one is that jacinda ardern asa played. one is that jacinda ardern as a person is very likeable and is as a person is very likeable and is a talented communicator. she gets through to people both in person and through to people both in person and through the media. i think also potentially there is an appetite for change. we are at the end of three terms of this particular government, and we see in new zealand politics that we do tend to swing at the end ofa that we do tend to swing at the end of a third term government. that is driving it. what will be at the top of the voting agenda? a number of issues have kicked off over the last few weeks. there are things like health, some hospitals are posting, you know, messages on doors saying the emergency department is so full, go elsewhere. that is a big one. housing is key. we are in a housing crisis. we have had the highest number of homeless people in the oecd number of homeless people in the 0ecd recently. those things are high on the agenda for people from new zealand. with

everyone was talking about jacinda ardern, there we re talking about jacinda ardern, there were so talking about jacinda ardern, there were so much hype, so much excitement. so, i mean, we have to put this into perspective. before jacinda ardern took the leadership, labour was only tracking at around 23% in the polls. and so she has raised their vote share from 2014, when it was 24%, to 30% this time around. and she did that in six weeks, which is quite a considerable feat. if we put her 35%, 36% of the vote together with the greens, than they are sitting on close to a block of 42% of the votes. so that is what we are in a position also to talk about —— that puts her in a position to talk about also working with winston peters. thank you so much for joining winston peters. thank you so much forjoining us, doctorjennifer curtin. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: goodness knows we need it. elmo shares the laughter with the newsday team. ben johnson, the fastest man on earth, is flying home to canada in disgrace. all the athletes should be clean going in

but only for the bbc, who has the edge, jacinda ardern, bill english? the position is this, the national party in the latest party polling is 45%. if you put labour and greens together as a bloc, they are almost parallel. neither could form a party on their own. because the new zealand first party has given no indication of which way it would go, we simply cannot predict. ok. jacinda ardern has become a political celebrity over the past six weeks. tell us, what has made her so appealing to voters ? what has made her so appealing to voters? well, she has got a little touch of the justin trudeau voters? well, she has got a little touch of thejustin trudeau effect, a great person. even behind that she has got a solid character and intellect and her ability to handle people is incredible. see, at 37, another factor, people is incredible. see, at 37, anotherfactor, she people is incredible. see, at 37, another factor, she appeals to younger people, who want something different from the policy settings of the last 30 years. see also appeal to some older peopl

jacinda ardern is 37 years of age, she is a political novice in many ways, she has been in parliament the ten yea rs, has been in parliament the ten years, but this is the biggest challenge she has ever undertaken. in recent times, in recent days, support further opposition labour party has dropped somewhat, but still labour does find itself in a better position now than it was a couple of months ago. polls opened here in new zealand about four hours ago, and they are open to the next few hours, and it is also worth pointing out that hundreds of thousands of kiwis did vote early in pre—election is, so this is a poll thatis pre—election is, so this is a poll that is capturing the public mood. just run us through the issues, what are the big debates going on there? mainly domestic issues, the economy, infrastructure, healthcare and housing, house prices in new zealand have soared in recent times, and affordability is a major issue. the main parties have promised to address that with large housebuilding programmes. immigration has been on the fringes of the campaign, the national par

jacinda ardern did have the support of the youth, the labour party offered to pay for tertiary education for stu d e nts pay for tertiary education for students in new zealand. cheering and applause we're just seeing the christchurch central polling, which is where we are, and the labour candidate is going to go against the tide and perhaps take away this seed for labour. we will leave it there, thank you very much indeed. some quite exuberant new zealand voters behind her! tens of thousands of people in puerto rico have been ordered to immediately evacuate an area because a dam is threatening to burst. parts of the 90—year—old barrier have been broken by the weight of water after days of heavy rain following hurricane maria. andrew plant reports. after days of heavy rainfall, severe damage to this dam has sent torrents of water searching downstream, causing flash flooding four miles down river. 70,000 people in several populated areas told to evacuate from here, but information from puerto rico has been unreliable, and it's unclear how many people are still in danger here. is everyb

ardern. joining me from nelson, on new zealand's south island, is our correspondent, phil mercer. is itfairto is it fair to say this is a more exciting election in new zealand than normal? if you would have asked me that question a couple of months ago, labour were in the coal drams. then along came jacinda ago, labour were in the coal drams. then along camejacinda ardern and she has almost single—handedly revived labour's electoral chances and they now have a fighting chance of forming the next government. 37 yea rs of of forming the next government. 37 years of age, a political novice in many ways. she has been in parliament for ten years but this is the biggest challenge she has taken. in recent times, support for labour party has dropped but still labour finds itself in a far better position than it was in a couple of months ago. polls opened about four hours ago and they are open for the next few hours. it is worth pointing out that hundreds of thousands of kiwis voted early in pre—e

ardern. i spoke with the bbc‘s phil mercer — who is in nelson — on new zealand's south island. i asked him if it was fair to say that this particular election was proving to be more exciting than normal? if you had asked me that question a couple of months ago, labour were in the doldrums and were suffering poor polling results. along camejacinda ardern, she was appointed leader towards the end ofjuly and she has almost single—handedly revived their electoral chances. they now have a fighting chance of forming the next government. she is 37 years of age, she is a political novice in many ways. she has been in parliament for ten yea rs ways. she has been in parliament for ten years that this is the biggest challenge she has ever undertaken and in recent times and recent days, port of the opposition labour party has dropped somewhat but still, labour does find itself in a better position now than it was a couple of months ago —— support of the opposition labour party. polls opened f

the incumbent prime minister bill english is fighting a stiff challenge from jacinda ardern, who only took charge of the centre—left labour party last month. neither party is expected to win an overall majority, so it's likely there will be coalition government. dozens of migrants are missing, feared dead, after a boat capsized off the coast of libya's western city of zuwara. it happened on wednesday but pictures have emerged for the first time today of the aftermath. libya's western coastline is a popular transit route used by economic migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers from mostly sub—sa ha ran african countries. 0ur north africa correspondent rana jawad reports. these are the remains of a flimsy vessel that packed the hopes of over 100 men, women and children who thought they could start a new life if they risked the illegaljourney through the waters of libya. instead, most of them died. local officials told the bbc that 35 migrants were rescued in the early hours of wednesday. these men survived being adrift for five days along the western coastline. with no fuel, an overc

ardern, who only took charge of the centre—left labour party last month. earlier, lisa davies, a reporter for television new zealand news, joined me from a labour party gathering in christchurch and told me more about the labour candidate. this room is packed with labour supporters but it doesn't look like the night is going as they hugged. the government is up 60% with just 40% of the vote counted and some are saying this could give them enough seats to govern alone. 0ften saying this could give them enough seats to govern alone. often in new zealand governments have to form a coalition to take power but the reason there was a jubilant mood in christchurch, it looks like the labour candidate will take this. he has been dubbed by crusader, helping compatriots who have been struggling with insurance issues since the earthquake in 2011. abortion laws that punish women who have illegal terminations with life in prison should be scrapped, according to an organisation representing many of the uk's childbirth doctors. the royal college of obstetricians and gynae

labour had ridden the high of jacinda—mania, but it was not enough to rein in the national party. i know we gave it our all. volatile polls suggested a neck and neck race til the end. the national party pulled ahead early and maintained its distance. thank you for the opportunity, as your leader, to debate intensively and consistently with new zealanders about how this country can do so much better. but with just 46% of the vote, new zealand's first veteran politician holds the main cards. we're not going to rush out and make decisions and all sorts of statements. in fact, we will not be giving any answers tonight or until we have had a full chance to talk to the new zealand board. the green party leader has urged mr peters to side with them and labour. it would give them the required total of 61 seats in the house. with special votes still to come, negotiations may take some time. but the fate of bill english will be at the hand of kingmaker winston peters. the third invictus games — a sporting tournament founded by britain's prince harry, for wounded and injured servicemen and