this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm mike embley. as the us west coast continues to suffer devastating wildfires, the rivals for the white house clash over the cause. when you have dry leaves on the ground it sets it up. if you have an arsonist as president why is anyone surprised? the british government gives initial approval to legislation that could override parts of the brexit withdrawal deal with the eu. anger in lebanon against politicians, corruption, and poverty, brings people onto the streets.

lebanon is being eaten by poverty and in communities like this it is increasing attention, anger and fear, this it is increasing attention, angerand fear, in places where guns are never far away. and, life on venus? the extraordinary possibility contained in the clouds above the planet. president trump has been visiting america's west coast to be briefed by officials on the wildfires that have so far claimed more than 30 lives and burned almost five million acres of land. blazes in california, oregon and washington state have been burning since early august. our correspondent aleem maqbool reports from oregon. it was like a journey into an eerie twilight zone. few have been allowed

here since the fires swept in with such rage. and though most people had scrambled to get out with whatever they could, it was in this area that lives had also been lost. there were some we found wandering and bewildered, like larry. i've lost everything except what's in that bag. everything. and i didn't have insurance. out of — all the hosts had insurance, except for me. what made these fires are so lethal and record—breaking is the high winds that came with them — accelerating their frightening, destructive passage through vast areas of this state. we keep hearing from those who said they felt they were fleeing for their lives, and it's only when you're on the ground and you see the destruction — as we've been able to — and the warped landscape here, that you start to get

a sense of the nightmare that they were running from. donald trump has been called an arsonist byjoe biden. the president said the fault laid elsewhere. this is one of the biggest birds we have ever seen and we have to do a lot about fire management. there has to be good, strong forest management which i have been talking about for three years with the state so hopefully they will start doing that. this family is tired of running. we found them in a displacement camp miles away. they've now fled fires three times in three different locations in the past week. my mom had ten minutes to get out of her place and she got the clothes on her back and the cat and that was it, and her house is completely annihilated, it wiped out everything

and, you know, that's what we heard, the same with ours but we're not donald trump has been called an arsonist byjoe biden. hundreds and thousands of america facing fear, displacement and loss. well the row over the unprecendented first has been deepening. mr trump told reporters near sacramento that the fires were the result of poor forest management, not climate change. california's governor, gavin newsom, said state forest management could be better, but pointed out that more than half of california's land was under federal control. here's what the democratic presidential candidate joe biden had to say earlier. if we have four more years of donald trump climate denial, how many suburbs will be burnt?

how many suburban neighbourhoods will have been flooded out? how many suburbs will have been blown away in the super storms? if you give a climate arsonist four more yea rs climate arsonist four more years in the white house, why would anyone be surprised if we have more america plays? we can now speak to mayor chris luz from phoenix in oregon. phoenix was devastated by the almeda drive wildfire which tore through the town last week. is your town effectively gone? it is not gone but about 25% of oui’ it is not gone but about 25% of our homes are it is not gone but about 25% of oui’ homes are gone, oui’ it is not gone but about 25% of our homes are gone, our living structures work condensed in one particular area, a downtown area and the living units about area and the living units about a thousand were destroyed. a big chunk of it is gone. a lot

of businesses also. i think 50-60 of businesses also. i think 50—60 businesses completely destroyed. you have a cleaning business, your business and your homejust business, your business and your home just about survive. can the town rebuild? certain parts are going to be rebuild, certain people will move. downtown will stay there. many will rebuild. i think a move. in our area it is tough to move homes quickly. it is just not going to happen and it will force people to move to other areas, like it happen in katrina, the paradise fire. for some people there is no choice. so really nothing is going to

be the same? no, it is going to change. we have the local doughnut shop, restaurants, thatis doughnut shop, restaurants, that is the heart of downtown and it is gone. you must have thought about what is causing all of this. we hear about lightning strikes, forest management, climate change. and also people living close to heavily forested land. it was probably arson. it had nothing to do with climate change, forest management. they arrested one arsonist. maybe another one that started a fire by mistake. it was dumb human activity. it had nothing to do with climate change or forest management. that implies something deliberate. how do you stop people doing something, as you put it, so dumb was mike you cannot. you

cannot watch people every single minute. the thing that contributed to the problem was 45 mph wind. it created a firestorm. it moved very quickly. thank you very much for talking to us. 0k, thank you, sir. new legislation which would allow the british government to override key parts of the brexit withdrawal agreement has passed an early hurdle in the house of commons, even though it would break international law. boris johnson says the bill is needed to stop the european union imposing bans or tariffs on goods moving between northern ireland and the rest of the uk if a trade deal can't be agreed. but five former prime ministers have said it will damage britain's standing in the world. order. 340, the no, 263. it is

rather complicated. our political correspondent jessica parker unpicks it for us from westminster it goes back to the divorce settle m e nt it goes back to the divorce settlement that the eu and the uk signed off earlier this year but borisjohnson, uk signed off earlier this year but boris johnson, the uk signed off earlier this year but borisjohnson, the prime minister of the united kingdom, says he is worried that extreme interpretations of that agreement could damage the integrity of the uk, the internal market, the movement of goods between all four nations and be a problem for the northern ireland peace process. the government has put forward some legislation that could potentially give power to override parts of that treaty in order to protect those elements they say they are worried about but a lot of people are crying foul over this. some people said as sabre rattling is uk engages in future trade talks with the eu. they think northern ireland is

being used as a political foot vault by this government. some suspect number ten of blowing up suspect number ten of blowing up the talks altogether. both sides insist they want to reach a deal overfuture trade, future cooperation but with internal market appeal, it is controversial moving through the commons and a big cloud over the talks which do not have very longer left to go. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: swirling in the clouds above venus — the extraordinary possibility of life? 30 hours after the earthquake that devastated mexico city, rescue teams still have no idea just how many people have died. there are people alive and people not alive. we just can help and give whatever we have.

it looked as though they had come to fight a war. but their mission is to bring peace to east timor and nowhere on earth needs it more badly. the government's case has been forcefully presented by the mr badinter, the justice minister. he has campaigned vigorously for abolition, having once witnessed one of his clients being executed. elizabeth seton has spent a lot of time at this grotto. now that she has become a saint, it is expected that this area will be inundated with tourists. the mayor and local businesses regard the anticipated boom as yet another blessing of saint elizabeth. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: as fires continue to devastate the us west coast, the rivals for the white house clash over the cause.

the british parliament gives initial approval to a controversial bill that could override parts of the brexit withdrawal deal with the eu. when a huge blast in the lebanese capital beirut claimed the lives of almost 200 people it also exposed long standing structural issues of a country already in crisis. a blend of corruption, distrust of politicians and crippling poverty have led to factionalism and violence on the streets. six weeks after the blast at a storage depot in the port our middle east editor jeremy bowen has returned to beirut to look at lebanon's prospects of a better future. poverty and pain running through lives in tarik el jdideh, a stronghold of poor sunni muslims in beirut. this man grew up hard and died young, shot dead at 20 in a street battle with a rival family. like most of the people who gathered for his funeral the next morning, he was unemployed.

his uncle moussa, like almost all lebanese, believes corrupt politicians blight their lives. translation: we want decent people in the government. they need to understand the suffering of the people, notjust filling their pockets. the women threw rice at the coffin as if it was a wedding. the men raced it through the streets in mourning and to show their strength. gunfire. disputes often turned violent in this neighbourhood but they said the economic collapse is making it worse. it is very hard to see how this ends well. lebanon is being eaten by poverty, and in communities like this it's increasing the tension and the anger, and the fear in places where guns are never far away.

many who can leave the country are getting out. taha's father was hoping to find him a job abroad. razor wire can't protect the central bank from the anger of lebanese who have been locked out of their accounts, while elites transferred billions abroad. riad salameh has been governor for 27 years but he says the economic crisis is not the bank's fault. we are the central bank, we are not the government. so you think you are being forced to take the blame that others should accept? well, i'm not forced, i'm not accepting the blame. whoever is in power is responsible. people here don't believe the politicians any more. that's the problem. that's not my problem. it's a problem for lebanon, though, isn't it? i didn't vote for them.

the leaders of lebanon's sects treat power as a personal position. graffiti lampoons the former warlords who have carved lebanon up between them since the end of the civil war. one is walid jumblatt. i can't say that i'm not, i'm part of the system, yes. is it healthy that in this country a lot of the ruling class, the top men in the country, are people who were the leaders, many of them warlords, in the civil war? not so healthy but sorry to say this was the solution to end the civil war in 1991. her husband was one of the firefighters killed in the explosion at the port. she is five months pregnant. she visits his grave every day. her grief mixed with rage and the failure of lebanon's leaders. translation: they're

all criminals, they should all burn and be chopped up like he was. that's what they deserve. beirut port is still not safe six weeks after the explosion. it took days to put out a big new fire in a warehouse containing tires and oil. this bankrupt burning country has an ultimatum from the french president. the aid they need to rebuild if they reform, sanctions if they don't. the army found more explosive at the port. the politicians haven't even agreed a new government, let alone a new future. what happens in lebanon matters to the rest of us. the world does not need another collapsed and broken state in its most dangerous and unstable region. and that is the risk right now if this downward spiral doesn't cease. jeremy bowen, bbc news, beirut.

a new treatment for covid—i9 that uses artificial antibodies is about to be tested in uk hospitals. mono—clonal antibodies are made in laboratories, and it's hoped they will boost the effect of the antibodies that occur naturally in people infected with coronavirus. some 2,000 patients will be given the treatment to see if it's effective at fighting the virus. our science correspondent rebecca morelle has more. antibodies are the warriors of the immune system, playing a vital role by attacking the coronavirus. now they are being harnessed in a promising new treatment. currently, there are very few medicines to help covid—i9 patients. the most successful was discovered by the uk's recovery trial. now it will be testing antibodies made in the laboratory called monoclonal antibodies. they'll be given to thousands of patients in uk hospitals to see if they work. i think the reason that monoclonal

antibodies are so exciting is that this is the first type of treatment that is targeted for this specific virus. there are lots of good reasons for thinking it might well be effective in stopping the virus from reproducing, stopping the virus from causing damage, improving survival for patients. we need to know and the way to know is to do the trials. how does this work? when a person is infected with coronavirus, they produce antibodies. these attach to the spike of the virus, blocking it from entering our cells. we make hundreds of different types of antibodies, so scientists sifted through them to find the best at sticking to the virus. they chose two because they both attached to slightly different parts of the spike. so, if the virus mutates and the structure changes, at least one will still work. both antibodies are then multiplied in the lab and produced in huge quantities. they are then mixed together and given to the patient,

immediately boosting their own immune response. monoclonal antibodies are expensive. they are a relatively new type of medicine, but they are used for other diseases, including some types of cancer. the us company regeneron, behind this covid treatment, have used the technology to successfully treat ebola. there are high hopes. we are very excited about our antibody combination. these highly potent neutralising antibodies really will help boost that immune response and will always be needed, even when a potent vaccine is available, because there are going to be underserved populations that we don't want to neglect. covid cases are rising and the timescale of the recovery trial depends on the rate of hospital admissions. only then will we see if the promise of monoclonal antibodies turns into a reality. rebecca morelle, bbc news.

people have been making the most of the sunshine and unseasonable warmth in france. temperatures are forecast to be io- temperatures are forecast to be 10-15 temperatures are forecast to be 10 — 15 degrees above average for the sum of years. they revealed a number of september hit records on monday. one area hit records on monday. one area hit 35.6 degrees, its hottest september day since 1961. an international team of astronomers say they've found the strongest evidence yet that life may exist on the planet venus. they've detected traces of a gas in its atmosphere which they believe could be produced by living microbes. and although the team say there could be another explanation for the presence of the gas they've yet to come up with one as our science correspondent pallab ghosh explains. venus. could it be home to extra—terrestrial life? there's new evidence that it might be. astronomers have discovered a gas called phosphine in the planet's atmosphere. they think it could have been

produced by tiny microbes living in the clouds. i was really surprised, i was pretty shocked as well, and, at first, i didn't quite believe the detection, ijust couldn't believe that we'd found it but then once we set out and independently detected it through another telescope, that's when i knew we really had a solid detection of phosphine through two telescopes and that it was real. the discovery was confirmed by the alma telescope in the mountains of the atacama desert in chile. it's one of the most powerful arrays on earth. the discovery of life on another world would be one of the greatest scientific discoveries ever made, but the researchers aren't making that claim. at least, not yet. the gas could have been produced by some other means, but its presence on venus is still a sensational finding. it's the strongest evidence that astronomers have ever had for the existence of alien life. but the big problem is that

venus is hostile to life. a soviet spacecraft landing in1982 confirmed scorching temperatures, up to 460 degrees celsius, and clouds of concentrated sulphuric acid, able to disintegrate any living thing in seconds. but some think that, even here, life could be possible. there is a habitable zone, a range of altitudes, on venus where it is not too hot and not too acidic, that life that we understand here on earth, so—called extremophile life, extremely hardy survival superhero type cells, could survive that environment in the venusian clouds. many scientists still think that the conditions on the planet are too harsh to support life and that there is another explanation for the presence of the gas, but, at this stage, it's hard to completely rule out the possibility that alien life might exist on one of our nearest planets. pallab ghosh, bbc news.

here in london, a new digital exhibition of photos taken by people during lockdown has been launched by the national portrait gallery. the project was led by the duchess of cambridge and involves more than 30,000 photos. it's designed to capture the resilience of people at one of the most challenging periods of our history. sarah campbell has more. moments captured on camera during lockdown, every picture telling a story. titled bsafe daddy, a cuddle between a father and daughter before his next shift working as a paramedic. loved one separated by glass in last precious moments. and empty, three —year—old leo's mama who took the picture says she experienced panic and that this would be the new normal. this was a project initiated by the duchess of cambridge, herself a keen photographer, and she

along with four otherjudges have the job of whittling be thousands of entries down to 100. i felt really from there that i really wanted to try and create a portrait of the nation that captures the fears and the hopes, and the feelings of the nation. in this really ordinary time. the images convey the difficulties faced by so many. kerry from ridge and after three hours working in ppe titled her portrait this is what broken looks like. in the first kiss, a father captures the moment his newborn son tries to kiss his mother despite the plastic barrier. the process was very interesting and moving. going for those image and seeing all these different stories, some of which arejoyful these different stories, some of which are joyful and heartwarming, some of which are family moving and harrowing, i think it is something that resonates of all of us. a rainbow playground at a school in norfolk. short cut features a tense diy haircut using dog clippers. and taken by existing

micellar, home schooling in dagenham. congratulating all of those who submitted a portrait, the queen has said in a statement that she had been inspired to see how the photographs have captured the resilience of the british people at such a challenging time. sarah campbell, bbc news. many cinemas across the globe are open again after lockdown, joining the resurgence is the uk's biggest riverside screen. a floating cinema launched in the canal, river and fact. an attempt to bring the city's film industry back to life. at least a hundred people can float in, more up and watch the stars on the screen by listening through a noise cancelling headphones. there is much more news to come, international and national, any time on the bbc website and on outward affairs as well. that's it for now, thank you very much for watching.

hello there. we had the warmest september day on monday since 2016. for many it was a case of blue sky and sunshine. it was a beautiful september afternoon. why am i showing you jersey? well, it was jersey that had the top spot with 31 degrees. not far behind was charlwood, in surrey. that was the highest temperature across mainland uk, with london hot on its heals with 29 celsius. and the reason being, this area of high pressure, centred across europe, that's allowing this southerly flow to drag in some very warm air, all the way from africa. so we're seeing temperatures unusually high for the time of year, but things will change subtly as we go into tuesday, with weak weather fronts bringing some showery outbreaks of rain to start the day. it's going to be a relatively

mild start, however. double digits quite widely across the country. but there will be some rain, not the heavy persistent rain that we have seen, and it will weaken as we go through the afternoon a little. more cloud into south—west england, maybe south wales and north—west england. can't rule out an odd isolated shower as we go into the afternoon. but we keep, for many of us, dry, settled, sunny conditions, light winds and plenty of warmth to go with it. temperatures again quite widely mid to high 20s. we might see 30 degrees perhaps nearer to east anglia, through tuesday afternoon. things changing again though, as we go through the middle part of the week. it stays largely dry. there's no significant rain in the forecast but it will turn noticeably cooler. that is because high pressure will stay with us, but it's going to be centred across the north of scotland and, as the winds swing around in a clockwise direction, that means more of a north or north—easterly, over the next couple of days, and that means a notable difference to the feel of the weather in scotland, northern ireland northern england and, in particular,

along those north sea facing coasts. so that could drag in a few isolated showers, and maybe even some mist and fog. here, temperatures 13—17 degrees. and further south, though, we mightjust see those temperatures peaking at 25 celsius — that's 77 fahrenheit. high pressure is not going too far away at all. another high moves in, keeping things very quiet indeed but noticeably cooler as we go through the week. so no significant rain in the forecast, but temperatures perhaps falling down to where they should be for this time of year. take care.

this is bbc news, the headlines: donald trump is visiting california, where record wildfires continue to burn. he said the fires were the result of poor forest management, not climate change. but his election rival, joe biden, says it's the president's policies that are contributing to natural disasters. new legislation which would allow the british government to override key parts of the brexit withdrawal agreement has passed an early hurdle in the house of commons even though it would break international law. five former prime ministers warn it will damage britain's standing in the world. an international team of astronomers say they've found the strongest evidence yet that life may exist on the planet venus. they've detected traces of a gas in its atmosphere which they believe could be produced by living microbes. but the temperature on the surface of the planet is over 400 degrees celsius.

families of those who lost their lives