tonight at ten, hundreds of activists remain under siege at a hong kong university, where there's been more violence today. explosions. earlier today, many campaigners tried to flee the campus, but were forced back by police with rubber bullets and tear gas. this evening, outside the university, there were several attempts by activists to break the police lines. down the street behind me here, about half a mile away, is the hong kong polytechnic university, which is still under siege. around it, in many, many places tonight,

are scenes like this, of complete chaos. we'll have live reports from hong kong and from beijing, with no end in sight to the clashes between democtrators and the authorities. also tonight... following that bbc interview, prince andrew is now under growing pressure to talk to us officials about his links with the latejeffrey epstein. three party leaders take their messages to the cbi conference, each claiming to be the natural partners of business. we report on the crisis in care for the elderly, and the major policy and financial challenges facing whoever wins the election. and we meet the team behind the tony—award winning musical dear evan hansen, which opens in london tomorrow night. coming up on sportsday on bbc news, can the republic of ireland secure a crucial win over denmark in dublin to guarantee their place at euro 2020?

good evening. in hong kong, hundreds of activists remain under siege inside the polytechnic university, where there's been more violence today, as police try to keep the campaigners trapped inside. outside the university, protesters have tried to break the police lines, some using petrol bombs, while police have responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. it's the latest development in the protests that started injune following plans to allow some criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland china. critics feared it could undermine hong kong'sjudicial independence. those plans were withdrawn in september after intense pressure, but demonstrations have continued as protesters now demand protection

for democractic rights, and an inquiry into the conduct of the police. our correspondent rupert wingfield hayes is in hong kong with the latest. as you said, this has been going on sincejune. as you said, this has been going on since june. nearly six as you said, this has been going on sincejune. nearly six months of protests. you may well ask, isn't this just another day of protest in hong kong. ithink this just another day of protest in hong kong. i think the answer is, no, the last 48—hour as it has been pretty extraordinary even by hong kong standards. first, we have seen the police attempt to storm one of the police attempt to storm one of the city's major universities and failing to do so. then today, we have seen very large protests in support of those under siege in the university. we have seen them pretty much paralyse the whole of kowloon and turn hong kong's major tourist centre into something resembling a battlefield. for a few minutes today it looked like the siege of hong kong polytechnic university

might end peacefully. the young protesters began streaming down the stairway that on sunday was set aflame to block the police storming the campus. but seconds later, riot police began firing tear gas grenades, sending the young protesters scattering in confusion. some did not escape. the clear message from the police today — if you surrender, you will be arrested. hundreds of protesters are still holed up inside the university and some of them still preparing for a fight. this young man's brother is one of them. he is 22 years old. he graduated last year in poly university. he was go to the school after work and we reached him by whatsapp. we know he's safe now but he cannot come out because of police forces around the school.

he tried to come out last night but not successful. this evening, a small group made another break for it, abseiling down ropes from one of the university footbridges to a roadway below, and being taken away in motorcycles. as night fell in kowloon, thousands of other protesters began coming onto the streets in support of those still besieged inside the university. soon the streets of kowloon were once again ablaze. down the street behind me here, about half a mile away, is the hong kong polytechnic university, which is still under siege. around it, in many, many places tonight, are scenes like this, of complete chaos, of running street battles between protesters and riot police. this, where we're standing here, is right next to many five—star hotels. this is the heart of hong kong's tourist and shopping district. trapped in their rooms, tourists gaze down at the scenes below. late tonight, a handful of underage

protesters were allowed to leave the university campus. but for everyone else, the police here are now taking an increasingly hard line. their question now is what happens next? there are many voices here loudly calling for carrie lam, the hong kong chief executive, to come out and show leadership, to defuse the anger and accept some of the protesters‘ demands but i have to say tonight there is no sign of carrie lam and her government appears to have decided on this course of using ever harsher police tactics to crush what now appears like a full—scale revolt. rupert, many thanks again, rupert wingfield—hayes, our correspondence in hong kong with the latest. events in hong kong are being closely watched in beijing. hong kong was handed over to china in 1997, after more than 150 years of british control, and under

the so—called "one country, two systems" arrangement, hong kong was given a high degree of autonomy for 50 years. hong kong‘s special status will come to an end in 2047. we can talk to our correspondent john sudworth in beijing. as the authorities in beijing look at what is going on in hong kong, what are the options open to them here? well, so far, it seems there are very few good ones. a major military intervention, for now, still seems unlikely. it is risky. china would have a lot to lose, both politically and economically and it is worth pointing out the authorities here know that while the violence in hong kong is intensifying, as we heard from rupert, it remains pretty much localised. large parts of the city are operating as normal, they are u naffected,

are operating as normal, they are unaffected, at least directly. and so unaffected, at least directly. and so beijing‘s best bet, it appears, is simply to hope the hong kong police can continue to contain things. but the longer this goes on, of course, the more it challenges general secretary xi jinping‘s grand vision of a unified, prosperous rising china. the chinese ambassador to london held another press conference today, accusing the uk of taking sides and quoting extensively from a speech by xijinping, using some pretty tough language. the message is clear that this is now right at the top of the priority list for the leadership here in beijing. watching and waiting but growing increasingly impatient. many thanks, john sudworth, with the latest on the crisis, from beijing. prince andrew is facing more pressure to speak to the us authorities following his interview with bbc‘s newsnight, when he was questioned about his friendship with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein, who died earlier this year.

the prince has consistently denied allegations about his own conduct. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell‘s report contains flashing images. in los angeles tonight, a lawyerfor some ofjeffrey in los angeles tonight, a lawyerfor some of jeffrey epstein‘s in los angeles tonight, a lawyerfor some ofjeffrey epstein‘s alleged victims and a young woman who says she was raped by epstein at the age of 15. and in no uncertain terms, prince andrew was urged to step forward and tell the fbi everything he knows about the behaviour and activities of his former friend, jeffrey epstein. he described in his interview this weekend thatjeffrey epstein‘s home was like a railway station. well, a lot of the people in his home that were coming in and out were minors, underage girls. it is not something that anyone should close their eyes too. these are somebody‘s children. these are kids.

it would help the victims, gloria already says, if prince andrew would ta ke already says, if prince andrew would take the initiative and submit himself to being questions. take the initiative and submit himself to being questionsm take the initiative and submit himself to being questions. it is the honourable and right thing to do. but will he? there is no absolute commitment so far that prince andrew will agree to be questioned by the us authorities. the palace line at the moment is that if a request is received, it will be considered. two nights ago, prince andrew did his best to answer the central allegations with categoric denials of impropriety. do you remember meeting herat categoric denials of impropriety. do you remember meeting her at all? no. you can say categorically that you don't recall meeting virginia roberts, dining with her busy and i guess. dancing with her at trapped, going on to have sex with her in a bedroom in a house in belgrave your. ican bedroom in a house in belgrave your. i can absolutely, categorically tell you it never happened. but today, a

further sign of the damage this is doing to the principles might reputation, one of his initiatives is called pitch the palace, a scheme to help entrepreneurs and tonight, the accountants kpmg announced they we re the accountants kpmg announced they were withdrawing their sponsorship for the scheme. the decision was taken before the newsnight interview but it is understood the ongoing controversy around prince andrew is one of the reasons for it. but for all of the criticisms, andrew‘s officials say he is determined to carry on. there is no question of him stepping back in any way from his royal duties. nicholas witchell, bbc news, buckingham palace. party leaders have been making their case to business leaders at the annual gathering of the confederation of british industry. boris johnson announced the conservatives would postpone a planned cut in corporation tax next year and spend the money on priorities such as the nhs. jeremy corbyn insisted that labour was not "anti—business",

and promised more investment than business had ever dreamt of. jo swinson told delegates that the lib dems were the "natural party of business" because they wanted to cancel brexit. our business editor simon jack reports from the conference. it‘s a brave move to use a business conference to announce you‘re abandoning a planned £6 billion tax cut for business. i hope you won‘t mind if i also announce today that we are postponing further cuts in corporation tax. and before you storm the stage, this saves us £6 billion that we can put into the priorities of the british people. the fact it hardly raised an eyebrow means you know people‘s minds are on something else. avoiding no—deal brexit means agreeing a full trade deal in 13 months, something many here doubt is possible without asking for more time. can you guarantee to this audience that the uk will never leave the eu without a deal?

i think we are off to a flying start. i see absolutely no reason why we shouldn‘t get it done in the time available. applause. there was also a promise to cut business rates and lower taxes on hiring new employees. can i please welcome jeremy corbyn, the right honourable jeremy corbyn. .. this is a tough crowd for a party that promised to hike corporation tax from i9% to 26% and nationalise a long and growing list of private companies. it is sometimes claimed that i am anti—business. actually, this is nonsense. there was an announcement of 320,000 new green apprenticeships but also a vision of a business—friendly future. you are going to see more investment than you have ever dreamt of. you are going to have the best educated workforce you could ever have hoped for. and you are going to get to the world leading infrastructure, including... business is labour curious, with many curious about how this will be paid for. businesses would dearly like to be

talking about something else, politicians, too. but there‘s no doubt the brexit issue continues to cast the longest shadow over this gathering. the cbi says we simply can‘t afford to have another year like 2019. but within the world of business, there‘s surprisingly little confidence that the upcoming election will provide the clarity that everyone is so desperate for. the lib dems arrived with a promise to abolish business rates and replace it with a tax on landlords, but it is their position to revoke brexit the leader was selling hard today. the liberal democrats are the natural party of business. with the conservatives in the pocket of nigel farage, and jeremy corbyn stuck in the 1970s, we are the only ones standing upforyou. the snp said scotland had not escaped the damage that brexit uncertainty was doing to the whole uk. we've already seen over £1 trillion in deferred investment in the uk economy and it's not doing scotland's economy new good, either. scotland's economy any good, either. so i think the best option

for scotland is to make its own choice and escape brexit by voting snp. back at the conference, there was a feeling of weary scepticism about the parties‘ promises. there‘s a lot of promises made today, isn‘t there? i know it‘s quite close to christmas. they‘ve all turned up like santa claus, offering the world. we've held off investment decisions because of the uncertainty. we want to see that, you know, taken away so we can actually move forward. the hope comes from hearing all three leaders today talking to, you know, 1500 businesses about their vision for the economy and that‘s been missing from the election so far. but we have a lot of frustration as well, because we do not have a resolution to the massive issue of our times, brexit, and we have the possibility we could be here in a year‘s time, having exactly the same conversation. that is a prospect that business will be desperate to avoid. simon jack, bbc news. the general election will be on december 12th, which is less than four weeks away,

and the party campaign strategists are keeping a sharp focus on those parts of the united kingdom where the overall result will be determined. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young has been taking a closer look at the electoral map. the last parliament was one of the most volatile. the government lost more votes than ever before and more mps changed party than since the early ‘80s. when parliament stopped for the general election, the conservatives had 298 mps, labour, 243. the snp had 35, there were 2a independents and 20 liberal democrats. 326 is the magic number needed for an absolute majority. the bbc has been tracking how each of the parties have polled this year, with the lines here showing trends. the conservatives have seen an increase since august, now up to around a0%, with the brexit party down to 8%. labour are currently averaging about 29% and the liberal democrats 15%. this, of course,

is a national picture. it‘s impossible to predict how this will translate into local results and, of course, doesn‘t factor in people who haven‘t yet decided. now, this is how the country voted in 2017. let‘s take a look at some of the key battle grounds where borisjohnson and jeremy corbyn have been campaigning so far. mrjohnson will need to take seats off labour in places like the midlands if he‘s to get a decent majority, and he hopes that brexit will be a factor. seats like ashfield. the area strongly backed leaving the eu, and mrjohnson hopes his promise to "get brexit done" will persuade labour voters to vote for him. and could remain voters switch from labour to the lib dems to help him? the conservatives are also optimistic about making gains in wales — seats like alyn and deeside — but they‘ll need to fight off the lib dems in the south—west. places like taunton deane and wells, seats the tories took from the lib dems back in 2015. the green party has to decide to boost the lib dem vote, but the brexit party not standing will help mrjohnson.

jeremy corbyn needs to win 64 more seats than he did in 2017 just to get a tiny majority, so he‘ll have to take seats from the tories. places like telford in the midlands. labour will also hope to perform strongly in london, and hope that remain voters will choose them over the lib dems so that they can hold onto seats like battersea. but it‘ll be really hard for labour to get an outright majority without the scottish seats they used to rely on, which is why mr corbyn has been campaigning in glasgow north west and lanark and hamilton east. 0therfactors could be important. the lib dems are a long way behind in many of their former strongholds, but tactical voting might help jo swinson. the snp could win more seats and have a lot of influence if there‘s another hung parliament. they could reach an agreement to allow mr corbyn to become prime minister, even if he doesn‘t win the election outright. so, after the most volatile parliament, we now have a very unpredictable election.

that was vicki young with her analysis. let‘s take a look at some of today‘s other election news. the lib dems and the snp have lost their legal battle to be included in an itv election debate between boris johnson and jeremy corbyn tomorrow night. the high court said the parties had the right to complain to the broadcasting regulator 0fcom about the programme after it had aired. almost a third of young people are incorrectly registered to vote, and one in four black and asian people are not registered to vote at all. that‘s according to the electoral commission, who are running a campaign to get everyone onto the electoral register ahead of the november 26th deadline. how to pay for care for older people and those with disabilties will be a major challenge for whoever wins the election. social care services across the united kingdom are under significant pressure. in england, the system is run by local authorities, and it‘s widely acknowledged to be in urgent need of reform and more money.

and there are warnings that a failure to address the crisis at this election will push the care system to breaking point, as our social affairs correspondent alison holt reports. would you like a cup of tea? 0ver many months, we‘ve heard from family after family bearing the brunt of a council—run care system in crisis. it‘s crucial that as families, we find somewhere that is spot on. we're going to go this way now. all right? why? i want to be here. confronted by confusion, underfunding and struggling to get the support they need. i‘m desperate and i‘m not the only one. for anne burn, that has meant fighting to keep open the care home where her 90—year—old mother, also called anne, lives. the charity—run home is losing too much money, but finding another place nearby is difficult. they said this is your home. you just don‘t pinch

people‘s homes away, do you? do you think people realise how much pressure the care sector is under? no, definitely not. i mean, i didn't and it's only when you have to find somewhere for a loved one that you realise it's dire. so why is the care system in crisis? we‘re an ageing population. an increasing number of older people need help with such things as washing, dressing and eating. the number of working—age adults with disabilities is also rising. but in the last nine years, in real terms, the money councils in england have spent on social care for each adult has fallen, despite recent government top—ups. it means fewer people now get local authority support. and those providing care say across the country the fees they get from councils simply don‘t cover the costs. mark adams runs ann‘s care home in liverpool. it is a constant battle to balance the books.

in the northwest, several of our homes are losing about £2 million a year. and we‘re using surpluses that thankfully we make in other parts of the charity to just about keep those homes afloat. that‘s not a sustainable position. these stacks of inquiries, discussion papers and government reports represent more than 20 years of talking about how we should pay for adult social care in the long term. none have led to significant change. this is an issue which has tripped politicians up at previous elections. yet an ageing population and increasing pressures mean they can‘t afford to ignore it. so, what needs fixing? as well as the need for more money and a long term plan for the sector, there‘s a serious shortage of staff. although scotland and wales spend more money on care per head than england, attracting and keeping nurses and care workers is a major issue everywhere. with families and the charity

working together, a buyer has now been found to keep ann‘s care home open. even so, she has little time for the politicians who have so far failed to reform the care system. they don‘t know what it‘s like. so you don‘t expect them to help in any way because they don‘t realise what it‘s like. you‘ve got to go through it yourself to know, haven‘t you? ann cartwright ending that report by alison holt. the american businesswoman, whose links with borisjohnson have been questioned and led to inquiries by the independent 0ffice for police conduct, has described her anger at the way she feels she‘s being treated by the prime minister. it‘s alleged jennifer arcuri received favourable treatment when mrjohnson was london mayor because of their friendship — a claim he denies. ms arcuri told the bbc‘s victoria derbyshire programme she‘d been snubbed by a man she considered a friend. when i reached out to him,

asking him about this media and what would happen with the story, i was completely sidelined. why keep me away? why treat me like the enemy? the united states no longer considers israeli settlements built in the occupied west bank to be illegal. the us secretary of state mike pompeo said the change, which breaks with four decades of american foreign policy, "recognises the reality on the ground". 0ur north america editorjon sopel is at the white house. just to underline the significance of this change for us foreign policy. it is hugely significant, and the timing is bizarre. no new israeli government has been formed so israeli government has been formed so why has mike pompeo announced this now, and who is it to help? donald trump‘s first overseas trip was to the middle east and israel, where he visited the west bank as well, and he said this will be the greatest deal i can possibly pull

off. he has tasked his son—in—law jared kushner to be the person to do that and we await this peace process , that and we await this peace process, this piece plan to be unveiled. since donald trump has been president we had the announcement that the us embassy is moving from tel aviv to jerusalem. the golan heights was recognised as israeli territory, not syrian, and 110w israeli territory, not syrian, and now we have this announcement which flies in the face, a lot of people would say, of international law. america‘s ambassador to israel says this will clarify the issue and make a peace deal more likely. i have to say that‘s very much a minority view, a lot of people see this as another nail in the coffin of a two state solution and think it will be even more difficult for the palestinians to come to the table 110w palestinians to come to the table now that the americans have intervened, what seems to be so decisively on the israeli side. jon sopel with the latest from the white house. two teenagers have beenjailed for life for murdering 17—year—old jodie chesney,

while she was in a park with friends in east london. svenson 0ng—a—kwie, on the left, will serve at least 26 years. arron isaacs, who‘s 17, was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years. police have released images of the moment the pair were arrested in march shortly after the attack. a former russian official, who‘s a major donor to the conservative party, says the government should already have published an official report on alleged russian influence in british politics. alexander temerko has denied being an agent for the kremlin, and says he has nothing to fear from the publication of the report by parliament‘s intelligence and security committee. the government has been criticised for blocking its release before the general election, as our security correspondent gordon corera reports. he was once a russian official, but he‘s now mixing with the british establishment. since fleeing moscow, alexander temerko has given more than £1 million to the conservative party.

he became a british citizen in 2011, when david cameron was prime minister. and he‘s been close to both of his successors. but borisjohnson‘s refusal to release a report from the intelligence and security committee has led to him speaking out. it has been claimed that mr temerko is named in the report which investigates russian influence in british politics. putin did not consider me and the kremlin never considered me like a friend. you are not a kremlin agent? no, absolutely not. it is ridiculous. some people say, "we are against putin", but never say publicly about that. i say that publicly. would you like to see this report released, then? for democracy, this report should be released. the report should be released because if there is real russian influence, people and the country should know about that. surely you should know?

last week, the prime minister told the bbc report could not be published before the election because the normal process had to be followed. but critics say it‘s because of what might be in it. russian money has flooded into the uk in recent years, especially here in the city. but has the arm of the kremlin also reached into political life? i am told the report may well allege that there have been attempts by russia to interfere in politics, although it is not always clear how successful they have been, for instance, in the use of social media in the brexit campaign. but the question the report may well raise is whether successive governments have done enough to deter moscow. 0ne critic of the kremlin, bill browder, who gave evidence to the committee, says money from moscow has influenced our politics and policy towards russia. the amount of money sloshing around london, for a very narrow group of people,

but that narrow group of people has huge political influence, is the main explanation for the weak attitude of the british government in these russian situations. with the focus having shifted from parliament and onto the campaign trail, there is little chance of this report being released before the election. but that won‘t stop speculation continuing about what‘s really in it. gordon corera, bbc news. the tony—award—winning broadway musical, dear evan hansen, is opening in london tomorrow night. the story, written by steven levenson, is about a lonely, troubled teenager who spins an elaborate web of lies to gain popularity. the music and lyrics are by oscar—winning songwriters benj pasek and justin paul, and our arts editor will gompertz went to meet them. # even when the dark comes crashing through # when you need a friend to carry you...#. meet evan hansen, a teenage schoolboy with self—esteem so low his therapist has told him to write a daily, life

affirming letter to himself. # you‘ll reach up and you‘ll rise again...#. the unforeseen consequences of which lead to a story of exclusion, deception, desperation and teen suicide. what made you think that this topic was suitable for a musical? at the beginning, i‘m not sure we necessarily thought it would make a great musical, but we were fascinated by the subject. # two friends # true friends on a perfect day...#. i think we are living in a time where we are more disconnected, we are more lonely. we feel like we are less parts of community than we have ever felt before. and so people react to that in different ways. and there is such a desperation to try to find each other in this very crazy, hyper connected but also very disconnected world. dear evan hansen has been a huge hit in america, its theme of isolation in an age of social media resonating