welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: turning against trump. two republican party senators launch scathing attacks on their own president. just a couple of hours until china unveils its new top leadership. will we see a possible successor to president xi? after a year of official mourning, thailand makes final preparations for the king's farewell. and he made the ordinary, extraordinary. for the first time, more than 50 of cezanne‘s portraits are gathered together for a landmark exhibition. two senators from donald trump's own party have launched scathing

attacks on the president, describing his administration as "reckless, outrageous and undignified." that was from senatorjeff flake of arizona who announced he would not seek re—election and would not remain silent or complicit. earlier, another senator, bob corker, described president trump as an utterly untruthful president and said he had also decided not to seek re—election next year. peter bowes reports. a hostile reception on many fronts. donald trump arrived on capitol hill to talk about tax reform with republican leaders, but he had to run the gauntlet. a protester accusing him of being treasonous. treason! treason! it was a minor outburst can pad with what was to come. a searing takedown from the floor of the senate. i rise today to

address a matter which has been very much on my mind. at a moment when it seems that our democracy is more defined wire discord and our dysfunction than by our own values and st —— and principles. dysfunction than by our own values and st -- and principles. arizona senatorjeff flake said he would not be standing for real action and he felt it was an issue of duty to size the president. it was tremendous and blistering. we must never meekly accept the daily sun ring of our country. the personal attacks, the threats against principles, freedoms and institutions, the flagrant disregard for truth and decency. the reckless provocations, most often for the pickiest and most personal reasons. reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with the fortunes of the people that we have been elected to serve. none of these appalling features of our current

politics should ever be regarded as normal. earlier, another republican senator also publicly rebuked the president. bob corker, who had previously said he was not standing for real action, called donald trump a liar who damaged america's standing in the world. it is a sad place, from my perspective, for our nation. i think the worst of it is going to be the whole debasing of it, if you will, of our nation. i think that will be the contribution that hurts our nation most. is the president debasing the nation?” don't think there is any question thatis don't think there is any question that is the case. just in the way that is the case. just in the way that he conducts himself, and goes to such a low level. i do. his comments followed an early—morning twitter outburst from donald trump, during which she called senator bob corker incompetent and a lightweight. look, you've got an individual and the president, he is a fighter. we've said it many times before. the people of this country

didn't elect somebody to be weak, they are elected somebody to be strong, and when he gets from —— debts hit he is going to hit back, andi debts hit he is going to hit back, and i think bob corker knows that and i think bob corker knows that and history to get a headline or two and history to get a headline or two and history to get a headline or two and his way out the door. the president summed up his day in another tweet. it was a remarkable day in american politics. and perhaps today the tide started to turn against donald trump. chinese president xijinping's name has been enshrined in his party's constitution, strengthening his power, and giving him equal status to the founder of the modern state, chairman mao. it came at the end of the week—long communist party congress in beijing. our china editor carrie grace sent this report. translation: those in favour, raise your hands. and those against. none.

unanimous. more than 2,000 communists and not a single vote against. so he's in the party bible. "xi jinping thought on socialism with chinese characteristics for a new era." it's a third chapter for communist china. mao united the country. his successor made it rich. xi intends to make it strong. it's all a long way from the caves where he spent his teenage years as a farmer. xijinping had been born into the communist elite, but sent to the countryside when mao purged his father. that was then, this is now. china on the up and xi promising quality of life at home and superpower status abroad. translation: we want our lives

to get better and we want a strong country. translation: xi jinping is very tough. compared to other leaders, he's great. xi believes in control. the party's control of the public. his own control of the party. and a campaign of fear to silence rivals. xijinping has acquired more authority and more power and the chinese communist party has taken a step away from collective leadership and towards a one—man rule by a very charismatic and powerful leader. for centuries, china's emperors ruled from behind the walls of the forbidden city. by enshrining his vision, xi hopes to make himself invulnerable.

the chinese once called chairman mao "the great helmsman" and foreigners called him "the red emperor," one man who dictated the destinies of more than a billion people. now, china has a new red emperor in xijinping, and his party comrades are already calling him the helmsman and the saviour of socialism. mao's one—man rule brought only china misery, but this time is different. if xi fails, we're all the poorer, and if he succeeds, his drive for control will reach us all. in the next few hours, the party will announce the leadership team which will work with president xi. as well as being unknown names to the outside world, many are unknown inside china as well. 0ur correspondent robin brant is in beijing. it is hugely important. firstly, we get this very visual moment where these seven men walk out from behind a hoarding and are revealed to the 1.1 billion

people of china and the world. we get them in seniority. xijinping, then his premier, li keqiang, who stays in the post. and then the five leading faces. not household names outside of china or even really in it. this is the most senior decision—making body in the country. will they all be allies of xi jinping? it looks increasingly likely. or will they reflect some of the factional fighting, some of the competing allegiances, which goes on within the communist party of china? we know some things, wang qishan, the man who led the anticorruption fight in the country, he will not be in the bureau standing committee. so, he goes. and the current leader of chongqing, he is now a possibility for the heir—apparent in the future. will he feature? we just don't know. let's take a look at some

of the other stories making the news. russia has vetoed a united nations security council resolution renewing an investigation into the use of chemical weapons in syria. it's the ninth time russia has used its veto to protect its ally. last month, un investigators said a forensic examination showed beyond doubt that the syrian air force carried out a sarin nerve agent gas attack in april. the saudi crown prince has said he's working towards the return of what he calls "moderate islam" to the country. speaking in riyadh, mohammed bin salman said officials would eliminate the remnants of extremism in the near future. analysts say prince mohammed is behind several recent economic and social reforms. the governor of the us territory, puerto rico, has called on the federal government to speed up its response to dealing

with severe power shortages on the island one month after hurricane maria. governor ricardo rossello said only seven brigades of engineers had been sent to the island where more than 80% of citizens were still without electricity. on thursday a year of official mourning in thailand will culminate in a spectacular cremation ceremony for the late king bhumibol adulyadej who died last year at the age of 88. he reigned for more than seventy years, and presided over the transformation of his country from a poor, rural economy to a fast—growing manufacturing and tourism powerhouse. 0ur south—east asia correspondent jonathan head has been watching the ornate cremation pavilions being built near the grand palace in bangkok over the past year. like a gilded mirage, the spectacular complex of pavilions has risen from the ground this year in. bangkok's historic royal quarter. no expense has been spent in preparing this elaborate send—off for a king who ran for seven decades

and personified the modern development of his country. for many thais, this cremation will be a final farewell to a king who they felt a powerful and personal affection. but these lavish preparations are much more than that. they tap into a deep well of tradition and ritual which has been used for centuries to legitimise the monarchy as the highest and most essential institution holding this country together. the royal funeral is a blend of hindu, buddhist, and other influences. king bhumibol was seen as an incarnation of a hindu god who will now return to heaven. hundreds of thailand's finest traditional artists have contributed to the cremation. each detail carries symbolic importance.

hundreds of thailand's finest traditional artists have contributed to the cremation. each detail carries symbolic importance. the royal urn will be transported to the cremation site on this

ill—ton 200—year—old chariot. the late king's finaljourney, a slow and immaculately choreographed progression for a man who restored the status of thailand historically enjoyed by monarchs. stay with us on bbc news. still to come. he painted the ordinary in way that was extraordinary. 50 of cezanne's portraits are brought together for the very first time. an historic moment that many of his victims had been waiting for for decades. a former dictator, but, as he sat down in the dock, obedient enough.

dawn and as the sun breaks through the piercing chill of night on the plain, it lights up a biblicalfamine, now in the 20th century. the depressing conclusion — in argentina today, it is actually cheaper to paper your walls with money. we had controversies in the past with great britain, but as good friends we have always found a good and lasting solution. concorde bows out in style after almost three decades in service. an aircraft that has enthralled its many admirers for so long taxis home for the last time. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the republican party senator

jeff flake has announced he won't seek re—election because of what he called the reckless and undignified behaviour of president trump's white house. in about two hours' time, the communist party of china will unveil its new leadership, and we might get some clues about a possible successor to president xi. the eu's chief brexit negotiator says a trade deal with the european union could take three years to complete if talks begin in december. michel barnier added however that the discussions wouldn't be without risks because all of the eu's national parliaments must approve any agreement. damian grammaticas reports from brussels. from the eu today, a blunt message. donald tusk is no fan of brexit. how it plays out, he says, is down to the uk, but eu countries must remain united. it is in fact up to london how this will end — with a good deal, no

deal or no brexit. but in each of these scenarios, we will protect our common interests only by being together. mr tusk was responding to the prime minister yesterday in the commons, where she suggested it is up to the eu to move things forward. it is now for them to consider what they want to see from the future of that relationship so that the next stage of those negotiations can indeed begin. and reinforcing the eu's message is the chief negotiator, who said the uk can't expect a trade deal any time soon. michel barnier told european newspapers the transition deal would help because it would give more time to organise future relations, adding trade talks will last several years. this is how the eu sees the timeline. now, exit issues have to be settled, money, citizens' rights, were stuck at this stage. possibly in december things

could move to the outlines of a future relationship and a transition to get there. that has to be done by march, 2019, brexit day. only after that can a future trading relationship be settled, possibly by 2020. roderick abbott, a former uk and eu trade negotiator, says it could be into the next decade before a deal is done. i think well into the 20s. before you've really implemented everything and probably into the 20s until you've got a deal tied up. the trade deal. so this could take some years? mmm. and at each stage, if the uk doesn't satisfy the eu's conditions, talks will remain stuck in the slow lane, as they are now. damian grammaticas, bbc news, brussels. venezuela's coalition partners who oppose the rule of president nicolas maduro appear to be in disarray. it comes after one of its leading members announced he would leave. henrique capriles is protesting against the decision by a group of newly elected opposition governors to pledge allegiance to a new constituent assembly

regarded as illegitimate by the opposition coalition. the venezuelan government says the assembly‘s mandate is to overhaul the constitution. kenya is facing a last minute legal challenge to see if a presidential election re—run on thursday can go ahead. president uhuru kenyatta won the vote in august, but that was annulled by the supreme court, which said there were irregularities in the electoral process. his supporters want the new vote to go ahead. but the opposition, led by raila 0dinga, which has its stronghold in the west of the country, claims the vote won't be fair and shouldn't go ahead. 0ur africa editor fergal keane has sent us this report. it looks, and, when you're in the midst of it, feels like a boisterous democracy in action. but it's an election with only one side seeking votes. these are president kenyatta's supporters.

and they demand that elections take place, whatever the opposition leader, raila 0dinga, says. raila 0dinga, he want to come and broke power. he'sjust taking us backwards whereas we want to go forward. he just wants to come and bring war and he can set fire, but he can burn himself. here, the supreme court is seen as having stolen their victory in the last elections. but as we arrived in the opposition stronghold of kisumu in western kenya, it felt like another country. these youths are from the luo ethnic group like raila 0dinga. and believe president kenyatta, from the kikuyu majority, wants to marginalise them. poverty and corruption have deepened ethnic rivalries. we don't want elections that is already rigged. we want a free and fair election. will you allow elections

to take place here? no, election in kenya in kisumu is not going to happen. in this kind of volatile atmosphere, it's hard to imagine free and fair elections taking place in opposition strongholds like this. and if they don't go ahead, there will be a serious doubt over the legitimacy of the result, certainly for those people who support raila 0dinga. this is, in part, a dynastic struggle. kenya's first post—colonial leader was the current president's father, jomo kenyatta. his first cabinet included raila 0dinga's father. the idea was to banish tribalism, but the dream fell away under decades of one—party rule and cronyism. now recent democratic progress is under threat. what's at stake in these elections on thursday is kenya's democratic future. a lot of blood has been spilled, a lot of labour has been expended

by kenyans to achieve the kind of democratic institutions that we have, the kind of constitution that we have. and that's what is at risk here. it's not just about an election or the repeat of an election. it's about kenya's democratic future. the escalating tension is harming kenya's economy. half the country's manufacturers plan to shed jobs. and for the vulnerable, the fear of violence is palpable. lydia is a widow whose two—year—old daughter, cha ntelle, was wounded by a stray bullet during rioting near their village. she also has a son and since her husband died, she survives on the few pounds she earns washing clothes. translation: life here is very difficult. i wash clothes in order to eat, but now i can't do that because the baby is upset

and i can't leave home. kenya is deeply polarised. tonight, the bodyguard of a senior judge was shot and wounded, amid a growing sense of crisis. fergal keane, bbc news, nairobi. the french master paul cezanne is famous for his post impressionist art and now a major exhibition of his work goes on show in london. more than 50 cezanne paintings from collections around the world will be displayed together for the first time. 0ur arts editor will gompertz has more. a portrait of an artist as a young man. paul cezanne's early selfie, painted in his 20s, when he was still learning to look like no other artist. he would paint himself throughout his career, making breakthroughs in technique and tone each time, until this final self—portrait, when the artist picasso called "the father of us all" revealed a lifetime's knowledge and skill in a single image.

cezanne's portraits were radical when he painted them in the second half of the 19th century, and they still feel radical today. not for him idealised versions of the rich and famous and the great and the good, he just wanted to paint ordinary people in really ordinary settings, and thereby create something extraordinary. even though he doesn't seek to represent expressed emotion, obviously he's interested in character, and i think he really wa nted that sense of the peoplenesses of people regardless of social status, regardless of anything. i mean, when you look back in the history of portraiture, who has done that before, and you end up with rembrandt. are there pictures in this exhibition, john, where we see cezanne the artist take leaps forward? the first big thing is very early, in the mid—1860s, where he makes paintings entirely

with a palette knife. portraits had never been painted in that way before. the next big step is in the middle of the ‘70s where, after having worked with the impressionists, colour blooms in his pictures. then by the ‘80s, volume is very present with regular hatch brush strokes. and then in the ‘90s, all these different currents really start to come together. cezanne was famously grumpy. sitters could be reprimanded for the slightest fidget. "does an apple move?" he'd snap, even though it might have been the 150th session they'd attended for a single portrait. it is fair to say, cezanne was something else. will gompertz, bbc news. and, a british man has taken to the skies across south africa balloon

style. tom watson from bristol reached heights of 2500 metres suspended from 100 helium balloons strapped to a camping chair —— south africa. he covered 25 kilometres. the 23—year—old and his team spent two days inflating balloons before the flight. stay with us here on bbc news. —— 38—year—old. hello again, tuesday saw a range of temperatures across the uk even though there was a lot of cloud in the south—east and east anglia, 20 here, much higher than normal. 12 degrees through the central belt of scotla nd degrees through the central belt of scotland about normal. in between, we have this weather front and it was south of that weather front where we had the milder warmer air, for a while the weather front was quite active bringing heavy bursts in northern england and scotland. heading south, that weather front is

weakening considerably, not munch rain left by the time we get to wednesday morning, a bit damp and grizzly in southern england and low cloud and mist and fog in the hills too. —— drizzly. fresherair cloud and mist and fog in the hills too. —— drizzly. fresher air in wales, the midlands and northern england. drier by this stage. a few showers by the north, mostly in the north—west of scotland, a few heavier ones first thing. the heaviest of the showers in the northern isles as the winds gradually ease in mainland scotland. for many places a nice day, lots of sunshine around, more sunshine in england and wales, the cloud sticking generally south of the m4 and through the english channel but still 19 in london, 13 or 1a through the central belt of scotland. this weather front having moved southwards is going to start to move northwards on wednesday evening and wednesday night. doesn't really know weather it's coming or going. looked like it is moving northwards at this

stage and it will drag low cloud, mist and fog to north wales and bring with it pockets of rain and drizzle. clearer further north across northern ireland and a good pa rt across northern ireland and a good part of scotland, chilly are here overnight, otherwise mild in england and wales but a lot of cloud and fog that forms will take a while to shift but we are left with damp weather in northern england and north wales. some sunshine in northern england and scotland as we lose the showers, perhaps the far north of england too, 13 or so in the sunshine, still a decent day, 17 in the south—east despite the cloud. the cloud should tend to clear by friday because the weather front is moving back south again and it will introduce a brighter day pretty much across—the—board, it went the quite as mild in southern parts of the uk's. cold air still to come this weekend, high pressure to the west and south—west will draw our winds around that, saturday seeing a fair bit of cloud, perhaps some drizzly showers but a plunge of cold air in the second half of the weekend and

given the strength of the wind it will feel quite a bit colder but we may end the weekend with a touch of frost as the skies this is bbc news. the latest headlines: two republican party senators have made fiery criticisms of president trump. 0ne, jeff flake, announced he won't run for re—election next year blaming reckless, outrageous and undignified behaviour from the white house. senator bob corker described mr trump as an utterly untruthful president. the closely—held secret of china's new leadership line—up is due to be revealed in the coming hours. five of the seven members of the politburo standing committee are expected to retire. analysts will be looking out for possible successors to the current communist party leader, xijinping. final preparations are being made in bangkok for the funeral of the thai king, who died a year ago. the five—day ceremony is expected to cost around $90 million.

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.