welcome to bbc news. my name's mike embley. our top stories: 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 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. and fresh wildfires cause chaos and destruction in california — thousands more are forced to flee their homes.

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. applause coming out on stage and not hitting each other was more or less of the most dignified thing about last night. biden: how you 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' far left on the manifesto, we call it, and that gives you socialised medicine. look, hey... are you saying you didn't agree? i'm not going to listen to him. and then, as the moderator tried to regain control... hey, let me ask my question. well, i'll askjoe. i—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. the radical left... will you shut up, man? who is your — listen, 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? 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? 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 in 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. 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. law enforcement will do the work more and more as people see how bad this radical, liberal, democrat movement is, and how weak... the law enforcement‘s gonna come back stronger and stronger. but, again, i don't know who proud boys are, but whoever they are, they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work. alexandra minna stern is a professor of american culture at the university of michigan and the author of a book about the proud boys. they told us more about the group. they are a group that was founded in 2016 at the height of the last election cycle that very much supported trump. and they are back and emboldened by his shoutout last night, and by the circumstances we have seen in the last six months or so in the united states and earlier

months or so in the united states and really, across the world. and on social media they are using the words "historic", and "endorsement". whatever the president says he knew, or didn't know, knows now, or didn't know, or doesn't know now, they have taken that as a signal to be ready for trouble? well, indeed. and one of the first things they did was they took that and kind of recoined their motto with their insignia, which they wear on their shirt lapels, to say "stand back and stand by", and "stand by" indicating that they are ready to step into the fray, they are ready for armed confrontation if called upon, and they are ready to go back into the streets, as they have in portland and louisville and in other parts of the us. it is difficult when they tend to use private social media, but do we have a sense of scale, just how big the group is? it is really hard to tell, both because when they are out in the streets they are often co—mingling with other right—wing groups such as patriot prayer or oath keepers,

and because they have been deplatformed, it is hard to keep a good count. but they have active chapters in places such as seattle or portland or other parts of the countries where the numbers, the number in the dozens, if not hundreds of members. so, what kind of activity would you expect in your experience to see from them or other extreme right groups leading up to polling day and the polls themselves? i would say definitely more recruitment, this has given them a huge recruitment boost. they are going to spill into more—accepted media platforms, expect more of them on twitter, more of them on facebook, more of them on youtube. and as well, we are more likely to see more of them in the streets. these calls from trump for law enforcement and law and order, that is a kind of nod and wink to vigilantes as well, which we have seen increasingly turn out, especially

in the context of the black lives matter movement, in opposition to that. in this context, when the president said i am calling on my people to go into the polls to "keep an eye on things", i think that read to a lot of people in this context as an instruction to intimidate voters. i think you are right. i think it's a nod and a wink and a pretty strong nod and wink towards calling for voter intimidation and potentially disruption at polling places on november 3rd. the next one is scheduled for the 15th of october in miami. earlier i spoke to mitchell mckinney, a professor of communication at the university of missouri, about the changes we can expect for the next debates — and if they are mandatory in us politics.

well, certainly, again, the candidates agree to the rules. they agree to the time constraints, the limits of their responses and also the rules state that they are not to interrupt their opponent when their opponent has their time to respond. and so, in that regard, i don't know that it would be seen as censoring. again, you're given your time, you can say anything you wish, there's no—one controlling your message during your time, but you must not attempt to interrupt, to dominate, to take, to steal the time of your opponent, as we saw last night — which was clearly donald trump's strategy — to really overwhelm, to throw, to attempt to throwjoe biden off of his message, off game, by every time there was a response, there really were words coming out ofjoe biden's mouth, we were hearing the president interrupt. and so, i am expecting that we will hear some type of regulation of the mics, again, as an attempt to regulate the time that is controlled by each of the candidates.

yeah, specifically on that point — i know you don't want to deal with the politics of it as such — but, you know, joe biden has a temper, he has made that very plain in public in the past, and he did appear confused during the democratic party's primary debates. it's clearly a trump campaign tactic to try to goad him into losing his rag and also perhaps interrupt his train of thought to make him appear old and confused. that's not likely to stop, is it? how would you manage that? it would be slightly different, i suppose, in a town hall—style debate, which is the next one. yes, and mike, that's an excellent question in terms — and i think that the debate commission is looking at, for example, four years ago we had a round of very contentious, conflictual debates between donald trump and hillary clinton. again, trump was taking it very aggressively to hillary clinton — interruptions, name—calling, taunting — and what we found four years ago was over the series of three debates, they became increasingly conflictual and negative and aggressive. and i think the commission

is now looking at this and thinking "oh, my! what would we have if this round, also then each successive debate, becomes more aggressive again?" using that strategy you've pointed out by trump as a way to try to throw biden off his game. and i think the commission is wisely re—evaluating what structure, what rules now can we put in place that will prevent that from happening? otherwise, i think the public — although has been tuning in in vast and large numbers — the public is perhaps going to come to the conclusion that these debates just simply are not worth it. 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. that includes the capital, madrid, where residents will be

barred from leaving the city except on essential trips. 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 in south london last friday. 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. it is a scramble that could leave limited supplies in the coming year for low and middle—income countries. un secretary—general, antonio guterres, appealed to the advanced nations, to donate money from their own national responses

to the pandemic. 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. and we believe that there 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'm not asking for countries not to protect their own citizens — of course, 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. 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, 100km from the capital, delhi. aru na iyengar reports. an outpouring of anger and protests in uttar pradesh and new delhi over 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's no voice from the government side against systematic oppression. the administration is not taking action against that because they are helping to establish anarchy in the state. four men have been arrested in connection with the rape, but there was further outrage

when it emerged that her family wasn't consulted when police cremated her body. this is not right what is happening! it's absolutely a criminalisation of everything! local authorities deny this. uttar pradesh is ruled by prime minister narendra modi's bharatiya janata party. it ranks as one of the most unsafe states for women in the country. the tragedy has sparked 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 men were hanged for the brutal gang rape and murder of a student on a bus in delhi in 2012 — a case that came to symbolise the nation's problem with sexual violence. aruna iyengar, bbc news. 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 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. this is bbc world 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. in northern california, authorities are struggling to contain wildfires burning through thousands more acres of land. the blazes have destroyed property and forced many more people from their homes. they are only the latest in a series of wildfires that have caused chaos in the past few weeks. the bbc‘s tim allman has this.

driving through yosemite national park, a convoy fleeing the flames. rangers leading the way as a number of tourists had to be evacuated. it looked like a fairly perilous trip — dark clouds above, burning trees never far away. this is just one of a series of fires burning through central and northern california. high temperatures, precious little rain — it is a dangerous combination. mother nature is something that we don't try to guess so we're preparing for the worst—case scenario and we're hoping for the best. so our firefighters are going to be working around the clock securing those lines. the two latest wildfires called zogg and glass only began in the last few days, but they've been busy, burning through hundreds of square kilometres of land. some of it wine country, trheatening lives and livelihoods. i own this vineyard over

here and with a bad year and fires and no power, i haven't picked a grape. i don't think we're going to pick anything. tens of thousands of people have left their homes but some are waiting to see what will happen next. how long are you going to hang out? i don't know, we'll see. if i see flames i'm out of here but until then, i'm just gonna hang out probably. this has been a record—breaking year for wildfires in california, and with more hot weather on the way, the danger is still present. tim allman, bbc news. the russian and french leaders have called for an immediate ceasefire in the latest conflict between azerbaijan and armenia, now in its fourth day. it's the heaviest fighting between the two sides, over an area of disputed territory, in more than a quarter of a century. azerbaijani forces have been facing armenian soldiers in the enclave, which has been controlled by ethnic armenian separatists for decades.

the un secretary—general has warned that as many species face extinction, humanity is waging a war on nature. almost 150 leaders addressing the un's biodiversity summit have called for urgent help to avoid a repeat of the failure to meet targets to save animals and plants around the world. mark lobel reports a million species face extinction in a degraded planet. tackling pollution and protecting our evidence are urgent calls to rebuild the planets relationship with nature and stop waging war on it. it is an environmental issue. it expands to economics, social justice, human rights. neglecting our precious resources ca n neglecting our precious resources can lead to conflicts. but more space for wildlife is not enough. conservationists insists land

needs to be protected for animals to survive and more. you need to think holistically about land, food and health. climate change, land use change, they are all deeply interconnect did. now all eyes turned to china, the world's gas greenhouse emitter which pledged carbon neutrality by 2050. translation: we need to uphold multilateralism and build synergy for global governments and the environment. but at a cost, 300- $400 billion a environment. but at a cost, 300— $400 billion a year is needed and there are political obstacles needed and there are political o bsta cles as needed and there are political obstacles as there is pushback from brazil where its leader is accused of not doing enough to protect the amazon. translation: we shall defend it

against actions and narratives that may prove harmful to our national interest. as action stalls, the world melts. on the streets of new york, activist target difficult photos. they are the faces of extinction today. these cultures are melting just like their commitment have melted for protecting the world's oceans and biodiversity. as hope trips away during a pandemic blamed on human proximity to wildlife, there is you push for new resources but with global action postponed until next year, some question if leaders are leaving it too late. mark lobel, bbc news. 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. anchor: 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. way to go. much more for you on the bbc website and twitter feed. thank you so much for

watching. hello. thursday offers up the promise of a drier 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 14—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, jersey maybe 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 presidential debates in the us is to take steps to avoid a repeat of the chaotic and ugly first debate between donald trump and joe biden. there are two more debates between them to come. the trump campaign has said the rules should not be changed in the middle of the game. joe biden has condemned the president for not clearly denouncing the white supremacist group known as the proud boys. mr trump has now said he doesn't know who the proud boys are, and suggested such right—wing groups 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 has urged wealthier countries to start funding a global coronavirus vaccine plan using money from their own national programmes to help ensure there would be enough supplies of any vaccine for poorer countries. the head of the global vaccine alliance has appealed for more countries tojoin.