this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the body that oversees us presidential debates says it will take steps to ensure there is no repeat of wednesday's chaotic and angry contest. the question is. you're gonna put a lot of new supreme court justices. the question is. ..radical left. will you shut up, man? listen, who is on your list, joe? after ducking an opportunity to condemn white supremacists, the president now claims ignorance over a far right group he mentioned by name at last night's debate. i don't know who the proud boys are. i mean, you'll have to give me a definition because i really don't know who they are. i can only say they have to stand down. let law enforcement do their work. the united kingdom is now said to be

at a critical moment, in the battle against coronavirus. putin and macron called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict between azerbaijan and ethnic armenian forces. we have a special report. the us commission on presidential debates says it'll announce new measures to ensure a more orderly and structured discussion in the two remaining debates between donald trump and joe biden. the statement followed tuesday's ill—tempered encounter, laced with insults. after the contest biden, called trump's conduct in the debate a "national embarrassment" and condemned him for not clearly denouncing a white supremacist group, the proud boys. mr trump now says he didn't know

who the proud boys were, and right—wing militias like them should stand down and let the police do their work. our north america editor jon sopel reports. coming out on stage and not hitting each other was more or less of the most dignified thing about last night. this was an exercise in ugliness, with donald trump determined to trip his opponent, joe biden, up by repeatedly interrupting him. numberone. joe, you agreed with bernie sanders and his far left on the manifesto. socialised medicine. look, hey. are you saying you didn't agree? and then, as the moderator tried to regain control. let me ask my question. i'll askjoe. picking fights with the umpire. i guess i'm debating you, not him. lagging behind in the polls, the president was clearly going for a knockout blow, something that would turn this election around. but biden didn't go down. instead, he grew exasperated. radical left. will you shut up, man?

who is on your list, joe? this is so. don't ever use the word smart with me. don't ever use that word. 0h, give me a break. because you know what? because you are a president screwing things up. you are a senator. you are the worst president america has ever had. biden‘s clear strategy was not to get too embroiled and keep speaking to the american people. this is not about my family or his family, it's about your family, the american people. trump's best moment came when he talked about law and order and how the police and sheriffs were backing him. name one group that supports you, name one group that came out and supported you. go ahead. we have time. we don't have time to do anything. no, no, think about it. but then the president was asked to condemn the white supremacist militias that have appeared on the streets. he wouldn't. what do you want to call them? give me a name, give me a name. white supremacists. who do you want me to condemn? proud boys. proud boys? stand back and stand by. the white supremacist proud boys group have welcomed the president's

comments and said they have had many new recruits as a result of the debate. at this trump watch party, they liked what they had seen from their man, but biden had done better than they had expected. he actually surprised me a little bit, but it wasn't enough to impress me either way. he lasted the whole night. i'm surprised. his dementia didn't show. his dementia didn't show up. i say trump has done a hell of a job considering what he was dealt with, but i would have liked to have seen a stronger performance tonight by trump. the clear strategy of donald trump is to be aggressive, to interrupt as much as possible, to destabilise joe biden. with this audience, it's going down well, but what about independents? the disaffected republicans, people in the suburbs? that will be the acid test of this debate. at the end, the two wives came onto stage to congratulate their partners, with varying degrees of warmth. this was a victory for heat rather than light. the next five weeks are not

going to be edifying. jon sopel, bbc news, cleveland, ohio. president trump is heading to minnesota for a fundraiser and a campaign rally — before leaving he offered some clarification on why he didn't condemn the neo—fascist group — the proud boys. i don't know who the proud boys are. i mean, you have to give me a definition because i really don't who they are. i can only say they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work. law enforcement will do the work more and more as people see how bad this radical, liberal, democratic movement is and how weak. the law enforcement is gonna come back stronger and stronger. again, i don't know who proud boys are but whoever they are they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work. as you saw injohn‘s report... . scrutiny has also been on how moderator chris wallace struggled to contain donald trump's continual interruptions.

here's one of many examples. we're moving on. he didn't take them. mr president, no. can i be honest? try to be honest, it's a good thing. no, he stood up, he stood up. no, the answers to the question is no. ..and he threatened ukraine with $1 billion. that is absolutely not true. you know what, you're not. stop. you're going to have. he's on tape doing it. not true. gentlemen, i hate to raise my voice but it seems to be. chris, he's on tape. i hate to raise my voice but why should i be different than the two of you? the country would be better served if we allowed both people to speak with fewer interruptions. i am appealing to you, sir, to do that. well, i am too. well, frankly, you have been doing more interrupting than he has. well, that's all right, but he does plenty. well, sir, less than. does plenty. less than you have. let's please continue on. joining us now to discuss all this from massachusetts is a woman with first—hand experience, the former news anchor

you were the first woman of colour to. colour to. to moderate a presidential debate between george h. w. bush, bill clinton, and ross perot. what was going through chris's mind when even watching that is a difficult watch. what was he thinking? well, i'm so surprised that he's getting so much criticism. certainly there is a lot from the trunk campaign. other friends of mine who have called and texted me and said, why did he lose control of them? he's a terrible moderator. well, chris and i go back to chicago where we were at local reporters along time ago. baby reporters. and so along time ago. baby reporters. and soi along time ago. baby reporters. and so i know that he is a dogged journalist. and he a strong journalist. and he a strong journalist. i know that he went in there planning to make this one of there planning to make this one of the best debates ever. and there is so the best debates ever. and there is

so much the best debates ever. and there is so much pressure on the best debates ever. and there is so much pressure on the moderator because you are supposed to control the event. but when you're dealing with donald trump, you know, all wisdom goes out the window because he is like nothing we've ever seen oi’ he is like nothing we've ever seen or had before. and he doesn't pay attention to rules and order or anything like that. so i knew it was going to be rough for chris. and i think he did everything possible that he could to control it. shy of climbing the stairs and pulling their neckties. in making them be quiet. but i think he did a pretty good job. and i'm surprised as i say, but they have to blame somebody. i was blamed. say, but they have to blame somebody. iwas blamed. carol, say, but they have to blame somebody. i was blamed. carol, you are so somebody. i was blamed. carol, you are so sweet when you speak about crisp but let's face it, he's a fox news sunday anchor. he knows what donald trump is like. and yet he also is beating himself up about it. he's been quoted as saying that he

missed a terrible opportunity and he never dreamed that it would go off the tracks the way you did. i suppose not of us expected this. but he knew it was going to be tough. yes, he knew it was going to be tough but he had handled trump in an earlier debate. a couple of months ago. and he had done a terrificjob. and he went out to toe with trump andi and he went out to toe with trump and i think got the better of him. so after that event i think he thinks it might have been a little easier. but trump is something else. okay. he is something else. in the country we are like having a hangover after what happened last night. and i guess we are the laughing stock of the world. how does the uk view the event? when it comes to specific points in particular this proud boys group, this far—right group, should there have been more scrutiny during the debate itself about the phrase that

donald trump said? which phrase was at? well the phrase that he said you stand up and stand by. stand down and stand by. yes, it does look like wait, i'll be getting to you later. don't do anything yet. it was horrific. but again, it was toward the end of the debate and i think chris was watching time. and he had asked him that question, go ahead and denounce these white supremacist groups. and he wouldn't do it. so the point was made. and everybody saw that. so i think it was the crux of that debate. because trumpet affects was announcing yeah, i am a racist. carol, you put that first hand experience. thank you so much for explaining what the moderator goes through. because it isn't easy but my goodness it was a heckuva

night. thank you so much. we don't yet have a globally available vaccine for covid i9 but the wealthiest countries have been striking deals to ensure that when we do they have access to it. it is a scramble that could leave limited supplies in the coming year for low— and middle—income countries. today the un secretary general, antonio guterres, appealed to the advanced nations, to donate money from their own national responses to the pandemic — into order to help fund this global vaccine plan. he told the bbc how much it would help to win the commitment of the united states, china, and russia. it will be very important to have the commitment of all countries. some countries have already announced that they will have made available their own vaccines also to developing countries and this is part of this process. we believe that they will be an effective coordination of the covax, the facility that was put in place. with those countries that will not only produce for their own citizens

but are ready to produce also to citizens of developing countries, and we strongly appeal to those that will be able to develop their own vaccines to be part of these efforts. i am not asking for countries not to protect their own citizens, because it is the duty of these countries to protect their own citizens, but everybody will only be protected when the countries in the developing world will also be able to vaccinate their citizens. the united kingdom is at a ‘critical moment', in the battle against coronavirus, according to prime minister boris johnson who's warned that he won't hesistate to put further measures in place, if necessary. england's chief scientific adviser has warned that hospital admissions and intensive care cases are ‘heading the wrong way‘ as the number of new infections topped 7,000, for a second day. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. this is sital. coronavirus has changed her

and her family's life. she and her husband both had the disease. his lungs are still scarred and things are different now. my husband was one of those people who, when covid first came on the scene, he was a believer that it wasn't going to effect him, it wasn't going to touch him. he was under a5, fit and healthy, and it wasn't going to effect him. my husband nearly died and it is really real. we found ourselves being more isolated at home. and in that melee, borisjohnson. coronavirus has changed his life, and his leadership, too. cases are rising again, political pressure mounting, winter on the way. no matter how impatient we may be, how fed up we may become, there is only one way of doing this and that is by showing a collective forbearance, common sense and willingness to make sacrifices for the safety of others. he can't say enough. he doesn't want another national lockdown but it is plain it could yet happen.

if the evidence requires it, we will not hesitate to take further measures that would, i'm afraid, be more costly than the ones we've put into effect now. we can see today that the limits already in place on millions of people have not stopped the spread and you even had to apologise for failing to explain the rules properly. how can people have confidence in your government's approach, and can you give people your honest assessment — how high is the chance of more restrictions coming in for everyone, everywhere? the answer is, i'm afraid, entirely dependent on how effective we are now, collectively, in driving down the virus. and we know we can do it because we did it before. our success will have to be judged, i'm afraid, in the days and weeks ahead. we have got a long winter ahead of us and a lot could happen over that time so i think to predict forward from here would be a big mistake. numbers of cases are going up hospitalisations are going up, icus going up and unfortunately,

very sadly, so are deaths. and that means that this is heading in the wrong direction. there is no cause for complacency here at all. and the disease has changed the balance between ministers and mp5, too. at the start of the epidemic, the tories seemed the masters of parliament. now ministers have given ground to backbenchers who will have more of a say over extra restrictions being rushed through, but not before a serious ticking off from the speaker. shows a total disregard for the house. ..for cutting mps, who represent all of us, out of the process. i now look to the government to rebuild the trust with this house and not treat it with the contempt that it has shown. and just as the tory backbenchers are proving less reliable than the government might hope, the opposition too is sharpening their attacks. the government's side of the bargain here is to have a very clear strategy for keeping that infection rate down and we don't see that strategy. very clear communications, and the byword for this week has

been yet again confusion. but even with the current limits, things are different for how the country makes a living, too. this is the business design centre. this is dominicjones, the boss of this vast venue. coronavirus has changed everything for him as well. so, normally it would be a thriving, buzzing environment with thousands of people. these empty halls would normally be packed with 90,000 people a year. this complete unclarity on people's futures, their livelihoods, is causing absolute distress. we have so many people that are allied to our industry, that rely on our industry. it feels desperately unfair that we are being told, and targeted as a sector, simply told that we cannot open. with rising cases come rising worries and rising concern about the government's grip. everything feels different second time round. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. stay with us on bbc news, still to come.

he went viral online but now he's talking about a bigger issue: what it's like to be a black singer in the world of opera. in all of of russia's turmoil, it has never quite come to this. president yeltsin said the day would decide the nations destiny. the nightmare that so many people have feared for so long is playing out its final act here. russians are killing russians in front of a grandstand audience. it was his humility which produced affections from catholics throughout the world, but his departure is a tragedy for the catholic church. this man, israel right's winger visited the religious compound and that started the trouble. he wants israel allowed to have sovereignty over the holy sites, an idea that's unthinkable for the palestinians.

after 45 years of division, germany is one. in berlin, a million german celebrate the rebirth of europe's biggest and richest nation. this is bbc news, the latest headlines... the body that oversees us presidential debates says it will take steps to ensure there is no repeat of last night's chaotic and angry contest. the united kingdom is now said to be at a ‘critical moment‘, in the battle against coronavirus. russian president vadimir putin and his french counterpart emmanuel macron have called for an immediate ceasefire as the conflict between azerbaijan and armenia — over an area of disputed territory — continued for a fourth day. it‘s the heaviest fighting

between the two sides in more than a quarter of a century. the two former soviet republics fought a war between 1988—1994, over the region of nagorno—karabakh, which is officially part of azerbaijan, but governed by ethnic armenians. there are fears that two global powers could be drawn into the conflcit, turkey has close ties to azerbaijan, while russia is allied mainly with armenia. our correspondentjonah fisher reports from yerevan in armenia. nagorno—karabakh is one of the world‘s open sores. on the map, part of azerbaijan, but dominated and run by ethnic armenians. in the last four days, a decades—old conflict has roared back to life. as azerbaijan has gone on the offensive. here, armenians are trying to shoot down drones that are targeting them.

dozens, probably many more, have been killed, including civilians. war with the old enemy has led to an outpouring of patriotic fervour in the armenian capital, yerevan. donations are being brought to a theatre, ready to be taken to troops on the front line. some civilians have already fled in the other direction. this family left their hometown on the first day of the war. "i remember being shelled," she says. "we were so afraid that we just cried all the time. " for both azerbaijan and armenia the long struggle for nagorno—karabakh has become an integral part of their national identity. what appears to be different now is the willingness of other countries to get involved. in particular, turkey. this is the wreckage of a plane which armenia says was shot down by a turkish f—i6 jet.

turkey denies that but it has made no secret of it‘s support for azerbaijan‘s ambitions. translation: we have only one condition. the armenian armed forces must immediately and definitively leave our land. if they comply, the fighting will stop. when people look at the map tonight and they see that this piece of territory, nagorno—karabakh, is inside azerbaijan on the maps, why should they believe that you‘re in the right? because those who are slightly familiar with the history of this land will know about the transfer of this territory. so historically. historically this was the land in which the armenian population resided. across the border in azerbaijan, a soldier is being buried. a conflict that has long blighted

the region is claiming