tonight at ten... the rise in albanians crossing the channel in small boats, lured by higher wages and gangs recruiting them for the drugs trade. the numbers have gone up sharply this year — we report from albania on what's behind it. locals in this neighbourhood say 70% of the community has already left, and many of those living here now

are thinking ofjoining them. also on the programme tonight... staff at twitter find out if they've been sacked, as the firm's new owner, elon musk, drastically cuts costs. a series of rail strikes due to start tomorrow has been suspended, but the late notice means services tomorrow will be extremely limited. a major shift in money for the arts. the english national opera will move out of london, as blackpool illuminations wins funding for the first time. and the facial recognition technology that's helping to identify photos of holocaust victims and its survivors. on bbc london, the growing numbers of child trafficking victims disappearing from care in the capital, some because they are lured into modern slavery. we have a special report.

good evening. a bbc investigation has found that albanian drug gangs are offering to pay for migrants to cross the english channel if they work in the uk drugs industry when they arrive. gangs are using the migrant camps of northern france as a recruitment ground. there's been a sharp rise in the number of albanians crossing the channel in small boats this year. figures show a large proportion successfully claim asylum, but many are economic migrants and albanians now account for around a third of the almost 40,000 people who have landed on england's beaches this year. we'll have more on the numbers in a moment, but first lucy williamson reports. for each boat, each migrant, there can be many smugglers — albanian fixers, uk guarantors, kurdish criminal gangs.

the journey starts in towns like laknas, now marked by absence. the shuttered houses and empty streets signs of an exodus this year. most were drawn by uk wages ten times higher than here. and each departure makes business in laknas even harder. as the price of crossing to the uk has dropped, the suburbs around tirana are being drained of people. locals in this neighbourhood say 70% of the community has already left, and many of those living here now are thinking ofjoining them. there are many places like laknas in albania now. majlinda's son crossed to the uk from dunkirk last month. translation: he was a seasonal worker, working for four months i a yearfor minimal salary in a kitchen. he had more expectations for himself, so he went to find something better. but it comes with sacrifices. we're in debt to pay back

the money we borrowed. she says a lot of people from the area have gone. families, as well as men. her youngest son, just 1a years old, is already planning his trip. adverts on albanian social media promise passage for around £3,000 from brussels, paris or dunkirk. they often work closely with iraqi kurdish gangs who control most small boat crossings from france. posing as an albanian migrant, we contacted some. within half an hour we had two offers for crossings. it's easy, we're told. only those who didn't claim asylum were sent back, one says. the others didn't have any problems. the price of crossing to the uk by small boat is less than half the price of being smuggled by lorry. and there are other options for those who can't pay. there is a criminal drugs market within the uk. that's no secret.

we have seen cases of trafficking and we've seen cases where people are what we call debt—bonded. they come here to work off the cost of theirjourney to the uk and they are victims of trafficking, and we look at modern slavery, human trafficking, very seriously. one albanian man, who paid for a place on a kurdish boat this summer, says he was approached by recruiters for the uk drugs trade in a dunkirk migrant camp. translation: they offered me lots of things to pay _ for thejourney, to give me a job, but i wasn't interested. they asked me four or five times. driven by the promise of prosperity, each successful crossing is an advert, an inspiration, an invisible thread that tugs at the minds of albanians back home. lucy williamson, bbc news, dunkirk. our home editor mark easton is here, and you've been looking at the figures behind this sudden

rise in albanian migrants. the impact of those albanian trafficking gangs can be seen in the people who arrive in kent having set out across the channel in small boats. two years ago, just 50 arrivals were albanian. last year, it was 800. this year, it is already over 12,000. and according to the home office, of those, 10,000 were single adult men. so who are they and why have they come? some, as lucy was saying, are undoubtedly economic migrants. figures from 2018 help explain why. average hourly pay in albania was then around £1.50. in the uk it was about £13.35 — nine times higher. people will come over perhaps for a couple of years, many operating in the shadow economy — working on cannabis farms, as drug couriers and cash—in—hand labourers. albanians now represent the largest foreign nationality in prisons in england and wales —

1,300 locked up. the situation is complicated, because some of those albanians who arrive in the uk are genuine victims. asylum claims take over a year to be resolved, but the latest figures show just over half of albanians were granted asylum by the home office, often as victims of trafficking. but of those — among men — just 14% were granted asylum, while among women and children, it was 90%. injust three months this summer, 1,100 albanians, including 200 children, were identified as potential victims of modern—day slavery. so, albania may be a safe country, but the uk authorities accept that a significant proportion of those who arrive here have legitimate fears for their personal safety. reeta. thank you, mark.

the social media company twitter has begun sudden and sweeping job cuts to save money. it's thought its new owner elon musk, who's the world's richest man, might reduce the platform's workforce of 8,000 by as much as half. many twitter staff are finding out via email that they no longer have a job. here's our technology editor zoe kleinman. elon musk didn't speak to any of the thousands of twitter employees laid off today, instead he was a surprise guest at this investor conference in new york. meanwhile, many twitter staff woke up locked out of their work laptops. they were later told via an e—mail to their personal accounts that it was their last working day at the firm. some have been told they'll be paid until february next year, getting some sort of certainty after months of speculation. fix, sort of certainty after months of speculation-— speculation. a mixed range of emotions. _ speculation. a mixed range of emotions, certainly _ speculation. a mixed range of emotions, certainly upset, . speculation. a mixed range of- emotions, certainly upset, certainly frustration, certainly some anger but also in some cases some relief, right, because this was a thing that played out over the course of the

majority of this year.— played out over the course of the majority of this year. there were, understandably, _ majority of this year. there were, understandably, lots _ majority of this year. there were, understandably, lots of— majority of this year. there were, | understandably, lots of emotional tweets. this isn't looking promising. can't login into e—mails. so great for this is happening at 3am. another said the official and very dehumanising lay—off e—mail has been received. for some it was literally bye, literally, everyone. elon musk made it clear big changes were coming. twitter is regarded as influential but it hasn't made a profit in years and it's also failed to attract new users. twitter makes its money from adverts and businesses are spending less on that as the financial crisis bites. they've also been called for brands to boycott twitter in protest against elon musk�*s leadership, something he addressed today. fix, something he addressed today. number of major advertisers have stopped spending on twitter, so this doesn't seem right because we have made no change in our operations at all. ., ~ , ,., ., made no change in our operations at all. ., ~ , ., all. elon musk is planning to charge all. elon musk is planning to charge a monthly fee _ all. elon musk is planning to charge a monthly fee for— all. elon musk is planning to charge a monthly fee for verification, - a monthly fee for verification, currently given out for free to

high—profile accounts as a badge of authenticity. he's also looking at setting up a moderation board to oversee decisions about band accounts. forthose oversee decisions about band accounts. for those staff who remain, twitter under elon musk, who says he expects an extreme work ethic, will be a very different environment, and the platform itself might also start to feel like a new experience. elon musk is the world's richest man, he knows how to do business. he may well be able to turn twitter around but it will be done on his terms. zoe kleinman, bbc news. a series of train strikes, due to start tomorrow, have been suspended by the rmt and tssa unions. the walkouts on the 5th, 7th and 9th of november would have brought the rail network to a virtual halt. but now union leaders and network rail bosses have agreed to intensify talks. our transport correspondent katy austin is at london's euston station. good news for passengers? well, strikes have _ good news for passengers? well, strikes have been _

good news for passengers? well, strikes have been called - good news for passengers? well, strikes have been called off, - good news for passengers? -ii strikes have been called off, but too late to make it possible to restore the timetable tomorrow, so that means that tomorrow and likely on monday there will still be severely limited train services running a stop on wednesday, some train companies will try and put on more, but people are being told to check before they travel. the rmt union says it will now enter a period of intensive negotiations with network rail and with the train companies, the tssa also says it's been invited for intensive talks. and today's development is a significant one because the rmt dispute in particular had felt pretty stuck recently, so at least this seems to be progress. the rmt says it secured unconditional talks with network rail and that the train companies have agreed that they will make a pay offer which hasn't happened so far. speaking to people in the rail industry though, they say they haven't really changed their position but they do welcomed

their position but they do welcomed the announcements by the unions today, and they are committed to those negotiations to trying to work towards a resolution. and the new transport secretary mark harper has said today he thinks calling off the strikes gives the negotiations a better chance of success. one more thing to note though, there is another strike planned on thursday in london on the underground and the overground. that is still set to go ahead because it's part of a separate dispute.— ahead because it's part of a separate dispute. ahead because it's part of a se--aratedisute. ., , ., separate dispute. katy, many thanks, our transmrt — separate dispute. katy, many thanks, our transport correspondent - separate dispute. katy, many thanks, our transport correspondent katy - our transport correspondent katy austin there. football fans travelling to the world cup could be affected by a strike at heathrow airport. the union unite says about 700 of its members are to walk out for three days from november 18th in a dispute over pay. the workers are employed in services including baggage handling and cargo. unite said the action would cause disruption at terminals 2, 3 and 4. millions of pounds of arts funding is to be redirected outside central london as part of a major shake—up in england.

money will be go to theatres in coventry and on merseyside, and libraries in yorkshire and warwickshire will get funding from arts council england for the first time. among the losers is the english national opera, which is also moving its headquarters out of london. the royal opera house, the national theatre and the donmar warehouse theatre will also lose funding. here's our arts correspondent david sillito. blackpool�*s famous illuminations have been admired by millions over the last 140 years or so, but here's a question — is it art? it's absolutely beautiful, so that's what art is, so why not? it should be inspiring, it should be beautiful, it should be eye—catching, so yeah, i would say so, yeah. i think it is art. it's imagination and how. you use your imagination. the arts council is certainly convinced. it's going to be giving the illuminations a grant for the first time. we're over the moon, we're delighted. it's a fantastic accolade from them

that we can demonstrate to the world we are very serious about our collection and our work. blackpool is not alone. there are many winners in this funding settlement, especially towns that have had almost nothing before today. but there are also some big losers. among them, here, english national opera. a third of its income comes from the arts council, and it's gone. there is a restructuring grant to help them adjust and move, probably to manchester. but it's still a big cut. i'm not one of those people who thinks art should only be in london. we're the opera company where one in seven of our audience is under 35, we do free tickets for under—21s, and we welcome in people of colour more than any other opera house, so it's slightly odd to reduce our funding to this extent. the mayor of london says the capital is losing around £50 million in arts funding. instead, the money's being moved to venues such as shakespeare north in prescot,

near st helens. it was very evident that there were large parts of the country that had a big appetite and weren't getting the kind of funding that made it possible for them to enjoy great art on their doorstep. so we set out ourselves with the ambition of spending more money outside london. money's also being diverted to services, such as libraries in warwickshire, east yorkshire and barnsley, and the list of towns receiving new grants reads like a who's who of the government's levelling up agenda. there is politics in this. it comes down to fairness. if you live in the north—east, north west or yorkshire, why shouldn't you be able to access culture? why shouldn't your children be able to learn and get that creativity from a young age, and be inspired to potentially go into these types of industries? but while it's brought a bit of cheer to places like blackpool, it's not a great deal — the money is spread very thinly. a lot of places will still be making cuts. david sillito, bbc news.

the total number of people with covid—19 has dropped across the uk compared to last week, according to the latest figures. our health editor hugh pym is here and can tell us more. yes, reeta, there were predictions of a twindemic this autumn with covid and flu surges at the same time. but the latest household survey by the office for national statistics shows that covid infections have fallen for the first time since september. looking back over the year there were peaks in the spring, around 5 million cases in one week, then in the summer a bit below that. the latest wave seems to have peaked at two million. in the week to october 24th infections fell to 1.9 million. and as for the case rates in the uk nations that week, in england 1 in 35 people had the virus, that was lower than the previous week, and there was also a fall in wales

to1 in a0. in scotland with 1 in 35 the trend was uncertain. and in northern ireland where1 in 30 had the virus, there was an increase. covid hospital admissions are falling and that's probably partly to do with the rollout of the autumn boosterjabs and generally more immunity across the population. hospital admissions for flu though are higher than in the autumns of some years before the pandemic and you're being urged to get their jabs for flu and coronavirus if eligible. it's possible there could be another covid wave around the turn of the year. reeta. now a look at some other stories making the news today. the northern ireland secretary chris heaton—harris has said there will be no elections for the stormont assembly before christmas. under the law, an election must be called within 12 weeks of the 28th october deadline for power—sharing to be restored. devolved government has not

functioned since february, with the democratic unionist party blocking the formation of the ruling executive. scotland's first minister has denied that the awarding of a contract to build ferries at fergusons shipyard in port glasgow was a case of "jobs for the boys". nicola sturgeon said she refuted the suggestion that the work was improperly given to a businessman with a known relationship with the scottish government. the ferries are years late and could be £200 million over budget. ms sturgeon said she deeply regretted the impact on island communities. a group of tourists, including some britons, being held captive on an amazon cruise boat in peru for 2h hours has been released this evening. indigenous people stopped the boat as part of a protest about their community being damaged by an oil leak from a pipeline in september. they were trying to force government officials to properly assess the impact.

fifa has written to teams taking part in the qatar world cup, urging them to "focus on the football" and not " hand out moral lessons". several competing nations, including australia and denmark, have protested about qatar's treatment of migrant workers and its ban on same—sex relationships. the former us president donald trump has strongly hinted that he may run for the white house again in 202a. at a rally in iowa, mr trump said he would "very, very, very probably do it again". it comes as americans are set to head to the polls next week to vote in the country's mid—term elections. and a key group which could make an impact are the new christian right, with a growing number of pastors and politicians urging voters to take back the country for god. our correspondent barbara plett usher sent this report from pennsylvania. in this divided nation the christian right has found a new voice.

the country belongs to god almighty. this isn't a church service. hundreds of people are being baptised after a rally in pennsylvania, some overwhelmed by the experience of god. thousands have turned out because they believe their christian values are under attack and that god belongs in government. you can't separate god from politics, you can't take him out of our government. these events tap into people's anger about covid lockdowns and donald trump's election loss. the man himself dialled in while his son was on stage. trump: we love you all- and we are going to bring this country back because our country has never been in such bad shape. trump! they are reframing american conservative politics as spiritual warfare against a radical left. chris and bobby foley have travelled here from north carolina. they took away the bible,

they took awayjesus in everything so now we are being run by devils, we are being run by satan because it is a spiritual war. some call this rise of the religious right christian nationalism, the belief that america was founded as a christian nation and should remain one. it has taken on a new intensity in this fractured political world. breaking cover during the storming of the capitol were christian symbols and prayers on display. good evening, global family... greg locke was one of many pastors at the capitol that day. he has millions of followers online and preaches to hundreds every week. you ain't seen the insurrection yet. he has managed to weave his political views into an apocalyptic worldview laced with conspiracy theories. you god—hating communists, you will find out what insurrection is because we ain't playing no garbage. playing your garbage. you are calling fellow americans evil and putting it in the context of an apocalyptic battle

between good and evil. there is an apocalyptic battle between good and evil. and so that is the kind of language that could be used to incite violence. that is not my responsibility. you don't see that as a responsibility, to stay away from possibly inciting violence? no, i'm not inciting violence, i'm preaching the bible. but many christians are fighting back against this interpretation of the bible. father, thank you for this day. pastor kevin riggs is a community activist. he believes scripture teaches that god cares most about socialjustice. my concern with the religious right has been that they are damaging the reputation of the church. i've had friends who were pastors of churches and because they spoke out against the religious right or against president trump, they are asked to leave their church. take control of our nation! next week's election will be the first test of this vocal minority at the polls. if the republicans win big, it could become a powerful force, pushing the party further to the right. barbara plett usher, bbc news, pennsylvania.

king charles has been hosting a reception at buckingham palace ahead of next week's climate change summit in egypt. the king — who has long campaigned on environmental issues — won't be attending cop27. but the prime minister rishi sunak is now going after changing his mind about attending. our environment editorjustin rowlatt reports from the palace. the king won't be attending the climate conference in egypt, so he has done the next best thing and brought the climate discussion to buckingham palace. the prime minister addressed the meeting. if we do not act today we will risk leaving an ever more desperate inheritance for our children tomorrow. there were decision—makers, environmental experts and more than 100 business leaders at the reception. the king believes it is essential the private sector is engaged in the climate challenge. buckingham palace insists the king is not disappointed that he won't be

going to the conference in egypt. it says the decision was made after discussions with the then prime minister liz truss and was, it says, unanimous. but a downing street spokesperson hinted yesterday maybe the king would have beenjetting off for egypt had rishi sunak been in post at the time, the situation might have been different, she told the bbc. no objections, it is so decided. last year's un climate conference in glasgow delivered a host of pledges on emissions cuts, finance, net zero, forest protection and more. egypt says their conference will be about ensuring countries actually deliver on those pledges. stella mccartney was one of the business leaders at the palace. i don't know what to do any more. the industry that i work in, fashion, is the second most harmful in the world to the planet and so being part of this conversation and representing the industry is critical.

but, you know, i think i am so hugely passionate about trying to provide a positive solution here. stella mccartney won't be at cop27, but the prime minister has of course changed his mind and will be going, playing his part in the search for positive solutions. he will bejoining more than 100 other world leaders in egypt next week. justin rowlatt, bbc news, buckingham palace. and you can get more on what the upcoming cop27 climate conference may bring on bbc news online, that's bbc.co.uk/news, and by using the bbc news app the nazi holocaust claimed the lives of six millionjewish people and it ripped apart families and homes. photographs have helped to identify some of those killed, but many people in pictures from the time remain unidentified. now in the us, facial recognition technology is being used

to try to bring names to faces, and it's also identifying pictures of survivors. our north america technology reporterjames clayton has been to meet one of them. as soon as my aunt heard the boots, she knew that she has to hide me. blanche fixler was a child in poland when the nazis came looking for her. germans came and they looked every little place, they looked in every corner, and i said, you'd better not breathe or sneeze or anything, or you'll be dead. blanche's mother and her siblings were murdered, but thanks to her aunt rose, blanche survived. today, she has few photos from her childhood. many pictures from the 1930s and �*aos do survive though, and hundreds are on display here in the museum of jewish heritage in new york. butjust like many other museums devoted tojewish heritage, a lot of the people in the photos here are unnamed.

often whole families were killed. no one was left to identify people. the pictures only have numbers. software engineer daniel patt has been working to help solve this problem using artificial intelligence and facial recognition tech. he calls the project from numbers to names. let's say, for example, you're looking for a photo of your family member and we scan through hundreds of thousands of photos, millions of faces in seconds. using the programme, daniel believes he's found a picture of blanche that she's never seen before. the algorithm only gives probabilities of matches, so today, dan is going to meet blanche to see whether the picture he found, taken in france, is really her. hi, nice to meet you. so, here we go, this is a picture that i found of you. this picture, i don't know if you've seen this before. does this look... that's me, yeah. the one here? yes.

you can tell? yeah, that's me, yeah, for sure. i'll zoom in so you can get a closer look. oh, wow. oh, some of these guys i remember. one was my boyfriend! one was my boyfriend! and in the picture her aunt rose — the aunt that saved her. wow, so i think to the best of my knowledge there's only three people in this group that have been identified so far. we do know who these children are, but in hundreds of thousands of other photos people murdered by the nazis remain nameless. the hope is this tech could help. mademoiselle, mademoiselle. scott miller is not part of the from numbers to names project, but says trying to identify victims even 80 years later is vital. evenjust to name somebody, to give somebody a name, i you're restoring some semblance of dignity to them. _ for blanche, the pictures bring back memories, a song that she learnt in her brief time in france.

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