welcome to bbc news, i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: schools closed, construction grinds to a halt. india declares a public health emergency in delhi, with air pollution at dangerous levels. beto o'rourke out of the race. the texan democrat hopeful announces he is giving up on his american presidential dream. and the countdown is on for the rugby world cup. england take on south africa. we have got the latest from japan.

hello and welcome to bbc news. a public health emergency has been declared in delhi due to soaring levels of air pollution. in response, all schools have been shut until tuesday and 5 million face masks have been handed out to students. the city's chief minister said the area has been turned into a gas chamber as a result of the thick fog, caused in part by fires used to clear farmland in neighbouring states. from dehli, pratiksha this is bbc news, the headlines: dangerous levels of air pollution in delhi have forced authorities ghildial reports. to declare a public health emergency. schools have been shut until at least tuesday, construction halted, it is like a scene from a dystopian science—fiction movie. for a third day in a row now, residents of delhi are inhaling the season's worst toxic air. and face masks are being handed out. in some parts of the city, the levels of pm 2.5, the tiny particles that can penetrate deep into our lungs, are peaking at more than 500 beto o'rourke has announced he's mcg per cubic metre. dropped out of the 2020 presidential race, saying his campaign doesn't have the recources to continue. the world health organization the former texas congressman has been struggling with months of poor recommends a maximum level of 25. opinion polls and lackluster fundraising. i'm in central delhi, essex police believe the thirty nine migrants found dead just near the main business in a refrigerated lorry were most likely all vietnamese.

district, and with the iconic meanwhile, in vietnam two people have been arrested in connection india gate behind me. but as you can see, it is barely visible, with a thick blanket of smog around it. it is daytime, but hardly any sunlight is able to percolate the thick layer of smog that shrouds the city. the government says it is doing what it can. it has banned construction activities and plans to limit the number of vehicles on delhi's roads. but the main reason for the toxic air here is the burning of crop stubble by farmers in neighbouring states of haryana and punjab, and there seems to be no respite from that. in november last year, i was really ill. i wasn't wearing a mask and it was so polluted last year also, and i got really, really bad lungs. my doctor suggested me to wear a mask every day. translation: i didn't realise how bad it will get. do we really want our kids to grow in such an environment? no—one really cares. no—one wants to improve the situation.

several studies say that the pollution in delhi is damaging people's health at an alarming rate and causing premature deaths. it really is a public health emergency. dr maria neira is the world health organization's department of public health and environment director. she told us earlier how she sees the situation in delhi. we have been very concerned in the world health organization regarding this issue of air pollution all over the world. but it's true that the situation in new delhi, in india, is deteriorating, and we are really very much concerned, because this is having a terrible impact on people's health. as you know, the public health emergency status has been declared, because the situation is really — the levels of air pollution are reaching really impossible numbers, and this is having an incredible impact

on people's health. india and delhi authorities have taken some measures now to reduce immediately or try and reduce these levels of air pollution, on an acute situation, but more structural measures to reduce this air pollution needs to be put in place in the medium and long term, and not only in acute situations. in the us, as the democratic presidential candidates race continues to gather steam towards 2020, the former texas congressman beto o'rourke says he is dropping out of the race. this is what he had to say. this is a campaign that has prided itself on seeing things clearly and on speaking honestly and on acting decisively. we have to clearly see, at this point, that we do not have the means to pursue this campaign successfully. let's get some of the day's other news: the army in mali says 35 soldiers

have been killed in what it has called a terrorist attack on a military post in the north. a month ago, a0 soldiers were killed near the border with burkina faso, in what was one of the deadliest assaults of its kind. the streets of algiers have been packed with tens of thousands of anti—government protesters celebrating the anniversary of algeria's war for independence. many protesters called for a new revolution and expressed their opposition to plans to hold presidential elections next month. the massive turnout is one of the biggest in the past nine months of demonstrations, held every friday. the us government has reportedly launched a national security review of the owner of tiktok‘s $1 billion acquisition of social media app musical.ly two years ago. in recent weeks, us lawmakers have been calling for a probe into tiktok, which is owned by beijing bytedance, over concerns the chinese—owned company may be censoring politically sensitive content.

in one of the biggest global sporting events of the year, england and south africa will take to the field injapan on saturday for the final of the rugby world cup. tens of millions of people are expected to tune in. our sports editor dan roan is in tokyo. another tactical masterclass by eddiejones. it may be the eve of the world cup final, but england's head coach still found time to put some local schoolkids through their paces today. earlier, it was his captain taking instructions, this the squad's final training session before the biggest game of their lives. it's a good session, boys, it's good work. puts us in good stead for saturday, that. owen farrell's leadership has been crucial to his team's journey in japan. they've had much to celebrate during this campaign, but he told me the job is not yet complete. we know that we can'tjust expect to do the same as last week and the same to happen. we've got to figure out ways to put ourselves in the best place possible to perform. it is 16 years since one of the most

cherished moments in english sporting history — jonny wilkinson's extra—time drop—goal sealing victory over an australia side coached byjones, to win the world cup for the first and only time. today, the hero of that triumph was helping england's kickers as they try to emulate the team of 2003, but he told me this current squad can handle the pressure. i see a difference in this team, to a degree, because — or certainly from some of the players, because i don't think they're like the way i was. i think they're not reclusive, or very introverted in that respect. i think they're going to deal with it in their own way. but england's opponents, south africa, also have great pedigree in this tournament, their iconic 1995 triumph on home soil uniting a nation. 2a years on, siya kolisi is the team's first black captain, a powerful symbol of a more representative team. i haven't seen support like this for our team in a very long time, you know, since 2007. and it's really special,

and i don't think anyone outside south africa understands what this means to us. and i've seen it, i've seen bits of it. you know, i haven't seen all of it yet, and i know tomorrow's going to be more, more, more special for the country. organisers have hailed asia's first world cup a towering success, but for the thousands of england fans descending on japan, there is only one place to be tomorrow. we'd love to get tickets. we're going to try when we go to tokyo. we've got time, we arrive early in the morning. kick—off‘s around 6:00pm, i think, local time, so hopefully we can get tickets. we've had requests to find tickets, but they're like gold dust. you wouldn't sell your tickets you've got? no way. how much do you need, how much do you want? go on. not a chance. if england do return home victorious, these are the kind of scenes that will greet them after a win that could change the players' lives and reinvigorate the sport. dan roan reporting. you are watching bbc news. don't forget you can get

more on all our stories, including updates on the rugby world cup final, by logging onto our website, bbc.com/news or download the news app. boris johnson has denied donald trump's claim, made in a radio interview with nigel farage, that his brexit deal with the eu could jeopardise a trade agreement between britain and america. the prime minister also insisted that the deadlock over brexit in parliament left him with no choice but to call a general election. he has been speaking to our political editor laura kuennsberg. are there any circumstances under which you might work with nigel farage? well, first of all, it is a great brexit. it's a proper brexit. it delivers exactly what we wanted, what i wanted, when i campaigned in 2016 to come out of the european union. it takes back control of our money, our borders, our laws. it enables us to do proper, all—singing, all—dancing free—trade deals. now, the difficulty about doing deals with any other party is that

any other party i'm afraid simply risks — or voting for any other party simply risks putting jeremy corbyn into number ten. there are no circumstances under which you would work with nigel farage? i want to be very, very clear that voting for any other party than this government, this conservative government, this one—nation conservative government, is basically tantamount to putting jeremy corbyn in. your mutualfriend, the president of the united states, thinks you should work with nigel farage. is he wrong? well, look, i'm always, always grateful for advice from wherever it comes. and we have great relations, as you know, with the us many other countries. so he's wrong about that. but i'm just telling you, laura, what i think about the way to do this. president trump has also said that your brexit deal means that you can't really do a good deal with the americans. is he wrong about that as well? there's one thing he's right about,

which is that there's certainly no question of negotiating on the nhs. that is absolutely true, and he's right about that. but, on the technicalities of the deal, anybody who looks at it can see that the uk has full control, as one whole uk — england, scotland, wales, northern ireland — as one uk. so the president hasn't looked at it, then. he said you can't do it. you can't trade, we can't make a trade deal with the uk. so he's misunderstood it? well, i don't wish to comment on what he may or may not have read. what i'm telling you is what everybody can see from the terms of the deal we did. if we can get it over the line by — with this election in the middle of january, then we'll have it done. why would anybody believe you on that, when you have broken your promise already, where we should have been out of the eu yesterday? now, you've failed on that. i bitterly regret that we haven't come out, but on the other hand, people said we wouldn't be able to get a new deal at all. in your first speech

in downing street, you stood outside there and said, "the buck stops here". and now this has gone wrong, you took your deal away from parliament, like taking your bat and ball away from home, and now you're blaming them. well, with great respect, laura, i don't think that parliament were... i think that mps were never going to deliver that deal on that timetable, and they weren't going to... so why did you try, then? notjust by 31 october. it was clear, from what they did, they wouldn't have done it by christmas. they wouldn't have done it by 31 january. their strategy was to keep rope—a—doping the government and then pushing the deadline on beyond 31 january. it would have been totally miserable. would you rule out expanding the use of the private sector in the health service? look, we are putting £34 billion into the nhs. that is taxpayers' money, and we are absolutely determined to continue to increase taxpayers' money. but would you rule out expanding private sector involvement? what i will tell you — look, of course, you know,

there are dentists and optometrists and so on who are providers to the nhs. of course that's how it works. but we are — i believe passionately in an nhs free at the point of use for everybody in this country, and if you ask me, is the nhs..? of course it isn't. do you worry this gamble of going to the country now might backfire for you, just as it did for theresa may? well, honestly, laura, we've just got no choice. we've just got no choice. and parliament is determined — this is a parliament that is basically full of mps who voted remain, and the overwhelming bulk of the mps in parliament voted remain. you know, i love them, they're a lot of my friends, but that's the way they are. they voted remain, and they will continue to block brexit if they're given a chance. there was no option for us. prime minister, thank you very much. thank you. while politicians debate the future of brexit, police are looking into possible criminal offences committed during the 2016 referendum campaign.

london's metropolitan police have been investigating alleged breaches of electoral law by the official brexit campaign group, vote leave. it has now emerged that police handed over a file on vote leave to state prosecutors last month for advice on how to proceed. here isjessica parker with more on what the allegations against vote leave. some people may remember they were fined by the electoral commission. the electoral commission found that boat leave had exceeded its spending limit by funnelling more than £650,000 through a pro brexit youth group called be—lieve. so that was handed out at the time, but met police offices have been looking at that material —— be—leave. and what has emerged this evening is that those offices have now handed a file to the crown prosecution service for

what is known as early investigative advice. that happened on thursday 17 october. that is an unusual —— that isn't unusual for police officers to do something like that, to hand a file over to the cps for review. but we understand that has now happened. britain has become the latest european country to halt fracking for oil and gas because of safety concerns. the government withdrew its support after a report by its oil and gas authority warned that it wasn't possible to predict the size or timing of any earthquakes that the process might trigger. france and germany have already banned onshore fracking and it has been controversial in the uk for some time. this is bbc news. the headlines: a public health emergency has been declared in the indian capital delhi, with all schools closed for four days because of dangerous air pollution. beto o'rourke has announced he's dropping out of the 2020 presidential race, after a lack of support and funding.

essex police now say they believe all 39 people who died in a refrigerated trailer were vietnamese, and they're liaising with the government in hanoi. some of the victims' families have been identified. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. eamonn harrison, the 22—year—old from county down in northern ireland, who appeared in court in dublin today on a european extradition warrant. detectives suspect he was the driver of this blue lorry cab which dropped off the refrigerated trailer in zeebrugge, before the deadly trip across the channel. the trailer travelled from belgium unaccompanied on this cargo ship, the clementine, arriving in purfleet on the thames, just east of london. essex police want to extradite eamonn harrison because, by the time the trailer got to waterglade industrial estate, less than two miles away, 39 people were found dead inside it. police also want to talk to ronan hughes and his younger brother chris hughes.

the trailer was rented in ronan‘s name, and the detective leading the investigation was in northern ireland today to make this direct appeal. ronan and christopher, hand yourselves in to the police service of northern ireland. we need you both to come forward and assist this investigation. in vietnam, the national broadcaster showed pictures of police launching an investigation there, as two people were taken into custody on suspicion of people smuggling. what started with the discovery of 39 people dead in a refrigerated trailer here on an essex industrial estate has turned into an international investigation, with police looking into what seems to be a loosely linked global network of criminal organisations smuggling people into the uk from halfway round the world. daniel sandford, bbc news, grays in essex.

the bbc has discovered there's been a huge rise in the number of children needing hospital treatment for food allergies. last year saw a jump of 65% more teenagers in england requiring care, compared to 5 years ago. alpa patel has been speaking to some of those trying to manage day to day — including a mother who's described what it's like when your child has a severe nut allergy. it's just... it's it'sjust... it's overwhelming, because you spend every day inking about minimising the risk. jenna's ten—year—old sons daniel lee has a severe nut allergy, even traces could be fatal —— stanley. severe nut allergy, even traces could be fatal -- stanley. it is food in a way, but you have to think about the services his touching comedy he might be touching. these are the issues we had in school. don't get it. they don't understand

that on a pencil that a kid may put in his mouth, or the door handle, or the chair they are sitting on underneath the tables, the risk of ci’oss underneath the tables, the risk of cross contamination issues. jenna took stanley out of his old school in surrey saying she believed they did not have proper safeguards in place to protect them. the school denies this, and says are safeguarding is his top priority. they also said there was no recorded incidents of an allergic reaction by sta nley incidents of an allergic reaction by stanley while he was in their care. jenna is now campaigning for allergy specific regulation for schools and checked by ofsted. all we want to know is that our kids are safe in school and that they have done everything they can to minimise that risk and if something was to happen this school know what to do, because, actually, they have a clear set of legislation to follow. this is the area where the epipens icap. campaigners point to this school in berkshire as good practice. lunch boxes are checked and there are photos and care plans for every

child with a food allergy. also every member of staff is trained to use an epipen. but all this is volu nta ry. use an epipen. but all this is voluntary. the head teachers is clear guidance from government is welcomed. it would be reassuring for head teachers to know what good practices and to know that they are following it. because ultimately thatis following it. because ultimately that is what every head teacher wa nts, that is what every head teacher wants, to know they are doing the absolute best for every child. the biggest criticism from campaigners is that the legislation is far too broad, it refers to children with medical conditions and guidelines in terms of what to do. the situation, as it stands, is that schools are coming up with allergy procedures on their own. the bbc has learned that their own. the bbc has learned that the number of children treated for anaphylactic shock has increased by more than 40% over the past five yea rs. more than 40% over the past five years. the country's leading allergy specialist is concerned. he says clear guidance for schools is urgently needed. unfortunately,

we're seeing a of occasions where the schools seem to be failing the families and, in the most extreme cases, the parents are genuinely frightening to send their children toa frightening to send their children to a school where they believe that they just not safe. to a school where they believe that theyjust not safe. what i think is still really lacking is a gold standard policy nationally that any school can look to so that they know what best practice managing food allergy looks like. stanley is now ata allergy looks like. stanley is now at a new school which jenna says she has confidence in. but she says she will continue her campaign so that all children have the same protection. apple has launched its new streaming service in the uk, but it's a market where competition is fierce — the walt disney company will introduce a similar product next year. in his only uk interview, the disney chief executive, bob iger has been speaking to our media editor, amol rajan. earlier this year,

the avengers endgame from marvel entertainment became the biggest—grossing movie in history. 0k. who here hasn't been to space? marvel is part of a bigger media giant, the walt disney company, known as disney. over the past 15 years, it's been on an acquisition spree under the leadership of bob iger. mr iger, who considered a run for the us presidency, bought pixar animation off stevejobs, lucasfilm off star wars creator george lucas, and last year, in one of the biggest deals in media history, 21st century fox from rupert murdoch. why do you think rupert murdoch wanted to sell? well, i think the primary reason is that he looked at what was going on in the world of media and all the disruption, and he didn't believe that the hand that they had was a strong as it needed to be. it's that simple. and he didn't have a solution. but what are the underlying trends reshaping the media industry which makes those sort of mega acquisitions necessary? well, i think if you look at today's media landscape, whether you are in the uk

or the united states or many other places in the world, first of all it starts with content. content is king. quality stands really tall in a sea of choice. and then secondly, get content that is so valuable, so important, so loved by consumers that they will access it or buy it almost any way they possibly can. it was rival netflix that pioneered streaming, which allows you to watch what you want, when you want. in the time i've been on the throne, what have i actually achieved? # for the times, they are a changing... apple tv+ launched in london today, with hollywood stars jennifer aniston and reese witherspoon promoting its biggest production. this winter, several technology giants are launching their own streaming services. disney's own service, disney+, launches here next spring. i think netflix is a volume play with a lot of quality, and they created the market in the direct to consumer

space with video. and we come in with a different play, much more branded, less volume, and there is plenty of room for us to occupy space as well. it may to some extent be at their expense, but not necessarily. there may be room for people to have more than one subscription. on current evidence, that seems a safe bet. amol rajan, bbc news. let's head to russia now, for a story of true commitment and dedication. it's the tale of a postwoman, but not any postwoman. this particular lady has been delivering mail for more than 50 years and she's even become something of a local celebrity — as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. ekaterina dzalaeva has been doing this for a long, long time. 83 years old, trudging up and down the mountainous roads of ekaterina

dza la eva. mountainous roads of ekaterina dzalaeva. a round trip of roughly a0 kilometres, which is used to do six days a week. it's a career choice that stretches all the way back to world war ii. translation: my brother was sent to the front and all the children rushed to getjobs at the post office. i'd told myself that when i grow upi office. i'd told myself that when i grow up i will definitely become a post— woman. grow up i will definitely become a post- woman. ekaterina is a well—known figure around these parts. people stopped to give her a hug or even take a photo. translation: we respect her age very much, especially considering it is a mountainous area. i don't think it's easy eve n mountainous area. i don't think it's easy even for young people to walk along these roads. its such a remote area, her work can be vital. but she believes it is also therapeutic —— in sucha believes it is also therapeutic —— in such a remote area. translation: my salary isn't that big, but it helps me. ifind it

easier when i'm walking. they find it easier when a chat to people. i've experienced a lot of sorrow, and when i'm doing nothing is difficult for me, but when they leave home it's easier. ekaterina says people wait for her to bring the post and they love her when she does. day after day, the deliveries never stop. tim allman, bbc news. she is probably a very healthy woman. she is probably a very healthy woman. now the weather with ben rich. hello there. winds have already been picking up across parts of the uk. there is some stormy weather to take us through saturday. gales and also heavy rain, which for some of us will cause some disruption to travel and potentially some damage as well. your bbc local radio station will keep you up to date. you can see the swelling area of cloud on our earlier satellite picture. this is an area of low pressure which has been deepening as it has been approaching the british isles. on the southern flank, you can see these isobars washing together. that shows a swathe of strong winds continuing to develop right now across parts of wales and the south—west of england. some very heavy rain

to be had here as well. but there are met office yellow warnings in force for the strength of the winds. the strongest winds through the first part of the morning across the south—west of england and south wales, gusts of 60, 70, maybe 80 miles an hour on exposed coasts. as the day wears on those strong winds will transfer further east across southern england, the south midlands and up into east anglia. 50, 60, maybe 65mph gusts. those winds could be quite damaging. there will also be some heavy and persistent rain slowly pushing east and north. but at the same time there will be parts of northern england, southern scotland and northern ireland that see precious little rain. sunny spells, the winds here will be lighter. not a bad day. further north in scotland, they will be happy and persistent rain which could cause flooding and easterly winds gusting to 50 or 60 miles an hour. there is lots going on across the uk through the day ahead. top temperatures of 10—13. if you are planning to head out and about during the evening, those winds will only slowly ease. it will certainly stay blustery for a while. into the first part of sunday it should be a little, out there. some rain at times and lows of 7—9 degrees. sunday, low pressure still very much in charge. notice, not as many white lines. not as many isobars on the chart. winds will be considerably lighter. around the centre of that area

of low pressure we will see showers or longer spells of rain spiralling around across the uk. it isn't all doom and gloom if you are heading out and about because you can see some breaks in the cloud as well. there will be some spells of sunshine, and those top temperatures, 10 degrees in aberdeen, 1a in cardiff. staying unsettled with further heavy downpours into the start of the new working week and then for the middle of the week, 00:28:20,730 --> 2147483051:50:55,080 it will pick up a northerly wind 2147483051:50:55,080 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 that is going to feel rather chilly.