this is bbc news. i'm nuala mcgovern. our top stories? a major set back for russia in ukraine — it announces a retreat from kherson — the only major city its captured since the invasion. we have to try to piece together what is happening in the city that is, to all intents and purposes, cut off from the outside world. midterm mystery — control of the us congress remains in the balance — with votes still being counted. is there going to be a crypto—crisis? one of the world's largest crypto—currency exchanges pulls out of a deal to acquire its struggling rival. and — high speed sale — a record price for the legendary car that had an even

more legendary driver. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. just weeks after president putin announced he was annexing moscow has said it's pulling its troops out kherson is the only provincial capital russia has managed to capture since the start of its invasion. but over the past weeks ukraine has been conducting a counter—offensive to push the occupiers out of the area. the commander of russian forces in ukraine called the pullout a difficult decision. the bbc�*s international editor jeremy bowen sent this report from the ukrainian front line. for days now, ukrainian soldiers on the kherson perimeter have been dismissing reports that the russians

were going to pull back. when we visited a mobile unit on the flatlands between kherson and mykolaiv — the closest ukrainian—controlled city — the soldiers said they would not believe the russians were leaving until they could see them go. they took us on a mission to attack russian positions. they guide their soviet—era artillery with a commercially available drone made in china. their command car is a 15—year—old bmw imported from britain. it might have been a veteran of the school run — now it's on bomb runs, passing on positions from the drone to adjust the gunners�* aim.

of kherson city. leaving kherson would be a devastating defeat for russia. it was their biggest single prize since they invaded in february. in moscow, general sergei surovikin, commander of russian forces in ukraine, made the announcement. he told a televised meeting of senior military leaders, including the defence minister, that russia could not properly supply its troops on the west bank of the river. translation: i understand this is a very difficult decision, - but at the same time we will preserve the lives of our service personnel, and in general the combat capability of the group of forces. ukraine's first response was to warn against premature celebrations. this week, we have been talking to ukrainian soldiers and kherson residents to try to gauge the mood there. you can't drive into kherson

from here because there is a front line in the way, and even if you could, the russians don't allow independentjournalists to operate there. so we have to try to piece together what is happening in a city that is, to all intents and purposes, cut off from the outside world. in mykolaiv, i met a ukrainian special forces officer who runs what he calls "partisan warfare" in kherson. he did not want to show his identity. he said harassing the occupiers does not just mean killing them. translation: the more effective it is, the - worse it is for them. it makes them live in constant tension, constant fear. that is our goal, our task. it makes them think, "we don't want to conquer, "we want to go back to russia."

some ukrainians under occupation in kherson say they have seen changes in the city, as rumours circulated this week that the russians might pull back. translation: for two weeks or| more, kherson has been blocked. there is no crossing from the left bank to the right for civilians. as a result, the food and medicine is not delivered. if this continues for a long time, i don't know what people will eat and how they will receive basic medicine. a few video snapshots of life now in kherson have been posted. it is a city where russian roubles circulate alongside ukraine's currency, and the clocks now run on moscow time. the ukrainian soldiers we met on the front line facing kherson this week were very confident, not losing sleep over moscow's intentions. with or without the formal

withdrawal announcement, these men and their commander believe theirflexible, fast operations and continued nato support cannot be beaten. translation: step-by-step, we will reach victory. - we will not rush, losing people on our way. the russian troops are scared. they didn't expect so much resistance from our side. ukrainian soldiers will suspect russia's motives until they can drive into kherson. it might be some kind of disinformation strategy, or they believe the russians might be trying to sucker them into a trap. the fact remains, the hit—and—run war here on the front lines near kherson goes on. one question — a fighting retreat requires military skills russia has not demonstrated since the invasion. will moscow try to negotiate safe passage out of

kherson for its men? jeremy bowen, bbc news, mykolaiv. president biden has described tuesday's mid—term elections as a good day for democracy and that voters had spoken clearly about their concerns. republicans are expected to take control of the house of representatives but mr biden said "a giant red wave did not happen" as had been predicted. whichever party wins two of the three outstanding contests in arizona, georgia and nevada will control the senate. our north america editor sarah smith reports. joe biden, congratulations. this is not quite the look we would see from joe biden. relaxed and relieved as he called around democrats who won last night. he had warned american democracy itself was on the ballot at these elections. our democracy has been tested in recent years but with their votes

the american people have spoken and proven once again that democracy is who we are. happy for once to be taking questions about what he sees as a success. with the help of his trademark hoodie, john fetterman is now a senator elect for pennsylvania, delivering the democrats their best result of the night. thank you, pennsylvania, thank you so much. flipping the seat and defying the predictions of a cascade of republican victories, he beat a candidate backed by donald trump. we bet on the people of pennsylvania, and you didn't let us down. republican hopes of landslide were dashed as candidates like tv host doctor oz lost. donald trump wants to declare another run for the white house soon. but many candidates with his personal endorsement turned out to be losers and we know

he hates losers. welcome i think if they win, as you get all the credit, and if they lose, i should you get all the credit, and if they lose, ishould not you get all the credit, and if they lose, i should not be blamed at all. it will probably be just the opposite. the republican who really looks like a winner is ron desantis, re—elected as governor of florida with a hugely increased majority. we know he wants to run for president. he is now well placed to challenge donald trump for the republican nomination. thanks to the overwhelming support of the people - of florida, we not only wonj election, we have rewritten the political map. in georgia, the two senate candidates are so close they will have to compete in a fresh run—off election next month and that contest might decide which party controls the senate. republicans are optimistic they will be the biggest party in the house of representatives.

when you wake up tomorrow, we will be in the majority and nancy pelosi will be in the minority. it's a new day in washington, where it appears republicans will have the power to block almost every piece of legislation president biden proposes. while democrats celebrate a result that will probably see them lose control of congress. our north america editor sarah smith reporting. well earlier i spoke to allan lichtman who's a us presidential historian and previously ran for the fo us senate as a democrat. i asked why the democrats are feeling so positive over the midterms when its highly likely they will lose the house to the republicans who will paralyse their policy making agenda for the next two years. you're absolutely right. they achieved success in a sense of expectation, almost like a sporting event, they greatly exceeded expectations. it was a toxic environment for democrats, low approval ratings biden, difficult economy and in midterm elections, usually the

president's party loses close to 40 president's party loses close to a0 seats, but in a sense, at least for the house, that may not matter. it doesn't matter whether the republicans hold the house by five seats or 20 seats. they still control everything in the house, and as you say, can block biden�*s agenda and can conduct any kind of investigations they want to. the real gain is in the senate, which is so much more important because the senate confirms presidential appointments, including those lifetime federaljudges. president biden desperately wants to counter that some 250 conservative judges that donald trump put on the bench with his own appointees, but if mitch mcconnell, a republican, becomes the senate majority leader, any confirmation is going to slow at best to a trickle. so keep your eye on the senate. that is where the game is. do the senate. that is where the name is. ,, . the senate. that is where the cameis. ., ., , game is. do you have any thoughts _ game is. do you have any thoughts on _

game is. do you have any thoughts on how- game is. do you have any thoughts on how that - game is. do you have any l thoughts on how that might game is. do you have any - thoughts on how that might play out? i mean, georgia is one that many people are watching. they think it may come down to that. ifailwarnock they think it may come down to that. i fail warnock against herschel walker, what can be done for either of those candidates to get ahead in december because it's gone to a runoff because the other candidate got more than 50%. i will give three words of advice. turnout, turnout, turnout. a runoff election tends to be a much lower turnout than a regular one. whoever gets their base motivated and gets the brace turned out. there is a classic opposition here. people have much more respect for the character of the democrat than the republican who has been dogged by all kinds of scandals and caught lying, children that he is kind of abundant well at the same

time criticising black fathers. a huge cloud of scandal over walker but the exit polls show he is getting the votes of those who care only about getting the republicans to control the us senate so there is a grand clash of different imperatives in this run—off. you talk about the character there, i did have a republican strategist on in a previous edition and he was talking about the character of mr warnock in the republican ads committee attack ads, they talked about ten, the relationship he had with his ex—wife, the confrontations that she alleged that he ran over her foot, there was no proof found in that particular incident, but do you think that people have pies about mr warnock�*s character, he talked about them having pies about herschel walker.— herschel walker. polls show that they — herschel walker. polls show that they have _ herschel walker. polls show that they have much - herschel walker. polls show that they have much more i that they have much more positive about herschel walker, that those who believe that the

candidates personal qualities and character were most important voted overwhelmingly democratic in the regular election where as those who said the candidate shares my values voted overwhelmingly republican. that's why you have such different imperatives in this election. truly, you know, not only does herschel walker have character issues, but he has enormous issues in terms of his understanding and ability to articulate the policy. whatever you may think of warnock, he is certainly articulate and certainly knowledgeable about the policy, which contrasts markedly with herschel walker. stay with us on bbc news — still to come... and — the bronze statues from ancient italy — perfectly preserved in the mud and hot springs of a spa. 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 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.

this is bbc world news, the latest headlines... russia is retreating its military forces from the city of kherson — following a sustained counter—attack by ukrainian forces trying to recapture it. the votes are still being counted following the us midterm elections — it's still not clear who will binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, has walked away from a bailout deal of its smaller rival ftx. it said reports of "mishandled customer funds and alleged us agency investigations" had swayed its decision. ftx is one of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, and it had struck a bailout deal with binance after a surge in withdrawals caused a "significant liquidity crunch" for more on that, we are joined now by apriljoyner, who covers venture capital and startups for the online publication business insider. did too happy with us. i think

these companies for lots of our viewers wound to be that familiar, april. so perhaps you can take us through this in lehmans terms in the crypto currency world, if you hear about this are they both big players? about this are they both big -la ers? , ., , ., players? yes, and first of i want to — players? yes, and first of i want to say _ players? yes, and first of i want to say thank - players? yes, and first of i want to say thank you - players? yes, and first of i want to say thank you for i want to say thank you for having me. yes, but to lay out fts, they are two of the worlds largest crypto exchanges, so up until now, it's been number one and ftx has been number two. —— binance has been number one. interestingly enough, binance was one of the early investors and backers of ftx. which turned into a big rival of binance. turned into a big rival of binance-— turned into a big rival of binance. , ., ., binance. they outline some of the reasons — binance. they outline some of the reasons that _ binance. they outline some of the reasons that they - binance. they outline some of the reasons that they are - the reasons that they are walking away from this deal, but if ftx goes under commensurately that would shake the confidence of the crypto currency industry.—

currency industry. yes, definitely. _ currency industry. yes, definitely. this - currency industry. yes, definitely. this was - currency industry. yes, definitely. this was a l currency industry. yes, i definitely. this was a big factor in what caused this collapse, basically, that a lot of people lost faith in what was happening with the assets because binance, as i mentioned, there were an early backer of ftx. they actually held a lot of ftx's tokens and so when the founder of binance and announced that they were going to off—load those tokens, people got scared. so as the fallout of this has been that there has been a big collapse and out lot of crypto currencies, and if ftx does not get a bailout, that would likely continue.— get a bailout, that would likely continue. get a bailout, that would likel continue. ., likely continue. looking at the fiuures likely continue. looking at the figures here. _ likely continue. looking at the figures here, so _ likely continue. looking at the figures here, so for— likely continue. looking at the figures here, so for ftx, - likely continue. looking at the figures here, so for ftx, the l figures here, so for ftx, the financial report triggered $6 billion withdrawals in just three days. so for the regular

person who was perhaps investing in ftx, how does this affect them?— investing in ftx, how does this affect them? yes, so, when big concern here _ affect them? yes, so, when big concern here is _ affect them? yes, so, when big concern here is that, _ affect them? yes, so, when big concern here is that, say, - affect them? yes, so, when big concern here is that, say, if- concern here is that, say, if ftx goes through bankruptcy, we have seen similar stories play out this year with crypto currency, so it earlier this year, there were two crypto lenders, one was called voyager digital, another one was called celsius, and basically after they experienced some liquidity issues and eventually filed for bankruptcy, it is now up in the air whether people who had their assets in those lenders will get their money back in a similar situation with ftx. find similar situation with ftx. and wondering _ similar situation with ftx. and wondering than _ similar situation with ftx. and wondering than if _ similar situation with ftx. and wondering than if you put this in the context of the industry as a whole. is this a concern? or is this kind of, i don't

know, just to mow it when i say, individual examples are more random examples? yes, so there definitely _ more random examples? yes, so there definitely is _ more random examples? yes, so there definitely is concerned. - there definitely is concerned. they have been two camps. i've talked to some people who said we have seen this play out in the past. there have been collapses of exchanges going back to 201a, for instance, with the collapse of mount cots, which was a big crypto currency exchange back in the day. so it could be something that the industry recovers from eventually, but in the meantime, in the immediate term, there will be some follow up term, there will be some follow up here likely. term, there will be some follow up here likely-— up here likely. april, thank ou so up here likely. april, thank you so much _ up here likely. april, thank you so much for— up here likely. april, thank you so much forjoining - up here likely. april, thank you so much forjoining us| up here likely. april, thank. you so much forjoining us on bbc news. good to have your analysis and also explaining that story for us. let's get some of the day's other news. weather forecasters in the united states have said that the atlantic storm nicole has attained hurricane strength, with winds of one hundred and twenty kilometres per hour. the national hurricane center

said nicole had made landfall on the island of grand bahama, about a hundred and seventy kilometres east of palm beach in florida. a new survey has found that the influence of fossil fuel industries at global climate talks has risen significantly in recent years. the campaign group global witness says more than 600 people attending the climate summit in egypt are linked to oil and gas. according to the data there are more fossil fuel lobbyists at the event than delegates from the ten countries most impacted by climate change. the prominent iranian actor taraneh alidoosti has posted an image of herself without a headscarf on instagram in solidarity with ongoing anti— government protests. the actor has almost eight million followers on instagram. she's previously vowed to remain inside iran at any price, pausing her career to support the families of protesters killed or arrested in clampdowns by the security forces. now to an incredible discovery in italy — 2a stunningly preserved statues, more than 2,000 years old — have been

found in the hot springs near siena, in tuscany. they were discovered under the ruins of a roman bathhouse, as our rome correspondent mark lowen reports slowly, painstakingly, they rescue the priceless, the earth offering up treasure that it has preserved. 2a exquisite ancient bronze statues that had lain beneath the thermal baths of a tuscan town for 2,300 years, protected by the mud and hot waters. dated to the roman era and its etruscan predecessor, thrilling archaeologists. translation: we've witnessed an exceptional discovery. - from the bottom of the pool, bronze statues from between the second and first centuries bc have re—emerged. they are masterpieces of antiquity that open a new chapter in the history of craftsmanship and the sacred life of the etruscans and romans.

the objects found, votive offerings along with thousands of coins, have inscriptions in etruscan and latin. the statues of gods, goddesses and mere mortals are thought to have been owned by noble families and emperors, adorning a sanctuary they were then probably immersed in the thermal waters in a ritual. with the local authorities we are working on the objects, says one of the 60 archaeologists now involved, so as to restore what's been found. and so one of the most important discoveries of bronzes in the mediterranean lay hidden for more than two millennia by the baths in which they were put. you gave to the water, says one expert, because you hoped that the water would give something back to you. how true that seems now. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. a ferrari driven by the seven—times formula one world champion —

michael schumacher — has fetched a record price for a modern f—one car at auction in geneva. it went for nearly fifteen—million dollars — twice the previous record. it was bought by an anonymous european bidder. the bbc�*s tim allman has the story. he is considered by many to be one of if not the greatest formula i drivers of all time. and this was the car michael schumacher drove when he made history. it was behind the wheel of this ferrari that he won sixth world title in 2003, setting what was then a new record. nearly 20 years later, it is up for sale, a very special automobile. translation: it is one - of the most successful ferraris in the history of the brand. so it is a very important car.

chassis 229 was the most successful of the six cars ferrari built that year. schumacher raced in it nine times, winning five grand prix, including the victory injapan which clinched his sixth world championship. the sale took place in the swiss city of geneva, with the auctioneer displaying the usual slightly melodramatic flourish. selling at 13 million swiss francs, sold, thank you very much. adding commission and fees, and the final price was closer to 15 million. sadly, of course, michael schumacher is no longer in the public eye. he hasn't been seen since he suffered serious injuries in a skiing accident in 2013. a legend of formula i, no matter what he was driving. tim allman, bbc news. you can reach me on twitter —

i'm @ bbc nuala. thank you so much for watching us here on bbc news. hello, many areas desperate for rain, including the south—east of england. that has been addressed a little over the last few days. it has been the wettest start to november on record in the south—east. some areas have seen a month's worth of rain injust the space of a few days. however, mist and fog is likely to be a problem across south—east england over the next few days. the rain stays into the far north—west. elsewhere it will be largely dry, and it will be mild for all of us. over the next few hours, that rain across the far north of scotland, the south—westerly wind feeding in a lot of low cloud, mist and drizzle as well. it will be a mild start

to thursday morning, temperatures sitting between nine and 12 degrees. the cloud thick enough for a spot of drizzle first thing, and it will be pretty misty as well. but high pressure is dominating the story and keeping things largely dry. it is also keeping these weather fronts out to the far north—west. around that high, we have got this southerly wind, and that is feeding on the mild air, and extending as far north of scotland. yes, cloudy, with some light drizzle first thing. a misty, murky start for all. the rain quite heavy and persistent to the north—west of the great glen. the winds are a feature for the highlands and islands and across the irish sea. we are likely to seek deal wednesday, blustery elsewhere, but mild with it. so a bit of a peculiar afternoon. there will be some brighter spells into the afternoon, with highs of 16 degrees, 61 fahrenheit. that is going to lead into a very mild night indeed thursday into the early hours of friday. we are likely to be greeted with temperatures not

falling very far at all, 15 or 16 celsius. look how much cloud we have got for many, first thing. that should tend to break up across central and eastern england into the afternoon. the rain stays to the north—west, but the talking point on friday will be temperatures as high as 18 or 19 celsius. now, as we move into the weekend, it starts off dry, but there's a threat of another front pushing in from the west as we go through the latter stages of sunday. so, all in all, not a bad weekend in prospect — dry and mild for most, certainly better than last weekend.

this is bbc news, the headlines... moscow says it's pulling its troops out of the ukrainian city of kherson. it's the only provincial capital russia has managed to capture since the start of its invasion. but over the past weeks ukraine has been conducting a counter—offensive to push the occupiers out of the area. presidentjoe biden has described tuesday's mid—term elections as a good day for democracy, and that voters had spoken clearly about their concerns. republicans are expected to take control of the house of representatives — but mr biden said "a giant red wave did not happen" as had been predicted. one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges — binance — has pulled out of a deal to acquire its struggling rival ftx.

binance had signed a non—binding agreement to cover liquidity, but it now a shortage of financial