risk of sexual violence. we have a special report from the front line. and could criminals use ai clones to steal money? businesses are being told to watch out. hello. hurricane helene has slammed into florida making landfall as a category 4 storm with winds of 140 miles per hour. forecasters have warned of a catastrophic storm surge, high enough in some areas to swamp a two—storey building. helene hit the big bend region in florida as one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the united states. it's now been downgraded to a categoryi storm as it sweeps across the state of georgia into the carolinas.

many roads are under water and nearly two million people are without power. residents are being warned not to go outside. these pictures are from fort myers beach, where boats were sent to rescue those trapped in theirflooded homes. and this was the scene from the pilot's seat — flying in the eye of the storm. two people have died in georgia while one person has been killed by a falling road sign in florida. our north america correspondent david willis reports. hurricane helene touched down on florida's gulf coast bringing with it winds of around 130 miles an hour. officials had warned of potentially catastrophic and unsurvivable coastal storms surges, in places the height of a two storey building. lashing rain proceeded helene�*s arrival, flooding streets hello, i'm lauren taylor. in the next few minutes, we're expecting to hear the results of the scottish conservative leadership race. one of these candidates one of these candidates will soon takeover from douglas will soon takeover from douglas ross, and have the challenge ross, and have the challenge

of re—establishing of re—establishing the conservative party the conservative party as an electoral force in as an electoral force in scotland. scotland. from left to right, from left to right, we have the long—serving msp we have the long—serving msp murdo fraser, former deputy murdo fraser, former deputy leader meghan gallacher, leader meghan gallacher, and justice spokesperson and justice spokesperson russell findlay. russell findlay. the the russell findlay. event has just started in russell findlay. event has just started in edinburgh. edinburgh. the event has just started in edinburgh. it needs a party the event has just started in edinburgh. it needs a party focused on the people's real focused on the people's real priorities. during the priorities. during the leadership election, our leadership election, our parties took part in hustings parties took part in hustings along the length and breasts of along the length and breasts of the country. —— length and the country. —— length and breadth. thanks to stv colin breadth. thanks to stv colin mckay in the tv studios as mckay in the tv studios as well. it gave our leadership well. it gave our leadership contenders the possibility to contenders the possibility to set out their stalls, outlined set out their stalls, outlined a vision for the future of our a vision for the future of our party and the future of our party and the future of our country. all three candidates country. all three candidates put forward a positive vision put forward a positive vision to take the party forward and to take the party forward and to take the party forward and to take the party forward and to take scotland forward. that to take the party forward and to take the party forward and to take scotland forward. that is a vision that we as a party, is a vision that we as a party, collectively must unite behind collectively must unite behind as we prepare for their 2026 as we prepare for their 2026

holyrood election. together, holyrood election. together, behind a new leader, it will be the essential

behind a new leader, it will be the e and tial behind a new leader, it will be the e and that meant that the 4155. and that meant that the quota — 4155. and that meant that the quota was 2078. the total number_ quota was 2078. the total number of votes given to each candidate _ number of votes given to each candidate whereas as follows. russell — candidate whereas as follows. russell findlay, msp, 2565 votes _ russell findlay, msp, 2565 votes. murdo fraser msp, 1187 votes — votes. murdo fraser msp, 1187 votes. and meghan gallacher msp, _ votes. and meghan gallacher msp, 403 votes. it was not necessary to go on to consider second — necessary to go on to consider second preference transfer boats. _ second preference transfer boats, and i therefore give notice _ boats, and i therefore give notice that russell findlay msp is elected as the leader of the scottish— is elected as the leader of the scottish conservative and unionist party. applause

quite enough, thank you. i want quite enough, thank you. i want to start with thanking everyone to start with thanking everyone who put their faith who put their faith to start with thanking everyone to start with thanking everyone who put theirfaith in me, and who put theirfaith in me, and to thank obviously to every to thank obviously to every single member who voted for me. single member who voted for me. and every sausage... surrey, and every sausage... surrey, every supporter who worked so every supporter who worked so hard for my campaign. and thank them, hard for my campaign. and thank you have cause to my fellow you have cause to my fellow candidates, meghan gallacher candidates, meghan gallacher and murdo who i greatly respect and murdo who i greatly respect and murdo who i greatly respect and admire along with my msp and murdo who i greatly respect and admire along with my msp colleagues. everyone must come colleagues. everyone must come together as one united team. together as one united team. let's start the hard work right let's start the hard work right now to win back public trust. i now to win back public trust. i want to deliver a message to want to deliver a message to people across scotland who do people across scotland who do not feel that anyone represents not feel that anyone represents

them, who were scattered by the

concerns, your hopes and your needs. we know that you do not expect miracles from politicians. we know that you want some common sense for a change, and we are going to —— determined to deliver it. so, determined to deliver it. so, thank you all again. thank you. thank you all again. thank you. applause applause russell findlay, who hasjust russell findlay, who hasjust been announced as the new been announced as the new scottish conservative leader very scottish conservative leader after an inept election that after an inept election that came after the previous leader came after the previous leader was, resigned in earlyjune. —— was, resigned in earlyjune. —— afteran was, resigned in earlyjune. —— after an app was, resigned in earlyjune. —— afteran was, resigned in earlyjune. —— after an app was, resigned in earlyjune. —— afteran app —— was, resigned in earlyjune. —— after an app —— after an afteran app —— was, resigned in earlyjune. —— after an app —— after an election. he promised to be a election. he promised to be a voice for a decent mainstream voice for a decent mainstream scotland. he is inheriting a scotland. he is inheriting a

very divided party. the leadership contest was very acrimonious, and let's have a listening now to the questions. though the party after the general— though the party after the general election— though the party after the general election isn't- though the party after the general election isn't in. though the party after the i general election isn't in the best— general election isn't in the best electoral— general election isn't in the best electoral position, - general election isn't in thej best electoral position, you have — best electoral position, you have been— best electoral position, you have been labelled - best electoral position, you have been labelled the - have been labelled the establishment - have been labelled the . establishment candidate. have been labelled the - establishment candidate. how are ou establishment candidate. how are you going _ establishment candidate. how are you going to _ establishment candidate. how are you going to turn - establishment candidate. hun-i. are you going to turn that around? i'm looking forward to meeting this establishment once we've... now that i've been elected leader. what i said throughout the campaign and what my colleagues have also said is that unity is fundamental. that is the starting point. we need to get our house in order and rebuild as a team. we need to start listening to our colleagues and members, respecting them and talking to the public in bringing forward a range of sensible, conservative policies, rooted in our values of common sense, aspiration,

ambition. that's thejob of common sense, aspiration, ambition. that's the job we face. i'm under no illusions. we've got a very short time indeed until the 2026 election and i want is to be fighting for that. and i want is to be fighting forthat. in and i want is to be fighting for that. , , ., for that. in the interests of uni , for that. in the interests of unity. are _ for that. in the interests of unity. are you _ for that. in the interests of unity, are you going - for that. in the interests of unity, are you going to - for that. in the interests of. unity, are you going to bring meghan— unity, are you going to bring meghan gallacher— unity, are you going to bring meghan gallacher into - unity, are you going to bring meghan gallacher into yourl meghan gallacher into your inner— meghan gallacher into your inner circle. _ meghan gallacher into your inner circle. we'd— meghan gallacher into your inner circle. we'd be- inner circle. we'd be particularly- inner circle. we'd be. particularly addressing inner circle. we'd be- particularly addressing the growing ~~ _ particularly addressing the growing- - -_ particularly addressing the curowin... , . . , growing... every leader wants the very best _ growing... every leader wants the very best people - growing... every leader wants the very best people in - growing... every leader wants the very best people in the i the very best people in the very best positions for their party. that's what i'm going to do. i've onlyjust learned of the results so a bit premature to start talking about individual positions and so on. we are acutely conscious of the votes here in the general election, and as ourjob to reconnect with the people who

feel frankly is gone by politicians and persuade them that what we stand for represents their interests. russell findlay there who is the justice spokesperson of the scottish conservatives. he has just become the new leader of the scottish conservatives. they help 31 of the hundred and 29 seats of the scottish parliament. he hasjust taken over today. quite a brutal race and lots of infighting between the candidates. let's move on to the sentencing of two teenage boys. the sentencing of two 13 year—old boys for the murder of shawn seesahai. the 19 year—old was killed with a machete in wolverhampton in november last year. the pair — who were 12 at the time — are believed to be the youngest convicted murderers since the killing

ofjames bulger more than 30 years ago. our midlands correspondent phil mackie reports. posing with the machete just hours before it was used to take a teenager's life. this picture was found on one of the boy's phones, where the police also found a conversation in which one said "i'm scared man," to which the other replied, "i'm not," and "idrc," or i don't really care, the morning after they'd murdered shawn seesahai. this is the last image of shawn a few minutes before he was fatally attacked in a nearby park. they killed my son like they kill a dog

suffering a detached retina during a basketball game. his parents couldn't afford to come back to the uk for this hearing, but hope the boys are given a long sentence. give these children maybe a life sentence to show other children that what they will reach if they do something like this. ijust want good, good justice for my child. i really want good justice for my son. ijust hope and pray that we get good justice for him. shawn's family couldn't afford to come to court for sentencing. instead, the anguillan government's uk representative read out a statement on their behalf in which they said, "it has left a huge hole in the pit of our stomachs, which nothing can fill. we are devastated as a family, totally heartbroken." the boys will both be sentenced to life for murder, but in a few hours, mrsjustice tipples will set out the minimum term that each must serve before they become

eligible for parole. back in anguilla his family will be watching today via a video link, knowing that whatever happens, it won't bring their son back. phil mackie, bbc news. before we go let's just remind ourselves of the breaking news we've heard in the last few minutes. justice spokesperson russell findlay has won the leadership contest for the scottish conservative party, defeating long serving msp murdo fraser and former deputy leader meghan gallacher. i'll now hand you over to my colleague rajini vaidyanathan, who has the rest of the day's news.

president zelensky of ukraine has outlined his plans for victory against russia in a meeting withjoe biden at the white house. mr biden pledged more military aid. the ukrainian leader then met the us vice president — and democratic presidential nominee — kamala harris, who insisted it was vital to stand up to the russian leader. mr zelensky will meet donald trump today. sudan has been embroiled in a vicious civil war

for nearly 18 months, during which women and girls have been at severe risk of sexual violence. factions of the ruling militaryjunta fell out over a path back to democracy, and the sudanese army have now launched a major offensive against their rivals, the paramilitary rapid support forces. the un has said sudan is home to one of the world's biggest humanitarian crises, with 150,000 people killed and 10 million displaced. the bbc�*s barbara plett usher has been given rare access by the army to the front line and reports from woman cries. sudan is at breaking point. just outside the capital city is a crossing between the warring parties. these women have come out of rsf territory. they carry bags to buy food,

and also tales of horror. i asked them why they didn't leave. we're too poor, they told me. we have nowhere else to go. almost a year and a half of civil war has destroyed parts of this city and other areas of the country. one of the fiercest battles took place here, in omdurman market. it was the largest market in sudan, but you can see the level of destruction now. over several months of intense fighting, the army defeated the rsf in these streets, but the capital is still an active war zone, and diplomatic attempts to end the wider conflict so far have failed. we were escorted at all times by the military, who took us to the front line. both sides are accused

of war crimes, the rsf more so than the army. charges they deny. i spoke with the commander leading the latest operation. we're at a last line of defence for the sudanese armed forces in a part of southern omdurman. you can see the barrier here and beyond it, less than a kilometre away, than a kilometre away, is the rsf, and in between is the rsf, and in between is a no man's land is a no man's land where there are snipers. where there are snipers. and we'vejust heard and we'vejust heard sniper fire. sniper fire. there's also regular artillery there's also regular artillery fire, another danger here. fire, another danger here. but it's sexual violence but it's sexual violence that's become a defining that's become a defining characteristic of the conflict. characteristic of the conflict. one woman told us rsf fighters one woman told us rsf fighters broke into her house, demanding broke into her house, demanding to rape her two daughters. to rape her two daughters. the youngest was ten years old. the youngest was ten years old. we've chosen not to identify we've chosen not to identify her, for her own safety. her, for her own safety.

then one of the men raped her. it's late morning — time for the women we met to start the walk back home. for as long as this war goes on, they have no choice but to return to its horrors. barbara plett usher, bbc news, omdurman. really important reporting there. the uk prime minister has had a two hour dinner with donald trump in new york. it's the first time he's met the republican presidential nominee. sir keir visited trump tower, after saying he wanted to establish a relationship with mr trump.

before the meeting, mr trump had this to say about the prime minister. but i actually think he's very nice, i think he ran a great race, he did very well. it is very early but he is popular and i'll be seeing him

if he was to win the election in november, how tricky would a reset have to be, given what some people in the current government have said about donald trump? i think that the trump team are used to going back over things people have said in the past. when it comes to it, leaders have to deal with the business in front of them, and the us and the uk has long, have long experience of that. i don't expect there to be chemistry problems between a trump administration and a starmer administration. they will get on with the business in front of them, because both men will want to look at the problems they are facing and how to solve them in a shared way. donald trump said before that meeting, i think he said "i think he's very nice, he ran a great race, he did very well, it is very early, he is very popular." of course sir keir starmer also had another big moment on thursday, because he addressed

the un general assembly for the first time. what did you make of that speech? i thought it hit all the right notes, it was very much as i was expecting him to cover, and he touched on russia—ukraine, which was very important, uk stands very high among the supporters of ukraine, against russia, and he had to restate that. he said that britain was back, active on the international scene, and he was exemplifying that, and of course he spent time on the middle east problem, on israel—palestine—lebanon and supported calls for a ceasefire, which were entirely right, but he made a very important point, in that respect, in that he said there needs to be a ceasefire in gaza, as well as in northern israel—lebanon. shigeru ishiba has won the race

to lead japan's ruling party and become the country's new prime minister. he'd been the defence minister beforehand, but now has beaten rivals sanae takaichi and shinjiro koizumi to take over leadership of the liberal democratic party. now to ai, and a warning that the person on the other end of that video call might not be who you think. businesses are being warned about the increasing use of generative al to carry out so called ceo fraud — impersonating company officials to steal money. our cyber correspondentjoe tidy — along with his clone — have been investigating. this is an ai clone, notjust of my face and voice, of my thoughts as well, trained on my public profile. hello, joe. what is it thatjoe tidy likes to do for fun? i enjoy participating in triathlons, marathons, and wild swimming. i also like golfing and i am a movie geek. aside from the long delays, it works pretty well one—to—one. what if i send it

to a work meeting? these ai clones are more about attending meetings than doing the whole job. it keeps things interesting, though. there is growing excitement for al clones across the industry. the ceo of zoom says that in the future we'll be able to off—load some of our more mundane meetings to the bots. it sounds bonkers, but things are moving fast, and of course criminals are experimenting too. police are investigating in hong kong after cyber fraudsters used some sort of ai face and voice clone to trick an employee during a live video meeting. $25 million was transferred in a fake deal in february, thought to be the first case of criminals using live cloning tools to carry out a so—called ceo fraud. but ai voice cloning has become far more common. martin, upon sending the ndi, i will be able to furnish you with additional details to ensure the successful completion of this operation.

they were quite lifelike, and actually later on in the process when i actually forwarded these to someone who has known him for years, he actually said, ok, that could be marco. martin was targeted by criminals who sent him voice notes that sounded like his new boss, and almost convinced him into transferring £800,000 to them. they only need a few seconds, apparently, of speech to work with, and they pick up the mannerisms, they pick up the language and the way it is used, and they're actually quite believable really. but what about sending a full ai clone to a meeting on your behalf, then, for noncriminal purposes? this is the weekly tech news planning meeting. hey, how's it going? good, thank you. oh, it is al, isn't it? it is al. it's definitely ai. i said it was aa to start with. i said it was alto start with. the blinking was so weird. this ai clone, then, whisk fooling no one. but the creator says there is potential. if i say, hey, i have an assistant, it's ai, you would have a completely

different set of expectations. face—swapping technology costs a lot of money to do right, but again, everything gets cheaper, and it happens so fast. all the perils and positives of ai clones are coming at us fast. clearly, we're going to have to start working a lot harder to make sure we know who's on the other side of that screen. joe tidy, bbc news. i promise you i am real. not ai. before we leave, to remind you that we do have an air bbc news page to bring you all the latest in the news in the middle east. hello. we've already seen record rainfall across some parts of england and wales this month. there is a little bit of a respite with us though, during the rest of today and into tomorrow, with some sunshine around. there'll still be a few showers, but the big difference as well will be how chilly it will feel. this is the cloud which brought

all the rain yesterday. been moving its way southwards and eastwards. here are the clearer skies working their way in. but with it we are seeing the colder air push its way south, as that cloud starts to clear. now some of that cloud, outbreaks of rain, even to the start of the afternoon, will be lingering across east anglia and the southeast. but elsewhere the sunshine will be starting to break through. a few showers dotted around here and there. the odd heavy one, particularly across northern scotland, could be wintry over the higher ground. and these are your temperatures this afternoon — eight to 13 or 14 degrees, down on the september average, but also made to feel colder than that, given the brisk wind coming in from the north or northwest, which eases a little bit as you go into tonight. a few showers dotted around the coast. more cloud, outbreaks of rain into western scotland later, but inland, with clearer skies, winds falling a bit lighter in the countryside, we could see temperatures drop low enough for a touch of frost, maybe even subzero across parts of northern england and into scotland. scotland, northern ireland, a bit more cloud again tomorrow, with some showery bursts of rain, but a bit of brightness here at times. england, wales, lovely bright, crisp start, sunshine around. many will have a dry day. some northern and western areas, just one or two showers, but nowhere near the intensity

of the showers we've seen this week. another cool one at 11 to 15 degrees, but the winds will be a little bit lighter. then another cold night saturday night into sunday. but cast your eyes down to the south west. this is not what we want to see. and a big deep area of low pressure set to bring windy weather, but also more wet weather onto already saturated ground. the day starts dry and bright for many. cloud increases, scotland stays largely dry though throughout, but we'll see rain edge into ireland, wales, parts of southern and western england as we go through into the afternoon, some of which could be on the heavy side. again, not quite as heavy as we've seen recently, but it is going to be falling where we've already got risk of flooding. 50—60 mile an hour gusts are attached with that as it pushes its way across mainly england and wales through saturday, sunday night into monday, gradually clearing. some drier weather around monday, tuesday and wednesday, but there will be some brisk winds along eastern coast with some high tides as well. bye for now.

the virtual reality landscape has changed quite a bit. maybe the best driver win. sustainability to aa. by using a giant net and an ai robot to deal with plastic pollution. this is where the technology is being — this is where the technology is being tested.— this is where the technology is being tested. this is good. the latest developments _ being tested. this is good. the latest developments from - being tested. this is good. the latest developments from the l latest developments from the world of tech. i latest developments from the world of tech.— latest developments from the world of tech. i could come up with a date — world of tech. i could come up with a date predicting - world of tech. i could come up with a date predicting when i world of tech. i could come up. with a date predicting when you would die. , , ., , ., would die. this is actually a floatin: would die. this is actually a floating solar _ would die. this is actually a floating solar farm, - would die. this is actually a floating solar farm, and - would die. this is actually a

floating solar farm, and it l would die. this is actually a| floating solar farm, and it is a pretty— floating solar farm, and it is a pretty impressive sight. i a pretty impressive sight. think it is a pretty impressive sight. i think it is quite cool. well, that went right through me. the art of good conversation is to say the right thing at the right time and in the right way. you have to be original, sympathetic, encouraging, and also keep an open mind. and you really dojust need also keep an open mind. and you really do just need to sit back and listen. meeting with legendary olympic champions to find out what it takes to reach the top. influential with me, cathy k. this is bbc news. the headlines. israel carries out more air strikes against hezbollah, the country's prime minister says negotiations on a ceasefire continue. hurricane helene slams into in florida with winds of up to 140 miles per hour. officials are warning of a life—threatening situation as it moves in georgia.

meanwhile, in the uk flash flooding leaves homes inundated and businesses damaged after another night of intense rainfall. and britain's "youngest knife murderers" to be sentenced over the killing of shawn seesahai. hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. flash flooding has caused damage to homes and businesses in parts of england, after another night of heavy rainfall. it's just days after some areas experienced more than a month's worth of rainfall on monday. 60 flood warnings are now in place. simon jones has more. ooh, look at my car. in leicester last night, this road resembled a river and the relentless rain keeps on falling. some areas received more than a month's worth in a single day. in egham in surrey, the wind

has been whipping up too, creating wild conditions.