welcome to bbc news, broadcasting at home and around the globe. i'm lebo diseko. our top stories: a new leaderfor hong kong is being selected right now — despite protests against the lack of democracy. the us admits that coalition aircraft did strike an area of mosul where many civilians were killed last week. hundreds arrested in belarus as protests continue against a tax on the under—employed on landmarks all around the planet, lights go out for earth hour — to raise awareness of climate change. the new leader of hong kong will be chosen shortly, in a vote dismissed by pro—democracy activists as a sham.

around 1,000 people took to the streets in a pro—democracy march ahead of the election. there are three candidates to succeed the outgoing leader cy leung. his deputy, carrie lam, is beijing's choice for the top job. her main rival, former finance chiefjohn tsang, is the public‘s favourite. the final candidate is retired judge woo kwok—hing. the bbc‘sjuliana liu is at the count in hong kong. the voting is happening in the building just behind me. the general public do not have a say in stead of the voters are a group of less than 1200 people largely loyal to the chinese government. the result is expected around noon local time. 600 votes are needed to wind and the

clear front runner is carrie lam, widely perceived as the preferred candidate of ageing and there is still a series of direct and indirect statements to local media in support of her by pro— beijing media. barring any last—minute surprise or scandal she is expected to be named hong kong's next chief executive. the pentagon has acknowledged that american—led coalition fighter jets struck a location in the iraqi city of mosul where many civilians were killed. us central command says iraqi military requested the attack against islamic state militants. 0ur middle east editor, jeremy bowen, is near the front line. he sent this report. thousands of people have arrived, have walked out of those parts of mosul still controlled by islamic state — and it's a big area — in the last couple of days. and they've arrived really with just the clothes they're standing up in, and maybe a few spare odds and ends.

they need food, they need water, they need shelter. it's a massive humanitarian challenge, and it's not nearly as big as the one that may be coming literally down that road in the next weeks. from where the black smoke is, which is where the islamic state positions are here in mosul. they are apparently 800 metrs, a kilometre dow nthat way. they are apparently 800 metres, a kilometre dow nthat way. explosions. this is very much a theatre of war. the people who have been coming in have been talking about what they have been through. they have talked about air strikes that have come in in the last few days and killed, as well as killing people from is, have killed hundreds of civilians. they have complained that the jihadists have used them as human shields. but they have also, in tears and anger, spoken very bitterly about the effects of air strikes on civilians.

i spoke to multiple witnesses who said that there are perhaps hundreds of bodies still lying in the rubble, that people cannot get to. if you take it all together, the effect of the war, the wounded, the dead — military and civilians — and the massive humanitarian needs of the people who have been displaced by the fighting, it comes together as a great big humanitarian emergency and it is worsened by the fact that it is happening in the country that was already broken into pieces by war. it is a huge challenge and it is really hard to think of a bigger one anywhere in the world at the moment. jeremy bown, bbc news tel be what do you make of the

wording of the statement from the us military — it is like they almost said they were in the area but stops short of taking responsibility? said they were in the area but stops short of taking responsibility7m sounds like the target packet, the intelligence was provided by iraqis and if you look at the western side of mosul, a population of 1.2 million, only 300,000 have left the city. say you have around 900,000 sunnis still in mosul. the majority in the western side. you can assume there are civilians in buildings if

you get intelligence. the more civilians by more it helps isil. it is their centre of gravity. is it an error in terms of the intelligence on the park of the iraqis?” error in terms of the intelligence on the park of the iraqis? i do not think it was an error. they do not ca re if think it was an error. they do not care if there were civilian casualties. mosul is the first city with more than 50,000 civilians in it. this is the first time a military operation has gone in inner city with more than 50,000. they have done it before and they have demonstrated the same tactics but there are more people here so more casualties. it is a very strong statement that i worked with them a lot. i spent time in iraq,

specifically to ascertain targets. security forces so this is not a surprise for those embedded in the predominantly shia army. and especially the federal police. in terms of the us led coalition and their relationship with people on their relationship with people on the ground, their communities, this must be terrible? we do not have enough americans are there. we have probably 500 advisers and that it within the iraqi special operations forces and police. we cannot get american eyes on target so we are relying on skewed intelligence reports from predominantly shia forces. i know that sounds bad but you did not drop a bomb on a building because there is a sniper in it. because there are probably

hundreds of civilians in it. the more you on western mosul you will kill civilians. eastern mosul was a different thing. all be civilians are in western mosul. what confidence ge think people will have foran confidence ge think people will have for an investigation? —— to you. confidence ge think people will have for an investigation? -- to you. the operation has come to a halt. they have to have control of the territorial to do that investigation. but they also have to talk to the iraqi government fall bad intelligence, and i put that in quotes. you have no reason to drop a

bomb in bad. it is not help you when you are part of a mass civilian casualties producing event. —— to dropa bomb casualties producing event. —— to drop a bomb in mosul. in other news: a gunman who killed one person and injured another has surrendered to police, after barricading himself inside a bus on the main strip in las vegas. the standoff began near the cosmopolitan hotel casino. part of the las vegas boulevard was closed after the shooting. uber technologies has suspended its pilot programme for driverless cars, after a vehicle equipped with the technology crashed on a road in arizona. the accident is the latest involving a self—driving vehicle operated by one of several companies experimenting with them. no one was seriously injured. china has lifted a ban on meat imports from brazil, imposed after federal police closed plants and accused senior inspectors of taking bribes to approve unsafe produce. more than twenty countries have

imposed restrictions on brazilian meat products over the past week. british police say they may never know what motivated the man who killed four people in central london on wednesday. khalid masood deliberately drove his car into pedestrians on westminster bridge before killing a police officer on duty at the houses of parliament. a former head of london's metropolitan police has called for changes to security at westminster as a result of the attack. our home affairs correspondent june kelly reports. minutes after the terrorist attack in the precincts of the palace of westminster. 0n the ground is constable keith palmer, who was stabbed to death. his killer, khalid masood, has been shot to death by police. meanwhile, armed officers stationed here have left the scene to investigate the gates, where masood's car has mounted the pavement and crashed. the gates, meanwhile,

have been left unguarded and wide open. anyone could have got through. an understandable error according to a former head of scotland yard, who nevertheless leaves that in the future security here will have to be more stringent. i'm absolutely certain that there will have to be a review now of the outer soft rim. always behind it is the inner core of armed officers, but pc keith palmer has paid for his life for that soft outer rim and i think his family, at least, and everyone else, need reassurance that this will be reviewed. the bbc has obtained new footage of the police response. a fleet of cars carrying teams of marksmen racing down the embankment. this was shortly after khalid masood's trail of carnage which began on westminster bridge. questions remain unanswered about his route to radicalisation. he was a violent criminal before converting to islam more than a decade ago.

one of his victims who survived, but with serious injuries, is romanian tourist andreea cristea, who was hurled into the thames. she was in london with her partner, andrei burnaz, who was also hurt. in romania, a friend paid tribute to the emergency services in london. translation: we would especially like to thank the doctors and nurses, all the medical staff, for everything they are doing to help them. today at scotland yard, police officers who were part of the emergency response laid flowers in memory of their colleague, keith palmer, who they tried to help. june kelly, bbc news. police in the belarusian capital, minsk, have arrested hundreds of people during the latest protests against a tax on the under—employed. thousands defied a government ban on demonstrations. the country's president insists the tax will not be scrapped. this report from greg dawson contains some violent scenes. the demonstrators call this freedom

day, but there was little sign of any freedom to protest when the riot police arrived. the government had banned this march, and those defying the orders were swiftly removed from the streets. anyone resisting arrest was quickly beaten into submission. protesters young and old were dragged away. human rights groups say up to 400 were detained. this man directs his anger at the country's president. alexander lukashenko has been in power since 1994 and is described by some western officials as europe's last dictator. his $230 tax on people unemployed for six months is at the centre of these protests. 0pponents say it punishes those

struggling to find work. belarus has been in recession for the past two years, suffering the knock—on effects of an economic downturn in russia. president lukashenko has suspended the tax for this year but won't scrap it, insisting it instils discipline in the workshy. translation: i'm not afraid, enough of fear. we have to come to the streets to show our discontent. we have freedom of speech in the country and we must speak. they're not giving us a chance to say a word. president lukashenko has recently talked of a plot to overthrow him, backed by foreign fighters. there have already been several weeks of protests in his country, and saturday's crackdown was a clear message that further dissent would be tolerated. greg dawson, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news — still to come...

banging the drum for the social democrats in a regional poll that could point to chancellor angela merkel‘s general election chances. let there be no more war or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. so proud of both of you. with great regret the committee have decided that south africa be excluded from the 1970 competition. streaking across the sky, the white hot wreckage from mir drew

gasps from onlookers in fiji. this is bbc news. i'm lebo diseko. the latest headlines. the new leader of hong kong will be selected shortly in a vote dismissed as a sham by pro—democracy activists. the pentagon has acknowledged that aircraft from the us—led coalition hit a district in the iraqi city of mosul where many civilians were killed. voters in the german state of saarland go to the polls today, in a regional election that's widely seen as an indication of angela merkel‘s chances of staying on as chancellor. with six months to go before the german general election, her conservatives are polling neck and neck with the social democrats

after the former european parliament president martin schulz announced he would stand against mrs merkel. jenny hill reports. not a vote cast yet but already they are on a victory march. the social democrats think saarland and germany is ready for change. translation: he is a breath of fresh air for the party. he has many new ideas and i think he can deliver them. she is talking about martin schulz, the man from brussels who has stirred up berlin. the bookseller turned politician famously beat alcohol addiction and he has angela merkel‘s conservatives on the back foot. in saarland they are fighting back. pretzel and politics at the factory gate. like angela merkel, the region's prime minister is established, well known here, but like angela merkel, she might well lose her seat.

translation: it is a challenge, yes, but that is the essence of a democracy. from now until the national election, it is all about who has got a better plan for the country and on this martin schulz has not delivered anything. we on the other hand will offer a good plan and an excellent candidate. saarland may be small but what happens here matters. translation: it is a regional election that should deal with regional issues but this time everything is different. the schulz effect is strong and this is germany's first regional election this year — the vote will be heavily influenced by national politics but the result will also affect the general election. expect some bruises. the right wing alternative for deutschland are no longer in the game. this is merkel versus schulz. translation: schulz puts too much emphasis on campaigning and criticising the other parties.

merkel is not so bad. i like that she showed her human side in the refugee crisis. translation: he comes across as authentic, he says what he thinks — people like that — but i think he cannot implement many of the things he promises. this is what schulz effect is all about. it could transform this tiny german state and it might, just might, change the very face of german politics. jenny hill, bbc news, saarland. new security measures banning large electorate devices from cabin baggage on some passenger flights arriving in the uk and the us have come into effect. laptops, tablets and large smart—phones will now have to travel in the hold on flights from turkey, parts of the middle east and north africa.

simon jones has more. wrapped up, ready for the hold. security at this airport in istanbul has just got tighter. no laptops, tablets and ereaders allowed in hand luggage on flights to the us and the uk. some passengers preparing for a long journey were not impressed. this airport is so secure. the security level is so high, compared to other airports in the rest of this part of the world. so why are they doing this from here? if you see it like this, you will say everybody can be a terrorist. it is not respectful of turkish people. i think it is not good. the countries affected by the uk laptop ban are turkey, lebanon, jordan, egypt, saudi arabia and tunisia. the us ban covers turkey, morocco, jordan, egypt, the united arab emirates, qatar, saudi arabia and kuwait. what has been worrying the us and the uk is a device like the one that blew a hole in the side of the somali airliner last year.

a small bomb in a laptop. only the bomber was killed. the theory is that a small device going off in the hold, rather than the cabin, gives the pilot a better chance of successfully leading the plane. but turkey has urged the lifting of the ban as soon as possible, saying it creates unfair competition. translation: we respect security measures. we must take security measures. security measures are more important than passengers' comfort. but if you impose security measures in one place and do not implement them in another place, we would interpret that differently. we would think that there are other intentions behind this ban. for business travellers wanting to do work, for families wanting entertainment, it is going to be a big and for many unpopular change. there is no end date for the ban, but officials say that security must be the top priority. president erdogan says turkey might hold a brexit—style referendum

on whether to pursue eu membership. turkish attempts to join the eu have been stalled since 2005. his comments come a year after the eu and turkey agreed a deal to stem the flow of migrants entering europe. but bureaucratic delays have left thousands stranded. paul adams sent this report from the greek island of kos. a year ago these waters fell silent. a deal was struck, enforcement followed. europe breathed a sigh of relief. but it's not over. on chios, the camps are overflowing once more. a surge of new arrivals joining those who have been trapped here for months. abdullah al—kiem arrived here the day the eu—turkey deal went into effect. a day earlier and he could have moved on, but he's been stuck for over a year. long enough to draw unfavourable parallels with life back home. under the control of,

isis maybe you are killed by them in any second. i just want to live like a human being. here, they let you live because there's no need to kill you. but they kill your hope, they kill your dreams. the government—run camp at vial was supposed to be a model reception centre, but secret filming from inside shows a place migrants call ‘the cage', where new arrivals are held for the first few hours. an intimidating first glimpse of europe and the start of a long bureaucratic process that seems designed to halt them in their tracks. people that expected to spend here just a few days are stranded here for months, which has impacted on the psychology of the people. they don't have the perception that tomorrow the situation will be solved. they think this thing could go on for years. the damage is not hard to find. abdul raouf left aleppo last year. injanuary, he learned his mother and sister were killed in an airstrike. he feels utterly lost.

i want a safe country for me because i have lost everything. everything... future and family. my life. the principal at the heart of the eu—turkey deal is that turkey, just over the water, is a safe place for refugees and other migrants to return to. now, the syrians in particular dispute that and say that turkey is not safe for them. a greek court is due to rule on this soon. much will depend on the outcome. for the migrants stuck on the islands, clarity is badly needed. pauladams, bbc news, chios. now, lights have been going out around the globe for earth hour. landmarks like the brandenburg gate in germany were plunged into darkness for 60 minutes to draw attention to climate change. people in berlin pedalling bicycles

to generate electricity for some late night musical entertainment. in russia more than 1,000 buildings, including the kremlin, took part in the international event. campaigners gathered by candlelight in moscow's red square to mark the tenth annual earth hour. while in the philippines, star wars fans duelled with lightsabers along manila's darkened business district. millions of people from some 170 countries are expected to take part in the symbolic gesture to save electricity. now for some daredevil action. if you're scared of heights, you might want to turn away, but for the adrenaline seekers, here's something to feast your eyes on. these are slackline enthusiasts and they've set themselves up to have some fun in the sky at a festival in an old quarry in the czech town of beroun. the lines were a0 metres off the ground and stretched out for at least 100 metres. that is all we have time for. thank you for watching. hello there, good morning.

it really was a lovely start to the weekend and there's more sunshine to come on sunday. these were saturday's blue skies, taken by a weather watcher in aboyne, aberdeenshire. here, the temperature rose to 19.1 celsius, making it the warmest day of the year so far, closely followed by west wales, northern ireland and into cumbria. we'll see similar temperatures again on sunday. but it's pretty cold out there at the moment, especially underneath that high pressure where we've got no wind to speak of. maybe one or two mist and fog patches short—lived. not as cold to the south due to the wind not blowing, but across the northern isles, we have a touch of frost already, especially chilly in the glens of scotland, parts of northern ireland too. it will warm up quickly in the sunshine. a lot of sunshine, almost wall—to—wall sunshine. still some cloud in shetland, perhaps orkney, a little bit

of lighter cloud across the english channel and some stronger winds still blowing in southern parts of england and wales. lighter winds further north. lots of sunshine across the bulk of scotland, away from the northern isles. this time the highest temperatures in scotland more likely to be further west in western scotland. across counties fermanagh and tyrone we could get up to 18. 18 possible in the north and west of wales. generally about the mid—teens. the edge taken off the sunshine by the stronger winds in southern england. it could be a touch cooler than saturday in devon and cornwall and those temperatures pegged back right on the coast with the onshore breeze. a lovely evening if you're heading to wembley for the football on sunday. but once the sun goes down we will find those temperatures falling very quickly. perhaps not quite so low, because on monday there will be a bit more cloud around, especially moving northwards into northern england and southern scotland, northern ireland. still a lovely day across the north—west of scotland.

for most of england and wales there will be some sunshine. not as windy in the south. temperatures still 16—17 degrees. not as warm where we have that cloud. we'll find things gradually change as we look towards the south—west. we push away the area of high pressure that's keeping it fine and sunny and we'll introduce some showers perhaps across northern ireland, across wales. more western parts of england further east it may well be dry and across scotland it is largely dry, but more in the way of cloud here. that's the slow theme we will develop over the weekend. cloud increasing. the chance of some rain as well. but we will have the winds more from the south, the latest headlines from bbc news. i'm lebo diseko: the new leader of hong kong is currently being chosen, in a vote dismissed as a sham by pro—democracy activists. the territory's chief executive will be selected by a specially—appointed committee of nearly 12000 people — most of them loyal to the chinese leadership. there are three candidates.

the united states military has admitted that aircraft from the american—led coalition did strike part of the iraqi city of mosul where a large number of civilians were killed. it said it had opened an investigation but accused islamic state group fighters of using civilians as human shields. police in the belarusian capital minsk have arrested activists and journalists during the latest protests against government plans to tax the under—employed. president lukashenko has agreed to suspend — but not to cancel — proposals to fine people who work less than six months a year. now on bbc news, it's time for the week in parliament.