welcome to bbc news — i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories. the final weekend — trump and biden campaign in the midwest — where polls suggest several us states could still go either way. the number of americans tested positive for coronavirus passes nine million — as the us breaks the record for the biggest rise of cases in a single 2a hour period. is another lockdown on the way? experts warn coronavirus is spreading "significa ntly" faster through england than the "worst case" scenario. a powerful earthquake hits turkey and greece — more than 20 are confirmed dead as rescuers search the rubble for survivors.

we're heading into the final weekend of campaigning in the us presidential election. both candidates have been in the midwest to convince voters they're the man to run the country. let's take a quick look at the latest opinion polls — which putjoe biden nine points ahead of donald trump. but that's based on national polling — which won't determine who wins — it's the voters in key swing states who will decide the result. the coronavirus pandemic is at the forefront of this election. and the number of cases in the us has now passed 9 million. both candidates have been criticising each other over their strategies for dealing with it. joe biden is promising a long, dark, painful winter. did anybody see the debate, by any chance? he said a long, dark winter.

that's great, that's wonderful. it is just what our country needs, long dark winter and a country who talks about it. meanwhile, joe biden accused president trump of giving up on controlling the pandemic. when he was told that be four weeks ago that we are losing 1,000 lives a day he said, "it is what it is." isn't that useful? "it is what it is." well it is what it is because he is who he is. that is the problem. donald trump waved the white flag and surrendered to the virus but the american people don't give up. yalda hakim was at a joe biden campaign event at milwaukee airport for us, with the latest on how people have voted. it is now four days until the election and actually, a record 85 million americans

elevated across the country. the biden camp is slightly worried. they've issued some alarm bells and are saying that they are concerned about some of the voter turnout from the african—american community and the latino community in certain parts of the country. here in wisconsin been about 1.5 million people who have already voted. either by mailing or early voting. so it really depends which part of the state that you are in terms of who is voting and who is not that bedside are trying to bleed into the traditional voters of the other side so, for example, republicans are trying to beat into the traditionally african—american democratic voters and that is a strategy that both sides are currently using in these crucial swing states. twenty—one us states are currently in the grip of a coronavirus outbreak, with some of the most severe in the states that will be key in deciding the 2020 election.

let's speak to dr peter hotez, professor and co—director of the center for vaccine development at texas children's hospital — and dean of the national school of tropical medicine at baylor college of medicine. it is very troubling. we hit over 90,000 new cases in a single day. that is our record and there has been this apocalyptic prediction coming from some saying hundred thousand new cases per day and it looks like we will hit that as soon as next week. there are a few things happening. the weather is getting colder, people are moving indoors and therefore getting exposed to one another as they are staying in smaller groups. also the virus seems to do better in cold weather and i think people are probably receiving higher amounts of the virus, there is more virus around and that may influence mortality.

there are some papers that came out over the summer from europe that suggested that as a possibility so i think those are two of the important reasons. the other big one is dead continues to be this defiance of masks. people tying their political allegiance to not wearing masks and refusing to social distance. and this has been really devastating for the nation, especially in the middle part of the country. a lot of that unfortunately is coming from the white house that all throughout, since the summer has been downplaying the importance of the pandemic, dismissing its role in causing death, trying to claim it is down to the virus itself, so this has created the sculpture where many believe the virus is a hoax and it is quite extraordinary and it is really a coordinated and high science disinformation campaign coming out of the white house. if nothing changes looking into the winter and looking ahead what kind of numbers do

you think america could see? well, we have some forecast now coming from our institute of health metrics and evaluation at the university of washington in seattle. they are pretty dreary numbers. looking at 511,000 american deaths by february 28 of next year so that is more than the doubling of the current number. given how everyone is so exhausted already from the epidemic, that is really sobering news on the tragedy, of course, is we can do something about this. i put together ever last summer a plan to contain this virus, to prevent this terrible surge or delay it and even now if we could get 95% compliance with masks we could save hundred and 29,000 american lives but we just don't have that leadership. in washington, dc and in the white house and as we heard in the report, the president wants to continue to downplay it.

coronavirus is now spreading faster through england than the government's own worst case scenario prediction. that's according to a report by the scientific advisory group for emergencies, or sage, which says there testing of more than 150,000 people with and without symptoms gives the office for national statistics a feel for how widespread the virus is in local communities and the data from the most recent survey suggests it is still increasing. the uk's national statistician gave me his assessment of where things now stand with covid—19. they've got to be fairly gloomy and i do believe that we are continuing to increase, i think we need to absolutely be

tireless, everybody across the country, following the rules. because if not, then i fear that the virus is going to exponentially increase. the estimates of how many people in the community had the virus in the period leading up to october 23. the most relative to the local population were in northern ireland, the least in scotland. but there were big variations within england with many more in the north—west relative to the population but in the south—east of england. the ons did say that in the north—east of england there was evidence of a slowdown and slight reduction in case numbers and a bigger gap with the north west and yorkshire and humber regions. but officials say overall things are going in the wrong direction and minutes of meetings of the government putts—mac sage advisory committee renew a pessimistic move. a paper says that in england

the number of daily deaths is now in line with the levels in a reasonable worst case and is almost certain to exceed this within the next two weeks. that worst—case scenarios 85,000 covid deaths over the winter. officials say government interventions can reduce that. policy makers around the uk are under increasing pressure to come up with plans to allow families to meet up at christmas and the first minister in wales had a message for downing street. we need to share that information, we need to share ideas and wherever we can, particularly, would like to see is common in approach as we can together while recognising that the state of the virus and the response does depend on one part of the uk from another. in parts of scotland face coverings will be required for teachers and older pupils in classrooms from monday. described by ministers strengthened guidant produced in the light of updated advice.

rescue teams in the turkish city of izmir are digging through concrete blocks in the darkness looking for survivors of the earthquake that struck in the aegean on friday. twenty people have been confirmed dead, and at least seven—hundred were injured. the quake also struck the greek island of samos, where two teenagers were killed. orla guerin reports. amateur video captured the full power of the quake. this building disintegrated into dust. on the streets, there was fear and panic. i saw people crying, trying to reach out to their loved ones. everyone was shocked

and it was a very chaotic moment. about 20 buildings were brought down. the quake was felt as far away as istanbul and athens. turkey is crisscrossed by active fault lines. the danger always lying beneath. rescuers picked their way carefully through the rubble, here finding a survivor in gently cradling his head. the man was brought out alive, like dozens of others. and for some, emotional reunions. social distancing swept away by the chaos in the relief. it bore the brunt of this earthquake but two teenagers died in the greek islands and in the mists of loss there has been a rare display of solidarity between two nations that are deeply divided.

turkey's president thanked greece for offering its help and said turkey was standing with its neighbour in difficult times. this is a glimpse of one mother's terror today. she sprints to the next room for her only child, an 18—month—old who was asleep in his cot. she gets him away to safety. but danger also came surging from the agean. sea levels rising because of the mini tsunami. there have been about 100 after—shocks. tonight, the rescue effort is continuing. searching for life under layers of crushed concrete. in turkey there is grief and shock and the gnawing fear of when

the next big one is coming. four days before the us election we report from one of the worst hit communities, the navajo nation.

this is bbc news. on the final weekend before tuesday's election — trump and biden campaign in the midwest — where polls suggest several us states could still go either way. the number of americans testing positive for coronavirus passes 9 million as the us breaks the record for the biggest rise in

cases in a single 24—hour period. students at one of the biggest universities in thailand are planning to boycott a graduation ceremony on saturday attended by the thai king. it has been called bya group thai king. it has been called by a group of students who have been taking part in anti—government protests. we can speak to a lecturer in international relations at the university. thank you for coming on the programme. under normal circumstances from most of recent history certainly in thailand, the monarch attending a graduation ceremony like this would be a matter of huge honour. absolutely. graduation isa honour. absolutely. graduation is a very big deal here in thailand. even more so than the uk and the ceremony is very formal. a member of the royal family sometimes personally hand each graduate diploma and there are a lot of rules that graduates have to follow.

normally there is prestige that comes with it. the opportunity to be photographed with royalty and for many it is a zenith in the rite of passage but less than half of the students attended rehearsals last week and normally only about 10% miss it and i think yesterday as two days yesterday was subdued and tense. several reasons for that but of course the ongoing protests they depart an activist called for a boycott back in august which gained some traction at the time and there were youngsters with water cannons and many withdrew after that organisers of the boycott have called for the ceremony injurious and superfluous and the plan is to

hold a parody ceremony instead so hold a parody ceremony instead so the idea that the students themselves to be the main focus of the day. you been in touch with students there. what is there. it is very tense. i don't know if you've covered this but last night several stu d e nts this but last night several students including two in particular are released from jail having been denied bail only to be rearrested and i think that is going to have an impact on the atmosphere on campus today. yesterday security forces said extensive screening mechanisms including screening mechanisms including screening id cards and denying access to the university of some students seen as troublemakers so it is very tense. this would have been unthinkablejust tense. this would have been unthinkable just a few years

ago. absolutely. since the protest on august ten interchange very quickly here in thailand. the french government has warned that citizens across the world a re warned that citizens across the world are under threat following a knife attack on thursday which left three people dead. prosecutors agreed treating the incident as an act of terrorism. two other men have been arrested. a place of worship that became a site of killing. the last words of a mother of three were, tell my children i love them. she had moved to france

from brazil 30 years ago. here she is found taking a cookery course enthusing about the secrets of french cuisine. a friend said she would be hugely missed. i want to remember her smile. what characterised to men was her smile and that is what she read to her children and all the people of nice. the churchwarden dedicated his life to keeping the place safe. but he and the other victims were defenceless yesterday morning. this was the moment police confronted their attacker. he has been named as a 21—year—old tunisian. prosecutors said he arrived in the italian island last month before travelling to nice. at the family home in tunisia relatives told the bbc they believed he was looking for work in france. his mother said he had previously struggled with drink and drugs. his answer was always that he

would quit only when god wanted him to. two and a half years ago he began to pray. he will leave home to go to work and back. he stopped using drugs. france is once again in lockdown and yet again in grief. this is the third terror attack in barely a month. the country is fighting an invisible virus and today the government said it is a war against another enemy, islamist ideology. and the extremists area ideology. and the extremists are a shared enemy of the millions of muslims in france according to one prominent community breeder. translation: this terrorist act is an affront to our faith and religion. i have asked the muslims of france to cancel all celebrations marking the prophet was my birthday today and mourn the victims. but in lebanon today anti—french protests. elsewhere, to including in bangladesh where there is still fury over

president macron's defence of the right to publish cartoons of the prophet. back in france, no explanation for this latest attack. just a profound sadness that has become all too familiar. at least nine people are dead after in el salvador. army search rescue are hunting for 35 people who are still missing. the coronavirus pandemic is the issue that is dominating the us presidential race. america suffered more deaths by far than any other country in the world. in the last of the special reports on election clive looks at how kevin 19 is devastated one community in the crucial state of arizona and how the virus could decide who wins the white

house. in our culture, as a navajo, as a native american, it's something we're not even supposed to do, to deal with death. but dealing with death is michael begay‘s calling, in the worst corner of the worst country for covid—19. with covid patients, we normally don't embalm. we usually just keep them in the body bag. an undertaker, he prepares bodies for burial on the navajo lands of northern arizona. living in the largest of the native american territories, the navajo have suffered more coronavirus deaths per head of population than any of the 50 states of the union — many hundreds of people. there was that point when i went into our storage

unit and i just saw all those bodies laying there. and i knew two of them. it was a hard time for me, you know, knowing that those people are laying there, people that i've known, and they're here because of covid. it was heartbreaking. navajo nation is one of the poorest parts of america. and mask mandates and curfews were introduced early in the pandemic. but the virus had already taken hold. and with few health care facilities, many were left at covid's mercy. this is tent city in phoenix — thousands homeless, some losing theirjobs due to the pandemic and now losing their lives. this pandemic is instant death. meet james wright. he's 62.

if you look to your right, they have a big—ass medical centre there. but when you got covid—19 so bad ain't nothing that can help you, it's death, man. social distancing is tough in tent city. # macho, macho man... it's tough here too at this trump rally. but why? what a crowd! but in this deeply polarised country, wearing or not wearing a face covering has become a political statement. this is chris and his family. but the pandemic is still out there. that didn't worry you, being with all those people yesterday? no. it didn't bother me one bit. do you think it's un—american to be forced to wear a mask? i do. i think it's un—american to force anybody to do something that there's no medical reason if you're not sick. individualism versus collective responsibility. it's part of our culture to take care of one another. it's always the natives

that are wearing masks. and you see that, and a lot of non—natives are not that diligent, but we as a people are. so, this is really the start of covid. they opened this area here. in navajo nation, they had to build a new cemetery to take all the dead. the presidential election is above all a referendum on donald trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. whoever wins must guide this country out of the darkness to a better shore reachable from here. clive myrie, bbc news, in navajo nation, northern arizona. you can reach me on twitter —

i'm @ lvaughanjones. hello. by midweek next week, our weather will finally have turned drier and calmer, but for the weekend, it is far from it. and for saturday, storm aiden — as named by the irish weather service for impacts there, but even across the uk — will be very windy and, at times, very wet. here's that area of low pressure passing to the north west of scotland. another will come along on sunday, as it stays windy and there will be more rain. now, saturday begins already with some outbreaks of heavy rain towards the west in particular and, for a time, clearing north across scotland, but then further heavy, even torrential bursts of rain sweep east across the uk with very gusty, squally winds,

although for many of us, that will clear to some sunshine. it is in the west where we'll see the strongest gusts of wind — 50, 60 miles an hour — but closer to 70 on exposed coasts and hills. but even elsewhere, as this torrential rain moves on through, could well see some gusts of 50—60 mph. it's going to be a mild start to the weekend. many of us see the rain clear to sunshine, but there will be further rain or northern ireland into western scotland in the afternoon. and still very strong winds. parts of western scotland could for a time gust in excess of 70 mph. the winds ease a touch overnight and into sunday morning, as more rain comes on through from the west. now, sunday will be a very windy day. this area of low pressure contains the remnants of what was once hurricane zeta. so, yes, closer to that, we'll see the strongest winds, but all parts will have another windy day. and after some early rain clears through, some will brighten up in scotland and northern ireland. further outbreaks of rain in england and wales. some of that mayjust push for the north as we go on through the day.

those winds still very gusty, particularly in northwest scotland. the chance of seeing some gusts above 70 mph for a time, and sunday is still looking mild. now, it does turn colder next week, but that's part and parcel of a significant change in the weather. still some rain or showers around to start the week, still quite windy. but from midweek, it's drier, it's calmer, yes, it's colder, and there could be frost and fog overnight. but for the weekend, a focus on very wet and windy weather. if there are some problems because of the weather, bbc local radio can keep you updated, and do check out the latest met office weather warnings online.

this is bbc news. the headlines.

president trump and joe biden have been campaigning in the midwest before tuesday's us election. more than 85 million peoiple have already cast their vote, leading to predictions that this year could see the highest turnout in over a century. the number of americans testing positive for coronavirus has passed nine million — with the us breaking the record for the biggest rise of cases in a single 2a hour period. over one million new covid—19 cases have been reported in the past 11; days. the british government may be considering whether more coronavirus restrictions are needed across england — after medical sources said the country was at a "crunch point," with rising cases of covid—19. british media reports say a second national lockdown, could be imposed as early as wednesday. now on bbc news, it's click.