welcome to newsday on the bbc. hello. i'm sharanjit leyl, in singapore. the headlines: campaigning reaches fever pitch in the us mid—term elections — president trump's holding his third rally of the day, live in fort wayne, indiana. also hitting the campaign trail for the democrats, barack obama tells supporters america is at a defining moment in its history. i'm babita sharma, in london. also in the programme: the us vows to be "relentless" as sweeping sanctions take effect against iran. tehran says it's facing an "economic war". and panic grips the indian capital as a blanket of toxic air hits delhi, ahead of diwali, the festival of lights. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. good morning.

it's 8:00 am in singapore, midnight in london. and 7:00 pm eastern time in the us, where voters will be heading to the polls in just a few hours‘ time. campaigning ahead of what are known as the mid—term elections is drawing to a close. the outcome is being seen as a verdict on president trump's first two years in office. the bbc‘s north america editor jon sopel reports. his name is not on the ballot anywhere across the united states, but the forthcoming elections are all about donald trump. he's put himself at the absolute centre of this campaign, hurtling around the country energetically. and so it's impossible to avoid the conclusion that the results of tomorrow's midterm elections will be a referendum on his presidency. today he was in ohio. everything we have created and achieved is at stake on election day, it is.

if the radical democrats take power, they will take a wrecking ball to our economy and to our future. the issue that's grabbed more attention than any other is this, the caravan of immigrants making their way up from central america and heading towards the us border. the president has deployed thousands of troops and fearsome rhetoric. "america is about to be invaded," he says. fear mongering, say his opponents. getting fewer headlines is health care, but arguably of far greater concern to many more americans. the administration stands accused of watering down people's ability to get insurance cover if they have pre—existing conditions. the democrats in this climate are struggling to find their voice and so they are relying on someone who seems to have lost his. if you vote, you might save a life. that's pretty rare, the way it happens. barack obama was today campaigning today in virginia

and has been the one democrat still able to draw a crowd and enthuse supporters. healthcare for millions is on the ballot. a fair shake for working families is on the ballot. and most importantly, the character of our nation is on the ballot. the numbers turning up at rallies, the numbers turning out to vote early, are extraordinary. these are midterm elections like no other. we can see donald trump taking to the stage and in indiana addressing large crowds. he has one more rally

to do an and the familiar message that he is trying to hammer home, the positive news on the economy, record low unemployment, tax cuts, and the tough talk on immigration and the tough talk on immigration and international issues like the sanctions he has imposed today on iran. both sides have accepted at this stage they are not going to sway anybody one way or the other but it is about convincing as many people to actually turn up to the ballot box and push the bit of paper in so they make their decision because both sides have said this is one of the most important elections in living memory. last op in

missouri — what is the thinking behind that? alter three state donald trump has been him today and many of the states he has visited in the past few weeks are red state who voted to him in 2016 but they are aware the democrats have an incumbent senator who is seeking re—election. they are only elected every six years. moral them are democrat because they were voted in during barack 0bama's administration. that is difficult foran administration. that is difficult for an incumbent president to turn them from blue to red. donald trump is prepared to lose control of the lower house of congress, the house of representatives. the democrats are hopeful of taking that and that

would fit ball with the pattern of previous mid elections. that would frustrate donald trump but if he could cling on to the senate then he will have something to show as a success will have something to show as a success out of these elections. donald trump has admitted himself this is somewhat of a referendum on him and his presidency and the first idea we will get of how popular his first two years in office have been. danjohnson, first two years in office have been. dan johnson, live first two years in office have been. danjohnson, live in washington and oui’ danjohnson, live in washington and our special coverage, this time tomorrow with an election special instead of newsday. stage by stage, minute by minute as the boat come let's take a look at some of the day's other news: after abandoning its nuclear deal with iran earlier this year, the trump administration has introduced what it describes as the toughest sanctions ever placed against iran. president hassan rouhani says

iran is in a state of economic war with america. the us secretary of state mike pompeo says the new sanctions will be biting. the iranian regime has a choice, it can doa the iranian regime has a choice, it can do a 180 degrees return and act like a normal country or it can see its economy crumbled. we hope the new agreement with irani is possible. we will be relentless in exerting pressure on the regime. also this hour, indonesian safety officials have revealed the airspeed indicator on the lion air plane which crashed last week, had been damaged during its final four flights. all 189 people on board were killed when the flight came down into the java sea, shortly after take off from jakarta. tens of thousands of supporters of the former sir lankan president, mahinda rajapaksa, have held a rally in the capital, colombo, to back his controversial nomination as prime minister. the speaker of parliament has refused to accept rajapaksa for the topjob, until he shows he can command

a majority in parliament. in myanmar, aung san suu kyi's party, the national league for democracy, has suffered a setback in the latest set of by—elections. it lost a number of ethnic minority constituencies that it had previously held. analysts say ms suu kyi has alienated minority voters by failing to end regional conflicts. the european union's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, has said negotiations with london to leave the eu are not driven by a sense of revenge. speaking in brussels, he said a no—deal or hard brexit would spell trouble for expatriates in both regions. british prime minister theresa may said she's confident of reaching an agreement on the irish border — one of the main obstacles to any deal. players from leicester city football club have attended the third day of the funeral of the chairman, killed in a helicopter crash last month. the team, including manager claude puel and strikerjamie vardy, arrived at a temple in bangkok to pay their respects. residents in india's capital

have been experiencing a blanket of thick, grey smog with pollution levels at 20 times the world health organisation's recommended limit. the air quality is expected to worsen this week, with firecrackers used during diwali, the festival of light. devina gupta has more from delhi. iam in i am in one of the world ‘s worst polluted cities and the air that i breathing is filled with sulphur, nitrogen and pm 2.5. the level of pm 2.5 is 50 times the prescribed safe limit by the world health organization. some of the side—effects is that i get tingling in my throat, burning, my eyes start

watering after some time. the main reason is that farmers are clear their crop area by burning their residue and because the win is less, this air creates a smog, a haze around the city. pollution and the festive season diwali is also adding to it. demand for pollution masks are shooting up. customers are buying these masks for about $50 to fill to the toxic debt but experts say they are not 100% dip. the government has ordered construction activity in the city to be stopped but doctors are claiming this air is like inhaling 50 cigarettes every day. they've also put a cap the fireworks burnt in this season of

diwali to reduce toxicity in the air but some say these measures are to little as almost 90 million people are at grave risk in the city at this time of the year. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: will xijinping's promise to cut import tariffs take the heat out of a growing trade war with the us? we will get some reaction to president xi's speech at the shanghai expo. also on the programme: they're back. after years apart, the spice girls are reforming for a new uk tour. 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 extremist jewish 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 our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl, in singapore.

and i'm babita sharma, in london. our top stories: campaigning reaches fever pitch in the us midterm elections, with just hours to go until the polls open. the us hits iran with far—reaching economic sanctions, but tehran says it will carry on selling oil. let's take a look at some of the front pages of newspapers from around the world. the japan times capures a golden moment for one of the superstars of male figure skating. olympic champion yuzuru hanyu clinched first place at the isu grand prix in helsinki. he celebrated by posing for a selfie. the front page of singapore's straits times is feeling festive, as the city—state braces for deepavali. it isa it is a public day—to—day here.

preparations for the hindu festival of lights are already in full swing. as you can see, the bazaar in little india is buzzing with excitement. and the new york times delves into the mind of a genius, as they look at the legacy of leonardo da vinci. they have been exploring a new multimedia display which brings his insights to life. the exhibition explores the science behind his art. china has promised to further cut import tariffs and open foreign access to its economy, as it tries to address criticisms that its trade practices are unfair. in a speech at a major trade event in shanghai, president xijinping described the ongoing trade war with the us as a battering storm that china would survive, and he made a robust defence of the global free trade system, which he said was under attack. a short time ago i asked orville schell, the director of the asia society's centre on us—china relations, for his thoughts on the issue. well, i do think in so far as the

united states and china are sort of the keystone of the global arch of trade, we are seeing a lot of stress and strains. and i think the vexing pa rt and strains. and i think the vexing part of the present dilemma is that we keep passing milestones where the us and china might come to some new agreement, but we keep sliding by it without any new, interesting and kind of bold proposals, and the so we get further and further down the line towards kind of a engagement decoupling, which is worrisome and dangerous. worrisome and dangerous, you say, but will the current midterms and the outcome of it make a difference in terms of resolving some of these tensions? well, i think actually the election will not be of great consequence to us—china stand—off, because paradoxically in washington now one of the very few

things that the republicans and democrats seem to be able to agree on is that we ought to have a more forceful policy towards china. so i think whoever gets elected here, we have a strange form of unity within an otherwise very contentious political environment. now, you have been quoted saying that there has been quoted saying that there has been a tidal shift in america in proportions that you have not seen in your lifetime, from the old notions of engagement. just how bad could these tensions between beijing and washington get, and is there any way, any third way, of potentially resolving it? well, i think they could get much worse. i think we are heading into the sort of the 11th hour, when this downward slide could be arrested. frankly, i am hour, when this downward slide could be arrested. frankly, iam not particularly optimistic, because they don't see tremendous flexibility being evinced by either

leadership, in china, in beijing, or in washington. we will see. they will meet in argentina and there is a possibility. but we have seen many other occasions when they have not been able to come to some agreement. and let's be realistic. to come an agreement is going to take some very bold, very creative and very flexible policy, and some concessions on both sides. and you don't see that happening. well, i... hope springs eternal, but so far i don't think either president trump 01’ don't think either president trump or president xi has demonstrated that kind of very bold, creative thinking, and there is not really the framework in which that would happen. that has not been built yet. now, the speech from vice president pence in october were seen as a defining moment, suggesting that us— china relations were entering a strategically competitive change.

and will be stiff fine us policy for sometime to come? especially, as you say, the democrats and republicans seem to allow it. yes, i think vice president pence's speech it really was a very stark dividing line. basically what it signalled was that we we re basically what it signalled was that we were on the precipice of a kind of post— engagement world. but of course, the question that hovers over that statement of what does post— engagement look like? because china is still there, and the united states is still there, and there are issues that need to be adjudicated between them. russia's highly secretive military intelligence agency, the gru, has celebrated its 100th anniversary. it does so against a background of scandals, including accusations of meddling in the us presidential election, and of involvement in a deadly nerve agent attack in britain. but on home soil, russia's military spies have been praised by vladimir putin for their dedication and unique abilities. the bbc‘s steve rosenberg has this report. dimitri tells me that, if what the

west is saying about the gr you is true, it means the russian agents are doing a good job —— gru. it means they are scared of us. not eve ryo ne means they are scared of us. not everyone here is so upbeat. with the gru also implicated in election meddling in the west, and in a failed coup in montenegro, some russians believe the spy agency is playing a dangerous game. translation: this situation is not normal. if every country did the kind of things the gru is accused of, this could end very badly for the whole world. as for the show, well, it ends bizarrely, and rather

violently. when russia has a problem, it throws everything at it, all its power. then again, if there is one thing russia despises, it is weakness. it plays tough, and it plays to win, and controversy about its intelligence agencies isn't going to change that. now to a spectacular sight in london. you are looking at thousands of flames, individual torches, in the moat of the tower of london. they are part of a new art installation to commemorate the centenary of the end of the first world war. it will run every night leading up to and including armistice day on sunday. our special correspondent allan little reports on how the uk's understanding of the war and its consequences have changed in the past 100 years. no war in history had demanded

so much, mobilised so many, or killed in such numbers. and, when it was over, the men who fought it began asking questions that have never gone away. what was it for, and was it worth it? we remember them now with public reverence, but the way that we think about the war they fought has changed dramatically in the 100 years since it ended. this is dryburgh abbey in the scottish borders, where britain's military commander, earl douglas haig, is buried. when he died, ten years after the war ended, he was a venerated public figure, the architect of victory and national salvation. his funeral procession in both london and edinburgh drew more than a million people onto the streets. haig's reputation has risen and fallen over the century, as each new generation reinterprets the first world war in the light

of its own values. by the 1960s, haig wasn't a national hero anymore. he was a public villain, the ‘butcher of the somme', who had sent hundreds of thousands of young men to their deaths needlessly. in this version, the war was, above all, futile. in 1917, the war poets wilfred owen and siegfried sassoon met here at craiglockhart war hospital in edinburgh. but it wasn't until the 1960s, the age of emerging youth culture, vietnam and anti—war sentiment, that their depiction of the horror and pity of the war gained widespread popular attraction. timed well, both in terms of the cultural narrative, but also the military political scene within the world at that time. and all of those things have come colliding together, and given owen a renaissance and a rebirth, and a message of futility really strong in people's narrative at that time. the britain that emerged

from the armistice would never be the same. the war had had a powerful democratising effect, for the men who fought it came home to demand a new place in society for the common citizen. we were promised lands for heroes to live in, and all that sort of thing, but when we came home we found nothing. there was no cheering, no singing. we were drained of all emotion, really. that's what it amounted to, you see. they started marching round the camp, singing out, "we want food, we want money!" the government was obviously very concerned about what would happen when the guys came back, particularly because the labour party had grown, and then there'd been the russian revolution in 1917, so they were really scared there'd be some socialist uprising. and the term "citizenship" comes into use in the ‘20s and ‘30s,

which it never had been before, because the british were subjects of the crown, they weren't citizens, which i think is something new after the war. they thought they had fought the war that would end all wars. they had not. but the britain we inherit today, its citizens' democracy, grew out of their extraordinary sacrifice. allan little, bbc news. you have been watching newsday. we will take you live the indiana, where donald trump has been speaking for almost 1.5 hours, addressing the crowds. let's have a listen in. these courageous americans did not shed their blood, sweat and tears so that we could sit at home while others tried to raise their legacy, tear down... a number of issues he has been talking to the crowd about,

including immigration, and of course the situation with iran, after announcing that the us are going to impose further, tougher economic sanctions against the country. this is counting down the final hours into the moment that voters go to the polls for the us mid—term elections. we will have full coverage of that on bbc world news tuesday. stay with us for that. i'm babita sharma in london. and i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. stay with us. we will be taking a more in—depth look at what the midterms will mean for the us economy against an escalating trade war with china. and before we go, we would like to leave you with some big news for girl power. the spice girls are back, and are going on a uk tour. hello there. the pressure patterns

set up across the uk for the next few days will be crucial to how the weather is going to look and certainly feel. we got a area of high pressure over the continent, spinning clockwise, had a big area of low pressure over the atlantic to the west of spinning the and the clockwise, this is driving up southerly winds right across the country. while they are moving up from the mediterranean through france and across our shores. but as we go through the next few days this area of low pressure across the west will slowly encroach into our shores, so although it is going to be mild, it will start to turn windier and there will be outbreaks of rain pushing it from the west. now, early this morning it is going to bea now, early this morning it is going to be a largely dry start. some eastern murk around from the bonfires and fireworks of the previous evening, but they will be some splashes of rain pushing into some splashes of rain pushing into some western areas, but generally light at this stage. and a very mild start today, no lower than 11 degrees. so the tuesday morning we start off a largely dry note for much of england and wales and

scotland. there will be some spells of sunshine around but quite a bit of sunshine around but quite a bit of cloud as well. as we have into the afternoon is more active weather front will start to throw in some pretty heavy rain at times through parts of calwell, devon, in towards western wales as well. could even be a rumble of thunder with is rain as it moves in. also be pushing into sea coastal areas, maybe the far west of north—west england, in towards northern ireland, certainly detaining wetter year, and then eventually western scotland. and it will be a blustery day for all, but certainly across western areas. temperature—wise, pretty good further east where we have the dry and bright conditions. 17 or 18 degrees. but even further west, with the cloud, the rain and wind, 13 or 14 the cloud, the rain and wind, 13 or 1a degrees. and then through tuesday night that rain will continue to edge its way eastwards, perhaps not reaching the far east of scotland and england until we head into wednesday morning. but with secondary area of low pressure developing out of this as it moves across our shores. so wednesday is looking particularly unsettled. very windy, cloudy, some heavy rain

pretty much anywhere through the morning. maybe a rumble of thunder or two particularly in the showers, these blustery, heavy showers which will arrive across southern areas into the afternoon. kopitar wise, not quite as high as monday and tuesday, looking at 12 to 1a celsius. and it will be a windy day, with gales and exposure, certainly around coasts and over heels. and then as we end the week, well, we maintain the south or south—westerly wind, with low precious to allow towards the west. because low pressure could still be close by, it could remain dry. he spells of rain, and began with the wind is coming in from the south that should be mild for the time of year. i'm babita sharma, with bbc news. our top story: with just hours to go until the polls open, campaigning reaches fever pitch in the us midterm elections. president trump and his predecessor barak obama have been touring the country, to try to make sure their supporters go out and vote. iran says it's going to carry on selling oil, despite far—reaching economic sanctions imposed by the us.

the new measures come after president trump withdrew from the iran nuclear deal. and this video is trending on bbc.com the spice girls have announced they are reuniting for theirfirst tourfor a decade. but they'll be missing one member — posh spice. victoria beckham says she's too busy to take part. stay with bbc news. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.