hello you're watching bbc world news. hello, you're watching bbc world news. i'm ben bland. the us condemns the arrests of hundreds of protesters in russia and calls for their release. it follows mass rallies across the country and the detention of alexei navalny, one of president putin's fiercest critics. welcome to the programme. our other main stories this hour: australia's four—year inquiry into institutional abuse draws to a close. we'll be live in sydney for the latest on the landmark investigation. resident in the uk but living in limbo. we report on the uncertainty facing millions of eu citizens based here. i'm sally bundock. in business, extending the cuts to oil production. major oil countries consider a plan in a bid to boost sagging prices. and a record fine for bt with the firm setting aside hundreds

of millions of dollars for delays in installing high—speed lines. hello. the united states has condemned the arrests of hundreds of protesters in russia who'd been taking part in anti—corruption demonstrations. they included the opposition leader, alexei navalny, who organised the main rally in moscow. thousands of people joined the demonstrations nationwide, calling for the resignation of prime minister dmitry medvedev over corruption allegations. steve rosenberg reports from moscow. there were moments when moscow resembled a battlefield. russian riot police broke up an anti—government protest, on what was a day of demonstrations across russia. in moscow, they detained more than 500 people. earlier, police had poured into the city centre,

warning that the protest was illegal. still, thousands of people packed into pushkin square, to accuse the russian government of corruption. the level of corruption is too high in russia right now, and every single citizen understands it. it's hard to live in corruption atmosphere. i have children, grandchildren, and i can't breathe in this. these people have come out to protest against government corruption, but the message which this is sending to the crowd is that fighting corruption is not a priority of the russian authorities. among those arrested, russian opposition leader alexei navalny. he says he intends to run for president next year. whether he'll be allowed to isn't clear. it was alexei navalny who had called for nationwide protests.

people took to the streets in more than 100 towns and cities across russia, in many cases defying bans by the local authorities. these were some of the largest protests russia has seen for several years. president putin still enjoys strong support, but he can't take that for granted. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. the us state department said it was troubled by the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters throughout russia. the acting state department spokesman mark toner said: kenneth roth is the executive director of human rights watch.

he told the bbc why president putin would be worried by the protests. frankly if i were poo, i would be terrified. because to see this kind of outpouring of protest, despite the kremlin's dominance of television, which is the main way that russians get news, shows that under the superficial appeal of vladimir putin there is enormous discontent. the most difficult issue for the russian government is corruption because there is massive corruption around vladimir putin and his cronies. you mentioned 500 arrests in moscow, which i guess is the officialfigure. we get a figure closer to 930 according to a reliable local group who have been recording demonstration arrests over the years.

our people on the ground noted that while the demonstration was peaceful, the authorities clearly have no intention of allowing it to go forward. 0stensibly, the protesters were supposed to be outside the city centre. they weren't going to go along with that so instead of having an official protest they had a public walk through prominent areas of moscow and other cities, waving flags to show their patriotism was anticorruption and often carrying little ducks, because alexei navalny, the opposition leader who organised the protest, talked about how corrupt officials even build houses for their little ducks. some breaking news, an avalanche in a ski resort in the north of tokyo has hit several japanese schoolchildren leaving many injured oi’ schoolchildren leaving many injured or feared schoolchildren leaving many injured orfeared dead. six were reported in a critical condition, three others we re a critical condition, three others were missing after the avalanche

struck at the na—su 0n—sen family ski resort in to—chigi prefecture. about 50 people, including students and teachers from several schools, are said to have been in the area at the time. rescue efforts are under way. we will keep you across that on bbc news. and sally is here with all the business news. it was a key weekend for the oil industry. members of the producers cartel 0pec and some of their allies were meeting in kuwait. they signalled they are considering extending their curbs on how much oil they pump each day. so what impact will this have on the price of oil and therefore the cost of all kinds of things like energy and transport which make a big contribution to what we pay for goods in the shops. they were meeting because of this. oil prices rose sharply when the countries meeting in kuwait agreed to cut prodcution at the end of november, and while prices held up for a while there's been a drop

of around 10% in the last few weeks. they cut production to try and force prices up because many of their economies rely on the money it brings in to fund government spending. the biggest 0pec producer saudi arabia wants $60 per barrel. one big problem has been an increase in global stockpiles. last week the us stockpile rose to $533 million and as it's the biggest in the world that pushed prices down. we will look at that more in world business report. bt has been hit with a record fine by the uk regulator 0fcom and has set aside more than $370 million to repay providers for delays in installing high—speed lines. 0fcom has issued the firm with a $52 million fine, which it says is the largest it has ever handed down. it found the firm's 0penreach division cut compensation payments

to providers for delays in installing lines in 2013 and 2014. 0penreach says it apologises wholeheartedly for the mistakes. we will have more on that and the other business stories in about 25 minutes. i'm on twitter. in the meantime, see you soon. the south korean prosecutor is seeking an arrest warrant to put the country's former president behind bars while she stands trial. park geun—hye is accused of bribery, abusing her presidential power and leaking government secrets. we can now speak to our correspondent steve evans in seoul. steve, any indication as to why the prosecutor wants her behind bars pending the trial or during the trial? the argument will be... it won't be a risk of flight, the former president of the country is not going to go to the airport and

get on a plane without anybody noticing but there is an argument she could destroy evidence, hard drives, that kind of thing, but the counterargument there will be she's had plenty of time to do that. the argument that may well have weight with the court is that this is a very serious allegation. the amount is alleged to have been transferred in this bribery charge amount to tens of millions of dollars. 0ther people within the alleged conspiracy are already behind bars pending their trial. so the argument will be, ifa their trial. so the argument will be, if a and c are behind their trial. so the argument will be, ifa and care behind bars, shouldn't the person in the centre be behind bars? that will be the argument put. i think the expectation is pretty well that the court will go along with that. not said and of course, don't second—guess the court, but that's the probability —— certain. second—guess the court, but that's the probability -- certain. we know park geun—hye has been removed from

office as president, any indications as to the likely timescale of any trial or not? well, no. the likely timescale of the appeal to arrest her is within days and what we saw with the head of samsung, the acting head of samsung, is that very quickly he was in prison guard and ina quickly he was in prison guard and in a small prison cell pending the trial. the trial could well be weeks oi’ trial. the trial could well be weeks or months away. but in the meantime, he's already behind bars and if the court agrees with the prosecutor, so we'll park geun—hye be and that will be within days. so you'll have a position whereby she will have left the presidential palace, a palace in which she grew up remember because her father was president, which she grew up remember because herfather was president, she will have left the presidential palace and traded that for a small prison cell and prison garb. steve, thank

you very much. steve evans in seoul. let's round—up some of the other main stories: angela merkel‘s party the christian democrats have comfortably won a regional election in germany that's seen as a test of whether she can get a fourth term as chancellor in september. the cdu took 40% of the vote in the small state of saarland. in bulgaria it looks like the pro—european gerb party has won the parliamentary election. it's the third in the past four years. the leader of the socialist party has conceded, although official results are expected later on monday. thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in queensland in north—eastern australia as a cyclone moves in towards the coast. the storm is expected to bring winds in excess of 200kph when it makes landfall early on tuesday. cyclone debbie is expected to cause extensive flooding in low lying areas of the state. attempts to end the political stalemate in northern ireland have reached a dead end. northern ireland has been without a functioning devolved government since january

when the power—sharing executive collapsed. if no government is formed by monday afternoon, either fresh elections will be called or britain can impose direct rule. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the backlash over united's leggings ban. is the airline's dress code sexist? let there be no more war or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. applause 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 world news, i'm ben bland. the latest headlines: the us has condemned the arrests of hundreds of protesters in russia, and called for their release. it follows mass anti—corruption rallies across the country. the australian government's four—year inquiry into child sexual abuse allegations in the country

is starting its final public hearing in sydney. more than 1200 witnesses have given evidence over the last four years, including many former child migrants sent to australia from britain in the 1950s and 60s in the hope of a better life. the commission has received information from more than 4000 institutions and held 7000 private sessions by the time it com pletes private sessions by the time it completes its work. after the hearing, the recommendations are due in december. 0usted the correspondent explained what prompted the commission. it was triggered, initially, by a police investigation into abuse alleged to have occurred a couple of hours north of sydney, in the town of newcastle. but very quickly, it emerged that it wasn't just individual

cases of abuse, that there was an element of institutional abuse happening. and that meant that the government decided there was a reason to look across the board, notjust at abuse happening within religious institutions like the catholic church, the anglican church, and schools, but it widened the scope. this has been unprecedented. it's looked right across the board. i look at the list here: public and private schools, orphanages, sporting institutions, shools, churches. this was a difficult one. and what we heard from the chairperson at the start of the day's session was that, while this looked at over 4,000 institutions where abuse had been alleged, there were some common failures that they have come up with. so many of the institutions have been willing to take part. the catholic church very recently in a few sessions agreed to disclose a number of allegations. we heard more than 4,000 allegations just within the catholic church. there have been some people, particularly victims, who were angered that maybe one individual institution,

a school, perhaps, hadn't been looked at in more detail. but what we heard today was that it was simply impossible to look at every institution involved in minute detail. rather they felt there was more to be gained by taking a universal approach. the two themes they found common across them are the failure to report mandatory reporting, so that if abuse had occurred, that there is not always a duty of care on someone to give that information to the police or the authorities. and also the failure to compensate abuse victims, survivors of abuse, who spent decades anguishing, many suffering physical and mental health problems, finally now some move towards giving them financial restitution, and compensation will, we understand, come from the final report. the british prime minister is due to trigger article 50 on wednesday, officially beginning the process of leaving the european union.

but how do eu citizens living in the uk feel about being left in limbo, while their fate is discussed 7 greg dawson has been speaking to some of them. ever since the uk voted to leave the eu, lindsay says she is one of more than 3 million people who have become a bargaining chip. than 3 million people who have become a bargaining chipm than 3 million people who have become a bargaining chip. it has become a bargaining chip. it has become my home, the uk, and ifind it very difficult now with everything going on, to see whether i need to move back to the netherlands or not. i am upset, confused. it is chaos, because what i planned to do here, i wanted to do a ph.d. here that was fully funded, as well. i'm not sure whether i can do that now because it is a four year—long programme, and the plans are to brexit in 2019. despite protests, the government says it can't guarantee the future of eu nationals until other eu countries do the same for british people living on the continent. if the

rights of eu nationals aren't guaranteed after brexit happens, then this is what stands between people and their right to live here. it isa people and their right to live here. it is a permanent residency application form. now, the equivalent in germany is two pages long. this is 85 pages. it is lots of panic. a lot of them are looking for answers, and they are looking for answers, and they are hoping that we can provide those. the best advice we can give at the moment is try and get yourself something from the home 0ffice, some sort of a letter or a status document, just so that, if there is something, a transitional arrangement that comes in place, you can have that and you can show it. campaigners say those left in limbo are not just campaigners say those left in limbo are notjust in during practical side effects. there is also an emotional price. after the

referendum, it is quite shocking the way people reported that their sense of identity, their sense of security, their complete sense of safety in the world had been shattered. at her mental health clinic, this professor says she has had an enormous rise in clients suffering from a brexit related anxiety. suddenly, from one day to the next, people lose their sense of belonging. they become isolated and their fears, belonging. they become isolated and theirfears, and belonging. they become isolated and their fears, and they don't know how to deal with it. so they start to flood with this emotion. the prime minister has praised the contribution of eu migrants to the uk's society and economy, and says she wants their rights guaranteed as soon as practically possible. but until then, many people's decision to study, to work, or buy a home in the uk, remain on hold.

in sport, there were three groups in european world cup qualifying on sunday, including world champions germany. they were away to azerbaijan, where they continued their impressive form, making it five wins from five group c, winning 4-1. five wins from five group c, winning 4—1. thomas muller was among the scorers in the first half. and when his team—mate lodge the second of the match with less than ten minutes remaining, it meant that the site remained unbeaten on the road in their last 44 world cup qualifiers. that result means that germany still only lead group c by five points after second placed northern ireland continued their solid form with a 2—0 win at home over norway while the czech republic climb to third after they put six past san marino.

yogi adityanath is the firebrand hindu nationalist that the indian prime minister narendra modi has just appointed to head uttar pradesh, india's most populous state. but what affect will appointing such a divisive figure have on the direction of the country, as well as the growing sectarian tensions? justin rowlatt reports. the crowds celebrate the return of a conquering hero. yogi adityanath where's the saffron robes of a hindu priest, he is also a firebrand politician, though you wouldn't know it today. i promise to stamp out corruption, to work for everybody, and the end mafia rule, the tells the crowd. 0ut and the end mafia rule, the tells the crowd. out on the streets, you see the passion he inspires. yogi adityanath has see the passion he inspires. yogi aditya nath has repeatedly see the passion he inspires. yogi adityanath has repeatedly been accused of staring hatred between

hindus and muslims. he was once imprisoned for incitement to riot, and has a history of inflammatory rhetoric. yet he is now one of the most powerful politicians in india. yogi adityanath most powerful politicians in india. yogi aditya nath is most powerful politicians in india. yogi adityanath is a man who once said, if one hindu is murdered, 100 muslims should die. there are 170 million muslims in india, and not surprisingly, many are worried. they shouldn't be, says one of the top leaders of the ruling party. some people have apprehension, i do appreciate. i only advise them, you have the same feelings about narendra modi, whatever is his background remains his background. you cannot change it. it remains. yogi will prove that he is coming with the same agenda that modi is

pursuing. yogi adityanath was appointed by prime minister narendra modi after a landslide eatery in the state elections earlier this month. the choice is being seen as a decisive moment in mr modi's leadership of india. you wonder whether the wheels have fallen, and whether the wheels have fallen, and whether when you remove the mask, what you see behind the spry minister who harps about development and this sort of very inclusive paradyne, actually the mask is a false one, and that behind this mask you have a very devious man who believes that india is a country of hindus only. yogi adityanath's political career began a quarter of a century ago, in the unrest that followed the destruction of a 16th century mosque by a hindu mob. he has vowed to build a hindu temple on the site, a move that would risk reopening one of the deepest wounds

in modern indian history. united airlines has faced a barrage of criticism after it barred two teenage girls from boarding a flight for wearing leggings. a third girl, aged ten, also wearing leggings, was only allowed to board after she put on a dress that was in her backpack. a female member of staff told the girls that they could not proceed while wearing spandex, which the airline deems inappropriate. caroline davies reports. it is the online argument that has been called leggings—gate, and this was the tweet that sparked it. shannon watts, a campaigner in the united states, saw two girls banned from a united airlines flight because they were wearing leggings. she tweeted the incident to the airline. this was their response. and it led to a tirade, with some celebrities joining in. comedian sarah silverman said

she would not fly on united airlines. model chrissy teigen said she would try wearing onlyjeans and a scarf next time. and actor keegan allen called it petty. united clarified their position in a later tweet, explaining that the girls were united pass riders, a ticket for company employees or eligible dependents that does have a dress code, and that excludes wearing lycra. but that hasn't quietened the twitter storm entirely, and shannon says she still thinks the policy is sexist. to remind you of the breaking news this hour, an avalanche in a ski resort north of tokyo has hit severaljapanese resort north of tokyo has hit several japanese schoolchildren, leaving many injured orfeared dead. these are the latest niches that are coming to us. the avalanche struck a

family ski resort. we will bring you more as we get it. hello there. it looks like we probably had the best of the weather over the weekend. more sunshine on sunday saw the temperature in aviemore in highland scotland up to a very impressive 20 celsius. for many of us, though, on sunday the skies were not as blue. there was more contamination of high cloud. but there is also some cloud coming up from nearby france, and in the north sea we are filling in with low cloud. and this is where we are going to get most of our cloud coming in through the rest of the night and into monday morning, particularly across parts of northern england, the midlands, and across into wales. still got the high pressure pushing on at the moment, and it is still going to be a chilly night, despite a bit more cloud around. we have lost that stronger wind across the south, so here, temperatures will be lower than they have been recently. and any frost will tend to lift fairly quickly, i think, across mainland scotland, with the sunshine coming out, and it should be a fine start to the day. one or two mist and fog patches, perhaps.

likewise across northern ireland, a bit more cloud. a change in the story across parts of england and wales, where it should be a grey start, perhaps, for north—east england, through the midlands, into east england. the mist and fog as well, the odd patch further south, in southern england and east anglia. but some sunshine as well. most of the sunshine will wind down. a lot of that low cloud tending to get burned away, shrinking in size. a few patches lingering, perhaps, in the west country of wales, one or two bits of cloud for northern ireland. most of the low cloud loitering across the north—east of england and south—east scotland, that will pick the temperatures back here. but otherwise, numbers similar to what they were on sunday, with highest temperatures again in highland scotland, but also in the south—east of england, where we will not have that strong wind. but over the week ahead we are going to find steady changes. much more cloud around, bringing the chance of some rain, especially in the north and west of the uk, but with the southerly wind, decent temperatures by day, and not as cold at night, either.

but a big area of low pressure is filling in the atlantic, and our high pressure is sneaking away into the near continent. so pressure is dropping, and we will see the first signs of rain on tuesday. some showery bursts of rain coming into the south—west, wales, northern ireland, later on through the midlands, northern england, and eventually into southern scotland, and there could be a few heavy bursts of rain, too. north—east scotland, probably rather cloudy. an onshore breeze will keep it cool. one or two showers for the south—east and east anglia, but there will be some warm sunshine as well, and it is here we will see the best of the temperatures. the united states has condemned the arrests of hundreds of protesters in russia, who had been taking part in anti—corruption demonstrations. many people, including alexei navalny, one of president putin's fiercest critics, are still being detained. the australian government's inquiry into child sexual abuse allegations in the country is starting its final public hearing in sydney. a number of other students

and teachers are missing. at least six high school students are feared dead following an avalanche at a ski resort injapan. they were taking part in a mountain trip near the town of nasu in tochigi prefecture in centraljapan.