house of representatives is hereby declared vacant. and with that, kevin mccarthy's nine—month term as speaker was over. the final straw — his decision to do a deal with democrats to keep the government open. he didn't hesitate to point the finger of blame at the eight republicans who ousted him, led by matt gaetz, his nemesis. look, you all know matt gaetz. you know, it was personal. it had nothing to do about spending. the unprecedented removal of the speaker has left congress in chaos. so much so, they've decided to take a week off while they work out what to do next. one rebel, though, was unrepentant. this was the right call. the american people deserve a leader and a speaker who will tell the truth, and so too does the international community. they need to know that the next speaker is going to be honest and won't go back on their word. with republicans focusing firmly on themselves, the question of funding for ukraine, which congress controls, remains undecided. it does worry me. and... but i know there are a majority of members of the house and senate in both parties who have said that they support funding ukraine, house speaker. the president was also asked if he had any advice for the next speaker. he could barely keep a straight face. that's above my pay grade. while some candidates have begun the frantic process of gathering support, others have suggested an extraordinary alternative option, given the speaker doesn't have to be a member of the house. a lot of people have been calling me that, speaker. all i can say is we'll do whatever is best for the country. congress has only agreed to fund the government for another six weeks with republicans at one another�*s throats. extending that has now become much harder. gary o'donohue, bbc news. let's go to los angeles now where we can speak to jeffery a jenkins. he's a professor of public policy, political science and law at the university of southern california. a warm welcome to the programme. give us your take then on the situation that we are in in congress, of course we have a couple of names now who could be the net next speaker of the house. your thoughts? it speaker of the house. your thoughts?— speaker of the house. your thou~hts? , , . thoughts? it is unprecedented. i have never— thoughts? it is unprecedented. i have never seen _ thoughts? it is unprecedented. i have never seen anything - thoughts? it is unprecedented. i have never seen anything likei i have never seen anything like this in the more than 200 years of us house history. we have never vacated the speakership before, so there really are no priors that we can go on, and in terms of trying to create addictions. as you mentioned, there are two people throwing their hat in the ring at this point. steve scalise, the majority leader from louisiana, andjim majority leader from louisiana, and jim jordan, who is the chairman andjimjordan, who is the chairman and and jim jordan, who is the chairman and judiciary committee and a member of the caucus. they represent two very different sets of ideals. skill is is an insider and probably has the advantages right now —— scalise. he would be the front—runner. jordan would capture a lot of members on the right, and he is a force to be reckoned with. it is possible we may see some additional people enter the fray. one person that has been mentioned is kevin from oklahoma. herne is kevin from oklahoma. herne is the chair of the republican group and he is more of a business leader. so he offers something that is very different that what scalise and jordan offer, and we may find, when we eventually get to a nomination, we may find five or six names thrown into the hat. it is a very tricky scenario because we saw how difficult it was to get kevin mccarthy in this role initially. so many votes and a bit of an impasse for several days in congress. will one of these contenders be able to bring together the republican party, which is what is really required here?- is really required here? well, there is getting _ is really required here? well, there is getting a _ is really required here? well, there is getting a majority - is really required here? well, | there is getting a majority and there is getting a majority and there is getting a majority and there is bringing together of there is bringing together of the party. so somebody will eventually get a majority. the question is, for those individuals in the republican party who vote for somebody else vote for the loser and nomination battle, will they come home and support the winning candidate on the floor? we already know that eight people were willing to vacate the speakership if more than eight people decide that they want to hold out and not support the republic, the new republican nominee, on house floor, then that will head into chaos again. floor, then that will head into chaos again-— floor, then that will head into chaos again. what impact this is havin: chaos again. what impact this is having on — chaos again. what impact this is having on the _ chaos again. what impact this is having on the general- chaos again. what impact this | is having on the general public in america in terms of their perception of how capitol hill is running?— perception of how capitol hill is running? most people don't like congress _ is running? most people don't like congress to _ is running? most people don't like congress to begin - is running? most people don't like congress to begin with, l like congress to begin with, right. congress does not have a good reputation. they certainly can't help it and it doesn't help the reputation of the republican party. it is still a long way till the november 2a elections, so if the republicans can get their house in order, if they can elect a new speaker and that speaker can at least get through the 118th congress without too many more crazy things happening, then maybe things won't be so bad. �* ~ bad. all right. well, we will certainly — bad. all right. well, we will certainly cover _ bad. all right. well, we will certainly cover every - bad. all right. well, we will certainly cover every twist l bad. all right. well, we will i certainly cover every twist and turn. jeffreyjenkins, thank you so much, from the university of southern california. let's now move on to former president donald trump. he appeared in court on the third day of his civil fraud trial in new york. the new york attorney general accuses mr trump, his two adult sons, and the trump organization of falsifying financial records and fabricating the value of key assets, including apartment buildings and hotels. our north america correspondent nada tawfik reports from new york. donald trump left the court here in new york in the afternoon, flying back to mar—a—lago, and he is not expected to return back for the rest of the week. now, he did sit through the morning's proceedings and took the opportunity several times to address the cameras that were assembled outside of the courtroom. he again slammed the whole system, the judge and the attorney general herself as corrupt. well, latitia james had her own words for donald trump. after he left, she declared that the donald trump show was over. and the attorney general said that his entire presence here had been nothing more than a political stunt and fundraising stop, and she vowed that she would not be bullied and called his comments offensive. meanwhile, inside the courtroom, there were few heated moments. the judge at one point clearly becoming agitated, he pounded his fist on the bench and said that it was ridiculous that the defence was basically stringing out and dragging out their questioning and he said that there was no jury present, so he questioned why they were performing in that way. well, that elicited a response from donald trump who threw his hands up, and was clearly exasperated. the defence team, though, said they needed to take that line of questioning because they accused the witness of being evasive. it is important to remember that donald trump has already lost the core of this case when the judge ruled last week that he did commit fraud. well, today, we saw that his legal team has formally now filed a notice of appeal. they said they will be challenging every aspect of thejudge's ruling. that trial is currently in new york. let's get some of the day's other news now. the authorities in the northeast indian state of sikkim have set up around 20 relief camps in the areas that have seen the most destruction after wednesday's flash floods. at least ten people have been killed and more than 80 remain unaccounted for, including 22 soldiers. officials say around 15,000 people have been affected after heavy rain caused a glacial lake to overflow in a mountainous area near the chinese border. storm koinu has made landfall at the southern tip of taiwan as a category 4 typhoon, generating record winds of up to 340km/h — that's around 210 miles per hour. flights have been cancelled and schools have been shut. many workplaces have also been closed as heavy rain and winds sweep across the region. european union leaders have welcomed an agreement between member states on asylum and irregular migration. the pact on migration and asylum seeks to relieve the pressure on gateway countries, such as italy and greece, by relocating some migrants to other eu states. countries not wanting to accept their share will be required to pay other nations to do so. the fraud trial of the man known as �*the crypto king' has got under way in new york. 31—year—old sam bankman—fried is accused of stealing billions of dollars from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange, ftx. he denies the charges. we will have more on that in our business coverage. rishi sunak has used a major speech to declare that politics isn't working as it should, and he's the man to change it. addressing the conservative party conference, he set out a raft of measures, including the controvresal scrapping of the northern leg of the hs2 rail line and new qualifications in england. our political correspondent vicky young reports. for some, it was the announcement they had been dreaming of after weeks of speculation. rishi sunak finally confirmed hs2 wouldn't after all run from birmingham to manchester. i after all run from birmingham to manchester.— after all run from birmingham to manchester. i am ending this long-running — to manchester. i am ending this long-running saga. _ to manchester. i am ending this long-running saga. i— to manchester. i am ending this long-running saga. i am - long—running saga. i am cancelling the rest of the hs2 project. in its place, we will reinvest every single penny. his alternative is to fund hundreds of projects, upgrading roads, new drams in them than stations and electrifying train lines. the e2 bus fare in england will be extended until the end of 202a. mr sunekar said he is willing to take the good decisions but not everyone is on board. the former prime minister david cameron led the criticism, calling the hs2 decision wrong. it will help to fuel the views of those who argue that we can no longer think or act for the long—term is a country, he said. but these mps representing constituencies in the northwest welcomed the news. i constituencies in the northwest welcomed the news.— welcomed the news. i think the prime minister _ welcomed the news. i think the prime minister has _ welcomed the news. i think the prime minister hasjust - prime minister hasjust announced for network north is far more exhort —— exciting, far more exhort —— exciting, far more exhort —— exciting, far more ambitious and far more important to my constituents in birmingham than hs2 ever was going to be or ever good day. it was the case whereby it was merely— it was the case whereby it was merely a — it was the case whereby it was merely a cost—cutting exercise on the — merely a cost—cutting exercise on the 36 _ merely a cost—cutting exercise on the 36 billion was going to be invested in other projects, that_ be invested in other projects, that would be a different conversation to have. we will -et conversation to have. we will get billions of extra funding for local_ get billions of extra funding for local politicians to decide on local_ for local politicians to decide on local priorities for local heapie _ on local priorities for local people so i think that is the right— people so i think that is the right decision. in people so i think that is the right decision.— people so i think that is the right decision. in the shorter term, right decision. in the shorter term. he _ right decision. in the shorter term, he wants _ right decision. in the shorter term, he wants to _ right decision. in the shorter term, he wants to make - right decision. in the shorter term, he wants to make a i term, he wants to make a significant change to the sale of cigarettes. his plan is to raise the age at which people can buy cigarettes every year. it will mean a child aged 14 today would never be allowed to buy tobacco. today would never be allowed to buy tobacc0-_ buy tobacco. smoking is the [arc est buy tobacco. smoking is the largest preventable - buy tobacco. smoking is the largest preventable cause i buy tobacco. smoking is the j largest preventable cause of ill health, disability and death in the uk. we can entirely stop it if people were able not to be addicted in the first place. able not to be addicted in the first place-— first place. after a year in the 'ob first place. after a year in the job and _ first place. after a year in the job and with - first place. after a year in the job and with his - first place. after a year in the job and with his party| first place. after a year in i the job and with his party leg watching in the polls, rishi sunak has been facing calls from some of his own mps to set out a more radical vision for the future. now on health, education and transport, the prime minister has given them something to talk about. vicky young, bbc news. yes, and there is a lot of talking going on, that is for sure. so where is the £36 billion for network north actually going? actually not all of it will be spent in the north of england. our reporter meghan owen explains. today, the prime minister said by scrapping that second part of hs two, the government will be able to save £36 billion. north. —— that money will be used for what he called network north. this is a series of transport projects across the uk. here we see the previous route and here is where we see improved railway, bus and road links across england. but what about the money behind it? well, we know that £19.8 billion will be allocated to the north, and this will be used on projects such as a new station in bradford and a new connection to manchester. but it won't all be used in the north. in fact, the midlands will be given £9.8 billion, and this will be used on things like improving connections between 50 local stations, and that will cost £1.75 billion. and in the wider uk, there will be £6.5 billion allocated. spent on projects such as better rail routes between exeter to plymouth, we are also promised better access to dover on the a2 and the government want to keep the £2 bus fare cap in england. we also found out, interestingly, that £8.3 billion will be spent on pothole repairs. this is around 25% of the total allocated budget. but crucially, in addition to this budget, the government will also spend £12 billion improving links between liverpool and manchester — and that's not part of the network north plan. so, megan owen explaining a little more of the plans of the government announced by rishi sunak in that speech yesterday. we will unpack that further in our business coverage in 15 minutes. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news: voters will go to the polls in the rutherglen and hamiltonwest by—election today. the seat was vacated after former snp mp margaret ferrier breached covid rules during lockdown. both labour and the snp are hoping to secure a major boost ahead of the next general election with a victory in the south lanarkshire seat. figures from the property website rightmove suggest monthly rents in britain, excluding london, have reached another record high. the average for the third quarter of this year was £1,278 — 10% higher than at the same time last year. these figures were higherfor london. it's the 15th consecutive quarter a record has been reached. doctors in england are being encouraged to ask people with a mental health problem about their gambling habits when they come for an nhs appointment. more details on that story on our website. you're live with bbc news. pope francis has warned the world is "collapsing" due to climate change and may be "nearing breaking point". at the start of a three—week summit of catholic church leaders, the pope criticised global decision—making bodies for being ineffective, for being ineffective. our religion editor aleem maqbool has more from the vatican. it's been an eventful day here at vatican city. it started with pope francis presiding over mass here in st peter's square, and then the beginning of synod, a major gathering of catholics from around the world — mainly bishops but some laypeople as well and for the first time women, who will be spending the next 26 days considering some of the key questions about how the catholic church moves forward. and then at lunchtime, pope francis published a major document on climate change. it is an issue that the pope has talked about throughout the ten years of his papacy. in fact, in 2015 he published an encyclical — that is the highest level of document that a the that is the highest level of document that a the pope can publish — on the issue of environment, where he called for much more to be done. this really was an assessment of what has happened since then and it was pretty bleak and he did not mince his words. he was critical of global governing bodies, saying they were ineffective. he did praise some of the agreements that have been made at initiatives like the cop meetings, but said that often the recommendations were very vague, there weren't enough sanctions for those countries who did not abide by the agreements. countries who didn't abide by the agreements. he was critical of politicians who denied climate change and acted too slowly to, in his words, risk looking like they were doing diversionary tactics rather than actually doing what was right for the globe. but he was also critical of individuals, particularly in the west, where he said the lifestyle — and he talked about the us in particular — meant that climate change was still a perilous issue to deal with and unless there was a change in that lifestyle, then things were heading in a very bleak direction. and he talked about the fact that, already, some of the impact of climate change was irreversible and the need for much more urgency of dealing with the issue. the men's cricket world cup starts in india today and the hosts are favourites to lift the title. the love of the sport runs deep in india, in a small village, an enthusiastic girls' cricket team is breaking traditions and dreaming big. our south asia correspondent samira hussain reports from punjab. the pure joy of cricket... screaming these players are part of the gulab cricket academy — all girls, all from neighbouring villages, and all heart. in rural communities, girls don't usually get these kinds of opportunities. screaming they are the lucky ones, playing on a cricket pitch in the heart of farm country. hersim has been on the team since it started four years ago. she plays with passion, and dreams of making it big. translation:— translation: when we are -la in: a translation: when we are playing a match. _ translation: when we are playing a match, i _ translation: when we are playing a match, i feel- translation: when we are playing a match, i feel like l playing a match, ifeel like i'm wearing a jersey for team india. when i play, ifeel only one thing — that i am not playing for india now, but i will play for india's cricket team some day. there's a lot more happening here thanjust girls there's a lot more happening here than just girls playing cricket. they're also breaking with tradition. they're building confidence both on and off the pitch. and they're also changing people's mindsets in terms of what girls can do. gulab wanted to be a professional cricketer, but lacked opportunity and resources. so he started this plucky little team — free of cost — to encourage these girls to dream beyond the boundaries of their rural communities. translation:— of their rural communities. translation: , ., translation: mostly in indian villaues, translation: mostly in indian villages. girls _ translation: mostly in indian villages, girls are _ translation: mostly in indian villages, girls are not _ villages, girls are not permitted to go outside their homes. now, we are also able to have matches between girls and boys. that makes them proud of themselves. now, they're able to tell their parents, "i can do it." for a few hours a day, they are free from societal pressures, and able to just be kids. samira hussain, bbc news. one of britain's legendary film producers, jeremy thomas — who is the genius behind such classics as the oscar—winning the last emperor — has been getting a lot of attention. a film paying tribute to him has been opening up around the world. from new york, tom brook reports. music plays at age 7a, jeremy thomas has reached that point in life where tributes are being paid. with more than 60 producing credits to his name, he is one of britain's most prolific and well—liked independent producers. the erotic thriller crash, the crime movie sexy beast, and the fantasy comedy drama only lovers are alive were produced by him. in 1988, the last emperor won nine academy awards, including for thomas himself. coming from a successful film—making family, he's often given his backing to stories away from the mainstream. the great rock'n'roll swindle was one of thomas' co—productions in 1980. interestingly, nobody really knows what a film producer does. i asked jeremy thomas to explain. does. i asked jeremy thomas to ex - lain. �* does. i asked jeremy thomas to exlain. �* ., ., does. i asked jeremy thomas to exlain. ., ., . explain. i'm a sort of producer who's explain. i'm a sort of producer wh0's an _ explain. i'm a sort of producer who's an entrepreneurial- who's an entrepreneurial producer — likes some material, likes a subject, likes a director — and i'll option the book and i'll develop it myself with my own resources. and i've been like that from the beginning. and it's a way that you — you keep the control of your film you — you keep the control of yourfilm until you — you keep the control of your film until the last possible moment, you give it away. possible moment, you give it awa . ., , . , away. the documentary jeremy thomas, directed _ away. the documentary jeremy thomas, directed by _ away. the documentary jeremy thomas, directed by mark- thomas, directed by mark cousins, shows the producer driving down to the cannes film festival and — an annual ritual. he knows some of the most famous and powerful people in the movie industry, but he is not an intimidating figure. directors and actors who work with him generally really like him. among his disciples is tilda swinton, who gets quite gushy in her praise.— gushy in her praise. we're auoin gushy in her praise. we're going to — gushy in her praise. we're going to really _ gushy in her praise. we're going to really go - gushy in her praise. we're going to really go for - gushy in her praise. we're going to really go for it. gushy in her praise. we're| going to really go for it and describejeremy as some kind of manifestation human — superhuman manifestation of cinema. ., , ., superhuman manifestation of cinema. ., ., cinema. one 'ob of a film producer— cinema. one “0b of a film producer is _ cinema. one job of a film producer is to _ cinema. one job of a film producer is to handle - cinema. one job of a film i producer is to handle movie stars. sometimes, they can be temperamental. it's part of jeremy thomas' job to calm things down. jeremy thomas' “0b to calm things down._ things down. i'm principally very good _ things down. i'm principally very good at _ things down. i'm principally very good at dealing - things down. i'm principally very good at dealing with i very good at dealing with people who need attention and help throughout making a film, which is very intense. and you have to be very forgiving of the frailties of people under stress when you make films, otherwise it can be — a producer needs to keep the group like that for the best results, in my opinion. this tribute to — results, in my opinion. this tribute to jeremy _ results, in my opinion. this tribute to jeremy thomas i results, in my opinion. this| tribute to jeremy thomas in results, in my opinion. this tribute tojeremy thomas in new york reminds us that he has worked with some of the world's greatest film—makers. figures such as david cronenberg, bernardo bertolucci, stephen frears and nicolas roeg, to mentionjust frears and nicolas roeg, to mention just a few. with them, he's created excellent, memorable cinema. when it comes to the film industry today, jeremy thomas is somewhat melancholic.— jeremy thomas is somewhat melancholic. i'm having great difficulty making _ melancholic. i'm having great difficulty making films - difficulty making films independently now. i'm trying to do it, but i can't say it's easy. it's very difficult. and i'm sure i will have to make films for others in the future if i want to continue making films. �* ., ., films. although thomas may find it hard to make _ films. although thomas may find it hard to make independent - it hard to make independent films now, he's had a very successful career. to him, the secret has been not to produce films because you want to make money, but because you believe in them. �* ., money, but because you believe in them. �* . , ., . in them. i'm a film producer who hasn't _ in them. i'm a film producer who hasn't followed - in them. i'm a film producer who hasn't followed the - in them. i'm a film producer- who hasn't followed the money. i followed who hasn't followed the money. ifollowed my who hasn't followed the money. i followed my taste. who hasn't followed the money. ifollowed my taste. and who hasn't followed the money. i followed my taste. and that gave off an impression to those that it will work, because it's my true nature. and somehow, that became successful. thomas is most definitely _ that became successful. thomas is most definitely a _ that became successful. thomas is most definitely a survivor, - is most definitely a survivor, and many in the film industry would agree that british cinema has been all the richerfor his prodigious contributions over the last 55 years. tom brook, bbc news. next — we've got all the top business stories. we'll get the business stories. we'll get the business take on the news about transport in the north, and also the deepfake meme. i'll be backin also the deepfake meme. i'll be back in a moment. hello there. some of you may be forgiven for thinking that summer has returned this weekend. yes, for some of you, the weather is set to get a lot warmer. but before you get there, at the moment, cloud is thickening to our west and we have rain on the way as well for quite a few. now we're starting to see rain edge into northern ireland. that's going to be turning steadier and heavier over the next few hours, but some patches of rain also for the southwest of scotland, the north—west of both england and wales. with extensive cloud around, it's a mild start to thursday morning, with temperatures into double figures widely. but across the northern half of scotland, with some clearer skies here — we're starting on a chilly note. now, through thursday, this low pressure is the system that's bringing the rain. so it's going to be quite windy. you can see some fairly tightly packed isobars there. the rain at its heaviest in the morning across northern ireland. that wetter weather then swings across scotland, northern england, wales and some damp weather too, for the midlands for a time, east anglia and southern parts of england probably staying dry until after dark, with some bright spells coming through the cloud. and for many areas of the uk, temperatures are running above average. now eventually you might see a little bit of rain thursday evening trickling down across parts of southern england and east anglia, but it won't really amount to very much. on into friday's forecast, we've got another zone of rain pushing into western scotland. the rain now clearing further southwards as this ridge of high pressure starts to build in, and that should mean that the weather becomes increasingly dry. there'll be a bit more sunshine to go around and those temperatures are creeping up — 22 in london, while the average for this time of the year in the capital is 16 degrees. now, the process of that high pressure really starting to flex its muscles continues into the weekend. pushing the band of rain ever further northwards across scotland where it could be quite wet across northern areas of scotland on saturday. otherwise, lots of sunshine around and those temperatures climbing. well, we could see highs of 26, maybe a 27 this weekend in the very warmest areas. certainly those temperatures are a long, long way above average. and if we look at temperatures in october — now, we often see the highest temperatures in a month getting to the low 20s, but it's quite rare to see temperatures up to 26 or 27. that would make it one of the hotter days that we've seen in october in this country. and that's not part of the network north plan. live from london, this is bbc news. dominating data: uk regulators to call for an investigation of cloud computing on fears amazon and microsoft have too much power over the market. also coming up, changing track: the uk government swings the axe on hs2, but promises billions in funding for road and rail across the country. plus: me, myself...and ai? you will be able to earn income every day without any hassle. how fraudsters are using some familiarfaces to push investment scams online. hello, and a warm welcome. i am sally bundock, and time for the top business stories, starting in the uk. in the next couple of hours, the media regulator ofcom is expected to call for an investigation into cloud computing. we are talking about the vast it centres where we all store our data. ofcom is worried the market has become dominated by two companies — amazon and microsoft — allowing them to charge too much. according to ofcom, amazon and microsoft have as much as 70% of the cloud market in the uk —