a very warm welcome to bbc news. my name's mike embley. our top stories: president trump walks away from negotiations over a multi—trillion dollar covid relief deal to support the us economy. senior white house adviser, stephen miller, becomes the latest of over a dozen members of donald trump's inner circle to test positive for coronvirus. with coronavirus keeping the president off the campaign trail, joe biden tells voters that the us is in a dangerous place. and eddie van halen, one of rock's greatest guitarists, dies of cancer. long—time friend and fellow music legend, gene simmonds,

pays his own tribute. you grab the nearest generation x, or z or whatever the hell they're calling themselves or a millennium, grab them by the ear and take them away from the staff that is being played and let them hear van halen so they understand what greatness is. president trump says he's putting on hold negotiations over a stimulus package to help the us economy recover from the pandemic. earlier, he said he's prepared to go ahead next week with the second televised debate against his democratic rivaljoe biden, despite his treatment for covid and ongoing questions about his health. and in the past few hours, it's been confirmed that another senior member of the white house, stephen miller, has tested positiive for coronavirus. in a statement, president

trump's advisor said he's been self—isolating and working from home over the last five days and had tested negative every day until tuesday. our correspondent lebo diseko in washington has the latest details on how covid—19 is spreading among those close to president trump. yesterday i counted more than a dozen. even more today. as you said, stephen miller announcing that he has tested positive. also today several senior members of the pentagon have had to work at home because there has been someone that tested positive there. so itjust seems like every day we have more cases at the top levels of government, the top levels of the republican party, and i am just not sure when it is going to stop really. i'm sure donald trump was hoping it would have done by now. some shock, i think, that the president has cancelled these talks over the stimulus package. he has always pushed the economy as his strongest suit. well, the stock market really reacted to it,

as we saw, and the interesting thing is that it came just hours afterjerome powell, the chair of the federal reserve, said that actually what we need is more stimulus. now, donald trump has accused nancy pelosi's side, the democrats, of playing games, and saying that they were never in it to help ordinary workers. nancy pelosi has accused donald trump's side, the republicans, of not wanting to help poor children. it really shows you how divided they are and, yeah, just how far apart they seem. now, donald trump also said that he plans to push through his own stimulus deal when he has won the election. president trump, of course, seems to be at pains to present himself as ready for absolutely anything, including the next presidential debate, which there has been some doubt over. i know we have heard joe biden just in the past few hours talking about that. today, we are engaged once again in a battle for the soul of the nation.

the forces of darkness, the forces of division, the forces of yesterday are pulling us apart, holding us down and holding us back. we must free ourselves of all of them. mr biden there, of course, talking about the state of the country as he sees it, but there has been a lot of uncertainty about the next debate and i know he has suggested perhaps it should not go ahead if the president is still ill. what's been the reponse to that? it is a difficult one for a politician because it is easy to present that sort of call as looking weak. yeah, i mean, that was breaking just as i came in the studio to speak to you. i saw that pop up on the associated press wires. it suppose it does putjoe biden in a difficult position. first of all, you have to say, how are they going to assess whether he still has coronavirus? if i count the days — i'm not a doctor — but if i count the days, the date that the debate is due to be is not

within that 14 day window but, ifjoe biden says he's not going to do the debate, it does allows trump to say, well, he has pulled out. it is a really tricky one. in terms of the speech that joe biden made earlier, it was really significant where he chose to make the speech — it was in gettysburg, in pennsylvania, the site of a really key battle in the civil war, and also the site of one of lincoln's most famous addresses. and really, he said there was no better place to make this speech. he talked about america being divided, he talked about it being a dangerous place at the moment and really said that he was the candidate to bring the country together. we've heard him say this before, we've also heard him say this is a battle for the soul of the nation,

but i think all of that, along with the location, and the themes that he brought in, even drawing on some of lincoln's words, really had a positive reaction from many people that watched it in washington today. several senior members of the military warranting scenes and admiral tested positive. well for his take on the president's health i spoke with dr peter chin hong, an infectious disease expert and professor of medicine at the univeristy of california san francisco. i asked him for his analysis on just how long the president may have been infectious and how his recovery seems to be going. what was really remarkable is that president trump went from a positive test having very mild to moderate symptoms and that does not happen overnight. in fact, the average time for infection to development of symptoms is in the order of four or five days, so it does suggest that he was infected at least several days before he had symptoms.

the white house has been very careful orjust simply has not been saying when he last had a negative test. that does suggest he may have been going, for instance, to a fundraiser with lots and lots of people while he was infectious? that is exactly my concern, mike. the fact that last tuesday, with the presidential debate, the president was accepted based on an honour system, and not tested on that day, was not — you know, did not give people a lot of confidence and, of course, we knew subsequently that he ended up being positive. if you were advising him and advising the white house, do you think of the vice presidential debate in 2a hours or so and the next presidential debate should go ahead? well, mike, i think it can go ahead but only if people have the skin and teeth and the resolve to enforce the guidelines that have been put forward. for example, i know they've wanted to use flexiglass which adds another layer of protection for the speakers, and if no—one wants to wear masks in the audience, they should really be ejected, not just say that you're

going to be ejected, but actually do it. can you tell us something about the treatment he is under? some physicians have described some it as really groundbreaking, possibly quite tricky, and that not so much is known about them, and also the sense that some of them are like a sugar rush, you may not notice, you may not realise how ill you are. yes, so a lot of the presidential treatments so far for covid—i9 would not apply to you or myself, mike, if we were hospitalised right now. he has got an investigational agent, regeneron, which is only in the context of a trial, usually. we do not have evidence of it but it probably is not harmful. remdesivir, we have good evidence for. i think that was appropriate. and use of steroid dexamethasone was given earlier than we would normally do in regular clinical care. dexamethasone can actually make

you feel very euphoric, can give you a sense of invincibility. i took some myself for a short time a while ago and i can tell you that you get a buzz with that. in an interview with the bbc, armenia's prime minister has said that ethnic armenians living in the disputed region of nagorno—karabakh are facing genocide. the two countries are clashing over the enclave, which is officially part of azerbaijan but is run by ethnic armenians. the fighting between the two former soviet republics is the worst seen in decades and both countries blame each other for the violence. our correspondentjonah fisher filed this report from yerevan. sirens and explosions ten days in, there is no sign of either armenia or azerbaijan easing up. in and around the disputed region of nagorno—karabakh, shells are falling on cities and on civilians.

with people fleeing and having lost territory, armenia's prime minister is on the defensive. under international law, armenia has been illegally occupying nagorno—kara bakh and the adjacent areas for more than 25 years. you can see why some people have very little sympathy for your plight... translation: that is not true. it is true. look at international law, look at the un general assembly resolutions. translation: there is no such international law that you are citing. everyone is citing the un general assembly resolutions but very few people, unfortunately, have read them. there isn't anything in it to say that armenia has occupied anything. that is not the case. explosion there is very little armenia can do to stop nagorno—karabakh being targeted from the air. this weekend we experienced first hand the terror of shells

landing randomly nearby. translation: you have come back from stepa na kert, and it's because you have seen today that the armenians in nagorno—karabakh are facing an existential threat. it is an existential threat, so the whole problem is, if the armed forces of azerbaijan succeed, it will mean a genocide of the armenians in nagorno—karabakh. azerbaijan is carrying out this offensive with turkey's full backing and today the turkish foreign minister met the azeri president. no social distancing here. both men stated their determination to reclaim nagorno—karabakh. armenia's best bet for support is russia, but for now moscow seems content to watch, as the fighting continues. jonah fisher, bbc news.

the government in kyrgyzstan has handed over power to the opposition, and a new prime minister has been appointed. there's been violent protests in the country after a parliamentary election on sunday, which the opposition says was rigged. the president remains in office, and has accused his opponents of an attempted coup. almaz tchoroev reports from the kyrgyz capital, bishkek. protesters putting the boot in. the president had already fled his office. they were angry no opposition party got a seat in parliament after the elections on sunday. they say they read the vote. the president is at a secret location but gave me an interview via telephone. —— rigged. translation: i'm ready to give opposition strong

leaders. it appears to be some sort of an olive branch. the commission has annulled the result. protesters a re commission has annulled the result. protesters are on the streets of bishkek. they say they want free and fair elections. translation: the council is not concerned with trading, our main goal is to ensure we govern legitimately. who will be president, speaker, prime minister, is not important. the president says he ordered security services not to failure this is still an u nsta ble not to failure this is still an unstable situation in a resource rich nation. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: one worlds most revered

guitarists, eddie van halen, one world's most revered guitarists, eddie van halen, has died at 65. this was a celebration by people who were relishing their freedom. they believe everything's going to be different from now on. they think their country will be respected in the world once more, as it used to be, before slobodan milosevic took power. the dalai lama, the exiled spiritual leader of tibet, has won this year's nobel peace prize. as the parade was reaching its climax, two grenades exploded and a group of soldiersjumped from a military truck taking part in the parade, and ran towards the president, firing from kalashnikov automatic rifles. after 437 years, the skeletal ribs of henry viii's tragic warship emerged. but even as divers worked to buoy her up, the mary rose

went through another heart—stopping drama. i want to be the people's governor. i want to represent everybody. i believe in the people of california. good to have you read this on bbc news. one main headline this hour: president trump walks away from negotiations over a multi—trillion dollar covid relief deal to support the us economy. more on this now. president trump says he will only pass a stimulus package after he wins the election next month. his democratic party opponent, joe biden slammed the president for turning his back on the american people. joining me now is heather long, economics correspondent with the washington post.

thank you very much for your time, i know you are very busy and have been waiting to talk to us. is this a recognition, these talks seem to be stalled, not going anywhere, or is it more than that? is a little bit more than that? is a little bit more than that? is a little bit more than that. president trump made this a surprising tweet this afternoon after he got off the phone with the senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, and he said to drop, you can't have both, you can't have a stimulus deal and get the supreme court nominee that justice amy coney barrett is. you have to choose one or the other, and mitch mcconnell urged him to choose the supreme court and trump tweeted shortly thereafter that stimulus talks we re thereafter that stimulus talks were on hold until after the elections and said focus full—time on the supreme court nominee. what are likely to be the impacts of that decision?

it's pretty serious for the us economy, obviously the stock market dropped pretty rapidly as soon market dropped pretty rapidly as soon as that tweet came out, and the reality is the us is half recovered from this devastating economic blow, and a lot of small businesses, big and small in the united states we re and small in the united states were really counting on more money coming through from this government aid, a number of our lines in the united states have just announced massive layoffs, disney, a well—known company around the world announced 28,000 layoffs, and many small businesses, 40% of us restau ra nts businesses, 40% of us restaurants have said they cannot survive another six months without more aid, so this is very critical for the united states economy, and even economists in the president was my good party have been urging him to pull the trigger and do more aid, and there were pretty close, the house speaker

pelosi, was within about $500 billion of each other, which is a lot of money, but is pretty close gap to bridge at this point. just briefly the president offered talks about the stock market as well as it was the us economy, but quite clearly whoever wins the election, and economic nightmare to deal with. it definitely will be, both candidates have committed to doing more stimulus after the election, but of course, they have to make a deal, and it seemed obvious since august that the united states needed more money, we have 26 million americans still receiving unemployment insurance, and more major layoffs announced as we speak. thank you very much. the north—east coast of mexico is bracing itself for the arrival of hurricane delta. the category 4 storm is expected to be the biggest to hit the country since hurricane wilma in 2005.

it's then forecast to move across the gulf of mexico before hitting the united states. paul hawkins has more. boarding up and stocking up. the yucatan peninsula is on high alert for hurricane delta, the 26 main storm of an unusually active hurricane storm season. locals who have been told to have enough food and waterfor been told to have enough food and water for three days a. anyway the wind blows, it's guaranteed to be powerful, with rain and winds of 225 kilometres an hour on the way. translation: instructions have been given to mobilise 5000 officials to the peninsular. to yucatan, with all the necessary equipment to protect the population. we will be on alert and hopefully the hurricane will lose strength or change its path. can turn is famed for

its path. can turn is famed for its nightlife and beach resorts. tourism is its lifeblood. the pandemic has hit the economy gerhard. 40,000 tourists, a fraction of the usual number are being evacuated from the coast. translation: the measures being taken in the hotel is to evacuate taken in the hotel is to eva cuate eve ryo ne taken in the hotel is to evacuate everyone as a precaution. those who did not make managers to their flights or have to go directly to the shelter to protect themselves. with our first hurricane, we are scared. although we have been living here for five yea rs, been living here for five years, its first hurricane and the truth is that we are very nervous. the storm surge of two to three metres in places forecast, both have been secured, or even better, pulled from the water. the storm is strengthening over the caribbean sea by 137 kilometres per hour injust caribbean sea by 137 kilometres per hour in just 24 hours, the fastest rate of intensification

since hurricane wilma in 2005, the last major storm to hit the mexican coast to. back then it took the economy six months to recover, which is why this time, the officials here are taking it so seriously. after mexico, delta will strengthen over the gulf of mexico, its warm waters feeding the wins before it weakens a little and then slams into louisiana on friday. let's get some of the day's other news us secretary of state mike pompeo has lashed out at china at a meeting of us regional allies in tokyo. speaking at the start of talks with his japanese, australian and indian counterparts, he called on them to unite against what he called china's "exploitation, corruption and coercion". and he accused the chinese communist party of a cover—up over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. a report by the us house of representatives has accused the four giant american tech companies of anti—competitive practices and abuse of power. the report says amazon, apple,

facebook and google have dominated online activities and businesses by buying up potential rivals and forcing competitors to use their technology. eddie van halen, considered one of the greatest ever rock guitarists, has died aged 65. the co—founder and lead guitarist of van halen had been suffering from throat cancer. the band was a huge commercial success in the seventies and eighties, selling more than 80 million records worldwide. a little earlier i spoke to rock legend gene simmons and co lead singer of heavy metal icons kiss. i asked him to share some of his memories of eddie van halen. i saw them in a club a long, long time ago. and i was so awed by

the class and grandeur. it difficult to talk in rock terms about a band that did not use tapes or backing tracks. nothing like that. all that music came out of eddie's hands. i hadn't heard a player like that since hendrix. for me, it's heartbreaking today because i remember young, innocent eddie van halen who must have been 20 years old. i took the band into the studio and we recorded 15 songs that i had produced. but it ain't about me, i want to take a moment to tell you that it is very seldom you meet somebody who is a pure soul, who is a beautiful person. i never once heard eddie say anything bad about anybody, and especially other bands. and as you can well imagine, this business is full of big

egos, yours truly included. eddie was an aw—shucks kind of matter—of—fact guy. sorry, i am getting choked up. i'll tell you a sad story. i hadn't seen eddie years and i ran into him on sunset boulevard, and he had a cigarette in his hand and i didn't know what to say. "how you doing?" he said, "yeah, man, i got cancer. what are you gonna do?" i wasjust... i was struck by it. and then he did the strangest thing. he opened up his mouth and showed me what his upper palate looked like. you know, it's the ravages of cancer. i wanted to reach out — i didn't know what to do. and he sort of brushed it off. it was kind of like, ‘eh‘. and you — you get speechless when you meet somebody who really enjoyed life.

i never saw him hang out at the usual clubs where rock stars go for the money and the chicks and all of that stuff, never once. it was all about the music. and if you ever saw van halen live — and if you haven't, shame on you — if you ever saw that band live, when eddie played guitar, he would be smiling from ear to ear. iwasjust looking back, gene, and that gig that you saw at a small angeles club must have been ‘76 or so. you helped them make theirfirst demo. you've known him for a long time. he did always look like he was having such a great time, but he really did have a great time, he pushed it. just — he really lived life the way you should, just enjoy it. you only get one time around. and my prayers and condolences to his family and his friends and certainly to the fans, greatness has passed.

and there will never be another like him. sorry, i'm getting choked up over here. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @bbc mike embley. hello there. many of us saw some rain at some point during the day on tuesday. and there were some big puddles out and about on the roads. for example, in the highlands of scotland with the wet weather here, and it wasn't just in scotland, the rain was pretty extensive and at its heaviest across north—west england, where in rochdale, and in the greater manchester area, we picked up 42mm of rain. that was the wettest place in the country. it did bring one or two localised issues. now, we've still got a few showers at the moment, then a clearer slice of weather, but further out in the atlantic, the next lump of cloud is developing, and this will bring rain late in the day on wednesday across many areas. right now, we've got some rain across the north—west of scotland. that rain will be with us well

until wednesday to be honest. southwards, a few showers coming down through the irish sea, one or two of those might be picked up in north—west england, particularly around cumbria and north lancashire for a time. otherwise, a slice of sunny weather for northern ireland, wales, and western england. those sunny skies pushing eastwards as we go through the day. some reasonable weather and much more in the way of sunshine compared with tuesday. later in the day, we will see rain returning to northern ireland, wales and south—west england, and along with the rain, it will turn increasingly windy from the south—west late in the day, gusts of about 40—45 miles an hourorso around the coast and hills. that rain extends northwards, probably reaching southernmost areas of scotland for a time. certainly we're looking at a wet night wednesday night, and then the rain slowly clears away from eastern areas of england. a mixture of sunshine and showers follow from the north and west. it will begin to turn cooler across north—western areas. temperature about nine degrees in stornoway, 11 in glasgow.

but perhaps around 17 degrees or so for a time in london. that rain band should clear well to the south, but there is a small chance it could ripple its way back. either way, on friday, it looks like we will see a mixture of showers or some lengthier outbreaks of rain, so it is staying on the unsettled side, the air getting cooler for most of us, with temperatures dropping. highs, 10—15 celsius. into the weekend, we will be greeted with a northerly blast coming down, and that will make you feel quite chilly if you're out and about. it will also bring showers down to some of our eastern coasts and into the north of scotland as well. so, not entirely dry. it will feel quite cool in those strong winds in the east.

this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump has ended negotiations with congress over a multitrillion—dollar stimulus package intended to help the american economy recover from the pandemic. he says he will only resume talks after the election. us stock markets fell on that announcement. the senior white house adviser stephen miller is the latest of more than a dozen members of donald trump's inner circle to test positive for coronavirus — since the president announced he has covid—19. several senior military officials are also quarantining since one of their colleagues, coastguard official admiral charles ray, tested positive. one of the worlds most revered guitarists, eddie van halen,

has died at 65. the rock and roll hall of famer was known for his distinctive playing. his son wolfgang paid tribute to him on social media, saying he was the best father he could ever ask for. it is about 3:30am. now on bbc news: panorama. oh, my god! it was really difficult to see. we had trees burning on either side. we're worried about them coming down. it's been a year since fires spread across australia, scorching and charring at a speed never seen before. the flame heights were jumping to the 60, 70—metre mark well in excess of the crown of the trees. at least 33 people died. an area, bigger than the size of england, laid to waste. it's been called an apocalypse, a nightmare, looking like the gates of hell. whoa! kangaroo!