this is bbc news, the headlines... heavy gunfire and explosions at turkish aerospace industries headquarters in what the government says is a terror attack. is the interior minister says there are deaths and injuries near the capital. the uk's labour party denies any wrongdoing after donald trump's presidential campaign accuses it of interfering in the us election. and — after their trip to australia — king charles and queen camilla arrive in samoa for a commonwealth summit. the woman at the centre of the

rape trial in france came to give evidence. let's go to a respondent. this is a difficult case to hear about. tell us about what we are hearing today. this is a long—running trial, it has another month to run and it has another month to run and it is a mass trial of 51 people. the main accused is the husband, the others are the 50 men who he allegedly invited to his room, through social media to sexually abuse his sedated wife. we have heard endless testimony over the last month as case after case has come up because each of them has to be tried individually and each person has had to put his own defence. at this halfway point, thejudge said to

defence. at this halfway point, the judge said to the woman at the judge said to the woman at the heart of this, if she wanted to come and say something to mark the halfway point. she did, it is not the first time she spoke but she said what is very much in the same tenor. she has become something of an icon, a figure much admired around the world for her courage in going public with this. waiving her right to have the case held behind closed doors and speaking out in defence of all rape victims. that was the tenor of what she had to say. she addressed her ex—husband, saying to him, i still don't comprehend the depth of your betrayal. we had 50 years of happy married life together. we have three children, seven grandchildren. i was hoping to spend the rest of my days in your company. how

could you have betrayed me? inviting people to the intimacy of our bedroom. it is something which clearly has knocked her out of all recognised things. she is in her words destroyed by all of this. she said i don't know if i will ever recover. she is seeing a psychiatrist. but she said that as she is 72 she may never recover. this is where we come back to this idea of an iconic figure for someone who stands up figure for someone who stands up for common sense and decency. she said that i'm doing this so that shamed changes house. people who are rape victims should not be ashamed of it and be reluctant to stand up in court and

testify. she says she is testifying publicly so that future rape victims who may not have the courage to do what she is doing will say that she did it i can do it too.— it i can do it too. thank you for that _ it i can do it too. thank you for that update. _ it i can do it too. thank you for that update. there - it i can do it too. thank you for that update. there is i it i can do it too. thank you i for that update. there is more on that story and on the personal testimony on the website. let me bring you up—to—date with events in turkey where we have had reports of a series of blasts just outside ankara. these are live pictures. our correspondent is here. heavy . unfire correspondent is here. heavy gunfire and — correspondent is here. heavy gunfire and explosions - correspondent is here. heavy gunfire and explosions are i gunfire and explosions are being had from the main centre of turkish aerospace industries. at 330 local times, the turkish foreign minister said there was a terrorist attack. he confirmed there were

casualties but didn't give any specific casualty figures. he promised to keep the public informed. the justice promised to keep the public informed. thejustice minister of turkey announced a judicial investigation was launched. it is already beginning. and turkish officials imposed a broadcast ban. the president is meeting with the russian president vladimir putin and he has not released any statement. is there any indication as to who could be behind this? h0 who could be behind this? no u-rou who could be behind this? in? group has come to my claimed responsibility and turkish officials are being quiet. irate officials are being quiet. we soke to officials are being quiet. we spoke to one _ officials are being quiet. we spoke to one of our colleagues in turkey, also talking about the interesting timing of this linked to the pkk. we don't want to speculate but give us the background of the politics

there. , . . . ~ the background of the politics there. , ., ., . ~ ., ,, the background of the politics there. , ., ., . ~ ., , , ., there. this attack happened at a key time. — there. this attack happened at a key time. a _ there. this attack happened at a key time, a transformative i a key time, a transformative period in turkish politics because the president is trying to kick—start a new political movement and the leader of the nationalist party who is a key government ally called the pkk leader to be released to come to the turkish parliament and he thinks that the president should announce the pkk will dissolve itself at the turkish parliament. that is why all eyes are on the pkk right now. but the pkk has not released any statement. and no group or organisation has claimed responsibility. we organisation has claimed responsibility.— organisation has claimed responsibility. organisation has claimed resonsibili .~ ., responsibility. we have to be careful because _ responsibility. we have to be careful because there - responsibility. we have to be careful because there is i responsibility. we have to be careful because there is a i responsibility. we have to be careful because there is a lot j careful because there is a lot of activity in many parts of the world and we don't want to ascribe anything yet. we are

still waiting to hear about casualty figures after those blasts in turkey. we will keep you updated. thank you for that. we'll be back with that as it develops. it is just under two weeks until voters cast their ballots in the us elections. new polls are arriving every day, each with their own slightly different take on the figures. if you draw out the overall trends, ratherthan the individual points, you see the gap closing slightly this week with vice president kamala harris ahead of former president donald trump by about two points nationally. but the national vote share won't determine the winner. let's turn to the battleground states, where currently harris has a slight lead in some states — michigan, wisconsin and nevada, as trump continues to make gains in others — pennsylvania, arizona and georgia. none of the leads we're seeing are bigger than the margins of error that come with all polls. let's speak to our correspondent helena humphrey in milton, georgia.

it looks wonderfully festive there behind you. tell us, everyone is watching these polls, it is so tight, what are people saying? i polls, it is so tight, what are peeple saying?— polls, it is so tight, what are people saying? i am surrounded by pumpkins _ people saying? i am surrounded by pumpkins right _ people saying? i am surrounded by pumpkins right now - people saying? i am surrounded by pumpkins right now but i people saying? i am surrounded | by pumpkins right now but make no mistake, this is the peach state. this is the battleground state of georgia. i have been speaking to voters over the past few days. some of the words they have used to describe this presidential election, nervous, scared, other people say they are excited. they hope this might be the moment for some change. why i am here in this suburban area, this is where this battleground state could be lost and won. if you think about georgia going back to the zist about georgia going back to the 21st century. you are talking about a largely red state, that changed in 2020 when it flipped

blue forjoe biden by a slim margin, around 12,000 votes. kamala harris is hoping she can keep it that way. we are seeing demographic shifts, people moving in from cities where the things are becoming to expensive. the change of the make is that we are seeing in the suburban areas. i have been speaking to hear at the pumpkin patch. 0ne grandmother said that for her children the cost of living has been an important issue, and she says she is voting for donald trump. she said that things were better in the economy then. the effects of the biden inflation reduction act not necessarily felt for her family. but other diverse suburbs and you have things like reproductive rights issues which are on the ballot as well. in this state, there is a six week abortion ban on the books. recently two women

in the state passed away due to pregnancy related complications. not able to get the medical care they need. another man telling me that he was a lifelong republican but he has changed. i am disappointed that these are the two choices that we have. we couldn't come up with better... ..candidates. what are some of the issues or worries that you have right now, things that you were thinking about when you went to vote? well, honestly, it is a shame but i was thinking about who would do the least harm when i voted. i am a lifelong republican but i voted democratic. for the president i voted a republican ticket up to that point. i think trump has a lot of issues with all of the stuff that he does. unfortunately, i think he isjust not good person. i don't think she is very competent but i think she will do the least damage of any one of them and frankly i hope that we stay in gridlock with her as president.

then we can move forward and come up with some younger folks that have better abilities than both of them do. and that changing vote is why the harris campaign has continued to be out on the trail here in the state of georgia. i think there's a lot of enthusiasm in this election, 1.9 million georgians have gone to the polls in early voting. that is around a quarter of the population, if you take a look at the battleground states and you look at some political analysis. kamala harris, if she clinches the state has a 90% chance of going on to the white house according to some analyses, 75% if you look at donald trump. donald trump will be back here today, he will have a meeting with faith leaders trying to court the religious vote before a rally

in georgia where rfkjunior will be attending and the former fox news host tucker carlson will be there. harris has been speaking to church events, knowing that those religious votes could be key in a very tight race.— a very tight race. great to see ou and a very tight race. great to see you and will — a very tight race. great to see you and will be _ a very tight race. great to see you and will be back - a very tight race. great to see you and will be back in - a very tight race. great to see you and will be back in the i you and will be back in the coming hours. around the world and across the uk this is bbc news.

the amazon has experienced its worst forest fires in two decades. more than 62,000 square kilometres have been burned this year already — an area bigger than countries like sri lanka or costa rica. the world relies on the amazon to absorb a lot of its carbon and these fires mean it is now emitting record amounts itself. ione wells reports. this is the amazon rainforest but it barely

resembles its name. trees warped and blackened and like matchsticks. clouds not full of rain for the continent, but smoke choking it. 0n the front lines, indigenous firefighters, it is their land burning. we say things spread like wildfire because as soon as one is put out... ..another pops up. for these volunteers the fight is personal. translation: if these fires continue we the indigenous | people will no longer have life because it is killing the plants, in a while it will be asked because we inhale so much. it is a aggressive fire that killed everything that comes its way. she spots another plume of smoke, they had only just finished putting out fires there. the battle feels constant.

translation: the majority of these fires are arson, i people who want to invade the land. 0ther fires are natural but those are rare. a disaster it is, natural it isn't. deforestation has slowed under the new government but despite attempt crackdowns, lawlessness is still rife. loggers, miners, farmers use fire to clear land. at the heart of the argument the belief that land should be productive not protected. this farmer bought his land legally a long time ago, he can understand why amazonian farming is booming. translation: ithinkj it is due to the growth of the population that has increased planting up here. it rained well here, i believe if you are working within the law there is no problem. this is a place that provides food. it is a state that can produce

a lot so i think there is a lot of area to be cultivated here in amazonia. the fires are criminal but made worse by its worst ever drought. caused by the weather phenomenon and climate change, this is supposed to be the madera river, a tributary of the amazon. this is what communities must do to get water now. translation: it is the worst drought i have ever seen. i it has bought a lot of consequences, the absence of food on the riverside, the fish are gone, there are elderly people, people with chronic illnesses who have to make this journey. this woman is one of those people, the dried river has cut off her community from the city. she is living with a kidney disease. translation: before - it was easier, when i was sick

my husband would put me in the canoe that would arrive in the city. now it is more difficult, i have to walk across the sand to reach it. there are days when i can't do anything, i need people to carry me. my daughter is not in school because the heat made her sick. the impact on the community is clear, but this impacts everyone. the world relies on the amazon to absorb carbon, it is now emitting record amounts itself. life here knows the cost of that. already falling prey to the rainforest's new greatest predators. a idris elba has announced plans to invest in africa's burgeoning film industry. the british actos has several ongoing projects across the continent, including a film studio in ghana and an eco—friendly city in sierra leone. idris elba has been attending the africa cinema summit in accra —

and spoke to the bbc. a warning this report does contain some flashing images. i'm a ga boy, so i like my sun, i like the heat, i like my food. we have to invest in our storytelling. our culture has oftentimes been told back to africans from outsiders. all you're going to see is trauma, how we were slaves, how, you know, we were colonised, how it's just war. and when you come to africa and you're raised here, you know that's not true. so it's really important that we own those stories of our traditions, of our country, of our languages, of the differences between one tribe and another. the world doesn't know that.

they don't understand it. and it isn't until we can sort of own that. when you see me, you see a little version of yourself and that encourages us. you know, it's cyclical. i'm here to bolster the film industry. that is a ten—year process. i won't be able to do that from overseas. i need to be on continent. i'm looking at a pan—african way of looking. so i'm going to live in accra, i'm going to live in freetown, i'm going to live in, you know, zanzibar. i'm going to try and go where they are telling stories to make a film here in my studios in accra one day. that's my exciting project. that's what i'm here to do. that's what i'm trying to do. king charles and queen camilla have arrived in samoa on the second leg of their royal tour — the biggest overseas trip for king charles

since his cancer diagnosis. the couple have a day of engagements tomorrow, before meeting commonwealth leaders at the end of the week. 0ur australia and pacific correspondent katy watson reports from samoa. this small island nation extended a big welcome to the king and queen. it is the first time that king charles has attended the commonwealth heads of government meeting as monarch. it is also a first for a pacific island to host the summit. and samoa is pulling out all the stops to make a success of it. the main road from the airport to the capital is one long welcome party. villages across samoa's main island have been sprucing up their home waiting for visitors. we samoan people, we always extend our hospitality. the same with the king also. this is a great opportunity to welcome him.

the king may be in the spotlight, but so to are the issues that matter to him. and they are issues that matter to islanders. the pacific is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels. while here, the king has chosen to visit a mangrove restoration project and a national park, highlighting the effects of climate change. it is a packed schedule in samoa, as it was in australia. on friday, he will be speaking to commonwealth leaders before flying back home. samoa is a pacific island nation — made up on nine islands — and with a population ofjust 218,000 people. king charles will be staying in a small village on the south coast down from the capital apia — called siumu — wherejust more than 1,000 people reside. with me is our reporter vandhna bhan. you are from this part of the world, i won't ask you where you are choosing to live in

london. what are you hearing about the preparations and a reception for the royal visit? for the royals had a tricky time in australia.- time in australia. this is a bi . time in australia. this is a big moment _ time in australia. this is a big moment for _ time in australia. this is a big moment for samoa i time in australia. this is a big moment for samoa as| time in australia. this is a i big moment for samoa as it is for