welcome to newsday, i'm katie silver. we start in spain where at least 95 people have died in flash floods that have devastated parts of the south and east. it's the country's worst flooding disaster in decades. rescuers are still searching for the missing, after mudslides and torrents of water swept away bridges — cars were left piled up on each other. the valencia region received a year's worth of rain in eight hours on tuesday. and as you can see, more torrential downpours and flooding is expected as the week goes on. this is the picture going into thursday and friday. our climate editor justin rowlatt reports. these flash floods were truly apocalyptic. one town got a year's worth of rain in just eight hours. just watch what happens

to this bridge. shouting. these images have been widely shared on social media. there was little warning. one local mayor said the first flood alert was just half an hour before the torrent arrived. rescuers have been scrambling to pluck people and their pets from the surging tide of filthy water all day. just look at the wreckage the floods left in their wake. it is a terrifying reminder of the extreme weather climate change could bring, say scientists. we're seeing a warming climate, which holds more moisture in the atmosphere and we are seeing more severe storms happening more often. and this isn'tjust devastating floods that we've seen in southern spain, but also across the uk and other parts of the world. "the whole of spain weeps with you," the spanish prime minister told the families of the missing this afternoon. the rescue effort will

continue into the night. justin rowlatt, bbc news. our correspondent nicky schiller is in south eastern spain and sent this update. i am in valencia, 15 minutes from the airport and this is a children's play area and you can see it has been destroyed by the flood. the mud is really thick and the whole area has been covered with bamboo. the locals say that on wednesday morning the water was deeper than i am tall, which is around two metres. and it is notjust the bamboo that you can see but also big blocks of concrete have been moved by the force of this water. trees have been uprooted and you can also see here that there are six cars that have been damaged in this flooding. they have got their windscreens knocked out and this is a scene that is happening all across this area where cars have been damaged, property has been damaged and locals are having to clear up.

this area, when we were driving here and it took us about 1.5 hours to do what should be a 15—minute journey. the actual roads were quite clear and you could not see that there had been flooding. it was only when we got to this area which is near the river that you saw the debris on the floor and it is the clear—up operation that will be going on over the next couple of days, notjust here but across this region. north korea has test—fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile. it dropped into the sea off the japanese coastjust under an hour and a half after it launched. if confirmed, the estimated flying time of nearly 90 minutes would be the longest of any north korean test. the white house condemned the missile launch, while saying it did not immediately threaten us territory, personnel, or its allies. for more, we can speak to shaimaa khalil in tokyo. thank you forjoining me. we

got more details from south korea and japan, what more do we know?— we know? that's right in the last hour — we know? that's right in the last hour we _ we know? that's right in the last hour we have _ we know? that's right in the last hour we have been - we know? that's right in the i last hour we have been getting a line from north korea is a rarity we get a comment from north korea from pyongyang about missile launch on the same day, normally it is the next day which acts to the significance of this. north korea according to the estate media say it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile which set a record exceeding any previous test according to the country �*s estate media, we also have a line from kim jong on saying he was at the test firing site and said that dangerous moves of the north �*s enemies have emphasised the need to strengthen its nuclear force, and expected line but a line from the north korean leader. we also got more details from south korea and japan about the nature of this launch. we know

that this project i was launched at a sharply high angle in an area near pyongyang, it went a thousand kilometres to the east before it landed outside the japanese territorial waters, just of the hoke ido ireland in the northeast. it also flew for the longest time in a missile launch for about one hour and 26 minutes. what we're getting from the defence ministry officials in south korea, they believe this is a development in trying to fire missiles farther and higher and the significance of that is that it flew at a very sharply high angle, if it flies more horizontally it means it can cover distances towards the united states. all of this comes at a time of incredible tension between the north and the south. we have seen the ratcheting up of rhetoric, very

hostile relations between the two countries and we heard from the south korean presidency saying they will launch or they will impose more sanctions on the north, inviting allies to do the same but also remember this comes less than a week ahead of the united states presidential elections that are happening on tuesday. again officials in south korea say pyongyang is probably trying to strengthen its negotiation tech x or negotiation position ahead of the presidential elections in the us. of the presidential elections in the us-— of the presidential elections in the us. ., ~ ., ., in the us. thank you for that very comprehensive - in the us. thank you for that very comprehensive report i in the us. thank you for that l very comprehensive report for us from tokyo. staying with north korea and the us, and south korean defence chiefs have urged pyongyang to withdraw its troops from russia, where it's believed they'll be deployed against ukrainian forces. us defence secretary lloyd austin said around 10,000 north koreans were already in the russian far east, probably on their way to the kursk region to fight a ukrainian incursion. south korea's defence minister kim yong—hyun said pyongyang was likely to seek technology for russian tactical nuclear weapons, submarines

and intercontinental ballistic missiles. lloyd austin said the move to engage north korean troops was a sign of vladimir putin's weakness — and warned of a dangerous and destabilising moment. the evidence now suggests that north korea has sent around 10,000 soldiers to train in eastern russia. some of these dprk troops have already moved closer to ukraine. we are seeing them outfitted with russian uniforms and provided with russian equipment. i am increasingly concerned that the kremlin plans to use these north korean soldiers to support russia's combat operations in russia's kursk region near the border with ukraine. matthew schmidt from new haven university is an expert on strategic affairs and north korean policy. he explained a little more about what the motivations might be behind this latest move from north korea. it is about trying to threaten the west, particularly the united states with the possibility that north

korean missile technology can defeat american defensive technology and reach the mainland. the issue about the 90 minute burn, the 90 minute flight time is important because if you take that high trajectory and flatten it out, that 90 minute burn means the missile could reach the united states territory on the west coast. we are talking west coast, not the likes of somewhere else, guam? we know that north korean missile technology can fly that far. the question is really not that, the question is how well can the technology evade american defences and the transfer of that technology from russia either directly to missile technology or to submarine technology which could get submarines with missiles closer to the american coast, that is what concerns the pentagon.

i wanted to ask what you thought the pentagon was making of this. do you think this kind of missile test and 90 minutes would be something they are worried about? absolutely. this is the nightmare scenario. because certain technologies with multiple re—entry vehicles are able to essentially deploy decoys that force a defence system to have to choose from five potential warheads instead of one, meaning that the chances of the defence system will attack a key point and not the real warhead are higher and higher meaning the real warhead can get through and land in hawaii or san diego or somewhere on the west coast. and the timing of all of this came as the us and south korean defence ministers met at the pentagon to discuss the deployment of thousands of north korean troops to russia. they have urged pyongyang to withdraw these troops. is there any chance north korea will do

so? there is no chance. the benefit to the regime in north korea is too great relative to the cost. vladimir putin has essentially bought 10,000 north korean lives to dispose of for his purposes and to the kim regime those 10,000 lives are a cheap price to pay for this technology. turning now to the escalating tension in the middle east. at least 110 palestinians are now known to have been killed in israeli strikes on a residential building in beit lahia in northern gaza on tuesday — according to gaza's hamas—run health ministry. i apologise if you've heard some of the sound effects we are having. officials say 25 children are among those killed, and that several people are still missing. a spokesperson for the us called the attack "horrifying". israeli officials said their troops were unaware that displaced civilians were taking shelter inside the building when it was hit. on wednesday, the un security council "strongly warned against any attempts

to dimantle or diminish" the palestinian relief agency unrwa after israel's parliament passed a law banning it from operating inside israel. humanitarian agencies say it could badly hinder aid deliveries to palestinians in gaza. the law is due to take effect 90 days after it was passed on monday. israel is under pressure to avoid civilian casualties and allow more humanitarian assistance into gaza. earlier this month, a letter from the us was leaked, it demanded israel allow at least 350 aid lorries into gaza each day within a month or risk losing military assistance. 0ur middle east regional editor sebastian usher sent this update. the us says that it has not received the answers it wants over the strike that hit a five—storey building in northern gaza, in beit lahia. hamas officials say at least 90 people are missing. the idf has spoken to the bbc

to give some explanation of what happened, saying the troops spotted a man with binoculars on the roof of the building — what they called a spotter — and they made a decision on the spur of the moment to take that individual out. they say they did not intend for the building to collapse, but that it was not the target. this is perhaps a sign of how the israeli army operates in gaza and certainly something the us is expressing more and more concern about. this is the biden administration. the us state department spokesman described the incident as horrifying. the us has given israel a 30—day deadline to improve notjust the way its battle is being fought in northern gaza and hamas, but also the dire humanitarian situation there within a 30—day deadline. and the us has said if things don't improve during that time, it may have an effect on the way the us supplies

weapons to israel. staying in the middle east, and israel's military attacked a historic city in eastern lebanon that is believed to be a key hezbollah stronghold. thousands of lebanese residents evacuated baalbek before it was targeted by israeli airstrikes on wednesday. the city is home to the ruins of a roman—era temple that are designated a unesco world heritage site. on wednesday, hezbollah's new leader warned against israel's military presence in lebanon. naim carsim gave his first address a day after being elected to run the group. he vowed to continue the plans of his predecessor hassan nasrallah, who was killed by an israeli strike last month. and he said the iran—backed group is acting in its 0wn interest. translation: israel. doesn't need an excuse. it's for us to have a resistance with a defensive attack than to be waiting and doing nothing. waiting for israel to attack us and surprise us in one way or another.

our correspondent in beirut emir nader gave us an idea of what the mood is like on the ground in baalbek. today, we had the first evacuation order given by the israeli military for an entire lebanese city, the city of baalbek and bekka valley. it's home to over 100,000 people and the issue, the order came out at around 11am and just around three hours later, the air strikes began. we managed to speak to the mayor of baalbek today, who told us within that period of around three hours, locals fled the city and scenes of panic but many thousands chose to remain for various reasons. he was insistent that baalbek — yes, it's in the bekaa valley which is a home to large support of hezbollah — but he says there was no weapons storage.

the israeli military for their part said the site they've been attacking in the bekaa valley today had been intending to hit hezbollah fuel, given to them by iran, they say. but we have not heard of any casualties so far, but in the wider bekaa valley area, reports of dozens injured or killed in israeli air strikes and those strikes took place as the new leader of hezbollah made his first public speech. he said to the public that hezbollah intends to continue down the path that the previous secretary—general hassan nasrallah continued, their fight against israel said there would be no deviation from that. however, he alluded to the cease—fire, saying if israel is willing to come to acceptable terms of a ceasefire then they will too, that is respecting lebanese territory and sovereignty and it implies that hezbollah would also pull back away from the border with israel. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

with six days to go until the us presidential election, both candidates are targeting key battleground states as they make their final appeal to voters. the democratic candidate kamala harris has been making stops in north carolina, pennsylvania, and here in wisconsin. polls show there's little separating the vice president and donald trump. here's the former president campaigning in green bay, wisconsin after earlier rallying in north carolina. he referred to a remark made by president biden in which he appeared to call mr trump's supporters "garbage". president biden says he was referring to a comedian who sparked outrage when he used that same word to describe puerto rico at a recent trump rally. let's hear what donald trump said tonight. i have to begin by saying 250 million americans are not garbage. cheering.

this week, kamala has been comparing her political opponents to the most evil mass murderers in history and now speaking on a call for her campaign last night, crooked joe biden finally said what he and kamala really think, that our supporters are garbage. no way. they mean it, even though without question my supporters are far higher quality than crooked joe or lyin�* kamala. certainly an iconic outfit. meanwhile — whilst addressing supporters at a rally in wisconsin, kamala harris put the focus on unity. it is time that we start locking arms together as a people who rise and fall together. cheering.

and it is time for a new generation of leadership in america. 0ur north america correspondent rowan bridge has been watching the speeches from kamala harris and donald trump. i spoke to him a short while ago and he started by telling me how former president trump reacted to the �*garbage' jibe. i think it generates attention for donald trump and that is something donald trump enjoys. let's not forget he made his name as a star of the reality tv programme the apprentice. he knows what works on television and he knows what will garner attention to his campaign and undoubtedly that is why he did this. he also knows it'll bring up the issue of whetherjoe biden spoke about some supporters as being garbage. the white house has made it clear that that was not joe biden�*s intention but clearly donald trump 0sma campaign see this as an issue that will work for them and that is why they

had him in a vest and they push this issue to try and energise voters to go out and vote. it does certainly seem like a pivot. this was a criticism of the trump campaign, their association with a comedian and now he is taking it to the next extent. harris had a focus more on economic issues, something she says is a major issue for voters. the economy is one of the biggest issues in this election and it has been for many an election. back in 1992 it was james carvel who coined the phrase it's the economy, stupid, in terms of that of something that matters to voters and certainly this year the issue of inflation and the cost of living and the cost of housing is something that is important to voters and is a relative weakness for kamala harris. something she tried to address in this rally, talking about how it would be her number one issue when she first got into the white house and ran through a checklist of her campaign over price gouging and help

forfirst home buyers and so on but clearly a recognition that the economy is an issue that she needs to get a message out to voters on. she also appealed to other sections of the electorate, she spoke about the issue of abortion which matters to women voters, a big section of her voting block. she also spoke about young voters, again who would disproportionately be going to harris. she was trying to energise voters who are already supporting her to try and win over some that may be sceptical. and time and time again we hear how this is the closest election in decades and polls at the moment put kamala harris at 48 and donald trump at 47%. what is the feeling like there in washington? is there a feeling of trepidation or anticipation? excitement? what is the feeling like? you are talking about an election that is a statistical tie and it is possible that it could go either way. it is really a coin toss.

and i think the sentence that you have is that nobody really knows how this is going to go. this is one that will go down to votes cast and where those votes have gone. the election will be decided by about seven swing states because most states, we already know, are likely to be in the harris or trump cohort. so it will be seven swing states we watch for, that everybody will watch for to see how this election finally is resolved. but we may not get a result for several days after the election on november 5 so i think the tension and uncertainty may last for several days after november 5. rowan bridge thank you forjoining us. let's take a look at some other stories in news. canada has accused india's interior minister and aide to prime minister narendra modi of being behind plots to target sikh separatists on canadian soil. the allegation against amit shah comes after diplomatic expulsions this month by both

ottawa and new delhi over india's reported links to the plots. india has categorically denied any role in the killing of sikh leader hardeep singh nijjar, accusing canada of pursuing a �*political agenda.�* prosecutors in georgia launched a probe into allegations of fraud in saturday's parliamentary election, summoning president salome zurabishvili for questioning after she repeatedly claimed the vote was rigged. the pro—european president is demanding a full independent review after the governing georgian dream party won the election. a south korean court handed a 10—year prison term to a man who spread deep—fake porn images of women. it's the most severe penalty since deep fake crimes became punishable in south korea four years ago. the man is one of two offenders who created and distributed nearly 2,000 ai—generated images of university students and staff on a network of telegram group chats . let's take you to taiwan now where most activity has shut down ahead of the

arrival of super typhoon kong rey. these are live images from taitung. most activity has shut down. we have every wind and rain starting. we are hearing reports the waves are already five metres high. it's expected to be the biggest storm to hit the island in 30 years. authorities say since 1996. all cities and counties have declared a a day off, financial markets have been closed and almost 300 international flights are now cancelled. schools are also closed. as you can see we can see the pounding coastline the wind is strengthening and the storm is an hour and a half away expected to make landfall on the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast around two p.m..

hindus around the world are celebrating diwali, the festival of lights , one of the most important events in their religious calendar. in india, millions of people kicked off the celebrations in uttar pradesh by symbolically lighting a record 2.51 million earthen oil lamps at dusk on wednesday. the state's chief minister received a certificate from a team from the guinness world records. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. 0n the whole, wednesday was a cloudy day for most of us, but there were a favoured few spots where we saw some sunshine. aberdeenshire, one of them, and also powis in wales, where we saw some lovely sunshine — temperatures peaked at 17 celsius. but for thursday, it's going to be another cloudy day. quite a murky start as well, but we keep that mild theme to close out the month of october. and that is because high pressure stays with us, and the winds very light indeed across england and wales, more isobars to the north, stronger winds in scotland, and this weather front

running across the top. that will introduce a little bit more in the way of rain as we go through the day across the northern isles. a windy scenario here — gusts, perhaps close to 50 miles an hour. more in the way of cloud across the far northwest, but we will be chasing cloud amounts around. if you get some sunshine, temperatures will respond, and through the afternoon, we're likely to see highs generally of around 15 or 16 celsius once again. now, that means that for halloween, evening it looks as though, particularly across england and wales, the spooky mist and fog set to return — that wind, keeping the mist and the murk at bay across the far north of scotland. and for diwali, for the fireworks — well, hopefully the cloud won't spoil proceedings too much. now, the higher pressure will start to drift away and allow this frontal system to sink a little bit further south. so, there will be outbreaks of rain pushing into the far north of scotland first thing on friday morning. with the cloud around, many areas staying into double digits —

again, another grey story, but that weather front will continue to drift its way slowly southwards behind it, the wind direction changing to a northerly introducing cleaner, fresher conditions so cooler, but there will be more in the way of sunshine coming through. 7—10 degrees here, but further south, once again, temperatures peaking into the mid—teens. that cooler air is not set to last. high pressure on the move again. it's moving over to the near continent, and that allows a subtle change in wind direction to more of a southeasterly. but that subtle change could bring quite a dramatic change to the forecast. there's the potential for a little more in the way of sunshine coming through across england and wales sunday into monday. looking ahead, that quiet theme continues, but once again, we have to watch out for mist and fog.

microsoft's artificial intelligence bet pays off as it sees a jump in revenue. plus: how european businesses are reacting to new tariffs on made—in—china electric vehicles. hello and welcome to business today. i'm katie silver. the us tech earnings season is in full swing. microsoft has reported third quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations. this was boosted by demand for its cloud computing business driven by ai.

ritika gupta has more from new york. microsoft beat wall street estimates for quarterly revenue and profit on wednesday. its cloud computing business as your and office software boosted result assigned the companies have the investments in al are starting to pay off. sales increased 16% to over $65 million as your revenue grew 33% while profit rose to $30 cents a share. seen as a leader among big tech peers in the ai race thanks to its early investment in chatgpt maker 0penai, microsoft has wrapped up ai services across its product offering, helping attract more customers. it's a some good news for the stock which is one of the worst performers among big tech names — underperforming rivals like alphabet and the benchmark