and prince william announces the finalists for the £1 million earthshot prize. hello, i'm sally bundock. with the us election campaign reaching its final phase, both candidates have been concentrating on the seven swing states most likely to decide the outcome. polls suggest the eventual result could be extremely tight. visiting pennsylvania the republican, donald trump, complained not all states require voters to show identification. he suggested this could only be to allow cheating. he also suggested he wouldn't mind journalists being shot,

though his campaign team has insisted the comments were a joke. cheering. kamala harris, his rival, was in michigan appealing to traditionally republican voting men to support the democrats. she was given a rapturous reception at a black church in the state, whose congregations are her key consituency, before visiting a local restaurant where she chatted to voters. here we are on the sunday before the election and i would ask in particular people who have not yet voted to not fall for his tactic, which i think includes suggesting to people that if they vote, their vote won't matter, suggesting to people that somehow the integrity of our voting system is not intact so that they do not vote. and again, it is a tactic that is meant to distract from the fact that we have

and support free and fair elections in our country. we did in 2020. he lost. donald trump returmed to some of his favourite topics while campaigning in pennsylvania, including this regularly debunked accustion. they stole the election. they walked — they stole the election. they walked in, they said, you are out — walked in, they said, you are out. right? that is a threat to democracy. they call me a threat _ democracy. they call me a threat to— democracy. they call me a threat to democracy, they stole the election from this guy, they— the election from this guy, they walked in, they said, get out of— they walked in, they said, get out of here, joe, you are dead, you are — out of here, joe, you are dead, you are out _ out of here, joe, you are dead, you are out. he likes me better than _ you are out. he likes me better than he — you are out. he likes me better than he likes her. and you have to tell— than he likes her. and you have to tell kamala harris, you have to tell kamala harris, you have to tell— to tell kamala harris, you have to tell her— to tell kamala harris, you have to tell her you have had enough _ to tell her you have had enough. you are the worst ever.

kamala — enough. you are the worst ever. kamala harris, you are fired, -et kamala harris, you are fired, get the — kamala harris, you are fired, get the hell out of here. let's speak to our reporter azadeh moshiri for more on this. both donald trump and kamala harris pushing their final message as it were, tell us more. , , ., , ., more. yes, trying to bring home their closing _ more. yes, trying to bring home their closing argument - more. yes, trying to bring home their closing argument and - more. yes, trying to bring home their closing argument and they| their closing argument and they are presenting two starkly different visions of the future. kamala harris is pushing her message of unity and warning against giving donald trump unchecked power. she throws forward to a future which in her words would be divisive. donald trump is asking the people at his rallies, do you feel better off than four years ago? he is banking on the fact the answer would hopefully be no, his campaign believes the economy is something he can win on. it is something he can win on. it

is important to flag that this is important to flag that this is a nailbiter of a race, we are now so close to election day and when looking at the seven battleground states where the election will be won and lost, it is all within the margin of error, impossible to call right now. when you are thinking of an election which could lead to historic firsts, the first black woman president, the first asian american president, the first woman president point blank, this is a race where you cannot even tell so close to the election. remember, even when it comes to donald trump, we are talking about a big firsts here as well, the first time since the 19th century you would have had a president entered the white house after having lost a pre—election bid and after having been convicted of a crime. the next day in pennsylvania where these two candidates will be holding

duelling rallies will have to be one of their most important ones, where they tried to get to the voters who have not voted yet because there are already more than 75 million voters who have casted theirs. you say they will be in pennsylvania, an important state, this is where donald trump has claimed there has been election fraud?- trump has claimed there has been election fraud? yes, it's important _ been election fraud? yes, it's important to _ been election fraud? yes, it's important to say _ been election fraud? yes, it's important to say they - been election fraud? yes, it's important to say they are - important to say they are baseless claims and he has been saying this for some time now. he has accused the democrats of cheating, after trying to steal the election. he has also been accused of trying to plant the seeds to contest any result, even should he win, should he lose the election, as he did in 2020. in pennsylvania to chile, the reason he's trying to drive that message home there and why these candidates are holding these candidates are holding

these during rallies there is because it is the biggest prize, 19 electoral votes. without pennsylvania it would be very hard for either candidate to take the white house. not impossible but very hard. . ~ house. not impossible but very hard. ., ,, as election day approaches, we'll be keeping track of the polls and seeing what effect the campaign has on the race for the white house. but while national polls are a useful guide as to how popular a candidate is across the whole country, they're not the best way to predict the election result. that's because there are just a handful of states where both candidates stand a chance of winning. and as you can see here the leads in these battlegrounds are incredibally close. nearly every swing state sits within the margin of error. let's speak to brendan o'connor, professor of us politics at the university of sydney. good to have you on the programme, i'm sure you are

watching this extremely closely. this has been tight for much of the race. why do think that is?— think that is? -- why do you think that is? -- why do you think that — think that is? -- why do you thinkthat is? _ think that is? -- why do you think that is? both - think that is? -- why do you think that is? both parties i think that is? -- why do you i think that is? both parties are strongly behind their candidates but it is a question of how many new voters you can get, how many young people who have not voted before, younger women. at the trump campaign has always relied on people not particularly engaged in politics, those who don't generally vote but has been getting better at getting white voters who are irregular voters, rural voters, to the polls. all of the polls suggest this is incredibly close and my position should be getting who is going to win but we are in fora is going to win but we are in for a tight outcome on tuesday.

both candidates are working extremely hard, their teams are doing all they can in these last few days to swing any undecided voters. what do you make of their strategy? i undecided voters. what do you make of their strategy?- make of their strategy? i think the are make of their strategy? i think they are trying _ make of their strategy? i think they are trying everything. - they are trying everything. there is a sense of exhaustion and desperation at this point, pretty much things are locked in at this point and there is not going to be a surprise in the last 48 hours. many have already voted before the election, sending in their vote by mail and voting early. there is the sense that turnout will be quite high in america, and if you get above 60%, this is usually an extremely high turnout. it was 67% at the last election, considered high compared with the last 20

years. it will be even higher this time around because both sides have catastrophe eyes about their opponent and people cannot understand why donald trump would be popular. many opponents feel this way. but there is obviously a loyal base of public trump support to turn as well. in of public trump support to turn as well. , ., ., . as well. in terms of once the olls as well. in terms of once the polls are _ as well. in terms of once the polls are closed, _ as well. in terms of once the polls are closed, votes - as well. in terms of once the polls are closed, votes are l as well. in terms of once the j polls are closed, votes are in and counting begins, how long will it take before we know who is going to be present?- is going to be present? there is going to be present? there is a good _ is going to be present? there is a good chance _ is going to be present? there is a good chance we - is going to be present? there is a good chance we will- is going to be present? therej is a good chance we will know before americans go to bed, before americans go to bed, before midnight us time. there is generally a song sense, last time, that biden was well ahead by the end of the day, it dragged on. claims were made by the trump campaign and when hillary clinton lost the election, it was known by the

tuesday evening. it is the rare occasion, in the 2000 election, things were incredibly close and florida, it was statistically improbable. this time around, its statistically improbable. this time around, it's looking like it will be decided over a couple of states stop we will are likely to have margins in the thousands rather than the hundreds as we did in florida in 2000. ., ~ _, hundreds as we did in florida in2000. ., ~ ,, ,, in 2000. thank you. in business toda in in 2000. thank you. in business today in 20 _ in 2000. thank you. in business today in 20 minutes, _ in 2000. thank you. in business today in 20 minutes, we - in 2000. thank you. in business today in 20 minutes, we will. today in 20 minutes, we will look at the us economy and to what extent that is swinging voters at this point. you can watch live coverage of the results here on bbc news and on bbc one and the iplayer in the uk at 22:40 gmt on tuesday. sumi somaskanda and caitriona perry will bring you a special programme from washington dc with our team of experts and correspondents. around the world and across the uk.

this is bbc news.

king felipe of spain has said he understands the frustration of people affected by last week's deadly floods, after he was pelted with mud when visiting valencia. in a video posted online, the king said he guaranteed the state would do all it could to help. at least 217 people died in the diaster, with others still missing. the weather situation has turned again with more rain hitting valencia, although not with the safe intensity. ——the same intensity. steve knibbs has the latest. in the wake of the flash floods, scenes of devastation unfold every day, the scale of the recovery operation overwhelming. over 200 people are now dead, dozens more are missing, and the search

for them is relentless. here in aldaia, a race against time to drain water and mud from two floors of an underground car park. police are using drones for signs of over a dozen people believed to be trapped here. divers preparing for an unenviable task, but the reality is this is now a search and recovery operation. the military have been brought in to help local volunteers who've been cleaning mud and debris from the streets. they're welcome, but those who live here say it's taken too long. translation: our anger is because we have - been alone here. i have been hungry here. i've had to drink a glass of milk and go to bed because we have not had food, we have been hungry. that anger turned violent in paiporta,

one of the worst hit areas, where 62 people have died. the king and queen pelted with mud on a visit. "murderers," the crowd shouted. this young man told the king it was known and nobody did anything to avoid it. translation: we have to deal with the anger. and frustration of many people because of how bad they've had it. we have to give them hope, attend to the emergency, but also give them hope. the prime minister, pedro sanchez, promised 10,000 extra troops, police and civil guards to support the relief efforts and condemned the attacks on the king and queen. and, echoing around parts of valencia, the sound of pots and pans being banged, a protest at the government's handling of the crisis. this is a region raw with tragedy and devastation and now anger, as it looks for someone to blame. steve knibbs, bbc news. it's been a big night for one of europe's poorest countries — moldova. their pro—eu president has claimed a second term

after a tense election run—off, seen as a choice between europe and russia. official figures give maia sandu an unassailable lead, with nearly all votes counted. the final result is expected to be declared in the coming hours. speaking to thrilled supporters, she promised to be president for all moldovans. translation: moldova, you are victorious today, dear moldovans, you have given a lesson in democracy worthy of being written in history books. today you have saved moldova. moldova has been under an unprecedented attack. dirty money, illegal vote buying, the interference in electoral processes by hostile forces from outside the country and by criminal groups, lies sowing hatred and fear

within our society. our people have united, and freedom and the citizens have won. peace and hope for a better life have prevailed. maia sandu's victory comes two weeks after a knife—edged referendum backed eu membership. the former soviet republic, flanked by ukraine and romania, has gravitated between russia and the rest of europe. her rival, who was backed by the pro—russian party of socialists, had promised a closer relationship with moscow, but has denied being a pro—kremlin candidate. the election outcome will be welcome news in brussels. the european commission president has already sent her congratulations. on social media ursula von der leyen said... the result will probably be

less welcome in moscow. during the vote, the moldovan president's national security adviser said there had been massive interference from russia. the kremlin has denied that. take a listen. translation: i don't know if there are any direct - accusations of russia interfering in the election. russia is not interfering in the electoral campaign of moldova. we resolutely reject any accusation that we are somehow interfering in this. we are not doing this. let's speak to professor robert english, director of central european studies at the university of southern california. maia sandu has claimed victory, she is to be remaining as president of moldova. your thoughts on what this means going forward. mr; thoughts on what this means going forward-— thoughts on what this means

going forward. my thoughts are this is an important _ going forward. my thoughts are this is an important victory - this is an important victory but not a final victory. we have to be careful not to cast this exclusively in terms of the west or the eu versus russia. it is about the economy, moldova is a desperately poor country, as you noted in the introduction, and what's more, more than a quarter of the population live abroad and it is more like a third because there is no work, there is grinding poverty at home and the moldovan economy would collapse if not for these remittances that make up more than a quarter of gdp. this party must prove, reward the voters with substantial economic progress, meaning the eu has to help moldova that much more than it has in the past or the next election could swing back in moscow's favour because moscow offers cheap energy, cheap credits, and they are very lower in four countries and desperate

poverty. in countries and desperate poverty-— countries and desperate ove . , ., poverty. in this next vote, the standout vote _ poverty. in this next vote, the standout vote she _ poverty. in this next vote, the standout vote she has - poverty. in this next vote, the standout vote she has just - poverty. in this next vote, the i standout vote she has just won, it was those moldovans that have moved out of the country that swung it in her favour, have moved out of the country that swung it in herfavour, so we are hearing according to reports we are receiving. many of those who remain and live in moldova itself are actually in favour of a more pro—russian approach. it would be difficult to navigate this in terms of polarisation within moldova. it will be, you are right, and part of the moldovan population that lives in the breakaway region did not vote at all, so if you factored all of this in, the country pretty evenly split. the pro—eu party won, it has another mandate but must prove it is worth it with economic performance, because their record is also spotty and

corruption has been rampant in all political parties. the ordinary moldovan photos not thinking in terms of the west versus russia, ukraine, all of that, theyjust want versus russia, ukraine, all of that, they just want a versus russia, ukraine, all of that, theyjust want a better life and to see some economic development in the eu must be much more generous and thoughtful in its support or we will be back in four 1540 00:20:24,837 --> 00:20:25