this is bbc news our top stories: president biden congratulates the republicans as they secure a majority in the us house of representatives — marking a return to divided government in the united states. disagreement over the poland missile strike as ukraine insists its air defence teams weren't to blame. as protests continue in iran — more death sentences are handed down by the revolutionary courts. and lift off — of artemis i. and to the moon and back — nasa's most powerful rocket launches a new era of space exploration.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we begin in the united states, where the republican party has won the 218th seat needed to give them control of the us house of representatives, following last week's midterm elections. it marks a return to divided government in america, with democrats still retaining a slim majority in the senate. earlier i spoke to our north america correspondent, peter bowes and i asked what a divided government means for the next two years of us politics. well, this is, as you say, divided government returning to washington. not an entirely unusual situation. of course, historically it's happened many times before. but what it means is with the republicans in charge in the house of representatives, it will certainly stymie joe biden�*s intentions, his political agenda over

the next couple of years with the republicans in a position to block any legislative moves that he makes. the republicans will be in charge of the crucial committees in the house of representatives. they can bring forward their own legislation and possibly any inquiries, possibly inquiries againstjoe biden that they choose to pursue. so it will be a difficult time in washington. we don't expect a huge amount to get through to happen in terms of new legislation. but it is interesting that joe biden is reaching out and this is typical of mr biden�*s style. he is reaching out to the republicans, saying that he would like to at least try to continue to work together. there's continued division over the cause of a missile attack which led to the deaths of two people on polish territory. president zelensky insists russia was behind the strike, but nato, poland and the us have all said they now believe

the incident was most likely caused by a ukrainian air defence missile. katya adler reports. these have been nail—biting moments for poland and its allies, gathering evidence and intelligence about last night's missile strike close to poland's border with ukraine. yerevan lives nearby. his family heard the explosion, he said, and were really scared. nato was also nervous. you'll notice almost more emphasis today on who likely wasn't behind the strike than who probably was. we have no indication that this was the result of a deliberate attack, and we have no indication that russia is preparing offensive military actions against nato. to western leaders, immense relief. poland's president says

it seems the explosion was caused by ukrainian air defence systems. an unfortunate error, he said. moscow did pound ukraine with missiles yesterday. if it had struck or targeted neighbouring nato member poland, as first suggested in polish media, the whole alliance could have been called on, meaning confrontation with nuclear power russia. nato really wants to avoid that, while still supporting ukraine's military. nato leaders�* carefully crafted, measured response today shows how much they fear europe is on a knife edge. they've had a sharp shock reminder of the ever—present potential of russia's war to escalate and spread beyond ukraine's borders. kyiv sometimes accuses allies of getting too used to all those missiles raining down on its citizens. if that ever was the case, last night was a huge wake—up call. but it's also caused a rift

with kyiv, determined russia was behind the strike in poland. translation: i have no doubt that this is not our _ missile, not our strike. i believe this is a russian missile based on our military reports. that's a very rare public break with his international allies. at a meeting of world leaders today, the prime minister assured ukraine support against russia was unwavering, and there were strong words from his foreign secretary. the house should be in no doubt that the only reason _ why missiles are flyingl through european skies and exploding in european- villages is because of russia's barbaric invasion of ukraine. as the investigation continues on the ground in poland, nato says it's boosting air defences across eastern europe as well as ukraine, just in case. katya adler, bbc news, nato.

well earlier i spoke to brad bowman who senior director of the center on military and political power at the foundation for defense of democracies. i asked what he made of nato's response to the missile incident in poland. in the initial hours there was a lot of heated rhetoric and suggestions of how washington and our allies in europe should respond. i think the right move was to take a deep breath, gather the facts and consult with allies. that is exactly what the biden administration and its nato allies did. it is a good thing we did because as is often the case in war, the first reports are not accurate. if we had responded based on initial conjecture, we could have made a big mistake with far—reaching consequences. for my part i would applaud the biden administration and nato. this could have been a dramatic

expansion in the war and because cooler heads prevailed, the crisis has been averted for now. this was a tragic incident, two innocent people killed but arguably when you are so close to an active conflict zone, things like this, runs the risk of happening, do you think we will see more of the same as this war continues? i hope not, but i do worry that that might be the case. any course of action following putin's unprovoked invasion of ukraine has some risk associated. the strategy the us and our european allies have pursued since february the 24th is to arm ukraine, help them defend themselves against this unprovoked invasion, beefing up our military posture on the eastern flank of the alliance and try to hold the alliance together as best we can. i think that has been the right approach. we want to do everything we can to help ukraine while avoiding direct combat

between russia and nato. something we were able to do during the whole length of the cold war. this was a moment of tension but i think it was well handled. continue to arm ukraine will incur some risks, but the cost of not doing so will be greater. nato says russia still bears the responsibility because ukraine wouldn't be using its air defences if it didn't need to, is that a fair response from poland? i think it is more than fair. we are looking at the largest invasion in europe since world war ii, and provoked by putin, an illicit war. russia bears culpability for this war, the initiation of war and the way they have conducted it as the g7 put out in a statement today, has been barbaric. i don't think it is a hyperbole to say that. it was on tuesday when roughly 90 missiles were raining down on ukraine, including the capital kyiv and lviv which

is close to the polish border. you can sit and criticise, but when you have 90 missiles raining down on you, mistakes can happen. we regret the loss of life but we need to put blame where it ultimately resides and that is with putin. international health organisations are warning that a cholera outbreak in haiti is worsening, with a dramatic increase in the number of people falling ill. the head of the pan american health organization said officials had now confirmed over 700 cholera infections, with more than 140 deaths since the first cases were detected in october. it's believed the true numbers could be much higher. she added that half a million people are at risk of contracting the disease. let's go to iran now, where the judiciary has handed down four more death sentences on those they accuse of being involved in anti—government protests. authorities in iran are trying to contain a wave of protests sparked by the death of a young woman, mahsa amini, while in custody of

iran's morality policy. so far, nearly sixteen thousand protesters have been arrested, and more than 300 have been killed. i got this update from our reporter, azadeh moshiri. five people so far have been sentenced to death, that they've been charged with enmity against god, waging a war against god. that's the charge that the revolutionary courts typically use when they want to have a charge that could be prosecuted and lead to a death sentence. now, the courts have said it's for things like one of the protesters hitting and killing a police officer with a car. another one was supposedly in possession of weapons. another one waged terror on the streets. but what their families have said through statements

and that's because the momentum of these protests is not waning. people are still putting their lives on the line in order to challenge the system. meanwhile, news out of the uk about concern about iran's influence on british security, itlsworthiisteni mg... ..

at its sharpest this includes ambitions to kidnap or even kill british or uk based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime. we've seen at least ten such potential threats since january alone. the foreign secretary made clear to the iranian regime just last week that the uk will not tolerate intimidation or threats to life towards journalists or any individual living in the uk. so what he's talking about there is that iranian or murder plots.

sometimes they've used conduits instead. they've even tried to lure people to iran to then target them there. and that this isn'tjust happening in the uk. the head of mi5 also said that this has been happening across europe and it's been happening for many years. and of course, now it's taking heightened importance to the islamic republic because they are trying to neutralise a threat to their system that so far they haven't been able to contain. and this also comes off the back of the fact that uk police told uk based iranian journalists, especially ones that are broadcasting like bbc persian on its farsi speaking channels, that they have potential threats to their lives. china's president, xijinping, and canada's prime minister, justin trudeau, exchanged tense words on the sidelines of the 620 summit in bali on wednesday. president xi had been meeting several world leaders, for the first time in person

since before the pandemic. but a short follow—up conversation between mr trudeau and mr xi was picked up by the press pool, and it wasn't entirely friendly. let's have a listen. and lift off — of artemis i. to the moon and back — a new era dawns as nasa's most powerful rocket blasts off.

benazir bhutto has claimed victory in pakistan's general election and she's asked pakistan's president to name her as prime minister. jackson's been released on bail of $3 million after turning himself in to police in santa barbara. it was the biggest demonstration so far this will lead to a black majority government in this country and the destruction of the white civilisation. part of the centuries—old windsor castle, one of the queen's residences, has been consumed by fire for much of a day.

150 firemen have been battling the blaze, which has caused millions of pounds worth of damage. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines... presdient biden has congratulated the republicans after they regained control of the us house of representatives. it could limit the president's ability to get his legaslative programme through. families of the victims of the itaewon disaster in south korea are demanding an official apology from the country's president. more than 150 young people were killed in the crush, and families want those in power to be held accountable. here's our seoul correspondent, jean mackenzie. a woman sobs into the floor at the scene of the deadly crush. this tragedy is more

heartbreaking now it's clear it could've been prevented. mr song is visiting his daughter's ashes. "daddy's here now," he says. "i hope you're doing well." 24—year—old unji was one of the last victims to be identified. doctors told her father both her arms had been broken in the crush. translation: the most heartbreaking thing - is they anticipated that many people would gather that day, but didn't prepare for it. i don't understand that. why? why did they not? i just... he sobs. i should have taken more care of her.

she was such a precious daughter for us. who do you want to take responsibility for your daughter's death? translation: someone high up needs to take responsibility - for this disaster. thousands have taken to the street to demand the president's resignation. angry that no—one has taken responsibility. contrast this... ..to the empty streets of itaewon... ..once so full of life. the police cordon has finally been lifted, but the alley is almost completely deserted. most of the bars and the restaurants are still closed,

and even the ones that are open are completely empty. it's hard to see at this stage how these streets can ever go back to the way they were before. welcome. we haven't really been here since halloween. everyone that was lost, those were people that came to our neighbourhood and people from our neighbourhood, so... what are your biggest worries now going forward? i fear being scapegoated for why there are problems. this neighbourhood has a really special and unique place within korea, but it hasn't always been supported. many of the protesters were angry with the president here before itaewon.

but if he fails to punish the right people, these rallying cries will surely spread. jean mackenzie, bbc news, seoul. a new study has found that climate change severely worsened the heavy rains that caused largescale flooding across swathes of nigeria and niger this year, killing hundreds of people. the floods were recorded as the worst in the countries' history. the report by world weather attribution says extreme seasonal rainfall and the release of water from dams caused the flooding. they concluded the event was made eighty times more likely by climate change. brazil's president—elect has vowed to fight deforestation of the amazon. speaking at the cop27 summit in egypt, luiz inacio lula da silva said there would be no climate security for the world if the amazon was not protected. our climate editor, justin rowlatt, reports from the conference in egypt. # ole, ole, ole, ola! # lula, lula!

lula received a hero's welcome as he arrived here in egypt. "brazil is back" was his message. he said fighting climate change will be his number one priority and he promised to start rebuilding the agencies that police the forest as soon as he takes office injanuary. translation: it's time to act. we have to stop this rush to the abyss. what we need is hope, hope combined with immediate and decisive action for the future of the planet and for humankind. # lula, lula! there is no question that lula is the star of this conference, but he faces real problems at home — brazil's finances are in trouble, he doesn't have control of the parliament and there's no doubt his rival, jair bolsonaro, will be making trouble for him. under bolsonaro, rates of deforestation rose rapidly.

he was accused of encouraging loggers and miners to go into the forest and of hobbling the environmental police. lula says his target is zero deforestation. he promised to start rebuilding the agencies that police the forest as soon as he takes office in january. but his team acknowledges there is hard work ahead. translation: this won't be an easy process. - there was a dismantling of all policies related to the environment. but if we rebuild the budget, if we rebuild the teams, i am confident we will be able to achieve our goals. that change cannot come quickly enough, say the indigenous communities who are on the front line of the conflict in brazil's forests. they are illegal miners, they are poisoning our rivers and deforesting our forests.

the crowds surged around the brazilian president—elect after his speech. lula says he's urging the un to allow brazil to host the 2025 un climate conference, and he says he wants it to be held in the amazon itself. justin rowlatt, bbc news, sharm el sheikh, egypt. nasa's artemis rocket has finally launched, marking the start of a new era, which it's hoped will eventually see humans return to the moon. technical hitches and two hurricanes prevented previous launch attempts, but the rocket has finally blasted off from florida's kennedy space center. our science editor, rebecca morrelle, was watching. and here we go. it was the moment they'd been waiting for. three, two, one... and liftoff of artemis i!

after months of setbacks, nasa's most powerful rocket was finally on its way — the start of humanity's return to the moon. we rise together, back to the moon, and beyond! it's an incredibly complex machine. it has so many components. to get 8.8 million pounds of thrust off the ground requires many systems that all have to work together perfectly, and it did just that today. no people are on board this time, but this test flight will show if it's safe for astronauts. the ultimate plan is to land the first woman and first person of colour on the moon. i wanted to be an astronaut from the time i was five years old. for anybody that has a dream or some kind of aspiration, if they see somebody that they can identify with a little bit, it puts them into a totally different perspective where they can say, well, "wait a minute, that person was just like me, and they did it, so i can do it, too."

and in a remote part of cornwall, the goonhilly earth station has an important role to play. this huge dish is part of a network of antennas around the world tracking the spacecraft, and the data it receives is vital. it will help nasa to work out exactly where the spacecraft is and how fast it's moving as it heads towards the moon. and here's the first signal sent back. this doesn't look like very much, i think, to most people, but to communication engineers, this is pure magic. what you would normally see is just a flat line of noise. but we're picking up the signal from space, from the artemis spacecraft. with a last look back at the earth, the spacecraft now has a 26—dayjourney ahead. this isjust the beginning, the start of a million—mile journey that's being described as apollo for a new generation. rebecca morelle, bbc news.

that's it for now. much more on the bbc news website. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ richpreston. hello there, the weather is looking pretty unsettled, quite a lot of rain in places and the risk of localised flooding. it's all because of an area of low pressure which is expected to hang around for thursday and friday, even into saturday morning, before it eventually fizzles out. this is the low pressure system i'm talking about, moving eastwards and then pulling back northwards and westwards across the country during thursday and friday, where it will weaken, but it will bring a lot of rain and fairly strong winds at times. we start thursday on a chilly note for western scotland, northern ireland, and there's frost and fog, but elsewhere where we have the cloud, wind and rain, temperatures between 5—9 degrees. a thoroughly wet day

to come for thursday, our area of low pressure, as you can see, pushing northwards and westwards. heavy rain, east england, strongest of the winds along the north sea coast. the best of any brighter weather is in northern ireland but nowhere particularly warm, nine to 11 degrees. and then through thursday night the rain continues to pile into eastern scotland and a few showers elsewhere into northern ireland. wet weather for northern england and north wales. probably the driest weather towards the south of the country. because there is more cloud and wind across the whole of the uk, it won't be quite as cold for many, 7—9 degrees. for friday there is our area of low pressure, starting to weaken, but it will bring a lot of rain to the northern half of the country, especially the east of scotland. by this point, rain really will be accumulating across angus, aberdeenshire and the risk of localised flooding here.

something quieter for england generally. best of the sunshine on friday again. parts of northern ireland, wales, central and southern england. up to 12 degrees, but chilly further north where it will continue to be windy, especially for the northern isles. that fizzles out on saturday and a brief spell of quieter weather before the next frontal system moves through on saturday night into sunday, and followed by sunshine and blustery showers. it starts off fairly dry for many on saturday and quite chilly. wet and windy weather sweeps through saturday night to sunday and that will be followed by sunshine and showers.

this is bbc news, the headlines. president biden has congratulated the republican party after they secured control of the us house of representatives, following last week's midterm elections. the democrats still hold the senate. the republican majority in the lower house will limit president biden�*s ability to push through his legislative agenda. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky says he's in no doubt the missile strike that killed two people in poland on tuesday was not caused by ukrainian air defence. nato, poland and the us believe the incident was most likely caused by a ukrainian air defense missile. and brazil's president—elect, luiz inacio lula da silva, has told the cop27 summit in egypt that fighting climate change will be his number one priority.