The World Tonight

The Chancellor announced £70bn worth of public spending and £40bn worth of tax rises. Spending on the NHS is up, but so are employers’ national insurance contributions, which analysts warn will be passed on to workers. We hear from the government and the Conservative opposition and explore what the Budget means for you and how it will define the next five years of Labour government.

Also tonight:

The World Tonight’s James Coomarasamy speaks to voters in Wisconsin, one of the most tightly contested swing states, ahead of the US presidential elections.

Half a century after the Rumble in the Jungle, George Foreman remembers his iconic clash with Muhammad Ali.

The government has announced on the eve of Labour’s first budget in 14 years that the National Living Wage will be increased. We hear from Shevaun Haviland, the British Chambers of Commerce’s director-general, on what this could mean for employers.

Also in the programme: staffers and subscribers are protesting against The Washington Post’s decision not to endorse a candidate in the presidential election, one week before America votes.

We speak to a former head of the Oregon Hospice Association about why she went from opposing to supporting the right to assisted dying.

And Buena Vista Social Club musician Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal has died at the age of 91. We speak to producer Nick Gold about Mirabal’s music and the group’s legacy.

Israel's parliament has passed two laws banning the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unwra) from operating in the country. We speak to an Israeli MP who backed the ban.

Also in the programme:

The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the cap on bus fares will rise from £2 to £3 after this week’s Budget. We hear how this has gone down with commuters and talk to Labour's West of England Mayor Dan Norris.

We speak to former Barack Obama campaign manager Jim Messina about controversial comments made at a Donald Trump rally.

And should magicians ever reveal their secrets?

One of the world's most prolific online child abusers has been jailed for life, after one of his victims killed herself. We ask whether the government and tech companies could be doing more to tackle so-called "catfishing" online.

Also tonight:

As Kamala Harris and Donald Trump descend on Texas with the US presidential race neck and neck - the World Tonight's James Menendez is live there.

The broadcaster and disability rights activist Sir Tom Shakespeare on why he's urging MPs to back the move to legalise assisted dying.

And as France is gripped by nostalgia at the release of a new biopic about Charles Aznavour - we speak to the singer's son about his remarkable life.

Rachel Reeves has said the Treasury will make a technical change to the way it measures debt to allow the government to borrow more for infrastructure spending under its self-imposed fiscal rules. We hear from the chancellor as well as her critics in the Conservative party, who accuse her of fiddling the figures.

Also tonight:

The World Tonight’s James Menendez reports from San Antonio in Texas ahead of the US presidential election.

GPs tell the BBC they’re seeing record numbers of scabies cases, with people in care homes and university students particularly badly affected.

And a district attorney in the US recommends the resentencing of the Menendez brothers, convicted of murdering their parents in Beverly Hills in 1996.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said Washington has seen evidence 3,000 North Korean troops are training in Russia and may be sent to fight in Ukraine. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told the BBC the accusations were ‘nonsense’ and said that using North Korean troops would escalate the conflict.

Also tonight:

Turkey says five people have been killed in what officials are calling a terror attack on a state-owned aerospace firm.

Geoff Capes, the three-time Olympian who was twice crowned the world's strongest man, has died at the age of 75.

And The World Tonight’s James Menendez speaks to voters on either side of the Mexican border ahead of the US presidential election.

(Picture: Kim Jong Un inspects the 2nd Corps of North Korean army, October 17, 2024 Credit: KCNA via REUTERS)

As France becomes the first EU country to openly welcome Russian military deserters - we speak to one of the initial group to arrive. The former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps tells us Britain should now also take in Russian soldiers who refuse to fight in Ukraine.

Also on the programme:

We hear how today's mass prisoner release went down - and ask whether it'll be the last.

The former boss of one America's biggest clothing chains - Abercrombie and Fitch - has been arrested on sex trafficking charges. We ask: can the company survive?

And the musician Hak Baker on his journey from the Southwark Cathedral choir - via prison - to Glastonbury and the Royal Albert Hall.

Metropolitan Police firearms officer Martyn Blake has been found not guilty of the murder of Chris Kaba. Blake shot the 24-year-old dead during a police stop in Streatham, south London in 2022. Kaba’s family said the verdict was "painful proof that our lives are not valued by the system". We’re joined by Chris Kaba’s local MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy.

Also tonight:

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken heads to Israel as part of his eleventh visit to the Middle East since the October 7th attacks.

Nine years after one of Brazil's worst environmental disasters, a mass civil claim begins at the High Court in London. We speak to one of the claimants.

And as a New Zealand airport introduces a limit of three minutes per hug, we ask how long a good hug should last.

(Picture: People gather outside the Old Bailey after British police officer Martyn Blake was acquitted of the 2022 murder of Chris Kaba, October 21, 2024. Credit: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy)

The killing of the leader of Hamas has led to calls for a ceasefire, as fears of a winter famine grow. We hear from inside Gaza.

Also tonight:

As the Foreign Secretary David Lammy promises "cooperation" with China on a visit to Beijing, the son of Jimmy Lai, the British citizen jailed in Hong Kong for supporting democracy, urges Mr Lammy to make that conditional.

The TV presenter Mariella Frostrup on how she hopes to tackle gender inequity in the workplace as the government's new menopause employment ambassador.

And it's hot stuff: are celebrities' hot sauces driving the booming demand for spicy seasoning?

The man who led Hamas for seven years and orchestrated the October 7th attacks against Israel has been killed by the IDF. Yahya Sinwar died in a firefight in central Gaza. US President Joe Biden has spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and urged him to seize the opportunity to bring the war in Gaza to an end. Since it began the war has claimed the lives of more than 42,000 people. An air strike on a school in Jabalia on Thursday left a further 22 people dead.