this is bbc news. india aims to become the first country to reach the moon's south pole. russia's president putin tells a group of world leaders at the brics summit, that the west is to blame for the war in ukraine. andrew tate prosecution files reveal graphic claims of coercion ahead of his trial. hello, i'm sarah campbell, welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. india is hoping to create history by becoming the first country in the world to reach the moon's south pole. its spacecraft is due to begin its descent to the lunar surface very shortly. this is the chandrayaan—3 rocket taking off from the bay

of bengal last month. if successful, india will also become the fourth country in the world — after the us, russia and china — to make a soft landing on the moon. the mission will allow experts to explore whether there is water ice on the moon which might then support human habitation there. india is hoping to avoid the disaster that struck russia's space programme last week when their luna—25 shuttle crashed into the moon's surface. the race back to the moon is a hallmark of renewed interest in space exploration among the world's major economies due to better technology, the hunt for natural resources and rising political tension at home. china and the us have both also announced their own missions to the moon's south pole with china even announcing a joint plan with russia to set up a lunar research station on the rock in 2021. meanwhile nasa has announced plans to send the first women

and the first person of colour to step foot on the moon in 2025 — but now suggests the date of that mission may slip back. finally, there has been an increase in private and commercial space exploration with elon musk�*s space x testing reuseable launch vehicles. there are few laws and treaties governing space so the area is seen as ripe for exploration and exploitation. our correspondent samira hussain is at india's space agency as the countdown to the spacecraft�*s descent to the lunar surface gets closer. the stage is set, and even here at the media centre at isro, which is india's space agency, the excitement is palpable. everyone is waiting to see if india will be able to manage a soft landing on the moon. now, the last time the country tried this was back in 2019, and the scientists that are working here at india's

space agency believe that the lessons learned then will ultimately lead them to success now. and if india is able to pull this off, they will be in an elite class, one of only four countries in the world to manage a soft landing on the moon, and more importantly, the only country in the world to get to the moon's south pole. if achieved, it would be an incredible feat for india's very ambitious space programme. let's go live now to anushka sharma who is the founder of naaut which is a space, technology, and innovation consultancy firm. thank you forjoining as. exciting times. tell us what will be going on now in terms of the mission which is due to land in around an hour and a half hopefully. the due to land in around an hour and a half hepefully-_

half hopefully. the main mission control room, _ half hopefully. the main mission control room, everyone - half hopefully. the main mission control room, everyone will - half hopefully. the main mission control room, everyone will be l control room, everyone will be waiting anxiously, doing all of the final preparations and receiving data that we are not going to be party to. there are a public timeline is that we have got of things happening in the mission so the next main thing is going to happen from 12:45 when he received the first images are back as the descent process starts to take place. my fingers and toes are crossed for everybody in the mission control room because i can only imagine the nerves that they are going through right now.- going through right now. jealous about the significance _ going through right now. jealous about the significance of - going through right now. jealous about the significance of this - about the significance of this particular mission and particularly the landing which is near the south pole of the moon which has never been done before. i pole of the moon which has never been done before.— been done before. i have goose bum s. been done before. i have goose bumps- most — been done before. i have goose bumps. most people _ been done before. i have goose bumps. most people at - been done before. i have goose bumps. most people at home, | been done before. i have goose i bumps. most people at home, i been done before. i have goose - bumps. most people at home, i am so excited because this is india's second attempt at landing on the moon and it will make them the fourth nation to have that but the first nation to be on the south side of the moon. today is going to be a big step and them having their

technical demonstration of having that feather soft landing to successfully land on the moon, as well as demonstrating a rover on the surface and also to conduct the in situ experiments on the surface of the moon. this is what the mission is here to achieve and it is even exciting time, not only for indians and the indian space research organisation, but for all of us in the scientific community that air anxious to see what the science might bring but hopefully inspiring everybody at home about their future careers as helpfully astronauts and people using this data for what our next steps on the moon and beyond might be. next steps on the moon and beyond miaht be. ., ., ., ~ ., might be. you are talking about crossin: might be. you are talking about crossing fingers _ might be. you are talking about crossing fingers and _ might be. you are talking about crossing fingers and toes - might be. you are talking about l crossing fingers and toes because might be. you are talking about - crossing fingers and toes because in russia we sought their attempt failed on sunday but this is the second time india has tried it so there is clearly lots of complications and things that could go wrong. how difficult is this to get right? go wrong. how difficult is this to net riuht? , , go wrong. how difficult is this to caetriht? , , ., get right? yes, it is read challenging. _ get right? yes, it is read challenging. on - get right? yes, it is read challenging. on the - get right? yes, it is read i challenging. on the surface get right? yes, it is read - challenging. on the surface of the

moon, there are craters and lots of challenging issues to come about and if you think about it, what they are going to be doing is coming to a really fast landing and then suddenly going very slowly in their landing, so that feather soft landing, so that feather soft landing is really going to be critical. the lander will land on legs so that really has to ensure that it lands softly and safely on the surface for it to be able to have the next steps of the process of this demonstration that we are hopefully going to witness. bier? hopefully going to witness. very briefl , hopefully going to witness. very briefly. from _ hopefully going to witness. very briefly, from a _ hopefully going to witness. very briefly, from a science - hopefully going to witness. very briefly, from a science perspective, what is it that is so significant about finding water or water ice? india was the first nation to discover the presence of water on the surface of the moon. there are some experiments that will be on the rover but also on the lander that will give us critical information and scientific information when they successfully land, so things like whether lunar quakes are happening, the thermal qualities of the surface

and lots of other science that we are hopefully going to receive back. you will keep us across other developments, so thank you so much for the moment. live now to the bbc�*s archana shukla who is at a planetarium in mumbai. how much of this is an event in india? it how much of this is an event in india? , ,., ., india? it is something that everybody _ india? it is something that everybody is _ india? it is something that everybody is waiting - india? it is something that i everybody is waiting eagerly india? it is something that - everybody is waiting eagerly for and we are here at the planetarium in mumbai where it live swing has an organised and many people, just a few months ago when the gates opened, children and families, children from schools have also come here to watch the live screening and be part of this historic moment when india becomes the first nation to soft land on the south pole of the lunar surface. this is something that we are looking forward to also from the point of view because this event will propel india's space

ambitions much further ahead. india has opened up the space sector private companies and we have seen start—ups come up and an historic moment and achievement like this will bring two things onto the table. one, position india is a global space power and two, make it a credible cost competitive place on the other hand and this is something that everybody is keeping their fingers crossed that the live screenings planned across the country and prayer sessions have happened since the morning to pray for this time, which is the second attempt for india to land on the south pole, goes successfully. we will be having a special bbc news programme running as we get slightly closer to the lunchtime and you can keep up—to—date with all the details on the website. president putin has told the leaders of china, india, south africa and brazil that the growing influence of the brics group will lead to a multi—polar world. addressing the summit

injohannesburg by videolink, mr putin said he opposed the sway exerted by the g7 and other western—led groups and promsied that russia would use its chairmanship next year to further strengthen brics. among all the speeches, one common theme, restoring the multilateral order and enhance cooperation and solidarity among the memebers. translation: the main thing is that we unanimously _ translation: the main thing is that we unanimously stand _ translation: the main thing is that we unanimously stand for— translation: the main thing is that we unanimously stand for the - we unanimously stand for the shipping of the multiple of world order, which is genuinely building on international law. the bricks countries are building up their potential. countries are building up their otential. ~ , . _, , potential. we, the bricks countries, should always _ potential. we, the bricks countries, should always bear _ potential. we, the bricks countries, should always bear in _ potential. we, the bricks countries, should always bear in mind - potential. we, the bricks countries, should always bear in mind our- should always bear in mind our founding — should always bear in mind our founding purpose of strengthening ourselves through unity, act on a

strong _ ourselves through unity, act on a strong sense of responsibility. we should _ strong sense of responsibility. we should practice true multinationals am, should practice true multinationals am. stick— should practice true multinationals am, stick to solidarity and oppose division _ am, stick to solidarity and oppose division. we need to fully leveraged the role _ division. we need to fully leveraged the role of— division. we need to fully leveraged the role of new develop and bank and push forward reform of the international financial and monetary systems. _ international financial and monetary systems, and increase the representation and voice of the building — representation and voice of the building countries. our correspondent, nomsa maseko is injohannesburg for us now. take us through what has been said at key points from the readers and particularly vladamir putin, of course, not appearing in person. vladamir putin not appearing in person because of a possible arrest warrant against him so he spoke via video link from russia and he said that the conflict in ukraine was an attempt by russia to end the war that was started by the west. he also spoke about the depolarisation

that was inevitable and that his country seeks to ensure a just settlement by peaceful means they're in russia and he also called on countries to expand trade settlements by using each of their common and individual currencies. he also spoke about the fact that the summit will be held in russia next year. i summit will be held in russia next ear. ~' ., summit will be held in russia next ear. ~ ., ., ., year. i think a lot of the discussion _ year. i think a lot of the discussion today - year. i think a lot of the discussion today behind year. i think a lot of the - discussion today behind closed doors, obviously speaking in public before, but what is the general tone that you sense coming out? what are the key developments, key discussion points but that the leaders will be talking about? it points but that the leaders will be talking about?— talking about? it sounds like it is a unanimous _ talking about? it sounds like it is a unanimous decision _ talking about? it sounds like it is a unanimous decision by - talking about? it sounds like it is a unanimous decision by the - talking about? it sounds like it is. a unanimous decision by the block talking about? it sounds like it is - a unanimous decision by the block to ensure that they become a geopolitical force that can indeed stand up against the g7 and also because they represent more than 40%

of the global population and over 20% of the global gdp, these countries also want to see an expansion of the blog with more than 20 countries having applied to the members. we also spoke to the president of brazil who said that countries cannot be indifferent to conflict between russia and ukraine, so that is definitely taking centre stage. all of the leaders that spoke care want to see a peaceful settlement when it comes to the conflict in ukraine but they also want to make sure that they extend, the influence when it comes to international trade. bbc news has seen graphic evidence compiled by prosecutors in romania, alleging that the social media personality, andrew tate, coerced women into sexual acts. the case file also includes claims of sexual violence, and transcripts of what prosecutors

say are audio messages from mr tate's brother, tristan, in which he appears to talk about �*slaving' women. both men face trial for human trafficking and forming an organised crime group. they deny all the charges. our correspondent lucy williamson has this report, which contains some offensive language. over hundreds of pages, romanian prosecutors outlined the testimony and evidence they say they've gathered against andrew tate. among it, transcriptions of what the prosecution says are text and audio messages detailing both the management of the alleged trafficking operation and the apparent coercion, control and abuse of women by mr tate and his co—defendants. in one transcribed exchange, andrew tate appears to coerce an alleged victim into group sex by using phrases such as, "shut up, you whore, you'll do as i say." his brother tristan is also quoted in prosecution transcripts, allegedly telling one associate that he was going to "slave these

bitches, slave work, minimum ten or 12 hours a day." the bbc can't verify whether these transcripts are accurate because the original evidence is not included in the 300 page summary that we've seen. in that summary, the prosecution also outlines heavy controls over the women it says were forced by the defendants to make pornographic content online. it alleges that some women did not control the money they made and were fined for crying or wiping their nose on camera orfor not working hard enough. the case file summary also includes graphic testimony from a woman who says she was raped by andrew tate. a spokeswoman for the tate brothers said they vehemently denied the serious allegations against them and accused the bbc of not reporting what she said was "substantial evidence" pointing to their innocence. but she didn't provide any detail or respond to the specific allegations that we raised.

defence lawyers are expected to challenge the prosecution evidence in a pre—trial hearing later this month. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news here in the uk. ministers have defended their record on stopping small boats crossing the channel — even though nearly 2,000 migrants have made the journey in the last week. the government says the numbers arriving in the uk have fallen this year — but labour attributes the fall to last month's unusually poor weather. the uk's biggest mortgage lender — the halifax — says housing is now more affordable than a year ago. it said a typical home cost 6.7 times the average annual earnings of a full—time worker — down from 7.3 times last year. but a typical home is still less affordable than it was near the start of the pandemic. a leading greek archaeologist has claimed historic artefacts from her country are not safe in the british museum —

after it emerged managers were warned two years ago that some last week the museum said it had sacked a staff member after items were reported "missing, stolen or damaged". you're live with bbc news. voting is under way in zimbabwe for closely watched presidential and legislative elections. many citizens are hoping for change after two decades of economic chaos but sceptical that the ruling zanu—pf party will allow a credible election. president mnan—gagwa is being challenged by nelson chamisa of the ccc — the citizens coalition for change — and nine other contenders. the zanu—pf party has been in power for almost as long as the 45—year—old opposition leader has been alive. over six—million registered voters are also choosing members of parliament and local councillors.

our correspondent shingai nyoka is in the capital harare and has more now on what we can expect today and in the coming days as votes are counted. the electoral commission said it was ready to conduct these elections but it has teething problems. polling stations were supposed to open at 7am but in harare, they said that only one and a quarter were able to do that and by mid—morning, some other stations still had not even received the ballot papers and here, these stations opened an hour late at 8am. these stations opened an hour late at sam. the authorities have called for calm and said that everybody will be able to devote for the 12 hours that are still elated by the law but it has not really helped the mistrust that already exists between voters and the authorities, especially in the urban opposition stronghold with these delays. the numbers are continuing to swell here as voters turn out in their numbers.

polling was supposed to end at 7pm this evening but given the delays, dislike you to extend further into the night. this is a highly contested election between two men, the president who is 81 is here. he is seen as the old guard and his party has been in powerfor about 43 years. his main rival is nelson who is 45 years old and who believes it is 45 years old and who believes it is time for the old guard to pave way for the new. the police have warned voters to move away from the pulling stations once they have cast their ballot. this, abbott civic groups had urged zimbabweans to stick around the polling stations to defend against alleged voter and ablation. now the result is excited to be announced within the next five days. let's go live now to rutendo chabikwa who is a politics and technology researcher, at the university of oxford.

thank you forjoining us. we heard there from that report about concerns about the election and the election process. do you think people are going to the polls confident that this is a fair process cosmic i think generally, people are concerned but concerns are raised, notjust because of what has happened today but the past couple of months as well as last year. couple of months as well as last ear. ~ ., couple of months as well as last ear. ~ . ., ,., , ., year. we have heard reports of tactics that _ year. we have heard reports of tactics that are _ year. we have heard reports of tactics that are unused - year. we have heard reports of tactics that are unused in - year. we have heard reports of tactics that are unused in the l year. we have heard reports of. tactics that are unused in the past being used again so it is very difficult. , ., being used again so it is very difficult. , . , difficult. these are the first elections — difficult. these are the first elections since _ difficult. these are the first elections since the - difficult. these are the first elections since the death i difficult. these are the firstj elections since the death of difficult. these are the first - elections since the death of robert mugabe so a really important time for a country which, since then and for a country which, since then and for the last two decades, has undergone extraordinary economic issues. let be the overriding debate and that is what people want to see made better by these elections

cosmic what makes the elections significant right now is that they are coming after the current party structure has been tried and tested since 2018. we structure has been tried and tested since 2018. ~ ., structure has been tried and tested since 2018. ~ . , since 2018. we have seen with the economy and _ since 2018. we have seen with the economy and health, _ since 2018. we have seen with the economy and health, education, i economy and health, education, problems, so i think these elections are really about deciding what the next five years could look like at not just legislative so next five years could look like at notjust legislative so we are looking to understand what that will looking to understand what that will look like in five years. xyour look like in five years. your specialism _ look like in five years. your specialism is _ look like in five years. your specialism is digital - look like in five years. your specialism is digital medial look like in five years. your i specialism is digital media and political participation, just wondering what you believe the social media and the judicial impact and will that have an impact on how people vote and the information that they are able to get hold of? it deftly has an impact on the

information people have access to. in terms of being able to see what is going on on the ground, especially as it is happening, videos and messages and what subgroups like that. think it is difficult to say how people will build, because people tend to go in the way that they would go anyway. however, it is also difficult understand that the digital divide is still present and so we see that people who do not have access to digital information on the experiences might not be reported but they might not also have access to certain things happening elsewhere so they might experience electoral processes in a vacuum, so thatis electoral processes in a vacuum, so that is very concerning.— that is very concerning. thank you so much for— that is very concerning. thank you so much forjoining _ that is very concerning. thank you so much forjoining us. _ there's relief in pakistan following the successful rescue of all eight people trapped in a broken cable car that had been dangling over a ravine. most were extracted by local people

and rescue teams using zip wires. the group were on their way to school in the north west of the country when a cable snapped, trapping them hundreds of metres in the air as rescuers battled high winds to bring them to safety. let's talk to our correspondent farhat javed who's in islamabad for us. there was pictures yesterday were extraordinary, people following every single move and thankfully, it all ended well for the eight people who were rescued. do we know what they are, what condition they are in today? they are, what condition they are in toda ? , ., , ., they are, what condition they are in toda ? , . , ., ._ today? yes, it was a huge day in pakistan- _ today? yes, it was a huge day in pakistan. the _ today? yes, it was a huge day in pakistan. the fear _ today? yes, it was a huge day in pakistan. the fear and _ today? yes, it was a huge day in i pakistan. the fear and uncertainty whether these children would be saved at the end of the day or not. it all changed into so much happiness and tears ofjoy and a sense of gratitude among both the survivors and their families when these children were finally saved in

these children were finally saved in the evening. we have spoken to some of the children and to some of the rescuers as well who confirmed that when they landed to a safe position, there were medical staff there who did medical checkups and they were given some medicines as well because they were stranded in that left for more than 15 hours and they were dehydrated. they were given medication and after that, we understand they were all sent to their homes and right now, they are safe and back with their families we have spoken to one of the kids there in the left and he told the bbc that it was a very harrowing experience for him and he said that he and all the others who were there, they all thought they might not be able to survive once the last helicopter left after it fell a dark but ultimately, they were saved by some rescue workers who were supplying experts. we spoke to one of them and he told us that he spoke about the

fear of these adults and children that were in the left when they first saw these rescue workers. he said they were clinging to me as children cling to their mothers and he said that when he first saw them, they were in many bad condition. they were under extreme distress, some of them were almost unconscious, some of them relying on the floor of the car, some of them were sitting on the started screaming because they were so scared of the fact that these rescue went inside the lift and it may for down. but the rescue worker says that he let them come on down and told them not to panic and then finally, he took them to a safer position and finally they were back with their families. position and finally they were back with theirfamilies. it position and finally they were back with their families. it is position and finally they were back with their families.— with their families. it is an incredible _ with their families. it is an incredible story _ with their families. it is an incredible story and - with their families. it is an incredible story and as - with their families. it is an | incredible story and as you with their families. it is an - incredible story and as you said, so amazing that it happened, that it ended happily. questions, though, being asked presumably about these cable cars that are quite often

unsafe, taking children to school? these are very common in all these areas. in the mountainous region of pakistan, because the infrastructure is not really good, there are mod roads or no roads at all but so people usually use these setups that are established which they used to commute from one piece to another. this was a similar situation. usually there is no regular maintenance checkups from the administration or from these people as well so that is a major, major concern and those of questions are being asked now, whether government would look into the matter or they would look into the matter or they would wait for such an unfortunate incident. ., ., would wait for such an unfortunate incident. ., ,, , ., would wait for such an unfortunate incident. ., ~' , ., ., would wait for such an unfortunate incident. ., ,, , ., ., ., would wait for such an unfortunate incident. ., ,, ., ., , ., incident. thank you for that update, sta with incident. thank you for that update, stay with us — incident. thank you for that update, stay with us on _

incident. thank you for that update, stay with us on bbc— incident. thank you for that update, stay with us on bbc news, - incident. thank you for that update, stay with us on bbc news, plenty i stay with us on bbc news, plenty more to come. some uncertainty for the weekend so if you have plans, outdoor plans, please stay tuned to the forecast. we will, most of us, see more showers in the coming few days. the warmth in the south will linger today but it will start to ebb away tomorrow. south of this weather front so we have that he meditate and that heat still with us but low pressure is driving in a showers to scotland, more so than this morning, and showery rain for northern ireland, so on the whole, we tend to cloud over here. also more cloud creeping in to northern england, bringing patchy, light rain, so it is across east anglia where we see the best of the sunshine and here, the best of the sunshine and here, the highest humidity and the highest

temperatures, 2526 degrees. overnight tonight, we keep a lot of cloud around so it will be warm and again, quite uncomfortable in southern areas but we may see thundery showers creep in across the channel light on but you can see some wet weather, those showers merging into longer spells of rain for scotland and possibly more than england. temperatures are little higher than last night. dipping down to 11 in northern ireland behind that weather front. the low pressure is still with us on their estate with these weather fronts around. i greater chance of more showers around. they will be with us across the north—east of scotland first thing and then circulating that area of low pressure, some heavy inventory showers through the day in northern ireland as well as we will see some of those further south which will start to sweep away from the committee but we are still talking 23 or 24 degrees. then it is all change as we go into friday because as that with different sweeps out of the way, the low pressure drifts out into the north sea and it allows the wind direction to change. quite a brisk wind and

coming down from the north so it is a colour direction and temperatures will ease away. there will be showers dotted around on friday. throughout the weekend, there is the chance of showers popping up. it will not be a wash—out but if you have outdoor plans, it is best to stay tuned to the forecast and we will keep you up—to—date but it looks cooler with some sunshine but also some showers.

this is bbc news, the headlines... india aims to become the first country to reach the moon's south pole. republican presidential candidates prepare for their first debate — but donald trump won't be there. and surgeons carry out the first womb transplant in the uk. let's ta ke let's take you to the us. today sees the first republican presidential debate of the 2024 campaign in the city of milwaukee. eight out of the nine candidates that qualified for the debate will take the stage. among them are florida governor ron desantis as well as trump's former vice president, mike pence. the debate will be hosted by fox news who indicated that abortion and trump's criminal indictments could be topics on the table. the notable exception will be former president donald trump.