welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines: iran's security forces open fire on protesters, forty days after the death of a woman accused of wearing her hijab incorrectly. as extreme weather batters the planet, the un secretary general tells the bbc that the world is approaching a point of no—return. if we are not able to reverse the present threat that is leading to a catastrophe in the world, we will be doomed. russian forces carry out nuclear drills, as fears grow about an escalation of the war in ukraine. and, we meet the man who ran across australia in 47 days, inspiring a nation, and raising

over a million for charity. hello and welcome to the programme. security forces in iran have used live ammunition on protesters in several cities, a0 days after the death of mahsa amini in police custody. she was arrested after allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly. people took to the streets in 30 cities across the country with some businesses also closing to show their solidarity. our correspondent rana rahimpour reports. chanting. day a0 of iran protest and forty days since the death

of mahsa amini, the young iranian kurdish woman who has become a symbol for iran's protest movement. this is the city of saqez, her birthplace. the authorities did everything to stop people attending her memorial day. they blocked the roads and closed all the schools and universities of kurdistan province. but they failed. and thousands of people marched to her grave. the violent crackdown of the protests have failed to stop them. videos show demonstrations in tehran, the capital and at least another 30 cities and in the universities across the country. meanwhile, more businesses have gone on strike. these were

demonstrations in front of the medical council of the islamic republic of iran in the capital. doctors were protesting when security officers attacked them. some were arrested. workers at tehran oil refinery company refused to work. and shop owners in the capitals grand bazaar as well as other cities stay closed the iranian authorities say everything is under control but the videos that are being published online tell a different story. they show a country in turmoil. and people who want regime change. rana rahimpour, bbc news. american—iranian journalist and political analyst negar mortazavi told me more about the significance of wednesday's protests. after the death of any person, the seventh day of pausing and in the 40th day of mourning is

significant ceremony that the loved ones in the community gather, and in the case of political protests, people are drawing comparisons with the i970 drawing comparisons with the 1970 revolution and these a0 day intervals of protests, so each time as a protest protesters would be killed and in a0 days later they will gather again to mourn and warmer protesters would be killed, so it has been a0 days, and this is the first interval in this round of protest, and it is for the death of the young curtis woman, and the domestic media are reporting that at least 10,000 if not more images showing incredible sea of walking towards her grave, and protesting and mourning this a0th day, so it's very significant in a cultural way but also in a political way. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the trial in australia

of a former political adviser, has been abandoned. bruce lehrmann denies raping his colleague, brittany higgins, inside parliament three years ago. thejudge in canberra declared a mistrial after it emerged that one of the jurors had carried out their own background research on the case. in the uk, rishi sunak has appeared before mps in parliament on his first full day as prime minister, and announced yet more unravelling of predecessor liz truss�*s plans. the government's economic statement, due to be delivered on monday, has now been pushed back by almost three weeks, and a ban on fracking in england reinstated. a jury in wisconsin has found a man guilty of murdering six people by driving into a christmas parade last year. the defendant, darrell brooks, was found guilty on 76 charges of deliberately crashing his vehicle into a crowd in the city of waukesha near milwaukee. 60 other people were injured, including many children.

the british foreign secretary, james cleverly, has said that lgbt football fans who attend the world cup in qatar should be willing to show some compromise. he told lbc that anyone traveling to the tournament should be "respectful of the host nation", where same—sex activity is illegal. labour called the remarks "tone—deaf". the parent company of facebook, instagram and whatsapp has reported a fall in revenue for the second consecutive quarter, in the latest sign of the us and global economic slowdown. meta's profits for the past three months were $a.a billion — less than half of the same period last year. there's been another sobering warning on the state of the climate from the un secretary general. antonio guterres says the world is reaching the point of no—return and every country must make tackling climate change a priority.

speaking ahead of next month's cop27 conference, mr guterres said the world would face catastrophe unless action is taken. 0ur climate editorjustin rowlatt spoke to him at the un headquarters in new york. it has been a year of extreme weather. devastating floods in pakistan, drought in somalia with millions threatened by famine, and record—breaking heat in the uk and many other countries. it's why the un chief says climate is the most important issue in his in—tray. climate change is the crisis of our lifetime. it's the defining issue of today's world. so, climate change remains a central priority in everything we do. if we are not able to reverse the present trend that is leading to catastrophe in the world, we will be doomed.

and a welter of new reports released by un bodies today reveals the worlds woeful progress on climate. at the glasgow conference, countries agreed to raise their carbon cutting game every year. well, we have just got the figures in for this year and just 2a out of 193 countries strengthened their plan. if you take together all the pledges the world has made, we still see emissions increasing by 10% by 2030. now, the science is very clear on this. it says emissions need to almost halve by 2030 to avoid the worst effects of climate change, so we are moving in the wrong direction. it's the same story when you take an atmospheric perspective. another new report shows concentrations of the main greenhouse gases — carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide — all hit record levels last year, with the biggest increase in methane ever recorded. it underscores the urgency of action.

do you think the governments of the world recognise that? not necessarily all of them at the present moment. you have inflation, you have the consequences of the war, you have high prices of energy and food, and social unrest linked to that. so there has been indeed a tendency to put climate change on the back burner. and that is why it is so important to strongly advocate to bring back climate change to the centre of the international debate. there have been fears some countries, including the uk, have been rolling back on some of their climate commitments. liz truss advised king charles not to go to the un climate summit in egypt, for example. should the king go to cop27? do you want to see him there? and what about the new uk prime minister, rishi sunak? do you want to see him there in egypt? i'd like to see them both. i'm sensing that you are slightly worried about the uk government's�*s commitment on climate.

if they need to be held to account by the people, it suggests they are not... there were some hints but those hints do not correspond to the reality. let's be optimistic about the future. this year we have had a taste of the kind of extreme weather climate change can bring. the message from the un today is clear. unless we raise ambition in egypt, the world will face far greater extremes. justin rowlatt, bbc news, the un hq in new york. injust under two weeks americans will take to the polls in the us midterm elections when all seats in the house of representatives are up for grabs, as well as a third of seats in the senate. one major issue having a big impact on voter enthusiasm across both parties is the supreme court ruling this summer which overturned the long—held constitutional right to abortion. 13 states have already severely restricted abortion rights, and these elections will determine the future

of legal abortion in several other states. 0ur north america editor sarah smith reports from michigan. tim draeger often uses his private plane to fly cancer patients to hospital. now he's volunteering to transport pregnant women from states which have banned abortion to places where they can terminate a pregnancy. in michigan, abortion is legalfor now. across the us, 13 states have severely restricted abortion, some with no exceptions for rape or incest, and it has become a major election issue. what does it say about america when people see what's been happening to abortion laws in some states? we're the country that espouses freedom. we say we have freedom of choice for a lot of things. here, i have to use that same freedom to help women find the freedom that they deserve, that they've had for 50 years. they should have that freedom everywhere, and that's why i help. they sing

at st mary's catholic church, politics have now made their way into the pews. here in michigan, there is a special proposition on the ballot, asking voters if they want to guarantee abortion rights for women, and the priest is organising the opposition. it is one thing to kill a person, but to kill one's own child is another dimension of evil. for anti—abortion advocates as well as pro—choice campaigners, abortion is central to this election campaign. it's really not that difficult to see on at least a grave moral issue like this one, you know, what you need to do and how you should vote. we think the fundamental right is not abortion but life. the right to access an abortion was overturned by the supreme court injune, and now the battle over what the law should be is being fought out state by individual state. why is it a right to kill your own child? abortion has to become unthinkable. people have to really realise what it actually is, and i think people that are for abortion don't really understand.

we've lost the whole idea of life as sacred. it's a gift from god. abortion has always been one of the most divisive issues in america, but this is the first time in almost 50 years that voters can have their say. in states like michigan, huge numbers of women have been registering to vote, vastly outpacing new male voters. and that's because this year, abortion rights are specifically on the ballot. as democrats organise their campaigns, they are focusing on reproductive rights. instead of the rising cost of living, they would much rather warn voters about strict abortion limits many republicans advocate. to go to a total ban that doesn't have any exceptions for rape or incest, that says if you're having a miscarriage, you know, you have to wait until you are deathly ill to get a procedure, that is not something we are going to allow here because it rolls us so deeply backwards. and lead us not into temptation...

anti—abortion activists have been campaigning for decades and it's long been an issue republicans could use to rally their base, but now it could cost them votes. 0ur body! all: our choice! a furious backlash to the removal of abortion rights is energising large numbers of voters, who are determined to make their voices heard in the polling booths. sarah smith, bbc news, lansing, michigan. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: dashing through the streets of washington, to honour the lgbtq community, and in high heels no less! we bring you the latest scenes from the annual high—heel drag-queen race. indira gandhi, ruler of the world's largest democracy, died today. 0nly yesterday, she had spoken of dying in the service of her country, and said,

"i would be proud of it. "every drop of my blood will contribute "to the growth of this nation." after ag years of unhappiness, these two countries have concluded a chapter of history. no more suspicion, no more fear, no more uncertainty. of what each day might bring. booster ignition and lift—off of discovery, with six astronaut heroes and one american legend! we're enjoying the show. this is beautiful. baby cries a milestone in human history. born today, this girl in india is the seven billionth person on the planet.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko 0i in singapore. 0ur headlines iranian security forces open fire on protesters in several cities, forty days after the death, of a woman accused of wearing her hijab incorrectly. the un secretary general issues a stark warning that we are approaching the point of no return, if the world wants to tackle climate change. as russia suffers military setbacks in the south around kherson, it has been conducting annual exercises to test out its strategic nuclear weapons. ballistic missiles were launched from the ground submarines in the barents sea, and from the air. president putin was watching the exercises from the kremlin. robin brant has the details. as the missiles went up, the message went out. this was only a simulation, a test, but

russia wants the world to remember that it has the biggest stockpile of nuclear weapons. vladimir putin watched and he was briefed, is russia's forces as far from the north—west to the east of the country rehearse to their reaction to a nuclear attack. military chiefs told russia's leader the task of delivering a massive nuclear strike by strategic offensive forces had been rehearsed. 0n land, in the area and at sea, this annual exercise is known as thunder. eight months into the war in ukraine it is designed to have added potency but in kyiv, the simulation was seen as just that. simulation was seen as 'ust that. ~ , simulation was seen as 'ust that. g , ., simulation was seen as 'ust that. g, ., ., that. my personal opinion, he will not use _ that. my personal opinion, he will not use nuclear _ that. my personal opinion, he will not use nuclear weapons. j will not use nuclear weapons. they did a lot of stupid things, but they continue to be

pragmatic. things, but they continue to be pragmatic— things, but they continue to be ”ramatic. , ., , ., ., pragmatic. these images are not 'ust art pragmatic. these images are not just part of _ pragmatic. these images are not just part of a _ pragmatic. these images are not just part of a war— pragmatic. these images are not just part of a war effort, - pragmatic. these images are not just part of a war effort, they - just part of a war effort, they are part of a propaganda effort. the latest claim at the heart of which is the accusation ukraine is about to use a dirty bomb, explosives with radiological material attached utterly untrue, though, says ukraine's international actors. re'ect this transparently �* international actors. re'ect this transparently false h this transparently false allegations. russia often accuses others for what they intend to do themselves. we have seen this pattern before from syria to ukraine. russia must not use force tactics or further escalation.— further escalation. the big thin . further escalation. the big thing for _ further escalation. the big thing for them _ further escalation. the big thing for them is - further escalation. the big thing for them is to - further escalation. the big thing for them is to try - further escalation. the big thing for them is to try to | thing for them is to try to shut— thing for them is to try to shutdown with and support for ukraine — shutdown with and support for ukraine and one of the ways they— ukraine and one of the ways they are _ ukraine and one of the ways they are doing this is by scaring _ they are doing this is by scaring us with nuclear rhetoric, with accusations about _ rhetoric, with accusations about things that leading us toward _

about things that leading us toward the point that ukraine in their— toward the point that ukraine in their eyes is going to be the — in their eyes is going to be the aggressor about nuclear war~ — the aggressor about nuclear war. ., ~ ., , ., war. the war in ukraine is a better and _ war. the war in ukraine is a better and muddy _ war. the war in ukraine is a i better and muddy conventional one. moscow's unsubstantiated claims of dirty bombs and implied threats of nuclear attacks are the latest weapons from a country and a leader dealing with an enemy that refuses to capitulate. ukraine's defence minister has warned, the battle to retake territory from russian forces in southern kherson, is proving more difficult than it was in the north—east, because of wet weather and the nature of the terrain. the area, was one of the first to be taken by moscow in this war, and has been at the centre of the fiercest clashes in the last few weeks. ukraine says russia has been strengthening its military force there — while telling civilians to leave. more than 70,000 are thought to have fled in the past week. as russia continues to attack

ukraine's power infrastructure, ukrainians who've fled to other countries are being asked not to return until spring to ease the demand on the energy system. hugo bachega has more from kyiv. the ukrainian defence minister said the ukrainian advance in kherson is being made more difficult because of the terrain in the region but also because of the rainy conditions in the area. 0leksii reznikov did not give details about the operation in the region. the ukrainian forces are advancing along the dnipro river and the main target here is the city of kherson, which is one of the largest ukrainian cities under russian occupation, and the capital of one of the four regions that president putin claims to have annexed. last night an adviser to president zelensky said there were no signs that russian troops were preparing to leave the city. in fact he said russian troops were preparing the streets

for defence and sending in more troops. but the defence minister here also said there was a change in russian tactics after the appointment of the russian general sergey surovikin as the commander of the russian forces here in ukraine. the minister said russia was now openly fighting against civilians, not just the ukrainian military, by attacking civilian infrastructure across the country. and he said it was priority number one to strengthen the country's defence systems. and finally, the minister also dismissed the allegations being made by russia that ukraine is ready to use a dirty bomb. he said this was an attempt by moscow to reduce western support to ukraine. he described it as blackmail aimed at the civilised world. hugo bachega in kyiv. many of us took up running in 2020, but while most of us may have stopped at a 10k or a half marathon distance, our next guest went

a little bit further. 23—year—old nedd brockmann has just finished running across australia, a distance of almost a,000 kilometres with the epic run taking a6 days and 12 hours. i asked him what inspired him to undertake such a challenge. 0bviously i'd just love a challenge and i love seeing where the body can go and i've done a few things like this but obviously not this extreme, wanted to help and may change and inspire people along the way and here we are, or sydney finished after a6 days, so very excited. finished after 46 days, so very excited. ., ., , ., finished after 46 days, so very excited. ., ._ , ., ., excited. today understand that ou onl excited. today understand that you only took _ excited. today understand that you only took up _ excited. today understand that you only took up running - excited. today understand that you only took up running in - you only took up running in 2020, i guess in the midst of the pandemicjust like many of us may have, but how did it develop from casual running to running across the whole of australia?— australia? yet exactly, it started off _ australia? yet exactly, it started off basically - australia? yet exactly, it started off basically i - australia? yet exactly, it| started off basically i was getting a bit unfit at the start of covid and i thought i've got to start running and had a 21 k, a2 k, 60 k, 80 k, 100 k run and the natural progression i heard someone had run 50 marathons in 50 days

they did that back in 2020 after work, sparky by trade, then fast forward to now i heard someone running across australia in 66 days and i thought why can't they do it in a0 odd? and as —goers go i went for it, so got it done and raised a fair bit of money in the process for a homelessness charity. the process for a homelessness chari . ., ., ~' the process for a homelessness chari . ., .,~ charity. you make it sound so eas , charity. you make it sound so easy. but _ charity. you make it sound so easy, but surely _ charity. you make it sound so easy, but surely a _ charity. you make it sound so easy, but surely a run - charity. you make it sound so easy, but surely a run like - easy, but surely a run like this is all about overcoming the mental barriers. what kept you going despite some of the challenges along the way? aha, you going despite some of the challenges along the way? a few thin . s. challenges along the way? a few things- my _ challenges along the way? a few things. my inability _ challenges along the way? a few things. my inability to _ challenges along the way? a few things. my inability to quit. - challenges along the way? a few things. my inability to quit. i- things. my inability to quit. i just have this in eight desire to not give in and there was plenty of motivators, people saying i couldn't to it, obviously raising money for homeless people and just the, exactly that, wanting to be the best version of myself. there was day they got quite injured along the run and it does sound like it's just like along the run and it does sound like it'sjust like brushing my teeth but in order to get

something like this done you have to put it in simple terms and each day was just the hundred k done and each day i'd just kept showing up and all of a sudden got to bondi. there was a lot more to it than that but simply i just was a lot more to it than that but simply ijust kept was a lot more to it than that but simply i just kept showing up but simply i just kept showing up for myself insuring up for those around me and we got it done. ~ . . those around me and we got it done. ~ ., ., ., , done. what a remarkable achievement. _ before we go, thousands lined the streets of washington dc to watch the high heel race which honours the lgbt community. every year, dozens of drag queens bring colour, sass and so much fun to the race which always takes place on the tuesday before halloween. wendy urquhart reports. cheering the whistle blew, the crowd went nuts, and despite their sky—high heels, the runners were off like a rocket. this is the 17th annual high heel race at dupont circle in washington, which is one of the most popular lgbtq events in america. i'm a straight male in the gay community, but i participate

anyway because i support all them and i support all people. it's my first time here, but it's so much fun, and i wish they would do more events like this because it gets everyone out having a great time. the community, the event itself, the pageantry. - it's fun to go out during - halloween and be with friends and dress up and run in heels. it's a delight. the costumes were as beautiful as they were varied and participants sashayed down the street loud and proud — some sprinting to the finish, others preferring not to ruffle their feathers and a fewjust posing for the crowds. cheering feathers, sparkles and baubles brought a touch of glamour to the night, but by the end of the race, some of the runners were clearly suffering as the painful reality of walking and running in heels took its toll. wendy urquhart, bbc news. 0h oh my goodness, could never do

that. that's all we have time forfor that. that's all we have time for for this addition of new state. —— newsday. hello there. 0utdoor events like halloween and bonfire nightjust around the corner. and if you're thinking about grabbing the scarf and gloves, think again. it's going to stay very mild indeed. these are temperatures that we should be seeing around the end of october, but what we are likely to get today is widespread mild weather, with above average temperatures even as far north as scotland. but we could see highest values of 22 degrees somewhere across the southeast — that's 72 fahrenheit. and why? well, because of the wind direction. coming all the way up from the south, it's dragging in this warmer air all the way from africa. and it's notjust the uk. large area of high pressure keeping things very dry, very settled and very mild across central europe.

we unfortunately won't see the drier weather because all the time, these areas of low pressure will bring outbreaks of rain and strong winds from time to time. so first thing in the morning, there'll be outbreaks of rain across southwest england and wales, a lot of low cloud around as well. a very mild start. misty and murky. 0ur rain becomes quite showery as it pushes its way steadily north, masking early morning sunshine across parts of aberdeenshire by the end of the day. but we should see an improving picture generally across england and wales. maybe the risk of a few isolated sharp showers in the southeast, but with the sunshine, that's where we're likely to see the warmth, highs potentially into the low 20s. more wet weather to come on friday, some of it heavy and windy with it, too. not for all, but the heaviest of the rain is likely to be out to the west, and that'll be accompanied by gale force gusts of wind on exposed coasts and some pretty rough seas here. now that rain and the strong winds will gradually drift its way northwards during the day

on friday, again allowing for lighter winds, more sunshine. and again, those temperatures pretty good for the end of october. more of the same as we head into the weekend. not a wash—out by any means, but there will be outbreaks of rain. and at times, once the rain passes through, we'll see those isobars squeezing together, the winds picking up. but there will also be some sunshine as well, so it's a very messy story this weekend. keep abreast of the forecast, particularly for sunday. but generally there will be outbreaks of rain. there'll also be some sunshine, but one unifying factor — mild for all.