welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: american sanctions on iran's oil industry are due to come into effect in two hours‘ time. final rallies before the american midterm elections — president trump says it's all about immigration. the bibles they carried — 100 years after the guns fell silent, we remember the role of religion in the first world war it only counts the cost of the week of bad weather. —— italy. us sanctions against iran's oil and banking industries will be reimposed in

just a couple of hours — that's midnight washington time. the measures come after president trump decided earlier this year to pull out of the international nuclear deal with iran, despite iran complying with its terms. rallies have taken place across the country denouncing the sanctions, which the white house has described as the toughest ever. here's caroline rigby. they charted, "death to america", and mocked president trump. thousands gathered in iran to mark the 39th anniversary of the storming of the us embassy in tehran. such protests happen every year, but this time the bitterness was particularly evident. hardliners rallying too against the reinstatement of devastating us economic sanctions, following president trump's decision to withdraw from the iranian nuclear deal. a move met with disdain by many but one donald trump sees as among the greatest achievements of his presidency so far.

the iran sanctions are very strong. they are the strongest sanctions we have ever imposed, and we will see what happens with iran but they are not doing very well, i can tell you. iran is not doing very well. it is a big difference since i have been in office. the measures are far—reaching. they'll target key pillars of the iranian economy, from the oil industry, to shipping and the banking sector, with more than 700 individual entities, vessels and aircraft put on the sanctions list. though eight major importers of iranian oil, likely to include india and japan, have been granted temporary wavers. america hopes the move will force iran to end its nuclear and ballistic missiles programmes, and reduce its involvement in proxy wars across the middle east. the trump administration says it wants a new, the trump administration says it wants a new, more comprehensive agreement with tehran. but, as the top commander of the revolutionary guards promised on sunday to resist the sanctions,

there appears little likelihood of iran returning to the negotiating table any time soon. caroline rigby, bbc news. professor patricia degennaro is an international security analayst. i asked her how bad these sanctions will be for ordinary iranians. they are already starting to feel them. the currency has already dropped and people are not able to afford things. in fact, they're trading for meat and other kinds of goods on the market already so it is going to impact them quite drastically, much more than probably any of the regime will feel. president trump clearly wants to bring about some sort of change, change in the behaviour of the revolutionary guards or regime change. do you think that is likely though? i don't think that is likely at all. yeah, this country seems to like the policy of regime change but i think that is very problematic

when it comes to this country and in any part of the world. it causes chaos. chaos, in fact, is what this president likes. but the region is extremely volatile right now, on both sides of the border, and i don't think they understand what they are bargaining for. this is both reckless and irresponsible from the trump adminstration‘s point. that's the things, isn't it — the history of sanctions, particularly in iran, show us the anger is not directed internally, it's directed to those who are imposing the sanctions from outside. and of course, iran has a history of being able to weather very tough sanctions. yes, both of that's true. iranians come together at times like this. even some of the most advocate or the biggest critics — i should say — of the regime will band together as a population against someone who is trying to intervene with matters internally

and i think iranians came forward in good faith with the nuclear deal and this is really putting their faith and their trust in the international community as a whole as to whether they should change any behaviours whatsoever. in which direction, if any, can the iranian authorities turn — i'm thinking russia, china, i don't know? they are already turning to russia and china and they're increasing ties to india even more than they have — they are quite strong as they are. i also think the european union has an opportunity here. they have the power and they have the width to do something and push back harder against the us because they will, as well, some of the countries — italy, spain — within the eu will also suffer from these sanctions. i think the european union has

a responsibility here to use some of its power as well. there are a lot of powerful tools to use and military power is not always the one to turn to. i think we should start looking at some other avenues as an international community. professor patricia degennaro. final campaigning is underway in the united states ahead of tuesday's mid—term elections — a key test for president trump. he's been addressing supporters at a rally in georgia, while barack obama is campaigning in indiana for the democrats. chris buckler reports. # proud to be an american... donald trump has been nothing but relentless in his campaigning. georgia is just the latest stop in a frantic week of rallies held in state, after state, after state. this is a president trying to defend his power, and saying whatever he can to shore up his support. that means talking up the economy but it also means talking tough

on the subjects that divide this country, including immigration. turn back now, because you're not coming into the united states unless you go through the process. cheering turn back. so, if you want more caravans and you want more crime, vote democrat. it's very simple. booing if you want strong borders and safe communities, vote republican. cheering along america's southern border, the first of thousands of troops have already arrived to defend this country against what the president has called an invasion. he's talking about this caravan of migrants from central america. they're still many weeks away from the us. this election, on the other hand, is only days away, and it's clear with this, and issues like iran, the president is trying to present a certain image. in washington, sunday was game day for american football fans,

but they know the truly crucial contest will happen on tuesday. if we don't have a secure border, we don't have a secure country. we just need to get the republicans out. if you don't like something, vote. i don't want to hear any talk after. you're too late. it's a biggie. as barack obama knows all too well. in the midterms, floating voters tend to favour the party that opposes the president, but democrats are well aware that nothing feels certain in american politics any more. america's at a crossroads. the healthcare of millions is on the ballot. a fair shake for working families is on the ballot. perhaps most importantly, the character of our country is on the ballot. hundreds of candidates are taking part in hundreds of elections

across this country, but donald trump cast a shadow over all of those races. it's hard to see the midterms as anything but a referendum on his presidency. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. don't forget you can find lots more background on the us midterm elections on our website — just go to bbc.com/news — or download the bbc news app. and we'll have special coverage here on bbc world news as the results of those midterms come in. let's get some of the day's other news: south korea says it will resume small—scale military exercises with united states forces on monday, some five months after they were suspended to help bring about detente with north korea. meanwhile us secretary of state mike pompeo says he will meet his north korean counterpart to revive nuclear negotiations. a search operation for a lion air plane that went down

in waters off western indonesia has been prolonged for three days because some major items have not been recovered. authorities still haven't found the cockpit voice recorder — the second of the jets two black boxes. flooding has killed a dozen people on the italian island of sicily over the weekend as the country struggles with the aftermath of a week of extreme weather. that brings the total number of deaths to above 30 according to rescuers. heavy rain and wind has hit several parts of the country, causing extensive damage. the government has promised there will be enough money for the clean—up despite the country already being in debt. kathryn armstrong reports. 0na tourof on a tour of destruction — the deputy prime minister surveying the

battered region. thousands of trees snapped like match sticks. at least 1 snapped like match sticks. at least i billion euros worth of damage. a trail of devastation has been left across the country. from the north to sicily in the south. many of these places are still under a load. several people died in sicily including members of two families, wiped out when a river burst its banks. nine people were killed. children aged one, three, 15 to their grandparents. translation:- ofa their grandparents. translation:- of a sudden i saw the windows darken andi of a sudden i saw the windows darken and i took that khakis to try to get out but the window exploded and i could not see any more because the light had gone. ifound myself in the water. i grabbed a tree. i stayed for two hours, screaming. a policeman help me come down.

officials have open an investigation to see if safety regulations had been complied with. the prime minister said cabinet meeting would be organised to declare a state of emergency were needed and sought a reconstruction package. 250 million euros have really been earmarked. special eu relief funds will be asked for and hopes his plans will not see claims of overspending from brussels. the focus now is getting those in the affected areas back in their feet those in the affected areas back in theirfeet —— those in the affected areas back in their feet —— on those in the affected areas back in theirfeet —— on their those in the affected areas back in their feet —— on their feet after a week they will not forget. the caravan of central american migrants has started to arrive in the mexican capital, mexico city. there, the city and federal authorities have decided to provide them with temporary shelter in a sports stadium, on the outskirts of the city. our mexico correspondent, will grant is there. this is a stadium on the outskirts

of mexico city and the meeting point for the migrants caravan. these are the first migrants arriving. they have come from the state of veracruz, where they were gathering having made it from guatemala. it is often raining in mexico at the moment and they have been provided with cover. ngos, medical support up offering help. ngos, medical support being offering help. translation: i feel good to be here because i am travelling with my wife but she is three months pregnant and we cannot take too many risks so we are happy to have made it here and that the authorities and the mexican people are lending us help and support. the aim is to regroup with 6000

in the first main caravan, maybe a couple more thousands which mightjoin and then the decision could be taken about what the best route north is, what the best decision is, as individualfamilies and as a collective. some may apply for asylum here in mexico city, where there is work and they may have family members. others will continue this arduous journey north to the united states where the president donald trump has made it clear they will not be welcomed with open arms but has deployed thousands of troops to greet them when they arrive. will grant, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come — if you've never heard of drone racing, it's definitely a thing and there's a new world record. the israeli prime minister,

yitzhak rabin, the architect of the middle east peace process, has been assassinated. a 27—year—old jewish man has been arrested and an extremistjewish organisation has claimed responsibility for the killing. at polling booths throughout the country, they voted on a historic day for australia. as the results came in, it was clear — the monarchy would survive. of the american hostages, there was no sign. they are being held somewhere inside the compound and student leaders have threated that should the americans attempt rescue, they will all die. this mission has surpassed all expectations. voyager one is now the most distant man—made object anywhere in the universe, and itjust seems to keep on going. tonight, we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of ourarms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: american sanctions against iran's oil industry will be reimposed shortly. it follows president trump's withdrawal from the international nuclear deal. immigration is dominating the final phase of campaigning before the us midterm elections, widely seen as a referendum on the trump presidency. players from leicester city football club have attended the funeral in thailand of its owner who died in a helicopter crash last weekend. they attended a prayer ceremony at a temple in bangkok, part of several days of buddhist rituals. jonathan head reports. they'd flown straight from their match in cardiff to be here.

the leicester players and their manager in bangkok to show their late chairman how much he meant to them. theyjoined a traditional buddhist funeral, which will continue for several days, attended by some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in this country. they were greeted warmly by mr vichai's sons, who will now run the company and must try to maintain its lucrative hold on thailand's duty—free business. this is a far more formal occasion than what the players will have experienced during those moving tributes to their late chairman back in britain. it is an important religious ritual, and also an affirmation of the power and status that mr vichai achieved as a businessman here in thailand. but it is their last farewell to the man who transformed the club, and it's bound to be an emotional one for the leicester team. after more than an hour inside the funeral pavilion, it was time to head off for a rest after their flight. but they are expected

here again tomorrow night, before making the long journey back to britain in time for the next match. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. president macron of france says he's immensely proud that people in new caledonia have rejected independence in a referendum. the pacific island, near australia, has belonged to france for more than 150 years. indigenous kanaks make up more than 39% of the population. gemma coombe reports. this was a referendum decades in the making. it was promised as part of a peace deal following a violent campaign by separatists from the indigenous kanak people. but although close to 57% of voters chose to remain a part of france, the yes voters are still celebrating. the losers, the pro—independence side, they regard this outcome as a victory.

the leader came out and said that anything more than 40% was a victory and they've achieved obviously 43%. independence has long been a goal of the kanak people who were dispossessed of their traditional lands in 1853 when the french took control. about 175,000 people were eligible to vote and more than 80% did. translation: do you know why i am voting yes? for civil peace, for historical logic, for the peace, for the dignity of the kanak people and of our caledonian population. they agreed to let us a vote, the kanak people accepted this so we need give back to them a little. french president emmanuel macron has welcomed the decision and said he has immense pride in those who voted to remain with france. translation: the only loser is the temptation for disdain, division, violence and fear.

the only winner is the peace process, which has been driving new caledonia for 30 years. the spirit of dialogue that nothing will underline anymore. not all is lost for the yes voters, though. the deal states that in the event of a no vote, two further referendums on independence can still be held before 2022. the moat around the tower of london was illuminated on sunday evening with 10,000 torches, commemorating the final days of the first world war a century ago. it took around 45 minutes to light the flames in a ceremony that will be repeated every night until remembrance sunday. as the nation prepares to mark 100 years since the guns finally fell silent, our religion editor martin bashir has been reflecting on one element of the kit issued to serving soldiers. as young british men prepared for conflict a century ago,

they received the blessing of a chaplain and were armed with a helmet, a rifle and a bible. so, this is my grandfather's bible from the first world war. so, he was carrying this with him throughout the war. steve vinall‘s grandfather, george, was on the western front when his battalion came underfire. hours later, he wrote a letter describing how shrapnel had hit his bible. where the bullet landed and he then opened it, he said that the eighth verse of isaiah a9, where the bullet stopped, "contains these words, "which caught my eye — directly i saw it. "i will preserve thee." he goes on to say, "may this be true of future days, "until i see you all again is my heartfelt prayer." the words of scripture comforted soldiers during battle

and, on occasions, at the end. soldiers, when they're very badly wounded, have a tendency to produce the new testament from their breast pocket and to read it as they die. now, this is a phenomenon that was recorded when soldiers who were killed on the 1st ofjuly 1916, the first day of the battle of the somme, were recovered and buried, many of them were actually found dead, though with the bible, with the new testament in their hands. for george vinall, who survived the war, his faith increased and led him to work as a missionary. do you think we've been a bit remiss in the way that we haven't acknowledged the bible and its use by soldiers in the first world war? their faith, their belief that they were doing the right thing, that in those sort of circumstances,

it's often out of your control and, therefore, it's in the hands of god and that perhaps, i think, we do miss. it is, after all, a verse of scripture that best describes the sacrifice of so many. "greater love hath no man than this, "that he lay down his life for his friends." martin bashir, bbc news. thousands of runners took to the streets of new york for the city's annual marathon, the largest race in the world. ethiopia's lelisa desisa claimed the men's title, crossing the line in two hours and five minutes. in the women's race, mary keitany from kenya was leader of the pack, finishing in two hours and 22 minutes. in many ways, the human race lives for speed. fast cars, fast planes, and now, fast drones.

it's a fairly accessible sport. you can buy one on the high street or even make one for yourself. the world drone racing championships have been taking place in southern china, and saw a new world record. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. drone racing claims to be one of fastest growing sports in the world. and this is clearly a pastime where age, or a lack thereof, is no obstacle to success. it seems anyone who's anyone in this game is young. take the women's final where the winner isn't technically a woman yet. thailand's winner is just 11 years old, but she left more senior competitors in her wake. a specially—constructed track saw 62 pilots try to set a new world record. switzerland doing the trick with an average speed of more than 114km/h.

the first race, i got a super good start and just pinged it all the way down and got first place. the second one, i got a good start as well, but went a little too high, so i needed to correct down and in that time, swift overtook me, but i got the better average time, so that is how i won it. the overall winner was another youngster, 15—year—old rudy browning from australia, his country also taking the team prize. speed and youth really seem to be a winning combination. tim allman, bbc news. len t wong news and analysis on our website —— plenty more. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @duncangolestani. for now, thank you for watching. hello. nature's very own light spectacular,

the aurora borealis or northern lights, in full display across the northern isles. also, some parts of eastern scotland and eastern england under clearer skies, but further west, a different story. this area of low pressure in the bay of biscay, we have a frontal system extending across western fringes of the uk, continuing to bring outbreaks of rain. this will ease from northern ireland through the morning and things get dry across wales and south—west england and outbreaks of rain continue to push their way north and eastwards across scotland as this too pulls away. behind it, we'll see the cloud thinning and breaking. bright and sunny spells and a scattering of showers, but very mild for the early part of november. temperatures generally between 10 and 15 celsius, up to 16 or 17 in east anglia and south—east england. after the windy conditions of the weekend, a gentler south or south—easterly breeze through monday afternoon. we'll keep that gentle breeze as we go on through the evening. for many, it will be

dry with clear spells. a bit of patchy rain continuing across parts of northern ireland, western scotland, maybe the far south—west of england. but if you do have plans for firework or bonfire displays on monday evening, for most, it will be dry, it will be mild and there'll be a gentle locally moderate breeze. as you go from monday into tuesday, we have another frontal system in the atlantic working its way towards the uk. it does have limited eastward progress, so on tuesday, the heaviest and most persistent of the rain will be across the western side of scotland, northern ireland, eventually into wales and south—west england. meanwhile, further east, it stays dry, breezy and bright sunny spells. look where those winds are coming from, all the way from the south. we're going to keep that mild air, temperatures again reaching 1a to 17 celsius. but some persistent rain further west on tuesday. as we go from tuesday into wednesday, that front does begin to work its way eastwards across the uk, so overnight, we'll see outbreaks of rain and a squeeze on the isobars.

strong winds at midweek and slowly through wednesday, our outbreaks of rain will start to ease the way towards the east, become lighter and patchy so something dry here through the day and central areas as well. further west, we will see the heaviest and most persistent of the rain. it is an unsettled feel as we go through the week. wednesday afternoon, temperatures up to between 12 and 1a celsius, not as high as what we see on monday and tuesday but still quite mild for the time of year. and that is the theme for the week ahead. it's going to be mild and also windy and there will be some rain at times. that's all from me. bye— bye. this is bbc news. the headlines: american sanctions on iran's oil industry will be reimposed shortly. it follows president trump's decision to pull out of an international agreement aimed at curbing tehran‘s nuclear ambitions. the other signatories say they remain committed to the nuclear deal. republicans and democrats in the united states are making some of their final appeals to voters,

before tuesday's mid—term elections widely seen as a referendum on the trump presidency. the current and previous presidents are addressing campaign rallies. mr trump has been stressing his tough line against immigration. floods have killed 12 people on the italian island of sicily, including nine members of a single family. a week of extreme weather has now been responsible for the deaths of 30 people. now on bbc news, dateline london.