Americans will head to the polls in 17 days to decide how the rest of Donald Trump’s presidency will play out.

Thousands of races are taking place across the US, at different levels of government, on 3 November. But the main event for voters will be electing members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the two chambers that make up Congress. Both of them are currently controlled by the Republicans, the president’s party.

The success or failure of Trump’s final two years in office could rest on the outcome.

The BBC examines the key battleground states and what the Republicans and Democrats are doing to win these crucial midterms.

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#US #Midterms #BBCNews

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Farmland in Iceland is limited, but the country has an abundance of heat, water and clean electricity. Tech Now’s Adrienne Murray …

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Is Washington leaving Saudi Arabia to fend for itself?

Last week, Houthi rebels launched a series of missile strikes on Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. Surveillance footage showed a fireball erupting as airport passengers ran for cover. At least fourteen people have been killed and hundreds were injured.

The attack is the latest escalation in a decade-long war between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in neighbouring Yemen. The Saudis have long relied on financial, military and intelligence support from the United States, particularly in their fight against the Houthis. But Washington so far has shown little appetite for direct involvement in the fighting.

So why is the United States holding back? And what does that mean for the people caught in the middle?

The BBC’s chief international investigations correspondent, Nawal Al-Maghafi, recently reported from inside Yemen and joins The Global Story’s Asma Khalid to discuss why this conflict is escalating and what might happen next.

Timecodes:
0:00 Are the US going to join the Saudi fight against the Houthis?
1:21 Introduction to Nawal Al-Maghafi who talks us through the situation
4:31 How have Saudi Arabia responded?
7:35 Who are the Houthis?
9:39 Why has the US historically backed Saudi Arabia?
13:15 The unpopularity of the Saudi/Yemen war
17:00 Why has fighting re-started since the ceasefire?
18:00 Nawal’s visit to Taiz
21:58 Are the Houthi’s feeling more emboldened to fight?

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A Kenyan judge has started to deliver a verdict in a mass murder case involving doomsday preacher Paul Mackenzie.

Mackenzie and 29 of his followers are being charged with the murder of 191 people, all but one of them children.

His cult is alleged to have forced children to starve to death so that they could “meet Jesus”.

Mackenzie and the 29 others have all pleaded not guilty to murder, repeatedly insisting that nobody was forced to die.

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For people who are blind or visually impaired, and for workers in trades such as construction, smart glasses can offer hands-free …

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