and china launches a rocket carrying three astronauts to its space station. the bbc has exclusive access. we start in the us where in just one week, millions of americans will cast their votes in the presidential election between former president donald trump and vice president kamala harris. millions have already cast their ballot, with early voting shattering records in several states. the stakes are high, with the outcome set to shape america's future and its role in the world. in washington dc, vice president kamala harris has just wrapped up her closing argument of the election — in front of a crowd of more than 75,000, according to her campaign. her message — the us has been consumed by chaos for too long and its time for the country to turn

the page on division. donald trump intends to use the united states military against military citizens who simply disagree with him, people he calls quote, the enemy from within. america, this is not a candidate for president who is thinking about how to make your life better, this is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and out for unchecked power. meawhile, at the same time, donald trump was speaking to voters at a rally in pennsylvania — one of those seven key battlegroud states that could decide this election. he told supporters a vote for him is a vote to move on from the past four years of the biden administration. are you better off now than you were four years ago? i'm here today with a message of hope for all americans.

with your vote, we will end inflation, we will stop the invasion of criminals into our country, and we will bring back the american dream, we are doing it together, pennsylvania. our country will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer, and stronger than ever before. i'm joined now by our north america correspondent peter bowes. what are the main takeaways for you from these rallies?— you from these rallies? well, these were — you from these rallies? well, these were two _ you from these rallies? well, these were two very - you from these rallies? well, | these were two very distinctly different events. certainly, from kamala harris, the backdrop, the background to where she was was almost as important as what she said. the background was the white house, it was the centre of washington, and it was exactly the same spot and kamala harris

referred to this, where donald trump when he disputed the 2020 election in january trump when he disputed the 2020 election injanuary of trump when he disputed the 2020 election in january of 2021, when he urged his supporters to march on the capitol building. kamala harris are set out the difference between donald trump's motives and her aspirations for the trip —— presidency should she win. and she painted a very different picture. the phrase that stood out for me was, it doesn't have to be like this, it doesn't have to be this way, that change can come from the aspirations of donald trump. and of course, his messages are very different message, that we can move on from has been the biden add —— white and harris presidency over the last four years and the problem is that he sees that bringing the

united states. he talked about the familiar themes of immigration, abortion is always a key issue as well, and lowering inflation is something he mentioned, as he does always in this speech. but it was a lower key event for donald trump, it was more likely is very familiar rallies, a mixture of politics and some comedy as well, as he entertained the crowd, but also, as we havejust entertained the crowd, but also, as we have just heard, started with that key question, are you better off now than you were four years ago? fascinating. well, the us state of georgia was at the heart of false claims of election fraud following the last presidential election, and the state is in the spotlight again, with barely anything separating kamala harris and donald trump in the polls. in 2020, president biden won the state, after a recount, byjust shy of 12,000 votes. many worry if the results are tight again, conspiracy theories and allegations of voterfraud could resurface. 0ur north america editor sarah smith reports.

there is a lawyerfor almost everything in america. they will take just about any complaint to court — possibly including disputing the result of the presidential election. most donald trump supporters, queuing up for one of his rallies in the georgia sunshine, really believe the last election was stolen and fear it might happen again. particularly in states like georgia, where the result is likely to be very close this year. in an election which has been characterised by extreme levels of misinformation and downright lies, it seems likely a lot of people simply will not believe the result — especially if they don't get the outcome they want. we don't have to cheat like they do. but we need to put it in their face. you're cheating, we caught you and here you go. are you worried that there might be some cheating in this election? i'm always worried that there's going to be cheating in this election. we pretty much know there's going to be cheating. - but i'm hoping it'll be such i a minimalamount that, uh... ..that it won't matter. it's memories of 2020 that have put republicans on edge and ready to challenge any

possibly problematic results. i mean, i went to bed on election night thinking donald trump had won georgia, right? and then two days later, after this steady drip — 0h, no, nowjoe biden�*s the winner. so you think about how any rational person is going to react to that sequence of events, and they think something is up. they think something's not right about that. multiple investigations and legal challenges after the 2020 election found no evidence of sustained voterfraud in georgia or in any other state. when i spoke to him a few months ago, steve bannon, an architect of donald trump's 2016 win, told me he had a maga army ready to deploy if they think something's not right this time. right now, we've trained up an army of poll workers, poll watchers, election officials. we have been training up for years. lawyers are going to be ready, and this time, they're going to have their filings ready to go and they'll be outside the courthouse.

so our people are going to be on the trigger, metaphorically, to fight this from day one. fighting back — democracy watchdogs worried about undermining trust in the process. we're concerned that people will not accept the elected leader of the united states presidency as they didn't in 2020. and we know right now that less than a quarter of republicans believe that the vote counting for 2024 will be legitimate. we're concerned that we're going to have the exact same thing happen, play out again, because of individuals who are determined to make sure that people don't trust our elections. donald trump is already claiming there will be electoral fraud. he's getting ready to call foul if he loses. we're leading in the polls, but we have to do it too big to rig because they are good at one thing. you know what that one thing is? crowd: cheating! che—... he goes "cheating". that's — they're professional thieves. the closer the result, the more likely it is that there will have to be recounts or even legal battles. states like georgia might have to wait for a court verdict before they can declare a winner. so it could be days,

maybe even weeks before we know who's the next president of the united states. let's now take a look at spending on us federal campaigns this election and how a landmark us supreme court decision in 2010 has led to an explosion of billions of dollars spent to win offices from congress to the presidency. i'm joined now by virginia kase solomon, president and ceo of the non—profit us democracy advocacy group, common cause. give us a sense of how much money it takes to finance a political campaign? so, there is a lot of money thatis so, there is a lot of money that is being spent on this election. as of september the 30th, we have discovered almost $16 billion, so $15.9 million have been spent on the selection, and so the amount of money going into not only these

rallies, but political advertisements and everything else related to the election is just the highest it has ever beenin just the highest it has ever been in our country.- just the highest it has ever been in our country. and what does that _ been in our country. and what does that mean? _ been in our country. and what does that mean? explain - been in our country. and what does that mean? explain the l does that mean? explain the significance of this spending, what it means in a practical sense for the political system. well, what it is is this deep flow of money coming in. after the landmark decision that you prefer to call citizens united, it has allowed political company basically and others to use money as what is considered political speech here in the united states, and so the mounted —— amount of money that corporations, dark money, this is money where we don't know where it is coming from, is able to invest in the elections, not only by funding candidates but by putting money into what we call super packs or pacs, political action committees where they can run ads. , �* ,

committees where they can run ads. , ~ , committees where they can run ads. , �*, ads. these pacs, can you give us background? _ ads. these pacs, can you give us background? it _ ads. these pacs, can you give us background? it is _ ads. these pacs, can you give us background? it is it - us background? it is it anonymous funds and is it legal? anonymous funds and is it le . al? , . anonymous funds and is it [e i al? , ., ., anonymous funds and is it leual? , ., ., ., , legal? they are legal and this is where it — legal? they are legal and this is where it is _ legal? they are legal and this is where it is confusing - legal? they are legal and this is where it is confusing in - legal? they are legal and this is where it is confusing in the | is where it is confusing in the us and our electoral system, some are required to disclose who their donors are. the problem is you have these nonprofit corporations that are basically set up where people can put money in anonymously and those nonprofits don't have to disclose who their donors are, so it is quite confusing, and it is very complex, but at the end of the day in some cases we do know and in other cases we do know and in other cases we do know and in other cases we don't. but overall what we do know is that there are 21 multimillionaire and billionaire donors who give the greatest amount of donations here in the united states. you run this democracy _ here in the united states. you run this democracy advocacy group, i am run this democracy advocacy group, iam guessing run this democracy advocacy group, i am guessing you see the financing is something that impedes our democracy, if there was one where you could change the system, what would you like

it to look like?— it to look like? well, first of all, we want _ it to look like? well, first of all, we want to _ it to look like? well, first of all, we want to make - it to look like? well, first of all, we want to make sure l it to look like? well, first of. all, we want to make sure that the voices of regular people in the voices of regular people in the united states, working class people, hard—working class people, ha rd—working people, class people, hard—working people, that their voices aren't being drowned out by these billionaires and these political spending groups. but what we would like to see is new legislation passed through congress, something similar to what we had in 2023 that was introduced called the disclose act, where people would know who is funding these political ads, who is contributing all the money, and then been able to put some campaign finance rules around that spending so we can actually make sure that the playing field was even, that more small donor donations and small dollar donations were going to candidates, as opposed to these big money groups. so hopefully we will have an opportunity in the next congress to reintroduce that legislation in hopi the second time as a charm and it will pass. time as a charm and it will ass. . ~' time as a charm and it will ass. ., ~ ,, time as a charm and it will ass, ., ~' y., ., time as a charm and it will ass. . ~' ,, ., ., , pass. thank you for “oining us and given * pass. thank you for “oining us and given us h pass. thank you for “oining us and given us that _ pass. thank you forjoining us

and given us that insight. - let's turn to the escalating conflict in the middle east. gaza's hamas—run health ministry says that an israeli air strike in the northern town of beit lahia has left at least 93 palestinians dead or missing, including 20 children. and many are thought to still be under the rubble. witnesses say residents have been trying to drag bodies out from under the debris. the victims are reported to include families that have been displaced by israel's renewed offensive in northern gaza, which has claimed hundreds of lives. israel's military says its looking into the incident. it comes after a vote in the israeli parliament on monday — banning the un's palestinian refugee agency unrwa from working within the country. the world food programme warns that the people of gaza could face starvation if immediate action is not taken. our special correspondent fergal keane sent this the us is likely to be consequences and it has made clear there is opposition to the bill and it will engage with the government. we are deel with the government. we are

deeply troubled _ with the government. we are deeply troubled with - with the government. we are deeply troubled with this - deeply troubled with this legislation, it could shut off camera operations in the west bank, eastjerusalem, it poses risks millions of palestinians who rely on unwra for health care and it plays a critical role in providing services to palestinians in gaza, the west bank and throughout the wider region, particularly in gaza. they play a role right now that at least today cannot be felt by anyone. our special correspondent fergal keane sent this report from jerusalem. and i should warn you it contains distressing images of the aftermath of the strike. bearing the dead in beit lahia. at any time, expelling the main aid agency for palestinians would have been controversial. but in the middle of this, it's provoked widespread international criticism. dozens killed in an israeli air strike, many of them

children, according to health officials. in gaza city, where many from beit lahia have fled, another strike. the dead laying among market stalls. these boys wondering how to help. there are nearly two million displaced in gaza — facing famine, the un says, and depending on unwra for the basics of survival. within three months, the agency is to be shut down. i mean, it's absolutely outrageous. we said that the prospect of this vote was outrageous. the fact that the vote has happened is equally outrageous. it creates an incredibly dangerous precedent — notjust for this region, but potentially with international implications in other places. israel has accused unwra

staff of being involved in the october 7th attacks. allegations were made against 19 staff out of 13,000. nine were subsequently fired. today, i met one of the government mps sponsoring the legislation. the determination of fighting terrorism is a consensus and this is part of it. unrwa has decided on the 7th to go on the wrong side of history. so no matter what pressure comes from the americans or from anybody else, this bill will not be withdrawn? you will go ahead with expelling unwra? so first of all, you have to understand... it's a really straightforward question — yes or no. yes, i will give you... yes. yes, definitely. you will not back down. of course not. ok. of course not, because we believe in our bill and because it's a just and right bill. the reality is that gaza needs vastly increased amounts of aid. today we managed to contact, on a poor phone line, one of only two doctors left dealing with hundreds of patients at kamal adwan hospital.

phone line goes dead. then we lost contact. there's the debate about what might or might not happen with unrwa. and there's this — the certainty of relentless suffering. fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

let's look at some other stories making news. a top advisor to ukrainian president volodmyr zelensky is in the united states discussing kyiv�*s victory plan and north korean involvement in the war with us national security advisor jake sullivan. after the meeting, andriy yermark took to x,

must go on tuesday said it captured a town and three villages in the donetsk reason —— region, and russian troops have advanced. james waterhouse has the latest from kyiv. it's in the east donestk region of ukraine that russia is making its greatest gains. we're seeing moscow claiming to be in control of the eastern coal—mining town as well as the surrounding villages and if you look at what monitoring channels are saying, it is clear that they are in control of large parts of the town. if you look at analysis by the afp news agency saying that russia has advanced almost 500 square kilometres into ukrainian territory in october, that is more than since the start of the full—scale invasion. that tells you about how things are going. ukraine is struggling to contain russia's advances because of sheer numbers and deeper resources. the question being debated now

is whether moscow's ability to sustain its attacks on another eastern town, pokrovsk, can be maintained because it is strategically significant. it's a transport hub. if that was to fall, it could really go south for ukrainian front lines. i think if you look at what is going on there, if you look at the country's ongoing issues with mobilisation, if you look at the upcoming us presidential election and future aid for ukraine, if you look at the involvement of north korea now in russia's invasion, things are incredibly uncertain. there is a real sense of urgency here and on that question of north korea, president zelensky and his south korean counterpart have agreed to stage talks now where they are going to plan, they say, a response to pyongyang's involvement where thousands of troops are reportedly being deployed to the front line. so i think we are seeing a real sense of urgency in a war where ukraine is on the back

foot and all eyes are on the us presidential election in a week's time, where the course of this war and ukraine's very future will be moulded. china has succesfully launched its shenzhou—19 mission at thejiuquan satellite launch center in the country's northwest. the spacecraft is carrying three new astronauts who will replace the team who've lived on the tiangong space station for the last six months. the mission crew will be sent into low—earth orbit to conduct various scientific experiments. china's space programme was the third to put humans in orbit and has landed robotic rovers on mars and the moon. 0ur china correspondent laura bicker reports. countdown.

this launch is yet another step in a growing space race, a battle that could even decide who owns the moon. we are so close you can feel it vibrate and the fact that china feels so confident to have us here shows its own confidence in its growing space ambitions. this is one of a hundred launches they are planning this year as they try to outdo rival united states. these are the three chosen to fly from china back home to the space station. they have been in quarantine and are kept behind glass. they include the country's first female space engineer. translation: | dream | of exploring the vastness of space, waving to the stars and of course looking back at my homeland. my deepest affection will

always be for my motherland, no matter where i am. i will keep striving and working tirelessly. the team have trained together for a year to conduct experiments and carry out space walks. the pilot is a veteran. but both wang and her crew mate are china's next generation of space explorers. this year, they watched their country carry out an historic first and collect lunar samples from the far side of the moon. china also has a fleet of satellites in space and plans for many more, a rival to elon musk�*s starlink. the modern space race is no longer about getting to the moon, it is about who will control its rich resources — valuable minerals and metals. and the head of nasa is worried china will claim them. translation: | think his| concerns are unnecessary. we adhere to the principles

of peaceful use, equality, mutual benefit and joint development. as the astronauts make their last steps on earth for the next six months, they are waved off as national heroes. china's rivalry with the us is no longerjust based here on earth. both could soon be staking territorial claims well beyond this planet. laura bicker, bbc news. a centuries old forgotten city has been discovered in mexico. it is thought 50,000 people lived there with pyramids and roads connecting separate districts, amphitheatres and even sports fields.

i remember thinking that is cool i remember thinking that is cool, where is there is one there is usually more and so i just went on a deep google dive and, you know, got to like page 16 result looking for environmental light data and i turned up this dataset. this data and — turned up this dataset. this data and shet _ turned up this dataset. this data and shet showed - data and shet showed settlements in south—eastern mexico that are well over a thousand years old. this is the scan using lidar, the technique which uses laser pulses to map ground objects. that picked up homes, terrorist, a dime, a ball court, and even a blouse and pyramid complex.- ball court, and even a blouse and pyramid complex. what would have been a _ and pyramid complex. what would have been a very _ and pyramid complex. what would have been a very colourful, - have been a very colourful, very lush, and i think is very striking environment to move through, things like palaces and temple pyramids, all of those would have been covered

in lime, plaster, and then painted red, pink, yellow, and black. lip painted red, pink, yellow, and black. , ., i: i: i: i: painted red, pink, yellow, and black. , ., :: ijijij , black. up to 50,000 people may have lived in _ black. up to 50,000 people may have lived in this _ black. up to 50,000 people may have lived in this area. _ black. up to 50,000 people may have lived in this area. at - black. up to 50,000 people may have lived in this area. at its - have lived in this area. at its peak in the ninth century. it may be a lost civilisation but my descendants still live here today and at the new site, just 15 minutes from a busy road, their ancient relatives lie beneath their feet. georgina out, bbc news. thanks for watching, goodbye for now. hello there. there's not much weather to talk about for the foreseeable future. high pressure will be dominating the scene, bringing a lot of dry conditions to the uk. it will be mild both by day and by night. a few chilly spots where skies clear at night. a little bit of sunshine around, but it will generally be mostly cloudy. so our area of high pressure dominates the scene as we head into the middle part of the week. it's a dry start to the day. some early mist and fog which could lift into low clouds, so some areas staying

grey, particularly central, southern and western areas with the best chance of seeing sunshine again will be across parts of eastern scotland, northeast england, maybe northern ireland, joining in during the afternoon period. temperature wise, reaching the mid—teens for many. we could make 16 or 17 in the warmest spot, so mild for the time of year. wednesday night promises to be a largely dry one. variable cloud. some clear spells again, some mist and fog developing. winds light for most. single figures, i think across large parts of england, wales, certainly out of town where we hold on to the cloud, though just about double figures. now as we head into thursday, we've still got high pressure across the uk. stronger winds affecting the far north of scotland, the northern isles, with outbreaks of rain here, but that really is about it. elsewhere it's going to be dry. lighter winds further south, but a better chance of seeing some sunshine develop on thursday afternoon for england and wales. maybe a bit more cloud across northern western scotland with outbreaks of rain here. so as we head into the halloween evening, i think there'll be plenty of dry weather for england wales for the trick—or—treaters.

but more cloud with outbreaks of rain across argyll and the highlands for the geysers there. as we head into friday, the 1st of november, we could just tap into some cold air across the far north of scotland. there'll be a weather front here, outbreaks of rain, strong cold northerly winds and it'll be noticeably chilly, i think, across the northern isles and the north highlands. further south for england and wales, northern ireland again, variable cloud, a little bit of sunshine, mild in the south. we see something a bit colder across northern scotland, but it is short lived. as we move out of friday into the weekend, high pressure rolls back in from the west and pushes the cold air towards scandinavia and the near continent. we're back into the mild colours, as you can see there for saturday and sunday. so the outlook then — further dry, settled weather, fairly mild by day and by night. that settled theme continues into the new week. take care.

china lashes out at the eu, launching a complaint with the world trade organization over tariffs. alphabet�*s cloud business powers growth in the third quarter with revenue hitting over $88 billion. hello and welcome to business today.

china has filed a complaint at the world trade organization in response to the eu decision to impose tariffs on chinese made electric vehicles. beijing said it did not, quote, agree with or accept the tariffs which take effect today. more without reporter who has been following this. are you surprised? this was something we expected, didn't we?— didn't we? exactly, this ev tariffs saga _ didn't we? exactly, this ev tariffs saga has _ didn't we? exactly, this ev tariffs saga has been - didn't we? exactly, this ev tariffs saga has been going didn't we? exactly, this ev i tariffs saga has been going on for quite some time and finally it is official. they take effect from today. the chinese are not happy of course. we are talking about 20, 30, 40% tariffs on chinese made evs, depending on the brand. that's going to hit the industry, the individual companies. share is already down in hong kong this morning. but if you think about the chinese economy more broadly, this is hitting them where it hurts and the economy has been stagnating. traditionally it was powered by

construction, manufacturing.