this is bbc news. i'm gareth barlow. our top stories: as extreme weather batters the planet, the un secretary general tells the bbc the world is approaching a point of no—return. if we are not able to reverse the present trend that is leading to catastrophe in the world, we will be doomed. the trial of a man accused of raping a colleague inside australia's parliament house is abandoned. officials in oklahoma dig up 1a bodies, for a second time in the hope of using dna to identify more victims of the 1921 tulsa race massacre. russian forces carry out nuclear drills, as fears grow about an escalation of the war in ukraine. and the dash with a difference — hundreds of runners wear

their most stylish stilettos to take part in washington's annual high heel drag queen race. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the united nations secretary—general antonio guterres says the world is heading for a catastrophe unless climate change is prioritised. new figures released by the un show concentrations of the three main greenhouse gases rose to record levels in the atmosphere last year. world leaders will meet next month in egypt, for the un climate summit — cop27. our climate editor, justin rowlatt, spoke to mr guterres 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 world's woeful progress on climate. at the glasgow conference, countries agreed to raise their carbon cutting game every year. well, we havejust 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, you have 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 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. the trial of a former political adviser in australia who was charged with raping a colleague inside parliament has been abandoned. bruce lehrmann had denied assaulting brittany higgins three years ago. our correspondent, shaimaa khalil in sydney told me what happened. the jury was discharged because it emerged that one member had actually been looking at an academic research paper about sexual assault that was not part of the evidence presented to court during the trial. the chiefjustice lucy mccallum said that while this may not have done any harm during the deliberations, this was not a risk she was willing to take. she also said that she estimated that she'd warned the jury members about 17 times if not more not to read external material,

not to look at anything except the evidence presented to them. i remember being in the courtroom when she addressed thejury, saying much has been written about this case, much has been said about this case, do not to discuss this case outside the deliberation room, do not read any material that the media has published, but it seems now, it has emerged now one jury member has actually breached their oath and looked through other material. the actual paper, the academic paper, was found during a tidying up of thejury room, after yesterday's deliberations and one of the officers found that paper. we have had reaction on both sides. the lawyer of mr lehrmann gave a very brief statement after the judge had spoken and said that of course this was disappointing and then

brittany higgins stood outside court, visibly emotional and in tears at some point, saying she felt she herself was on trial, details about her life had been scrutinised for the world to see but mr lehrmann was given the right to be silent in court. her allegations inside parliament house was a moment of reckoning in australia, it prompted countrywide protests in 2021. i was there outside parliament house. but it also prompted a damning report about the treatment of employees inside the federal parliament house. now it is up to anotherjury to decide what happen inside parliament house that night. mr lehrmann is due to be in another trial in february. let's get some of the day's other news. 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 for gas 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 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 $4.4 billion dollars — were $4.4 billion — less than half of the same period last year. president putin has overseen russia's annual exercises involving strategic nuclear forces amid growing fears of an escalation of the war in ukraine. the kremlin said that ballistic

and cruise missiles had been fired from land, the sea and in the air. 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, as russia's forces as far from the north—west to the east of the country rehearsed 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 air, and at sea, this annual exercise is known as grom, or 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. my personal opinion, he will not use nuclear weapons. they did a lot of stupid things, but they continue to be pragmatic. these images are notjust 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 backers. nato allies reject this transparently false allegation. 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 false

pretext for further escalation. the big thing for them is to try to shutdown western support for ukraine and one of the ways they are doing this is by scaring us with nuclear rhetoric, with accusations about things that lead us toward the point that ukraine in their eyes is going to be the aggressor about nuclear warfare. the war in ukraine is a bitter and bloody 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. robin brant, bbc news. well earlier i spoke to mark montgomery who's a former us navy rear admiral as well as being a nuclear—trained surface warfare office. we began by discussing why russia conducts such nuclear drill exercises. these are routine drills that

are conducted every year. right now the us and nato are conducting a similar exercise, smaller with b—52 bombers and tactical fighters. this is a very large exercise that is typical for the russians, it is also typical for the russians to fire, it is a little unusual to fire submarine missiles all in one event but that is probably a little bit of posturing by president putin but in general this is routine things happening in really a routine mannerjust not at a routine time. so if it's a bit of posturing but mostly routine, what likelihood then, we talked lots about it, is there of any escalation within the war in ukraine? first, in your clip you had a great comment from the ukrainian leadership that was very mature and deescalatory, the united states has spoken about it that way.

this is the way we have to treat it, we have to act like the adults in the room and hope you can expect president putin to approach this in a logical manner. because it would seem it is not in his interest to use nuclear weapons either? a tactical nuclear weapon used in ukraine would have devastating impact on russian forces and then the russian civilian population as you have downwind effects. we talk about nuclear weapons in slightly abstract terms because the last time we saw their use was the second world war. you perhaps know better than anybody what the reality would be like what would the reality of say a tactical nuclear weapon used on the battlefield in ukraine be in real life? that is a great question but first i would say the reason the united states and nato worry about this a lot is that we know the russians have never really taken tactical nuclear weapons out of the dock and whereas the west generally has and the russians have maintained a significant five to ten fold larger

tactical nuclear arsenal than the us and nato. the impacts as you asked would be significant, even in a small yield weapon, it would make the area in which it was uninhabitable for decades, it would create significant, depending on the wind, wind and fallout patterns that would have impacts, this area for both russia and ukraine which is a significant grain and breadbasket for north africa and a lot of the middle east, so it would have really long—term devastating impact stay with us on bbc news, still to come: 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 46 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 bbc world news. the latest headlines: 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. the trial of a man accused of raping a colleague inside parliament house is abandoned after it emerges a juror carried out background research on the case. an outbreak of the ebola virus in uganda is continuing to spread, with 109 confirmed cases and 30 deaths. according to authorities — six children in the same family have come down with ebola in the country's capital, kampala. as the virus spreads, there is mounting concern that it could reach other countries. tom brada reports. screening people for symptoms of the deadly ebola virus.

in kampala, the ugandan capital, anxiety is growing over an outbreak which is not yet under control. the first confirmed case of this outbreak was identified towards the end of september. there are now more than 100 cases and 30 people already dead. now, the virus is circulating in kampala, a city of around 1.5 million residents, and outbreaks in urban environments are especially difficult to contain. because we are so many, and what i requested a person to do is to get medicine, because money is there. a medicine which is desperately needed is a vaccine, but the strain of ebola currently circulating in in uganda is the sudan strain, and for that no

pre—approved vaccine currently exists. there is no known treatment for sudan ebola virus. currently, the number of promising treatment options that the ministry of health is using under trial. however, the doses available are still very few. ebola is a virus authorities take very seriously. the world health organization estimates the fatality rate is between 41% and 100%. to contain this outbreak, authorities have imposed lockdowns and curfews in some of the rural areas where the virus was first identified. now, medical experts are calling for similar measures in the country's capital, a situation which many of kampala's residents are desperate to avoid. translation: we are fresh out of a locked down, - and we are still paying debts from covid times. going back into a lockdown because of ebola is unimaginable. for now, authorities are watching how the current outbreak develops but if cases continue to climb and more

lives are lost, then ugandans face the prospect of much tougher measures being brought in. protests continued into the night in iran after widespread demonstrations marking 40 days since the death in custody of mahsa amini. there were protests in at least 30 cities on wednesday. the security forces used live ammunition and tear gas against the crowds in some areas — including ms amini's home city, saqez, where thousands had gathered. many chanted �*death to the dictator'. the us has imposed new sanctions on iranian officials, including senior members of the revolutionary guards, over the violent suppression of protests. nineteen bodies previously exhumed to identify victims of the 1921 tulsa race massacre are being removed again to gather dna. once dubbed the "black wall street", the area was set on fire destroying businesses and killing hundreds of residents in a racially motivated attack. no—one has ever been charged for the crimes. i spoke to author of requiem

for the massacre, r] young, who told me about the families' ongoing fight forjustice. we ongoing fight for justice. are 100 we ongoing fight forjustice. are 100 years removed frl the we are 100 years removed from the 1921 tulsa race massacre, considered one of the great domestic terrorist acts in the united states, now we are at point about history where we are trying to find outjust how many people were killed and one of the ways in which we try to do that is uncover this unmarked grave that had gone and exhumed for 100 years and we are dealing with the fallout of those consequences. truth? we are dealing with the fallout of those consequences. why now, what was the _ of those consequences. why now, what was the driver _ of those consequences. why now, what was the driver for _ of those consequences. why now, what was the driver for this - of those consequences. why now, what was the driver for this to - what was the driver for this to happen in 2021, 2022? the centenary. _ happen in 2021, 2022? the centenary, there _ happen in 2021, 2022? the centenary, there was - happen in 2021, 2022? tue: centenary, there was lots happen in 2021, 2022? tte: centenary, there was lots of discussion about what would happen and toss around the centenary of the massacre, how would we reckon with that tragedy, 100 years on, and our mere, decided it was time to follow through on what was

considered an urban legend and myth, to dig up a very specific space called oakland cemetery to find outjust space called oakland cemetery to find out just there were people will bury their in unmarked graves and how many of those people there are. find unmarked graves and how many of those people there are.— those people there are. and how is that going. — those people there are. and how is that going, what _ those people there are. and how is that going, what is _ those people there are. and how is that going, what is the - is that going, what is the situation?— is that going, what is the situation? , , ., situation? digging started in october 2020, _ situation? digging started in october 2020, as _ situation? digging started in october 2020, as we - situation? digging started in october 2020, as we are - situation? digging started in j october 2020, as we are set situation? digging started in - october 2020, as we are set for another day, that will end on november 18, 35 coffins have been uncovered, and there has been uncovered, and there has been lots of discussion and analysis that goes into just to those people are, and what their connection to tulsa is which is, i think, the crux of restoring now, just trying to figure out who those people are, and if, infact they figure out who those people are, and if, in fact they are victims of the massacre, which seems kind of wild, when you take a look at the details, 14 of the 19 will be re— exhumed

after having once been exhumed, at a place called inter— mountain forensics and salt lake city utah to try to identify them through dna, this is also a problem in the city of tulsa especially for black folks, because we are not inclined to want to give up our dna for a genetic database which would be accessed by law enforcement and used in criminal investigations apart from this one investigation which is important to the city of tulsa, to find out who these people are and allow them a proper burial.— people are and allow them a proper burial. you talk about the importance _ proper burial. you talk about the importance to _ proper burial. you talk about the importance to the - proper burial. you talk about the importance to the city, l proper burial. you talk about the importance to the city, a j the importance to the city, a century on how does this case resonate with people who still live their lives in tulsa at the moment west it is. tt live their lives in tulsa at the moment west it is. it is one that — the moment west it is. it is one that is _ the moment west it is. it is one that is ongoing - the moment west it is. it is one that is ongoing to - the moment west it is. tit 3 one that is ongoing to split, that i need to explain too many folks, one, the step did

happen, two we still don't know who is responsible specifically, and three, we are still uncovering just how many people died, were killed during this massacre in this particular instance is one great example ofjust what particular instance is one great example of just what that means, it is also showing we haven't reconciled much of any in the city of tulsa. there are three survivors suing the city of tulsa and the state for reparations, and that casing moving through the court systems a very slow face which feels macabre because those three survivors are 100 plus years old, and probably do not have much longer in this life to seekjustice, and i would like to see them seekjustice here justice over their lifetime and as we continue to go through our lives in the city of tulsa, having to have this question over our head overjust this question over our head over just what we lost, it feels unfair, it feels frankly, un—american. feels unfair, it feels frankly,

un-american._ un-american. that was the author rj — un-american. that was the author r] young, _ un-american. that was the author r] young, talking i un-american. that was the author r] young, talking to un-american. that was the - author r] young, talking to me from tulsa. 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. i feel the pain of that last runner. plenty more stories on our website. you can find the global news pod cast if you prefer pod casts or download the twice—daily digital download, take it with you wherever you go. thanks for watching us on bbc news.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ gareth barlow. hello there. outdoor 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. our 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.