hello this is bbc news. the headlines: division and protests across america but senators are expected to approve president trump's supreme court nomination later, despite sexual assault allegations. toxic air pollution is much worse in eight areas of england than previously thought, the government has revealed. the doctor will see you all now. gps trial a scheme where some patients share their appointments. ray galton, one half of the comic—writing duo galton and simpson, has died at the age of 88. as well as the sitcom steptoe and son, the duo were also the writers of hancock's half hour. going, going, actually gone. an original banksy self—destructs moments after selling for more than £1 million at auction.

and in half an hour, click looks at the technological advances in the art of photography. thejudge nominated by donald trump to serve on america's supreme court, looks set to be confirmed today, despite allegations of sexual assault. brett kavanaugh is expected to receive a formal endorsement in a vote in the us senate. here's our north america correspondent, chris buckler. with the final vote nowjust hours away, campaigners have made clear

they intend to keep up the pressure on america's politicians.” they intend to keep up the pressure on america's politicians. i am so angry. ido on america's politicians. i am so angry. i do not want to leave this place or leave the streets. they are not listening to women and they are not listening to women and they are not listening to survivors. four days, the senate's corridors of power have been filled with protesters, each one trying to influence the few senators still wavering over whether to support brett kava naugh‘s nomination wavering over whether to support brett kavanaugh‘s nomination to the supreme court. he is angrily denied claims that he sexually assaulted christine blasey ford decades ago when they were both teenagers. after wrestling with her political beliefs, the simple question of who to believe. republican senator susan collins finally decided she would vote in favour ofjudge kavanaugh. the facts presented do not mean that president... professor ford was not sexually assaulted that night or at some other time but they do lead me

to conclude that the allegations fail to meet the more likely than not standard. do you believe doctor ford? i believe doctor ford that something happened to doctor ford, i do not believe the fact shows that it was brett kavanaugh. this confirmation process has been nothing short of a bruising and divisive political fight but all the indications are that president trump is quietly confident that his nominee is now likely to secure a place in america's highest court. these are live pictures of the debate ahead of the vote later today. that senate room will fill up through the day. we expect a number of speeches to take place and then

we have been told that final vote is expected from around nine pm— 9:30pm. we will have that special coverage on bbc news. so the confirmation vote went through yesterday and it is this final vote that we are expecting to hear later this evening. local time it will be afternoon. more or less expected that you will be put through to sit and have his place on the supreme court. this whole process has been very divisive. so much of it has been described as taking place on partisan lines. so stay with us through the day. we will start to hear from through the day. we will start to hearfrom members through the day. we will start to hear from members of the senate. they will be giving their speeches in the build—up to that vote from

9:30pm. the first lady melania trump has been speaking for the first time. she has been travelling through america. one of her last start has been in cairo and this is what she had to say on brett kavanaugh. i think he is highly qualified for the supreme court. i am glad that doctor ford was heard, i am glad thatjudge doctor ford was heard, i am glad that judge kavanaugh was doctor ford was heard, i am glad thatjudge kavanaugh was heard. the fbi investigation was done, it is completed, and senate voted. did you believe doctor ford 7 completed, and senate voted. did you believe doctor ford ?|i completed, and senate voted. did you believe doctor ford? i think all the victims, we need to help all the victims, we need to help all the victims, no matter what kind of abuse they had. but i am against any kind of abuse or violence. that was melania trump in cairo in africa. this is part of her talk of

a number of african countries. do stay with us on bbc news because we will be bringing you the build—up to that final vote, which we are expecting from around 9:30pm in the uk. levels of nitrogen dioxide in eight areas of england are much worse than previously thought, official figures show. the poisonous gas emitted from cars and other vehicles can cause serious heart and lung disease. several councils have been told they must reduce their nitrogen dioxide levels at pollution hotspots. as sophie long reports, they far exceed legal limits. the pollution in our towns and cities has been linked to health issues like heart disease and asthma. the government's uk plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations says councils with the worst levels of air pollution must take robust action. it says it will ensure funding is there to enable ten local authorities to implement new measures. they include getting hundreds of buses with technology to reduce emissions.

changes to traffic signalling to limit congestion. and campaigns to get people to take individual action and reduce their own contribution to air pollution. client earth, an environmental law charity, labelled the uk's air pollution problem a national embarrassment. it has taken so long to understand the true extent of the problem, the government, instead of passing the buck onto local authorities, has to take action now to protect people's health from harmful levels of air pollution. the royal college of physicians says it contributes to around 40,000 early deaths per year. around 50 people were killed in the democratic republic of congo on saturday after an oil tanker collided with a vehicle on a highway. the accident took place near the city of kisantu, around 100 miles west of the capital kinshasa. the acting governor of the region said that 50 people had died and a hundred more had suffered second degree burns.

in 2010, at least 230 people were killed in dr congo when a fuel tanker overturned and exploded. one week after the indonesian island of sulawesi was hit by a devastating earthquake, officials say more than 1,000 people could still be missing beneath the rubble. around 1,500 people are known to have died in the disaster. hundreds of buildings were destroyed in palu on the island of sulawesi when it was hit by a wall of water. yet alongside the despair, there have been some stories that bring hope, as our correspondent nick beake reports. within this devastated city you find incredible stories of survival. including here, where the injured are still being treated outside because they fear the hospital could collapse. 12—year—old football fan rizki was in an internet cafe in palu watching highlights of his beloved manchester city where the earthquake struck. "suddenly the earth started to shake," he tells us.

"i tried to run, my hand was crushed, but i was able to stick out my other hand. i waved it so people could see it." rizki survived with a broken arm and is now reunited with his family. he still hopes to achieve his dream of becoming a footballer, joining his heroes at his favourite team. who is your favourite manchester city player? riyad mahrez. algerian international riyad mahrez became manchester city's record signing when they bought him for £60 million this summer. we thought manchester city may want to know about their young fan's amazing story of survival thousands of miles away. so we got in touch. and it turns out riyad mahrez wants to send a personal message. now, rizki doesn't know anything about this. hi, rizki. somebody wants to say hello to you. hi, rizki. how are you?

i hope you're getting better. i heard that you are a big city fan. so ijust want to wish you a good recovery. i hope you get better and we will give you the best wishes from man city. he also said that he'd like to send you a signed shirt as well. "i can't wait to get better and wear it". in the city of sorrow, where they have lost so much... thank you. ..a smile goes a long way. the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, has suggested the chances of a brexit deal have increased in recent days. in an interview published in three austrian newspapers, he said an agreement might be concluded in time for a special eu summit in november. he also reiterated his position that a no—deal scenario "would not be good" for either the uk or the eu. further rail strikes are bringing disruption today

as industrial action continues in the long—running dispute over the role of guards on trains. members of the rmt union on south western railway are staging a 48—hour walkout, and workers on northern are holding their seventh consecutive saturday stoppage. the former chair of a parliamentary body overseeing mps expenses has criticised the disability benefits assessment system as a "hostile environment" after being told he was ineligible for support despite having parkinson's and terminal prostate cancer. andrew mcdonald ran the independent parliamentary standards authority before retiring on health grounds — he had his benefits stopped after assessors decided he was no longer ill enough to qualify for a personal independence payment. a short time ago i spoke to mr mcdonald who told

us of his experience of the payment process. ididn't i didn't realise that this assessment, unlike the previous ones, was going to determine whether oi’ ones, was going to determine whether or not i got pip at all. it had been said at the very start that i would have annual assessments, essentially with a view to increasing the payments as my conditions worsened. what soon became clear this time was that the rules had changed, they hadn't been clearly explained, and theissue hadn't been clearly explained, and the issue at stake was whether or not i was to receive pip at all. thereafter, the process itself was certainly castres. i found the bureaucracy bewildering, and i've spent most of my career dealing with bureaucracy, i found the spent most of my career dealing with bureaucracy, ifound the process spent most of my career dealing with bureaucracy, i found the process and professional in that those making the system didn't have the relevant skills, and i also felt that there

was there was an agenda which wasn't being fully disclosed to me. what agenda is that do you think? when i saw the full medical notes which i had to apply for, i noted that on a few occasions there would be sentences which would begin, "informally". to give you one example, one set, informally, i note that mr macdonald works 40—50 hours a week for a disability charity. it did not note that it was voluntary work, unpaid, but the nudge to the decision—makers was, if he is able to do that sort of work, surely he must be all right. it is those nudges and winks that i found most troubling and most dismaying. sorry, give our viewers an idea of what pip is worth to people claiming it. give our viewers an idea of what pip

is worth to people claiming itm varies according to the assessment made but in my case i was receiving about £3000 a year. and if you don't have this allowance, what then happens, how do you cope? the first point i would like to make is that this is not a story about me. i have chosen to go public with my experience to illustrate the experience to illustrate the experience which hundreds of thousands, millions, of other disabled people are having. many of those are amongst the most disadvantaged in our society. this isa disadvantaged in our society. this is a big deal and it matters and matters crucially that the system is run ina matters crucially that the system is run in a way that is transparent and fair. romanians have been taking part in a referendum on whether marriage should be defined solely as a union between a man and a woman. nearly all political parties and the orthodox church have campaigned in favour of this change in the constitution. human rights groups have called for a boycott of the vote,

to try to drive the turnout below the required 30% threshold. media reports in china say the president of interpol is under investigation by the authorities there. mung huung weigh, who's chinese and a senior figure in the ruling communist party, went missing after leaving interpol headquarters to travel to china last month. the south china morning post, a hong kong—based newspaper, reports claims that mr meng has been detained in china. interpol has asked beijing to clarify the situation. the headlines on bbc news: president trump's supreme court nominee is expected to be approved by us senators later today, despite allegations of sexual assault. toxic air pollution is much worse in eight areas of england than previously thought, a government review reveals. the opera singer montserrat caballe,

ray galton, one half of the writing duo behind hancock's half hour and steptoe and son, has died at the age of 88. and lewis hamilton —— hamilton is on pole position again. fran kirby scores for england. and it is understood jose mourinho does have the backing of the manchester united board head of the game against newcastle this evening. i will be back with more sport in the next hour. some patients could see theirgps in groups under plans being considered by the nhs. doctors have been trialling shared appointments for up to 15 patients with the same condition, ranging from raised blood pressure and rheumatoid arthritis, to chronic back pain and asthma. the royal college of gps says

patients like getting the support of others, while gps say it stops them having to repeat advice. earlier i spoke to a doctor and patient, who have taken part in some of the group sessions. patient, who have taken part in some of the group sessionslj patient, who have taken part in some of the group sessions. i used to go to see the doctor weekly and it was a three—hour group session. and the good part about it were people ask questions that you might not have thought of asking yourself. and also it was nice to see other people and talk to them. and get their experiences as well. were you ever made to feel uncomfortable sharing your experience? no, never.

everybody who was there seemed pleased to be there and, as i say, people asked questions that you hadn't thought of asking yourself. doctor, if i can turn to you, is this a good thing for everyone? no, it won't suit everyone. what we are trying to do at the moment is of the people choices, and the big trouble is, we don't have enough nurses, we don't have enough doctors, waiting times are worse than we want, so this is one possible solution. it is better personalised care which means we have better access, we can see the people with chronic conditions more regularly. i have to say, it is nice that mary thought i saw her weekly, it was every month that i ran the group clinics and they lasted about two hours, but once you have parked up and the whole

experience, people get enough care and they get all their questions a nswered and they get all their questions answered and this is an efficient way of delivering high—quality care. how long has this trial been going on? we first piloted it ten years ago and we first presented the data, where we were awarded and innovation prize. this was then embedded in practice so it isn't a trial, this is happening in routine practice and the gps doing this, around 300 practices across the country, the way to do it is to embed it in practice. if you offer it to patients, there is a bit of relu cta nce patients, there is a bit of reluctance initially, but once they've tried it people are generally happy to stick with it. satisfaction levels are, if anything, a bit higher. it is not going to sue everybody but it is about offering people choices. thank you. the spanish opera singer montserrat caballe has

died at the age of 85. her career spanned 50 years, and she became a world renowned star in the 1960s, playing in the world's leading opera houses. she was extremely well known in spain, but here in the uk, there's one song, recorded with freddie mercury for the barcelona olympics for which she will best be remembered. # barcelona (10" upsot 00v) they recorded this, as a duet, in 1987, 5 they recorded this, as a duet, in 1987, five years before the games. but freddie mercury died in 1991 so monserrat caballe sang barcelona at the opening ceremony with jose carreras and placido domingo. a funeral service is expected to be held for her on monday. with me is the arts broadcaster sean rafferty. first off, we were listening to that

little clip of her will stop even a tiny bit, she powers right through. fantastic. she could feel this newsroom and bounce off the walls and you would still not need to turn the volume down. i met her three yea rs the volume down. i met her three years ago. what was she like? she was extraordinary. it is very hard to define when people get to a watershed and they emerge from the chrysalis into these great stars. she came to the hotel, the red carpet went down, people bowed. she parted people like the red sea. she really was quite something. in the uk, we all know her from barcelona, which she did with freddie mercury. but regarding her wider career, tell us but regarding her wider career, tell us about that. it is long, hard work. singing in the 60s. she stood

in and people were knocked sideways by her. it is almost a gestation period, like a good wine coming to its optimum, the cork pops out and you think, this is absolutely perfect. she was just ready. powerful and amazing. it is very ha rd to powerful and amazing. it is very hard to compare her to someone else. all these great singers bring their own inward passion. what was she most proud of? what do people know oi’ most proud of? what do people know or her about her? i think what she loved was bringing, one critic said the most beautiful voice since maria callas. she brought back many roles, some of the lesser operas,. an opera

singer and diva often go hand in hand. diva can be a good thing, of course. all it means is you have got standards. describe what she was like to work with. what reputation did she have? she had a troubled time. when i interviewed her she had been ill, she had cancer. she was extremely human. i think she was very proud of where she came from. the great thing, her and freddie mercury was a terrific thing. she would probably out sing him any day. iam going would probably out sing him any day. i am going to squeeze one more question in. what is your favourite piece she sang? like everybody else, it is the iconic barcelona. it is the meeting of two different sorts

of artform. you can see that recording on our screen right now. thank you for sharing your memories. another one gone, sadly. ray galton, one half of the galton and simpson comedy writing duo, has died at the age of 88 after a battle with dementia. they created iconic sitcoms including hancock's half hour and steptoe & son. david sillito takes a look back at his life. i thought you came here to give us some of your blood. that is just a smear. it may be a smear to you but it is life and death to some people. a comedy classic. tony hancock. how much do you want? a pint, of course. the work of ray galton and alan simpson. that is very nearly and harmful. it had all begun at milford

chest hospital. they started to write for hospital radio and then sent a script to the bbc. eventually, they got the attention ofa eventually, they got the attention of a comic, tony hancock. as he went past he said, did you write that? we thought, should we owner or not? he's —— we said, yes. he said, very funny. and walked off. and those we re funny. and walked off. and those were oui’ funny. and walked off. and those were our first words with tony. alan types on and ray takes up his favourite position for inspiration. as they develop new themes, dream up more ideas. after hancock came a one—off comedy playhouse. steptoe and son. in the 60s it was so

popular, the bbc were contacted by the then labour leader harold wilson. he was worried voters would not turn out if it was on before polls closed. harold thought we wouldn't get a turnout of labour voters. he wanted the bbc to put it on after 9pm or cancel the programme. the partnership, apart from one venture in the 90s, was essentially over by the late 70s, but their brand of comedy, rooted in class and thwarted aspiration was in its day all conquering. you will be 110 by the time you've finished. ray galton, the pioneer of the british sitcom. remembering ray galton. sotheby‘s auction house has admitted that it was ‘banksy—ed' after a stencil spray painting by the mysterious artist shredded itself after being sold for more than £1 million.

the girl with balloon painting, which is one of banksy‘s most widely recognised works, was auctioned by sotheby‘s in london on friday. moments after going under the hammer, attendees were shocked to see the 2006 piece suddenly pass through a shredder hidden within the frame. banksy, whose true identity is unknown, posted a picture of the moment on instagram with the caption, ‘going, going, gone...‘ swarms of ladybirds are being reported in homes and buildings across england and wales. experts suggest the hot summer has boosted numbers of the invasive harlequin species, which first arrived in the uk in 200a. as the temperature cools, the harlequin hibernates for the winter in buildings, including homes. scientists say the ladybirds a re mostly harmless and can be left alone if they are found in your house. the ecologist professor helen roy has more on this phenomen.

she starts with what makes the harlequin ladybird so distinctive. the harlequin ladybird is quite a large ladybird. it comes in quite a few different colour forms. that can be confusing. orange and black spots and black with two or four red spots. it has got slightly pale brown legs and that is a really good feature to take a look at. and just behind the head, it often has a white panel and on that white panel isa white panel and on that white panel is a black m shape or solid shape that looks like a crown. the harlequin ladybird is a new arrival to the uk. it has been here about 1k yea rs. to the uk. it has been here about 1k years. it has been here since about 2004. it is a native to asia and found its way to the uk in many different ways. we saw the numbers slowly build up in those early years of its arrival. it spread at 100

kilometres per year in those first yea rs. kilometres per year in those first years. and now it is increasing in abundance in many areas, particularly the south—east of england. but this am summer has been really favourable. those lovely warm sunny days and lots of aphids around. it has had really good conditions to get into high numbers and that is what we are seeing now. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. it isa it is a reversal of whether fortunes tomorrow. not a bad end to the day. plenty of sunshine around but with those clear skies in place, it is going to be a cold night tonight. the rain gradually clears. a bit cloudier towards the north—west of scotla nd cloudier towards the north—west of scotland later on but in between those clear skies, it could lead to a pretty chilly and frosty nights away from towns and city centres. a crisp start to your sunday morning.

plenty of sunshine around. cloud in northern england and wales later on. outbreaks of rain in scotland and northern ireland. most persistent across parts of scotland. but temperatures are starting to rise and they will rise further into next week. elsewhere, england and wales will be dry, sunny and pleasant.