this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories: turkey says it's captured the elder sister of abu bakr al—baghdadi — leader of the islamic state group killed in a us raid. india's top judges accuse the authorities of passing the buck and failing to tackle delhi's toxic smog. key impeachment testimony is released to the public as a federal court rules president trump can't withhold his tax returns. as the world of horse racing awaits the start of the melbourne cup — an animal abuse scandal shocks many in australia.

the turkish military says it's captured the sister of abu bakr al—baghdadi, leader of the extremist group the so—called islamic state, who died in an american raid in syria a week ago. turkish officials say they are interrogating her, along with her husband and daughter—in—law, detained with her. with more here's michael pregent, former intelligence officer, now a senior fellow with the hudson institute. there are not a lot of details, but what is important is where she was captured, in the town of azaz. and this is a smuggling route for isis women since isis took the town in september of 2013. so there was known intelligence, known information, that there were isis families in that area, and it was also under the control of turkish forces — it is now under the control of turkish forces.

it shows that this is a place that isis has been very comfortable with since 2013. and it'll be interesting to find out what the turkish officials can glean from the captured documents with her, also the interrogations of her and herfamily members. she's the 65—year—old sister of abu bakr al—baghdadi. she would know — we'd be able to ask her how how long has it been since you — how often did you see baghdadi, how long has it been since you've seen him? and hopefully we can get american intelligence agents in to ask questions. i don't think she'd be privy to any imminent attack plans, but she might know smuggling routes, might know people that baghdadi trusted, networks in iraq that helped herfacilitate her own travel and her family's travel. so this should be able to give us intelligence and other allied intelligence officers a view into the isis networks and how they moved family members, how they travelled,

and who they trusted. but i'm not sure she's going to be able to tell us whether or not there's an imminent attack that was planned, but we should still ask the questions. millions of people in the indian capital are still being urged to stay indoors because of toxic smog. and state governments have been accused of failing to take action to tackle delhi's air pollution. judges in the supreme court said authorities seemed interested only in "gimmicks", rather than concrete measures. here's our south asia correspondent, rajini vaidyanathan. so our pollution meter has a reading of around 300 right now. now, that is way lower than it was in the last 2a hours or so, but it is still staggeringly high, way above what is considered safe according to the world health organization. now, as delhi continues to be in a state of public health emergency, the government here is trying to mitigate some of the high levels of pollution. it introduced on monday what is known as its odd—even scheme. now, that means that cars with an even licence plate can only drive on even dates, and the same for odd licence plates on odd days.

the aim of that is to reduce the number of private vehicles on the roads, and therefore the emissions. now, it isn'tjust vehicle emissions that contribute to these extraordinary levels of pollution. it is also unchecked pollution from industries and factories, but also crucially right now, farmers in nearby states burning crop stubble, which is contributing to those overall emissions. just to put this all into context, i was talking to a doctor earlier today who said that every breath you take in delhi amounts to breathing in poison. democratic members of the us congress have moved their impeachment inquiry into the next phase, releasing to the public transcripts from interviews held behind closed doors.the transcripts show former diplomats believed president trump's personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, was in effect running a shadow foreign policy on ukraine.

the former us ambassador to ukraine told the inquiry she'd been advised to tweet remarks praising the president, to save herjob. well, earlier i spoke to to casey michel who is a political analyst and expert on post—soviet russia and us relations. i asked him what he felt were the most striking aspects with regards to the most recent revelations. some of these revelations we had already seen coming out prior, both because of the open testimony we had seen earlier, as well as some of the on—background conversations we had seen. however, the testimony in the transcript today confirmed many of those revelations and added even further, damning details, most especially as it pertains to the way in which ambassador marie yovanovitch, who was the former ambassadorfrom the us to kiev, was ousted as part of this shadow foreign policy campaign led by the president's personal lawyer, rudy giuliani,

as well as a number of others — all, it appeared, with the blessing of president trump himself. they were striking testimony, shocking details. and on the whole, it was quite a sad spectacle to see how this foreign ambassador was treated by the white house, and especially by the secretary of state himself. yes, some of this does not reflect very well on mike pompeo. no, it doesn't. one of the things we learned today that was most striking was the amount of times, the sheer number of times, that both ambassador marie yovanovitch, as well as michael mckinley, who was at the time the special adviser to secretary pompeo, who has since resigned his position, went to secretary pompeo to ask him to back up the ambassador herself — something as simple as saying, would you issue a statement in support of the embattled ambassador, who been suffering from smears, from slings and from demeaning comments from rudy giuliani from folks like sean hannity on fox news, even from donald trumer himself. but it appears according to the testimony that mike pompeo

declined time and again to issue any statement, primarily, it seems, out of concern that he would not only upset the president, but that any statement would be potentially undercut by the president's tweeting. and yet you will have heard this argument. i have people in my timeline saying you in the media should get off your high horse about this. you call it a shadow foreign policy. every administration, in fact, functions with an eye to the next election. they want to stay in power. well, that's an interesting tactic in terms of — and an interesting take in terms of what prior presidents have done. in fact, no prior american president has ever pressured a foreign government to investigate a political rival, no less than what president trump has already done against former vice president biden in ukraine. we have never seen anything like this, we have never seen anything like this. already, ambassador yovanovitch has been a casualty of this shadow foreign policy campaign that has been headed up by rudy giuliani,

who again, is not somebody who has been vetted by the american government, is not somebody who has had any necessary background checks or ethics checks. we still don't know who is paying for him, for his travels. this is something that is absolutely unprecedented in american history. the analyst casey michel. let's get some of the day's other news: the trump administration has formally notified the united nations that it intends to withdraw the us from the paris climate change agreement. it is the first formal step in a process that will take a year to effect. the paris agreement commits nearly 200 nations to reducing greenhouse emissions. it was signed by barack 0bama four years ago. china's president has said he has a "high degree of trust" in hong kong's leader — the two have been meeting in shanghai. there were reports that beijing planned to replace carrie lam after months of anti—government protests. in a statement on china's state news agency, xinhua, president xi xinping said ending violence and restoring order is still "the most important task." tens of thousands of people in chile have gathered in the capital

santiago under the slogan "this is not over". the so—called super monday protest kicked off a third week of anti—government protests, triggered by the high cost of living and the austerity policies of president pinera. demonstrators want him to resign and the constitution reformed. in australia they call it "the race that stops a nation" — but much of the attention on this year's melbourne cup will be for all the wrong reasons. the annual horserace, under way now, is mired in an animal abuse scandal. dr bidda jones, acting head of rspca australia, said recent revelations had left the nation in shock. so australians are reeling from an expose that came out a couple of weeks ago that showed appalling treatment of ex—racehorses at an abattoir in queensland. it was exposed on an abc programme here. and just the amount of outrage that's come from the australian public, that horses that are worth, you know, so much money

to their owners, in an industry where they talk about treating horses like kings, could end up as horsemeat, and that could end up at an abattoir that had such appalling practices, is just — yeah, it's really left a sour taste in the mouth of many people who would normally be celebrating today at the melbourne cup. i guess this may not be such a surprise to people who know much about the horseracing world. do you think it will have much impact? it should have an impact. i think many of us who've worked in animal welfare have known for a long time that there are potentially thousands of horses exiting racing that might end up in an abattoir. i think what shocked us the most was that the standards at that particular abattoir were so bad. they are being investigated.

but it is something the industry really has to acknowledge that they've got responsibility, when we're talking about a multibillion—dollar industry here, they've got a responsibility to ensure the welfare of horses once they've left racing, as well as while they're in the racing industry. and the fact that it is centred on the melbourne cup might be significant, mightn‘t it? i think it is certainly australia's biggest race. it is certainly the richest two—mile handicap in the world, isn't it? it is, so there are 2a runners in the race today. unfortunately, the cup itself has been mired in tragedy in the last few years too. we've had, out of the past six years, five horses associated with the carnival itself have had to be killed either on the track or after running. it's really an industry that's got to face up now to the fact that animal welfare is clearly something australians care about, and the racing industry has got to do a lot better.

that was the acting head of rspca australia. we don't know the number of casualties at the race, but we do know that vow and declare was the 159 the winner of the melbourne cup. any more developments we will bring to you. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: the digital tools reaching key voters — just how powerful are they? the israeli prime minister, yitzhak rabin, the architect of the middle east peace process, has been assassinated. a 27—year—old jewish man has been arrested, and an extremistjewish organisation has claimed responsibility for the killing. at polling booths throughout the country, they voted on a historic day for australia.

as the results came in, it was clear. the monarchy would survive. of the american hostages, there was no sign. they are being held somewhere inside the compound, and student leaders have threatened that should the americans attempt rescue, they will all die. this mission has surpassed all expectations. voyageri 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 bbc world news. the latest headlines: turkey says it's captured the sister of abu bakr al—baghdadi — the former islamic state group leader who died during an american raid last month. india's supreme court has announced a series of measures to combat the toxic smog causing a public

health emergency in delhi. a major investigation in canada has found high levels of lead in drinking water. hundreds of journalists and university researchers spent a year studying 12,000 samples from cities across the country. they found that a third of those samples exceeded the national safety guidelines. so conclusive was this investigation? bruce lanphear is a leading canadian water safety researcher. no, they are pretty solid. one of the challenges is that the way samples are collected is not consistent. different cities measure it differently, but when you put it all together it still sells a shocking story. why is lead in drinking water such a problem, and where do you think it is coming from? it is mostly coming from the lead surface lines, the lead solder, some brass fixtures, collectively it comes

from all those, but mostly lead surface lines. we have just taken our eyes off it. we have dismissed it, we haven't funded public health as we should, haven't paid to the infrastructure. lots of people might be thinking of flint, michigan. how does the problem compare? there are a number of cities that look at least as bad as flint. it is a little hard to compare directly because of the way samples are collected, but there are some fairly striking results that should shock most canadians. do you have any idea from this how long people may have been exposed to such high levels of lead, and what the impact of that may have been? right, well, we have to keep in mind that levels have been coming down not only in canada but in north america, britain, over the past three orfour decades. but these levels of exposure, we expect, have been constant. what happens with chronic exposure when a pregnant woman is exposed, she is more likely to give birth to soon, when young children are exposed, they are brain doesn't develop the way it should, they have cognitive

disabilities and an increased risk of adhd. for adults, it increases the risk of hypertension and coronary heart disease. these are chronic exposures. it is like smoking. it doesn't take you out immediately, but over years and decades it increases the risk of these types of problems, and ultimately premature death. so what do you think can be done, both in terms of what people can do within their homes and what the authorities should be doing? right, well, there is a short—term solution and the long—term solution. in the short—term, especially for the highest risk homes, we need to get in there with filters and reduce the exposure soon. corrosion control, to bring down the levels that are being leached out of the lead surface lines. and in the long—term, the ultimate solution is to remove the lead surface lines, but that will take some time, years. professor, very interesting to talk to you. thank you very much.

british mps have elected a new speaker of the house of commons to replace the high—profile former holder of the post, john bercow. the new speaker is sir lindsay hoyle — he's been deputy speaker for nearly ten years. he's regarded as a safe pair of hands and likely to be less controversial than his charismatic predecessor. after being dragged to the speaker's chair, supposedly unwillingly, as tradition dictates, sir lindsay promised to be neutral and transparent and said the house of commons would change for the better. parliament is going to be dissolved this week ahead of a general election on december 12th. all political parties have stepped up their campaigns on social media, although political advertising on platforms such as facebook is still very controversial . not only the concerns

about where our personal data ends up and how we're being targeted — also who exactly is doing the advertising, and whether they're telling the truth. but as our media editor amol rajan reports , campaigners still see digital channels as a powerful tool to reach voters. election campaigns are ultimately a branch of the marketing industry. in the 21st century, that means they've shifted online. this weekend saw a significant escalation of political ads in our facebook and other social media feeds, but tactics varied across the parties. conservatives focused on brexit and targeted marginal constituencies such as colne valley with the message thatjust a few hundred votes could be decisive. labour looked to policy beyond brexit, with an nhs add that linked to a guardian article. the lib dems tweaked their attack ad againstjeremy corbyn for different audiences. 0ne claimed he was a brexiteer at heart, another questioned his leadership credentials. but how exactly do digital marketers, political and otherwise, target us? the industry is seeing exponential growth. this british firm doesn't work for political parties, but helps brands reach their target audience. every single action that people

take online, almost, is tracked as a data point that we can use to inform our targeting. and that's whether they've taken a certain amount of time dwelling on a page, whether they've expressed an interest in something, joined a group, almost purchased something but not purchased something, purchased something. every single one of these is a signal. so how narrowly can you focus your target? you will be blown away by how specific we can be in terms of targeting individual people. we could, for example, within newcastle—under—lyme, choose a nurse who's recently qualified, within a certain income bracket, who's interested in fitness and wellness, and then under behaviours, has recently returned from travel within the last one or two weeks. that's how specific we can get. what, then, is the appeal of social media to political campaigns? first, it's very quick. it's also a cheap medium. you can pay sometimes as little as £100 to reach thousands of swing voters. the other reason, of course, is that you're allowed to advertise. british political parties are not allowed to advertise on tv or on radio, unlike their

counterparts in america. this is the age of data. all around us is an infinite swirl of personal information, which you and i add to every time we browse, swipe, like or click. and, farfrom the madding crowd, political marketers, mavericks and miscreants are plundering those innocent digital ticks to capture our attention and persuade us to give them a hearing — and a vote. recent plebiscites show campaigners tend to save most of their digital budgets for the climax ofa campaign. the best, and the worst, is yet to come. amol rajan, bbc news. spain goes to the polls this weekend for its second general election of the year. the country is increasingly divided and its politics still dominated by the issue of catalan independence. in barcelona on monday, as politicians took part in a televised debate, demonstrators burnt images of spain's king who was visiting the region's capital. gareth barlow has more details: as they burned his image,

demonstrators chanted "catalonia has no king." the separatist protesters are not afraid to make their views known or heard. translation: i live in a republic, not a monarchy. i don't agree with a foreign king coming to barcelona, even less now that the catalans are suffering. inside the venue, king felipe vi called on catalans, many of whom seek independence for the region, to put aside violence and seek a new reality. translation: a reality in which there can be no place for violence, intolerance, and the disregard for the rights and freedoms of others. spain has become increasingly divided, especially after catalonia's thwarted independence attempt in 2017. this weekend, the country will hold its second general election of the year, its fourth in four years. on monday night, the candidates vying to become prime minister

clashed over how to handle catalonia's independence drive. the leader of the far—right vox party labelling the region's desire to break away as a "permanent coup d'etat. " whether called a coup d'etat or an independence campaign, the question over catalonia's future continues to fuel passions and divide spain. the last ever leader of the soviet union, mikhail gorbachev, has warned that tension between russia and the west is putting the world in "colossal danger" because of the threat of nuclear weapons. he was speaking with our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, to mark 30 years since the fall of the berlin wall. these days, it is rare to see mikhail gorbachev in front of a camera. aged 88, he avoids the limelight. "i'm slowing down", he tells me. "i can barely stand up". but the man who helped to end

the cold war has a message for the world. that his achievements are at risk. and one of his greatest achievements was ending the arms race between the soviet union and america. his diplomatic double act with ronald reagan slashed the two superpowers' nuclear arsenals. but the arms race has reignited. there is new tension and fierce rivalry between moscow and the west. how dangerous do you think the current confrontation is, between russia and the west? translation: as long as weapons of mass destruction exist, nuclear weapons, the danger is colossal. all nations should declare, all nations, nuclear weapons must be destroyed. to save ourselves and our planet.

in the past, we used to talk about the cold war. how would you describe the current stand—off between russia and the west? translation: chilly, but still a war. look at what is happening. in different places there are skirmishes, there is shooting. ships and aircraft are being sent here, there and everywhere. this is a situation we don't need. it was gorbachev‘s reforms at home that inspired millions across eastern europe to rise up against communism. he did nothing to stop it. but 30 years ago, how did he react when the berlin wall fell and east

and west germany were set to reunite? translation: there mustn't be bloodshed, that was our view. we couldn't allow that, over an issue of such magnitude, for germany, for us, for europe. the whole world. so we declared we wouldn't interfere. from iron curtains to iron ladies. he famously hit it off with margaret thatcher, but what does gorbachev make of brexit? translation: you can figure that one out yourselves. you british are clever clogs. i won't give you advice. you decide. so, not only a president, but her true diplomat. and you can get in touch with me

and most of the team on twitter — i'm @bbc mike embley. hello there. it's been a pretty unsettled start to november. we've seen quite a bit of rainfall in places. however, over the next few days what we'll notice is a change in temperature. it's going to turn much cooler with those winds starting to come down from the north, right from the arctic. and there will also be further rain at times through the week. now, early on tuesday, we start off with quite a bit of cloud across england and wales, most of the showers across the north—east corner. turning dry with clear spells across western scotland and northern ireland, so will be quite chilly here. but further south and east, where we also have lighter winds, we will see temperatures around 7 or 8 degrees and there could be a few mist and fog patches around to start tuesday. our area of low pressure will be retreating south—eastwards into the near continent, allowing those winds to come down from the north. we'll see isobars fairly close together so it'll be breezy across northern and western areas. you can see that arctic air, the blue colour, seeping southwards gradually, sitting noticeable across the northern half

of the country during the day. so tuesday morning, we start off with drier weather across scotland and northern ireland. it'll stay rather cloudy across central and eastern parts of england, a few showers around. but it'll also be quite windy as well across the north and the west. as i mentioned earlier, with those isobars close together, single—figure values in the north, just about double figures in the south, 10—12 degrees. through tuesday night, we'll start to see those clear skies pushing their way southwards and eastwards with most of the showers dying out. those temperatures will fall away, certainly a chilly night to come across northern and western areas, temperatures in towns and cities hovering around freezing to 2 degrees. a chilly start to wednesday. there will be some frost around. a little bit of mist and fog too. looking out west, we've got the next weather system which will be working its way in through wednesday. that will introduce thicker cloud and more outbreaks of rain. but we start off on a chilly note

with some frost and sunshine across central and eastern areas. any mist and fog will clear away through the morning, then we'll start to see the thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain pushing into western areas. meanwhile, the sunshine across eastern areas will turn hazier as that frontal system continues to work in from the west. and a chilly day to come for all. 6, 7 degrees in the north, 9 orjust about 10 across the south. as we head into thursday and into friday we hold onto that chilly fell, as you can see those blue colours and there will tend to be more rain at times, although for friday it's looking a bit drier. so we'll have some rain about on thursday, it will be quite breezy, too. on friday, a brief ridge of high pressure brings us some dry conditions with some sunshine.

this is bbc news. the headlines: turkey says it's captured the sister of the former islamic state group leader abu bakr al—baghdadi, who died during an american raid last month. the arrest‘s being called an "intelligence gold mine." india's top court has announced a series of measures intended to address the toxic smog which is causing a public health emergency in delhi. it ordered regional state governments to prevent power cuts until further notice, to limit the use of diesel generators. delhi authorities have responded by launching a car rationing system. the us impeachment inquiry has moved into the next phase, releasing public transcripts from key interviews held behind closed doors. a former us ambassador said she felt threatened by a remark president trump made about her on a call. a federal court has also ruled that the president's tax returns can be turned over to prosecutors.