hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the uk chancellor, rishi sunak, has promised "investment across the board in public services" in his budget on wednesday. he said that while his instincts were to cut taxes, he was having to grapple with the biggest economic shock for 300 years — from covid; borrowing at its highest since world war two; and a backlog in the nhs. our political correspondent, charlotte rose, has been assessing mr sunak�*s options in the budget. the chancellor has had to spend billions of pounds of taxpayers money to prop up the economy and support individuals, families and businesses through the past couple of years. he wants to be seen as a low tax chancellor but it seems like that isn't an option for him at the moment. he wants to prove to his party that he can be tough, that he can resist those who call for money to be spent in all areas. but we had an interesting message this morning because you might have thought he would resist any suggestion of increasing public spending outside of those areas where it has already been committed, such as on public health and skills, but interestingly he seemed to be saying that actually, no, he wanted to invest in a strong public sector. this is what he had to say. now, next week's budget is about looking to the future and building a stronger economy for the british people. now, what does that mean? that means strong investment in public services, driving economic growth by investing in infrastructure, innovation and skills, giving businesses confidence and then supporting working families. those are the ingredients of what makes a stronger budget and that's what we will deliver next week. there has been a lot of pressure on the government over the cost of living increasing. did he speak about that? yes, that's absolutely right. the chancellor seemed fairly unrepentant, defending the cuts to universal credit that have come in for some criticism. also talking about the campaign by footballer marcus rashford for introducing free school meals and holidays. meals in the holidays. the chancellor said that we have already introduced measures that will help hard—pressed families with both food and activities for children during the summer. there has been a call by labour to cut vat on energy prices. they want a cut from 5% down to zero and that would cost £1 billion. they say they would pay for it because more money has come into the treasury over the last six months than expected because the economy has recovered much more quickly than the treasury thought it would last year. people are facing pay gas and electricity bills 5% of that money goes automatically to the taxman. something very simply the government could do. _ something very simply the government could do. it _ something very simply the government could do, it would be immediate and felt automatically on peoples bills next month, and that is to cut the rate of— next month, and that is to cut the rate of vat— next month, and that is to cut the rate of vat from 5% to 0%. so they are making this call. that's a big amount of pressure on the chancellor, would he commit to doing this? it seems he is not giving anything away ahead of the budget on wednesday and he told us this is something broadly out of his hands. the bulk of that increase is down to two things. one of those is the fact that as economies have reopened rather rapidly after coronavirus, that has put pressure on global supply chains. and then the other part of the increase is very much down to energy prices. and you can't do much about either of those. | well, both of those, i was going to say, both of those factors are global factors. we are not alone in experiencing those problems. i don't have a magic wand that can make either of those things disappear. you said that he wants to be seen as the low tax chancellor but we have been hearing that it's all about spending on the pressures on him. what about pressures from within his own party on that? this is obviously something bubbling under the surface. a huge amount of money has already been committed to the nhs as well as we have already heard to other public sector spending. so there are going to be calls saying, if we want to also balance the books, how is this going to be paid for. we have seen a rise in national insurance that has been announced. there is some quite deep unhappiness in that among some parts of the conservative party. they would like to see the government cutting taxes rather than increasing them. clearly, the chancellor not willing to commit to anything and not willing to say today whether he will be a tax—cutting chancellor by the end of this parliament. so for those voices coming, many from the backbenches saying they want to hear about tax cuts, it seems like they will have to wait a bit longer. charlotte rose talking to me earlier. ministers are to formalise their committment to what they call a "skills revolution" in england, with a series of measures to be unveiled in wednesday's budget. £1.6 billion will be announced to roll out new "t—levels" for teenagers — and £550 million for adult skills. college leaders say the funding is welcome, but doesn't go far enough. here's our political correspondent, nick eardley. what we want to see is a high—wage, high—skill economy... the government says it wants to change the way the uk economy works, moving to a higher skilled, more productive workforce which earns more money. in this week's budget, the chancellor will have the task of setting out more about how we get there, and key to his plans will be what the government is selling as a skills revolution. rishi sunak will announce £1.5 billion for t—levels in england for up to 100,000 young people to train for vocational qualifications. there will be £500 million for adult skills too and more than £800 million to revitalise colleges in england. the government argues the plans will give people the skills they need to get on in life. all students, whatever they are doing, whether it be technical education or academic education — or somewhere in between — deserve to have their education properly funded, so we hope this new story, which focuses on technical education, isjust one part of the announcements that will come out over the course of the next few days. we hope the government will also find the means to address the needs of the vast majority of young people who study a—levels or btec qualifications. ministers also want to balance the books after huge spending during the pandemic. but despite concerns over the economic picture, the government is making clear there is money to spend on its political priorities. the question is: will it be enough to deliver the big changes that ministers have promised and will the plans work? nick eardley, bbc news, westminster. well, earlier i spoke to grainne hallahan, who's a senior analyst at tes, formerly the times educational supplement. she welcomed any talk of new investment in skills and explains how the new system will work. t—levels or technical levels are meant to be those skills equivalent to a—levels and if you get a distinction in your t—levels, that is the equivalent of three a's at a—level and gives you the same number of ucas points and you can go to university with them. they come in all sorts of different subjects, it is notjust building and hairdressing, it can be design and survey or planning or accountancy or agriculture or animal care but they are rolling these courses out slowly so at the moment there are only ten but these will expand by 2023, all 20 subjects should be up and running. eight people have been arrested in south—east england after the deaths of two teenage boys. essex police say they were called to regency court in brentwood at around 1:30am this morning. they say they found three people injured, of whom two later died. an investigation is now underway but police say they do not believe there is any wider threat to the public. they have appealed for anyone with information to contact them. colombia's most wanted drug trafficker and leader of the country's largest gang has been captured. dairo antonio usuga — known as 0toniel — is the boss of the clan del golfo, and was seized close to the border with panama in a joint operation by the army, air force and police. the president of colombia, ivan duque, described the capture as the most significant blow to drug trafficking in the country since the death of pablo escobar in 1993. gail maclellan reports. this is the man with the $5 million bounty on his head. the us government accuses him of exporting tons of cocaine into the united states. antonio usuga, also known as �*0toniel�*, was arrested in a joint operation by the army, airforce and police. 0ne officer died in the operation. the colombian president, ivan duque, described the capture as the most significant blow to drug trafficking in the country since the death of pablo escobar. translation: this man . is a murderer of policemen, soldiers, social leaders as well as a recruiter of minors. usuga has also been accused of human trafficking, extortion, and killing community leaders across the country. it took 500 officers and 22 helicopters and several years to bring him tojustice. gail maclellan, bbc news. more than 2 million letters will be sent to parents and guardians across england from tomorrow, inviting them to book their children in for covid jabs during half—term. health officials are offering vaccinations for those aged 12 to 15, saying it will give them "crucial protection ahead of winter. 0ur correspondent aruna iyengar has more. the biggest rise in covid—19 infections in england is now among 12—to—15—year—olds. that's why health officials are targeting this group and urging their parents to book jabs online during half—term. vaccines are being offered in some schools but not all. 0utside schools there are around 100 vaccination sites offering jabs to teenagers, with more to open shortly. this is the arm we're going be using... in scotland vaccines have been widely available for 12 to 15—year—olds since september. health officials in england are asking families to book in so children and loved ones have crucial protection overwinter. we are starting to think about winter and the best chance of everything being open at christmas, being able to visit your family and mixing between teenagers and grandparents — clearly you want children to be immunised to reduce the risk of spreading the virus to their elderly relatives. take a deep breath in... 500,000 teenagers have been vaccinated so far. the decision for some families is difficult. younger people don't tend to become very ill with covid but they can still pass it on, affecting the wider community and, crucially, their own education if schools have to shut down. over 6,000 people are in hospital with covid, nearly the same number as a year ago. writing in the sunday telegraph today, professor stephen powis, the nhs medical director, is asking everyone to take up vaccination offers and booster shots. he says... that is why health officials are keen to get all age groups vaccinated ahead of what could be a challenging christmas. aruna iyengar, bbc news. from today, fully vaccinated travellers returning to england can take a lateral flow test — rather than a more expensive pcr test — to prove their covid status. (00v)the change, which the government has described as a �*huge boost�* for the travel industry, applies to those arriving from non—red—list countries. wales will make the same change to their testing policy next weekend. earlier we spoke to karen dee, chief executive of the airport 0perators association, who says the changes to travel are a step in the right direction. winter is a much quieter period for aviation anyway. so as a sector we are nowhere near in recovery yet. we characterise it as being just about restarting. but we look forward and are urging government to make sure we can actually get rid of the last of those testing requirements as soon as the health situation allows us to, as they have done in europe, so we can be ready and prepared for a much better spring and summer situation. so it's definitely a step in the right direction, but it's going to be some time before our sector, uk aviation, is going to be properly recovering. the immunologist professor denis kinane, from the covid testing company cignpost diagnostics — says there are slight risks with the changes. i can understand why we would want to move that way and why the government would want to move that way and why the travel industry particularly wants to move that way, but with the move from pcr to lateral flow there are slight risks that would come in and we have to be careful. of course we have to be vigilant all the time. again, these are important for us to protect our borders and protect from new variants coming in. what are the risks that you would identify? we have to understand that lateral flow is a little like a pregnancy test, very simple, cassette—type test. pcr is a more full—blown laboratory test, more accurate, let's say. and the danger with lateral flow is there are certain individuals who could come through with lateral flow and still be positive. it is not as sensitive and there is a slight risk we might be letting more people in with covid. the headlines on bbc news... britain's chancellor, rishi sunak, is promising "investment across the board in public services" in his budget on wednesday as part of a plan to rebuild the economy. the uk's opposition labour party says it will not raise income tax at the next election. colombia's most wanted drug trafficker is captured after a joint operation by the armed forces, and the police. details are still emerging over how the actor alec baldwin accidentally shot dead the cinematographer halyna hutchins on a movie set. investigations are ongoing as court documents suggest the actor was told the gun was safe, moments before the shooting. meanwhile a candlelight vigil has taken place in new mexico to honour her memory. with more, here's tanya dendrinos. a cinematographer, a wife, a mother, and a life cut tragically short. by candlelight in albuquerque, not far from the bonanza creek ranch, halyna hutchins was remembered. she was beloved, talented, respected and loving. she was also passionate about her work and that is really who all of you are, she was part of our family, one of us. the 42—year—old was killed and film directorjoel souza injured when a prop gun with a live round was fired by actor alec baldwin on the set of the film rust. court records revealed mr baldwin was handed the gun by an assistant director who told the actor the weapon was safe. her death should not have happened. union sets should be safe sets. every person deserves to go to work with complete security knowing they can perform their work and return home safely. this moment has shaken all of us to the very core and we will carry her in our hearts and minds forever. police investigations are continuing as hollywood mourns the loss of one of its rising stars. the american film institute establishing the halyna hutchins memorial scholarship fund in her honour. i was really lucky to get to work with her, because whom i met was one of the most talented and kind, collaborative artists who did things that i could never ever think of, that her photography was beautiful, and every day everybody on the camera team was proud to be there for her. her husband described her legacy as too meaningful to encapsulate in words. a harrowing end and a long list of questions remaining. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. a new caravan of some 6,000 migrants, mostly from central america, has set off from the southern mexican city of tapachula for the united states. the group is made up primarily of people from haiti, el salvador, guatemala and honduras. theirfirst destination is mexico city, more than 1,000 kilometres — 650 miles — away. isaac guzman is a photojournalist based in the state of chiapas which is where this caravan departed from — he told us more about what the conditions are like in mexico. policies that they implemented since 2018, people decide in some way to make a route by themselves, and sometimes it gets really dangerous because of the people that is engaged with the narcos, that kidnap people, so they travel to mexico city in a caravan. it is proposals for everyone, like being safe, better thanjust going for a few groups, so the main idea of the caravan is to be safe all together, because as you may know, in mexico there is a lot of violence, and since 2018, for the migrants, so that is the idea. this caravan is a way to be safe in this country. the turkish president, recep tayyip erdogan, has ordered the foreign ministry to declare ten ambassadors from allied nations persona—non—grata over their support for a jailed government critic, the businessman 0sman kavala. he told supporters that it should be done immediately. the united states, france, germany and four more of turkey's nato allies are affected. norway said its ambassador had done nothing to warrant expulsion, and it would continue to hold turkey to its commitments to the rule of law. it's been a week since clashes between shia and christian groups in lebanon led to the deaths of seven people. although beirut is now calm, the incident has raised fears of a return to the civil war which dominated lebanese life at the end of the 20th century. 0ur middle east correspondent anna foster reports from beirut. a week ago she was a mother. now they call her a martyr. maryam farhat was one of seven people killed in the worst violence in beirut for a decade. it brought back painful memories. translation: we lived - through the civil war and we know who committed the crimes. i protected my children, my daughter. when they were children i protected them from shelling and snipers. lebanon is no stranger to war. for 15 years its people fought each other. last week's running battle in the streets of beirut mirrored life there in the 1970s and �*80s. a week after the fighting there is still paralysis. the shia muslim and christian armed groups continue to trade barbed insults. lebanon's politically fractured cabinet hasn't met. there is fear about what might come next. maryam's son wants her death to send a message. we don't need civil war in lebanon. if my mother has faith of not having a new civil war, for me and for my family and for all my family we accept this, to stop the civil war. the people of lebanon are living through a crippling financial crisis. it's exhausting and humiliating, but could it trigger a fresh conflict? civil war needs a generalised state of hatred. i don't think we are there. i think we are on the level of political parties able to mobilise their sympathisers, during episodes on short periods. i don't believe deep inside that we are on the verge of a civil war, but maybe a series of similar episodes of violent clashes. they are still cleaning up here but the streets are calm and order has been restored. what hasn't been resolved though are the underlying tensions that led to this violence and that makes it very difficult to predict how all this will end. anna foster, b bbc news, beirut. when danny 0'ryan was diagnosed with dementia three years ago, his wife carole set out to help him fulfill some life—long ambitions. danny — who began learning the piano and organ almost 80 years ago — has always dreamed of playing on big stage — so carole made it happen. audrey dias has been to meet them. making sweet music to fulfil the ambition of a lifetime. 82—year—old danny from 0swestry has played the piano since he was four, but he has always dreamt of playing the famous wurlitzer organ at blackpool tower. so i'd start a tune and he would move up and change the taps and the settings while i was playing, so — and we just went on non—stop for an hour doing that. and, of course, what i can do is i can play the piano or the organ and play in any key. on monday, his wife carole made that dream a reality. he played great and he came out of the stage and his face — he was concentrating so hard, i think the building could've fell down and i don't think he'd have noticed! the family filmed the performance so danny can watch it again and again. he was on an absolute high and i thought, do you know, these things are so worth it — sorting out what he wants to do and what he enjoys doing and making the effort to do it. he was diagnosed with dementia three years ago and after the initial shock, carole decided to give her husband a series of experiences to treasure. he's always looked after me and now's my time to make sure his life is all right. you know, that's important. they've been married for 47 years and carole is determined danny's dementia won't define their relationship from now on. that person hasn't changed, that person is still there. they might not be able to cope with life like they did and you might have very exasperated moments with them but, at the end of the day, that's the person you married and you just go along with it and accept what the day brings. their next big project is a trip to australia to see their grandchild. until then, they have always got the music to keep them smiling. audrey dias, bbc news. artworks by picasso have been sold at auction in las vegas forjust under £80 million. the nien paintings and two ceramics had been a centrepiece at the picasso restaurant in the bellagio hotel for the last 20 years. they went under the hammer forjust short of $110 million us. crowds have been flocking to the new dubai eye — the world's largest and tallest ferris wheel. the giant structure stands at 250 metres tall. together the pods can carry 1,750 visitors in a single rotation lasting 30 minutes. it was officially opened with a laser and firework display. here's a story to make your legs burn. imagine riding a bike at nearly 35 miles per hour, consistently, for a full hour. that's what alex dowsett is planning to do when tries to break a world record in mexico next month. he's also using the opportunity to raise awareness of haemophilia, which he's had since childhood. james burridge has been to see him in training. this is the giant windtunnel which gb cyclist alex dowsett hopes will help him become a world recordholder. he is training for the one hour record, cycling as fast and as far as possible in 60 minutes. so every technical scientific advantage gained in here is critical. basically air is pulled through here, my bike and me are on a large scale and that measures how much wind resistance i'm creating. we are optimising helmets, shoes and, most importantly, the skin suit to make me as aerodynamic as possible so i am as slippery as possible through the wind, which means, come the end of the attempt, the last 20 or 30 minutes, i can accelerate a litle bit and try not to just break the record but try to break it by a bit more. alex is racing to raise awareness for haemophilia, a disorder where blood doesn't clot properly. he was diagnosed as a child and is the only known elite sportsperson with the condition. there are some aspects to it that are really quite unpleasant. it is something we are trying to address with little bleeders to navigate kids through school and in conjunction with the haemo heroes app, to navigate young haemophiliacs and their families and their friends as well because it's a tough condition to explain. it is not visual. that doesn't help either. he used to bruise very easily, large bruisesjust from holding him up around his middle. pretty much had to find out what haemophilia ? having a haemophiliac really meant. we were educated and we also had to know what his limitations were, the dos and don'ts. there were quite a lot of don'ts. we adjusted as best as we could. every time even now we get a phone call and if he's on tour you get- a phone call at 1am or 2am, - we are worried because it means he's got a problem ? he has crashed or pulled out or something. - every time he racesl it is nerve—wracking. every second day, which is an intravenous injection. i have to take my intravenous injection medication every day during races, but it is managed. that is where haemophilia is now compared to where it was, we can do these things. it doesn't hold me back at all. that is the overriding message ? if it doesn't hold me back in actually what ends up being quite a dangerous sport at times, it shouldn't hold a kid back at school. alex has to race over 55 kilometres to beat the record in mexico on november the 3rd. he has held it once before in 2015 only for sir bradley wiggins to quickly usurp it. this time there is no shortage of motivation. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz shafernaker. bit of a mixed bag on the weather front today, as you would expect in october. it was quite wet earlier on across some western parts of the uk, but the weather front, which you can barely see on the weather map here, here it is out towards the east at this time in the afternoon, it's falling apart, so i think it really is that mixture of sunny spells and just fleeting showers on the wind. and it's a mild wind out there. temperatures typically 14—16 celsius. but it is quite strong in the north—west, and it will continue to blow strong through the course of the night, blowing in further atlantic showers into western scotland, parts of northern ireland, but for many of us the skies will be generally clear overnight. despite that, it is still going to be mild. 12 celsius in the south. maybe nine celsius, no lower than that, in some of the northern towns and cities. again a blustery day in the north—west tomorrow, with further heavy showers. just a scattering of showers elsewhere. and another mild day in the south. this time only 15 celsius. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: britain's chancellor, rishi sunak, is promising "investment across the board in public services" in his budget on wednesday as part of a plan to rebuild the economy.