welcome to bbc news, i'm mike embley. the headlines: canada at the crossroads: will liberal prime ministerjustin trudeau see off strong challenges from right and left — to win a second term in office? the polls have started closing gci’oss the polls have started closing across canada's six time zones. i'm lyse doucet in toronto, bringing you the latest results of the votes are counted. the other main stories this hour: israel's long—standing prime minister benjamin netanyahu fails to form a government, following last month's after inconclusive elections. his rival benny gantz now gets his chance. the british government publishes its withdrawal agreement bill — setting out how the uk plans to leave the eu.

but plans to vote on it in parliament are blocked. and northern ireland decriminalises abortion and same—sex marriage despite a last—ditch attempt to derail the move. hello. polls are starting to close in the east of canada in one of the country's most closely fought elections. prime ministerjustin trudeau faces a potential threat to his premiership, and neither his liberal party nor the rival conservatives are expected to win a clear majority. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in toronto. yes, it will be a long, cold night gci’oss yes, it will be a long, cold night across this country is the votes keep coming in. six time zones, so far, the polling stations in the east of canada have closed and now the results are slowly trickling in,

showing that with the liberal party, who in the 2015 election swept the polls right across atlantic canada, they have a strong showing this time, but they are losing seats. there is still 30 minutes to go here in toronto, and one of the biggest provinces, 0ntario. so we will have to see if this trend holds. in a moment we are going to speak to one of canada's leading foreign—policy commentators, but let's take a closer look at what this election is all about. in some ways, this election is all aboutjustin trudeau. the four—year record of a charismatic leader who promised hope and change in canada and seized the world stage. and now, four years on, his challenger on the right says he is a phoney and fraud. and his rivals on the left are trying to steal his progressive mandate. so in a country where a prime minister almost always gets a second term, justin trudeau

is fighting just to hold onto power. his main challenger, andrew scheer, leads the conservative party. jagmeet singh of the ndp may gain ground on the left. so could the greens of elizabeth may. the bloc quebecois is making a comeback. and maxime bernier heads the new right wing people's party of canada. in canada's elections, there are actually 338 separate races. local candidates competing in federal ridings across this vast country, battling for seats in the house of commons. at parliament, much like its british namesake. and if any one party wins 170 seats or more, there will be another majority government. but it looks more likely to be a minority one — a hung parliament.

this matters in this selection — the votes of young canadians — for the first time ever, the under—35s make up the biggest block in this election. and groups like this, get out the vote, are organising on university and college campuses across this country, urging young canadians to understand why their vote matters. in 2015, the election which brought justin trudeau to power, there was more... you don't believe in voting? i voted, but i don't believe in it. laughter. everybody has an opinion here. those elections in 2015, more than an 18% increase in young voters, most of the voted for the liberal leader, back then, but they are saying in places like this it doesn't matter who you vote for, it's just imporant that you do vote. and every vote counts in this election campaign, the closest race, one of the closest raises that

canadians have ever seen no—one is really expecting justin trudeau to get another majority government like you did in 2015, but of course covering elections these days always comes with a note of caution, that pollsters sometimes get it wrong. there is still one hours ago before the polling stations from coast—to—coast across this country are closed. but let's take a look at what we know so far and what could they had. we are joined what we know so far and what could they had. we arejoined byjanice steyn, prominent foreign—policy commentator, janice, i was mentioning in the last elections in 2015 thatjustin trudeau's liberal party swept the board on the east coast of canada and the lancet provinces. they didn't this time, they are still doing well? there is a very strong showing for them so far in the atlantic provinces, stronger than what has been predicted. but you are absolutely right, the big results will come in in 30 minutes from every part of

canada except it is columbia. but does atlantic canada give hints about where this election is going? it tells us the liberals are stronger than expected, the tories we re stronger than expected, the tories were expected to do better than they have done, but the ndp and the greens each got a c, so there is a pa rt of greens each got a c, so there is a part of a story that the smaller parties have surged in this election does not got a seat you often spend your time looking at canada's role oi'i your time looking at canada's role on the global stage. justin trudeau didn'tjust sweep on the global stage. justin trudeau didn't just sweep the on the global stage. justin trudeau didn'tjust sweep the power in 2015, he sees the global stage, he described himself as a feminist, a champion of time —— climate change, refugees, will it matter who comes to power in terms of canada's place

in the world? that is a really interesting question. i'm going to say less than we might think. not because there are differences between the two, they really are some important ones, but because the world is very unforgiving now for canada. this is a tough moment in out canada. this is a tough moment in our history, and so any prime minister is going to have to struggle in ways that no past prime minister of this country has ever struggled. we will take the closest neighbour, the united states with president trump in power, a nationalist, he presented challenges forjustin trudeau when it came to trade. huge challenges was up to 75% of traders with the us, anyone in office will have to deal with that. it's huge, when you think about it. it's huge, when you think about it. it was like a glass of ice water was la st it was like a glass of ice water was last in canadians' faces, he said i'm going to functionally tear up an

agreement, it was the kind of transactional quality. in a relationship where canadians have always felt different but nevertheless part of a family. there was a sense of shock in this country about donald trump and about trumpism was made out live this particular president. and one being asked around the world and in canada to come up with urgency here in canada, whether the trump effect could have an effect across the board. there have been some signs in this election campaign, even in the rally of conservative leader andrew scheer, lock him up, similar to what donald trump used against hillary clinton. many canadians have said this could never happen, we are different. and in many ways that is true, but we elected a mayor in our largest city, robert ford, in toronto, he is a populist. we

elected his brother premiere of the province and he ran on a single quote we the people' campaign against those institutions that i read. there are similarities to what populist leaders have said in britain, in europe, we aren't immune from the disease. one other thing we might want to mention is when the united states shocked us the way we did, lively discussion opened up in this country, not for the first time, diversify, diversify. well, diversify to china? that is of course the second big shot. we did something that the united states asked us to do and the chinese retaliated in a ruthless way. —— big shock. it's that sobering experience which i think is changing canada. shock. it's that sobering experience which i think is changing canadam the polls are correct and justin trudeau's liberals return with a

minority—owned government, will canada still champion its progressive agenda around the world, do you think? i think it will because he will need the support of another party in the house, and that will be a party to the left of the liberals, the ndp, the social democrats. so what will become stronger is the voice on climate change, that will strengthen, certainly the interest in women and girls, the feminist foreign policy, that will continue. but, you know, we are and underperform on developing assistance. despite all the rhetoric, we contribute very little. we are and underperform on refugees despite all the rhetoric. we have not taken large numbers. so it's in that sense that i think sometimes the differences are underappreciated by the rest of the world. janice stein, thank you very much forjoining us here. such a

pleasure. good to see you again. and this is a night that canadians themselves will decide in the future because of this country, whether they want to continue with justin trudeau's progressive agenda or some version of it, or whether they want to shift to a more conservative one under andrew scheer. the results are still coming in, the liberals have 18, conservatives three, the new democratic party, one, and the greens showing a strong showing in atla ntic greens showing a strong showing in atlantic canada which they could claim. but there is still almost one hour to go before all of the voting stations close across this country. then, with all the votes counted we will see what kind of canada emerges and white canada on the world stage does make what canada on the world stage, will emerge, you know what of carnivores, canada wants to be a vegetarian. we will have more

coverage throughout the night. and more on the bbc website as well. and the results of another election are still very much in play. benjamin netanyahu, israel's prime minister for the past decade, has said he is giving up efforts to form a new coalition government. the past two parliamentary elections have been inconclusive, and the way is now clear for mr netanyahu's more centrist rival, benny gantz, to try to form a government. gareth barlow has the details. israelis have gone to the polls twice in 2019, and on both occasions, there has been no clear winner. after every‘s election, benjamin netanyahu winner. after every‘s election, benjamin neta nyahu struggled winner. after every‘s election, benjamin netanyahu struggled to form a coalition. though another vote was held in september. but once again, he's failed to find unity. translation: good evening, citizens of israel because of a short while ago i informed the president i am returning him the mandate to form a government. since the mandate, i worked teasingly openly and severally —— unceasingly openly and

secretly to form a government. severally —— unceasingly openly and secretly to form a governmentm seems the head of the military will try to form his own coalition, his blue and white party has a ready been backed by israeli— arab politicians, but it will need more support. he is ruled out working with the prime minister as benjamin netanyahu with the prime minister as benjamin neta nyahu is facing with the prime minister as benjamin netanyahu is facing corruption investigations. there ijust 28 days to form a government. if benny gantz fails, a third candidate may be found, ora fails, a third candidate may be found, or a third election may be held. gareth barlow, bbc news. the speaker of the house of commons has blocked an attempt by the british government to hold another meaningful vote on borisjohnson's brexit deal. the prime minister was hoping to win approval for the agreement to allow the uk to leave the european union, as he's promised, at the end of the month. many members of parliament are worried they don't have enough time to scrutinise the 110—page bill

that would turn mrjohnson's brexit deal into law. this from our political correspondent, jonathan blake. we are now into a period where the government is trying to get to parliament what is cold, as you say, the withdrawal agreement bill, and thatis the withdrawal agreement bill, and that is the 110 page piece of legislation which translates the brexit deal reached by the prime minister with the european union into uk law. and, if it is passed, and it's a big if at this stage, that will count as the uk's ratification of the brexit deal and it would then be over to the european parliament to do the same. but there was no straight yes or no vote in the house of commons on the overall su bsta nce of vote in the house of commons on the overall substance of the deal, that is something the prime minister would have wanted, so if he could demonstrate there was broad support for the deal if he won it and there may not be the need for the extension he was forced to ask for. but we are now in a period of a few days where the government is trying

to get this legislation through, and there are already complaints from opposition mps that they aren't being given enough time to scrutinise what is a very complicated piece of legislation with far—reaching consequences. the government, though, is sticking to its guns and will begin this process tomorrow with the first key vote, probably in the early hours of tomorrow evening. and then, crucially, a vote on the timetable to try to get it through parliament, which the government wants to have wrapped up by the end of this week. many mps may vote against that, skippering the whole thing for the prime minister —— scuppering, then it would be tough to get past the 0ctober it would be tough to get past the october 31 legal deadline, which borisjohnson has a time and time again he would get the uk out of the european union by that deadline. jonathan blake there, we will keep you across that one. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: a new era injapan,

as the country prepare for the formal enthronement of emperor naruhito. a historic moment that many of his victims have waited for for decades. the former dictator in the dock, older, slimmer, and, as he sat down, obedient enough. dawn, and as the sun breaks through the piercing chill of night on the plain outside korem, it lights up a biblical famine, now, in the 20th century. the depressing conclusion, in argentina today, it's actually cheaper to paper your walls with money. we've had controversies in the past with great britain. but as good friends, we've always found a good and lasting solution. concorde bows out in style. after almost three decades in service, an aircraft that enthralled its many admirers

for so long taxis home one last time. welcome back. good to have you with us. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: canadians vote in one of the country's closest elections ever to decide whether to give justin trudeau's party a second term. the israeli president will ask benny gantz to try to form a new government after attempts by benjamin netanyahu to build a coalition failed. world leaders and foreign royalty are gathering to attend the enthronement of japan's emperor naruhito. the ceremony officially marks the emperor's ascension to the chrysanthemum throne. his father abdicated earlier this year. 0ur correspondent mariko 0i is in tokyo. sympathies from this warm studio.

they know it is very cold and very wet. indeed, mike. but despite the weather it is a significant day for japan. for many viewers who were watching us back in may, you might be wondering they have the ceremony for emperor naruhito to take the thrown? it did happen. and then the reiwa era started then. it is not uncommon for these events to take place over several years, in fact, because usually a new emperor takes these thrown after the passing of these thrown after the passing of the previous emperor. this time it is different. his father step—down in the first application in more than two centuries. that is why it feels a bit odd that there are was a ceremony then and there is a ceremony then and there is a ceremony later today. today's event was to introduce them to the world. that is why, as you mentioned, 2000

guests are expected to attend the event later today, starting at 1pm local time, including many foreign guests who have flown in just to attend this event. there was a lot of speculation who might attend the event, of speculation who might attend the eve nt, eve n of speculation who might attend the event, even as late as yesterday there were reports that carrie lam, there were reports that carrie lam, the chief executive of hong kong, mitre ten. but in the latest list we we re mitre ten. but in the latest list we were given yesterday her name wasn't on it —— the mayor of hong kong. there will be a tea party and then a banquet hosted by the prime minister, shinzo abe. mariko oi, thank you very much indeed for that. more mass protests in lebanon, even though the prime minister, sa'ad hariri, has announced a set of reforms he hoped would calm public anger. the reforms being proposed will see politicians' salaries halved, no new taxes rises in next year's budget and a contribution from the banking sector contribute towards deficit reduction. demonstrators say it's too little too late.

the number of people killed in protests against rising living a state of emergency — already in place in the capital, santiago — is to be extended to other cities. the unrest, which was sparked by a hike in metro fares, now—suspended, has widened to reflect anger over living costs and inequality. protesters are calling on the president to resign. a large wildfire has quickly spread across a hillside in the upmarket pacific palisades area of los angeles. about 200 homes are threatened by the flames. authorities have urged local people to leave their homes but some have been trying to hold back the flames with firehoses. two people are reported hurt. thailand's king vajiralongkorn has abruptly stripped his royal consort of all her formal rankings and titles, accusing her of disloyalty. an official announcement says sineenat wongvajirapakdi has been "ambitious" and tried to "elevate herself to the same state as the queen". sineenat, who was a major—general and is a trained pilot, nurse, and bodyguard, was the first person to be awarded the title of royal noble consort

in nearly a century. according to mexico's foreign minister, the united states has promised to address weapons trafficking across its border. it's understood president andres manuel lopes 0brador discussed it with donald trump at the weekend. american diplomats have apparently pledged to work on sealing off the border to arms traffickers. after a 24—hour pause, bolivia's electoral council website has sprung back into life to show evo morales is heading for an outright win. with almost all votes counted, president morales currently has just over 46%. but his main rival, carlos mesa, has told local media he will not recognize the results — accusing the government of electoral fraud. its preliminary election vote count on monday evening after anearly 24—hour pause sparked protests and calls frominternational observers and foreign governments for it toresume, to ensure transparency. with 95% of votes counted, president evo morales had justover 46% and his chief rival carlos mesa 37%, showing morales extending his lead but stilljust shy of a 10—point lead needed to avoid a riskier run—off with mesa in december, data from thewebsite of the supreme electoral board showed.

abortion has been decriminalised in northern ireland, and same—sex marriage is to be legalised. there was a late attempt to change in the law passed at westminster, earlier this year. there was a late attempt to block the legislation at the northern ireland assembly, which was sitting for the first time in nearly three years to hear arguments. 0ur ireland correspondent, emma vardy has more. 0ur bodies, our lives, our right to decide. their call has been heard. at midnight tonight, a law passed by mps in westminster will take effect, overturning northern ireland's near total ban on abortion and legalising same—sex marriage. finally, our rights and our healthcare are being brought into the 21st century. this has been a long time coming. thousands of women in northern ireland have campaigned for this change. abortion has been illegal even in cases of rape. denise was unable to terminate her pregnancy after she was told her baby had a fatal condition and was likely to die in the womb. when you get that news, it hits you like a bus, you just can't believe what you're hearing. i was too sick to travel, which left me with the experience of being trapped in northern ireland

and in the vulnerable state of being pregnant with a child that was going to die. having been through that experience, what does this mean to you today? it's a victory for women's rights and it's a time of celebration on that cause. but it's also a time to remember the many victims of northern ireland's barbaric and cruel laws. we pray, father, for you to turn around and bring your presence... the change in the law is extremely contentious, vehemently opposed by a number of northern ireland's religious and anti—abortion groups. this is an imposition from westminster, it's not wanted in northern ireland. this is an historic day, it's the day when the people of northern ireland will have to face the reality that abortion has been forced on us against our will. ..to consider a private member's bill on the defence of the unborn child. inside, an attempt led by the democratic unionist party to thwart the change. sinn fein refused to take part, calling it a cynical political stu nt. and less than an hour

after they arrived, the dup walked out. it is a very sad day and i know some people will seek to celebrate today. i would say to those people, think of those of us who are sad today and who believe that this is an affront to human dignity and to human life. what do we want? equal rights. and another big moment. from tonight, same—sex couples in northern ireland will be able to marry. there will be many people who celebrate what is a significant moment of social change here today. but on all sides of this debate, there is resentment and frustration that it was westminster that intervened and that northern ireland is still without a functioning assembly for local people to take these historic decisions themselves. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. before we leave you, an important wa ke before we leave you, an important wake up cool. —— call. the script

says pause for appalling screeching noise. that is not the sound for limb bring up. it is the loudest bird in the world according to scientific research. the white bellbird has a meeting call which reaches a peak 113 db. as loud as some planes taking off. it also a tt ra cts some planes taking off. it also attracts partners with a distinctive black wattle, you can see that dangling from its peak. fear not, it lives deep in the amazon rainforest. it will probably not keep you awake at night with any luck. just quickly, the menus again, pols are starting to close in one of the countries most closely fought elections. mrjustin trudeau faces a potential threat to his premiership. neither his liberal party nor the right wing conservatives are expected to win a clear majority. in a five—week campaign, climate change, the economy, and healthcare have been the key issues on voters'

mines. much more view any time on the bbc website. thank you for watching. hello there. pressel will be building infor hello there. pressel will be building in for tuesday morning so it looks like many places will start dry. you can see this area of high pressure putting from the south—west pushing it at bay. may nhfic and the far noth of the country. just another day we will have lost that with front across the south are dry there too. it will be quite a chilly start to tuesday, with some mist and fog around, tickly when skies cleared the temperatures really drop. be surprised if you see things like this across central southern pa rt like this across central southern part of england and wales to greet us part of england and wales to greet us this morning. now that mist and fog could linger on for a few hours, but it should turn to lift and break and then we should see a good deal of dry weather with some sunshine was england and wales. a faster movement across the south—east. look

further north, certain of scotland and northern ireland. most of the rain and the far noth with many places staying dry. temperatures 12— 15 degrees in this hour. so that should feel quite positive. then through tuesday night it stays dry, variable cloud across england and wales of breezy day for scotland, northern ireland, with rain tending to float within north—west corner. temperature wise, again chilly in one 01’ temperature wise, again chilly in one or two spots, tickly was ghostly. 0n into wednesday, we hold onto the fine weather, think, across much of the south—east. we have this weather front still bringing wet and windy weather to the far north—west. that low pressure system across spain and france bringing a lot of rain and may influence the weather across the south—east. they weather front here sending more cloud perhaps one or two showers was for the north and there were six outbreaks rain, which will become persistent pam in parts of northern ireland, was in scotland. in between a slice of dry weather. temperatures 12- 15 a slice of dry weather. temperatures 12— 15 degrees. as we head on into thursday, looks like that front in

the south—east may bring a little bit of rain. but we've got low pressure to the north—west which will into bring a spell of windy weather here. because cigars are even weather here. because cigars are eve n severe weather here. because cigars are even severe gales for a time across western scotland. showers or even on this of rain here. one or two showers further south, particularly south—east where we will have that wea k south—east where we will have that weak weather front. in south—east where we will have that weak weatherfront. in between, some good spells of sunshine and again those temperatures around the low to mid teens celsius. low pressure then clears off to the north to end the week. we could see something a little bit dry once again. then we look to the south—west, this new area of low pressure will slide into bring increasing cloud and rain through the day. we start friday off ona dry through the day. we start friday off on a dry note for many, with sunshine, a few showers in the north, which will be wintry on the hills. there will be some hold there across northern areas so as this wet and windy weather which northwards we could see some snow following the high ground of scotland. but it will be my in the south. —— snowfall on the higher ground.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: canadians have been voting in what's billed as one of the country's closest elections ever — leaving the future of prime ministerjustin trudeau in doubt. polls suggest neither his liberal party, nor the rival conservatives will win a clear majority. very early results suggest the liberals have an early lead. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has said he is giving up efforts to form a new coalition government after september's inconclusive parliamentary election. he announcement clears the way for his centrist rival, benny gantz, to try to form a government. he'll have 28 days to negotiate. an attempt by the british government to hold another vote on boris johnson's brexit deal has been blocked. the prime minister was hoping to win approval for the agreement to allow brexit to go ahead as he has promised at the end of the month.