hello, everyone. i'm rico hizon in singapore. our top stories: hello, everyone. i'm rico hizon in singapore. ourtop stories: cyclone debbie sweeps towards north—eastern australia, bringing winds of up to 250km/h. america boycotts un talks on getting rid of all nuclear weapons, saying some nationsjust rid of all nuclear weapons, saying some nations just can't be trusted. is there anyone that believes that north korea would agree to a ban on nuclear weapons? i'm lebo diseko in london. guns, grenades and a place on the bus. syrian rebels begin to leave the city of homs after a four—year battle with government forces. for the rebels this amounts to surrender and for the rebels this amounts to surrenderand a for the rebels this amounts to surrender and a forced displacement. also ahead, we will look at what the jailing of a russian opposition leaderfor taking part jailing of a russian opposition leader for taking part in anticorruption leader for taking part in anticorru ption rallies means leader for taking part in anticorruption rallies means for politics under putin. live from our studios in singapore and london. you're watching bbc news world news.

you're watching bbc world news. it's newsday. glad you could join us. it's 7am in singapore, midnight in london and 9am in north—east australia, where what's being described as a monster cyclone is due to make landfall over the next few hours. tens of thousands of people, including tourists, have been evacuated from coastal areas amid warnings of winds gusting up to 250km/h and dangerous tidal surges. trees are already being blown down by the wins. cyclone debbie has been upgraded to a category four storm, one below the most violent, and is forecast to be the most powerful storm to hit the state of queensland for six years —— winds.

let's go to hywel griffith, who is joining us from townsville. by the looks at it it's the calm before the storm and everyone is saying cyclone debbie could be as devastating as cyclone yasi in 2011? yes. they are having to prepare for the worst here, the wind is picking up a bit as we get closer to the impact time, you do to be around lunchtime australian—thai in queensland —— due to be. the impact zone goes from townsville in the north of the state down past bowen and ayr, stretching hundreds of kilometres. —— australian—thai. they feel it could go hundreds of kilometres and could go hundreds of kilometres and could go very slowly. it might hover over towns like this, particularly bowen, for some three orfour towns like this, particularly bowen, for some three or four hours, bringing those gusts, as you said, of around 250km/h and also heavy

rain. we know how much rain is on the way because some areas have already had something like 650 millimetres of rain in the last 2a hours, in old money that is about two feet of rain in 2a hours. it's not just the water as well. hywel, the prime minister is warning residents on the typhoon path to evacuate immediately but some stubborn ones have refused to leave their homes? yes. because the cyclone has been forecast for days, the warnings have been ramped up for the past few days. 30,000 people around queensland have been advised to move from their homes to higher ground but only around half have complied, the other half deciding to stay in their homes and make preparations knowing where a safe place is, people here are well versed in cyclones. yasi striking in 2011 bringing some destruction,

thankfully the number of fatalities from cyclones here hasn't been high in recent years but people have to prepare for the worst. there are emergency shelters bore people with nowhere to go and with no friends or relatives to call on —— for people. they are in local schools. there's an emergency service presence, some 2000 extra paramedics, police officers and fire crews ready. that comes with a warning, when the storm is at its worst, those people may not be able to respond because it wouldn't be safe even for the emergency services to go out. hywel, authorities have stockpiled fuel and food and the army is on standby to deal with the aftermath? yes. it's not simply the striking of the cyclone but what happens next. power outages are pretty frequent. the supply chain becomes broken and mangled, so stores around here have seen mangled, so stores around here have seen their shelves emptied, restocked and emptied again in the

last couple of days. so people hunkering down, preparing maybe for four or five days of destruction. even though townsville is on the northern tip of where it will hit, i spoke to a hotelier who told me this morning they have had their bookings cancelled until saturday. a lot of money already lost, even for towns that may not see physical destruction, the financial impact of this is already being felt. the bbc‘s hywel griffith in towns townsville, thanks for the update on cyclone debbie. looking at other news now and a0 countries, including china, the us and russia have refused to take part in talks at the un on a global ban on nuclear arms. their ambassador has gathered outside the general assembly to show their opposition to the talks. weeks after north korea's latest missile tests, nikki haley, the us ambassador to the un, said a worldwide nuclear ban just wasn't realistic. is there anyone that believes that north korea would agree to a ban on nuclear weapons?

what you would see is the general assembly would go through in good faith trying to do something, but north korea would be the one cheering and all of us and the people we represent would be the ones at risk. also making news today, questions are being asked injapan as to why students were out on the mountain is during an avalanche alert. this is after seven high school children and their teacher were killed by an avalanche near the ski resort of nasu, another a0 people were hurt. the region saw the heaviest march snowfall in 20 years and avalanche warnings were in place. us backed forces have briefly paused their offensive against so—called islamic state in the northern syrian town in raqqa —— of raqqa to allow inspectors laiki dam. they say there's no damage to the damp but

biased sources said it was at risk of colla pse biased sources said it was at risk of collapse as a result of u.s.—led airstrikes. cattle ronchi is in northern peru say they're not getting enough support from authorities after what is thought to be the worst rain and flooding into decades —— ranchers. a0% of dairy producers have been affected by bad weather is brought by el nini. animal—rights activists say they have rescued dozens of blogs for human consumption in south korea. they say the a6 animals, including some puppies, had been taken to new york, where they will be adopted —— dogs. the humane society international said the dogs were found in dark, dirty cages in a farm north of seoul. now here is a story to warm the heart of anyone who's ever taken pa rt heart of anyone who's ever taken part ina heart of anyone who's ever taken part in a fun run or a long—range is but found it more than a little bit difficult than they expected. this woman was close to collapse, as you

can see, as she neared the finish line. this is the philadelphia love run half marathon but don't worry, help was at hand. first two other runners help her along, taking her at either side, then they picked her up at either side, then they picked her up and simply carried her further along in a pretty gallant effort by another runner. really nice to see! he then helped her to get back on herfeet he then helped her to get back on her feet and they crossed the finish line as she completed the course under her own steam. take a look at this stunning drone footage we have here, it is of rapeseed flowers in full bloom in china's north—west zhang ze province. the crop will be turned into oil in cooking and use in industry but for now the fields are proving quite the tourist attraction. hundreds of syrian rebels and their

families have left the last stronghold in the city of homs after agreeing to an evacuation deal. they are being taken on buses to other rebel held territory. it's the combination of four years of fighting and a sign of how much longer the syrian forces have become in recent months. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in homs international correspondent lyse doucet is in horns and sent this report. theirfamilies go their families go with them, taking whatever they can carry. syrian aid workers on hand to help. forced to leave behind the only homes they've ever known. it's hard. and the rebels have to leave behind their biggest weapons. rifles, pistols are allowed. so our grenades. russia's military police also keep a close eye today. this agreement was negotiated with moscow's help. in

the weeks to come thousands more will bore these buses and head to an opposition area in the north —— board. despite the deal a government cleric suddenly shows up. pleading with a muslim league of the other side. state, sheikh isam begs him, if you go you will end up like a refugee in a tent. sheikh atollah listens and then heads straight for the bus. the governor insists this is a good dealfor homs. translation: the rebels had such a terrible impact on the life of this city. once the armed men have gone, the city will be stable. restoring safety here will make all of homs safety here will make all of homs safe again. time and again over the course of syria's war, this is how battles have been ending, in these

local deals, the government calls them reconciliation, which they say will move syria closer to peace. but for the rebels, this amounts to surrender and a forced displacement. many of them leaving their homes. thousands of people will remain here. these pictures were filmed inside a rebel enclave. what was once a vibrant community of 75 thousands has been hollowed out by nearly four years of bombardment and siege. food and medicine are scarce. but life goes on. abdul tells stories to young schoolchildren. will you be the mouse or the fox, he asks, or the tiger? will you be the mouse or the fox, he asks, orthe tiger? he's

will you be the mouse or the fox, he asks, or the tiger? he's been teaching in al—waer since 197a. he says he will never leave. translation: forced evacuation is a war crime. people have been forced to surrender because of the siege, which has lasted for months. even baby milk couldn't get through. the rebels could have stayed but they don't trust the government offer of an amnesty, fearing they would end up an amnesty, fearing they would end up in detention or serving the army they've been fighting. they lead behind the city they once called the capital of the revolution. syria is moving away from war but it's no closer to peace. lyse doucet, bbc news, homs. russia's opposition leader has been jailed for resisting police orders during the biggest anti— corruption protests in the country for years. alexei navalny has been sent to prison for 15 days. tens of thousands attended the anticorruption thousands attended the anticorru ption rallies thousands attended the anticorruption rallies in cities across russia. the kremlin said the

demonstrations were illegal and described them as a provocation and a light. from moscow, here's steve rosenberg —— a lie. it wasn't difficult to guess what this verdict was going to be. the police bus ready and waiting to take russia's main opposition leader to jail. inside the court room, alexei navalny was upbeat. he had called russians onto the street yesterday. there'd been tens of thousands of protesters, he told me, but there we re protesters, he told me, but there were millions of russians who backed the fight against corruption. when the fight against corruption. when the verdict came, he was guilty. the crime? disobeying police orders. the punishment? 15 days injail. as mr navalny are merged, his supporters held up good luck messages, hoping he'd see them through the window. the police took them away.

yesterday's anticorru ption protests we re yesterday's anticorru ption protests were the largest in russia for five yea rs. were the largest in russia for five years. in moscow, riot police moved in to clear the crowds. more than 1000 people were detained. but why have they come out in the first place? one reason is this film, posted online. in it alexei navalny accuses russia's prime minister of massive corruption. he alleges that dmitry medvedev had used charities to conceal vast assets, mansions, yachts, even a vineyard. propagandist attacks, says the prime minister's office. but the film has gone viral with 13 million views. mr navalny called the protests to demand an official investigation. today the kremlin complained that many of yesterday's protests had been unsanctioned and were therefore

illegal. but the fact that one man, one kremlin critic had been able to bring so many protesters onto the streets shows that alexei navalny is now a force to be reckoned with. he certainly roaring crowds. mr navalny has been opening campaign offices across russia. —— he's certainly. he wa nts to ru n across russia. —— he's certainly. he wants to run for president. he's under pressure wants to run for president. he's under pr essure from the authorities and he's come. but he remains determined, he says, here sprayed with green ink. but he remains determined, he says, to clean up. he may be spending tonight in jail but these. he may be spending tonight in jail but these protests have reinforcedalexei navalny‘s reputation as president putin's most serious rival. still to come on the programme: going on patrol with the anti— romeo squads, cracking down on the man who harass women. —— men. 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. 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 newsday on the bbc. welcome

back. our top stories: this is newsday on the bbc. welcome back. ourtop stories: people this is newsday on the bbc. welcome back. our top stories: people living in low—lying parts of north—eastern australia had moved to safety as cyclone debbie sweeps across northern queensland. the us has led a discussion of talks of boycotts against armament, suggesting you cannot trust countries such as north korea to get rid of weapons they may have. and reports that this couple we re have. and reports that this couple were sent to prison after they were convicted of starting their mate. the filipino worker lost almost a0% of her body weight after being given

minimal amounts of food. time for a look at the front pages from around the world. in china, reports that nine people have been charged over protests in hong kong in 201a. the paper points out that this comes just one day after the city elected a new leader, a leader who promised unity. the china daily, reporting on a crackdown on commercial property purchases. beijing has tightened regulations after an increase in speculative buyers. vices could drop by about 30%. the guardian in the uk has more on last week's attack near parliament —— prices. they say that the attacker acted alone without contact with the islamic state group. the perpetrator‘s mother has said how shocked and sorry she was. and what is trending online? the

hazards of fake cartoons. children's programmes with disturbing and inappropriate content have been appearing on sites such as youtube. in one video, a character's teeth are pulled out by the dentist against a soundtrack of screening. youtube has said they make it easy for pa rents youtube has said they make it easy for parents to flag any cartoons. taking you back now to our main story, the expected cyclone debbie. it has been called a monster cyclone. this is the scene in queensland, australia, in the past of cyclone debbie. you can seejust how wet it is. the storm seems to be battering this town. tens of

thousands have been told to evacuate, winds about 250 kilometres an hourare evacuate, winds about 250 kilometres an hour are expected —— cyclone debbie. you can see that the winds are looking very strong. we will keep you updated as soon as we get more information on that. sexual harassment is a huge problem in india. some have suggested that more than 80% of women have been harassed at some point in their lives. now, it india's most popular state is taking action, sending what it calls anti— romeo squads out to streets. we have been to see them in action. this seems pretty random to me. they

arejust stopping guys, like this seems pretty random to me. they are just stopping guys, like this quy are just stopping guys, like this guy here. asking them what they're up guy here. asking them what they're up to, checking their id. there is no evidence that this guy was harassing women at all. you can go to everyone and say, what are you doing? why are you doing that? what is this? this is not the way to correct your country. the anti— romeo squads in india. in

the uk, the government isjust the anti— romeo squads in india. in the uk, the government is just one day away from triggering the formal process for leaving the eu. it will activate the call is known as article 50, a two—year countdown beginning for both sides to negotiate what will effectively be one of the biggest divorce settle m e nts one of the biggest divorce settlements in history. what can we expect? we asked our economic fortu neteller to expect? we asked our economic fortuneteller to investigate. the process of the brexit officially begins tomorrow, but even before the shock of that result, people were warning us of evil omens. the consequences would be negative. britain and europe would be poorer. can we knowingly vote for a recession? it turns out that economists were no more reliable than a carnival fortune teller. new figures for the last three months of last year ‘s show more than expected. the unemployment rate has

falle n expected. the unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest level since the summerof fallen to the lowest level since the summer of 1975. there mind how unreliable it has been in the past, here is a vision of the future, what it holds and what each side will wa nt it holds and what each side will want from the brexit talks. british farmers are relatively efficient, taking only a small chunk of the $60 billion a year that the eu spends subsidising farmers who may not otherwise be in business. the british government's promise to replace those subsidies. farmers wa nt to replace those subsidies. farmers want to know if they will still have access to seasonal labour to pick their produce, and whether they will be able to still send their produce overseas. the prospect of brexit has not harmed industries like car makers. more cars have been made last year than they have in 17 yea rs. last year than they have in 17 years. their purchases abroad can get their vehicles nearly 20%

cheaper than they could couple of yea rs cheaper than they could couple of years ago. the competitive boost, if it continues, the french may want to defend their industry by slapping on a tax. german carmakers such as mercedes sell 900,000 cars per year to british car makers. they may not wa nt to british car makers. they may not want a future of trading tariffs. last year, the uk imported $160 billion more goods than it exported. that is only manageable because it exports more services like banking, thanit exports more services like banking, than it imports. in these talks, the uk will be desperate to ensure that those services can keep growing. for that, it needs access to markets. otherwise, you can confidently predict that these talks will soon descend into acrimony. taking you back to queensland and

the pictures we have been getting from the town that is in the path of cyclone debbie. you can see it is looking like it has been pretty battered. winds of around 250 kilometres per hour expected. warnings of dangerous tidal surges, thousands of people have been evacuated. we will keep you up—to—date with that as we get it. you have been watching newsday. stay with us, we will be looking at how companies are trying to tap into the spending power of the tech savvy millennial is. and before you go, have a look at this. one of the world's biggest gold coins. it was housed in berlin, and till it was stolen. —— millenials. hello there. after a gloriously sunny weekend and start to this week, things are set to turn more unsettled.

low turn more unsettled. pressure in the atlantic, bringing low pressure in the atlantic, bringing cloud and increasing wind. high pressure remains a live across the continent. this feature, bringing some showers into the south—west corner of the country. generally, a cloudy night for most. central and northern areas, some mist down the east coast. not quite as cool by the time we reach tuesday morning. the odd pocket of frost across north—west scotland. sky ‘s remaining clear. showers from the word go across the south—west. sunshine through the midlands and the south—east. more in the way of cloud across the north. showers moving north and east as the afternoon wears on. some could be quite heavy. a cloudy day for much of scotland, especially through the afternoon. the best of the sunshine

across the sheltered highland corner. a cooler feel. across the sheltered highland corner. a coolerfeel. rain across the sheltered highland corner. a cooler feel. rain getting in across galloway. northern ireland, some sunshine and scattered showers, possibly thunder. that is the same case for northern england and the midlands. some good sunny spells through the midlands, boosting temperatures up to possibly 20 degrees. the breeze a feature across the south—west. seeing weather front moving in. across the south—west. seeing weatherfront moving in. that across the south—west. seeing weather front moving in. that will herald more persistent rain, spinning north and eastwards during the course of tuesday night and into wednesday. wednesday is looking pretty cloudy, quite damp and outbreaks of rain across the north and west of the country. the odd heavy burst mixed in. call about making 15— 16 across the south—east and some brightness. a more u nsettled and some brightness. a more unsettled regime mid week. tighter packed isobars, more of a breeze and rain. mostly across northern and

western areas close to low pressure. this warmth and moving north, letting us tap into some warmth across the near continent on thursday. east anglia and the south—east with some sunshine could have a warm day, possibly the warmest day of the year so far. it could get up to 21 degrees. further north and west, cool and breezy with some outbreaks of rain. friday, that weather front spreading north some outbreaks of rain. friday, that weatherfront spreading north into some outbreaks of rain. friday, that weather front spreading north into a regime of sunshine and showers. that coolest thing continues into the weekend. —— cooler theme. i'm lebo diseko with bbc world news. our top story: cyclone debbie is sweeping into northern australia. forecasters are predicting winds of up forecasters are predicting winds of up to 250km/h as well as heavy rain. the storm could last for 18 hours and officials are advising around

25,000 people to move away for low—lying —— from low—lying coastal areas. the us has led a boycott of un talks on nuclear disarmament saying they can't trust countries like north korea being honest on getting rid of weapons. this story is trending on bbc.com. a court in singapore has jailed a couple after finding them guilty of starting their made. the victim from the philippines lost almost a0% of her body weight after being restricted to two small meals a day. —— maid. that's all from me for now. stay with us on bbc world news. now on bbc news, it's time