the eu says there are promising signals that a brexit deal is now possible. it follows yesterday's talks between the british and irish prime ministers, who said there is a pathway to an agreement. brexit is like climbing a mountain. we need vigilance, determination and patience. we'll have the latest from westminster and brussels, where it's reported the eu has now given the green light for intensified negotiations. also this lunchtime... a man is tasered by police after several people were stabbed at the arndale shopping centre in manchester.

turkish warplanes carry out more attacks in syria. tensa of thousands of civilians flee for their lives. tens of thousands of civilians flee for their lives. back in britain — the daughter of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the womanjailed in iran. and scotland take legal advice over the threatened cancellation of their make or break match in the rugby world cup. coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news... nike shut down the oregon project following the four—year athletic ban for the former head coach alberto salazar.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. european council president donald tusk says there are "promising signals" that a brexit deal is still possible. it follows yesterday's talks between the british and irish prime ministers, borisjohnson and leo varadkar, who said there's a "pathway to an agreement", ahead of next week's crucial eu summit. the european union has now given the green light for intensified talks known as "tunnel negotiations". our brussels correspondent adam fleming reports. brexit seems to be moving again. steve barclay arriving in brussels this morning. the two men talked for about two hours, a moment later, a smile. the big sticking point, how the uk plans to do customs checks in northern ireland. afterwards, the priority for michel barnier was explaining what had been discussed to the rest of the eu, not to the

rest of the world. we had a constructive meeting with steve barclay and the british team and now iam going barclay and the british team and now i am going to debrief the 27 ambassadors and the brexit steering group of the parliament. i have already said that brexit is like climbing a mountain. we need vigilance, determination and patience. rna other top. . . ? vigilance, determination and patience. rna other top...? under huge scrutiny from the media, desperate for news, the eu chief negotiator was not ready to answer the many questions that exist. they are mainly about the process — what is going to happen and when? will the uk and eu negotiators enter what is called the tunnel, an intense period of confidential negotiations where compromises get made? and what will have happened by the time eu and meet leaders meet for the next summit on thursday 17th october, less tha n summit on thursday 17th october, less than a week away? and what will

be presented to mps at a special sitting of parliament scheduled for a week on saturday? a possible deal, no deal, an extension? but the mood has definitely improved after yesterday's meeting between boris johnson and the irish leader leo varadkar. it johnson and the irish leader leo va radkar. it has johnson and the irish leader leo varadkar. it has left the eu feeling cautiously optimistic, although there is more caution than optimism. i have received promising signals from the taoiseach that a deal is still possible. of course, there is no guarantee of success and the time is practically up. but even the slightest chance must be used. a no—deal brexit will never be the choice of the eu. i would anticipate that that will lead to some more detailed proposals being laid down and then the possible t4 talks to enter the proverbial tunnel. what is a mystery is what has happened to unblock this process. either the eu has relaxed the guarantees it knees for the irish border, or the

uk has relaxed its position that northern ireland can never, ever be part of the eu customs zone. what emerges from brussels is one thing. whether it flies at westminster is another, for another day. adam fleming is in brussels for us — what is the latest you are hearing on the prospect of these talks going into that intensive phase? of the latest which we just saw was michel barnierjust walking into his office there, you can see him disappearing that ramp, we did not get the chance to find out if the negotiations have entered the infamous tunnel or not. first of all, why this word matters, it first emerged last year when the eu and the uk old negotiating teams went into that intense period for about ten days of really secretive, intense negotiations, where the outside world did not know anything,

that's because they were discussing really controversial stuff, which turned out to be quite controversial when presented to the rest of the world and needed the rows are convincing. the reason the uk wants to go into a tunnel now, two reasons, firstly, if you are in a tunnel, it means both sides think there could be a deal at the end of it and you're getting somewhere. secondly, because it is really private and michel barnier doesn't have to go and talk to the member states and there aren't press conferences and statements, you can make big, potentially controversial compromises in private then reveal the whole thing once you emerge from the whole thing once you emerge from the tunnel. but here in brussels this lunchtime there is a little bit of confusion. my sources tell me michel barnier and the member states have agreed to enter into more intense negotiations with the uk. they do not want to use the word tunnel, and that means we do not know the terms under which the negotiations will take place, the premise they are based on, how long they will take. and remember, this is all process stuff which

we all love as a journalist and brexit geeks, but what really matters is what ends up being in the deal at the end of the tunnel, or whatever you want to the process. our political correspondent jonathan blake is at westminster. whatever comes out at the end of this, would still have to be got through parliament? it certainly would and when things go quiet it is generally a suggestion that something is happening, and things have gone particularly quiet here at westminster in the last day or so. not least because mps are away from here, parliament having been suspended ahead of the queen's speech next week, but we have heard very little from the uk side after this latest intensive activity in brussels over the last 24 hours or so. brussels over the last 24 hours or so. just a very brief statement from the uk spokesperson there describing the uk spokesperson there describing the brexit secretary stephen barclay's meeting with michel

barnier as constructive. but downing street certainly not rushing to confirm that negotiations are moving towards a more intensive phase, and as you suggest, if there is a deal to be done, and that still remains a big if, borisjohnson will have to bring it back here and give it the ha rd bring it back here and give it the hard sell not only to the eurosceptic mps on his side, but to the dup, the northern irish mps who prop up the dup, the northern irish mps who prop up his minority government here in westminster, and some possible labour mps representing leave constituencies as well, most of whom will have to be on board if he is going to get it through parliament. so, they will be watching and waiting to see what concessions, if any, the prime minister has made, and whether they can live with them. jonathan, thank you very much indeed. there are reports several people have been stabbed at the arndale shopping centre in manchester. a man has been arrested on suspicion of serious

assault. the shopping centre was evacuated, and one man tasered by police. we know that a number of people have been taken to hospital. no fertility is reported at the moment. we will bring more from our correspondent at the scene in a few minutes. tens of thousands of people are fleeing their homes as turkey continues its offensive against kurdish militias in syria. turkish troops moved into the area this week after president trump withdrew american forces. there's growing international criticism of turkey's military campaign. republicans in the us congress are planning to introduce sanctions against turkey, while mr trump has offered to mediate in the conflict. martin patience reports from the turkey—syria border. there is no letup in this military offensive. turkish forces

targeting a key syrian town where kurdish fighters are still hold up. turkey is not bowing to international pressure. on the border, its military build—up continues. the kurdish fighters are firing back. this footage shows a mortar landing ina this footage shows a mortar landing in a turkish town. back in syria, families are fleeing for their lives. thousands of miles away, donald trump, weighing up his options in public. you have the choice of bringing in the military and defeating everybody again, or you have the choice of financially doing some very strong things to turkey, so that they take it a little bit easy on, really, competition that is, i don't think it is being fairly treated in many ways, ok, we have a very good

relationship with kurds, or we can mediate. i hope we can mediate, john, i hope we can mediate. the un, largely sidelined in the new age of diplomacy, offered traditional solutions. i want to express my deep concern about the escalation of conflict we are witnessing in eastern syria. it is absolutely essential to have a deescalation in this conflict. military operations must always respect the united nations charter and international human law. but that will be of little comfort to the kurds, who have heard it all before. and we can hear more now from martin patience on the border between turkey and syria. no immediate signs that turkey is going to end this offensive any time soon? no, absolutely not, ben. in

fa ct soon? no, absolutely not, ben. in fact in the past few minutes we have had more shelling from turkish positions into targets in syria. we are hearing that one of the key towns in this offensive, tal abyad, may now be under turkish control. that has not been confirmed but we we re that has not been confirmed but we were speaking to fighters on the ground. what we're also seeing is a growing international pressure on turkey to call off this offensive. the country's president, recep tayyip erdogan, for the moment anyway, appears to be in no mood to compromise. martin patience, thank you very much indeed. let's take you back to manchester now, as we were saying, five people stabbed at the arndale shopping centre there in manchester, which was evacuated. one man, we gather, has been arrested. we can get the latest from our correspondent peter marshall, who is at the scene. what more can you tell us? well, as you can see, still intense police and ambulance activity outside the arndale centre,

which remains closed off. police we re which remains closed off. police were called shortly after 11.152 attentive reports of one, possibly two men randomly attacking people within a starbucks cafe within the main concourse of the arndale centre. ambulance service confirmed that five people have been injured, it is not clear exactly how serious those injuries are at this stage. we know that the police have arrested a man in his 40s, he is being held and questioned on suspicion of serious assault. we know also that greater manchester police have said that counter—terrorism police are leading this investigation, although it's not clear what the motives for this attack were at this stage. the investigation is continuing to level peter, as we said, it is a very big shopping centre, it was evacuated, there must have been quite a lot of chaos and confusion? absolutely, even now, the doors are all closed, you can see inside the doors, people

walking around as part of the investigation, but around all of the many entrances of the arndale centre, people standing around wondering what is going on, it is very early stages so they don't know quite what has happened, what the motive is, but still a lot of activity, a police helicopter is hovering above, and the investigation is continuing to level peter marshall, many thanks indeed, at the arndale shopping centre in manchester. the defence has begun in the trial of two men and two youths accused of murdering 17 year—old jodie chesney. jodie was stabbed in the back near a playground in in romford in march. our correspondentjon donnison has been in court at the old bailey. just bring us up to date with what has been steady in court? today we had the start of the defence of the four defendants, and we heard from 20—year—old manuel petrovic, one of four who are charged with murder. he was questioned by his barrister, sarah forshaw qc, and really, she

was asking him about what he was doing throughout the dayjodie chesney died, and to be blunt, he was dealing drugs. he had picked up around £2000 worth of class a drugs, we think cocaine in the morning, £2500 worth of cannabis, and we heard that he had spent the day dealing drugs, selling them over the phone, and meeting up with his clients. he was asked, though, by sarah forshaw qc, did he knowjodie chesney and any of her friends, who we re chesney and any of her friends, who were meeting in that park in harold hill on first march 2019? he replied, no, ididn't hill on first march 2019? he replied, no, i didn't know any of them. jon donnison, thank you very much indeed. our top story... the eu says there are promising signals that a brexit deal is now possible, following talks yesterday between the british and irish

prime ministers. abandoned stations and secret spaces deep beneath london are revealed in a new exhibition. we will give you a sneak preview. coming up in the sport in the next 15 minutes... ireland are more worried about the turf than the typhoon in japan. we more worried about the turf than the typhoon injapan. we will have the latest from the rugby world cup. the five—year—old daughter of a british—iranian woman jailed in iran on spying charges has returned to the uk. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe has been detained for more than three years over the allegations, which she denies. her daughter, gabriella, who had been living in iran with her grandparents, is now back in britain to start school. she was reunited with her father, richard ratcliffe, last night, after three—and—a—half years apart. richard has been describing the "long journey" to having her home. he's held a press conference in westminster this lunchtime, and our

correspondent sarah campbell was watching. welcome sarah campbell was watching. indeed. gabriella we than welcome indeed. gabriella was less than two years ago —— old when her mother was arrested. nazanin was a charity worker, she had taken gabriella back to iran to be introduced to her family. gabriella back to iran to be introduced to herfamily. so gabriella back to iran to be introduced to her family. so this gabriella back to iran to be introduced to herfamily. so this is the first time gabriella, who is now aged five, has been back to the uk and, as you say, reunited with her father. during that press conference, her father father. during that press conference, herfather richard explained it had been a very difficult decision to bring her back, but it is one that the couple had made. they want their daughter to start school here in the uk. her english is not great because she spent so long in iran and they wa nted spent so long in iran and they wanted to get her back here as soon as possible. and they were not sure right until the last moment whether she would be granted a visa by the iranian authorities. but finally, late last night, she was brought back to the uk and reunited with her father, richard. suddenly, when they were

on the plane, a sort of mad scramble of cleaning. and of course, then i spoke to nazanin and, of course, she's really upset. i mean, yeah, really upset. it's one of the things she really didn't want to happen, was for her daughter to leave and her still be stuck in prison. so, that kind of turmoil of feelings and, you know, speaking to the family just after gabriella had caught the plane, of course, they're in tears because they've looked after her for the last years and she's sort of kept that family sane as well. and then seeing her, of course, late last night, was lovely. and bless her, she's a bit shy and a bit traumatised and hasn't seen daddy for a long time. richard describing that it is a very happy date but there is a huge amount of concern about the effect on nazanin because he said the long —— the one thing she looked forward to from week to week was her visits from gabriella. and as happy and grateful as they are to the foreign

office and the help bringing gabriella back, they now want the pressure to increase because they haveis pressure to increase because they have is they want nazanin back with the family, with richard and gabriella, and they have requested a meeting with borisjohnson and they are hoping that will happen soon. sara, thank you very much and d, sarah campbell reporting. —— thank you very much indeed. a group of mps says the bbc and the government should find a way for everyone over the age of 75 to continue to have free tv licences. the current plan is that free licences will end next year, unless viewers are on pension credit. our media correspondent david sillito reports. don't switch us off! there's been widespread protest about the decision to end the free licence fee scheme for everyone over the age of 75. the bbc has agreed to pay for the licences for anyone over 75 who receives pension credit, but it still means more than 3 million pensioners

will lose their benefit. we feel so strongly because we felt we were given it forever, type of thing. and for this to come out of the blue that you were not going to get it from next year and that the only ones that would receive it was people on pension credit. there is over 32,000 people in wales alone, older people, that do not claim pension credit. and it's not just about broken promises. silver line, a helpline for the elderly set up by esther rantzen, says that tv is a vital public service. people were actually relying, a lot of people, relying on television, particularly the bbc, for company. at our helpline, we get 10,500 calls a week from people who are really not talking to anyone else. and for them, television is not a luxury, it is their only company. the problem is money. the government used to pay for it, but passed the responsibility on to the bbc. the annual licence fee is now £154.50 a year.

the total cost of the scheme is £745 million. the bbc‘s pension credit offer will cost them around 250 million, but it says it can't fund the rest without big cuts to services. and today's report from a group of mps, the commons media select committee, says the government does need to contribute to save the universal over—75 benefit. the bbc takes on some responsibility for this concession and the government the rest as well. the bbc's offered to pay for about a third of the free licences, but i think we should look at how everyone is paying. i don't think that can be a cost the bbcjust takes on itself. or if it does take it on, we really have to look at how the bbc could make up the money that it's investing. because otherwise, that money will simply come out of the programming, because there's nowhere else for it to come from. the government's response, it says, "we're disappointed with the bbc's

decision not to fund free licences for the over 75s. we've made clear that we want and expect to continue this concession." but to restore the full concession, it is a choice — cuts to the bbc, or money from the government. david sillito, bbc news. from winston churchill's wartime bunker to a secret aircraft factory, london's underground network has some incredible stories to tell about britain's past. a new exhibition opens today, exploring some of the abandoned stations and hidden spaces deep beneath the streets of the capital. danjohnson has been to have a look. i'm 40 metres down under london's streets, in one of london's old bomb shelters. you can see the sort of signage here from world war ii. this is one of the abandoned places that features in this new exhibition. and chris nix is from london transport museum. what else can we see in this exhibition, chris? well, it's a chance for people to be able to get behind the scenes of abandoned tube stations, see what lies behind all of those secret doors and grilles that you walk past every time you use the tube.

and also find out how they were used, ingeniously, for wartime shelter, things like growing micro herbs. and it means that people don't necessarily have to go to these spaces to experience them, but can see just how fascinating they are — the sights, the sounds, the people's stories behind these hidden places beneath the city. so there were, how many, thousands of people sheltering down here during the war? 8,000 people could shelter down here. this section is about a 16th of the site and there were 500 bunks just inside here alone. we've had the privilege of meeting and interviewing one of the people who lived here for about two years as a child when herfamily home was destroyed, and found out how life was down here and living in this incredible space. and it's stories like that we've been able to bring to life and let people experience some of these bunks in the exhibition, the entertainments, the living conditions. and it wasn't just civilians, of course. there were people

like... the railways were being run out of down street station. winston churchill even took refuge there. and, you know, places like that were vital to winning the war effort and keeping morale up and people safe. this is just one of the tunnels and there are, what, 16 tunnels like this? just in this one shelter alone. there were eight of these sheltersjust in london. so there is all sorts of strange, weird, quirky places under the streets that you would never even think of, that you would never even imagine that were here. this is the sort of thing that you can explore on a tour, if you can make it, but if you can't, then the exhibition is a chance to learn more about it. now, there are 180 steps to get back to the surface. chris has promised to hold my hand! danjohnson dan johnson reporting from danjohnson reporting from deep below london. england's footballers can book their place in the finals of euro 2020 if they beat the czech republic in prague tonight. off the pitch, there are warnings to england fans to keep out of trouble.

joe wilson reports from prague. they call prague "the city of a hundred spires". they are everywhere. it is also, someone counted, a city of 600 bars. prague knows its attractions, especially on a friday night. british police wanted this game to be rescheduled. they're advising english travellers to come for the football, not a stag do. there are risk factors with playing on a friday night, in an attractive destination, that can increase that element who drink too much and then behave badly. we're really urging all the vast majority of decent supporters to go. it's a great city, enjoy yourselves. we've got a team worth watching. and really stay away from those troublesome elements. well, friday in prague is full of tourism. england's footballers play here this evening, and then in bulgaria on monday, and the build—up to these games has actually focused a lot on the subject of racism. now, england's players have experienced that before in different

parts of eastern europe and they've been preparing their response if, hypothetically, they experience it again. walking off the pitch is the ultimate option. england want to support their players, not antagonise other players. manager gareth southgate knows english football has its own issues to address. but countering racism is a process of education. a lot of it is down to, you know, not really understanding people's background and cultures and things and kind of feeling threatened by it. but it's one way if you kind of open up and show that love and respect and learning new cultures, you know, you find out that everyone's just exactly the same really. so, the football match. well, czech republic were a mighty team once. and he scores! they lead in the final of euro ‘96, almost won it. but in march this year, england beat them 5—0.

it is a night to win to qualify, and to leave with only good memories everywhere. joe wilson, bbc news, in prague. the scottish rugby union are considering legal action if their crucial world match is called off because of the super typhoon heading towards japan this weekend. andy swiss is in tokyo. how big a blow will this be for scotland ? well, it is already reining in tokyo and there is real concern about this typhoon which will arrive here at some point tomorrow. the authorities say it could be the biggest storm to hit tokyo since 1958, with line speeds of well over 100 mph, already flights are being cancelled, rail services are being cancelled and, as you say, there could be a big knock on effect to the rugby world cup. already, two matches had been cancelled and there is real doubt over sunday's match betweenjapan and scotland. now, if that game was

called off, scotland would almost certainly be knocked out of the tournament. so naturally, they are very keen that it goes ahead. but the organisers say they will not consider delaying the match, they will not consider relocating it to another venue, and scotland are not very happy about that. in fact, they are even considering legal action to make sure that the game goes ahead. they say that to cancel the game would go against the whole sporting integrity of the tournament. and there will be a final decision as to whether the match can go ahead on sunday morning. all right, andy, thank you very much. the main story and then use the european union has given the green light for intensified negotiations over brexit. the main outstanding issue is the border between ireland and northern ireland which would be the uk's only land border with the eu after brexit. this is our correspondent chris merritt —— chris norris. thanks, if a last—minute deal

is to be done, most of theresa may's withdrawal agreement will remain in place, but what about the irish border? the biggest problem is customs, the uk insist on getting rid of the irish backs document you —— the legal guarantee to avoid hard border. it proposes replacing it not the czechs at the body itself, but light touch text elsewhere in factories and other locations. it also proposed exemptions from customs for many businesses and the eu having to change its own customs laws to suit the uk. the eu basically rejected that proposal, hence the searching out for a compromise. from a customs point of view, it doesn't really matter where you put the border. the border can be over sea passage or a land boundary. so wherever the politicians decide they want to put the border is kind of up to them. but what you end up with if you have a border, you have to make customs declarations as good crosses —— as goods cross it. we don't do precisely what is being discussed behind the scenes, but one possible

solution would be to designate the land border as an effect illegal customs border but make pots on the irish sea the practical border where it checks take place. could both sides swallow some version of that? maybe. the other issue is consent. the uk has agreed northern ireland would have to follow many the rules of the eu single market as long as northern ireland gave its consent. but the uk has suggested a method to do that which appeared to give a veto to one party, its allies in the democratic unionist party over whether to follow eu rules. the good friday agreement which lies at the heart of the northern ireland peace process is based in part on the idea that no single party can wield the veto over any aspect of the deal and that may have to be the way forward in these negotiations, too. the uk had wanted the eu to give a legally binding commitment there would never be any checks at the irish border before the eu could know how uk proposals would work. no way, said the eu. but if all this can somehow

be fudged. it would enable northern ireland to enjoy the benefits of any free trade deal is the uk did whilst at the same time allowing northern ireland to remain highly in line with the eu, it is a hybrid halfway has solution, but it is complicated and it is the kind of thing the european commission doesn't like. and we don't have a lot of time. well, there is a european summit on october the 17th and brexit is still due to happen on october the 31st, so is there still time to sort all this out before then? i wouldn't bet the house on it! chris, thank you very much, chris norris. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. no change in our weather pattern and more rain to come, and most of it is from this conveyor belt of cloud from this conveyor belt of cloud from the mid atlantic that brings more rain through the weekend. further north, showers and sunshine. and reportedly here in the scottish borders, it is blowing a gale. this is the radar picture over the

past few hours, we