investigations after rape and sexual assault allegations which he denies. the antarctic sea—ice has declined to its lowest winter level on record — according to satellite data. hello and welcome to the programme. the chinese foreign minister wang yi has met with white house national security adviserjake sullivan for two days of talks in malta. the discussions come as the world's two largest economies look to stabilise troubled relations. little of substance is being said publicly by either side, but we do have this from a senior us official stressing the effort to lessen tensions with beijing. the official told reporters that said mr sullivan "underscored that the united states and china

are in a competition. but that the united states does not seek conflict or confrontation. i've been speaking to rana mitter, who is chair in us — asia relations at harvard kennedy school and he explained to us the significance of that meeting. it is significant for two reasons. first it a pathway in which the us and china can dial down the often very hot temperature of the relationship between the two sides. it was just a few months ago there were fears they might even be a conflict of war over the status of taiwan and it is very clear that both sides by meeting in malta want to make it clear that that is not on the agenda at least not in the near future. in addition, both countries, the united states and china, are grappling with a dilemma. they both need economic growth to improve domestic political circumstances but they also need each other at the same time in some way as wanting to protect themselves against each other. so there are two dilemmas other ones that essentially other context for this meeting in malta in the last couple of days. we have seen a series _

last couple of days. we have seen a series of— last couple of days. we have seen a series of high-profile| seen a series of high—profile visits by senior us officials in china we have —— they have held talks with officials in beijing. ken talks... bei'ing. ken talks... we're not to beijing. ken talks... we're not to see the _ beijing. ken talks... we're not to see the friendly _ to see the friendly relationship that existed through the mid—i9 90s and early 2000. in that time the us and chinese economies were entwined with each other. some people call this chimerica, the idea of the two were linked. but that is not true, the china and the us are in some ways overcoming the need for an efficient economic relationship. it would be cheaperfor america to relationship. it would be cheaper for america to import even more from china but that could be cut off if relations become worse. the same as the other way around. xijinping other way around. xi jinping has other way around. xijinping has talked about the need for security as the primary characteristic of today's chinese politics are not necessarily the highest level of economic growth if it

involves having to be more open to the outside world and particularly the us. so these days, the relationship is looking like it is a little bit warmer national security trumps economics in both cases. the us are saying _ economics in both cases. the us are saying it _ economics in both cases. the us are saying it is — economics in both cases. the us are saying it is not _ economics in both cases. the us are saying it is not backing - are saying it is not backing but if it comes to that situation they could stand up to taiwan. situation they could stand up to taiwan-— situation they could stand up to taiwan. ~ ., , ., to taiwan. words matter here. words defend _ to taiwan. words matter here. words defend taiwan - to taiwan. words matter here. words defend taiwan don't - words defend taiwan don't necessarily mean same thing is actually sending american troops to fight in taiwan stop under the taiwan relations act's act passed under the congress way back in 1979 when presidentjimmy carter recognise the people's republic of china is the government of the mainland, it was also stated that the us congress could authorise payments to allow taiwan to buy weapons, military and get training to defend itself. ithink

military and get training to defend itself. i think that is really what president biden is referring to in this case and it is reminded to china that while the us is not looking to intervene militarily and any correct —— direct conflict, anymore than it does in ukraine, does have the capacity to train, supply to taiwan if it were to be unilaterally placed in a conflict situation. switching focus now. an emergency plan of action has been laid out by the european commission president following the arrival last week of thousands of migrants on the italian island of lampedusa. ursula von der leyen said european countries had to tackle the migration issue together. the italian prime minister giorgia meloni said the influx to the island and to italy had to be stopped — it wasn't enough to just redistribute migrants across the eu. the bbc�*s mark lowen reports. one of europe's migration choke points is gasping. more than 8,000 arriving in lampedusa injust

three days this week. the migrant centre, built to hold 400, was at ten times its capacity. congested, chaotic, some trying any futile way to get free. today, two new arrivals, rather more planned — the italian prime minister giorgia meloni and the eu president ursula von der leyen, to see for themselves the turmoil at europe's door. italy's leader is under pressure. elected with promises to curb migration, numbers are now double the same period last year. translation: what is at stake here is the future, _ the future that europe wants to set for itself, and it is very important to be able to tackle the huge, massive challenges which lie ahead for us, especially in terms of illegal immigration. the eu president offered more help from the bloc�*s border force to crack the smugglers, and more efforts to distribute migrants across europe — something several eu members have refused,

prompting fears she was armed more with rhetoric than with workable solutions. migration is a european challenge and it needs a european answer and solution. it is concrete actions that will bring change on the ground. but lampedusa has repeatedly seen promises come as quickly as the migrant boats and vanish soon after, and patience here is wearing thin. translation: as far as i'm concerned, europe's done . nothing for lampedusa so far. theyjust come here to parade. translation: we've been undergoing this extreme i situation for years and it's not fair that we continue to suffer from it. the camp is emptying out as new arrivals are transferred elsewhere, but conditions remain grim — aid agencies stretched to breaking point. face—to—face with the dreams of europe turning to misery, the continent's leaders will try yet again to solve it,

just as countless more of the desperate will try yet again to come. mark lowen, bbc news. the latest on the war in ukraine now. ukraine is claiming to have recaptured another village, during its offensive in the east of the country. it says that the small village of klishchiivka has now been cleared of occupying russian forces. the village is just a couple of miles from bakhmut, the city captured by russian forces in may after a long battle. since then, ukraine says it has been re—taking land surrounding bakhmut — including andriivka, which it claims to have ta ken on saturday. russia has denied ukraine's claims. so what exactly does that mean? and are the ukrainians any closer to making significant progress that changes the face of the war? 0ur security correspondent frank gardner has been working with the bbc verify team to come up with this assessment. ukraine's big counteroffensive is making progress but how far

have their trips really got? and can they break through russia's defences to turn the tide of this war. let's just remind ourselves, the dark red area is the area occupied by russian forces. the purple area is the area that ukraine forces have recaptured. the russian defences contain two major lines. each intellect it does make interlocking, minefield, trenches, all covered by artillery. the ukrainians have had to spend most of the last three months picking their way through minefields like this one stop you can see the hidden minds circled in red here. they are doing this on foot, sometimes at night, often under fire. hence the slow progress to date. they are also having to date. they are also having to find their way through obstacles like this one known as dragon's teeth, designed to stop tanks and armoured vehicles. but we do have confirmed sightings of ukrainian troops just beyond the first line of russia's defences. like this one where russian forces are shelling ukrainian positions in the ward. we have gia located that

would to this point on the map. just beyond that first point of russian defence. but so far it is only ukrainian infantry getting through. these yellow dots on the map show where those ukrainian troops have got to. what we're not seeing is big ukrainian armoured formations punching through and that's because, rather like this burning british challenger tank supplied by britain, they are vulnerable to russia's mines, drones and anti— attack missiles. and what all this time has been moving in reinforcements. this drone footage we saw there was filled ijy footage we saw there was filled by a russian airborne unit. we have gia located the ground being shown to be close to a town called verbove. 0n the map, it really doesn't look like ukraine has got very far in the past three months but they are steadily wearing down they are steadily wearing down the russian defenders. this is where they need to get to. the heavily defended town of

tokmak. that would potentially cut off russia from its garrisons in illegally annexed crimea. if they can do that then this whole counteroffensive can be judged a partial success and it seems like this will notjust be about a tactical victory, it could turn the tide of this war in ukraine's favour.— could turn the tide of this war in ukraine's favour. turning to news in the — in ukraine's favour. turning to news in the uk _ in ukraine's favour. turning to news in the uk now. - a woman who claims the comedian russell brand raped her has been giving more details of the alleged attack. in an interview with the sunday times newspaper, she describes how the star asked for her forgiveness and says she was scared of the implications for herself and herfamily, if she went to the police. the woman is one of four making allegations of sexual assault against the comedian, when he worked at channel 4, the bbc and in hollywood. russell brand denies all the allegations and says his sexual relationships, were consensual. here's david sillito.

russell brand, comedian, actor, political commentator accused of multiple sexual assaults and the rape of a woman that the programme dispatches called nadia. he's grabbing at my, my underwear, pulling it to the side. i'm telling him to get off me, he won't get off. i was distraught, trying to get out of the house with him being so much taller than me, like, holding me up against the wall. further details have now been published about nadia reporting the incident to a rape crisis centre and also a series of text messages investigators say russell brand sent to nadia. the exchange begins with him saying, "i am sorry, i will make this up to you". and then he goes on to ask, "will you everforgive me?" it was just as these allegations first began to emerged that he arrived for a performance in london. on stage he was met by fans with cheers and a standing ovation. he has these days, millions

of followers on social media... this is antiestablishment anti—authoritarian. .. where he has cast himself as a voice of dissent against mainstream media. but the catalogue of accusations and concerns about his behaviour stretch over his many years in mainstream tv and radio, and the foreign secretary says it raises wider questions about the entertainment industry. i think there are some real challenges where you have these very, very acute differentials in power. whether that be in the entertainment industry, whether that be in politics and we see this in the commercial world as well. and i think we have to be particularly careful when we listen to the voices of the people who are relatively powerless. only been locked up for four days and yet already... russell brand made his name on channel 4's big brother. dispatches featured claims that staff helped pick out girls for him from the audience. it felt like we were essentially taking lambs into slaughter.

channel 4 says it has no evidence that any of the alleged incidents were brought to its attention at the time. oh, no, this is andrew sachs' answer phone? and the bbc, which parted company with russell brand after a scandal over offensive voice mail messages, has also said it's making urgent inquiries. meanwhile, russell brand has issued a statement in vehemently denying all of the allegations. i was very, very promiscuous. now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships i had were absolutely always consensual. i was always transparent about that then. and to see that transparency metastasised into something criminal, that i absolutely deny, makes me question, is there another agenda at play? however, in 2020, a woman the programme called alice said who said a relationship had begun when she was 16 and that she'd been assaulted by brand contacted his agent.

i phoned the offices and i asked to speak to his agent. they say they now believe that they were misled by brands denials. and as his tour continues, many others are facing questions about what they were told and what did they do? around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. it was only five days ago when the team arrived and found this window smashed and all the shelves inside stripped of almost everything that they had. with more than 80 people a week using this facility, they simply have nothing left to give. but at it now. the volunteers set up an online shopping wish list and the community set about making those wishes come true. over the course of about two or three days, we were just blown away by the number of people that turned up to help, the number

of people that came to fit the windows, the number of people that came down to donate. everybody's just astounded by what everybody in the village has done. it'sjust been absolutely amazing. the support has been fantastic. from young to old, everybody has been absolutely fantastic. it's been absolutely amazing. and we just couldn't i believe it when we was unpacking everything today. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. let's ta ke let's take you to india now. public gatherings have been curbed in the southern indian state of kerala, as authorities try to contain a rare outbreak of the nipah virus. the virus usually spreads to humans from animals or through contaminated food, but it can also be transmitted directly between people. two people have died so far while three others including a child are being treated in hospital. the virus has a high mortality rate and there is currently no vaccine or medication to treat infected people. it spreads to humans

from animals or through contaminated food but can also be transmitted directly between people. forthe be transmitted directly between people. for the latest on this outbreak we can cross live to india and speak to a correspondent from delhi. how worrying is this latest nipah out break in the indian state of carolina?— out break in the indian state of carolina? -- kerala. cases at the moment _ of carolina? -- kerala. cases at the moment have - of carolina? -- kerala. cases at the moment have been - at the moment have been contained to five. been two mortalities but the current cases, three other cases right now are completely under control and it does not seem to be spreading to more areas. symptoms are specific and coinciding with the flu season and it does cause problems because it does not help to

differentiate the symptoms. [30 differentiate the symptoms. do ou differentiate the symptoms. do you feel authorities have it under control all that more needs to be done? i under control all that more needs to be done?- under control all that more needs to be done? i think the authorities _ needs to be done? i think the authorities have _ needs to be done? i think the authorities have managed - needs to be done? i think the| authorities have managed this effectively twice before since too thousand and eight and even during the 2018 crisis they managed. authorities currently haveit managed. authorities currently have it under control at the current moment.— have it under control at the current moment. and what are the origins _ current moment. and what are the origins of _ current moment. and what are the origins of this _ current moment. and what are the origins of this virus, - current moment. and what are the origins of this virus, if- the origins of this virus, if we could understand more about it? ., , ., , , it? the origins of this virus, the nipah — it? the origins of this virus, the nipah virus _ it? the origins of this virus, the nipah virus is _ it? the origins of this virus, the nipah virus is largely i it? the origins of this virus, the nipah virus is largely in| the nipah virus is largely in dense forest regions and transmitted primarily from bat species which are also secondary carriers. human to human transmission is rare in this case, most transmission

has been through faecal matters and roots such as contaminated open—air and contaminated food. so this virus has a way of being contained itself because it does not have motility and transmission. and high respiratory symptoms do we have cases of human to human transmission which is difficult to control. in transmission which is difficult to control-— to control. in conclusion we have seen _ to control. in conclusion we have seen similar _ to control. in conclusion we| have seen similar outbreaks taking place in kerala in the past. why is the state reported cases multiple times? the season and _ cases multiple times? the season and the _ cases multiple times? tue: season and the environment overall. the nipah virus incubates well in the

rainforest between december and march, the winter season it is important for it to incubate among animals and hence the transmission of the virus from animals to human host is common in this region. we animals to human host is common in this regien-_ in this region. we leave it there. advisor _ in this region. we leave it there. advisor to - in this region. we leave it there. advisor to the - in this region. we leave it l there. advisor to the global strategy team of the united nations disaster assessment co—ordination. thank you. new satellite imagery shows the sea—ice surrounding antarctica this year, is well below any previous recorded levels. the map image shows the typical extent of sea ice at this time of year, specifically on the 14th of september. but the actual extent of ice is much less than the median. and this is as we head into an

antarctic somewhere much of the existing ice will continue to melt. isolated at the end of the earth and surrounded by strong ocean currents, antarctica has its own weather system. indeed, until a few years ago, sea ice cover was growing, prompting scientists to hope the continent was resistant to the effects of climate change. that hope is now fading. this graph shows the area of ice around antarctica each year. look how it shrinks to almost nothing in the antarctic summer and then grows back in the winter. let's add in the ice cover this year. that's the blue line. and you can see the continent has seen all time record lows in summer and now in winter, too. here's another way of looking at it. this shows how much ice there was around antarctica a couple of days ago, on the 14th of september this year. compare that with this. the dotted yellow line shows the average sea ice area on the same date over the last few decades.

this year's ice cover is about 1.5 million square kilometres smaller than average. that is an area almost five times the size of the british isles. so what we've seen is just really mind blowing. we're way below anything that we've seen in our satellite record going back to 1979. it's just outside of any reasonable normal or norms that we've seen. so, what's causing this? scientists who study antarctica say lots of factors are likely to be involved, including the fact that this year saw the highest global sea surface temperature ever recorded. they fear if the trend of shrinking ice cover continues, it will have far—reaching effects. sea ice is super important because it acts like a mirror reflecting incoming solar energy, and that keeps the antarctic climate, but also the whole globe's climate relatively cool.

it also impacts ocean currents and weather patterns. so if we lose sea ice, that can have really significant local, regional and global consequences. dr gilbert says antarctica acts like a refrigerator for earth. but lose the reflective sea ice and much more of the sun's energy is going to be absorbed by the darker ocean, driving up temperatures. the worry is the refrigerator could end up acting more like a radiator. justin rowlatt, bbc news. united nations says at least 11,000 people are dead and another 10,000 missing a week after two dams collapsed in the north—eastern part of libya during a powerful storm. that caused flooding that swept entire neighbourhoods out to sea and one of the hardest hit areas is the city of derna where there is still no

electricity nor clean water that international aid is trickling through. now what do a collection of tombs in south korea, a town in india and a viking fortress in denmark have in common? they are amongst the latest places to be added to the united nations list of world heritage sites. 0ur reporter nicky schiller is in the newsroom with more. some of the world—famous places that are world heritage sites include the great barrier reef. there's the taj mahal, the pyramids of giza, and indeed the great wall of china. now, globally, there are over 1170 sites in more than 165 countries. but the united nations cultural body unesco meets each year to consider adding to this list. member countries get to nominate places now. this time, 50 sites were nominated to make the list. a site has to be cultural and natural heritage from around the world, considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. so what places

were added this time? well, amongst them was this a prehistoric site in the occupied west bank. tel san is nearjericho. it contains evidence of human activity dating back more than 10,000 years. now palestinians claim it's the world's oldest continually inhabited settlement. this town in west bengal is also on the list. india had been working for years to get it added. prime minister narendra modi tweeted that he was delighted and that it was a proud moment for all indians. this collection of ancient tomb clusters in south korea, which date back to the fourth and fifth centuries, has also been added. now the united nations said it showed a diversity of ancient civilisations in east asia. also making the list — a viking age ring fortress in denmark. there was a tenth century temple complex in the north cambodianjungle and indeed a bronze age site in mongolia. now, globally, it's italy that

has the most listed sites, like here in venice. that is followed by china. now the united nations hopes by adding places to the list it helps protect them for future generations. you can find more stories on our website. stay with us and thank you for watching. hello. it is shaping up to be a very unsettled and autumnal week of weather with some strong winds and some heavy rain. and talking of heavy rain on sunday, parts of south west england had localised flash flooding because of some really intense downpours and thunderstorms that drifted up from the south. you can see the shower clouds there on our earlier satellite picture. we've also got a couple of different frontal systems pushing in from the west.

so whichever way you slice it, quite a wet start to monday for many of us. still some hefty showers across parts of eastern england first thing. then here comes our band of rain, some particularly wet weather across parts of scotland. behind our rain bands, we see a mixture of sunny spells and showers. some of those could be on the heavy side. and also behind our rain band, a cooler, fresherfeel. so temperatures north to south, 13—20 degrees. so cool and fresh as we head into monday night, some clear spells, still some showers. and then here comes our next weather system, a zone of cloud and outbreaks of heavy rain across northern ireland, south—west scotland, northwest england, parts of wales. turning very mild down towards the south west, rather chilly across north eastern parts of scotland. so here comes our next frontal system for tuesday that is going to bring some heavy bursts of rain, particularly wet, i think over high ground in southwest scotland, northwest england and parts of wales. to the south of that, some patchy rain and a fair amount of cloud.

but it is going to be windy, particularly for england, wales, northern ireland. inland spots could see gusts of 50 miles per hour. around some of the coasts the winds could be a little bit stronger than that. temperature wise, well we could get to 20—21 degrees if the cloud breaks at all down towards the south of england and south wales. tuesday night into wednesday, we see all these white lines, all these isobars on the chart, that shows us that it is going to be windy still, windy on wednesday, particularly just ahead of this band of cloud and rain, this cold front which will be pushing its way southwards and eastwards through the day. to the north and west of that, well, we see a mix of sunny spells and showers returning — temperatures of 14—22 degrees. for the end of the week it does stay very unsettled showers or longer spells of rain and it will often be windy, particularly in the northwest of the uk as we head into next weekend.

this is bbc news. a strike affecting america's top three carmakers has entered its third day and workers are warning they could escalated even further. and paving the way for a cleaner maritime industry. we'll bring you the maiden voyage of a ship that runs on a new low carbon fuel.

a brand—new week. welcome to as the business report with me and a mortgagee. the top three american carmakers are threatening to extend a historic strike which is on its the day now. the united auto workers want conditions for its members to improve across the board including a 40% raise in pay over a four year contract. the auto companies are so far offering raises of about 20% in return. 0nly offering raises of about 20% in return. only 12,000 of offering raises of about 20% in return. 0nly12,000 of the uaw's return. 0nly12,000 of the uaw�*s hundred and 50,000 workers have joined the strike, but, in an interview on us television, us president sean fein want. tt television, us president sean fein want-— fein want. if we don't take care of members' - fein want. if we don't take care of members' needs i fein want. if we don't take | care of members' needs we fein want. if we don't take - care of members' needs we are going to add this up even more. the membership is ready. the

membership is fed up. we are fed up with