this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. with one week to go until the us election, campaigning intensifies for donald trump and his rivaljoe biden. we are going to have a great red wave. people that want to go out and vote, vote. the divisions in our nation are getting wider. angry people are upset. anger and suspicion are growing. levels of covid—19 antibodies in people who've had the virus diminish quite rapidly, say scientists. new research suggests sizeable proportions of people worldwide think coronavirus is a hoax or has been greatly exaggerated.

in exactly one week's time, voters in america will be deciding who the next president of the united states will be. this election has already proved remarkable for the record number of postal votes and early voting going on in many states. while the democratic candidate joe biden is currently leading president trump in the national polls, that doesn't guarantee victory. the race is very much still on, and our north america editorjon sopel is in one of the states being watched very closely — georgia. one week to go, and joe biden has georgia of all places on his mind. no democrat has won here in decades, yet polls suggest this once rock—solid republican state is there for the taking.

joe, go home! though famous southern hospitality was markedly absent from the trump supporters who lined the roads leading to where he was speaking. colour wise and look at the difference between this and the social distancing chemistries they maintain, don't move out of your white circle, masks are not an option. i am running to heal this nation, i have said that from the beginning, it is badly necessary. so where are we with the race between donald trump and joe biden? joe biden has been enjoying a significant lead across the country, latest average say he is as much as ten points up on donald trump, but in us elections, national polls are slightly meaningless. remember, in 2016, hillary clinton won the popular vote by three million and still lost the presidency to donald trump.

the key to this election is what happens in the swing states. joe biden has a steady lead in wisconsin, michigan and pennsylvania, the three northern industrial states that propelled donald trump to victory in 2016, but he's also level or ahead in iowa, georgia, north carolina and arizona. and it is the same picture in florida and texas. and werejoe biden to win one of the last two states, it's hard to see how donald trump can win. the remarkable phenomenon about this election is early voting. in 2016,135 million americans cast a ballot in the presidential election. with a week to go, so far more than 60 million americans have already voted, and that means if turnout remains the same, well, nearly half of americans have already voted. what is also astonishing is the number of young people who voted early. in 2016, in michigan, 7000 people aged between 18 and 29

went to the polls before polling day. this time round, it is over 140,000 so far. in other words, a 20—fold increase. and it's a similar story in florida and north carolina. and in georgia, that number is 31,000 in 2016. it's already 170,000 this year. these are numbers thought to favour the democrats massively, but donald trump says he's confident that next tuesday there will be a red wave of his supporters coming to vote that will propel him to victory. here in georgia two thirds of the total turnout of 2016 have voted, in texas it's 82%. as giving democrats cause for optimism. but this time four years ago, with a week before polling, democrats were similarly optimistic. and we know what happened a week later. that wasjohn

sobel in georgia wherejoe biden has been today. the selection is a choice between a trump super recovery choice between a trump super re cove i’y or choice between a trump super recovery or a bite in depression. that's what you are going to have with the rays of taxes. the biggest tax increase in our history, it's ridiculous. a choice between a trump boom or a ride ridiculous. a choice between a trump boom ora ride in ridiculous. a choice between a trump boom or a ride in lockdown. my colleague yalda hakim is at a donald trump rally in west salem, wisconsin, the latest as lose track of where he is. he's in three different states campaigning today. how important are these days now? very much so. they're the final days of the campaign, and at donald trump has made his third visit to the

crucial battle ground state of wisconsin. we are now in west salem, and i'm going to move out of the way to show viewers and dress what's happening here. donald trump is addressing his supporters, he's been speaking to them for about an hour now. telling them that they can exercise their first amendment right, so there's no social distancing here for example and about 30% of the crowd are wearing masks. i'm not wearing a mask myself because i'm socially distant from the crowd. you would not think there is an actual pandemic going on here. it's about to wrap up his speech here, and he is really riling up the crowd. the president enjoys these rallies, enjoys being around his supporters, and doing an average of about three of these rallies and campaigns in the crucial midwest in the last few days, incredibly important. in 2016 delivered him to

win because of the states, because the states like wisconsin and hoping for a wisconsin sequel. he's behind in the polls and but he's hoping that the shia trunk voters will come out on election day and give him the win. you can really hear the festivities behind me. i will throw it back to you, lewis. great effort of resisting the urge to dance away there at the end. ajudge in michigan has ruled that voters can bring guns to polling stations. christopher murray struck down a directive by the michigan secretary of state, banning the open carrying of firearms on election day. the state attorney general has vowed to appeal against thejudge's ruling. scientists have found that immunity to coronavirus may decline sooner than had previously thought. a study by imperial college london found the number of people with covid—19 antibodies had fallen

by around a quarter betweenjune and september. adults under the age of 2a had the highest levels of antibodies — but those over 75 the lowest. here's our science correspondent rebecca morelle. antibodies are the immune system's best defence against covid—19. they block the virus from entering our cells, and stay around in case of reinfection, but the latest research has found they don't last long. it does suggest that immunity is likely to wane over time after you've been infected, and we're now about six months past that first wave of infection. this is not particularly surprising because seasonal coronaviruses, which we've known about for a long time, do tend to produce some immunity, but it does wane after 6—12 months. this is one of the largest surveys of its kind, carried out across england on more than 350,000 people. injune, scientists found that 6% of adults who had been tested had detectible coronavirus antibodies.

by september, though, that had fallen to 4.4%. that's a drop of more than a quarter in a matter of months, and the fastest decline was seen in people aged over 75, and in those who'd had the virus with no symptoms. so does this mean you can get covid twice? there have now been a few confirmed cases of reinfection, but it's not yet clear whether symptoms are less severe the second time around because the body's defences are already primed, and scientists are studying other parts of the immune system, like t—cells, to see if they play a longer lasting role. all of this has implications for the vaccines in development around the world. if natural immunity doesn't last long, what does this mean for them? i think we should remain optimistic about the up—and—coming sars—cov—2 vaccines. they will work in very different ways to drive the immune response.

and so we can remain hopeful that they will indeuce a more robust and more long—lasting immune response that will protect people for much longer than natural infection would. it may well be that future covid vaccines need to be administered more than once. achieving herd immunity is unlikely without a vaccine, especially if antibodies to natural infection are shortlived. so for now, it means everyone's sticking to the rules of hands, face and space, as there's still much we need to learn about coronavirus and immunity. rebecca morelle, bbc news. new research shows significant numbers of people around the world believe conspiracy theories about covid—19 and the number is growing steadily. these include theories that the pandemic is a hoax or was started deliberately. the public opinion survey conducted by the yougov—cambridge globalism project shows growing numbers of people believe that governments are deliberately and massively exaggerating the death rate.

according to this survey, 38 percent of people in the united states believe the death rate from the pandemic has been greatly exaggerated. there are similarfindings in many other countries — in nigeria the number reaches 59%. here in the uk that figure is 22% — with more that one out of every five people believing they are being deliberately misled with an inflated death rate. the survey also found substantial numbers of people believe the pandemic is a complete myth. in poland, 20% agreed with that statement. the percentages were similar in several other countries — while in the united states 13% think the pandemic is a myth. dan romer is the research director of annenberg public policy center at the university of pennsylvania. he recently conducted a similar survey in the us on coronavirus conspiracy theories. thank you so much for coming in the programme. great to be here. do you have any, well, theories about why

people are so sucked into conspiracy theories, why they believe them to be true when there's so many demonstrably, well they are com pletely demonstrably, well they are completely false half the time? they are hard to prove to be false, part of the problem is. by nature of different kind of belief because they rely on sources that are not necessarily credible and information that cannot be fact checked. so it's very difficult to refute them and at the same time you have people who are inclined for various reasons to believe that what they are told by elites in the government, journalist such as yourself, medical professionals with a distrust elites. let's dig into that little bit. what you're suggesting there is the answer is quite deep and

psychological, there must be reasons why people want to believe these conspiracy theories or is itjust a lack of critical thinking abilities? previous research has found that the people who are inclined to believe them are people who feel removed from power. they are powerless economically, politically, so in the us we see people like disadvantaged minority groups are more likely to believe them. and we also see people we re believe them. and we also see people were supporters of the president in pa rt were supporters of the president in part because conservative media, which supports the president, have also suggested some of these is theories and members of administration have provided state m e nts administration have provided statements that also give people reason to believe that these conspiracies may be true. so what's the answer here? is this something

in schools, a better teaching of a basic understanding of critical reasoning and a probability, burden of proof, and things like that or is there a deeper emotional education thatis there a deeper emotional education that is needed ? there a deeper emotional education that is needed? well it's difficult to say what kind of education would be needed, because it's very easy to think that the people who believe these things are somehow deficient in their abilities to process information. i don't think that's the case. they are absorbing information left and right through social media, conservative media, it's the source that matters. and if they don't avail themselves of information from other sources and believe it than they are going to be stuck with these beliefs. i think what we need is for people who are typically look to and who support these theories, will have to start saying maybe these theories are not true, and if that happens that might

bea true, and if that happens that might be a way out of this problem. just very briefly, i'm afraid we have just ten seconds left, but do you think this is a growing problem or are wejust more think this is a growing problem or are we just more aware of it because we have more social media and more connected? it's a growing problem in terms of the pandemic because it gets in the way of people doing things that the public health communities as they should do like wearing masks and getting vaccinated. it's a huge problem in that respect. i don't think it's any more of a problem in general that has been previously. a fascinating issue, very complicated one. thank you very much for coming out and talking to us. how china is doing deals across asia and africa to supply a national immunisation programmes.

indira gandhi, ruler of the world's largest democracy, died today. 0nly yesterday she'd spoken of dying in the service of her country and said, "i would be proud if it. "every drop of my blood will contribute to the "growth of this nation." after 46 years of unhappiness, and these two countries have concluded a chapter of history. no more suspicion, no more fear, no more uncertainty of what each day might bring. boost to ignition and lift off of discovery with a crew of six astronaut heroes and one american legend. this is beautiful. a milestone in human history. born today, this girl in india is the seven billionth person on the planet.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines. with one way to go into the us election campaign is intensifying for donald trump and his rivaljoe biden. covid 19 antibodies for people who have had the virus diminish quite rapidly says scientists. an attempt by migrants to cross the channel from france has resulted in tragedy, after two adults and two children died when the boat carrying them sank. french officials say 15 others have been taken to hospital. a large search and rescue operation was launched after the vessel was seen in difficulty near dunkirk. more than 7,400 migrants have reached the uk in small boats this year, that's a significant rise from 2019 when 1,825 crossed successfully. from dunkirk, here's nick beake: it's a significant rise from 2019. the search for a better

life in britain ended in this corner of france this morning. of all the days to attempt the perilous crossing, this was not the one. rough waters, high winds. rescue teams responded after a small migrant vote was spotted in trouble. two adults and a five—year—old and a five—year—old, all from iran could not be saved. translation: at this stage, the appraisal of the situation is not yet complete. we think there are 19—20 people and one person is missing who possibly could be an infant. earlier this year, the scale of this problem became vividly clear, the desperation of those clinging to life, the british navy has been patrolling these waters as part of the fight against what boris johnson tonight called the ruthless criminal gangs exploiting vulnerable people. officials say they have stopped 650 crossings in the past week alone. there have been crossings

in the winter months every year since this phenomenon started in 2018 but clearly the numbers have been extremely high this year, unacceptably high and that has been driven by a number of factors, including covid and the switch and travel patterns. as local french hospital care for the people who were plucked from the water today, investigators continue their work. the people smugglers of calais and dunkirk are said to have warned migrants living nearby that tougher british action is imminent and that may force the hand of those who feel they have nothing to lose. nick beake, bbc news, dunkirk. about 30 police officers have been injured in violent protests in philadelphia after the fatal shooting by police of a black man. police say two officers opened fire on 27—year—old walter wallace when he refused their order to drop a knife he was holding. mr wallace's father says his son, who suffered from mental health problems, appeared to have been

shot ten times. a us court has sentenced the leader of the invm cult to 120 years in prison. keith raniere starved and branded women, and forced them to have sex with him. he was convicted of racketeering, sex trafficking, possessing child pornography and other crimes. russian scientists say vast methane deposits in the bed of the arctic ocean are being released into the sea. samples collected 600—kilometres off the coast of siberia show surface levels of the potent greenhouse gas are up to eight times higher than normal. they say the methane is probably being released because warmer water from the atlantic is increasing sea temperatures. the bbc has apologised for running a trailer for a documentary on 0scar pistorius that failed to name reeva steenkamp. the olympic runner shot his girfriend in 2013 and was later convicted of her murder. the promo for ‘the trials of oscar pistorius' referred

to ms steenkamp as ‘his girlfriend' and ‘she'. a bbc statement said the trail has been removed and will be replaced by something more representative. the president of the philippines rodrigo duterte says he's looking to strike a deal with beijing for access to a new covid—19 vaccine by the end of the year. his country's looking to join several others in asia and africa, intent on securing supplies for national immunisation programmes. china's already vaccinated hundreds of thousands of people, despite none of the products having cleared the final stage of testing. natasha kassam is a china expert who's been following all this. she's based at the lowy institute, an international affairs think tank based in sydney. thank you so much for coming on the programme. thank you for having me. what is behind then, this drive—by

china is a great question. i received there's been negotiations between china all around the world. in the middle east and in south america. in africa and in southeast asia. we have already seen quite a few deals come to fruition where china offers provincial access to the vaccine free doses, massive loa ns to the vaccine free doses, massive loans to pay for vaccines. this is happening without there being a vaccine being cleared for use yet. for china this is an opportunity to present itself as the leader of global public goods to see that they are infact global public goods to see that they are in fact leading the world and global public health and perhaps repair some of the reputational damage that has been incurred by various aggressive behaviour from beijing over the past year, but also of course that countries blame china for the pandemic. but people say if this vaccine is proved to be effective this is and unadulterated

good thing and the more people to haveit good thing and the more people to have it the better. it's absolutely the as much as you might be worried about what countries will receive the vaccine from china, you might be very hawk is about their intentions but for many of these countries, a vaccine that works is a good thing. we have to remember that one of the reasons so many countries are looking to china for this vaccine is because the other world superpowers come the united states, has vacated the scene on this. the united states has not even joined the international facility to prioritise manufacturing and sharing vaccines once they are available. countries very much looking to china and the tickets in best interest particularly in tunisia or india where the pandemic is so severe. gives a sense of how this is being viewed in china. in china i think there are a lot of questions. of

course people want china to have the vaccine first, they wanted to be shared as well. they see it is good for the chinese reputation and for china taking its place back of the world stage. at the same time a lot of trials are happening and of course there are concerns that these vaccines are not ready yet. the issue here is that in china the country is basically getting covid—19 under control entirely. you might disagree with the measures taken to do that but that's the fa cts taken to do that but that's the facts now. we need for the vaccine is not as important there as perhaps it is in other countries. it is a lot of value seen by people in providing a public good. lot of value seen by people in providing a public goodlj lot of value seen by people in providing a public good. i knowsley a best guess at this stage but how wide the the chinese will be vaccinating the world if it all goes according to plan, and if the tests come back and it's proved to be effective? it's really hard to say. as 11 vaccines and last each of their trial at the moment. four of

those from chinese manufacturers. i think any of them have a good chance of getting them but we also have a very significant chance of not having a vaccine can we've never successfully created a vaccine for a coronavirus before. it's very hard to say but i think every country will be lining up to get those vaccines if they become available. great to speak to you, thank you very much for coming on. finally halloween is fast approaching and if you were wondering how to achieve socially—distanced trick or treating, here's one solution: a mother in the us state of arkansas has come up with a "candy chute", to ensure that the sweets craved by the younger generation on 31st of october can be delivered safely. it's made of pvc pipes, spray paint and connectors. add to that a remote control doorbell and bucket you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones.

hello there, it's going to remain very unsettled for the rest of this week thanks to areas of low pressure which will bring spells of rain and gales at times. today also very unsettled. we've got sunshine and blustery showers, these heavy and thundery across western and southern areas. all tied in with this area of low pressure which actually contains the remnants of what was hurricane epsilon. some extremely strong winds on its southern flank racing across the north atlantic and that is generating some very big waves today across some western coastlines. you could even see some disruption to the ferry services for western scotland at times. and if you are walking out near the coastline in the west, just take extra care. now, lots of showers will be affecting many western portions of the uk. some merging together to produce longer spells of rain for parts of wales, central and southern england though some brighter echoes indicating some hail and thunder mixed into some

of the heaviest of the showers. the best chance of seeing the lengthier sunny spells will be across the eastern parts of england but it will be a cooler day today than we what had yesterday, 10—13 celsius. the showers continue on for a while during wednesday night but then they begin to fade away. the skies clear and it turns a bit chilly in the far north and east but further west, temperatures begin to rise with the next weather system arriving, bringing more wet and windy weather. you can see it here on the pressure chart racing up from the south west, lots of isobars on the chart. so, it's going to turn very windy once again. so, wet for southern and western areas to start thursday, dry and bright in the north. the rain will eventually reach much of scotland, all but the northern isles. behind it, it will tend to turn a little bit drier, perhaps a little bit brighter but it will be windy. you will notice milder air getting in the mid—teens celsius here. 11 degrees across the north of scotland. thursday night will remain

very windy and mild, and it will stay wet across northern and western areas. in fact, rainfall totals really starting to mount up across parts of western scotland, northern and western england, and wales where we could see some minor flooding by the end of friday. it starts to brighten up for scotland and northern ireland into the afternoon, and we could see some brighter spells across the south—east. and given that very mild air mass, we could see 18 or 19 degrees across the south and east. as we head on into the weekend, more low—pressure systems racing off the atlantic, some very deep ones here which could bring a spell of gales or even severe gales in places.

this is bbc world news, the headlines. with a week to go before the us presidential election donald trump has accused his opponents of misleading americans about the pandemic in order to discredit him. he accuse the media of exaggerating the impact of coronavirus. joe biden has made a scathing attack on donald trump's handling of the pandemic. he said the president had failed the people by refusing to endorse social distancing or encourage people to wear masks. scientists say levels of protective antibodies in people drop quite rapidly after covid—19 infection. research by imperial couege infection. research by imperial college london suggest immunity could only last a few months and maiming people could get reinfected. about 30 police officers have been injured infine about 30 police officers have been injured in fine protests in philadelphia after the fatal shooting by police of a black man.