now on bbc news...katy watson reports on the choices facing brazilians as they go the polls. this is the extraordinary amazon. home to 10% of the world's wildlife, as well as millions of people, including 350 indigenous groups. but the world's largest rainforest is under threat. under brazil's current president, jair bolsonaro, deforestation has soared, illegal mining is at record highs. he and his supporters say the amazon needs to be developed. but the forest and its people are suffering —

a traditional way of life forever being altered by miners and loggers. rival lula has promised to end illegal deforestation and mining. but is he really the man to save the amazon? perhaps this is one of the most critical presidential elections we have ever had in brazil. as brazilians go to the polls, will who wins decide the future of the rainforest? we travelled to brazil's yanomami territory, right up on the border with venezuela. it's the world's largest indigenous reserve — home to nearly 30,000 people who live as hunter—gatherers, as well as tens of thousands of illegal miners, a number that keeps growing. the remoteness of the yanomami is what makes them so special,

but also increasingly vulnerable. this woman is malnourished and dehydrated. the health centre's become a field hospital on the front line of illegal mining. there are new cases every day — old and young. nobody escapes this scourge. outside, a makeshift ward is full of patients with malaria — the yanomami sick. marilena is one of them.

marilena's two—month—old grandson has pneumonia. he doesn't have a name yet. yanomami people don't name their children for several years in case they die. it's a very real fear. five minutes�* walk from the health centre, a polluted creek doesn't stop the children playing. the mercury used to extract gold in the mine upstream has poisoned these once crystal—clear waters. fishing and drinking here is now impossible. jenny valdo played in this

water as a kid, though much has changed — not least the temptation for young indigenous to get involved in illegal mining. and this is the mine that's causing their pain. production in full swing, it's scarring the landscape and its people. there are as many as 20,000 illegal miners working in the region. we just passed one of the worst affected areas in the yanomami territory. we couldn't land. the pilot said many of the miners are armed, and he was worried they'd shoot at the plane. in the past few years, monitoring of illegal activity in the amazon,

as well as budgets in the environmental and indigenous affairs departments, have all been slashed. workers talk of a crisis. 0ne health worker we spoke to didn't want to be identified for fear they'd get in trouble if they criticised how the federal government works. this way of life for the yanomami hangs in the balance. as the campaigning draws to a close, brazilians have a stark choice to make — jair bolsonaro, a man who wants to exploit

the amazon for economic gain. 0rformer president lula da silva, once brazil's most loved politician, then sentenced to prison for corruption — charges that have now been annulled. but his legacy is mixed. when it comes to the amazon, though, his record is better than bolsonaro�*s. between 2003 and 2010, when he was last president, deforestation fell over 70%. now, though, it's back at the level it was 15 years ago. lula's made the amazon a big part of his campaign, travelling there and meeting its people. for one of brazil's leading scientists, these

elections offer hope. the political discourse of the current president of brazil, during all his years as a parliament member, has always been "go ahead, deforest, do some gold mining, do whatever you want, the forest have no value." we have really to change. we really have an opportunity now in the second round to elect a president that would at least attempt to stop the action of organised crime in the amazon and seek a new development. nothing easy to accomplish, but at least he goes in that direction. the current president goes in the opposite direction. in the yanomami community, lula's the stronger candidate. leaders here fear the alternative.

life here is far removed from the lives of brazilians in the big cities. nobody i've spoken to here, when i've asked them about the elections, has a strong opinion about them. they say politics is a white man's world. but who gets voted in at the end of the month will have a huge impact on the future of indigenous people here. the miners are also part of that non—indigenous world in the cities — but they make their way

into the yanomami territory illegally by travelling these dangerous rivers. maria's bags are packed in this jerry can for when she gets the call for her nextjob. but she's scared to take to the waters again after her canoe capsized a few months back. maria works as a cook at the mines. she knows it's illegal. she doesn't want to be identified. she's scared, but she has debts to pay. with the money she's earned, she's built a better house. but unlike many miners, maria has her doubts about bolsonaro. these elections have shown just

how divided the country is. when it comes to the amazon, brazilians have a choice between lula, who's vowed to clamp down on illegal mining, and bolsonaro, who in effect backs it. but in this part of brazil, there's no question — bolsonaro wins hands down. the police station's car park in the region's capital, boa vista, is testament to the booming mining industry here. these planes and helicopters confiscated from suspected illegal miners, some of them even prominent local businessmen. mining is most definitely in this region's blood. in front of the governor's palace stands this monument dedicated to the prospectors of the past. the current governor, an ally of bolsonaro�*s, wants that tradition to continue.

it's not an argument that indigenous lawyer ivo makuxi buys. he says bolsonaro�*s narrative emboldens illegal activity, and hisjob�*s been made much harder these past four years. we are very...afraid. we want lula to win, because we would have dialogue with the government. they would listen to us, the indigenous peoples, because i experience personally that during this government, we don't have even the rights to go attend a meeting

with them. that says they don't want to listen to us, because they are doing the right thing for us. bolsonaro has 24—year—old danilo�*s vote. talk of legalising mining has made it easierfor him to sell guns to miners to protect themselves. it's the money that drives him. and so for you, the future, the climate issues, the future of the rainforest, the impact on the world is not something that worries you.

it's a complex problem with lots of groups involved, many of them divided. the amazon matters to us all — no more so than those living in the rainforest, many of whom are poor and just want to provide for theirfamilies. the solution is complex too, but as long as there's inequality, can the amazon ever truly be protected? one of lula's former ministers thinks so.

you left lula's government over disagreements on infrastructure projects in the amazon. so will lula be that savior of the amazon?

but back at the governor's palace in boa vista, the insistence on the economic value of mining is clear. will this be what the yanomami community and the amazon looks like in a few decades from now? there's no doubt competing forces in the amazon are changing how they live their lives. in this vast rainforest, though, there's little hope that politicians can keep them safe.

hello, lots of contrasts in the weather today. some sunshine across england and wales, but also a band of heavy and thundery rain all tied in with this area of low pressure, which continues on its progress northwards as we head through this afternoon. ijust show you what has been happening in the last few hours in terms of the heavy rain and the thunder and lightning. this band of rain nudging northwards through anglia. behind it, lots of sunshine, but heavy showers in from the south west. that continues to work northwards into scotland. across the but mild. two areas of rain overnight, this first one moving northwards across scotland and weakening, and then showers spiralling around that area of low pressure as it moves eastwards across england. and again, quite a breezy night, particularly for channel coasts. gusts reading 55

miles per hour. a mild night, 10—13 c the overnight lows. all easily in double figures. the week mild by day and night, for the spells of rain but also some drier and sunnier spells. some of us may escape with some dry days as well. 0vernight showers moving away, some sunshine not high teens for many of us. through monday evening, those showers get going a bit more across western scotland. a more defined next system moving in later in the day as well. once again, the driest and sunniest weather will be across more eastern counties, and we will

as we head into tuesday, it is a quieter day for many out of our next system arriving from the south—west but many shouldst i mainly dry on tuesday could be some missed and low cloud lingering in places but for many it is a mostly dry day, although the cloud will mostly be changing. 0nce although the cloud will mostly be changing. once again eastern areas in drawing the driest and sunniest of the weather with temperatures between 13 and 17 or 18 celsius. by the time we get to wednesday or thursday the temptress could change to 20 or 21.

this is bbc news. i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at 5pm: former chancellor rishi sunak confirms he's in the race to be the next conservative leader. suella braverman, the former home secretary, is backing his bid. former prime minister borisjohnson is reported to have asked fellow leadership hopeful penny mordaunt her to drop out of the race and to back his campaign. she is said to have refused. so penny mordaunt is still in the running — with 23 backers. she told the bbc she believes in cabinet led politics. i have my views, but i won't be endorsing policy that ijust made up by myself. in other news, headteachers in england say nine in ten schools will have run out of money by the next school year due to the cost of living crisis.