this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top story: the campaigning stops, the voting begins in earnest — will the us midterms be a reward or a rebuke of donald trump? a major search is underway to find 79 children kidnapped from a boarding school in north—west cameroon. symbol of division — the banksy work of art that continues to cause controversy in the middle east. the chinese prime minister meets global trade leaders as his country's dispute with the us continues to cause widespread concern. a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. also in the programme

apparently 18% of britons have already done their christmas shopping — a much higher proportion than any of our european neighbours. so we're asking why is that? how organised are you or are you dreading the thought? get in touch. millions of people have already voted and, for the rest, polls open in just a few hours right across the united states, for the mid term elections. for the midterm elections. the outcome will determine president trump's ability to govern for the next two years. he's not on the ballot but, if his party loses control of even one of the houses of congress, it will have a huge impact on what he can do. our north america correspondent gary o'donoghue reports. the ballot but in a certain way i am

on the ballot so please go out and what. he is not on the ballot but these mid—term elections are all about him. seven states, iith rallies and that is just in the last week. his message, democrats are socialist bloc, the media are enemy of the people and migrants are to be feared. democrats are openly encouraging millions of illegal aliens to violate our laws, and break into our country. another man who is not on the ballot is this former president— the closest thing the democrats have the star quality. america is at a crossroads right now. the reason a contest of ideas

going on right now, about who we are and what kind of country we are going to be. americans will be voting for members of both chambers of congress — house of representatives and the, both currently —— the senate both currently —— the senate both currently held by republicans. republicans are going into the election holding 235. in the senate they hold 51 of the 100 seats. 35 are being contested. this is our leadership and i could not be more proud... on attracting most attention is in texas. democrats have not won here for a quarter of a century but the party believes this man is of the future. he has raised a record funding and is engaging young supporters in this music than you. we will win this election,

tuesday night. senator ted cruz! despite losing a bruising battle with donald trump, ted cruz is in lockstep with the president right 110w. lockstep with the president right now. i have been proud to work hand with the president, cutting taxes. the economy in texas is booming.“ the polls are to be believed, republicans are likely to lose the house that keep the senate. that would make it hard to president trump to get legislation through an democrats will control key powerful committees that could investigate the administration. holding on to the administration. holding on to the senate would mean the president will get approval the judges and cabinet members. there is a lot to play for. we will have special programming to cover the us midterms right here. a full—scale search

is underway to find 79 children kidnapped from a boarding school in north—west cameroon. it's thought the school's principal is among three staff also abducted by gunmen. separatist rebels are being blamed for the attack, though they have denied responsibility. caroline rigby has the story. abandoned, the scattered belongings of missing students, left behind after gunmen broke into their dormitory. in all, 79 pupils were abducted from bamenda's presbyterian secondary school, along with the principle and two other staff members. one student who witnessed the attack described hiding under a bed in order to escape a similar fate to his classmates. one of my friends, they beat him up mercilessly. so they took him outside. all i could think about is just stay quiet. they threatened to shoot some people. so everybody... one boy escaped. all the big boys, they rounded up. any small ones, they left them behind. problem today the armed raid happened in bamenda, the capital of the english—speaking

north—west region of cameroon. the regional governor blamed the attack on separatist rebels. this is not the first time students have been abducted in the area, but it's the worst incident so far in an insurgency that's become increasingly violent. they are going to face a strong, powerful reaction by the powers that be, not only here in bamenda, but elsewhere in the north—west region. parents of the missing children are anxiously waiting for any news. a major search involving the army is now under way to find their children. caroline rigby, bbc news. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news: rescue workers in the french city of marseille have been continuing to search for possible victims, after two buildings suddenly collapsed in a run—down neighbourhood. one of the buildings had been condemned and was boarded up but the other contained nine apartments. residents said both fell down within a matter of seconds. the city's mayor has said he expects

there to be some deaths. two sections of the bridge that collapsed in the italian city of genoa three months ago have been sent away for forensic examination. 43 people were killed when part of the structure disintegrated, sending cars and rubble into a river and an industrial area below. two of the tie—rods that became detached have been sent to a laboratory in switzerland to try to establish what happened. the british cabinet is expected to meet later on tuesday to discuss prime minister theresa may's latest attempt to finalise a brexit deal. the main sticking point is the arrangements to avoid checks on goods at the irish border, if there's no trade agreement. the current disagreement focuses on whether those arrangements would be permanent or whether the uk could opt out, even without irish agreement. here in the uk, the cabinet

of prime minister theresa may meets to discuss her latest attempts to finalise a brexit deal. andrew tuck, editor of monoclejoins me now. we have been getting our heads around the different threads and bits of information out there about brexit but the line on downing street is we are 95% of air. she will be discussing final points. last week we heard a deal was almost an, for example, around financial services and the pound rose. then within three weeks everything will be signed off. but we come back to

the tricky bit of ireland. the two leaders discussed a bit of a disagreement that it would just be for three months and the uk could pull out when they wanted. the irish make clear three months means nothing to them and they want a more permanent solution, something they can rely on. and that the border does not become an issue for them. when you clear away the headlines and tried to make sense, it is not look like we made much progress because this issue of the irish border remains unresolved. even if they had made progress, it is meaningless unless you get these in place. it seems that some kind of broader arrangement was going to be made around customs so it would be

in an arrangement, the whole of the uk. the wording is so important. it would be difficult to sell to her party if it is called a union. temporary could also begin to mean different things. andrew is coming back because we have a news briefing later on. extraordinary security is in place in new york for the trial of the world's most notorious drug lord, joaquin ‘el chapo' guzman. the former leader of the sinaloa cartel is facing 17 charges, including murder, conspiracy, drug trafficking and money laundering. it's taken decades for him to face justice on american soil and officials are taking no chances with an infamous jail breaker. georgina smythe has more. joaquin ‘el chapo' guzman, drug lord, jail escapee, and now defendant.

the new york trial of one of the world's most notorious criminals is under way, and security is understandably tight. us prosecutors say they have spent years piecing together the case, and they want to put the 61—year—old away for life for crimes, including drug trafficking, conspiracy and murder. he is accused of leading the largest drug—trafficking organisation in the world, smuggling tens of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the united states, as well as heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana. the former leader of the sinaloa cartel, guzman has twice escaped prison in mexico — once hidden in a laundry cart, a second time crawling through an opening in a shower and through a mile—long tunnel. extradited to the us in 2017, guzman has been in solitary confinement since, spending 23 hours a day in his cell. but, even in custody, his infamy has the us government on edge.

a 12—person jury will remain anonymous, for their safety, and many witnesses are in protection and may testify under aliases. the prosecution says it has hundreds of thousands of pieces of evidence, and the case is expected to run into next year. georgina smythe, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: open—plan learning — how finland is looking to new methods to improve it's already impressive record in education. 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 threatened 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. you're watching the briefing. our headlines: a major search operation's under way to find 79 children kidnapped from a boarding school in north—west cameroon. and our top story: campaigning draws

to a close ahead of the us mid—term elections, which could dramatically affect president trump's ability to govern. lets stay with that now. even in the past few hours, donald trump has been criss—crossing the country ahead of today's midterm election. but what can we learn from the states he chose to campaign in? do they reveal any vulnerabilities in the republica ns‘ hold on congress? ros atkins has been looking at this in our virtual senate. donald trump isn't on the ballot, but his presidency looms large over this year's mid—term elections. voters will be choosing 35 senators and all 435 members of the house of representatives, there are also thousands of other officials on the ballot too. now currently the republicans control both chambers of

congress but can they hold onto them? well this congress but can they hold onto them ? well this is congress but can they hold onto them? well this is the current make—up of the house of representatives. the democrats need to ta ke representatives. the democrats need to take these 25 seats to seize the majority and they are confident they can. remember us voters have a track record of checking that president's power. what about the senate? well it is the upper house of congress and as you can see it is tight. but remember not all of these seats are up remember not all of these seats are upfor remember not all of these seats are up for election. it is just these 35, 24 up for election. it is just these 35, 2a democrats the two independents that vote with them are defending their seats, not republicans are in the same position. so to win the senate democrats would need to win every race that they are defending. these ten states will be the hardest for the democrats to retain. two years ago they voted for donald trump in the presidential election. winning them so would only give the democrats 49 seats. they would need to ta ke democrats 49 seats. they would need to take two others currently held by the republicans. and just four are serious target. now it is a sign of

how much momentum the democrats have this year that traditionally republican states like tennessee and texas are in play, but the odds are against them. make no mistake, though, if the democrats take the house, the senate or both, that will have serious implications for the next two years of donald trump's presidency. for a start the republicans would lose the ability to create new laws by themselves. they would need bipartisan support to vote through some of their main legislative goals, like repealing obamacare and further legislative goals, like repealing obamaca re and further tax legislative goals, like repealing obamacare and further tax cuts. that could mean we're looking at in congress. then there are the various investigations into russia's meddling in the 2016 elections. the house and senate committees with the power to investigate president trump are controlled by the majority party so are controlled by the majority party so currently the republicans decide who to speak to and what issues to pursue. if the democrats win in either chamber in theory they could expand the investigation is even wider. finally, what about

impeachment? well, what about it, you might say? this is a political issue and it relies on a majority of the house and two thirds of the senate voting against the president. evenif senate voting against the president. even if the democrats take both chambers of congress, this is highly unlikely to happen. that was roz atkins talking through what may or may not happen in the elections. and you can find full coverage of the midterm elections here on the bbc. tune in from 2300 gmt for a special programme with all the latest news, results and reaction from washington and around the united states. so be sure tojune in for that later today. for nearly two decades, finland has enjoyed a reputation for having one of the world's best education systems. experts believe short school days, extended holidays, relatively little homework and no exams are key to the impressive results. now, finland is once again shaking things up by moving away from the traditional classroom in favour for open—plan learning. we went to take a look at how it works.

well, we are trying to solve the problem that teachers are alone in their work, and we see that when two 01’ their work, and we see that when two or three teachers work in cooperation, they can share their knowledge. no teacher is able to knowledge. no teacher is able to know everything. sometimes they can choose if they wa nt sometimes they can choose if they want to work in groups or if they wa nt want to work in groups or if they want to work in groups or if they want to have a lesson which is given bya want to have a lesson which is given by a teacher. and we believe that

when we give responsibilities of learning to our pupils they are more motivated and become more self regulated. well, a lot of attention has been paid to acoustics. so we have these kind of special acoustic rooves, we have lots of carpets and lots of curtains, we have lots of soft materials. also our teachers they trust our children to do what they are assigned to do. it is a cultural thing. i think that trust in finland is throughout the whole system. we get to decide how we want to teach. of course we have certain things we have to teach and we follow the curriculum. but we can choose our own materials. we have lots of freedom in our teaching.

i would be really interested to know your views on that. we talked a lot about education yesterday for those above the age of 18. what about younger ones? give us your thoughts. and in the last hour, british stayer cross counter has made history by becoming the first british—trained racehorse to win australia's biggest race, the melbourne cup. the four—year—old gelding gave jockey kerrin mcevoy his third victory in the famous 3,200 metre race at flemington to pick up the $5.2 million prize. marmelo and a prince of arran took second and third place, making it a clean sweep for the brits. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm tulsen tollett. coming up in your tuesday sport

briefing: we look ahead to a busy night in the european champions league. india play the second match of their t20 series against west indies. and the draw for the season—ending atp finals is made, but rafael nadal won't be there after he withdaws through injury. lionel messi has been included in barcelona's squad for their trip to milan to play inter in the champions league on tuesday. the barcelona captain returned to training last weekjust 11 days after fracturing his arm against sevilla following a nasty fall in a 11—2 la liga win at camp nou. the catalans have won all three of their opening champions league games in group b and would secure their place in the knockout phase of the competition with a win at the san siro. translation: there are three or four possibilities. one is that he plays from the start or he comes on or he goes off. i cannot anticipate any of

these possibilities because i don't know how today's training will go. what we won't do is take any risks. india will look to secure the three—match series when they take on west indies in the second t20 later in lucknow. india's four—match t20 losing streak against west indies ended on sunday in kolkata as the hosts won by five wickets. having won the toss and sent the tourists in kuldeep yadav produced figures of 3/13 off his four overs in a man—of—the—match effort. the season—ending atp finals gets underway in london on sunday with rafael nadal withdrawing on monday after having surgery on his ankle. the draw which was made on the same day keeps novak djokovic and roger federer apart in the round robin stage. djokovic, who has returned to world number one, will be in group guga kuerten with alexander zverev, marin cilic and john isner, who replaces nadal, while federer is in group lleyton hewitt along with kevin anderson, dominic thiem and kei nishikori. in case you missed it, huddersfield town won their first thank you for that.

when you think of the artist known as banksy, what comes to mind is likely to be politically—charged graffiti. one of his best—known works is a series of paintings on the side of israel's controversial security barrier. now he has re—created it for a travel fair in london. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. banksy and notoriety go hand in hand, but in a career that is hardly short of controversy, this probably his most controversial work. well, a replica, at least — an installation promoting tourism to the west bank. focusing on this here, this gives an idea about what's going on on the ground in palestine, how palestinians are suffering because of the israeli occupation in palestine. israel calls it a security barrier, a necessary weapon to combat violence and protect its people. the palestinians see it as a symbol of oppression and occupation. banksy has previously opened a hotel in the shadow of the barrier, and this recreation is subtly different. the wall is not broken, but in this replica that banksy made

here, it's a broken wall. and i think he's kind of making a statement about — that one day this wall will fall. it will not remain as it is. that seems unlikely, at least for now. this still a symbol of tension and division, wounds that have yet to heal. tim allman, bbc news. so, how prepared are you for christmas? that's assuming you celebrate that particular festive season. celebrate that particular festive season. one in five brits apparently have done all their christmas shopping. that might send a shiver down your spine. we have our story on the bbc news app, or online, 18%

have done their shopping, i don't know if you can see this story, coming up now, as you can know if you can see this story, coming up now, as you can see know if you can see this story, coming up now, as you can see here. so there's lots of detail there. and one of the reasons is perhaps because the british high street has prepared so early for christmas. whereas elsewhere in europe, retailers are not as geared up in advance as perhaps in the uk. so i asked for your views on these and many of you have been in touch. we have heard from mihit in india who says, good morning, sally. not yet, looking at christmas in india, because it is diwali at the moment, around the corner, everyone is busy with diwali, but you can't expect indians to start biting the first week of december. peter stevens from scotla nd week of december. peter stevens from scotland says we are not yet prepared for christmas here. linda jones says she's not even about christmas yet. do send more thoughts about this and what your preparations are like. i'll see you $0011. it has been mild to start the week

with wind coming from the south. we will maintaina with wind coming from the south. we will maintain a similar pressure pattern over the next few days with high pressure to the east, low pressure to the west of us over the atlantic, but gradually this area of low pressure will be ever closer to oui’ low pressure will be ever closer to our shores. but we will still see a run south or even south—easterly winds over the next few days, this coming in from the mediterranean over france towards our shores but this area of low pressure in the west begins to get closer to our shores, it will be mild, although it will be windy at specially in the west with outbreaks of rain, it's going to be heavy. we start this morning with showers across central and northern areas, some damp weather. and also some mist and murk from the previous night's bonfires and fireworks. a very mild started this morning, though, temperatures no lower than eight to 11 degrees. and then through the morning it will bea and then through the morning it will be a largely dry one bar a few showers around, some sunny spells

developing, but further west we will see this or the front in into northern ireland, around the irish sea coasts, into wales and the south—west, some of the rancour be quite heavy with some rumbles of fund is in. a blustery day across the country but particular it across the country but particular it across the west where the rain will be heaviest —— thunder mixe. even further west with the breeze and the rain, and the cloud, 13 or 1a degrees. that rain continues to edge its way eastwards during the course of tuesday night. it is tied in with this next area of low pressure which will develop and actually give quite an unsettled day to much of the country for wednesday. so it could bea dry country for wednesday. so it could be a dry start across the extreme east for a while, but soon pretty heavy rain will spread to most areas and then the heavy rain will be confined to the north—west corner of the country with some heavy, blustery showers moving up to the south, south west, some could contain a rumble of thunder. a few sunny spells but not as mild as it

is being or it will be for the start of the week with temperatures around 13 or 1a degrees and a windy day with gales in exposure around coast and the hills. and then as we end the week it looks like it's going to remain pretty mild with wind coming in from the south or the south—west but with low pressure always nearby it will be unsettled with sunshine and showers, even longer spells of rain, but at least in the southerly wind it should be mild. this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. china hosts the bosses of global trade as its dispute with the us continues to cause international concern. as the us goes to the polls, we'll find out what role tariffs play in the midterms. and on the markets... american market is ended higher but it isa american market is ended higher but it is a mixed picture emerging in asia as investors watch closely what happens in the us.