on the syrian in north eastern syria, town and village, behind me. as turkey bombarded towns you can probably see with airstrikes and artillery. the columns of smoke, but the kurds are firing back. rising on the horizon. turkey says a number of civilians have been killed and dozens injured after the crash which killed teenager harry dunn, the suspect — in its border towns. claiming diplomatic immunity — well, within the last few minutes will not return to the uk, say here, there have been three very briefing notes for president trump. loud blasts close to us.

we could hear them, we could feel ban snacking on public transport them and, instantly, to help tackle childhood obesity, there were scenes of panic in the streets, of people says england's outgoing running for their lives. chief medical officer. tonight, kurdish forces say some of the islamic state fighters held and england's rugby world cup match against france is cancelled, in syria will be moved to other due to an approaching typhoon. prisons, amid fears they might escape. scotland waits to hear we'll be live from the border. if its sunday match, also tonight: against japan, will go ahead. a pathway to a brexit deal is still possible say borisjohnson and his irish counterpart leo veradkar after crunch talks. it's 5pm, and our main story is that borisjohnson and the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, have said they can see a "pathway to a possible deal", on brexit. they released a joint statement, after holding talks on how to avoid a hard border in ireland, saying it was "in everybody‘s interest" to reach a deal. it comes just days after european leaders expressed pessimism about a deal being done, by the end of the month.

the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, said his party was ready for a general election, once it was clear that a no—deal brexit was off the table. our political correspondent, jessica parker, reports. doing a deal isn't always easy. these two men know that, and it hasn't been all smiles recently, but following today's talks, in the north west of england, the pair agreed that they could see a pathway to a possible deal. the reason the prime minister's meeting leo varadkar isn't simply just to have a social conversation. they're seriously focused, on trying to resolve this issue and trying to get a deal. the issue being this — how to keep the irish border free and flowing, how close trade ties need to be, in order to make that happen. now, in just one week from today, there's that crunch eu summit, where borisjohnson has said he hopes to finalise a deal with brussels. three weeks from today, the uk is due to leave the european union. and, as things stand,

the two sides seem far apart, while the deadline is closing in. this former chancellor, the latest to offer up some ideas of his own, about how to get an agreement. but is a brexit delay now inevitable, after mps passed a law, designed to prevent a no deal departure? yes, i think the government will comply with the benn act on october 19 and i think that the eu will grant an extension. the challenge now, for us, is to demonstrate the well of ideas has not run dry, just because the proposal on the table is not going to fly does not mean we shouldn't look at other versions of a deal. cheering. but he has got different ideas, on what to prioritise, if an extension is secured. a message to borisjohnson, that labour is eagre for a snap election. take no deal off the table and then... let's have the election. we're ready, we're ready.

there is only one reason it hasn't happened yet. we can't trust you. but hang on, here is one ofjeremy corbyn‘s top team, on whether a further referendum should come first. my concern might be that if we had a general election it would be a kind of a quasi—referendum, that it would be all about in or out, what kind of deal. and so, to a certain extent, i can see the sense in trying to have a referendum first. next saturday's showdown session, in parliament, following the eu summit, will be a must watch, as mps decide what to do next. a serene atmosphere doesn't always hang over westminster, but big decisions do. jessica parker, bbc news. our political correspondent, jonathan blake, joins us now from westminster. jonathan, we're waiting to hear from the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, but the irish prime minister, leo va radkar, but before the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, but before we do, how do

you read the statement that was put out after their meeting?” you read the statement that was put out after their meeting? i think it isa out after their meeting? i think it is a significant statement. and it is a significant statement. and it is notable because of its slightly more positive, upbeat, optimistic tone than we have heard from both sides, really, in recent days. at keyline that both leaders agreed they could see a pathway to possible deal. that is what everyone is seizing on here as, perhaps, a sign of progress. and a sense, coming from downing street, is that during this lengthy meeting, 2.5 hours between the two prime minister is this afternoon, and at times they went together for a walk in the grounds of the country estate where they were meeting, there was some progress made, albeit limited. this is farfrom a progress made, albeit limited. this is far from a breakthrough, progress made, albeit limited. this is farfrom a breakthrough, i think. because in the very next line of the statement, it acknowledges the challenges, quote, of customs and consent that the two leaders discussed. those really are the two big stumbling blocks, still between

where we are now, and the uk in the eu reaching a brexit deal. —— uk and the eu. so there is much work to be done if there is going to be a deal and there is a sense that this is going through the motions and both sides are keeping things moving for the sake of not being seen to be the ones to be blamed for the talks breaking down. nevertheless, it is a positive statement, to a point, that we have had from borisjohnson and leo varadkar this afternoon, after their meeting. we have had some reaction from the chancellor of the duchy of lancaster, michael gove, whose job it is to duchy of lancaster, michael gove, whosejob it is to provide duchy of lancaster, michael gove, whose job it is to provide for a duchy of lancaster, michael gove, whosejob it is to provide for a no deal scenario, when he was asked whether a deal could be done. i absolutely do. and the conversation between the prime minister and leo varadkar, they were cordial, constructive, they were open and say there will be progress for some so i am delighted. we all want a deal, i have to prepare for every eventuality. but i am hopeful, following the good conversation that they had,

that we can make progress in the days ahead. if there is going to be progress, and there is going to be ideal, one oi’ and there is going to be ideal, one or both sides will have to shift their position, and make concessions. if that is boris johnson, dilating his proposals, —— diluting, as some mps would see it, it would really difficult for him if he came back from brussels with a deal to get it through the house of commons. many ifs between now and then. drjennifer cassidy is a politics lecturer, at the university of oxford and former political attache to the eu and ireland. shejoins me now from our oxford studio. hello there, thanks forjoining us. the statement from this meeting says that this is a pathway to a possible deal. is this more optimistic than you out of expected? or is this as jonathan suggested, then going through the motions?”

jonathan suggested, then going through the motions? i think it is only optimistic in the sense that it's neutral. and i say that, reflecting on the acrimonious state m e nts reflecting on the acrimonious statements and... comments that have come from london and brussels, in dublin, in the last week or so. so the fact that it is neutral, and the fa ct the fact that it is neutral, and the fact that there is no negative language, per is he, and the status quo remains a language, per is he, and the status quo remains a same, language, per is he, and the status quo remains a same, that could be seen quo remains a same, that could be seen as quo remains a same, that could be seen as positivity. but i would perhaps lean more towards the same that it perhaps lean more towards the same thatitis perhaps lean more towards the same that it is simply going through the motions, so to speak. just hang on for a moment, i motions, so to speak. just hang on fora moment, iwill come motions, so to speak. just hang on for a moment, i will come back to you shortly. we have just got in a statement from the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, let's listen to what he had to say. also, thanks for coming all the way. a few short words, the chance for a couple of questions and we will have to head

off. i'm sure you appreciate this is a sensitive issue, and we are at a very sensitive stage. at the moment. so, i won't be able to go into too much detail. i think sometimes at this point, in negotiations or discussions, the less said the better. what i can say, is that i had a very good meeting today, with the prime minister. and teams, together. very positive and very promising. iam, now, absolutely convinced that both ireland and britain want there to be in agreement. that is in the interest of ireland and the united kingdom and the european union as a whole. i do see a pathway, towards an agreement in the coming weeks. there are, of course, issues yet to be fully resolved. first is the issue of consent and democracy and ensuring any long—term arrangement that advice northern ireland has the consent of the people of northern ireland. the second is the issue of customs, ensuring that there is no customs, ensuring that there is no customs border between north and south. and also, we had a good

discussion looking forward, to how relationships might look after brexit and how we can strengthen cooperation, north and south, politically and also between britain and ireland. so next steps are for the united kingdom government to engage with the european commission. we expect that to happen tomorrow. with a meeting involved with stephen barclay and michel barnier. what i would hope is that what has happened today would be sufficient to allow negotiations to resume in brussels. how long will that pathway take? will it be a short one, to next thursday, and also what kind of concessions... in terms of how long it will take i can't predict that with any certainty. but i think all sides would like to be an agreement

next week, at the council as possible. obviously there is a further deadline after that which is the 31st of october so i would say a short pathway rather than a long one. but it's impossible to predict that for sure. in terms of concessions, i don't think there should be seen in the can context of who is making concessions or who the winners and losers are. i don't think that's the aim many of us want to play. what this is about is securing an agreement that works for the people of ireland and also the people of britain and europe. and if it works for the people of ireland, what it means is avoiding a hard border between north and south, that has always been our primary objective, ensuring the ailing economy can continue to develop and north—south cooperation according to the good friday agreement, can resume. this has always been about achieving those objectives and i think enables be achieved. do you mean before october 30? and did borisjohnson put mean before october 30? and did boris johnson put forward different... customs issue. we

agreed not to get into the details of any discussions made. but on the timeline question, i think it is possible for us to come to an agreement, to have a treaty. agreed. to allow the uk to leave the eu in an orderly fashion, and to have that done by the end of october. but there is lots of things that are not in my control. inaudible. it remains our position that there cannot be a ha rd our position that there cannot be a hard border between north and south. and we must continue to have a situation whereby the whole ailing economy can continue to deepen and function well. that was the irish prime minister, leo varadkar,

speaking just a few moments ago, after his meeting with boris johnson. some positive mood music from him, saying they had a very good meeting, was very positive and promising and they do both want there to be an agreement. but also making clear that there are two big issues still at stake, the issue of a customs border, between northern ireland and ireland, and that also the consent of the northern irish people. let's go back to doctor jennifer, politics lecturer at the university of boxford. did you manage to hear what was being said? yes. what was your reaction? that changes my answer somewhat in that i do see this as more positive than initially reflected by the press statement. as we have seen over the last three years, the eu and ireland are not hyperbolic in their tone, they don't overstate things. and quite clear. the fact that leo varadkardid quite clear. the fact that leo varadkar did emphasise strongly the

positive nature of these talks, and that progress was made, no matter how small, still yet to see the detail, i think it's quite promising. yes, there are challenges to continue to remain the customs issue and of course the primary issue and of course the primary issue of consent. but this language of positivity is something that is, asi of positivity is something that is, as i said, not seen too much in the irish and eu side because we are not hyperbolic in nature. in that sense. so that is positive. e was unwilling to go into detail, saying because talks were at a sensitive stage, the less said the better. does that, what does that suggest to you? that they really are talking about detail? yes, that really stood out for me. in the diplomatic field we would deem this back channel diplomacy. and we have seen this in breakthrough in negotiations, such

as the iran nuclear deal, for example. once you get to the back channel diplomacy stage and details are not released, it really does reflect that some constructive progress was made. it could be small, as i said, but i think there definitely is something, particularly now, with the role that social media plays and role of the narrative that the public create themselves, including commentators, such as myself, i think back channel diplomacy is certainly the way to go at this crucial moment. we have to leave it there, thank you very much indeed, thank you for your patience and hanging on. thank you. there have been reports of fierce clashes in northeast syria, as turkey continues its major offensive against kurdish fighters, whom they regard as terrorists. turkish forces are stepping up air strikes and a ground offensive, on the second day of their incursion into kurdish—held areas of northern syria. turkey's military said

they've hit more than 180 targets in the strikes. there are reports that thousands of people are leaving their homes, in northern syria. turkey says the aim of the operation is to "prevent the creation of a terror corridor" on the border, and to create a "safe zone", cleared of kurdish militias, which will also house 2 million syrian refugees. our correspondent, martin patience, has sent this report from the turkey—syria border. it is increasingly tense, here on the syrian—turkish border. we have seen turkish shelling throughout the morning on the syrian town and village, behind me. you can probably see the columns of smoke, rising on the horizon. but the kurds have been responding, by firing into a nearby turkish town. this is the latest salvo of the syrian war. turkey, this morning, shelling positions in the north of the country. last night, its forces pushed into key towns along the border.

kurdish fighters, vowing to stop the turkish advance, fired back. the men, who led the fight against the islamic state group, are battle hardened. cheering. but without american support, they‘ re completely outgunned, by the turkish military. civilians are also caught in the crossfire. translation: after the turkish shelling on the border areas, so far we have received ten patients. two of them are critical and are having surgery. the number of injured is on the rise every hour, but we, the medical staff, are ready. america has been accused of stabbing the kurds in the back. but donald trump is doubling down, showing no regret. the kurds are fighting for their land, just so you understand. they're fighting for their land

as as somebody wrote in a very, very powerful article today, they didn't help us in the second world war, they didn't help us with normandy, as an example. they mentioned names of different battles, they weren't there. but they are there to help us with their land. president erdogan, this morning, making his first comments, since the operation began. translation: hey, european union, get a hold of yourself! look, i'm telling you again — if you describe our operation as an invasion again, we'll take the easy road, we'll open the doors and send you 3.6 million refugees. in a country, where half the population have already been forced from their homes, there are fears of a fresh humanitarian crisis. the humanitarian situation is untended and getting worse. the military situation threatens to be overrun, not just with a turkish—kurdish conflict, but with the threat of isis. and the diplomacy is,

frankly, in crisis. we are seeing, in this microcosm here, a global situation where the traditional diplomatic actors have been horrifically weak. failure means syrians are, once again, running for their lives. president erdogan has said that more than 100 kurdish fighters have been killed in this operation so far. now, we can't independently verify that number, but, if the casualty toll mounts, then it's likely that turkey will face intense international condemnation, over this incursion. amanda sloat is a senior fellow in the center on the united states and europe at the brookings institute in washington. she is also an advisor to the democratic presidential candidate, pete buttigieg. we can speak to her now

from their studio in washington. there is a delay but we will manage. first of all, what do you think of the criticism that has emanated from the criticism that has emanated from the states and elsewhere, about president trump with throwing us troops at this time? i think there certainly has been a lot of concern. one of the things that has been more striking about the reaction, here in washington, is that the criticism really has been quite bipartisan. republicans had in recent months, been unwilling to criticise president trump for a number of his domestic and foreign policy decisions. and yet, they have been quite united in their criticism of his decision to pull back american advisers from the area where turkey is currently going into syria. was the concern, at the time, in the us administration, when it was decided that the us would align itself with

this group, the kurdish group, in order to defeat so—called islamic state ? order to defeat so—called islamic state? i was serving in the obama administration at the time when this policy was being discussed. and it certainly was a matter of debate. there was always a recognition that turkey objected to us cooperation with this faction of syrian kurdish fighters, because of their links to a group which the us, and the european union have designated as a terrorist organisation. the united states worked with the turkish government to identify an alternative route of fighters but for a number of reasons, the us did not go forward with that group and decided to continue partnering with the syrian kurds. and so while they have made progress in the fight against the islamic state, the united states has continued to try and assuage turkish concerns about what this meant for security along the border. in a sense, what has

happened under president trump, do you feel the president's action in withdrawing our has allowed turkey to go ahead and deal with what they see as a terrorist group? certainly. as we just discussed, this was a lwa ys as we just discussed, this was always challenging policy because the united states was fighting the islamic state in cooperation with a group that are nato ally turkey objected to. the problem is the way trump handled this without internal policy process, without any effort to try our american troops in an orderly way. without an effort to discourage erdogan to go forward with this incursion at a time when trump's officials are actively working with the turkish military to develop a very limited buffer zone along turkish border to deal with security concerns as incredibly reckless and has made the situation much more dangerous. and you talk

about a dangerous situation, all eyes a re about a dangerous situation, all eyes are on the humanitarian situation. we are that tens of thousands of people are fleeing their homes. —— we hear that. given their homes. —— we hear that. given the turkish advance? ironically, one of the reasons that erdogan has wa nted of the reasons that erdogan has wanted to do this is that turkey is struggling under the weight of over 4 million syrian refugees. so he has been looking to create a buffer zone to push some of these refugees out of turkey and back into syria. ironically, as a result of turkish military actions, he may end up precipitating a new human humanitarian crisis with many residents within the conflict zone seeking to flee and potentially cross into turkey, simply adding to the number of refugees that turkey currently has. 0k, very good to talk to you, very interesting, thank you so much.

prosecutors, at the re—trial of david duckenfield, over the hillsborough disaster, have told the jury his failures were " reprehensible and unforgiveable". the 75—year—old, who was commander, during the match in 1989, denies the gross negligence manslaughter of 95 football fans. the law says there can be no prosecution for the 96th victim, tony bland, because he died later. our correspondent, fiona trott, joins us from outside preston crown court.fiona what else has the jury heard? they were told that as match commander that day, david duckenfield has ultimate responsibility. and was precisely the right person to prosecute. he is charged with gross negligence manslaughter of 95 liverpool football fa ns manslaughter of 95 liverpool football fans and the qc said david duckenfield's criminal responsibility flows from his gross failure to discharge his personal responsibility as match commander. this was an extraordinarily bad failure, he said, so bad, so

reprehensible, so blameworthy and unforgivable, that it amounts to a gross failure. now, as to what happened that day, the jury was told that it started in the lettings lane end, around 20,000 football fans we re end, around 20,000 football fans were directed there, there was pressure to get through the limited number of turnstiles, there was a bottleneck. the prosecution said this was reasonably foreseeable. the jury this was reasonably foreseeable. the jury was told that the planning decision—making all formed part of david duckenfield's responsibility on that day, part of wearing the uniform, thejury on that day, part of wearing the uniform, the jury was told, the qc also extend to the jury that in this trial, the prosecution as to prove this. that david duckenfield's failure is made than minimal contribution to those 95 deaths, the youngest, of course, wasjust contribution to those 95 deaths, the youngest, of course, was just ten yea rs youngest, of course, was just ten years old. and he said the test was not about hindsight, looking back and saying this is what david duckenfield should have done, but

what a reasonably competent match commander, in his position, should have done. or not to have done. and the trial is expected to last up to seven weeks. the chairman of car manufacturer nissan has said a no—deal brexit would threaten its european business model and the future of its large plant, in sunderland. he said that if world trade organisation tariffs of 10% were imposed on exports of new vehicles, it would make nissan's business model in europe unsustainable. the japanese car maker employs 6000 people, at the sunderland factory and supports a further 211,000 people in the supply chain. sirjames dyson has abandoned plans to build a radical electric car and will close the automotive division of his company. the company, best known for designing vacuum cleaners, had been developing the electric car in the uk, butjames dyson told staff that it is not "commercially viable. "

the project employed 523 people, who will be given jobs on other projects. briefing notes, given to president trump, reveal that a woman with diplomatic immunity, who's a suspect in the case of a crash, in northamptonshire, in which a teenager died, will not return to the uk. police want anne sacoolas, who's married to a us diplomat, to return to the uk, in connection with the collision in august in which harry dunn died. duncan kennedy reports. when harry dunn died in august, his family could never imagine that their arc of grief would take their son into the white house. but, last night, president trump made a promise, to talk to the woman who is the main suspect in harry's death. we are going to speak to her very shortly, and see if we can do something with... it was an accident, it was an acc... it was a terrible accident. but just look at this. it's the briefing note the president was holding, saying that the woman he is talking

about will not return to the united kingdom. that note was met, this morning, by outrage from harry dunn's family spokesman. it didn't sit with his spoken words. clearly, as he tends to do, just speaks off the cuff and says what he thinks makes him look best, in the moment. you know, so we were angry when we left london yesterday, that has tipped us over the edge, i have to say. this is anne sacoolas, the wife of an american intelligence official, who was driving the car that collided with harry dunn's motorbike. northamptonshire police say they want to speak to mrs sacoolas, after she pulled out of this american air base, and about the accident, just up the road. an accident that has involved everyone from harry dunn's family, to the president of the united states. harry dunn's family met the foreign secretary yesterday, to try to get mrs sacoolas returned to the united kingdom. but they came out disappointed. i felt extremely let down by the government today,

or by the foreign and commonwealth office. and i am deeply, deeply disappointed that they think it's ok to kill a young lad, on his bike, and they can just walk away. the family say they plan to go to washington, to add more pressure for mrs sacoolas's return. all that, and grieving for harry, at the same time. duncan kennedy, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. more rain on the way over the next 2a hours, it could cause a few issues given the ground is saturated, this extra rain could bring the risk of some localised flooding. the rain is already with us flooding. the rain is already with us in scotland, where the heaviest of the rain will be. as we go on through the night. 20—50 millimetres of rain on the high ground, more than enough to cause a few issues. the rain will also gather further

south across england and wales for the night. strengthening south—westerly winds ensuring it never gets cold, temperatures we nine and 1a degrees, a mild thing to come. a mild certified but a wet start as well for most of england and wales. the peaks and paints could amount to around 50—70 millimetres of rain, so we could see some localised surface water flooding, rain continuing to pour down in western scotland with a slice of slightly drier and brighter weather for central areas. to the north of weatherford, literally cool north of weatherford, literally cool, with temperatures from 11-14dc. on cool, with temperatures from 11—1lidc. on into the weekend, it stays unsettled, meaning further rain is expected at times. probably the heaviest coming through as we go through sunday. i will have more details in the next half hour. this is bbc news. the headlines... borisjohnson and the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, say they can "see a pathway"

to a possible brexit deal. it is possible for us to come to an agreement, to have a treaty agreed to allow the uk to leave the eu in an orderly fashion and have that done by the end of october. turkey steps up heavy artillery and air attacks on the kurds in syria — thousands of civilians are reported to have fled. after the crash which killed teenager harry dunn, the suspect claiming diplomatic immunity will not return to the uk, say briefing notes for president trump. ban snacking on public transport to help tackle childhood obesity, says england's outgoing chief medical officer. let's get the latest sport with olly foster. good evening. staging the rugby world cup

in typhoon season was always a risk, and organisers have cancelled two matches on saturday with super typhoon hagibis due to make landfall in the next 2a hours. england were due to play france in yokohama too on saturday. that game has already been cancelled with the worst of the storm hitting the area around then. eddiejones and his side have made their way instead south towards miyazaki to prepare for their quarterfinal — most likely against australia. scotla nd scotland are due to play in yokohama on sunday. their match against the hosts japan is on at the moment. the forecast is that the typhoon by now but depending on the damage that causes it could be cancelled. two points for the scots is very unlikely for them to reach the last eight.

new england cricket head coach chris silverwood says he will place more emphasis on the test match game. england were crowned world champions in the 50—over format but couldn't regain the ashes this summer after drawing the series with australia. and with an aging batting line—up to potentially replace, silverwood knows where his focus needs to lie. i think it is just giving cricket the emphasis it deserves. you're talking about putting more structure around the test team and helping with that as well. we are making sure that the batting line—up is exactly how we want it, moving forward. and everything we do now puts the process in place so we can make a huge impact. i think it is truly important we find a method of play in test cricket, a dna, if you like, we have heard that term. what does that make up look like and we have obviously tried different things this summer. not all of them would have had success but along that path, we have found a couple of guys we know can stand the test and the pressures of test cricket. simone biles is on course to win her 22nd medal at the world gymnastics.

the most successful ever female in the championships is on course for gold in the all—around final. biles is on course to become the world's most decorated gymnast by the end of the competitive action in germany this week. coverage continues right now over on bbc two. in the last half an hour she clinched a fifth all around title. she has another four individual finals to come. it means the world to me. it is unheard—of so it is really exciting. we finish strong and gave it our all and it is super exciting that i have the opportunity to do this. leicester city's james maddison has pulled out of the england squad for their upcoming european qualifiers against czech republic and bulgaria due to illness. gareth southgate has chosen not to replace him, so england will have a 23—man squad instead. they play the czechs in prague tomorrow and will qualify for the european championship if they win. the boxing world champion errol

spencejunior the boxing world champion errol spence junior is in the boxing world champion errol spencejunior is in intensive care. he spencejunior is in intensive care. h e rece ntly spencejunior is in intensive care. he recently unified titles in the welterweight division. lee say the man was rejected from a ferrari he was driving at high speed in the early hours. he had not been wearing a seat belt. his condition is not thought to be life threatening. tennis and british number two heather watson is through to the quarter finals of the tianjin open in china with her biggest win in more than two years. she dropped three games in beating the world number22 wang qiang, who's ranked over 100 places above her. it's only watson's second win on the main wta tour this year. she'll play poland's magda linette in the last eight. and two—time grand slam winner naomi osaka has chosenjapanese over american nationality with an eye on the tokyo 2020 olympics. osaka plays under a japanese flag but had dual nationality with the united states. japanese law stipulates an individual must choose one before their 22nd birthday, which is next week. osaka has started the administrative process to make sure she can compete

at her home games next year. that is all the sport now. much more on the bbc sport website. that also might affect the formula 1 grand prix that is in suzuka, not far from tokyo. that is due to take place on sunday but qualification could be shifted to the day of the race because of that typhoon. i will be back with sports day on the mac at 6:30pm. let's get more on our to story, that turkish forces have stepped up air strikes and a ground offensive on the second day of their incursion into kurdish—held areas of northern syria. the bbc‘s orla guerin says that at least three rounds of what appeared to be retaliatory kurdish artillery fire have hit the main street of the turkish town of akcakale, killing at least one resident.

she sent us this update. macer gifford left hisjob in the city of london in 2015 and headed to northern syria to fight against the islamic state with the kurdish ypg militia. he did three separate trips over the course of the following three years. macer is here with me now. what an extraordinary experience you must‘ve had. first of all, why did you go? i think everyone can remember where they were when isis rose. just the images ofjournalists on their knees in the deserts. the image of the mountain, 20,000 men, women and children been trapped by islamic state. i was moved by it, moved but also angered by the fact that britain and america and others would not go out and commit to helping them. so going out myself was just helping them. so going out myself wasjust an helping them. so going out myself was just an act of helping them. so going out myself wasjust an act of international solidarity. and you did not have any military background or links to

syria? no, i went military background or links to syria? no, iwent as military background or links to syria? no, i went as an international volunteer. i wanted... up international volunteer. i wanted... up until that point including the only... by going out myself, supporting local people and reminding the west what they are not doing in syria, which is actually listening to local people and calling for much more support in the battle against isis. so give me a sense of the kurds in northern syria, who they are and what their role has been in the fight against islamic state. the kurds in northern syria, they have a population of about 3 million. they together with the united states and britain and others, the wider coalition, they created the syrian democratic forces. up until that point in 2015 the why pg had been fighting, the kurds have been part of a group called the why pg. it was only with american help that they started going on the offensive and started

going on the offensive and started going into traditionally arab areas, particularly around rack. so in three years with american british support they took the fight to islamic state in one. something like 11,000 fighters would die in the conflict. so they were used by the us and britain, partly in order to avoid having troops on the ground, they used the kurds instead. absolutely. the americans and the wider coalition has always had quite a small footprint in syria. i think the maximum amount of americans on the maximum amount of americans on the ground has been only 1500, 2000. they have lost about eight americans have died in the four years that they were intervening in the conflict, limb or a majority of those through accidents. so the fact that 11,000 dies till my guide shows you who was doing the heavy lifting on the ground. so turkey's defence of this offensive is that it says this group is linked to a terrorist organisation that is banned in turkey. what is your take on that?

it is difficult because turkey is blurring its lines between its own domestic problems and what is going on in syria. it has its own ambitions in syria, funding groups within the sfa. some which have very close links tojihadis. within the sfa. some which have very close links to jihadis. some with close links to jihadis. some with close links to al-qaeda in syria. in their own territorial ambitions. they push more than 100,000 kurdish refugees out of a region. today, they have been launching offensives in the rest of the country, the other kurdish parts and the kurds are terrified because the rest of the country is a lot larger. there are3 the country is a lot larger. there are 3 million of them up there and there is a real chance that turkey is not only going to push them out but also it has already said it is going to resettle millions of syrian refugees, which will completely change the demographics of the region and cause a lot more conflict. he went to fight with the

kurds, you clearly feel a loyalty to them, an affinity with them, but is there anything in what turkey is saying in the ypg be linked to terrorist organisations? they have been working very closely with the americans, just last week they were committing themselves to think of the security mechanism. it was whereby turkey and the americans on the kurds had signed up to an agreement whereby the kurds would remove all the fortifications along the syrian border and that they would actually pull their men away from the border entirely. turkey had signed up to that and it seems has completed violated it and actually may have been using the patrols as a means of reconnaissance. so turkey had no intention of sticking to its agreements. the kurds all along have shown that they are willing to work with turkey, the americans, and it isa with turkey, the americans, and it is a real slap in the face to the people who did the greatest fighting in syria. so you see this unfolding,

what are your fears about what is going on? my fear is that last year we we re going on? my fear is that last year we were celebrating the end of isis, certainly the end of the physical so—called caliphate. at 30% of syria was controlled by 21. it is notjust kurds. and actually just was controlled by 21. it is notjust kurds. and actuallyjust last month the schoolkids had gone back to school and new curriculum had been introduced and that shows you the level of peace that was on the ground. and to have 30% of syria which was once peaceful be invaded by turkey and its proxy forces in syria is a real slap in the face because these people want democracy, they want a secular, progressive society in syria and now they are only getting war, war from a nato member. 0k, we are having to leave it there but fascinating to talk to

you. a climate change protestor has climbed on top of a british airways plane at london city airport — as part of a day of disruption by extinction rebellion. several activists have been arrested after they blocked the terminal entrance. a man also got on board a plane and lectured the passengers about climate change while it was waiting to take off. our correspondent richard galpin has spend the day at the airport. there has been a whole series of protests, through the day, including people gluing themselves to the pavement, people climbing up onto the roofs of the terminal building, but i think, probably the most significant protests we have seen, have been one person boarding a flight, a climate change activist, and then, essentially, talking to other passengers on board about climate change, and eventually being taken away by the police. but, of course, that delayed that flight, significantly. it was a flight to dublin. and perhaps even more extraordinarily, we have had a former paralympian cyclist, a man called james brown, who — as far as we understand —

it is partially sighted, climbing onto the top of the fuselage of a ba plane, which was bound for amsterdam. he was eventually brought down by the police. but certainly, overall, in terms of the level of disruption, it has not been great at all. the vast majority of flights have managed to go, it's only a couple of flights, as far as we know, so far, which have been delayed. so, from that point of view, it's not been a huge success for extinction rebellion but they are trying to highlight the issue because here in particular, london city airport, because there is a major expansion programme, under way and they say that is wrong. because it will lead to yet more carbon emissions from aviation fuel and they are saying that is exactly the opposite for what they say should actually happen, which is to be cutting emissions as quickly as possible.

the headlines on bbc news... borisjohnson and the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, say they can "see a pathway" to a possible brexit deal. turkey steps up heavy artillery and air attacks on the kurds in syria — thousands of civilians are reported to have fled. after the crash which killed teenager harry dunn, the suspect claiming diplomatic immunity will not return to the uk, say briefing notes for president trump. now, when you're abroad, the european health insurance card, known as ehic, allows you to get medical care forfree, or at reduced cost, in 31 countries. but if the uk leaves the european union without a deal only three countries say they will offer anything similar. the government advice is to take out travel insurance. but the insurance industry is warning about price rises, especially for people with medical problems. catherine burns reports.

michaela sheehan loves yoga, as a way to look after her mind and body. it tends to relax my muscles if i've had a seizure. it's not always easy though. she has epilepsy and is struggling to get it under control. her first seizure happened when she was a teenager in paris. i was in disneyland on a school trip. i was queueing for a ride and i had a seizure. i was taken to hospital by ambulance and they did blood tests and observations every 15 minutes, and i was in hospital the rest of the day, and it was all completely free because of my ehic card. michaela always takes her ehic card on holiday, if she can. it means she can get medical care for free or at the same reduced cost locals would pay. even with the card though, she has more expensive travel insurance because of her health. this is me and my boyfriend. so, for this holiday, i paid £60 for the week for travel insurance, whereas he paid £23 for the year. british people travelling abroad get about £150 million

worth of treatment a year using the ehic scheme. if we leave the eu with a deal, that would continue, at least temporarily. these 31 countries all accept ehic cards. essentially, it's the eu, plus switzerland, norway, iceland and liechtenstein. the government has asked them to continue taking ehic until the end of next year, no matter what happens with brexit. so far, only one, spain, has agreed to do so. ireland and portugal have different plans but, essentially, they will continue to treat british tourists, even if there is no deal. there is nothing in place yet for people travelling to the other 28. the government says it's still trying to sort more health care deals though. it adds that it always tells people to make sure they have travel insurance when they go on holiday, and that is still the official advice, but there is a warning from the uk's largest travel insurance provider.

if nothing changed between now and the 31st of october and there was no deal, then i am expecting prices to go up, but we don't know by how much. she accepts that, for people like michaela who have long—term health problems, any price rises would be higher. i feel like it's definitely putting a label on us now saying, you have to pay more for this because of your epilepsy. michaela says, when she's booking her next holiday, her only real choice will be those countries have agreed to carry on treating british tourists as they do now with ehic. the outgoing chief medical officer for england has called for a ban on eating and drinking on public transport, to help tackle the rise in childhood obesity. in herfinal report, professor dame sally davies says the government needs to take radical action, including tighter rules on food advertising and on takeaways. here's our health correspondent

sophie hutchinson. running a mile every morning before lessons — just one way this school in south london is trying to tackle childhood obesity. too little exercise and too much fatty food has proved disastrous. now england's former chief medical officer has said radical action is needed, including banning eating on public transport, and tax breaks for healthy food. government needs to be bold and it can make a difference, and the public are asking for this. they believe, the public do, that government should protect their children. today's report lays out the challenge posed by childhood obesity. on average, in the final year of primary school, six out of 30 children will be obese, twice the number compared to 30 years ago. in england alone, 1.2 million children are clinically obese. this is feeding into diseases like type two diabetes,

once very rare in children. there are now 100 new cases each year. orange, grapes, apples, strawberries... some of three—year—old marisa's favourite foods. her parents made a radical change to her diet recently, after being warned that she was overweight and needed to be slimmer. i was feeling so bad because i am the mum and i am responsible for her health, and i was feeling terrified about her future and want to help her. the result of the healthier diet is that marisa has lost two kilos and the rest of the family are slimmer as well. and there have been other successes. the levy on sugary soft drinks has seen a sharp drop in the amount of sugar being eaten, but today's report wants a tax on sweet, milky drinks and the phasing out of advertising of all unhealthy food. it says only bold measures will stop children from drowning in a flood of unhealthy food options. sophie hutchinson, bbc news.

ellie soutter was one of britain's most talented young snowboarders, tipped for success at the next winter olympics. but injune last year, on her 18th birthday, ellie took her own life. her mother lorraine denman says despite her success, her daughter worried constantly — about funding and about letting other people down. on world mental health day, lorraine spoke frankly to sally nugent about the pain of losing her daughter. what was ellie like? what was she like as a little girl? ellie was quite an independent little girl. she knew what she wanted, even from an early age. you know, she had her own ambitions and her own drive. ellie died over a year ago now, on her 18th birthday. what happened ? i left her a message the morning of her birthday, but there was no answer. but as a mum, i knew something wasn't right.

i was in contact with her dad, and i said to him, "have you spoken to ellie? have you seen ellie?" and he said, no. the day went on and people still hadn't heard anything. and in the end, i gave... i gave tony a call and ijust said to him, "have you seen ellie? have you heard from her?" and he said, "we've found her." and for a split second... i thought she was alive. and he said, "she's dead." he said, "lorraine, she's dead." and that feeling, i cannot tell you. someone might as well have just taken my heart out. appearances can be so deceptive. yeah. can't they? yeah, definitely. and do you think maybe people did look at ellie and think, she's got this most fantastic life, huge ambitions and potential... yeah, yeah.

..and didn't see the sadness? yeah, absolutely. even as parents, i think that, you know, we have to take that as a responsibility as well. it's very easy to kind of ignore what could be obvious, because you don't want to believe it. you know, you don't want to believe that your child is suffering, or that they're going through this mental trauma. you know, and if they're not showing it outwardly, then how are you going to know anyway? because they keep it so deep within. one of the things you do is, you keep ellie close to you every day, don't you? yeah, i do, yeah. you carry her ashes with you everywhere. i have them on the side, and then i hold them and i talk to them, and i'll talk to her picture. the moment i wake up, i think of her. the moment i go to sleep, i dream about her. so, i don't seem to have any rest from this, but i actually don't want to have any rest from it, because she's my daughter. do you feel now there is something that can come out of this, that perhaps might help you, but might also help other families?

well, there has to be. ellie's death can't be in vain. have i wanted to give up? quite frankly, yeah. i think, you know, what is the point in living without her any more? erm... but equally, she is me. she's me, and i'm her. and i am the voice for ellie now, and i have to move forward. she couldn't say how she felt, for whatever reason. i can now encourage people to say how they... you know, to speak up and to share, and to talk to their parents, or to share with their friends and things like that if they're having any problems, and i think that's what's making... that's what's pushing me on. lorraine denman talking about her daughter ellie soutter. and if you've been affected by issues in that report, there is a range of organisations and websites that can offer you advice and support. you can find them listed on the bbc‘s actionline website at bbc.co.uk/actionline

the humpback whale — spotted swimming in the thames, earlier this week — died after it was struck by a ship, scientists have concluded. the eight—metre long female whale was sighted, swimming in the thames on monday, but was found lifeless, in shallow water, late on tuesday. scientists at the zoological society of london, who carried out a post—mortem, said their main finding was a large wound, on the underside of the head. the bank of england has unveiled the new design for the uk's most commonly—used banknote. featuring the artistjmw turner, the polymer £20 note includes several security features. figures from the bank show that in the first half of the year, nearly 90 per cent of detected forgeries were £20 notes. the updated banknote will enter circulation in february. time for a look at the weather, here's chris fawkes. i'm afraid we have got more rain to come as we go through the next few

days and this rain could actually start to cause a few issues because over the next 2a hours we have got heavy rain in scotland and then looking at the forecast overnight and into friday the focus of the heavy rain shifts to the high ground of wales and northern england. this of wales and northern england. this of course follows on what has been a wet spell of weather already with the ground is saturated that increases the risk of some localised flooding issues and the potential for some transport disruption as well. the rain is already with those in scotland and through this evening and overnight it will get heavier. 22 50 millimetres over the high ground, enough to cause some waterlogging on the roads. tricky travel conditions. later in the night the south—westerly winds strengthen and that will push the rain across england and wales. it will be a pretty mild night with temperatures for most between nine and 1a celsius. friday, a wet start to the day across england and wales, 50 to 70 millimetres of rain. that

could cause some issues through the day. the rain also with us across parts of east anglia in south—east england. more rain to come forth scotland, brighter for central areas. 17 or 18 degrees compared with the cooler and fresher air further north where temperatures will be 11 to 1a celsius. saturday, the better of the two days this weekend. a few heavy showers across north—western areas, sunday looks like being generally cloudy with the threat of more widespread rain returning to england and wales. saturday there could be some rain across the south. that weather front has brought the rain on friday and looks to clear away. it could be quite a wet day here in the south—west of england. it is brighter here with some sunshine, a cooler day for england and wales, the milder air pushing down towards the milder air pushing down towards the channel isles. sunday, many across england and wales cloudy with

outbreaks of rain. it will develop into an area of low pressure with a swathes of strong winds with potentially the rain lasting longer across those eastern areas. cooler across those eastern areas. cooler across the north of the uk on sunday, temperatures here around 11 or 12 celsius. we are in the middle ofan or 12 celsius. we are in the middle of an unsettled spell, the extra rain we were expecting it overnight and tomorrow could cause flooding issues with scotland and parts of england and wales at risk over the 00:58:29,655 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 next 24—hour is.