today at six — as we go on air, brexit negotiators are still hard at work in brussels — a deal is on a knife edge. the two sides are closer than they have been for days — but nothing has been signed off yet. clearly, there is very intensive discussions under way, but, you know, we can't be certain what the outcome will be, but i remain hopeful that a deal might be reached. as we go on air, meetings are going on in brussels and in london. we'll bring you the latest. also on the programme. harry dunn's parents at the white house. they've been talking about the bombshell invitation to meet the woman involved in the fatal crash. we are still willing to meet her, but it needs to be on uk soil. the americans move out and the russians move in. how the us troop withdrawal has

changed the syrian conflict. northern rail could be nationalised, but would this end the misery for commuters? william and kate head for pakistan's mountains and call for more action on climate change. coming up in and coming up in sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, we'll be live in sofia, as further arrests are made, following the racist abuse targeting england's black footballers during monday's match against bulgaria. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. as we go on air today, the future of the uk's relationship with the european union is balanced on a knife—edge.

several deadlines have come and gone over the last 2a hours and still negotiators from the two sides are talking in brussels. borisjohnson has held a cabinet meeting and ministers have told the bbc that a deal this week remains possible but not certain. over in brussels the president of the eu council, donald tusk, says the basic foundations of a deal are in place but that there were still doubts on the british side. that could be over the question of what sort of say northern ireland's parties have over any deal — we know the prime minister has met the dup leaders yet again today. our political editor laura kuenssberg has followed every twist and turn of the day's events and shejoins us now. george, will they won't they has been a familiar refrain over recent days, frankly over recent months and even days, frankly over recent months and eve n years , days, frankly over recent months and even years, it feels like, but let's rememberfor a moment even years, it feels like, but let's remember for a moment why this matter so much. whether or not we leave the european union with a deal makes a huge difference to business, it makes a huge difference to northern ireland and every corner of the uk, it makes a huge difference

also to eu citizens living here as well as to brits abroad, and of course, finally, it makes a massive difference to the political balance here at westminster, whether the prime minister is able to get his way and take us out of the eu by his own self—imposed deadline, or whether or not parliament ends up forcing him into another delay. it has been a frantic day in brussels and here in westminster. tonight, will they won't they? it seems they just might. send for sustenance. with the boris johnson had ordered the crisps or the oranges, he's been holed up all day in westminster, trying to make the jagged jigsaw pieces fit. the prime minister would need the sign off of your‘s other big players, france and germany, who will carry out a france and germany, who will carry outa similar france and germany, who will carry out a similar inspection. there is a brexit deal work without disrupting the eu? i want to believe a deal is

being finalised, the french president said. we will talk about it at the summit tomorrow. before it gets to the leaders, though, any deal has to go through the grinder in brussels. for days, negotiators have been trying to inch towards an agreement. after several years of trying to find solutions to the same puzzle. in particular, what happens at the irish border after brexit. could it tonight be on?” at the irish border after brexit. could it tonight be on? i said last week that i thought there was a pathway to a possible agreement. that is still my view, however the question is whether the negotiators will be able to bridge the remaining gaps in advance of tomorrow's council. what is important now is that all focus is kept on achieving a deal that delivers with everyone. but the pieces won't fall easily into place. boris johnson but the pieces won't fall easily into place. borisjohnson needs his northern irish allies. well, we are continuing the discussions and no doubt we will say something later on today. the dup has been in and out of downing street all day. they worry about giving too much away.

can you tell us how the negotiations are going? it is all going marvellously. they might know more, though, than some of the cabinet. cheerful, but not all of them fully in the loop. may you know as much as ido, in the loop. may you know as much as i do, either way. clearly there are very intensive discussions under way but we can't be certain what the outcome will be, but i remain hopeful. but every single thumbs up will count. boris johnson hopeful. but every single thumbs up will count. borisjohnson does not have a majority on his own, so brexiteers who saw off theresa may need to back a theoretical deal. because there is just no chance of the opposition coming to the prime minister's rescue. i will ask all labour mps to vote along with the party in opposing any deal which damages rights and protections on oui’ damages rights and protections on our society or drives us into the arms of donald trump. to be sure whether any kind of deal can be

struck can't be done yet. impossible to see past the smoke and mirrors. and as i understand it tonight, most of the issues between the uk, the eu and ireland, that triangle, if you like, have pretty much been resolved, but still it is not clear whether the dup, the northern irish unionist allies of the prime minister are actually on board yet. like so many other factions in all of this, they have been in and out of this, they have been in and out of downing street being the recipients of a charm offensive from boris johnson's team, recipients of a charm offensive from borisjohnson‘s team, but unless and until they decide it is worth their while to come on board that they can put up with what has been agreed in this draft proposal, well, then it is just too soon to say this is defensively going to be a moment. european ambassadors will be briefed by european negotiator michel barnier in the next couple of hours, so barnier in the next couple of hours, so it may well be, george, that later tonight this all snaps into place before european leaders gathered tomorrow in brussels to

discuss, and then maybe, maybe, to give this a rubber stamp. but the dup are not a group of politicians that are a pushover, and this is still something that simply is not yet in the back. eu ambassadors are meeting right now in brussels to be briefed by michel barnier, the eu's chief negotiator on the shape of the deal. our europe editor katya adler is in brussels right now. what's the latest? does the eu feel they are there on a deal? well, i can tell you that this rainy city has just been full of rumour and absolutely full of inpatients all day. those 27 ambassadors, they represent all of the eu's 27 countries, have been waiting around all day to hear from their chief brexit negotiator. he has been locked in there in the european commission building with uk negotiators, last night and today, and the expectation on the eu side at least is that a new brexit text

is pretty much ready. they are just waiting to hear from the uk is pretty much ready. they are just waiting to hearfrom the uk side whether it can be signed. this is a text, remember, to replace the irish backstop, that guarantee mechanism to keep the border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland open after brexit. but, george, and you have heard all the ifs and buts from laura, even if this text is ready, and even if it can be signed off by eu leaders at their summit over the next two days with boris johnson, the eu will not yet be breathing a sigh of relief, because they've been here before. theresa may signed off a brexit deal with the eu, and it went on then to be rejected, multiple times in the house of commons. the fear amongst eu leaders is if this new brexit text were to beat the same fate, then all that would mean for them is then all that would mean for them is the government coming back here to brussels and asking the eu for yet more concessions. thank you very much.

the parents of a british teenager who was killed in a collision with the wife of an american diplomat have had a meeting with president trump at the white house. they've been describing their surprise — even shock — when the president said the woman was in a room next door and invited them to meet her. they refused — and they've been telling our correspondent duncan kennedy why. harry dunn's family have been on many kinds ofjourneys in the wake of his death. but this one to washington, dc was the strangest of all. they'd been called to the white house but had no idea they would be meeting the president, or that he would then suggest they meet the woman who drove the car involved in their son's death. it didn't seem right... they told me president trump should not have tried to engineer a meeting of such vulnerable people. he clearly wanted us to have that meeting to try and bring some healing, i think, was how he put it. but, you know, we haven't

begun to grieve yet. some have described the whole idea of bringing her into the oval office as a bit of a stunt by the president. all of a sudden you're sat in front of the president of the united states and you've got your own things where we wanted to do things our way, and to try and steady yourself and think about what you are going to answer, so it's quite difficult. but lawyers for anne sacoolas said tonight she was disappointed the meeting in the white house did not go ahead. it was her car that hit harry dunn in august after she drove on the wrong side of the road in northamptonshire. on american television today, harry's parents again refused to demonise mrs sacoolas. they say they want justice, not revenge. tonight, donald trump said he was asked by borisjohnson to arrange the meeting of the two families. charlotte and tim say it

wasn't easy resisting the presidential offer in the setting of the oval office. but say they have to put the interests of harry's memory first. duncan kennedy, bbc news, new york. the consequences of donald trump's surprise decision to pull american troops out of northern syria are becoming clearer by the day. russian ground forces now occupy positions that had been controlled by the us militaryjust 2a hours before. the american withdrawal triggered a military assault by turkey on the kurdish forces, which, just weeks ago, had been us allies. this evening, donald trump said the conflict in syria had nothing to do with the united states. our international correspondent orla guerin reports from the syrian—turkish border. urban warfare in northern syria. fighters backed by turkey still battling the kurds in the border town of ras al—ain. but one week into turkey‘s invasion,

president erdogan now controls but one week into turkey's invasion, president erdogan now controls a swathe of territory here and says he won't stop until he completes his plan. translation: operation peace spring will last until we reach a depth of 30—35 kilometres from manbij to the iraqi border. there is no doubt or hesitation about this. and in the strategic town of manbij, an image that shows the new order. russian power on the move. flying the flag for president putin. his forces had a clear run here, filling the vacuum left by us troops. the russians, who back president assad, are patrolling between the syrians and the turks, keeping them apart. they are the power brokers now. president erdogan is letting the guns do the talking, despite us sanctions.

the us vice president and secretary of defence are rushing here to meet him tomorrow for a heart to heart. but america's voice may be drowned out. well, turkish forces are continuing to pound targets across the border in syria and the battlefield there has changed rapidly. american forces have surrendered much of their leverage. the russians have increased theirs. for president assad, it's a win, and for those opposing him in syria's long war, it's a bitter pill to swallow. and here's another one. us forces pulling out of a base in northern syria today. the kurds see this as a massive betrayal. for donald trump, they already sound like history. our soldiers are not in harm's away, as they shouldn't be, as two countries fight over land

that has nothing to do with us. and the kurds are much safer right now but the kurds know how to fight, and as i said, they're not angels, they're not angels. those dismissed so casually were burying more dead today. here, two fighters and a local journalist. but there are reports that around 70 civilians have been killed since the invasion began. turkey's so—called safe zone is becoming a burial ground. orla guerin, bbc news, on the turkey—syria border. bulgarian police have arrested six people they suspect were involved in racist abuse against black english football players on monday evening. the further nine men have been identified after an investigation by police authorities. the bulgarian commissionerfor the interior police authorities. the bulgarian commissioner for the interior has said bulgaria does not tolerate such behaviour. the government has dropped a plan about

age verification checks, which would have forced corn companies to prove the user was an adult or potentially face a ban. the governments of the policy which was due to come into force in april last year was not going ahead, after repeated delays and forfears going ahead, after repeated delays and for fears that it would not work. doctors in italy, caring for a seriously brain—damaged girl from london, say they hope that she will eventually be able to return to britain and be cared for at home by herfamily. five—year—old tafida raqeeb was flown to genoa yesterday, after her parents won a high court battle to take her abroad for treatment. our medical correspondent fergus walsh reports from genoa. on italian soil at last, tafida was taken from a private plane at genoa airport to a waiting ambulance. this is what her family had fought for after doctors in the uk said she should be allowed to die peacefully and with dignity. tafida's parents were welcomed today by staff at the gaslini children's hospital

and by pro—life campaigners. her mother is convinced she is slowly improving. we are hoping that, with time, she'll be able to come to some sort of recovery, and that's the day we'll be waiting for patiently. tafida suffered a catastrophic brain bleed in february and is kept alive on a ventilator. the italian medical team agree with british doctors that tafida can never be cured. the brain injury has been devastating but we cannot exclude that there might be maybe a slight improvement in the future, and we are just buying time to assess if this would be possible. the medical team here will perform a tracheostomy, inserting a tube into tafida's windpipe, which will be connected to the ventilator which keeps her alive. the eventual aim is that she can be transferred back to england and be cared for at home.

tafida's parents have applied for italian citizenship for her, in a bid to reduce the cost of medical treatment here, which is all being privately funded. no—one is sure how long her stay in italy will last. fergus walsh, bbc news, genoa. the time is 6:17am. the top story this evening. brexit negotiators are still hard at work in brussels and a deal is said to be close. still to come. . . i'm fine. how can i be expected to keep you safe when you're determined to make the worst choices? and the play that gives voice to those affected by the yorkshire ripper and never mentions his name. coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news, we hearfrom the world champion, katarina johnson—thompson on how a coaching change paid dividends and how tough it will be at the tokyo olympics next year.

here's a question: what does a row between america and the eu over aircraft subsidies have to do with the price of scotch whisky exports? from this friday the us will impose more than $7 billion worth of extra import taxes on all kinds of goods from europe. that's in retaliation for illegal subsidies that some eu countries — including the uk — gave to plane maker airbus, the great rival of the us manufacturer boeing. today, president trump said the us was "getting even" for unfair treatment. and scotch whisky — it seems — is caught in the middle — as our business editor simonjack explains. a bolt from the blue. a is—yearfeud between eu giant airbus and arch us rival boeing over government subsidies has seen the us allow to impose £7.5 billion worth government subsidies has seen the us allow to impose $7.5 billion worth

of tariffs on eu products, and the impact has landed right here, in speyside in scotland. from friday, single malt exports from scotland to the us, worth £1 billion, will be hit with a 25% tariff. single malt from the republic of ireland will not. so this has been matured in sherry casks for... this distillery sends 60,000 bottles of spey single malt to the us every single year. patricia dylan has been talking to us importers to grow that number. those plans are now under review. we feel as though we're being dragged into a trade war, which is nothing to do with us whatsoever, and because of the 25% tariffs that have been implemented in the us, this is something we can't possibly absorb into our business, so what we have to do is reconsider the market in the us that we are currently in. it's notjust whiskey makers under pressure. cashmere made in scotland will also get hit. cashmere makers in italy will not, and that putsjohnstons of elgin at a big disadvantage. in the very short—term,

we are going to have to absorb these costs, because we can't expect people to pay more for products they've already ordered. in the longer term, this is going to hit consumers in the us, and that is going to mean that their cashmere is going to become more expensive. that in turn means we will be able to export less, grow less, and we'll have to downscale our plans. here atjohnstons of elgin, and many other scottish businesses, there's a sense of confusion, even dismay, that they're being dragged into a damaging trade war that they didn't start, and many are asking, if this is the way the us treats us now, what makes us think there will be any special treatment over trade when we are outside the eu? it seems that old friendships don't beat national self—interest. the uk isn't being targeted unfairly. there will be tariffs put on french products and german products and other products as well, butjust because we have a special relationship doesn't mean that we are willing to sacrifice our economic interest, in the context of a trade dispute or a trade negotiation, and that, by the way,

applies to whatever future trade agreement might be negotiated between the us and the uk, as well. whisky tariffs were raised on a call with donald trump last week, with the prime minister urging him to rethink. meanwhile, the uk government told the bbc that securing a trade deal with the us is one of its highest priorities. what this shows is that in the ebb and flow of trade, nothing is simple. simonjack, bbc news, speyside. the government says that it's considering taking control of one of the country's largest rail franchises. the transport secretary grant shapps said northern, which runs commuter services in and out of cities in the north of england had failed passengers for too long and the franchise could not continue in its current form. judith moritz is at manchester victoria station tonight. this is one of more than 500 stations used by northern. 20% of the stations across the uk from

nottingham to newcastle, liverpool to hull. the way it functions matters to millions of people but it has been beset by problems. there are ageing trains, like this peso thatis are ageing trains, like this peso that is about to leave platform to, problems with customer service with the chaotic introduction of a new timetable the summer before last and it has augment disruption for passengers. today the transport secretary said it cannot continue and effectively issued an ultimatum to northern and told them to come up with proposals about how things can improve, or he says he is considering taking the franchise out of private hands. what would that look like? it could becomejust of private hands. what would that look like? it could become just the second company in the country to be run by the operator of last resort, as also happened with the east coast mainline, an arm's—length government body. all the company could continue to function under the control of areva and northern but with direct

management from the department for transport. any of those things could happen but what does it mean for passengers? not a lot in the short term, these sorts of things will ta ke term, these sorts of things will take months to resolve. and as for northern itself it said it is committed to improving things and said it has suffered from challenges beyond its control, like old trains like that not being replaced in time because of manufacturing delays. they say they just want to prove things to customers. —— arriva. judith, thank you very much. between 1975 and 1980 the yorkshire ripper, peter sutcliffe, murdered 13 women — crimes for which he is still in prison. tonight, the leeds playhouse premieres a play about the fear and terror he instilled in women right across yorkshire and beyond. but the ripper‘s name is never actually mentioned in the play which is called there are no beginnings — instead it gives voice to women. here's our entertainment correspondent colin paterson. the yorkshire ripper spread fear in an area far wider than where his crimes were committed.

it was dark and it was spooky. that house wasn't there. so this was quite a, quite a nerve—wracking little area to walk down. at the time of the ripper, ali miles grew up in thirsk, a0 miles to the north of where the first murder happened, leeds. she was so scared that streets where she lived became no—go areas and wouldn't visit the city for decades. i've never been to leeds. a0 minutes down the road? i've never been. i've never been, i've never been to the theatre there, nothing. hearing about the effect the ripper had on her own mum's life inspired the playwright charley miles to give a voice to other untold tales from the time. these are women that were never going to be put on documentaries, or put in history books, and these are women that have never been asked, "how did that make you feel?" i'm fine. look at me. the result is "there are no beginnings" at the leeds playhouse. how can i be expected to keep you safe when you're just determined to make the worst choices? the all—female cast includes

broadchurch‘s julie hesmondhalgh, playing a support worker to vulnerable young women, based on the real life of ros goodman. we should remember the women that lost their voice. ijust hope that people realise what women had to go through in those years. it's also full of humour. yes. because it's about women surviving and coping and being together. yes, it is. and it's... you won't leave the theatre feeling depressed. no, it's light and dark. yeah, it is. light and dark. and out of respect for what the women went through, one name is not heard at all in the play, that of the yorkshire ripper. can you believe that it's just one man doing this to us? one man, one little man, one pathetic boy. all this. colin paterson, bbc news, leeds. the duke and duchess of cambridge have spent the third day of their royal tour in the hindu kush — a majestic

mountain range in pakistan. against the backdrop of a melting glacier prince william drew attention to the challenges of the climate crisis — and called for more action. our royal correspondentjonny dymond has the story. even for the royals, it's a rocky road of the hindu kush. it's a rocky road up the hindu kush. william and catherine came here to see first—hand the impact of a warming planet. the retreat of the glaciers that across these mountains to serve nearly a quarter of humanity. when the glaciers melt, they send water tumbling down, flooding the region. and then once they're gone there's nothing left for the rivers, the rivers that irrigate this hot, hard land. it's why the prince calls global warming and impending warming an impending catastrophe. he came to learn but also to sound the alarm. 1.6 billion people rely

on this water behind us. that is an enormous amount of people who, bearing in mind a lot of people are now living urban lives, it is very hard to understand, living in an urban environment, where your water comes from and how precious the actual source of it all is. blending in with the locals. not quite. but a nice try. applause william and catherine went to a remote village to learn about life outside the big cities. and they were sent back to the capital with dancing and smiles, and music ringing in theirears. jonny dymond, bbc news, pakistan. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. we continue with our unsettled theme and for many of us we had extra rain around this morning. given how wet the weather has been recently, we did see some surface water issues building up on some roads. but the weather front that has brought the rain has been clearing eastwards, or has it? that's not quite the full picture because the weather front

actually stretches round and round like water going down a plug hole out into an area of low pressure thatis out into an area of low pressure that is to the west of us. the significance of that is this area of low pressure is moving across the uk over the next few days. so in a sense that same weather front will be revisiting us several times over the next few days and there is going to be quite a wet spell of weather. at the moment, we have still a bit of rain in kent and the far north—east of scotland but that will clear overnight. showers follow in western areas. the breeze will keep temperatures from falling too low but it will be cold enough for a touch of frost into the sheltered areas of north—east scotland, particularly in the countryside. tomorrow, many of us start on a showery note but showers get moving as the pressure moves in. across eastern areas of scotland and eastern areas of scotland and eastern england it is here we will keep the weather driest for longest and you might escape a downpour across the far north—east of scotla nd across the far north—east of scotland but further west it's one of those days where we will see several showers at some point during the day. we have more of the same to come on friday. the area of low

pressure still there, continuing to bring some showers and lengthy spells of rain. there will be some bright spells between the downpours and temperatures continue to run between ii—isdc. into the weekend forecast, the low pressure is there on the charts but it's getting less intense meaning although there will be some showers around at times, they should be some bigger, drier gaps between those showers, so a little bit more in the way of sunshine coming through. temperatures again ii—isd. that's all from the news at six so it's goodbye

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