welcome to bbc news, i'm mark lobel. our top stories. on the eve of the us mid—term elections, democrats and republicans make their closing arguments to american voters. president biden has been addressing the crowds in maryland, while donald trump is in ohio. parted by war — we speak to the bride of one ukrainian man still being held prisoner by russia. a stark warning at the opening of the un's climate summit — humanity must co—operate or perish. the clock is ticking. we are in the fight of our lives — and we are losing. and why europe's energy crisis is forcing some communities to rethink how they will celebrate christmas.

with hours to go, the final round of frenetic campaigning for the us mid—term elections is under way ahead of the in—person polls opening on tuesday. tens of millions of votes have already been cast. but there's still plenty to play for. earlier, president biden spoke at a rally in maryland, in support of the democratic candidate for governor, wes moore. he told the crowd that the election is not a referendum, it's a choice of two very different visions for america. biden, who has avoided campaigning in several swing states as his approval rating continues to lag, travelled to the reliably democratic state, where the nominee is widely expected to win back the republican—held governorship.

former president trump is speaking in ohio at a rally to support the republican jd vance for senator. he spoke to the crowd about immigration, claiming that president biden and the democrats have not done enough to stop migrants and drugs from entering the us across the mexico border. there had been reports today that donald trump could announce a 2024 presidential run at this rally, with some us media outlets citing sources in his camp. but so far, there has been little sign of such an announcement. it all comes down to this. congress could change hands if republicans make a net gain of five in the house of representatives, and a net gain ofjust one in the senate. it's that close. let's get a sense of what things are like on the ground in three key states.

in a moment, we'll hear from our correspondents in atlanta and florida, but first here's jon sudworth in pennsylvania. the polls here are too close to call. not for governor, as the republicans put up doug mastriano, whose opinions are so extreme that they are possibly too much even for some republicans. but over the key senate race that is up for grabs here, the democrat candidatejohn fetterman suffered a stroke a few months ago and has recovered. he made it part of his campaign. and standing against him, dr mehmet oz, a slick celebrity tv doctor. the polls are so close, which is

why the democrats have sent injoe biden, former president obama, why we have had trump rallying in this state, all of them trying to appeal to those key undecided voters in a race that could swing the senate either way and could determine the future direction for the rest ofjoe biden's first term in office. republicans expect a blow—out night. where i am in miami, dade county, the state's most populous. more republicans than democrats have cast early votes here, and while that is not the full picture, it's certainly adding to the republican hopes that they can flip this county, once a democratic stronghold. a key reason for that is the gains they have made with latino voters, not just cuban—americans but also south american that trump made gains with. we have more registered republicans than democrats in this state for the first time ever. many feel the governor ron desantis will win by an even larger margin than donald

trump did, and that would certainly help him kick—start a presidential campaign if he decided to run. there is already an ad he has put out that is getting a lot of attention, it depicts him as being a fighter for god, appealing to the religious right, painting the democrats as liberals trying to take away people's individual freedoms. a lot of eyes on how ron desantis does, someone who is currently behind donald trump as number two in a hypothetical republican primary. absolute dead heat at - the moment for this crucial senate seat which could decide the outcome of power- in washington for. the next two years. raphael warnock, the reverend, the incumbent, fighting for his l life against herschel walker, a controversial republican, i former football star, man. facing allegations of violence against women, having

paid for abortions, - against his stated beliefs. but they are still neck and neck. l crucially they are both shy i of the 50% they need to win this race outright. georgia demands that - if you want to get elected, you have to get more than 50%| of the vote, and at the moment the libertarian candidate is preventing both men. from doing that. so we could get a run—off in four weeks' time, - at the beginning of december, to decide the outcome - for the senate. bear in mind what happened two years ago when - they were two run—offs which i gave joe biden a 50—50 senate with a casting vote by the - president and the opportunity to do his inflation reduction act, his microchips act, - all the big bills and i the legislative wins... this could decide howjoe biden can do and how he can- operate and what he can get done in the next two years. i earlier, i spoke to our us

correspondent nomia iqbal. i asked her how a democrat white house might cooperate with a potentially republican ontrolled congress. that is certainly the hope by president biden and the democrat that they can work together. the moment president biden became president two years years ago he made a big point of bipartisanship. he is friends with a lot of republicans so he had made a thing about how we can all get on. when the ukraine invasion happened, there was a rare glimpse of bipartisanship, because both parties agreed that sending aid to ukraine was a good thing. however, many republican candidates running in a variety of races for the mid—term elections who have said that if they win, they will make sure that not one penny goes to ukraine. another thing to think about, the republicans in the house

are saying that if they do win the house this week, and the polls suggest they could do, they will more or less start investigations into president biden's son, hunter biden, a realfixation for the conservatives, they have accused him of corrupt business dealings, something he and his father have denied. they have said they will look into him, so if that happens, it's hard to see how both parties will be best of friends. and nomia, it's been a rough campaign, hasn't it? katty kay was saying earlier that the level of violence in political rhetoric has been unnerving compared to many of the mid—terms that she has reported on in the past. why do you think it's been such a brutal campaign? just recently, paul pelosi, the husband of the house speaker democrat nancy attacked in his home. you have poll watchers in tactical gear who are staking

out ballot drop boxes. in arizona, the republican nominee in the governor race saying she received an envelope full of suspicious white powder and she had to shut down her headquarters. also a democratic candidate for pennsylvania named richard ringer was attacked in his home. just some examples. law enforcement saying there has been an increase in election—related threats, mainly from far right circles, but it's worth also mentioning that the white house spokesperson did say today that while there have been threats, they don't believe there has been any real credible threats that could happen this week in the run—up to the mid—term elections. and also news that a russian oligarch, an influential russian oligarch, has said that moscow has apparently been interfering in us elections. this is really remarkable.

this russian businessman is very close to vladimir putin, and he was asked to comment on a recent report that russia was interfering in the mid—term elections. now, he seemingly responded to that in a statement by his catering company. it said: gentlemen, we interfered, we are interfering, and we will interfere, carefully, precisely, surgically, the way we do it, the way we can. pretty remarkable for him to make these comments, if he did. he alongside other russian nationals and companies was indicted by the special counsel robert muller in 2018 looking into russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections. he was also charged with inciting discord, something he denied at the time, the kremlin denied at the time as well. the fact that these comments, it seems they have come

from him, if indeed they have, pretty remarkable admission by him. isaid we i said we would look out for whether donald trump would throw his hat in the ring for the presidential race in four years' time. he hasjust said he is going to make a very big announcement on november 15th, about a week from now, which is of course after the midterm election results. that's the latest from donald trump in ohio. turning now to the war in ukraine, and it's been six months since the fall of the azovstal steel plant in the ukrainian city of mariupol, and hundreds of ukrainian fighters who surrendered in may are still being held prisoner by russia. some have been released in prisoner swaps, but the families of those still being held fear for their loved ones. our correspondent hilary andersson has been speaking to one such family — and a warning, you may find some of her report upsetting.

hannah, a 25—year—old french teacher, had it all. just before the war she fell in love and got married and they had a child. a dream. but in one day her wild turned to chaos as mariupol became but in one day her dream turned to chaos as mariupol became the epicentre of the war. her husband joined up. hannah moved into a bunker in the vast azovstal steel plant. her husband based on the other side of the steelworks, fighting.

azovstal became a living hell, with russian firepower raining down on the plant. but many were injured and died here. finally, in late april, an evacuation was agreed and civilians trapped in the steel plant and hannah with her baby walking out alive.

her husband was still inside and had been wounded. soldiers surrendered. hannah dreams of his return.

hilary anderson, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news — still to come. trying to avoid a christmas blackout — for western europe. the bombastic establishment outsider, donald trump, has defied the pollsters to take the keys to the oval office. i feel great about the election results. i voted for him because i genuinely believe he cares about the country. it's keeping the candidate's name always in the public eye that counts. success or failure depends not only on public display, but on the local campaign headquarters and the heavy routine work of their

women volunteers. berliners from both. east and west linked hands and danced around their liberated territory. i and, with nobody to stop them, it wasn't long before the first i attempts were made to destroy the structure itself. _ yasser arafat, who dominated the palestinian cause for so long, has died. after 17 years of discussion, the result was greeted with an outburst ofjoy. women ministers, who have long felt only grudgingly this is bbc news, the latest headlines: president biden has been addressing the crowds

in maryland, while donald trump is in ohio. the cop27 climate summit has started in egypt the united nations. antonio guterres said the world was on the "highway to climate to "co—operate or perish". last year's climate conference agreed a number of pledges on these has been "woefully inadequate". our climate editor justin rowlatt is at in the egyptian desert, world leaders have been gathering to try and tackle the climate challenge — including the british prime minister rishi sunak, difficult discussions in the three—decade history of these climate summits. approaching tipping points that

will make climate chaos irreversible. we are on a highway to climate hell, with our foot still on the accelerator. mr sunak said acting on climate also makes economic sense. putin's abhorrent war in ukraine and rising energy prices across the world are not a reason to go slow on climate change. but developing nations say they need the rich world to deliver on its promises of finance. this backdrop, the lengthy discussions at cops, - with its stalling, delayingl tactics and procrastination that have hampered - implementation and delivery, is simply cruel and unjust. it has been a year of climate—related disasters around the world.

dry weather in the north african country of mauritania led to extensive fires last month. at the glasgow climate conference last year, countries agreed to raise their carbon—cutting ambitions every year. butjust 29 out of 193 have done so — and only one of them, australia, significantly raised its game. so where does that leave us? take a look at this. this is how much emissions have been growing. they have been increasing steadily. the un says we need to cut them almost in half by 2030, so in just seven years' time. but this is the direction the world is currently going. the un says that puts us on track for a temperature rise of almost three degrees centigrade. it would be, it says, a catastrophe for humanity. for the first time in the history of these conferences,

are frustrated. nothing new has been said. this is the 27th cop of its kind, it's older than i am. we are notjust here as symbols of the future, we're here as representatives of the climate crisis being lived through us. my hometown flooded in mexico when i was 13 years old, that's why i'm an activist. we keep having to pressure them, and that is why- we are here as the young - people, applying that pressure, and we won't back down - because we believe that another world is possible, - and it is possible to make those policy changes. what do we want? climate justice! these young people worry their voice isn't being heard, however loud they are, but they hope that by being here at the conference, they will begin to influence the decisions that will shape all our futures. justin rowlatt, bbc news, egypt. michael ross is a professor

of political science and the institute of the environment and sustainability at the university of california, los angeles, where hejoins me now. professor, could start by understanding how is spent understanding how much is spent subsidising fossil fuels, and how governments can wean people off them? it how governments can wean people off them? , ., . off them? it is a critical issue- _ off them? it is a critical issue. last _ off them? it is a critical issue. last year, - off them? it is a critical issue. last year, it's i issue. last year, its estimated 700 billion us dollars was spent subsidising fuels, already the fossil fuels, already the world's most profitable industry even more profitable. how can governments get off them? my colleagues and ijust finished a long—term study to find out what has trying to find out what has actually been effective, and we looked at of all types, looked at leaders of all types, all countries. we try to see if female prime minister is an

presidents did better than mail, if left—leaning did better than right—leaning, if young did better than old. if people who got awards for their environmental commitments did better? we found almost nothing seems to make a difference. it's incredibly hard for governments to cut fossil fuel subsidies. they have been 7777 to do for years fighting to do so for years now. they made very little now. they have made very little progress. but there is a silver lining here, a good news part. i think the climate advocates have found a different way to make progress, using a different message. instead of making fossil fuels less subsidised and more expensive for consumers, make renewables cheaper. this is a message that be working 77 be working in 77 be working in the us, seems to be working in the us, with the biden plan that passed in july. with the biden plan that passed injuly. in australia, where the labour party and its

climate allies took the election in may. we think it's one 5153's; g. e??? egg er'ee ee one that's eieee'e�*e 'e e??? egg ee'ee 'ee one that's getting the one that's getting traction.— traction. that's really interesting, - traction. that's really interesting, so - traction. that's really interesting, so we i traction. that's really - interesting, so we finally have some good news, you think. but the economic case needs to be stressed. we heard it from the british prime minister today, the economic case needs to be stretched to make a difference, you think, but will it work? i think it can, and right now we have to do everything possible. think it can, and right now we hi can o do everything possible. think it can, and right now we hi can o do swhatiing possible. think it can, and right now we hi can o do swhat |ing data ible. it can work. what our data tells us, what we seem to be finding, these efforts to remove fossil fuel subsidies, as much remove fossilfuel subsidies, as much as that seems like an obvious strategy, for years we have seen almost no progress. if anything, the subsidies seem to be getting worse. so we have to be getting worse. so we have to try another strategy, and a strategy which seems to be getting traction in many countries is to emphasise the positive side of going to

renewables. people don't like the idea that they have to pay more for dirty energy, but they are happy to hear that they can pay less and get more access to clean energy. pay less and get more access to clean energy-— clean energy. professor, with our clean energy. professor, with your insights _ clean energy. professor, with your insights on _ clean energy. professor, with your insights on how- clean energy. professor, with your insights on how to - clean energy. professor, with. your insights on how to change behaviour on this key issue, thank you forjoining us. the west's response to the invasion of ukraine prompted russia to reduce the amount of oil and gas it provides. that's having a knock—on effect, especially now that winter is coming. the bbc�*s tim allman explains. it's a familiar scene all around the world — the twinkling glow of christmas lights on the high street, a little festive cheer. but these illuminations consume energy and that is suddenly in short supply. here in the belgian city of nivelles, rising costs mean christmas isn't quite what it used to be. translation: we'll keep the christmas market -

for the two last weekends in december, but we will reduce the number of illuminations by two thirds. we'll focus the illuminations on the shopping streets to encourage access to the shops. there are calls to reduce energy consumption for environmental reasons, but the most immediate problem is the war in ukraine. vladimir putin's use of oil and gas as a weapon has presented many with a stark choice, but in nivelles, they think a middle way might be possible. translation: i think this year is difficult, l so it's a shame to take away an element of happiness from our fellow citizens. our advice is to maintain illuminations but put timers on, perhaps reduce the time slots. maybe that is the solution — christmas on a slightly smaller scale. let there be light, just not all the time. tim allman, bbc news.

thanks for watching. hello there. tricky weather conditions out there at the moment, but tuesday generally is an improving story. it's going to be a case of sunny spells and scattered showers for many, accompanied by some squally winds, though, still from time to time. so we've seen this massive cloud spilling in off the atlantic, and the weather front is producing some rain, some of it really quite heavy. through at quite a pace because it's driven along by gusts of winds in excess of 60—70mph. so by around 5—6am, the front will be sitting out in the north sea and leaves a trail of squally showers to follow behind. so there will also be a little more sunshine around for tuesday. some of those showers really quite heavy with hail, with some thunder mixed

in there, as well. the west further inland. now, as we go through the afternoon, we're but we could still see gusts in excess of 50mph down in the southwest. it's going to be a relatively mild story, though, because the wind direction coming from the southwesterly, so temperatures above where they should be for the time of year. we're looking at highs of 11—15 celsius. now, the wind direction will change from a south—westerly to a bit more of a westerly as we go into wednesday. weather fronts waiting out in the wings, but that means a slightly fresher start to the day first thing on wednesday morning, single figures in one or two places. so not as mild as it has been of late. to look out for on wednesday. showers most frequent perhaps developing in the far northwest as we go through the afternoon. so there should continue to be some spells of sunshine, because we've got that westerly

flow, temperatures may be down a notch for some areas, generally between 10—15 celsius. now, as we move into thursday and towards the end going to build and centre itself across europe, and that will keep these weather fronts out in the far northwest. it still continues to drive in this southwesterly flow, this milder air across the country, so temperatures will continue to be above the average for the time of year. and that high pressure should keep things a little bit quieter and drier.

this is bbc news — the headlines... candidates and leading political figures in tuesday's midterm elections — with control of both houses of congress at stake. president biden has been addressing crowds in maryland, while the former president donald trump is in ohio. the new owner of the social media website twitter — the billionaire elon musk — has recommended that americans vote for a republican congress in tuesday's election. back in april this year, elon musk said that twitter must remain politically neutral so as to earn public trust. the cop27 summit has started in egypt, with the darkest of warnings from the head of the united nations. antonio guterres said the world was on the "highway to climate hell", with no sign of slowing down — and that humanity needed

to "co—operate or perish".