high—winds and driving rain. at least ten people have been killed across the caribbean. the campaign is over — the voting is about to begin as the uk prepares to elect a new government. joe biden meets with democratic governors, insisting he won't pull out of the race for the white house. i here to tell you today, presidentjoe biden is in it to win it and all of us preacher support to him.— win it and all of us preacher support to him. amazon turned 30. we support to him. amazon turned 30- we take — support to him. amazon turned 30. we take a _ support to him. amazon turned 30. we take a look _ support to him. amazon turned 30. we take a look at - support to him. amazon turned 30. we take a look at the - 30. we take a look at the seemingly unstoppable rise of the retail giant. hello, i'm sally bundock.

a warm welcome to a packed programme. let's get started. hurricane beryl has hit jamaica, with winds recorded of nearly 150 miles an hour pumelling the island's southern coast overnight. the death toll has risen to at least ten across the caribbean, and is widely expected to rise whilst almost 500 jamaicans have been evacuated from flood—prone communities. meanwhile, worried tourists flocked to cancun airport hoping to leave the mexican resort town ahead of the arrival of hurricane beryl, which is expected to hit mexico's yucatan peninsula on thursday night. the vast category 4 storm has left a trail of devastation as it barrels its way through the caribbean. on one island, union, 90% of homes have been destroyed or damaged. 0ur central america correspondent will grant has this report. having ripped off grooves and

tossed aside homes as it tore through the caribbean, hurricane beryl has nowjamaica. four days caribbean, hurricane beryl has now jamaica. four days the ireland �*s government has said the storm �*s destructive force was not to be underestimated, that she would lash the country with high sustained wind, strong gusts and heavy rain stop they also want of life—threatening storm surges as well, and even when the first hours of the store making landfall streets in the capital kingston began to flood, damaging homes and businesses. an evacuation orderfor an evacuation order for low—lying areas was put into place and the prime minister stressed residents of at rest unities should move to safer districts. ~ ., districts. we urge all jamaicans _ districts. we urge all jamaicans to - districts. we urge all jamaicans to comply| districts. we urge all- jamaicans to comply with notices to evacuate. if and when they are issued. however, without the issuance of notices, if you live in a low—lying area, an area is historically prone to flooding and landslide or if you live on

the banks of a river i implore you to evacuate or shelter or safer ground.— you to evacuate or shelter or safer round. ., ., , safer ground. coming hours were reveal how _ safer ground. coming hours were reveal how much _ safer ground. coming hours were reveal how much damage - reveal how much damage hurricane beryl has wrought in jamaica but other islands show the devastation it can cause. 0ff the devastation it can cause. off the coast of grenade entire is left homeless with buildings destroyed or rendered uninhabitable. in st vincent and the grenadines union ireland among the worst affected places in the caribbean stop receiving the full brunt of beryl�*s power. beryl is an unprecedented storm, none have formed as quickly or have intensified as fast and atlantic hurricane history. satellite pictures show it is not done yet as the storm leaves jamaican territory it will move towards the mexican mainland. the tourist resort of cancun is directly in its path, just as people in grenade and st vincent grenadines and jamaica have

prayed for the best as beryl drew near, now mexicans are crossing theirfingers drew near, now mexicans are crossing their fingers in the hope this extraordinarily powerful storm begins to weaken, before it reaches their communities as well. will grant, bbc news, mexico. let's speak to curtis kitchen who's on holiday with his family injamaica. welcome to bbc news. whereabouts are you? we are at the hilton rose just whereabouts are you? we are at the hilton rosejust 20 minutes orso the hilton rosejust 20 minutes or so east of montego bay. what is happening at the moment? well, now thankfully it sounds like things have quietened down, just stuck my head outside a few minutes ago, that look like we're down to just a breeze and maybe a couple of showers leave, certainly the worst behind us at this point. you are in a holiday resort with your wife and children, what we are told by the people running the resort to do, they just said hunker down?

essentially, yes, the communication has been for —— fantastic for us since we got here, they have gone door—to—door and left notices in each room or put up signage around the resort basically saying, which services will be in effect that may be delayed until the storm was over. to respect any or all curfews, respect any or all cu rfews, which respect any or all curfews, which activities would not be allowed including going outside and is —— until the all clear was given, they have been very forthright and very transparent and ifeel like forthright and very transparent and i feel like they have done and i feel like they have done a very nicejob and i feel like they have done a very nice job communicating with everybody here on the resort. . , ., ., with everybody here on the resort. . ., , ., resort. have you all been ok or worried, resort. have you all been ok or worried. your — resort. have you all been ok or worried, your two _ resort. have you all been ok or worried, your two children, - resort. have you all been ok or worried, your two children, are| worried, your two children, are they right?— worried, your two children, are they right?_ worried, your two children, are they right? they have been fine they right? they have been fine they spent _ they right? they have been fine they spent most _ they right? they have been fine they spent most of— they right? they have been fine they spent most of the - they right? they have been fine they spent most of the time - they right? they have been fine they spent most of the time in l they spent most of the time in they spent most of the time in the room, we were able to go downstairs and have meals at different times, i think thankfully they are still young enough that they saw it but we tried, my wife and i tried hard to make it sound come and we

were not worried about things so they took our leave very well. they were fine but it sounded scary for a little while, especially after four o'clock our time until 730 or eight. there definitely was a low roar with the wind for a while butjust where we were, on the resort the way the wind was blowing we happened to like out in terms of feeling the effects, even if it looked and sounded pretty scary for a little while.— little while. when are you exnected _ little while. when are you exnected to _ little while. when are you expected to head - little while. when are you expected to head home, | little while. when are you i expected to head home, the export is closed currently, your thoughts on how you might get home? —— the airport. we get home? -- the airport. we are not get home? —— the airport. - are not thinking about that quite yet, we just got into town yesterday and we are here or scheduled to be here through the weekend and leave on monday, hopefully that will be enough time for any cleanup to happen and our travel not to be delayed, we certainly will be paying attention to that in the

days forward. aha, paying attention to that in the days forward-— days forward. a slightly different _ days forward. a slightly different holiday - days forward. a slightly different holiday to - days forward. a slightly | different holiday to what days forward. a slightly - different holiday to what you were expecting. thank you for talking to us today on bbc news, curtis kitchen. polling stations have opened for the uk's first general election in almost five years. there are 40,000 across england, scotland, wales, and northern ireland, where millions of people will be electing mps to represent their constituency. for the first time in a general election, everyone casting their ballots will need to bring photo id with them, as our political correspondent, hannah miller, reports. it's that time again it has come around.— it's that time again it has come around. election day finally hear _ come around. election day finally hear the _ come around. election day| finally hear the hairdresser has a new look, one of 40,000 polling stations open today for you to cast your vote.- you to cast your vote. basic i will come — you to cast your vote. basic i will come here _ you to cast your vote. basic i will come here and _ you to cast your vote. basic i will come here and get - will come here and get everything set up, the people doing the bowling ball, and a busy day, come back at 730, pack it all up and we work in the slot in the background. we know the clients know we are a

polling station. we just carry on business as normal. fin polling station. we just carry on business as normal. on the run-u on business as normal. on the run-up to _ on business as normal. on the run-up to the _ on business as normal. on the run-up to the general - on business as normal. on the run-up to the general election | run—up to the general election a lot of the conversation tends to be about who might be the next prime minister, but today what you are actually voting for is your local mp. they will be one of 650 sitting there in parliament. a party needsjust over half of them, 326 to form a majority government. polls are open until 10pm, you will to show an accepted form of photo id such as a passport, driving licence or older or disabled persons bus pass when you turn up, if you asked for a postal vote and it hasn't arrive you can go in person to your local council to request a replacement ballot paper before five o'clock, if you have a postal vote but not centre that you can drop it off at the in england, scotland and wales or asked someone to do so on your behalf. at this royal mail

office they are sorting through completed postal votes to get them to the right place to be counted. , ., , , them to the right place to be counted. , .,, , ., counted. some people up to vote b ost counted. some people up to vote by post and get — counted. some people up to vote by post and get them _ counted. some people up to vote by post and get them through - by post and get them through the mail they get a ballot pack they then return the postal vote and it has a clear strip and it all the machines are set “p and it all the machines are set up to up to make that process on the final day we do a final day sweepjust to on the final day we do a final day sweep just to make sure everything that comes through even on the last day can get to the returning officers in london that is 260 different returning officers. the political _ returning officers. the political map - returning officers. the political map has - returning officers. thej political map has been returning officers. the political map has been redrawn for this election to reflect population changes in the number of voters more equal. so you might find your constituency has changed. but wherever you live, today is your opportunity to say what your opportunity to say what you think. while animals wait patiently outside. hannah miller, bbc news. polling stations are prepared and ready and you can vote

between 7am and 10pm today here in the uk and there is a lot more detail on the process on our website. joe biden has met democratic party governors as he attempts to shore up support for his election campaign — insisting he's not pulling out of the race for the us presidency. biden has been under growing pressure to quit following his faltering performance last week in a televised debate with donald trump. a new opinion polljust released by the new york times, has shown trump's lead over the president widen following the debate. on wednesday, the white house denied a report in the new york times that biden has told a key ally he is weighing up whether to continue in the race. biden's spokeswoman, karine jean—pierre, told reporters the president is "moving forward" with his re—election campaign. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes sent us this update. joe biden has faced intense criticism over the last few days, much of it from members

of his own party. the governors met him many of them in person at the white house, others joining the conversation remotely, they were there they articulated this at the end of the meeting to have a candid conversation, no doubt reflecting what people have told them around the country about what they thought of last —— has bad performance no—one denying joe biden did not put in a good performance in terms of presenting himself and his policies and debating with donald trump last week full drop but the meeting ended with those governors saying joe biden in the past has our backs and now we have his back, if you love someone you tell them the truth. is how one of the governors ported they concluded ljy governors ported they concluded by saying they fully support him, moving forward. what remains to be seen as how the american people respond, voters around this country, they will be scrutinising joe biden over the next few days, he is due to give a major television interview that he is on sunday,

is also due to appear at a rally and they will be looking at howjoe biden presents himself, can he articulate his views, can he string a few words together, can he express himself in the way that people would expect from a candidate. the next few days are going to be crucial, in the meantime, the former president trump, is rising in the opinion polls, and same opinion polls reflect the views of people were being asked aboutjoe biden and more and more of americans are saying they thinkjoe biden is not fit for thejob. saying they thinkjoe biden is not fit for the job.— saying they thinkjoe biden is not fit for the job. not fit for the 'ob. peter bows there. let's speak to benji hyer, us correspondent for feature story news. as peter was outlined this has been dominating news hasn't it for several days now? what do you make of this latest line from the white house and the stance from the president that

he is calm and carrying on? well, the reality is the decision lies with him and solely with him, there are no simple standard protocols in the united states for a party to remove their candidate for the presidency, there are ways to try to get rid of the president himself, congress can try to impeach, convert, there are certain constitutional statutes that congress can use but if we're talking about the race the white house, it is up to one person and that isjoe biden to decide whether he wants to step down or not. here, the white house the administration has been defined in saying they will continue the race to the end. the problem is the democrats find themselves almost in quicksand, do nothing and they find the polls will continue to sink, donald trump will rise, they will fall, but panic, pull the button and try to scramble

their way out of the mist without a plan, that could also lead to a disastrous situation. there has to be some kind of strategy going forward. there are now a crucial couple of days ahead, with that televised interview they will have on us networks, there is also a series of campaign stops they will have to make in key battleground states, we have had strike one, in a sense, there seems to be an acknowledgement that the white house will want some time, to sort out a plan going forward, but another sort of step up, and another mistake, that could be devastating for the campaign. —— slip up. be devastating for the campaign. -- slip up. what you think is likely _ campaign. -- slip up. what you think is likely to _ campaign. -- slip up. what you think is likely to happen, - think is likely to happen, despite all the assurances coming from the president and the white house and his team, the white house and his team, the rumours are still very much there that he may go, and if so what does the process look like, who is likely to step in, your thoughts? we

like, who is likely to step in, your thoughts?— like, who is likely to step in, your thoughts? we are on high alert here _ your thoughts? we are on high alert here and _ your thoughts? we are on high alert here and it _ your thoughts? we are on high alert here and it is _ your thoughts? we are on high alert here and it is of— your thoughts? we are on high alert here and it is of course i alert here and it is of course alert here and it is of course a federal holiday in the united states, most people looking forward to enjoying the weekend but manyjournalists keeping an eye on their phones in coming days to see there are any key developments, as i say the choice lies only with joe choice lies only withjoe biden. if he decides not to resign the system will continue as it is, he will be the candidate and face off against donald trump in november. if he does decide to step down, it is not really clear what happens next, is there is some kind of rushed leadership debate for the convention, the democrat party convention in august, what happens to all those delegates that have voted already forjoe biden as part of the primary voting process that has been going on for months? will he endorse someone like as vice president kamala harris or will there be other people putting themselves forward, gavin newsom one name mentioned the governor of california, it is unlikely both

he and kamala harris will be on the same ticket given they are from the same state, the governors gretchen whitmer of michigan, josh shapiro of pennsylvania these are highly weighted individuals but they have also in the past couple of hours alone, thatjoe biden in the meeting he had in person and virtually with these a set of governors, they say they are standing with the president. there would have to be as a change of circumstances for them to try to rally a challenge against him. the status quo as it stands is that joe biden will continue to be the candidate even though polls show them trailing behind donald trump with four months to go until americans vote in november. to go until americans vote in november-— to go until americans vote in november. thank you for your time, november. thank you for your time. good — november. thank you for your time. good to _ november. thank you for your time, good to get your - time, good to get your analysis. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

let's turn to the middle east.

hamas says it's submitted a new set of ideas to qatari negotiators attempting to end nine months of conflict in gaza. the proposals relate to the release of the israeli hostages it still holds in gaza and a potential six—week ceasefire. israel said it was evaluating the suggestions. meanwhile, the israeli military says it has killed a commander of hezbollah in lebanon in an airstrike. these pictures were sent to us by news agency afp, which says they were posted online and show the aftermath of the strike. muhammad nimah nasser is one of the most senior hezbollah figures to have been killed in nearly nine months of cross—border clashes. israel has approved plans for what is being described as the biggest potential expansion of settlements in the occupied west bank in more than three decades. israeli officials have not publicly commented on the latest seizure of 12.7 square kilometres of land, which comes amid heightened tensions with palestinians due to the gaza war.

with me is mohamed taha from bbc arabic. what is new in this hamas proposal? the announcements came from israeli sites giving a positive tone to these proposals as the israelis are considering them seriously. this appeared to be the first written reply from hamas to president biden proposals that he proposed a few weeks ago. as you said, the israeli side is taking this proposals seriously. there are three elements that are also giving positiveness of these proposals which are the pressure from the hostages

families, and also the position of president biden in us elections, he needs this war to end, and the situation on the south lebanon on which is escalating, all of these elements are giving positiveness that this proposal, this ceasefire might be looming. proposal, this ceasefire might be looming-— be looming. what are you heafini be looming. what are you hearing about _ be looming. what are you hearing about the - be looming. what are you | hearing about the situation be looming. what are you - hearing about the situation on the border with lebanon on following the israeli military saying they have killed a key commander of hezbollah? the situation on _ commander of hezbollah? the situation on the _ commander of hezbollah? tue: situation on the lebanon commander of hezbollah? tte: situation on the lebanon on front is really serious this commander muhammad nimah nasser the second highest commander killed himself lebanon on since the beginning of this war. hezbollah replied by hitting israel by more than 100 rockets, which is a massive amount over the last few hours, there is a huge international concern that the situation between israel and hezbollah

escalating to a full—scale war. that's why this is giving this truce and ceasefire talk big weight. truce and ceasefire talk big weiiht. a, . ., ~ truce and ceasefire talk big weiiht. a, . ., ,, i. truce and ceasefire talk big weiiht. . ., ,, ., weight. mohammed thank you for briniiin us weight. mohammed thank you for bringing us uo _ weight. mohammed thank you for bringing us no to _ weight. mohammed thank you for bringing us up to date _ weight. mohammed thank you for bringing us up to date on - weight. mohammed thank you for bringing us up to date on what - bringing us up to date on what is happening in the middle east. researchers are trying to boost the genetic diversity of southern white rhinos in africa by harvesting the eggs of captive animals in zoos around europe. cross—breeding programmes in zoos mean that captive white rhinos have genes that are more diverse. here's our science editor rebecca morelle. sa nta santa is a 22—year—old adult southern white rhino. she is unable to have carbs of her own but scientists want to valuable genes to live on top she is having her eggs harvested first she has given some anaesthetic. 0nce she has given some anaesthetic. once the team are sure she is asleep they get to work. a specialist team from germany has flown to the dublin zoo for the procedure. santa is being

checked all the time while she is under sedation. for the last week she has been given a special hormone injection to help her produce eggs but collecting them is far from easy. it requires painstaking precision. the hope is she can help to safeguard the future of her species. the scientists want to harness herjeans for the world rhino population. southern white rhino is almost went extinct and there were just a few dozen left, now numbers have recovered but they are all descended from that tiny group so they lacked genetic diversity. but rhino and zoos have been carefully crossbred so their genes are more mixed up. aha, crossbred so their genes are more mixed up.— crossbred so their genes are more mixed up. a wider genetic diversity gives _ more mixed up. a wider genetic diversity gives for _ more mixed up. a wider genetic diversity gives for a _ more mixed up. a wider genetic diversity gives for a better - diversity gives for a better population in terms of disease and their ability to survive, so santa having wonderful genetics that are worth preserving, we know from a previous reproductive

assessment she can't breathe, the great thing about this as she will be represented in future generations of rhino. the scientist look inside her ovaries on the ultrasound they locate her eggs inside follicles, small sets of fluid that appear as dark circles, they extract them using an ultrafine needle stop. it has taken years ultrafine needle stop. it has ta ken years to ultrafine needle stop. it has taken years to develop and perfect this fertility technology, it is an extreme form of conservation but scientists say that is vital. they are products of evolution for millions of years, they are not bullet—proof and they will —— wiped out by human activity and i think we have really the responsibility as scientist to provide new solutions to make it possible that the rhinos can live another million years. in a makeshift laboratory the researchers take stock of what i have found, they have extracted four eggs, three of high quality. they are packed

up high quality. they are packed up and will be taken to a fertility centre in italy to create new southern white rhino embryos. rhino ivf are still in its infancy but the hope is they could eventually be implanted in a female sorry. it implanted in a female sorry. tit is a lot of effort and a lot of people invest a lot of effort and time and at the time we come home with a few cells but they have the potential to become embryos and to form a new rhino, a huge two ton animal. it is worth it but always a relief when he had got an outcome in the end. aha, always a relief when he had got an outcome in the end.- an outcome in the end. a few minutes after— an outcome in the end. a few minutes after the _ an outcome in the end. a few minutes after the procedure i minutes after the procedure centres up, a little unsteady at first. although she does not know it the xg has donated could make a big difference, ensuring the survival of future generations of southern white rhinos. rebecca morelle, bbc news. a nine—year—old chess prodigy is set to make history

as the youngest person ever to represent england internationally in any sport. bodhana sivanandan from london willjoin the england women's team at the chess 0lympiad in hungary later this year. she is almost 15 years younger than the next—youngest teammate. the manager of the england chess team says the schoolgirl is the most remarkable prodigy british chess has ever seen. good luck to her in hungary, we will follow how she gets on. so much more for you here on bbc news. business today is next, we mentioned amazon is reaching 30 years old, would you believe it, we will talk about that the and the other top business stories. financial markets are on a bull run! we will tell you why. hello there. there'll be winners and losers

when it comes to the weather forecast on thursday. for the far north and west, we will continue to see a rash of showers. it will be quite windy with it, as well. sunny spells elsewhere. the winds really quite a feature right across the country, but the strongest of the winds closest to this area of low pressure, driving in a rash of showers, maybe longer spells of rain at times. but elsewhere, particularly where we had quite a lot of cloud and it was drizzly from time to time on wednesday, will be a better story. more in the way of sunshine coming through. so, by the afternoon, expect this story. we will see these showers and, as i say, some of them heavy, the brighter yellows and greens denoting that. and with the strength of the wind as well, well, those temperatures really struggling, 11 to 14 or 15 degrees. a few showers into northern ireland, not quite as many, and a few showers across northern england. but generally across england and wales, there'll be more in the way of sunshine, particularly across southeast england. temperatures peaking at 21 degrees. so that means for wimbledon,

it will be a better day. we'll have some sunny spells coming through. by friday, though, once again, a change of fortunes. rain could have a part to play for the outer courts as we go through the day. and the reason being this frontal system that's going to slide in through the latter stages of thursday into friday, bringing more in the way of cloud and showery rain across southwest england during the early hours of friday morning, pushing towards sw19 for the early morning rush hour. but, generally speaking, those temperatures will hold up into double digits to start the day on friday. as we move into friday, then, there will be a good deal of dry, sunny weather really from the m4 corridor south. that's where we'll see the rain. a little more cloud, but generally across england and wales, a good slice of sunshine. a few isolated showers into northwest scotland, but generally those temperatures — not much change — ranging from 14 to 20 or 21 degrees if we're lucky. into the weekend, the unsettled theme is set to continue. very changeable, the weather story, at the moment. a ridge of high pressure to start saturday,

but there'll be more wet weather moving in on sunday. so, for england and wales, perhaps saturday the best day, but elsewhere, we'll see showers or longer spells of rain set to continue and those temperatures disappointing forjuly.

fireworks on wall street as shares hit new records ahead of the 4july holiday. but the fed hints it's in no hurry to cut interest rates from their two—decade high. also coming up: from online bookstore to $2 trillion colossus. as amazon turns 30, we take a look at the seemingly unstoppable rise of the retail giant and the greed and the glory. america's annual hot dog eating contest is just hours away. but a sponsorship row has seen the reigning champion banned. we get a taste of the big money world of competitive eating. welcome to business today. iam i am sally bundock. we start on wall street where traders have headed off for the 4july holiday in festive mood. the s&p 500 closed at a new

record high for the second day