Good morning. Its 7am in singapore, midnight in london, and 7pm on the island of barbuda, where almost all of the buildings have been destroyed by Hurricane Irma. Its one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the atlantic and right now its sweeping across the eastern carribean, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. At least ten people are known to have died. Puerto rico was also in the storms path and its from there that laura bicker reports. Hurricane irma, a storm the size of france, has carved a destructive path through the caribbean. In puerto rico, three people were killed as winds battered the island. As daylight came and the clear out began, most felt lucky to have survived such a terrifying storm. I pray god dont come here no more this family told me they felt blessed to be alive and that the only damage was a downed power line and fallen trees in their street. Theyve kept eight month old aaron safe. There is a collective sigh of relief in puerto rico. There is work to be done. Up to 30 foot waves threw up debris and downed trees. But when it comes to that catastrophic eye of the hurricane, that only skirted this island, unlike others in the caribbean. 0n the tiny island of barbuda, barely a building was left untouched. Hundreds of families now find themselves homeless. My house, i lose my home. I lose my shop. Also my vehicle. Everythings damaged. And right now, i dont have nowhere to go to sleep. We had cars flying over our heads. We had containers, 40 foot containers, flying left and right, and the story that you are getting from most of the residents here is that the eye of the storm came just in time. Persons were literally tying themselves to their roofs with ropes to keep themselves down. Barbudas Prime Minister said the island was now barely habitable. What i saw was heart wrenching. I mean, absolutely devastating. I would say that about 95 of the properties would have suffered some level of damage. In neighbouring st martin, the full force of the hurricanes eye was caught on camera. Winds of 185 mph hammered the island. More than 70,000 people live in this area, which is made of dutch and french territories. Shipping containers were tossed around like lego bricks. Moored boats were smashed in the harbour and there are warnings that the death toll is likely to rise. France has sent three emergency teams to help with the clear up and has already set up a reconstruction fund. In the british territory of anguilla, there was criticism from residents to the uk response to the hurricanes. It was labelled pathetic and disgraceful. A British Task Force is now on its way there, including the Royal Marines and army engineers, although it could take two weeks for them to get there. Efforts are also under way to try to get supplies to the island of st ba rts. The french government say their priority is making sure people have food and drinking water. And the British Virgin islands, a sought after holiday destination, is the latest place to be pummelled. The water is going up. A tropical paradise, transformed. It nearly went up and then sat there. Hurricane irma is not finished. She has maintained her wind speeds and is barrelling towards another british territory, the low lying turks caicos islands. The us Sunshine State of florida will be next in her sights. They are nervous after watching others endure her wrath. Laura bicker, bbc news, puerto rico. At least one of the deaths being blamed on Hurricane Irma happened on the british overseas territory of anguilla. 0n the line is the chief minister of anguilla, victor banks. Victor, thanks for joining victor, thanks forjoining us. Bring us victor, thanks forjoining us. Bring us up to date with the situation now. Thanks very much for having me. The situation now we are in recovery mode but at the same time we are in preparatory mode because as you know harry kane jose preparatory mode because as you know harry kanejose has taken the same path towards anguilla. Hurricane jose. Irma caused vast destruction to our territory including the private and public sector. The hospital was severely damaged to the extent of the daugherty of the rooms have there ruse lifted off the majority roofs. The government buildings, the house of the assembly, the offices of schools and another number of government buildings were severely damaged and that means we will be taking time to recover and restore those buildings. In addition to that, private homes and buildings have been damaged. Few houses havent had damage of one sort or another. The majority of the Housing Stock is concrete. But other houses are made of wood and galvanise and shingles and all that kind of stuff. 0ccasionally during a hurricane they dont do as well as concrete roofs. Weve had some damage to buildings, but for the most pa rt damage to buildings, but for the most part buildings with concrete roofs have made it. Weve had issues with windows blown out and things of that nature. Many, many lives have been saved. 0ne life has been lost asa been saved. 0ne life has been lost as a result of the hurricane. As i said before, one life lost is too many, but we are well aware of the fa ct many, but we are well aware of the fact lives have been spared. We are now preparing for hurricanejose, which is on its way, but have the same time we are trying to clear the streets and remove the debris so this does not further damage anguilla as the next storm approaches us. Apologies for interrupting, i appreciate you are in the recovery operation at the moment, and as you say, one life lost is too many. Residents have been complaining about the response of the british authorities, anguilla isa of the british authorities, anguilla is a british territory, its taking too long, would you agree with that . The country is in a state of despair and they very patient about getting assistance. They are looking forward to the British Government responding. The truth is after a devastating hurricane like lewis, it ended sometime like midafternoon yesterday, the British Government figures came in by midday today with supplies, equipment and personnel. The foreign secretary spoke to me personally yesterday afternoon. It was after the storm had passed. He pledged this support and he has also directed certain actions the taken up directed certain actions the taken up by directed certain actions the taken up by the raf. The frigate is here taking part in the critical needs of the island. Of course he made a promise of financial support. It is a reasonable level of support that is being suggested. But, as you know, in these situations, the immediate support is important. Were also looking forward to an assessment to make a determination assessment to make a determination as to what more we need, and it is considerable. I would say the response hasnt been slow, it has been timely. The government of the island has been working hard to keep up island has been working hard to keep up communications. A lot of Communication Systems are down. There is despair so we have to work on that. Victor, thanks for clarifying that. Victor banks, the chief minister of anguilla, best of luck with the recovery operation. Much more on our website. Also making news today paolo duterte, the son of the philippine president rodrigo duterte, has denied involvement in a multi Million Dollar drug smuggling operation. It comes after president duterte launched a Violent Campaign against drug crime last year and has promised to resign if any family members are involved in the trade. Paolo duterte refused to answer the questions that were put to him by a Senate Hearing but did read a prepared statement. Iam i am formally appealing in the case proceeding. 0nce i am formally appealing in the case proceeding. Once and for all i now have the time to deny any of these baseless allegations. Every dog has this day. The law of karma will operate especially to those. The us Credit Rating giant equifax says its Computer Systems have been hit by hackers, potentially affecting 143 million customers across the us. The company says the hacking took place in may and july of this year. The hackers stole data including names, addresses and Social Security numbers. Some british and canadian accounts could also have been affected. The internet retail giant amazon has announced plans to build a Second Headquarters in north america, kicking off a Competition Among cities to attract the investment. Amazon said it was seeking a city of over a Million People with an international airport, a good Education System and mass transit. Let me bring you live pictures from colombia, where the pope is celebrating mass in the capital bogota. A crowd of more than a Million People was expected for the ceremony at Simon Bolivar park. Earlier, pope francis urged colombians to reject vengeance following the countrys 50 year war with the farc rebels. And he urged young people to dream big for the countrys future. Its the first visit to colombia by a pope in more than three decades. China says it will support further measures by the un against north korea following pyongyangs nuclear test on sunday. But its unclear whether beijing will go as far as to block Oil Shipments to the country, which is what the us is demanding. It comes as us officials are quoted saying President Trump may have to settle for deterring, not disarming north korea and that theres a grave danger kim jong un could miscalculate his next moves. Im joined now from washington by Lieutenant Colonel daniel l davis, a military expert and senior fellow at the defence priorities think tank. Thank you very much forjoining us, Lieutenant Colonel. In terms of deterrence, one of the system is the us has put in place has been the terminal High Altitude defence system, or the thaad, terminal High Altitude defence system, orthe thaad, south terminal High Altitude defence system, or the thaad, south korea has installed the system, what does it do and is it enough of a deterrent against future north Korean Missiles . Thanks for having me on, i appreciate it. The thaad system has a radar to detect incoming missiles. It has a very good track record for short range and intermediate range ballistic missiles. It can go out to 200 kilometres, thats the range. The problem is when its fully operational theres only six launchers with a total of 48 missiles. When you look at the inventory of missiles and artillery and rocket artillery north korea has it really is rather inconsequential in terms of overall deterrence. I dont think thats going to be a big deterrent. There are other things we can do but thats not a big one. All right, but would you say its been overplayed, the fact china has been lodging serious protests against south korea because the us has deployed its thaad system there, theres been violent clashes over theres been violent clashes over theissue theres been violent clashes over the issue as well. There has. In south korea itself theres quite a bit of animosity. Theyjust dont wa nt bit of animosity. Theyjust dont want it. A lot of the local people dont want it there, they think i suppose it might be a magnet to draw an attack in their direction. China has a different situation and a different complaint because the radar system that comes with the thaad, while the range of the Missile System itself is 200 kilometres, the radar can see out to about 1500 kilometres. China believes rightly or only that this is like an initial part of a unified Missile Defence system that could someday target them. They believe this is something bigger thanjust north korea. Speaking of china, they are calling for further sanctions. President putin of russia says sanctions are pretty much useless and the us is hardly at the negotiating table, so how can all of these powers overcome the seeming discord over the north korean crisis . It is. Its very unfortunate because i think were missing an opportunity here from the United States because you have both russia and china adamantly opposed to a permanent Nuclear State in north korea, so they have motivation not to have north korea continue to act as they have been behaving. So china is willing to go through some negotiations. Sorry, some sanctions and negotiations, whereas russia is willing to go to negotiations. Where do we have the Common Ground . Lets start from there to find areas where we can unify our pressure on north korea. In the meanwhile the us can use its very formidable power in the region to Deter North Korea from taking any provocative actions. Thank you for your insight, Lieutenant Colonel daniel davies. All this week weve been reporting from bangladesh, where an estimated 164,000 Rohingya Muslims have now fled violence in the mainly buddhist country of myanmar. The exodus was sparked by a crackdown by Burmese Security forces after rohingya militants attacked police posts. 0ur correspondentjustin rowlatt has been to a refugee camp in teknaf near the border. They arrive barefoot, their shoes lost in the mud on the long journey here. This is an exodus on a truly massive scale. Rohingya muslims have been pouring into bangladesh from myanmar. They say the military and local buddhists are destroying their villages, after rohingya militants attacked police posts two weeks ago. The current estimate is that 164,000 have crossed over, but the truth is no one knows for certain how many have come. So weve justjoined this kind of river of humanity, because weve been told a refugee camp has sort of erupted in the field here, and thousands and thousands of people have made camp there. A un official was told there were 15,000 people here. This is what she found. She told the bbc she couldnt say how many refugees have sought shelter here. Perhaps as many as 100,000. Everyone needs food, Everyone Needs water. And everyone has a horrific story to tell. Translation my three sons were taken. I dont know where they are. I have nothing to eat. Please give me something. There are horrific images too. Villages burning, allegedly torched by soldiers from the myanmar army. Translation lots, lots, lots of people died. This is my village. First they set it on fire, and then they shot us from helicopters and from the ground. Mr shafiq saw some appalling scenes on his long trek. Bodies floating in the river, Rohingya Refugees drowned in their search for safety, he says. And then the final hurdle the barbed wire fence that marks the border with bangladesh. The bbc cannot verify any of this footage, but the stories the refugees tell are remarkably similar. And still they keep on coming. They have been driven from their homes into this, into what is a rapidly escalating humanitarian disaster. Justin rowlatt, bbc news, teknaf. You are watching newsday on the bbc. Hurricane irma is now one of the strong storms ever recorded. We will be asking if these storms are becoming more frequent. Freedom itself was attacked this morning, and freedom will be defended. The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible. Bishop tutu now becomes spiritual leader of 100,000 anglicans, here of the blacks in soweto township, as well as the whites, in their rich suburbs. We say to you today, in a loud and a clear voice, enough of blood and tears enough the difficult decision we reached together was one that required great and exceptional courage. It is an exodus of up to 60,000 people, caused by the uneven pace of political change in eastern europe. Iam free 0ut top stories this hour, Hurricane Irma hits and leaves a trail of devastation. Eastern caribbean islands were first in line for a battering. A least ten people are dead. 0ver battering. A least ten people are dead. Over 150,000 battering. A least ten people are dead. 0ver150,000 Rohingya Muslims have crossed into bangladesh in the last few weeks. Lets take a look at some front pages from around the world. We start with the china daily and its main headline a Tv Documentary series on government anticorruption measures which began airing on thursday evening. Lower down is a report on the chinese governments calling on south korea to remove the Missile System which the us has provided following a series of north Korean Missile tests. The japan times also concentrates on events in korea. Its south korean and japanese leaders agreed to push the stronger sanctions on north korea at a meeting in russia. And the daily inquirer leads on the testimony given at a Senate Hearing by one of the sons of the president. It says he has denied being involved in Drug Trafficking and has refused to co operate when asked to show cashews or sign a waiver on access to his bank accounts. Now, what stories are sparking discussions online . Take a look at this footage stills and video comparing images of st martins before and after Hurricane Irma have attracted huge interest online. Officials say the island is almost completely destroyed after the deadly storm hit. You can see that full video on our website, bbc. Com news. Lets stay with Hurricane Irma now the longest lasting category 5 super storm ever recorded, surpassing the record set by typhoon haiyan, which hit the philippines in 2013. So why has it gathered so much energy . And are these types of storm becoming more frequent . 0ur science editor David Shukman explains. So how do hurricanes become so destructive . Well the strongest like irma form off the coast of west africa. Warm waters cause the air to rise, triggering thunder storms, thats when the wind can circulate. As the weather system crosses the atlantic, it grows and becomes stronger. If the wind is moving in the same direction at all levels, as with irma, they reached devastating speeds. But then closer to the caribbean, the hurricane gets another boost as it passes over yet more warm water and Ocean Temperatures are unusually high this year, making the winds even more aggressive. On top of all this, the low pressure inside the hurricane creates a storm surge, a huge wave that strikes the coast and because Climate Change is raising the level of sea, the impact is all the greater. Earlier, i spoke with professor kevin walsh of the school of Earth Sciences at the university of melbourne and asked him whether his research pointed to any link between this seasons hurricanes and Climate Change. As far as we can determine, the main effect of Climate Change so far has been to raise the seasurface temperature somewhat and, indeed, the locations in the gulf of mexico it is clear that a warming climate has had an effect on increased temperatures in the gulf of mexico. So this will lead to increased evaporation, which would then lead to increased rainfall. The main difficulty is appalling that signal out of some very noisy observed data. Difficulty is appalling that signal out. You have been watching newsday. Stay with us why are Chinese Students eager to learn the craft of wine making . We visit an australian vineyard to find out. Winemaking may be a little too old for this young student. And before we go, let me show you these pictures of Prince George on his first day at school here in england. The four year old arrived wearing the schooljumper and navy shorts. His mother the duchess of cambridge who is pregnant with the couples third child is suffering from severe morning sickness so george was taken on his first school run by his father. Thats all for now stay with bbc world news. Hello. We are watching three hurricanes in the caribbean. Jose hot on the heels of Hurricane Irma, not quite a strong but still the potential for damaging winds of the northern leeward islands. Hurricane urban is heading towards cuba and florida by the weekend and this hurricane overhearing the gulf of mexico is making rain with a lot of damaging wind. Somewhat quieter over here at home but still an unsettled and the enter the week thanks to this unsettled area of low pressure. There will be strong winds at times particularly across southern coastal counties and so the north west of scotla nd counties and so the north west of scotland and Northern Ireland as well. Here there will be some showers from the word go. Not as many showers this first thing tomorrow across the eastern side of scotland, maybe sunshine coming through but always a lot of cloud. Showers never too far away across northern england. Spells of sunshine coming through across the northern parts of wales that there will be showers he threw the date on the showers he threw the date on the showers are getting going across South West England and across the southern coastal counties of england which will become more frequent and the rain more persistent. Showers merging, really, to give a longer speu merging, really, to give a longer spell of rain. Quite an unsettled field to the end of the week. For many northern parts of england and parts of scotland and Northern Ireland it is the day of sunshine and showers for wales, southern and central parts of england though showers becoming more frequent and merging togetherfor a showers becoming more frequent and merging together for a longer spell of rain. You could catch a rumble of thunder during the afternoon. Temperature no great shakes, somewhere between 16 and 19 celsius for most. Longer spells of rain around tomorrow evening. Slowly we start to lose the energy will be more showers around overnight so now we are reliably dry. There should be some lengthy clear spells in between the showers. A slightly fresher overnight low of 11 or 12 celsius but not for most still in double figures. An unsettled weekend with sunshine and showers on saturday. The emphasis more on dry weather and not as many showers. Again, nowhere reliably dry in the temperatures still not much higher than 18 or 19 celsius. We do it all again on sunday. Many places got off to a dry start that then in the north west something unsettled is happening here with strengthening winds and spells of rain, like to very heavy, sweeping across the country. The weekend will be wetter times, rather cool and quiet windy as well
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