welcome to bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: one of president trump's closest advisers, hope hicks, tests positive for coronavirus. the european union agrees immediate sanctions on a0 leaders in belarus responsible for the country's controversial election, but president lukashenko himself is not on the list. anger in india after the death of a second woman in a few days from an alleged gang rape. the rise in extremism is centre stage in the us presidential race. we report from portland, hearing from members of both far—right and far—left groups. and — arise, princess delphine — the daughter of a former king who has now been given

an official title. hello, welcome to the programme. some breaking news: one of president trump's closest and most senior advisers, hope hicks, has tested positive for coronavirus. she travelled with him to a campaign rally in minnesota and to the presidential debate in clevela nd. ms hicks is the closest person to the president known to have contracted covid—19. both the president and first lady are being tested for the virus. let's speak to our north america correspondent, peter bowes. what do we know about what is going on here? we know from

several us officials, citing multiple sources, that hope hicks has contracted coronavirus. as you say, she is one of the president was my closest advisers. she has travelled with him on at least two occasions this week, to minnesota for that rally and as the world saw on tuesday, she was with the president, having travelled on air force one to clear land for the debate. there is a photograph circulating now on social media of her leaving that flight and arriving, not wearing a face mask, obviously in the next few days going to be the subject of some scrutiny. peter, i am sorry to stop you mid— flow. we are having trouble with the line. we will come back to peter as soon we can re—establish that line. for now, peter bowes, thank you very much. next, the european union will immediately impose sanctions on belarusian leaders involved in the country's flawed presidential election and the crackdown on the opposition which followed.

travel bans and asset freezes will affect a0 members of president alexander lukashenko's regime. mr lukashenko himself is not on the list. our news reporter, mark lobel, has more on what the eu has decided. well, it's clear the eu has not accepted the election result in belarus and they said it was an illegitimate inauguration. for pro—democracy protesters on the streets of minsk, they wanted more concrete steps. finally they have this. sanctions on a0 officials following those september 9 elections and the crackdown on the protests that followed. as you said, president lukashenko isn't that list. the president of the european council's reasoning he's not on the current list, and is following the situation closely. his aim is to have dialogues,

presumably his implying if they don't happen, he might be put on the list. so, other options open for the european union, and the delay, this happened a while ago? britain and canada have already imposed sanctions. the eu have to come to an agreement with all of their member states. cypress was saying if we're going to have sanctions on belarus, why don't we have on turkey? they are furious at them for drilling for gas in their waters. this is an ongoing dispute. so what the eu have agreed is a double strategy, as they call it, a carrot—and—stick approach. they're not going to bring in sanctions on turkey, but they will be looking very closely at what turkey does, hoping they will improve their behaviour in this regard. now, it's a delicate relationship with turkey, turkey want to become a member of the eu, that is the carrot, if you like, and also they have been helping out with the migrant crisis. but it is still a soreness for cyprus. ursula von der leyen, the commissioner president had this to say... we won a positive

relationship with turkey. and this would be very much in ankara's interest, but it will only work if the provocations and pressures stop. we therefore expect from now on turkey to abstain from unilateral actions and in case of such actions are from ankara, the eu will use all of its instruments and options available. that is interesting. keeping the options available. that is the kind of wider international outlook. let's go back to belarus, reminders where all this started with that election? well, people on the streets of belarus have really sent the message around the world. they don't think it was a fair election, they are not determining their own future. we have seen protests every sunday in minsk. many of the protesters have been bundled away and many of the opposition leaders from different parts of the opposition, there's nothing unifying them as such, have had to flee, have had to leave the borders in belarus. a lot of this has caused

a lot of concern. president lukashenko's reaction has been to dig in. he has received financial support from president putin. there's yet more outrage in india following the alleged gang rape and killing of a second young woman. it follows the death of a 19—year—old woman on tuesday. both women were from the lower—caste dalit community. despite laws to protect them, they face widespread discrimination. she sobs devastated and heartbroken. another indian mother torn apart by grief. under indian law, we can't show you herface, nor the face of the victim, her daughter. her death came two weeks afterfour men allegedly brutalised, tortured and gang raped her. some details too horrific to relay. a heinous crime, but one that india is all too familiar with. she was a dalit, formally known as untouchable, the lowest in the hindu

caste system. her case has brought into focus the powerlessness felt by those at the bottom of it. the dalit girl stripped of her dignity in life, and also, the family claim, in death. the police, they told us, hastily cremated her body in the dead of night, despite their protests. translation: i spent the whole night crying. i didn't know what had happened. they could have shown us her body and let us conduct the last rites. one doesn't get closure if this isn't done. they beat some people and the car reached the funeral ground. they started beating family members and kicking them there. is this any way to behave? the treatment of this dalit family by the state police, supposed to protect

and deliverjustice to all, has sparked nationwide outrage. the incident, barely 200 kilometres from the capital city of delhi in the city of hathras, has exposed india's social fault lines. this case is about caste and this case is about caste supremacy, and they have committed this offence just to teach a lesson to this particular family because, as a dalit family and as a dalit girl, she is not supposed to assert her right, not even as an equal citizen, but even as a human being. dalits in india have suffered discrimination and violence for generations due to a caste structure that pushes them to the bottom of the social hierarchy. those from the upper caste often use their status to dominate and even humiliate those beneath them through physical and at many times sexual violence. india sees 87 rapes every single day, but the barbarity of this crime has once again

brought protesters out onto the streets. in 2012, a young student was brutally tortured and gang raped on a moving bus in new delhi. the case attracted global headlines and sparked unprecedented protests, forcing the government to introduce the death penalty for rapists in india. but it's achieved little. the cult of masculinity is the biggest demerit of policing in india. whether it is a police station, whether it is the subculture in which the police operates, the cult of masculinity that percolates down to the dna of policing needs to be set right and that would be a major course correction. the dust has barely settled on this case, but news of another gang rape and murder are dominating headlines. a 22—year—old woman, allegedly drugged, tortured and raped, died on her way to the hospital in the same state. another grim reminder of the realities on the ground. a shocked india reflects today. what more can be done to stop

this horrific trend? let's get more now on our top story, one of president trump's top aides, hope hicks, has tested positive for coronavirus. peter, what more do we know here? we know from several us media outlets, they have been citing multiple sources saying that hope hicks has contracted coronavirus, and as you have reported, she has been seen on a couple of occasions travelling with the president this week, in minnesota on wednesday for a rally and of course for that debate on tuesday in cleveland. a photograph has emerged, posted in social media in the last few hours of the hope hicks getting off air force one without wearing a mask. no doubt that may well become an issue, at least the issue of right a lot of scrutiny over the next few

days. scrutiny, certainly. talk is dirty testing regime of donald trump and those around him. -- donald trump and those around him. —— talk us through the testing regime. we are told by the president himself he is tested regularly, it seems almost on a daily basis. and that applies to people who come in very close contact with the president. i knowjournalists arriving at the white house up until recently, although this has ended, they are temperature tested like you might be tested when you go to a local hospital foran when you go to a local hospital for an appointment. that testing has stopped. it seems the white house has to some extent relaxed its measures to stop anyone getting in the building and on—site that might the virus. as far as the president is concerned, he has been kept pretty closely guarded from others that have not been tested, although this has become a political issue,

he has become outspoken about theissue he has become outspoken about the issue of wearing masks, poking fun at others including joe biden, always in wearing a mask, even taking the mickey out ofjoe biden for wearing a particularly large mask. it seems the president doesn't have as much confidence or at least acknowledge the need to wear a mask, as closely as some of his medical advisors. he has been holding rallies where they have been lots of people there, but not wearing masks and not being social distancing rules. yes. and the president when we heard this in the debate, almost gloating about the fact he continues to go ahead with those rallies. he stressed they we re those rallies. he stressed they were outside and it seems the president believes that is a safe situation. it is interesting. we have had a short statement from a white house official, acknowledging by name hope hicks has contracted the virus, that is in line with the white house's response in other cases of

people who work at the white house and they cite medical privacy reasons. they say contact tracing is being done and the appropriate notifications and accommodations have been made. this is clearly a situation the white house is taking seriously. thank you for bringing us up to speed with all about. you, peter. bringing us up to speed with allabout. you, peter. —— bringing us up to speed with all about. you, peter. —— thank you, peter. one of the moments during this week's us presidential debate that sparked the most headlines was when donald trump failed to condemn white supremacist groups, in particular one called the proud boys. our north america correspondent, aleem maqbool, sends this report from portland, where he met both left—wing activists and the proud boys. it's become the us capital of radicalism. most american cities have seen some demonstrations this year, but here, they haven't stopped. and it's become a huge election issue. well, this is what almost every night has looked like here in downtown portland, in the four months since

the police killing of george floyd in minneapolis, and there have been many flashpoints of violence. some feel over—aggression by the security forces has exacerbated tensions, but the white house says this isn't demonstrating about racial justice, just rioting by anarchists or antifa. a riot is the voice of the unheard. so if you don't want riots, maybe you should listen. it's not antifa in the streets. it's the people in the streets. it's the people that are being pushed around, the people that deserve life, they're in the streets. but it has led to loss of life. in late august, a large convoy of trump supporters drove past the protesters in portland, some firing paintballs at them. later that day, one trump supporter from a far—right group was shot dead. it's partly why the neo—fascist group the proud boys earlier this week decided to hold a rally in portland, flashing their white power signs. they'd predicted

thousands would attend. in the end, it was a few hundred. some who travelled far to be here told me they were looking for confrontation. this is an american city. this is — i'm still an american and i see my brothers and sisters living here in portland dealing with this on a daily basis, and i want to help them, and that's why we're here. we're here to shut down this violence and bring awareness, national attention. hopefully donald trump sees this. in the debate, when asked to condemn the actions of white supremacists, the president could only manage this. what do you want to call them? give me a name. white supremacists... proud boys... proud boys, stand back and stand by, but i'll tell you what, i'll tell you what, somebody‘s got to do something about antifa and the left... the proud boys have revelled in his response. back in portland, at the same

time as the proud boys gathering was a black lives matter rally. it's those here who've been taking to the streets night after night. many americans support their efforts to bring about change, but for others, these scenes are making them all the more determined to vote for donald trump. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in portland, oregon. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, back with a bang — the british satirical television show returning to lampoon a new generation of politicians. 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 news. the latest headlines: one of president trump's most senior advisers — hope hicks — tests positive for coronavirus. the european union agrees immediate sanctions on a0 leaders in belarus responsible

for the country's controversial election — but president lukashenko himself is not on the list. let's stay with that now. i think that it's very important to realise here, from the eu's point of view, what it did do and what it didn't do. yes, it launched long, drawn—out legal proceedings today, but it hasn't walked out the door on those trade negotiations. and why not, if it's so incensed about the internal market bill? well, for three reasons. first of all, because of the blame game. the eu says it doesn't want to be the first one to walk out of the door of negotiations. two, because the eu, like the uk, says it really wants a deal. and three, because the eu believes that if a deal is found, that will go

a long way to allaying the government's concerns reflected in the internal market bill, and the eu hopes that'll make the difficult part of the bill obsolete. so, now, we have to see what follows, whether they can actually reach those difficult compromises, because this is the end part of the negotiations. we've heard positive noises coming out of the uk. the eu is more cautious. and that, of course, is because compromise is politically tricky for both sides. the daughter of the former king of belgium has won a court battle that means she will now be entitled to be called a princess. king albert admitted he was the father of delphine boel in january this year, having fought her paternity claim for more than a decade. the bbc‘s tim allman has the story. artist, mother, wife — and now royalty. delphine boel exhibiting her work earlier this year. the illegitimate daughter of a former king, now a legitimate princess in the eyes of the law. the art she produces telling the story of her life. this is another poem, it's about shame, how i felt shameful ofjust my existence — just to remind you that i didn't become famous

because of my artistic talent. it was because i was the dirty laundry of albert ii. delphine boel was born in 1968. her mother was this woman, baroness sybille de selys longchamps, who claimed to have a long—term relationship with prince albert, heir to the belgian throne. delphine took legal action to try to prove she was her father, but by then he was king and enjoyed complete immunity. it was only after his abdication that a dna test could finally prove she was his biological daughter. as the courts confirmed her status, her half brother, king philippe, was swearing in his government. belgium has a new prime minister, and a new princess. tim allman, bbc news. for 2a years politicians and celebrities have been free of the curse of spitting image, living without fear

a british court has sentenced seven members of a romanian going for the audacious theft of rare books worth about $3 million. the first edition books by isaac newton and galileo were stolen by the gang ina daring galileo were stolen by the gang in a daring mission impossible style heist. they cut through the roof of a warehouse before abseiling down and avoiding motion detectors. 200 books we re motion detectors. 200 books were recovered from under the floor of the house in rural romania. for 2a years politicians and celebrities have been free of the curse of spitting image, living without fear of being mercilessly satired. but all of that comes to an end this saturday as the puppet show that defined the ‘80s and ‘90s returns on a uk commercial streaming service, britbox. featuring a whole new cast of characters the new series promises to be as outrageous as ever. let's take a look. what did you say this show is called? the name, or "nomine" to the romans, latin, is spitting image, darling. it's a sketch show with puppet caricatures, real people — it can be rather nasty.

puppets? that is the very most moronic thing i've ever heard. my puppet is going to be the best puppet, and i love it. matt forde, the voice of president trump and boris johnson, has been talking to the bbc‘s christian fraser and laura trevelyan. he was asked if spitting image is going to be as big and as bold as it was in the ‘80s. yes, it is. i mean, i'm 37, so i only remember the tail end of spitting image. but it was, i remember it being the most outrageous thing on telly, and i can tell you from the show we're putting together for this saturday, it's just as outrageous, grotesque and as ludicrous as it ever was. in the voice of borisjohnson, could you tell us how you've put this together? how are you working together? boris johnson imitation: well, cor, i mean, you know, typically the bbc wants to know, you know, the details. which, you know, some which must remain private, by the way. but to the honourable gentleman, in the spirit of the point in which he asks, it is a laborious process,

as you would imagine, involving creatives from all over the united, the uk, and we come together, they come together, and write on mondays, tuesdays, wednesdays and thursdays, and then some of these voice artistes, i gather some of them are pretty bloody good, will then lay down the audio, and then on the later days of the week, the puppeteers come in, and they do their magic, and then it is delivered, of course, as if by stork, to the eyes and ears of the nation, to britbox every saturday night. and how do you get in character for the voice of donald trump, then? well, with trump... i mean, both of them obviously are quite big characters anyway, in the personas they've created for themselves. so with trump i really try to go to town. so i start off with... donald trump impression: the trump impression, and it's great to be on your station, by the way, i'm a big, big, fan of abc

news, you guys do great work in australia too. two of the best women i've ever been on tv with, you're really great people. and, so you start with that, and then the softness that he does.. speaks softly: i think it is beautiful, by the way, and i do know that. and he will talk to himself, we're going to do great things, and i know we are, people don't think we are, but i know we are. normal voice: so you start with that, and because you're such a cartoony character and because because the puppet is so grotesque, i've kind of played with the voice a bit more. do you do the left, as well? do you do sir keir? yes, i do keir starmer, so he's at the other end. trump is really big, trump i really try — i put noises in that perhaps that he wouldn't do, but noises that sound like the sort of thing trump would do, so i kind of make him squeak a lot. trump impression: we can't trust these people, they're very sneaky! normal voice: and even though he doesn't sound like that,

it's the sort of noise you can imagine him making. whereas keir starmer, he's obviously at the other end of the spectrum, he's highly contained, very professional, very pragmatic, very lawyerly and parliamentary. in terms of getting his voice, he sounds a bit like he's got a permanent blocked nose that he can't shake off. maybe not a fully blocked nose, maybe just one nostril blocked. keir starmer impression: the prime minister has been very clear, as have we, that we will support the government when it does the right thing, and that emphasis sometimes, but it is a kind of blocked — it's halfway to alan rickman and a little bit ofjosh widdicombe. it's just kind of... he's got a partial blockage, is the way that i've started with keir starmer. matt forde — the voice of boris, donald and many others — speaking to my colleagues, christian fraser and laura trevelyan. a quick reminder of our top story this hour. one of president donald trump is my closest a nd president donald trump is my closest and most senior advisers, hope hicks, has tested positive for coronavirus. she travelled with mrtrump aboard air coronavirus. she travelled with mr trump aboard air force one this week to a campaign rally

in minnesota. you can find me on twitter anytime @lvaughanjones. i am on twitter anytime @lvaughanjones. iam lewis vaughan—jones, and this is bbc news. hello. september was a drier than average month across much of the uk, but as you know, its october now, and here comes the rain, initially from this area of low pressure, named storm alex by the weather service in france for impacts there, but nonetheless, parts of the uk are also going to see some very wet and windy weather from that during friday. particularly in england and wales, where it starts very wet in southern england and south wales. the rain moves northwards across the rest of wales, the midlands and east anglia during the day.

it clears from parts of southern england, though, to further showers, and it's windy with those strong easterly winds gusting on the south coast, perhaps nearer 60 mph at times, especially the coast of south—west england, nearer 70 mph in the channel islands. now, for scotland and northern ireland, well, there are a few showery bursts of rain in north—west scotland to the west of northern ireland to start the day. that will slowly fade, staying damp in shetland, but much of scotland and northern ireland, sunny spells and a dry afternoon after a chilly start. a chilly start in northern england, a few fog patches around. cloud increasing from the south. the further south you are in northern england, you could see some rain edging in during the afternoon. highs of around 12—16 degrees — that will make for a warmer day in northern scotland then we had on thursday. so, still some rain and brisk winds into england and wales overnight and into saturday morning. if anything, these north—easterly winds will start to strengthen a bit further

as the night goes on. slightly chilly where we have some clear spells in scotland and northern ireland. so, as we go on through saturday, then, more rain to come, heavy at times in england and wales. it may clear from parts of south—east england and east anglia into the afternoon. rain heading from east to west across scotland, reaching in towards northern ireland saturday evening, saturday night. still very windy, particularly across parts of south—west england and into the channel islands. similar temperatures to what we see on friday. further rain overnight and into sunday, with low pressure sitting right across the uk on sunday. there will be outbreaks of rain or showers, some heavy, around. still quite windy around this area of low pressure, and rain totals certainly mounting towards north—east scotland and, over several days, mounting across south—west england.

s:/startfeed. this is bbc news, the headlines: one of president donald trump's most senior advisers — hope hicks — has tested positive for coronavirus. ms hicks travelled with mr trump aboard air force one this week to a campaign rally in minnesota. she also accompanied him to the state of ohio for the presidential debate in cleveland. the european union will immediately impose sanctions on belarusian leaders involved in the country's flawed presidential election and the crackdown on the opposition that followed. travel bans and asset freezes will affect a0 members of president alexander lukashenko's regime. mr lukashenko himself is not on the list. there have been more angry protests in india after the death of a second woman in an alleged gang rape. she was also from the badly marginalised dalit community.

both killings have sparked national revulsion, but gender and caste—based violence continue to be endemic in the country. now on bbc news, panorama. my name is alex and i am a coronavirus tracer. my grey hairs have come through trying to deal with this system, it is driving me mad! we will have a test track and trace operation that will be world beating. i'm also a whistle—blower filming my experience as nhs test and trace goes live. i have no idea what that means, communication buffer. i speak to families confused by the new system.