this is bbc news, the headlines. this is bbc news. i'm aaron safir. sudan is to normalise our top stories. relations with israel — the third arab state to do sudan is to normalise so in two months. diplomatic relations with israel — the third arab us president donald trump made the announcment and said state to do so in two months. he expects saudi arabia as coronavirus infections to follow soon. palestinians have reacted surge in europe again — angrily to the announcement, the world health organisation describing it as another stab in the back. issues a new warning. several countries in europe have reported coronavirus infection rates we are at a critical higher than during the first wave of the pandemic juncture in this pandemic. in the spring. particularly in the in france, the government has northern hemisphere. the next few months imposed an overnight curfew on two—thirds of the country which will operate are going to be very tough. for the next six weeks. protests spread across poland — after a court ruling banning virtually all abortions. protests are spreading across poland — after a court the demonstrations are taking place despite tight ruling banning virtually all abortion — with exceptions coronavirus restrictions. only for cases of rape, incest, or where the mother's health is at risk. poland already has some of the singing. eu's strictest abortion laws. how one london company the demonstrations are taking place despite tight is determined to change coronavirus restrictions.

the face of opera. keep going. don't give up. and go forward. now on bbc news, click talks exclusively with legendary uk rapper stormzy about his appearance in the upcoming hello and welcome to bbc news. president trump has announced a dealfor sudan and israel to normalise relations. it makes sudan the third arab league nation to formally recognise israel in less than three months — allowing the trump administration to boast of a foreign policy win with just over a week to the presidential elections. the bbc‘s washington correspondent nomia iqbal has more. president trump invited those to witness to the change with

the leaders of israel and saddam on the phone. it couldn't help but take a swipe at his democratic presidential rival, joe biden as he spoke to the israeli leader benjamin netanyahu. the israeli leader benjamin neta nyahu. do you the israeli leader benjamin netanyahu. do you think sleepy joe could have made this deal? do you think he would've made this deal? somehow i don't think so. in return, sadat has been removed from a list of state—sponsored terrorism. been removed from a list of state-sponsored terrorism. was now allowed the north african nation to receive much—needed economic aid. —— sudan has been removed. mike pompeo visited sudan's capital in august. he was the first us secretary of state to do so in more than a decade. to help make way for is now the third arab league country to formally recognise israel. after the uae and bahrain. this gives credibility to donald trump two reputation asa to donald trump two reputation as a deal—maker. and is a huge foreign policy win for him. he is trying to push this a step towards getting what he considers the deal of the

century, peace between the israelis and the palestinians. but palestinian officials have called this latest move a further betrayal. we totally did not think this deal. —— are totally did nothing. we are sure the sudanese people and national parties, the people of sudan also real will reject this deal because sudan and the people of sudan have firm standing with the palestinian cause. it it was back in sudan when arab nations agree to never negotiate with israel untilan never negotiate with israel until an independent state with established. but priority they're changing for some countries who now see the benefit of working with a us president who is open to making deals. and that is increasingly leaving palestinians sidelined. we can now speak to mark fathi massoud who is professor of politics and legal studies at uc santa cruza. he was born in sudan as well as being an author on sudan's rule of law.

thank you very much forjoining us. thank you very much forjoining us. we heard this ward normalisation a few times lately when it comes to israel and arab countries. what what can we expect not to change between israel and sudan? thank you for having me. i'm not sure what will change actually aside from a few things at the top. it is telling that the deal that was made, has been in the works for some time now. it is telling it was announced by the united states that israel and sudan took the sidelines, typically in international mediation of this, the countries that are having the conflict with one another will ta ke conflict with one another will take the centre stage, so i wonder what good this will do ultimately for israel and also for sudan. and to the extent to which you will do some good for the united states as well. you go further than that actually because you said that today's deal may prove to be bad for sudan and for the us in the

long run. can you explain that? yes. you know, when one cannot conjecture about the future too much but i will try to do in a sense that in sudan's history, there have been over the last 64 years since his independence with the uk, democracies and sudan have not lasted for more than three or four years. for the sudanese people, the clock is ticking to another dictatorship. i know the current transitional government isa current transitional government is a fragile one, it is doing its best, the people they are doing their best to survive, and this is a crumbling economy, and i feared and this is a crumbling economy, and ifeared that and this is a crumbling economy, and i feared that a decision like this that is not made with real input, both from israeli civil society leaders as well as sudanese civil society leaders committed really made at the very top, i'm not sure a deal like this will stick in the long run. it may even embolden conservatives who might want to use this law

for the own purposes and even embolden them to say hey, look at what this transitional quote unquote democracy did for sudan, it did more for israel thanit sudan, it did more for israel than it did for sudan. in may embolden them to want to overthrow this democracy when actually what we should be doing to supporting it. i'm not saying that relations are bad between sudan and israel. whenever two countries decide to make peace, that is usually a good thing. i'm saying right now maybe is not the best time with the sudanese people in the sudanese government is on his knees. it is tough to make a deal when one party is on his knees. very briefly if you can come of the other element to all this is sudan coming off a list of state sponsors of terrorism. what are the immediate impact of that for sudan? yes. if sudan gets off that list, it can unlock the atm, the cash machine of foreign aid, it can lessen or reduce sanctions against sudan, which sudan needs right now in

order to provide a healthy economy for its people who are struggling. for people in civil society and the people who may represent, so that is really important to get sudan off of the list. i wonder if tying the removal of the state sponsor of terrorism designation to recognition of israel, they seem like two separate questions to me, but yet they are completed by the united states. i'm not saying sudan should recognise israel, or palestine for that matter, and worked with both countries, but iam worked with both countries, but i am saying is potentially right now it is not the time for sudan, for the government but to be taking their attention away from the people. thank you forjoining us, mark. governments across europe are sounding the alarm as the continent suffers a sharp increase in coronavirus infections — with several countries

reporting infection rates higher than during the first wave of the pandemic in march and april. italy has recorded more than i9—thousand new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. northern regions such as lombardy are again worst affected. in neighbouring france, it's a similar picture — more regions have been added to a strict overnight curfew. the country has just passed a million virus cases. and wales has begun a lockdown that will last for 16 days. we'll have more on the uk in a moment, but first freya cole reports on the situation in europe. temperature checks and public hand sanitizer. it's a new norm in the centre of rome. but these measures are no longer enough. italy has recorded more than 19,000 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. the highest daily tally since the start of the country's outbreak. translation: the situation is

very worrying, very worrying. i hope for the best but it doesn't look good. i'm worried about the spread of the illness. the northern lombardy region is again the country's worst affected district and a night—time curfew has been enforced in an attempt to stop the contagion. in neighbouring france, it's a similar picture. from midnight, more regions will be added to a strict overnight curfew. it will impact more than 46 million people. but authorities say the health system needs protection. doctors say they live in fear of the powerful surge of the second wave. translation: help us to avoid the tsunami. we don't want to relive the situation. hospital staff did not come out unscathed in the first crisis. we'd like to avoid getting back into that situation which was inhumane for everyone. the virus is also rampant in the czech republic where outrage is pointed

towards the country's leaders. the press snapped the health minister breaking his very own rules. he was caught without a mask at a restaurant in prague with appeared to be illicitly open. the cost of dinner, his career. he's been ordered to resign. translation: i don't care who they invited they are and why, we can't preach water and drink wine. i think the minister should lead by example without exception. when our medics are fighting the front line to save our lives of our fellow citizens, such a thing is inexcusable. spain has been grappling with the virus since the beginning of the outbreak. more than a million people have now tested positive to the virus. but there has been a lack of testing and leaders believe the actual tally is closer to three million. too many countries are seeing an exponential increase in cases and that's now leading

to hospitals and icus running close or above capacity. and we are still only in october. the pandemic has created a vacuum of grief in society. families torn apart by a virus which again is out of control. let's get some of the day's other news. vaccine makers astrazeneca and johnson & johnson say their coronavirus trials in the united states will resume after regulators gave them the all clear. it follows reports of illnesses among the trial participants. no links to the vaccines were found. the pentagon has condemned turkey for testing their russian—made s 400 missile defence system. turkey's president recep tayyip erdogan confirmed the test but said he was not bound by what the us thought on the matter.

the pentagon threatened the nato member with ‘serious consequences'. the united nations has brokered a ceasefire agreement between two rival governments fighting for control of libya. it raises hopes of ending the chaos which has engulfed the country since the overthrow of colonel gadaffi by nato backed forces in 2011. the deal is between military leaders from libya's un—backed government which controls the western part of the country, and powerful opposition forces led by general khalifa haftar which control the east. here is our middle east editorjeremy bowen. the un mediator said it was a historic moment and i think that is really overrating it because it will only become historic if it leads to peace. libya has a very poor record with ceasefires and a major reason for that is the country is so fragmented, notjust

those two governments but dozens of militia, loyal to tribes, loyal to towns, loyal to themselves. and as well as that, there's foreign intervention and president erdogan, who backed the government in tripoli, the president of turkey, is already sceptical about the chances of this thing working, he has got attack drones there, thousands of syrian mercenaries. 0n the other side, the russians are backing general haftar so many things can go wrong in all of this before they get to peace and only then can we really say it is some kind of historic moment. but as for this agreement, it is an important step but there are loads of steps ahead and many things that can go wrong. thousands of people, most of them women, have been protesting in cities across poland against a court ruling that bans almost all abortions. the demonstrations are taking place despite tight coronavirus restrictions which ban gatherings of more than ten people. adam easton reports from warsaw.

despite coronavirus restrictions, large protests took place in cities across the country. in warsaw, there was a heavy police presence once again outside the home of the deputy prime minister, who heads the governing law and justice party. it was mostly mps from his party who brought the successful legal challenge that has made poland's strict abortion law even more restrictive. translation: i am worried that we will achieve nothing and that nothing is going to change because the government does not care about people and they don't care about people who protest here today. but staying around the home is not something we should do. that is what we have civil rights for. that is why we are citizens — to demonstrate. in the early hours of friday, officers in riot gear used pepper spray on protesters after clashes outside the deputy‘s home.

there is considerable anger at the timing and manner of the change. it was made without a parliamentary debate and by a court which is largely dominated by law and justice. it also comes during a pandemic, when large demonstrations are banned. this is bbc news. the headlines: sudan is to normalise diplomatic relations with israel — the third arab state to do so in two months. the world health organisation warns of a critical moment in the pandemic — as europe sufers a new surge in coronavirus infections. the second and final us presidential debate in nashville on thursday night was a far cry from the chaotic shouting match last month. with just 12 days to go before november's election, joe biden and donald trump argued about the white house's handling of the pandemic,

the economy, health care, race relations and climate change. they also accused each other of corruption. from nashville our north america editor, jon sopel reports. applause. joe biden emerged onto the stage masked, the president, maskless. this was identical to the first food fight of a debate but this was altogether more restrained and all the better for it. yes, the shouting had been replaced by a series of emoji faces, eye rolls, mock indignation, derisive laughter, but the exchanges were still sharp. the president claimed coronavirus was turning a corner. we have a vaccine that is coming, it is ready, it's going to be announced within weeks. we are learning to live with it. we have no choice. we can't lock ourselves up in a basement likejoe does. he says that, you know, we are learning to live with it. people are learning to die with it. you folks at home will have an empty chair at the kitchen table this morning.

that man or wife going to bed tonight and reaching over to try to touch their... out of habit, where their wife or husband was, is gone. the president went after the biden family and the son of the former vice president, hunter, and the money he had made abroad. you've got $3.5 million, your family got $3.5 million, and you know, some day you are going to have to explain, why did you get $3.5... i never got any money from russia. butjoe biden was not going to take any lectures from the president about transparency. you have not released a single, solitary year of your tax return. what are you hiding? and on race and racism, claim and counter—claim. nobody has done more for the black community than donald trump, and if you look, with the exception of abraham lincoln... abraham lincoln here was one of the most racist presidents we have had in modern history. and there were harsh words traded over the administration's child separation policy, to discourage illegal immigration at the border. babies were separated from their parents and three years on, there are over 500 children who have become

orphans because the us authorities don't know where their parents are. the president defended what they had done. they are so well taken care of. they are in facilities that are so clean. but some of them have not been reunited... but they got separated from their parents, and it makes us a laughing stock and violates every notion of who we are as a nation. joe biden sought to portray himself as the healer and unifier, donald trump as the outsider who would fix america's broken politics. i went to a bar in nashville where trump supporters had gathered. most striking was how empty it was. three weeks ago, for the first debate, it was rammed with a few hundred people there. last night, there were around a dozen. so will this final debate make a difference to the outcome of the election? i think that most americans have already decided. i think it may change a few people's minds but statistically, itjust doesn't change that many people's minds. debates don't. i'm still pretty

much undecided. i think i'm just disappointed in both candidates. donald trump was much more disciplined, much more effective in the debate last night, but is it too little, too late, with only 11 days to go until polling? and already in the united states, it seems that probably over a third of the electorate have already cast their ballots. jon sopel, bbc news, nashville, tennessee. two of hollywood's biggest stars, nicole kidman and hugh grant are appearing together for the first time in a new tv series. the undoing is a psychological thriller, which revolves around a successful rich couple, who appear to live the perfect life. 0ur arts editor will gompertz spoke to them about the series and about the changes taking place in entertainment industry. slow piano music. there's nicole. hello. i play a successful therapist. hugh plays a child oncologist.

not all my patients die, anyway. 0h! why are you so dressed up? i liked the idea that he was a man who appeared to be wonderful on the surface and then... all hell breaks loose. tonight, the gruesome discovery of a mother bludgeoned to death... in recent years, i have done a lot of, um, what you would call character acting and i guess this was less like that. it was back to someone closer to me, or old, fat hugh was used in this one. nicole, the undoing has a female director and you are a female lead. if you do ever want to talk... thank you. do you think things are changing in the movie and tv business? um... yeah, gradually, very... i mean, ithink, you know, it is slowly, slowly, everything is slow. as women who have some sort of opportunity, we have to actually make that call and say, "well,

we actually want a female to direct this." hugh, are you noticing from the sort of scripts you are seeing, the business is genuinely becoming more diverse? there's a very strong impulse to make everything very diverse, yeah. if they are trying to make their project more diverse, it's coming from a good place, where that's a passion for them, that's an important cause, then that's all terrific. but if it is done out of a sense of... fear of backlash, then i'm not sure that that's great, so healthy, creatively. is that enough, we've put in an appearance? can we go? the undoing touches on fear and backlash and class and race. i'll make it up to you later. make it up to be now. ..in what is a protected whodunnit among the manhattan set. make an englishman happy, go on. will gompertz, bbc news. let's stay with diversity in the arts and go to

the pegasus 0pera company in london. they've launched their first mentoring scheme for promising singers and this weekend will host a free online concert that looks back at the contribution that black composers have had in classical music. phoebe hopson reports. joshua elmore originally from alabama is one of 15 sinkers on the pegasus opera company mentoring scheme for underrepresented singlets and opera. 15 sinkers. singing. joshua sings countertenor, the highest male voice in classical singing. it is one of the rarest. i started singing classically in high school. the choir teacher came to me and asked if i wanted to be in the choir. i said, "no, this is really lame."

but i needed the high school credits to graduate, so ijoined. then i absolutely loved it. and that is when i started classically singing. and then i went to university after taking voice lessons. and i started singing opera. and then from then i was hooked. i like something about the rawness of it. you are on stage with the orchestra, there is no electronics, no amplification, and it is just that true passionate singing that i enjoy. and i think i like the way it feels inside, the vibrations and all that. it is amazing. 0pera often comes under criticisms for its lack of diversity, but on and off stage, according to the english national opera ethnic minorities only make up only 10% of their audiences. grassroot organisations

like the pegasus opera company want to show that the opera really is for everybody. the conductor, allison buchanan, is the uk's only black female artistic director of a choir company. if opera wants to keep up with the times, it needs to promote black talent. when you go to the opera, you want to see people who look like you on the stage. most of you haven't in england, in the classical music world, most of you haven't seen anybody who looks like you on the stage. the company showcases the influence of often overlooked black classical musicians and composers. like margaret bonds and florence price. their respective work with the writer langston hughes led to many compositions influenced by african—american spiritual music. what are the issues stopping opera being as diverse as it could be? it is a mindset thing. there is a sort of school of thinking where black people are not allowed into this world. and i think as time goes on and that school of thinking dies,

we will kind of change things. joshua is determined that this mindset should not put off younger singers. keep pressing play. keep going, don't give up, and go for it. singing. that concert this sunday is on the pegasus 0pera compa ny‘s website. just before we go, we couldn't resist showing you this. they're brothers ryan and isaac tsar and they‘ re playing the tabla along to the bbc news theme tune. the boys are now 11 and eight years old, and apparently they first showed an interest in the tabla, when they were around a year—old. they began to learn the instrument from their father, who was a professional tabla player.

loss for words. pretty impressive. don't forget you can find me on twitter — i'm @aaronsafir hello. if you are hoping to get out and about this weekend, the weather may have an impact on your plans. it is looking decidedly unsettled. it will be windy, some heavy rain at times but not all the time. some drier and brighter moments as well. low pressure in charge of the weather at the moment. quite a big low and deep low as well. a lot of white lines and isobars quashing together. it shows we will have strong winds and the strongest of those will always be in association with this band of rain. the wet and windiest weather to start saturday across the western side of the uk, the rain band will push it eastwards through the day and you can see the bright green and yellow colours showing up, a short and sharp burst of really intense rainfall accompanied by the really squally winds pushing eastwards as we go

through the day. largely dry in the southeast. sunshine and showers from the west. windy for all and strong winds along the lines of the rain band. and temperatures 17 degrees across the southeast. turning cooler and fresher from the northwest as the rain band clears its way through. the rain will persist across east anglia and the southeast for a good part of saturday night. clear spells and showers follow on from the west and don't forget, the clocks go back an hour through the early hours of sunday. the end of the british summertime and as the weather goes, summer has long since left us, and it's an autumnal weather chart that takes us into sunday. low pressure again up to the northwest of the uk. pretty brisk winds on sunday, not quite as windy and it would have been on saturday. some spells of sunshine and showers as well and the most frequent and plentiful across the western areas.

i think we will also see quite a few run again across the english channel coast. as i mentioned it will be windy, strongest winds across the west of scotland. these are the average wind speeds. quite a cool feel as well, with temperatures between 11 and 14 degrees. we head into the new working week, low pressure still with us. it will lose some of its intensity as we go into the monday. the winds will ease a little but still some showers and rain around. and it is looking like a very unsettled week ahead. that is it from me for now. 00:28:30,730 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 enjoy your weekend.