welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: president trump attacks brett kavanaugh's accusers but says thursday's testimony on sexual misconduct could change his mind on that crucial supreme court nomination. they're giving the women a major chance to speak. now, it's possible i'll hear that and i'll say, "hey, i'm changing my mind." that is possible. an investigative website reveals that one of the suspects in the salisbury nerve agent attack is a high—ranking russian spy. as many more lose their lives, others give up and head home. a special report from libya on the desperate migrants who fail to cross the sea to europe. and playstation gives in to gamers, allowing fortnite fans to compete with players on rival consoles for the first time. hello.

president trump has suggested he could change his mind and withdraw his nomination of brett kavanaugh to the us supreme court if some of the accusations against him prove to be true. at the same time, in a news conference, mr trump maintained a robust defence ofjudge kavanaugh, despite new and serious allegations of sexual misconduct against him by a third woman. the first to come forward, christine blasey ford, is due to testify before the senate judiciary committee on thursday. he denies all the accusations. the bbc‘s chris buckler has been following events from washington. first of all, we now have a third accuser, a third woman, who's suggested brett kava naugh was involved in sexual misconduct.

she talks about him being a teenage parties where he pressed himself up against girls and indeed tried to remove their clothes. that follows accusations from deborah ramirez and christine blasey ford, who, of course, will give evidence at this senatejudiciary committee. brett kavanaugh, of course, denies all of this. in fact, he's called the latest allegations ridiculous and like something from the twilight zone. the pressure is now in some ways on donald trump, who's watching all of this from the sidelines. but today, at a news conference in new york, he stood by brett kavanaugh, his pick for the supreme court, and indeed suggested that democrats were using this politically. i think when you really look at it all, it will not change any of the democrats' minds. they're obstructionists and con artists. they have destroyed a man's recuperation and they want to destroy it even more. i think people will see that in the midterms, what they've done to the family,

what they've done to these children, these beautiful children of his, and what they've done to his wife. and they know it's a big fat job. and they go into a room and a guarantee you that they laugh like hell at what they've pulled off on you and on the public. they laugh like hell. and chris, just to keep an eye on the bigger picture, here, the point of all this is not just washington infighting, the political balance of the supreme court can affect the way the us goes for generations. yeah, incredibly important. people who are nominated to become supreme courtjustices and go through this confirmation process effectively sit on the court for life. that means they have an impact on decisions for the rest of their life. and brett kavanaugh is a conservative judge with strong feelings, for example, on issues like abortion and lg bt issues. he will ultimately have an impact on what the supreme court thinks. so moving the court in that conservative direction is something

that preisdent trump wants to see with brett kava naugh. but this is not a done deal yet, and that is partly because of these allegations which will be tested at the senate judiciary committee. it's going to be a very difficult hearing, but you can imagine, mike, that during this, you have effectively senators who tried to balance two stories — the one that's coming from christine blasey ford, who says that she was sexually assaulted, and she felt that brett kavanaugh tried to rape her. and from brett kavanaugh, who's simply says that is not the case and is defending his reputation as he goes to this importantjob. it is amazing that a man who has been appointed to the highest court in america effectively appearing before this committee as an accused. for full coverage of the senate hearing, stay tuned to bbc news on thursday. and for more on the background, go to the bbc news website. you can read all about the brett kava naugh nomination and the accusations against him in less than 300 words. go to bbc.com/news and follow the links. speaking to journalists,

president trump has also thrown in the bizarre suggestion that china's leaders don't know what to do about donald trump's very, very large brain. because of it, he said they have total respect for him. that didn't stop him launching a verbal attack on china at the un. chairing the security council for the first time, he accused china of interfering in november's us mid—term elections. mr trump said beijing didn't want his republican party to win because he was the first president to challenge it on trade. china's foreign minister rejected the accusation. translation: we do not and will not interfere in any country's domestic affairs. we refuse to accept any unwarranted accusations against china. in other news, the international monetary fund has agreed to speed up emergency loans to argentina and increase existing loans by $7 billion to $57 billion. argentina has been struggling to tackle a deep economic crisis. mexico's new president,

andres manuel lopez obrador, has promised he'll set up a truth commission to investigate the disappearance of 43 students four years ago in the state of guerrero. after meeting the president, a family member said it was the first time they'd felt hope in years. the students disappeared after police handed them over toa criminal gang. the real name of one of the men accused of the nerve agent poisoning in the english city of salisbury in march has been revealed. two online investigative groups say the man who called himself ruslan boshirov and said he was a tourist, is in fact a colonel in russian military intelligence. british officials say they won't comment, but the bbc understands there is no dispute about the identification. our security correspondent, gordon corera, has more. ruslan boshirov — that's who this man said he was when he arrived in the uk in march.

this is him in a 2009 passport application. but this is who he is believed to really be, anatoliy chepiga, a colonel in russian military intelligence. that picture of anatoliy chepiga is from a 2003 passport file. it was obtained, along with other material, by the investigative group bellingcat. british officials say they won't comment on an ongoing investigation, although the bbc understands there is no dispute about this identification. so what do we know about anatoliy chepiga 7 the passport application says he was born in 1978 and links him to the russian military. he's thought to have served in chechnya and was awarded the country's highest decoration, hero of the russian federation, usually bestowed personally by president putin. at some point, it's believed he joined russian military intelligence, the gru, and rose to be a colonel. also adopting the identity of ruslan boshirov. using that name, he and another man,

calling himself alexander petrov, flew to britain on the 2nd of march this year. on march 4th, cctv captured them in salisbury, heading in the direction of sergei skripal‘s house. police believe this perfume bottle was used to smear novichok nerve agent on his door handle. that led to skripal and his daughterfalling ill, and, three months later, to dawn sturgess dying after the perfume bottle was found. two weeks ago, they appeared on state—funded russian tv, denying they were spies. mr president... today, speaking at the united nations in new york, the prime minister restated the british position, that these were two men acting on orders from above. the united kingdom has presented detailed evidence, clearly laid out in charges

of attempted murder and the use and possession of a chemical weapon, against two agents of the russian state. russia has only sought to obfuscate through desperate fabrication. in response, russia's foreign minister said there had been an increase in what he called unsubstantiated rhetoric and he said the uk was stubbornly avoiding a joint investigation. but with ruslan boshirov apparently identified as a decorated colonel, the russian account of salisbury is again being challenged, and the evidence that the attempt on sergei skripal‘s life was an intelligence operation, authorised at the highest levels, is growing. gordon corera, bbc news. a russian activist who invaded the pitch during this summer's world cup final, and subsequently fell ill, has accused vladimir putin's government of poisoning him. pyotr verzilov, who's a member of the anti—kremlin group pussy riot, is recovering in germany. he's been speaking exclusively to the bbc‘sjenny hill in berlin. pussy riot knows how

to steal the limelight. protests, stunts aimed at exposing what they say is the reality of russia under putin. now they're back in the headlines. one of the activists who invaded the pitch at this year's world cup says he has been poisoned. i remember being sick and losing my eyesight in a weird way and, after that, it is like a black hole and i don't remember what has happened. the day before, we were drinking coffee in cafes, so there were many, many options for somebody at some point to insert something if they really wanted to. and who do you believe was responsible? it's most likely russian law enforcement. it's a question of on which side? we have the russian version of the fbi, the fsb,

and we have the russian version of the cia called the gru. no proof yet to determine who did this, and doctors in berlin found no trace of poison but, they confirm, pyotr‘s symptoms were most likely caused by a drug which affects the nervous system. no single entity exists in russia, or probably in that part of eastern europe, which actually can develop and carry out poisonous attacks like that. do you think vladimir putin had knowledge of what happened? in russia, vladimir putin, he does not give the final approval to, in his eyes, such small actions like this. but he definitely creates an atmosphere, he creates an atmosphere where such paramilitary groups and agencies do what they can do. so it generally falls into the line which has been determined by vladimir putin.

and why you? i'm intrigued as to why they would pick on an activist like yourself, a young man, who... can he really be described as a thorn in vladimir putin's side? we are only making a distinction like that, because the actions we do are as loud as anything happening in russia. for them, it is quite a big deal and they think of ways to counterbalance that. and yeah, that's just the price you have to pay in russia. if you want russia to change and be a different country, then you have to be ready for things. are you frightened now? are you frightened ? i wouldn't say i really... maybe it is my psychological problem, i do not really feel what can be described as fear in this case. so, essentially, no. pyotr verzilov speaking to our correspondent in berlin, jenny hill. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: from soweto to scotland.

the grammy—winning gospel choir inspired by nelson mandela goes global. benjohnson, the fastest man on earth, is flying home to canada in disgrace. all the athletes should be clean going into the games. i'm just happy that justice is served. it is a simple fact that this morning, these people were in their homes. tonight, those homes have been burnt down by serbian soldiers and police. all the taliban positions along here have been strengthened, presumably in case the americans invade. it's no use having a secret service which cannot preserve its own secrets against the world. and so the british government has no option but to continue this action,

and even after any adverse judgement in australia. concorde had crossed the atlantic faster than any plane ever before, breaking the record by six minutes. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: president trump says sexual misconduct allegations made against his supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh are part of a "big, fat conjob". an investigative website says its identified one of the suspects of the salisbury nerve agent attack as a high ranking russian spy. more and more people are dying as they try to reach europe from libya because of tougher migration policies, that's the warning from aid agencies and charities. there are now fewer ships patrolling the waters of the mediterranean to help those in distress. clive myrie reports

from the libyan capital, tripoli. and a warning, some viewers may find parts of his report distressing. libya is a land of disappointments, and these people are feeling particularly hard done by. these are the migrants you don't often hear about. they've given up on trying to reach europe and are heading back home to nigeria. some couldn't find the money to pay smugglers, others were rescued by the libyans from the mediterranean when their boats capsized. all have now had enough. their babies, bags and dreams in tow. we came across this group of young men, among them a medical technician, a pharmacist and college graduates. they didn't want to be identified, and didn't want to blame the libyans for their misfortune.

africans, we nigerians, are more encouraged to go to europe because their families are suffering. they don't have jobs. i'm no longer happy. something should be done in nigeria. we are dying. we appear to have no future in nigeria. we are crying. we are broken. the pull of europe and the push of poverty are powerful forces. but the prospects of migrants reaching italy or greece have now diminished. an eu clamp—down means fewer rescue ships from european aid agencies patrol these waters, so those playing russian roulette on the high seas are now three times more likely to die. and being rescued instead by the libyans means a one—way ticket back to north africa. here, the coastguard is trying to save three migrants, whose boat has capsized. "keep calm, slowly swim to us", shout the rescuers. remember, sharks feed

in these waters. they make it to safety, but one man needs life—support. it's touch and go. he survives. but for so many others, the sea has the last word, and the images of those drowned, their bodies mutilated by sharks, are too gruesome for us to show. colonel abu abdel bari co—ordinated the rescue that saved the lives of the three migrants. he says it's vital rescue boats from aid agencies stay away to prevent more people being lured to the mediterranean. translation: we have been through horrific experiences. it can be emotionally difficult for our crews. seeing so many overcrowded, migrant boats sinking, sometimes it is women who havejust had babies drown, their infants floating, dead in the water, beside them. we are not against the migrants trying to find a good life,

we are against the traffickers and smugglers, who take their money and don't care and leave them to die. it's the chaos that followed the end of the gaddafi regime here in libya that's allowed the traffickers far reign. there's no government in control and islamic state fighters are now on the ground. while we were in tripoli, the oil corporation headquarters was attacked. are eight people died, including five suicide bombers. we saw members of two militias squabbling over who should take credit for ending the attack. we were told to stop filming. the attack on the oil corporation here comes barely a day after several armed factions agreed to lay down their weapons and maintain a ceasefire that quelled days of violence earlier this month. but what happened here is clearly

a sign of the fragility of the security situation here. and caught in the middle of all the violence are the refugees and migrants. thousands abandoned by their guards in filthy detention centres during the recent fighting. this group fled one facility. they left us without food, without security, anything. how long were you there when the guards left? 22 days. 22 days? yes. the situation is terrible in libya for refugees and asylum seekers. for some, it's even hell, especially if they fall into the hands of the traffickers, then anything is possible — systematic rape, torture, mutilation, all kinds of abuses. no wonder these migrants want to head back to nigeria.

the eu has succeeded in cutting the numbers of people illegally crossing its borders, but at what price? clive myrie, bbc news, in tripoli. the armed forces and the police in the maldives say they'll uphold the result of last sunday's presidential election, which was won by the opposition candidate, ibrahim mohamed solih. the outgoing president, abdulla yameen had initially conceded victory but his party then lodged complaints of voting irregularities. formal results will be announced on sunday. and now, good news for gamers! playstation has confirmed it will launch a trial allowing gamers on sony consoles to play against friends using rival devices, starting with fortnite. in a blog post confirming its decision, sony interactive entertainment's global chief executivejohn kodera said it was a "major policy change" for the company. well earlier i spoke to shannon grixti, managing editor at press start, one of australia's biggest gaming and technology news sites.

i asked him just how big this was for gamers. i think it is massive, like itjust shows how massive fortnite is in comparison to these companies like even sony and nintendo. basically, fortnite gamers in general have wanted to play with their friends on playstation and xbox, so he has finally given in and caved to pressure from gamers, which is awesome. there is a bland statement from sony saying we are open to hearing what the playstation community is interested in to enhance their gaming experience, actually what a lot of gamers seem to have said is this is stupid, change it. yeah, they have said as recently as a week ago that they were not going to do this for a number of reasons, so it was surprising for us to wake up this morning and see it. itjust shows once again, fortnite is that big that it has made a massive company like sony change a massive policy like this, it is huge. is it then likely to be expanded to other games in the future, do you reckon?

going off that very political statement on the playstation blog this morning, i think it is definitely only going to be for fortnite for the near future, but i think this just opens the door for playstation over what excuse they are going to have in the future for other games like fifa and destiny. from the churches of south africa to the world, the grammy award winning soweto gospel choir is taking its gospel sounds to a global audience. the choir was inspired by nelson mandela's legacy and now has a0 members who tour the world regularly. the bbc‘s ben hunte followed the choir to scotland for the next part of their international tour. from the churches of south africa to the world! the soweto gospel choir is taking its sweet gospel sounds to a global audience. with over a0 choir members... three costume changes per person... and so many traditional african instruments. touring with the choir

takes a lot of work, and i'm here for the next part of their international tour in scotland. let's go! yes, the choir was started in 2002, and since then, they've won two grammy awards and taken their message all over the world. they hosted auditions like any other musical, like idols. i've tried by all means to take the train to go to johannesburg for those auditions. i sang amazing grace. # amazing grace...# it was my dream to be overseas one day, and to be onstage. # how sweet the sound...# # that saved a wretch...# audiences love their singing. but usually, they don't actually

understand what the choir is singing about. we have 11 official languages in south africa, so we sing in about 6—7 languages in our show. because we want people to feel, you know, what we sing about, even though they don't understand. sotho, tswana. make sure we put more soul in it so people will be, like, "wow, ican't understand what he's talking about but it's good." zulu, xhosa, venda and ndebele. as well as the sound, the look is also very important. the pattern symbolise the community. these bracelets symbolise the beauty. the headband, it's all about the crown. we represent ourselves as women in africa as queens. coming with the colours to show off the rainbow nation in our country. red and turquoise. purple and gold. red and pink. red and turquoise. pitch and green. green and pink.

all of the choir are from south africa, and one man heavily influenced all of their lives. mandela. when we won our first grammy in 2007, he was the first person to receive it. we are here today just because of him. he made sure that this rainbow nation becomes a beautiful nation, which is south africa. those other people, maybe they don't know about mandela, but once we're on stage, through music, and how we portray the mandela part, i think it's wonderful. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. thank you for watching. good morning.

it's been a lovely spell of autumn warmth for some of you so far this week. yesterday, we saw temperatures reach 2a degrees in lincolnshire. same spots, though, by the time we hit friday could be a good 10 degrees lower, if not a little bit more. and it's during the next 2a hours we'll see those changes take place. it's all because we've got cold air at the moment pooling to the north of this weather front, which is set to work its way southwards. to start the day, it's across parts of north and west scotland, and because of the more cloudier outbreaks of rain, notice the warm colours on the temperature chart to start the day. coolest colours in the south, where we've got temperatures in single figures for the morning commute, even a touch of frost in one or two spots. but lots of sunshine through england and wales to start with. bit more cloud north—west england perhaps compared with yesterday. sunshine to the south and east of scotland, northern ireland, but in the north and west, cloud, outbreaks of rain, most persistent in the highlands and islands in the morning before it turns to sunshine and showers as that showery band of rain pushes across the rest of scotland through the day, northern ireland

into the afternoon and the far north of england. and so by the end of the day, notice how we reverse the fortunes. cooler air‘s to the north, warmer air‘s to the south, where we could be a degree or so higher as far as temperatures are concerned than we were during yesterday afternoon. the sunshine continues. finished with sunshine across the north, but temperatures in the teens. those clearer skies will work their way southwards behind a fragmenting area of cloud and just one or two showers as it works towards southern counties of england. not quite clear on the south coast for the start of friday, so it'll be a milder night here to take us into friday morning rush—hour. a colder one further north with a touch of frost possible just about anywhere. into friday, high pressure is building in, keeping things dry. but as that cold front clears away, we've got all of us seeing the door open to the colder conditions. so a much chillier day on friday right from the start. we'll see the morning cloud in southern counties of england clear. that will lead to some sunnier conditions for the rest of the day. sunny spells really for most, just a few showers in the north and west of scotland,

northern ireland later. but friday, note the temperatures, 12—16 degrees — a big drop on what some have been used to so far this week. and we continue with the cool conditions through the night and into the start of the weekend. high pressure, though, largely in charge. so a dry start, even if it's a little bit of a frosty one for some of you. sunshine best across england and wales, but clouding over to scotland, northern ireland through the day. showers and outbreaks of rain mainly limited to the highlands and islands, and temperatures still generally around the mid—teens for the most part. by sunday, though, we'll see a bit more cloud drift southwards across england and wales. bit more of a breeze, and we stay with things on the cool side. a big change from what we've had so far this week. this is bbc news, the headlines: donald trump is standing by his supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh as a third woman makes claims of sexual misconduct against thejudge. the president claimed the allegations were part of a "big fat con job" by the democrats, but hinted he might withdraw support forjudge kavanaugh

if testimony due to be heard on thursday is convincing. the real name of one of the men accused of the nerve agent poisoning in the english city of salisbury in march has been revealed. the investigative website bellingcat says the man who called himself ruslan boshirov, and said he was a tourist, is in fact a colonel in russian military intelligence. the russian activist who invaded the pitch during this summer's world cup final, and then fell ill, has accused vladimir putin's secret services of poisoning him. pyotr verzilov, a member of the anti—kremlin group pussy riot, has now been released from hospital and is recovering in germany. you're up to date with the headlines. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.