this is bbc news. the headlines: the president of the european council, donald tusk, has confirmed he's received a formal request from borisjohnson to delay brexit. mr tusk said he would start consulting eu leaders on how to react. the british prime minister sent the letter after mps voted not to approve his dealfor the uk

to leave the eu until all the legal steps had been completed. turkey's president has threatened more bloodshed in northeast syria, after turkish and kurdish forces accused each other of violating the five—day ceasefire. turkey's president vowed to crush kurdish forces unless they withdrew from a 30 kilometre safe zone proposed under the deal. dozens of anti—government protesters and leaders of major opposition parties in azerbaijan have been detained in the capital baku. the detentions took place during an unsanctioned rally organised by the opposition to demand democratic reforms. cats, les mis, the phantom of the opera — all shows enjoying huge success in london's west end and now disney's the lion king is celebrating a milestone. it made its way onto the west end stage on tuesday the 19th of october 1999 at the lyceum theatre.

20 years on and the production based on the 1994—animated film is one of the longest—running musicals in west end history. deborah godchaser is making her west end debut and took us backstage for a tour. so my first time on stage, that was, i don't even know, it was so surreal. just the whole show, i was like, oh my gosh, i'm actually in the lion king! finally. singing in swahili. a swing is a cast member who is required to learn multiple amounts of roles within the show. in the case of the lion king, that

would be different characters such as the gazelle, zebras, lionesses, the cheetah, i would say it is quite nerve racking. i've learned to control the nerves, i think ijust kind of go with it and trust the fact that i know the choreography and i know where to be. when i go downstairs to what they call the bunker, i'm going to show you are all the magic happens. the magical bunker. follow me. so this is the lioness costume. the heads are all hand—painted. the silks are all hand dyed individually to make every single individual look different. the different beads come together to make this corset and the white lines represent the underbelly of the lioness. these other gazelles. they are all made out of carbon fibre. they — we have one on the right hand, one on the left hand

and one on the head, on a cramp in order to represent the herds moving together. along as they travel across the pride land. these are the grass heads that we were on top of our heads. these are hung upside down in order to keep the shape of the grass. the first time coming on stage, the audience had — the energy, it was just so surreal and electrifying. i was very nervous. well, i think i got over the fact that i was nervous because i was in it, doing it. i guess as a swing, you have so many other things to be thinking about such as where you're meant to be on stage, you come after, which when you exit or and so on. so i think i was thinking so much about those things but i did try to enjoy. so i think by my third show, i started to just kind of settle in and enjoy it and yeah, i can't remember what scene it was.

now bbc news explores the rise of teenage knife crime in london. these are stories over a three—month period from the front line of the epidemic of knife crime in britain. they just stabbed him. epidemic of knife crime in britain. theyjust stabbed him. my brain was telling me... just killing each other. and it's pointless. it's still early. the guys are not tipping out of the pubs yet. absolutely anything could happen. let's face it, doesn't take much to get stabbed in our society today.

on any given day in britain, a knife attack will intrude on a young life will stop the youngest to today so far this yearjust will stop the youngest to today so far this year just 14. will stop the youngest to today so far this yearjust 14. how best to give our youth a chance? we've been trying to find out with one of the busiest trauma centres in europe. it's, um, what, just after 1am, we've been here now for five days, and there have been seven in all, stabbing victims, admitted to the royal london. so at least one a day. and what's really sad is that the staff say it's been a slow week. this is 16—year—old lucas. at approximately 1630 he has allegedly

been assaulted by a group of people. a single incision wound to the left upper quadrant. lucas perry has been stabbed in the chest. one of two knife victims admitted to the royal london hospital this evening. his painkillers haven't kicked in. 0k, chest x—ray, complete primary. co nsulta nt chest x—ray, complete primary. consultant martyn griffiths will $0011 consultant martyn griffiths will soon operate on lucas. he is a stabilised but nothing is certain. how are you doing? i'm right here. open your eyes. look at me. what's your name? lucas. how old are you? 16. and what happened to you? the attacker‘s knife pierced his stomach. e11 refused to hand over his phone to a group of tina roberts.|j get a phone call that my son had been stabbed. theyjust can't

believe... it's absolutely awful. they have just got to open him up and see where the knife has gone, what it said, and take it from there, really. there's lots of things that could go wrong. lucas was randomly assaulted, but a rising number of victims have been specifically targeted by people who know what they're doing. we know we are seeing a lot more, about a 10% rise year—on—year. and we get the feeling we're seeing more complex wounds, in junctional areas like the neck and the groin, and that suggests that there is a movement towards more severe wounds, numbers of wounds, so individual people get more wounds in more dangerous areas that require the expertise of our service. what you think is going on then? what's going on out there?” hopeifs then? what's going on out there?” hope it's just a then? what's going on out there?” hope it'sjust a blip. they worry that there's a change in towards knife injury and people are becoming better educated on how to cause more

damage. those often first on the scene, the paramedics, have noticed a trend, too. the last year or two yea rs a trend, too. the last year or two years we've seen more a trend, too. the last year or two years we've seen more severity in the stab wounds and the frequency as well. this is a 17-year-old who was slashed seven or eight times in the buttocks, lower back, really deep wounds. martin is very, very worried, because this man has lost a lot of blood. it is going to be touch and go. another victim comes m, touch and go. another victim comes in, stabbed in a targeted strike several times. one patient who didn't want us to show his face had been cut around the buttocks and the surgeon been cut around the buttocks and the surgeon who treated him speculated as attackers were hoping to permanently damage his aina ‘s. forcing him to use a colostomy bag —— anus. a veteran of all the violence, martyn griffiths has now been appointed the national health service's violent crime reduction

chief or london to educate wider society only causes of knife crime to find solutions. let's strip away conventions, really, let slip away what we expect to happen in our lives. let's strip away resource, shelter, warmth, comfort, parenting, structure. let's introduce chaotic parenting, inconsistent food, inconsistent shelter, with no aspiration or no aspiration, and a group in society where that behaviour is the norm. and put around that a big fence, from where people arejudging you around that a big fence, from where people are judging you from and imu to be worthless. unless give you no access to get out of that place. and let's see how you behave. what will happen? is going to be explosive. it won't be positive. # i got stabbed

in my arm... today's poets, writers, and musicians haven't shied away from the nightmare, ask this wrapper, a cautionary tale from his own music video. i got stabbed 11 times recently. what a moment to do, stay in my house? you know what they mean? this time a blade has injured tendons in his left arm and may have severed an artery going into his wrist. he shies away from telling us exactly what happened. so why could meet with some... i got stabbed 11 times. they made a song that week talking the talk and got millions of views. michael, that's pretty bad. no, it's not that bad. i've got a song called it's not that bad. he is now trying to escape a world where violence is glamorised. no longer

suggesting it's cool to carry. but the bottom line is there's not one baron the bottom line is there's not one bar on the whole of this map in london that is not affected by youth violence and has not been affected by young people being murdered on histories of —— borough. and that's the reality. and the fact that we're living in a where this is normal... how is that acceptable?! children being murdered on the street. she works alongside martyn griffiths, and outreach worker she offers the support some families need to prevent young people from turning to violence. if you are big enough to be walking around with a knife and thinking you're bad enough, but the reality is these kids don't fully understand, they fully don't comprehend, because how many of them ido comprehend, because how many of them i do wonder actually intend to murder? some do, reckon, because of the level of violence that they inflict on their victims, but i don't believe that they set out on

that day, yeah, i'm going to go and murder someone. a huge concern is revenge attacks. and, ultimately, the aim is to stop those young people getting readmitted back here. getting readmitted or becoming perpetrators. because whether they are readmitted, that's another trauma, or if they become perpetrators that is an even bigger trauma. stopping them coming from victims. .. trauma. stopping them coming from victims... to perpetrator. where they will end up in the criminal justice system, where they could end up justice system, where they could end up being responsible for taking someone's lie. they came on duty one day to a 17—year—old in one of our beds who had murdered one of my clients the night before. and he got 17 years. he was 17. he looked 15. they told him, when they met him, because they don't know if he was fully responsible for the young person's death. i know now he has been thaisa he is doing the life sentence, what is said to him "you don't even understand the enormity of what you've done. you cannot fathom it." i said," i said if you

are not guilty in, you are good. but if you are guilty you need to start praying, repent, because eventually the enormity of what you have done last night it is going to take its toll and it is going to weigh you down and it is going to hurt you emotionally, and mentally." but some seem emotionally, and mentally." but some seem willing to accept that guilt for the rush of revenge. meet jermaine, a nightclub bouncer who was attacked for refusing entry to one customer. so this guy cut my face because he thought he was disrespected. it's a respecting. it makes sense. people are fighting for their territory, people are fighting for their respect. but back in the day it would be so disrespectful he had come my face. back in the day i would have to prove the point they would have to prove the point they would have to prove the point they would have a week to get him back. it's pointless. we are killing each other. it's black—on—black. we're just getting each other. and it's pointless. on the win, another emergency “— pointless. on the win, another emergency —— wing. the anguish was

overwhelming for freda and peter muller when they found out their son had been stabbed. the 15—year—old is now recovering. he was attacked on his way home from football training. they should not be allowed. they should not be allowed, that was my concern, those were my feelings as a mother. i actually remember i concern, those were my feelings as a mother. i actually rememberi heard i got stabbed here, i got injured here, stabbed here and i did not see him. ididn't here, stabbed here and i did not see him. i didn't know. and then i remember he stabbed me here and i think i tried to grab the knife of him and then i wasjust screaming. those who minutes of violence are now forcing this family to question everything. they are saying the best thing to do is to move out of the area. that is the fear. you should not be like that. it is not new, you just have to live with that. but there is a realism fuelled by social

media. they are always showing videos of people getting stabbed or pictures of police who say they have caught them and someone took a picture and that would be a knife, a gun. social media always betraying it, everywhere. we are dealing with a generation that are angry, disarmed, neglect, that no—one really cares about. that is why they try to talk to stabbed victims straight after the surgery to tackle their emotional as well as physical injuries. if you have parents with domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health, you cannot zero shut that child because you are consumed with whatever you are dealing with as an adult. does it depress you? it

brea ks as an adult. does it depress you? it breaks your heart. you're seeing children and families whose lives are destroyed. i had a young person here a couple of weeks ago, he is mother found out on snapchat, here a couple of weeks ago, he is motherfound out on snapchat, on snapchat that her child had been stabbed. now, what does that say about society? after receiving the treatment he needs, michael discharged himself and is heading home. are you worried about going back out there, onto the streets ? about going back out there, onto the streets? not worried. i am not worried. you just have to be more aware. if you know other people are rolling or carrying things like that, then you're going to carry things like that to protect yourself also... and then it becomes a spiral. do you carry a knife? are

used to. my little brother has been stabbed as well. which one? the 21—year—old. stabbed as well. which one? the 21-year-old. did he carry a knife? he 21-year-old. did he carry a knife? h e rece ntly 21-year-old. did he carry a knife? he recently got arrested for carrying a knife. is that the problem is that a lot of young men have in london, that fear that they are going to be attacked so they have to carry an it is just a spiral and goes on and on. how many people have seen and heard about a friend and think, that is not happening... iam going and think, that is not happening... i am going to safeguard myself and carry this to protect myself. i do not want that to happen to me. it is pa rt not want that to happen to me. it is part of the game, isn't it. that's what i think. what game? life? yes, it is part of it. part of being in london? a young man in london? maybe

pa rt london? a young man in london? maybe part of growing up in london.” think so. i cannot sleep well at night because sometimes i am still up night because sometimes i am still up because i am paranoid orjust scared. i think about it and i do not want to sleep. it is one of those things. back at home, guarding is experiencing nightmares. these guys is experiencing nightmares. these guys come is experiencing nightmares. these guys come up to us and said, where are you guys from? ijust froze. my friend just said, run. are you guys from? ijust froze. my friendjust said, run. i are you guys from? ijust froze. my friend just said, run. i tripped over, i friend just said, run. i tripped over, lam friend just said, run. i tripped over, i am stumbling. friend just said, run. i tripped over, lam stumbling. i friend just said, run. i tripped over, i am stumbling. i don't even remember him stabbing me here and stuff. and that is where he got me, here. iwas stuff. and that is where he got me, here. i was bleeding, stuff. and that is where he got me, here. iwas bleeding, bleeding. i wasjust squeezing it. i told myself, keep calm, don't panic because, if a myself, keep calm, don't panic because, ifa panic, your myself, keep calm, don't panic because, if a panic, your heart starts racing and then you are just scared. if you panic, ifi

starts racing and then you are just scared. if you panic, if i panic, i felt i could have passed away. if i panicked and did not know what to do i would have passed away but i told myself to stay calm. football eases his mind and dispel the memories and he is good, hoping to turn professional. he has built a life around football where he lived and does not want to leave because of what happened but his family's first instinct is to escape. if you are not safe, you're not going to play football. but there is attention. moving away from this part of london, will give you peace of mind? probably a little bit of peace of mind. the dilemma of a family being driven away by violence or staying put. i am completely against it, to be honest. i have foot and i have school. i am against the fact of

moving. i know, i know.” school. i am against the fact of moving. i know, i know. iam school. i am against the fact of moving. i know, i know. i am not involved with anything. why would they come and attack an innocent person, why? you write? cool. six weeks later, he is catching up with levine smith, caseworkerfrom weeks later, he is catching up with levine smith, caseworker from the trust. she has been providing him with added support from the woman he was stabbed. they have been supportive but make yes, they were going to refer me to counsel. i get frustrated sometimes. i am angry. why him? why all the other victims of knife crime. so many lives disrupted at the point of a blade. lucas's operation lasted two hours. through the muscles, into your liver. and it hits your stomach and punches a hole in your stomach. he

is sore and on the mend but what about his family? all of you have been traumatised by this. all of you. if you look awry, you are probably not all right, so it is going to be a long process, not six weeks, not six months, it can be yea rs before you weeks, not six months, it can be years before you are in a happier place. being home will help that process and we catch up with lucas a few days after being discharged. i am good now. he's finally able to tell me happened. they pulled their knives. i am not going to run away. what were they after?” knives. i am not going to run away. what were they after? i don't know, i was on the phone. he tried to stab one of my mates so i came over and he stabbed me. i think it isjust

the way the youngsters now think. one of those things you he happening so one of those things you he happening so often. it isjust life, just something that could happen in their lifetime. if you're walking along the street and you see them, what is going to happen? obviously i want them to feel what i felt, to be stabbed. edmonton, in north london, a youthjoins stabbed. edmonton, in north london, a youth joins two other men are taking with knife in broad daylight young man pinned to the floor. the shouts of onlookers have no effect. they slashed and cut with impunity as normal life goes on around them. one of the weapons is clearly visible as a escape. onlookers then try to help. an ambulance eventually arrives and takes the victim to

hospital. he survives but this was a warning, they would have killed him if they felt like it. the attack and everyday reality many of our cities, where did society go wrong? a consensus is where did society go wrong? a consensus is now where did society go wrong? a consensus is now developing that ta nksley consensus is now developing that tanksley knife claims needs a holistic approach that the perpetrators as well as the victims must be treated with some degree of understanding. i am angry, not with these young boys, not with their pa rents these young boys, not with their parents but with a society that has failed not just once parents but with a society that has failed notjust once or twice but throughout their entire lives and created a place where violence is pa rt created a place where violence is part and parcel. they are all victims of violence, they are not perpetrators. every person i have seen perpetrators. every person i have seen has had somebody use a weapon on them and they deserve my help. i know it is easy to fall into that

sort of abyss of apathy and negativity about these boys and them and them and them and tolerated but i know that every single one of these kids does not want the life they have god. they don't want the fear, the anxiety, the stress. when you understand the rules of the game, you you understand the rules of the game, you understand that. you understand the rules of the game, you understand thatm you understand the rules of the game, you understand that. it is kind of losing here. in the battle against knife crime, teenagers have now at the options of learning life—saving skills alongside their study. the team is trying to raise awareness. it has come to this. innocence raised at so young an age but the fake blood mayjust

innocence raised at so young an age but the fake blood may just save lives and make a young person think twice about carrying a knife. what happens if you are out and you find somebody carrying a knife? tell them, what you think are doing! laughter. are you going to go to the police? yes, it is pretty scary. so you are going to tell me it is good to carry? no, it is not good at all but where i come from, some of the people they think it plays a significant in their life but they do not understand the impact in the long—term. someone might not like another person and then all of these people that a friend just have a

reason not to like another person. itjust escalates. reason not to like another person. it just escalates. they are reason not to like another person. itjust escalates. they are not evil people, they do it for fear, itjust escalates. they are not evil people, they do it forfear, for protection, out of peer pressure, to be part of a gang. because everyone else doesn't do it but knives make it more likely to be violent because it more likely to be violent because it is in your pocket and you can use it. any big acropolis has a capacity for a fuel for violent that can never go away. “— for a fuel for violent that can never go away. —— metropolis. but martin argues things can change of society appreciate the true nature of the problem. afterfilming, the complexity of the issue is clear, less so, perhaps, the solution.

some of us will see some sunshine and generally sunny day. things quite link down but it is a northerly flow and that means a cooler filled to the day and, with that low pressure out into the north sea, we could just see a fair amount of cloud drifting in along the east coast with scattered showers pushed down by the northerly breeze. head further west and south for the best of the drier, sunnier moments. highs of the drier, sunnier moments. highs of 9— of the drier, sunnier moments. highs of 9- 14 of the drier, sunnier moments. highs of 9— 1a degrees but the general trend over the next few days is for things to stay relatively quiet. we will keep some showers along the east coast but elsewhere clear skies and it is going to be a chilly start to monday morning and, at the same time the risk of a little more rain in the south—east corner but, that said, generally it is going to be a

dry day on a monday for many of us, despite that rain in the far eastern temperatures will peak at 9— 15 degrees.

hello and welcome to bbc news. the president of the european council, donald tusk, has confirmed he's received a formal request from borisjohnson to delay brexit for three months. mr tusk said he would start consulting eu leaders on how to respond. mrjohnson also sent a second letter telling european leaders that a further brexit delay would be a mistake. he was forced to ask for a delay after mps voted not to approve his dealfor the uk to leave the eu until all the legal steps had been completed.