welcome to bbc news. i'm mark lobel. our top stories: trapped on the edge of the eu — the desperation of migrants. we have a special report from the border between bosnia and croatia. global concerns grow about the safety of chinese tennis player, peng shuai, unseen since accusing a senior government official of sexual assault. we're all pretty worried, given what's happened over the last couple of weeks and that, really, the right kind of contact and communication with peng shuai has not happened yet. tracing the origins of coronavirus — the new study providing the most reliable account yet about the evolution of the virus. british columbia declares a state of emergency, as record breaking

rain storms leave more than 18,000 canadians stranded by floods and mudslides. and lady gaga tells us about channelling her childhood experiences into her new film, house of gucci. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. across eastern europe, from belarus to the balkans, people are fleeing conflict and poverty in their homelands, trying to reach the european union to seek asylum. in recent days, the focus has been on the crossing between poland and belarus, where tensions have been high, as hundreds of migrants clashed with border forces. but, there are other routes that people are using to try to enter the eu. one of the most popular is through bosnia into croatia. according to the un, since 2018, 75,000 people

have moved through bosnia into neighbouring countries. the bbc�*s fergal keane travelled with a family of afghan migrants trying to make the journey, and sent this report. near the croatian border, a refugee family is waiting to cross. akram was a television engineer in kabul. zarah was a policewoman in herat, but fled in 2016. baby sara was born in greece, where the family had a previous asylum request denied. we are countryless. we are illegally on the border. what should we have to do? they say they've been pushed back from croatia 39 times — once, they allege, with force. they came and hit my husband, and i said, "why are you hitting my husband?"

and they hit me also in my face and said, "shut up." who will help us? the life become like hell for us, for all of us. some migrants wait in abandoned factories from which they can easily reach the border at night. others in temporary reception centres like this, run by the united nations. how concerned are you by the numerous reports of pushbacks that are happening in this region? we see many of the migrants themselves being returned back. we see that they've been deprived of their shoes, they're being deprived of their basic goods, and sometimes, really, of their dignity. the croatian government didn't respond to a request for comment, but has already denied a policy of pushbacks, and says it upholds its legal obligations to asylum—seekers.

three policemen were suspended after being accused of violence against migrants. but only the snows, due here soon, are likely to slow the desperate attempts to reach the eu. it's just after five o'clock in the morning and the family is preparing for another attempt at crossing the border. we'll go with them as far as we're allowed to on the bosnian side. let's just see what happens if they're able to cross. there's fear that baby sara will cry and alert border guards. she's really fast asleep now. we must leave in this way. if she wake up, especially at the border, she will cry, and the people that are close to the border will call the police. so, we'rejust coming

up to the border. they've seen a car on the other side which they suspect is croatian police. so, what do you plan to do? we have to cross. thisjourney has already taken nearly 4,000 miles. several hours later, akram sent us a video of the families inside croatia. so, we are here, we are in croatia now. the police came and put them in this van. because greece refused asylum, croatia can reject them, but it must first check their background and status. instead, they say they were pushed back — again.

are you going to keep trying? yeah, we have to do. we don't want to be hopeless. every time when the police are deporting us, we say to ourselves, ok, no problem, we will try to go again. croatia, europe, want to stem the flow of migrants. but there's no way home now, no way forward. fergal keane, bbc news, bosnia. former women's world number one, serena williams, has joined several other tennis stars in expressing concern over the whereabouts of chinese professional player, peng shuai. the two—time,grand slam doubles champion hasn't been seen for two weeks, since she accused china's former vice premier, zhang gaoli, of sexual assault. doubts have been cast on an email supposedly written by the tennis star saying that she's safe and well. 0ur correspondent robin brant reports from shanghai.

for reports from shanghai. use, peng shuai has let he bracket for use, peng shuai has let her bracket do the talking and she has risen to the top. our staff in a sport where there are not many chinese success stories. she is somewhat the party leaders can be proud of but an allegation about one of those senior party figures changed that. in this social media posting earlier this month, akron one named vice premier zhang gaoli that he fostered to have sex with them. —— peng shuai named. she has not been seenin shuai named. she has not been seen in public since. it shuai named. she has not been seen in public since.— seen in public since. if this is any guide. _ seen in public since. if this is any guide, few - seen in public since. if this is any guide, few people . seen in public since. if this i is any guide, few people are allowed to publicly challenge senior authorities like zhang gaoli without paying some kind of price for it and it will be telling if she were able to leave the country and speak freely, where she would not face the kind of repercussions

the chinese government concurs inside the country. in the chinese government concurs inside the country.— inside the country. in the middle of _ inside the country. in the middle of the _ inside the country. in the middle of the night, - inside the country. in the i middle of the night, animal appears or at least but one up the chinese state media says is, from peng shuai to the head of the women's tennis association and basically the message is, do not worry, i am fine and i did not mean what i said two weeks ago. it is claimed she started out saying, hello, everyone, going on to say the allegations made two weeks ago were false and she hasjust been weeks ago were false and she has just been resting at home and everything is fine. prominent people do disappear in china. a tech millionaire was not seen for months after criticising state regulators but athletes? that is unusual. in a hasty response, the man to whom the e—mail was reportedly said, steve simon, said he had a hard time believing peng shuai wrote it. i

a hard time believing peng shuai wrote it.— a hard time believing peng shuai wrote it. i think people in the tennis _ shuai wrote it. i think people in the tennis world _ shuai wrote it. i think people in the tennis world would - shuai wrote it. i think people| in the tennis world would like to see her, hearfrom her directly, perhaps see her having a tennis hit, a prep is, thinks she has done since she was eight years old and first picked up a racket. mil was eight years old and first picked up a racket.- was eight years old and first picked up a racket. all this as the country — picked up a racket. all this as the country prepares - picked up a racket. all this as the country prepares to - picked up a racket. all this as the country prepares to be i picked up a racket. all this as the country prepares to be at| the country prepares to be at the country prepares to be at the centre of the sporting world when they host the winter. it is already facing a possible boycott over what the us says is genocide against the uyghurs in this country. robin brant, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news: a us state governor has halted the execution of prisoner, juliusjones, hours before he was due to be put to death. jones was sentenced to death in 2002, for killing a man in a carjacking incident. he maintains his innocence. his sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment without parole. there had been an outpouring of appeals and hundreds protested to halt the excution. the cricketer, azeem rafiq, has apologised and said he had "absolutely no excuse" for using anti—semitic language in messages

on social media from 2011. two days ago the former spinner gave evidence to mps about racism he'd experienced within cricket, calling his treatment inhumane. rafiq also later apologised on thursday for an instagram meme containing a saying relating to african people. germany has announced tough measures to exclude the unvaccinated from certain public events. healthcare workers and employees in care homes will be obliged to get the vaccine. germany's lower house of parliament approved new measures including restricting access to public transport and workplaces to people who have been vaccinated or tested. this was the scene in february 2020 in the chinese city of wuhan, days after it was shutdown as a new virus spread through the city's population. that was the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but the exact origins of the virus are still unknown. two places in the city feature prominently

in the numerous theories of where the virus came from. one is the huanan wet market — a market selling live animals where several of the earliest cases were detected. the other is the wuhan institute of virology, which is known to have been studying coronaviruses in bats for over a decade. it's thought possible that the virus could have leaked from there. now a leading expert in tracing the start of the pandemic says he thinks he knows of the first known person to have contracted the virus. that expert is dr michael worobey, who heads the ecology and evolutionary biology department at the university of arizona and joins me now. thank you forjoining us. a second pair of eyes is always useful. in looking at the world health organization report you have found what is a crucial fact they have wrong and that, if i am correct, is that mr

chan, the accountant who was the first known case, was not in fact showing symptoms under the eighth of december by the 16th of december which means mrs white, a seafood vendor was in fact patient zero. is that what you have found? i would not say cheese _ what you have found? i would not say cheese patient - what you have found? i would not say cheese patient zero, i not say cheese patient zero, she is the first known patient. 0nly she is the first known patient. only about 7% of people who get the virus and up in the hospital and she is one of those. ., hospital and she is one of those. . i. hospital and she is one of those. ., , ., ., ~' hospital and she is one of those. ., ., ~ ., those. how did you work that out? i had — those. how did you work that out? i had known _ those. how did you work that out? i had known about- those. how did you work that out? i had known about a - out? i had known about a discrepancy _ out? i had known about a discrepancy between - out? i had known about a discrepancy between the | out? i had known about a - discrepancy between the who report on this individual and scientific paper that suggested his symptoms began on december 16 and i pointed that out in my article which then went out to

anonymous peer reviewers and one of the pier reviewers for someone who spoke chinese and pass along this figure that showed medical and dental records from this individual which showed that on december eight, he had a dental issue with retained baby teeth that needed to be pulled and in his voice, he says that he is covid symptoms began with a fever and tightness to his chest on december 16.— tightness to his chest on december16. . , , ~, december 16. that was publicly known information _ december 16. that was publicly known information that - december 16. that was publicly known information that you - known information that you found it through?— known information that you found it through? yes, it was out there _ found it through? yes, it was out there but _ found it through? yes, it was out there but the _ found it through? yes, it was out there but the dots - found it through? yes, it was out there but the dots had i found it through? yes, it was | out there but the dots had not been connected. the out there but the dots had not been connected.— out there but the dots had not been connected. the person you are saying _ been connected. the person you are saying is _ been connected. the person you are saying is that _ been connected. the person you are saying is that the _ been connected. the person you are saying is that the first - are saying is that the first known case is backed up by the who report?— known case is backed up by the who report? interestingly, i do not think she _ who report? interestingly, i do not think she actually _ who report? interestingly, i do not think she actually appears l not think she actually appears in the who report because there is no report of a vendor at the

huanan market with symptoms that early but clearly she was a case, she was interviewed by the wall street journal, a case, she was interviewed by the wall streetjournal, by this video i watched and in fact her symptoms might go even earlier than december ten. i december 11 she visited a clinic but she may have felt ill before that point.- ill before that point. that . ives ill before that point. that gives us _ ill before that point. that gives us the _ ill before that point. that gives us the seaford - ill before that point. that gives us the seaford market looking like it has the majority of those cases and potentially a supersprint event but in order to answer this question, about whether the theory links back to a lab, cases happen in november that we need to track down. it is possible _ we need to track down. it is possible the _ we need to track down. it is possible the earliest - we need to track down. it 3 possible the earliest cases started in november and that there was a small chain of transmission that we have not actually sampled with actual patients. but what is really clear and really veep take on a

message from my article is that you cannotjust dismiss the pattern of so many early cases coming from this one wet market that sold the same sort of animals that brought us the original stars, that patients identified seem to have worked there. —— sars. identified seem to have worked there. -- sars.— there. -- sars. this place is small. does _ there. -- sars. this place is small. does this _ there. -- sars. this place is small. does this discount - there. -- sars. this place is| small. does this discount the lab theory? it small. does this discount the lab theory?— lab theory? it really froze a tremendous _ lab theory? it really froze a tremendous challenge - lab theory? it really froze a - tremendous challenge because there is no indication of early cases near the market and no good way to explain so many early cases at this particular wet market unless it started from a wild animal from that market. idr from a wild animal from that market. , ~ . . from a wild animal from that market. , a ., , market. dr michael worobey thank you — market. dr michael worobey thank you for _ market. dr michael worobey thank you for taking - market. dr michael worobey thank you for taking us - market. dr michael worobey i thank you for taking us through that. thank you. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: how lady gaga drew on her own experience of abuse to prepare for her role in ridley scott's new film house of gucci.

benazir bhutto has claimed victory in pakistan's general election, and she's asked pakistan's president to name her as prime minister. jackson's been released on bail of $3 million after turning himself in to police in santa barbara. it was the biggest i demonstration so far of the fast—growing _ european anti—nuclear movement. the south african government has announced that it's opening the country's remaining whites—only beaches to people of all races. this will lead to a black majority government in this country and the destruction of the white civilisation. part of the centuries—old windsor castle, - one of the queen's residences, has been consumed by fire for much of the day. - 150 firemen have been battling the blaze, - which has caused millions. of pounds worth of damage.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the un marks record levels of migrants fleeing conflict and poverty who are now trapped on the edge of the eu. rescue teams in canada are trying to reach 18,000 people stranded by floods and mudslides in the western province of british columbia. although water levels are starting to recede, entire towns remain cut off and many roads are blocked. there are fears the flooding could cause nation—wide shortages and push food prices higher. spencer coyne is the mayor of the town of princeton in british columbia. he's with me now. thank you so much forjoining us. thank you so much for “oining us. ., �* u. thank you so much for “oining us. ., �* _, ., ~ thank you so much for “oining us. you're welcome, thank you. what kind _ us. you're welcome, thank you. what kind of— us. you're welcome, thank you. what kind of temperatures - us. you're welcome, thank you. what kind of temperatures are l what kind of temperatures are you dealing with where you are

at the moment?— at the moment? right now, it is, ithink_ at the moment? right now, it is, i think it — at the moment? right now, it is, i think it is _ at the moment? right now, it is, i think it is about - at the moment? right now, it is, i think it is about minus i is, i think it is about minus three celsius and snowing. find three celsius and snowing. and wh ...? three celsius and snowing. and why...? hello? _ three celsius and snowing. and why...? hello? why— three celsius and snowing. and why...? hello? why is- three celsius and snowing. and why...? hello? why is that? i why...? hello? why is that? sor , why...? hello? why is that? sorry. i— why...? hello? why is that? sorry. i did _ why...? hello? why is that? sorry, i did not _ why...? hello? why is that? sorry, i did not hear- why...? hello? why is that? sorry, i did not hear you. i sorry, i did not hear you. temperatures are incredibly low at the moment. gm? temperatures are incredibly low at the moment.— at the moment. why is that? yes. at the moment. why is that? yes- yeah. — at the moment. why is that? yes. yeah, it _ at the moment. why is that? yes. yeah, it is _ at the moment. why is that? yes. yeah, it is november i at the moment. why is that? | yes. yeah, it is november and this is when we start to turn into winter. it was considerably higher a few days ago when it was raining non—stop. i5 ago when it was raining non-stoo— ago when it was raining non-sto. , ., ., non-stop. is there a shortage of as non-stop. is there a shortage of gas where _ non-stop. is there a shortage of gas where you _ non-stop. is there a shortage of gas where you are? - non-stop. is there a shortage of gas where you are? we'vel of gas where you are? we've lost natural _ of gas where you are? we've lost natural gas. _ of gas where you are? we've lost natural gas. liquid i of gas where you are? we've lost natural gas. liquid not l lost natural gas. liquid not petrol. lost natural gas. liquid not etrol. , ., petrol. right. so there is a shortage. _ petrol. right. so there is a shortage, this _ petrol. right. so there is a shortage, this terrible i shortage, this terrible situation where you are in, is there panic buying, people looking for different foods where you are as well? i mean, i was it affecting people in your city? 50 i was it affecting people in your city?— i was it affecting people in ourci ? ., . . your city? so not so much panic bu inc. your city? so not so much panic buying- we _ your city? so not so much panic buying- we are _ your city? so not so much panic buying. we are a _ your city? so not so much panic buying. we are a small-

buying. we are a small community and we had a huge onslaught of people coming through our community before the flooding. and our grocery store was cleaned out pretty fast prior to that. so when the flood happened, we've already cut off from all of the main sources of transport so it emptied, emptied within a day. is there a yellow alert at the moment within your city? yes, we are under— moment within your city? yes, we are under evacuation i moment within your city? yes, we are under evacuation alertsj we are under evacuation alerts and we do have people on evacuation.— and we do have people on evacuation. ., ., ., , evacuation. right, and how many houses have _ evacuation. right, and how many houses have been _ evacuation. right, and how many houses have been damaged? i evacuation. right, and how many l houses have been damaged? there is close to 300 _ houses have been damaged? there is close to 300 houses _ houses have been damaged? there is close to 300 houses that - is close to 300 houses that were in the flood area and most of them have sustained some damage. of them have sustained some damaue. ., ,, , of them have sustained some damaue. ., i. , ., damage. you yourself have actually been _ damage. you yourself have actually been making i damage. you yourself have actually been making morej damage. you yourself have i actually been making more of a personal effort to get involved in certain areas of life, like directing traffic. tell us about that.— about that. this is my community, - about that. this is my community, it - about that. this is my community, it is i about that. this is my community, it is my l about that. this is my i community, it is my home. wherever there is a problem, i am there to help. i am notjust

sitting behind a desk type of mare. i get up and do the work. and yet this must be quite a worrying time for people there. i further next 24—48 hours is a crunch time. i further next 24-48 hours is a crunch time.— i further next 24-48 hours is a crunch time. yeah, so our sewer s stem crunch time. yeah, so our sewer system and _ crunch time. yeah, so our sewer system and water _ crunch time. yeah, so our sewer system and water system - crunch time. yeah, so our sewer system and water system are i system and water system are struggling along right now. if our sewer system continues to struggle, we may have to evacuate the entire community. and so, what do you need to happen not to have to evacuate the entire community? the river level needs _ the entire community? the river level needs to _ the entire community? the river level needs to continue - the entire community? the river level needs to continue to i level needs to continue to drop. we have two rivers that surround the community, it is a beautiful community, but the river levels need to continue to drop because right now there is so much ground water penetration into the sewer system but it is having a hard time keeping up and if we lose that, we're going to have sewage backup into community itself. ., itself. good luck over the next cou - le itself. good luck over the next couple of _ itself. good luck over the next couple of hours. _ itself. good luck over the next couple of hours. we _ itself. good luck over the next couple of hours. we hope i itself. good luck over the next | couple of hours. we hope those things take place and you are able to keep everybody in your town. ., ~ able to keep everybody in your town. . ,, i. able to keep everybody in your town. . ,, . .,~ town. thank you so much. take

care. the usjustice department announced charges on thursday of two iranians who allegedly took part in an online disinformation campaign to influence american voters in the 2020 presidential election. here with the latest is our correspondent suzanne kianpour. we have heard of russian interference in elections before so what has happened now to introduce iranians into the mix? ~ ,., to introduce iranians into the mix? ~ mix? well, so it looks like perhaps — mix? well, so it looks like perhaps not _ mix? well, so it looks like perhaps not necessarily i mix? well, so it looks like| perhaps not necessarily the iranians government but iranian nationals with the us department ofjustice they are linked to the iranian government because they are a company —— their work —— for the company did work with the government and it appears they may have taken a page out of the russian playbook from 2016. the indictment effectively says, concludes, rather, that two iranian nationals basically operated a disinformation

campaign in orderto operated a disinformation campaign in order to sow discord and, overall, in order to cast doubt on the american election system. so the two men who have been charged a 24—year—old mohammad hosein musa kazemi and 27—year—old sajjad kashian. musa kazemi and 27-year-old sajjad kashian.— sajjad kashian. what are they bein: sajjad kashian. what are they being accused _ sajjad kashian. what are they being accused of? _ sajjad kashian. what are they being accused of? so - sajjad kashian. what are they being accused of? so they i sajjad kashian. what are they| being accused of? so they got sajjad kashian. what are they i being accused of? so they got a hold of confidential _ being accused of? so they got a hold of confidential voter i hold of confidential voter information, allegedly, and they allegedly sent out e—mails, menacing e—mails, to both democrats and republicans. now, this is kind of an indicator as to why perhaps it is really and effectively, a way to cast doubt on the election system as a whole, right? this operation may not necessarily have been in order to help or hurt the other candidate in 2020, however there was allegedly an incident where they posed as the proud boys, which, as you know, is a far—right group, and

separately, in 2020, march of 2021 and intelligence report came out saying that the iranian, that there may have been an effort by iranian hackers in order to help or to hurt donald trump's re— election campaign. hurt donald trump's re- election campaign. elliott, suzanne. _ election campaign. elliott, suzanne, thank— election campaign. elliott, suzanne, thank you i election campaign. elliott, suzanne, thank you so i election campaign. elliott, i suzanne, thank you so much for telling us about that. —— brilliant. next week sees the release of a new film called house of gucci, directed by ridley scott. the singer lady gaga plays patrizia reggiani, who served 18 years in jail for hiring a hit man to kill her former husband and label boss maurizio gucci. to prepare for the role, lady gaga says she drew on the abuse she suffered as a teenager. here's our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba. heart of glass by blondie plays. it was a name that sounded so seductive. in 1998, patrizia reggiani was convicted of arranging the murder of herformer husband maurizio gucci, of the gucci fashion empire. to play her, lady gaga immersed herself in months of preparation.

i don't consider myself to be a particularly ethical person. finding the pain the character experienced as a woman in a male—dominated world came from lady gaga's own past. what was the most relevant about my personal experiences, lizo, was the trauma that i have been through in my life — being assaulted when i was 19 by a music producer. i took from every trigger point that i could find, so it was very painful. the singer has spoken in the past about how, before she became one of music's biggest stars, she suffered not one but multiple sexual assaults, leading to post—traumatic stress disorder. i have complex ptsd, so that's not single—incident ptsd, it's multiple incidents. i used all of them at different times in different moments of the script. it's what i was compelled to do for the role because i thought to myself "well, there

is simply no other answer for why she would have her husband murdered". gucci needs new blood. goodbye, 1930s. hello, �*80s! she says the film's director, ridley scott, was constantly concerned... house of gucci's coming! ..that she was immersing herself too deeply into painful memories. reliving your trauma for a character is maybe not the healthiest thing, but i'm a romantic. i have a romance with this script, a romance with my character, a romance with the cast. it was, i think, in a way, therapeutic, in the way that — what he called it was an exorcism. i relived all of this to play her. lady gaga, thank you so much for your time. thank you, lizo. lady gaga. there's much more on the bbc news website and app, including a report on how deforestation in brazil's amazon rainforest has hit its highest levels in over 15 years, according to official data. you can reach me on twitter.

i'm @marklobel. from me and the team, goodbye. hello there. who'd have thought, by the middle of september we'd still be experiencing temperatures during the middle of the afternoon into the mid teens? that's exactly what happened on thursday with temperatures peaking just over 16 degrees in parts of aberdeenshire. now for many, we are under this influence of high pressure and a south—westerly flow is driving in a lot of cloud, but a lot of warmth with it. yes, a weather front into the far north, but it means that we start off on an incredibly mild start this morning — these are more akin to daytime maximums at this time of year. so, double digits quite widely first thing. the cloud, however, thick enough for a spot or two of drizzle — quite a damp, murky start out to the west — and our weather front producing some heavy, persistent rain to the far north of scotland and the northern isles. top temperatures, though, with a little bit of brightness into eastern scotland, maybe north—east england, once again 14—15,

maybe 16 degrees. however, that front will gradually sink its way south through the weekend. it's a cold front. it's allowing the wind direction to change to a northerly and to bring quite a different feel to the weather as we go through the weekend. so on saturday, it will weaken off considerably as it moves its way through northern ireland into northern england. ahead of it, we should get some sunshine. to the north of that, it will be a cooler feel with a scattering of showers — temperatures struggling to get into double figures by then. now, saturday night into sunday, the front continues to sink its way steadily southwards. we can track the isobars all the way back up into the arctic. that cold air is starting to take hold. it means in sheltered, rural parts of scotland, we could see a touch of frost first thing on sunday morning. sunday, there will be some sunshine but a keen northerly wind driving in some showers potentially along the coast. and factor in the wind direction and the strength, it is going to feel noticeably cooler, so temperatures struggling to get into

double figures right across the country. but watch this — those clear skies continue through the night. temperatures are likely to fall away in scotland and the north of england. we are likely to see more of a frost as lows get down to —2 in one or two places, so a bit of a shock to the system in comparison to what we've had just lately. and in fact, to close out the month of november, it is going to stay on the cold side. the potential for some wintry showers later in the week with overnight frosts as well.

this is bbc news, the headlines: many of tennis' leading stars have expressed concern for the top female chinese player, peng shuai, who hasn't been seen since accusing a senior chinese official of sexual abuse two weeks ago. chinese state media has released an email attributed to peng, but doubt has been cast about its authenticity. rescue teams in canada are trying to reach over 18,000 people who are stranded by floods and mudslides in the western province of british columbia. although water levels are starting to recede entire towns remain cut off and many roads are blocked. a us state governor has halted the execution of prisoner, juliusjones, hours before he was due to be put to death. jones was sentenced to death in 2002, for killing a man in a carjacking incident. after several appeals, his sentence has now been commuted to life imprisonment,