this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. my name's mike embley. the body that oversees us presidential debates says it'll take steps to ensure there is no repeat of wednesday's chaotic and angry contest. the un secretary general calls on richer countries to help out so everyone can get access to a potential covid vaccine. everybody to a potential covid vaccine. will only be protected everybody will only be protected when the countries in the developing world will also be able to vaccinate their citizens. protests in india — as the body of a young woman who was gang—raped is cremated without her family's permission. presidents putin and macron call for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict between azerbaijan and ethnic armenian forces. we have a special report.

hello to you. 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 and ugly 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. how doing, man?

this was an exercise in ugliness, with donald trump determined to trip his opponent, joe biden, up by repeatedly interrupting him. number one... 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 ask joe. no! 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. come on. 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 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 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 aren't 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 the white house, 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. you will have to give me a definition. i only have two safe they need to stand down, let law enforcement do their work. law enforcement will do their work more and more as it was the how bad this radical liberal movement is. i don't know who proud boys are, but whoever they are, they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work. joining me now is our north america correspondent peter bowes who is los angeles. peter connor kind of mixed message does make better, kind of mixed messaging there. the proud boys seem to have taken a clear message online, talking about a historic endorsement, they seem to be readying for trouble? yes. they seem to see this as a call to arms and when you think about it, the beginning of the bay last night, there must have been millions of americans who have never heard of this group or indeed what they stand for, but

certainly they have been catapulted into the headlines today and this group is welcoming that and is talking about new people being interested in membership of the organisation. and what the president did not explain was that phrase, standby, he reaffirmed the standdown side of things but he didn't say what he meant by standby. that is the phrase a lot of people we re very is the phrase a lot of people were very worried about when they had last night, the president says he has never heard of them, but it seemed to be some sort of indication that there was something to come in there was something to come in the future, that this group should be standing by fire. what are the chances of the next couple of presidential debates being really any different? i guess the problem with any solution that might involve the moderator cutting the microphone is that the moderator becomes a sense of? it's a huge problem. —— censor. the moderator has that it will look at the rules and look at changing things so it doesn't descend into the chaos and

animosity we saw last night. there has been some discussion here today that it might involve cutting the microphones of the two candidates if they are interrupting, perhaps, too much. but it is fraught with problems, who make that decision. is it the moderator oi’ decision. is it the moderator or the director? how was it imposed? or the director? how was it imposed ? it could or the director? how was it imposed? it could well lead to president trump or even joe biden complaining there will be silencing. if they go down that road where candidates are given two minutes to set out their case on a particular issue, thatis case on a particular issue, that is where some of the problems happened last night. during those sections, the microphones of the other candidate may be cut, and will that be applied equally? well, that be applied equally? well, that be applied equally? well, that be something that might make the debate more palatable to the viewers. about the dogfight last night, it how did it go down with the viewers and those voters who may not have made up their minds yet? well.

we know 65 million people were watching on television, estimates so far, maybe 20 million were watching it on social media. president trump actually taking the credit for those viewing figures. what he is not talking about is i think of the feelings of those people, that is what you are getting out, mike what with people thinking as they were watching this role? my feeling, talking to people in a range of people, totally disgusted to bemused to angry because they we re bemused to angry because they were not talking about the issues. everything is to play for when they have the second and third debate. the second will be very different because it isa will be very different because it is a town hall format, there will be some presumably socially distance people in the audience, asking the candidates questions. there has been some talk here today saying that may produce a different attitude from president trump in terms of interrupting joe biden. from president trump in terms of interrupting joe biden. and the vice presidential debate next week. peter, thank you very much. let's get some of the day's other news.

the spanish government says it's reached an agreement on imposing partial lockdown on the parts of the country that are worst affected by the resurgence of covid—i9. they include the capital, madrid, where residents will be barred from leaving the city except on essential trips, but the local authorities say the decision isn't legally valid. the renowned japanese chef taku sekine has died in an apparent suicide. he was famous for his award winning restaurant in paris. his death followed sexual assault claims earlier this year. players from the rugby team coached by matt ratana have laid a wreath at the police station where he was killed. the new zealand—born police sergeant was shot at a custody suite in south london last friday. one man arrested in connection with the shooting has been released on police bail — the man suspected of murdering the 54—year—old remains in hospital after apparently shooting himself. 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 in order to help fund this global vaccine plan. earlier he told the bbc‘s katty kay and christian fraser 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 hesitate 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. 0ur 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's 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.

and the disease has changed the balance between ministers and mps, 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. 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. do stay with us on bbc news, still to come: (singing)

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 russia's turmoil, it has never quite come to this. president yeltsin said the day would decide the nation's 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 affection from catholics throughout the world, but his departure is a tragedy for the catholic church. this man, israel's right—winger ariel sharon, visited the religious compound, and that started the trouble. he wants israel alone to have sovereignty over the holy sites, an idea that is unthinkable to palestinians. after 45 years of division, germany is one.

in berlin, a million germans celebrate the rebirth of europe's biggest and richest nation. welcome back, very glad to have you with us on bbc news. the latest headlines: 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. a plea for help — the un secretary general calls on richer countries to help out so everyone can get access to a potential covid vaccine. protests erupted in several parts of india after the authorities had the body of a gang rape victim cremated at a ceremony her family said took place without their permission. the 19—year—old victim from the dalit community — the lowest rung of india's ancient caste system — was attacked and raped

in september near her home in hathras district, 100 km from the capital, delhi. aru na iyengar reports. an outpouring of anger and process in uttar pradesh and delhi after the brutal rape of a 19—year—old. the victim was attacked in a field and died of her injuries. she came from the dalit community, the lowest rung in india's ancient caste system. many say, women, particularly those from lower castes, have no protection from the law. translation: every crime is being concealed. dalits are being oppressed and there is no government voice against the systematic oppression. demonstration is not taking action against that because they are helping to establish anarchy in estate. four men have been arrested in connection with the rape but there was further outrage when it emerged that her family was not consulted when police cremated her body. translation:

this is not right what is happening. what is happening is absolutely criminalisation of everything. local authorities deny this. uttar pradesh is ruled by my minister moran dropped modi's party. it ranks as mine of the most unsafe states for women in the country. the tragedy has barked heated debate on social media with politicians, bollywood personalities, cricket stars and women's rights activists condemning the attack. the latest assault comes months after four latest assault comes months afterfour men were latest assault comes months after four men were hanged for the brutal gang rape and murder ofa the brutal gang rape and murder of a student on a bus in delhi in 2012. the case that came to symbolise the nation's problem with sexual violence. russian president vladimir 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 conflict. turkey has close ties to azerbaijan, while russia is allied mainly with armenia. our correspondent jonah 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 home town 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—16 jet. turkey denies that but it has made no secret of its 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 new casualties on both sides of the line. jonah fisher,

bbc news, armenia. the first person ever to be cured of hiv — timothy ray brown — has died of cancer. in 2007 mr brown — who had been previously diagnosed with hiv — was given a bone marrow transplant as part of a treatment for cancer. that bone marrow was from a naturally hiv resistant donor which effectively cured him as the virus was never detected in his body again. to date, only one other person has been cured of hiv from a similar treatment, which is deemed too risky and too expensive to be used routinely. as china's biggest holiday season approaches, beijing has warned that it will punish whoever claims its wilds great wealth. it is referred to parts of the landmark not restored and close to torres. fines have been enforced more freely over golden week with thousands of more domestic tourists expected. china is making on holiday to boost its tourist

industry but hit by the enemy. as well as fines, to stepping up as well as fines, to stepping up security with reports that all 131 guards usually stationed along the great wall will be on duty over golden week. emmanuel "onry" henry is one of the few black opera singers in the north—western united states. injune, he and portland state university student madisen hallberg went viral for their impromptu duet of the national anthem. it marked a moment of racial unity amid nationwide black lives matter protests. here's onry‘s story. one day towards the end of may, i left my house. i began to walk down the street, and i hear this vocalist. # 0 say, can you see. it's a friday in may. i had been singing in the park blocks for maybe 20 minutes, just the national anthem over and over again, getting different takes.

out of the corner of my eye, i see this guy. he kind of passes and keeps going down the block. # were so gallantly streaming. i thought to myself, "you know, it's been a really, really long time since you sang with somebody. and hejust asked. "would you mind if ijoin you? and she said. "sure," because i'm always down for anything. when he first came in with his voice, i was like, "oh my gosh, his voice is incredible. " both: # and the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air. at that moment, it was about playing life together. and the student about to graduate ready to sing, and then this. when i say i'm an opera

singer, people often say, "but your frame is so small and you're not white. and i say, "exactly." singing opera. despite the influx of residents and the reputation of progressive behaviour, portland still remains to be one of the whitest cities in america. and although i've had success here in the city, i've had to deal with a lot of racism along the way. during the quarantine, i lost all of my gigs. about 25 gigs in a month—and—a—half. while singing in the streets, i was stopped by police, i was stopped by security guards and asked to stop singing in certain spaces because i wasn't allowed in those spaces, singing italian opera. i have this thing, and this thing has ability to heal a nation. that's the power of the human voice. that's the power of my voice.

all we are conditioned to think right now is the divide. really, this is a time and a privilege to come together. see, we do try to find more cheerful stuff. and finally, i want to show you the scene in athens just a few hours ago where people across the greek capital can now see the ancient acropolis in a whole new light, literally. the light which bathes the temples and monuments of the city's famous hill has been upgraded. the illumination was created by the same artist who lit the 2004 olympic opening and closing ceremonies there. a reminder of our top story. the commission on presidential debates in the us is to announce new measures to ensure the remaining two encounters between donald trump and joe biden are more orderly. this in the wake of tuesday's ill tempered and really ugly affair, laced with insults. it has been seen generally as a low in political debate. that

is it for now. much more for you any time on the bbc website and on our twitter feeds. you any time on the bbc website and on our twitterfeeds. thank you so much for watching. hello. thursday offers up the promise of a dryer day for the majority of the uk in comparison to wednesday. there should be some decent sunshine and the winds will be a little light as well. how are we managing that when our weather is dominated essentially by this massive area of low pressure for the coming days? one with actually seven centres — but we are getting quite close to a little hill in the isobars. that is a brief ridge of high pressure that we will sit in through thursday. it's not plain sailing though, there will still be some more persistent rain across northern and eastern scotland through the day and coming into the south—west through the afternoon, some sharper showers that will push into wales, some for northern ireland, perhaps some more generally across southern britain later on in the day. but in contrast to wednesday, lighter winds, and the rain nowhere near as widespread —

temperatures 111—15 degrees. we head through thursday evening, and we will start to notice something developing to the south of the uk. the rain towards the north pulls away, it becomes quite quiet here, skies clear, it's a largely dry night across scotland and northern ireland, and actually chilly in some rural spots. but to the south of the uk, we've basically got a hook that's formed, and this is a deep low pressure centre that is set to spin up across brittany, ploughing its way into france — the worst of the weather think on the way to france. the french met service have given it a name, it's storm alex, and it looks like it will also affect southern britain, so hence our concern for friday, particularly through the early part of the day for heavy rain across southern counties of england pushing into south wales, and very strong winds, may be gusting up to 70 mph. even in land, though, 30—35 mph as that low centre spins away to the south of us and this weather from swings north. quite a contrast between

the north and south on friday. england and wales, wet and windy. scotland and northern ireland, largely dry with some decent spells of sunshine. but for the weekend, we are still dominated by low pressure, and as such, it looks like further bands of rain will sweep around this larger low with its centre to the south. i think some wet weather for all areas through the weekend, some strong winds at times too. the detail on this low, somewhat complicated, so it's very hard for us to pinpoint exactly when your area will get wettest of the weather. but that trend, i'm afraid, is very clear.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the organisation that oversees us presidential debates says it will take steps to avoid a repeat of the chaotic nature of the first debate between donald trump and his challenger — joe biden. there are two more debates to come. the trump campaign said the rules should not be changed in the middle of the game. joe biden has condemned the president for not clearly denouncing a white supremacist group known as the proud boys. mr trump said he didn't know who the proud boys were — and insisted that right—wing militias like them should stand down and let the police do their work. instead of, as he said in the debate, standing by. the united nations' secretary—general, antonio guterres, has urged countries to start funding a global coronavirus vaccine plan by using money from their own national programmes. mr guterres' comments follow an urgent appeal by the head of the global vaccine alliance for more countries to join. in order to help poorer countries.