welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: cyclone debbie batters north—eastern australia. parts of queensland are in lockdown as the monster storm brings destructive winds and tidal surges. iraqi forces fight their way deeper into the city of mosul amid more concerns about civilian casualties. explosion. that is an inaccurate weapon. it might be good for the tempo of the military operation, but it isn't necessarily good for preserving civilian lives. the family of one the victims killed in the westminster terror attack speak for the first time about "feeling the love of so many people." hello, and welcome.

what's being described as a "monster" cyclone is now making landfall in northeast australia. tens of thousands of people, including tourists, have been evacuated from coastal areas,amid warnings of winds gusting up to 250 kilometres an hour and dangerous tidal surges. caroline davies reports. cyclone debbie has already made itself felt. people living along the coast in queensland, north—east australia, have been battered by high winds and rain as the storm approaches. authorities knew it was coming, and there advice has been to get out. it is very clear that the time for people to move is now to go to family and friends. this is a severe weather system. move now!

don't wait until tomorrow because you will not be able to move. overnight, the storm was upgraded to a category 4, only one level below the most violent possible, with winds of up to 250 kilometres per hour. this is the city of bowen and it has been locked down. popular tourist destinations like the whitsundays and airlie beach have also been evacuated. low—lying areas are at risk of tidal surges and have been evacuated. it is the biggest cyclone in australia since cyclone tracy in 1974. i think i'm glad i'm going because i have been thinking it is time to go. i am happy it is time to go. well, i saw in the news that we are going to be hit more by the cyclone so i thought, no, i have to find a way. the authorities had time to prepare.

sandbags were filled, schools closed, shop windows taped up, and airports shut down, in what has been a li—s—day operation. the public have been told to judge their phones as power outages are likely. the slow—moving storm is likely to hit the mainland australia soon. queenslanders will be familiar with the risk of cyclones. now all they can do is wait. caroline davies, bbc news. now, let us get an update from the situation on the ground. we are hearing that the cyclone has approached the islands off the coast, like whitsundays, very popular. amelia butterly is a reporter for bbc radio one newsbeat and joins us now from airlie beach on queensland's coast. what are you hearing and seeing? the

winds have been extremely strong. their race flooding on the hill which i am on, watching water go down the street towards the sea. the water is like a thick mist now, not even like brain —— rain anymore. at the moment, the mist has cleared and ican the moment, the mist has cleared and i can see a boat in the sea. the people on it must be... i mean, it is rocking in a way i have never seen. it is quite intense weather out that is a bit worrying that there is a boat out on the sea. what have you been told? do you feel you are ina

have you been told? do you feel you are in a safe area? originally i was ina are in a safe area? originally i was in a hotel. we were told if we stayed there we would be guaranteed the ground and higher would be flooded. so we moved to a hotel up the hill that is further away from the hill that is further away from the sea that is safer. the hotel is designed to withstand category 5, one more than is expected today. there are buildings around me and structures that look less safe than than where i am situated. presumably you have people around you that you are in contact with. what are they saying? are they concerned? are they saying? are they concerned? are they saying they are prepared and have seen this before? if you talk to

locals they are reassuring. i met some backpackers yesterday. people are being cleared out of this area. not everyone had somewhere to go. places are offering beds and sofas. i had police knocking on my door. there are volunteers doing the rounds to make sure people are going to where they need to be to be safe. we had updates from the hotel. we had people knocking on the door to check we are all right. they seem very well practised here. thank you. the reporter from bbc very well practised here. thank you. the reporterfrom bbc radio one newsbeat. thank you for your time and we are happy you are safe. allyson horn is a reporter with abc news in ayr, queensland, i spoke to her a short while ago. the thing about this storm, though,

is it is the intensity that is really going to determine how bad the damage is. authorities from the capital city, brisbane, they have been deploying resources to towns up and down the coast, ready to move into action once the eye of the storm passes. i should into action once the eye of the storm passes. ishould point into action once the eye of the storm passes. i should point out that at the moment that has not happened. we are still seeing the eye of the storm moving towards the coast. it is probably going to take somewhere in the vicinity of 12 hours for the storm to passed over. it is that huge. as the cyclone moves it is that huge. as the cyclone m oves a cross it is that huge. as the cyclone moves across the coast we will see the wind and rain, which havejust seen some images the wind and rain, which havejust seen some images of airlie beach, thatis seen some images of airlie beach, that is the pre—cyclone then you will get the eye of the storm which comes across. in the eye of the storm it will be completely dead. it will be still. people will think it is over. that will last three hours. the eye of the storm is 100

kilometres wide. it is so huge. we are expecting when the eye of the storm passes over it will be com pletely storm passes over it will be completely dead and still. then there will be the other side, the destructive side, which will come through. that is when we are going to know just how through. that is when we are going to knowjust how severe this storm is and just how much damage it will cause. and then it moves into the recovery phase. we know that here in the place we are now, we are staying with the emergency response team and we have emergency workers who have been flown in from other regions. they are ready to move into places up they are ready to move into places up and down the coast that will be affected. it is going to be a massive recovery effort. the last timei massive recovery effort. the last time i was in a cyclone like this with this intensity it literally took months for things to recover. and it took, you know, weeks, for just power to be brought back on,

for electricity to be reconnected. and that is normally the number one priority. when we talk about this being severe and the potential for destruction to be very severe, we are not exaggerating. it is going to be huge. it is a really big event. the thing people are thankful for is there are a lot of resources that are going to be put into this to try and assist with the recovery. the message at the moment though from emergency workers is to stay inside. because here in australia and here in queensland, when winds a —— approach 100 kilometres an hour, everything goes on to lock down. anyone calling for help will not be attended to. they will have to wait until the storm is passed for someone until the storm is passed for someone to attend to them. that is a frightening prospect. that is why authorities and rescue services have been warning people for days to be prepared and when the storm comes,

be in the safest place possible. and that was a reporter with abc news in queensland giving us an update on cyclone debbie. and we will keep you across that story and the cyclone as it moves to the queensland coast. now, moving on. iraqi government forces are intensifying their efforts to drive so—called islamic state out of western mosul. they're deploying helicopter gunships and crude rocket launchers to target is militants. but thousands fleeing the city say civilians are being killed because the assault is too indiscriminate. 0ur middle east editor, jeremy bowen, reports from western mosul. this is the iraqi solution to an offensive that's stalled over the last week or so, attack again. gunfire it feels as if the air war over mosul is intensifying. the gunship pilots fly low.

they seem confident they won't get shot down. and every day, a few thousand more people come walking out of the areas of mosul still held by the jihadists who call themselves islamic state. many said is used them as human shields, shooting out from the cover of their homes and streets, but the response, more air strikes, horrified them. translation: they destroyed our homes, our cars, everything. they destroyed us. entire families are gone, they are under the rubble. translation: a lot of people died, children, women and men. houses collapsed on them. i lost both my sons. some very sophisticated modern weapons are in this fight, and so are these, locally made rockets used over a short range. a blunt instrument. that is an inaccurate weapon.

it might be good for the tempo of the military operation, but it isn't necessarily good for preserving civilian lives. but they want to win this battle, and they're using everything they've got. most of the people arriving in government—held territory are bussed out to camps. many said is fighters forced themselves into their homes. nine of this woman's family were killed in the big raid on the 17th. she said she wasn't escaping the jihadists, but air strikes that used tons of bombs on a single sniper. translation: they destroy the houses when there are one or two or three so—called islamic state men inside them. they turn houses into cemeteries. they bring the dead out burned. we can't recognise them. my children, nine of my family killed. they call them smart bombs, but this is stupid. my grandchildren, two are gone. the people of mosul have been left with impossible choices, risk death in their own homes or risk death crossing a frontline.

iraq has been shattered by the years of war and sectarian conflict that followed the us and british invasion. it might be too late to put this country back together. jeremy bowen, bbc news, mosul. stay with us on bbc news. still to come. as the fighting intensifies, syrian rebels begin to leave the city of homs, after a four—year battle against government forces. let there be no more wars 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 news. i'm reged ahmad. the latest headlines: people living in low—lying parts of north—eastern australia are in lockdown — as cyclone debbie sweeps across northern queensland. government forces in iraq are intensifying their efforts to drive so—called islamic state out of western mosul.

the campaign is raising further concerns about civilian casualties. amnesty international are getting reports of civilian casualties after they were told not to leave mosul. thank you forjoining us, donatella. first of all, the us and iraqi government will argue that care has been taken to avoid civilian casualties. what are you hearing? been taken to avoid civilian casualties. what are you hearing ?|j have just returned from iraq and specifically mosul last week. what i

found on the ground is family after family in east mosul whose relatives we re family in east mosul whose relatives were killed when their homes were killed in coalition airstrikes. in many of these cases, isis fighters we re many of these cases, isis fighters were on the roots of the houses —— roofs. 0r were on the roots of the houses —— roofs. or in the gardens. however, the authority of some isis individual should not be done by the expense of the entire families are around. this is the problem, though, this is a difficult battle, street to street guerrilla warfare. is it possible for the coalition to fight this war without the civilian casualties? i don't think we can been a year and certainly amnesty

international is not pretending that urban warfare doesn't carry the danger that it does and they think it would be extremely difficult to think of warfare in a city the size of mosul. —— inner—city decisive mosul without civilian casualties. the point we are making is not everything is allowed in war and the fa ct everything is allowed in war and the fact that isis uses civilians as human shields does not relieve the iraqi forces of the coalition forces from their obligation and their international law. where all the visible possible precautions taken to minimise civilian casualties? 0ur findings show that no, there was more that could and should have been done and that could and should be done and that could and should be done right now because fighting is still ongoing in mosul and civilians are still being killed and there are steps that can be taken in terms of

using more precise munitions with a smaller blast radius that cause less collateral damage. so it is not possible but absolutely necessary for them to take more precautions to ta ke for them to take more precautions to take civilian casualties. donatella rovera. hundreds of syrian rebels and their families have left their last stronghold in the city of homs under an evacuation deal backed by the russians. rebel fighters boarded buses out of the city bound for another rebel—held area in the north to continue fighting there. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in homs and sent this report. they held out as long as they could. fighters now leaving their last district in the city. 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 are 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 board these buses and head to an opposition area in the north. despite the deal, a government cleric suddenly shows up, pleading with a muslim leader from the other side. stay, sheikh isam begs him, "if you go you will end up like a refugee in a tent." sheikh atullah 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 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 in al—waer. these pictures were filmed inside a rebel enclave. what was once a vibrant community of 75,000 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? he's been teaching in al—waer since 1964. he says he'll 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'd end up in detention or serving the army they've been fighting. they leave 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. scotland yard says there's no evidence of any link between khalid masood — who killed three pedestrians and a policeman in westminster — and the islamic state group or al-qaeda. masood's mother has spoken of her shock and sadness — saying she's cried for his victims. the family of one — the american tourist kurt cochran — have been speaking about their pain — but said they bear masood no ill will. 0ur correspondent, daniela relph, reports. it had been their first visit out of the usa — a tour of europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. but on the final day of their trip, kurt cochran was killed on westminster bridge. his wife, melissa cochran—payne, seriously injured. today, 13 members of theirfamily spoke publicly for the first time.

from utah, they are a mormon family, who have found strength in their faith. i think it's hard for most of us to imagine here what it must be like to lose somebody in this way. can you give us some sense of the impact on the family? i think it's brought us really close together. 0ur family's been always close together, and we've also had some wonderful, wonderful times together. we just love and support each other so much, and i think it's made us even that much stronger. kurt cochran ran a music studio back home, an enthusiasm supporter of local bands. their song was featured and they're about to get going right here... there have been tribute concerts in his honour. his family overwhelmed by the thousands of messages they've received. what the cochran and payne families have shown today is what happens when you are suddenly affected by an event of this magnitude. it has brought with it trauma, grief and, for them, forgiveness.

none of us harbour any ill will or harsh feelings towards this. so, we love our brother, we love what he brought to the world. that lack of resentment or bitterness, a feeling shared by others injured in the attack. we should sort of try and unify through love and compassion, rather than through our hatred and anger about what happened. today, tobias ellwood was in parliament square to pay his respects and see the tributes. the foreign office minister had tried so hard to save the life of pc keith palmer last week. this, a chance for him to remember all of those killed. daniela relph, bbc news, westminster. a reminder of our top story, a

tropical cyclone debbie six hitting the northern state of queensland in australia. the bureau of meteorology says the eye of the severe tropical cyclone debbie is affecting the whitsundays and the mainland coast. hello there. after a glorious weekend, glorious start to the week, things are set to turn more unsettled now as we continue to head through the week. that's because we've got this area of low pressure out in the atlantic slowly encroaching in, it will be bringing increasing cloud, outbreaks of rain and increasing wind as well. meanwhile, high pressure remains anchored across the near continent. this feature will be bringing some showers into the south—west corner of the country during the course of the night. and i think generally it will be a cloudy and night to come for most, certainly central and northern areas, a bit of mist down the east coast there. so as a result, not quite as cool by the time we reach first thing

on tuesday morning. could see the odd pocket of frost, though, across the north—west corner of scotland. that's because skies will remain clear here. so we've got showers from the word go across the south—west for tuesday morning. a bit of sunshine through the midlands and the south—east. more in the way of cloud across northern areas but a line of showers will continue to northwards and eastwards as the afternoon wears on, some of them could pep up to be quite heavy. a cloudier day i think for much of scotland than what we've seen of late through the afternoon. probably the best of any sunshine across this sheltered north—west highlands corner, where we could see some pretty decent temperatures. but a cooler feel to things. some rain getting into awards dumfries and galloway. for northern ireland, scattered showers, some sunshine. some of the showers could be heavy with a rumble of thunder, and that's also the case for much of northern england and in towards the midlands. but there will be some good sunny spells through the midlands eastwards and that really will boost temperatures again, up to 18—20 celsius. the breeze, though, more of a feature across the south—west. and we'll also see another weather front moving in, and that'll herald more persistent

rain, which will spill its way northwards and eastwards during the course of tuesday night into wednesday. so actually wednesday day is looking pretty cloudy, quite a damp one with outbreaks of rain. most of it across the north and the west of the country, the odd heavy burst mixed in, it will feel cooler as well. we'll still make 15 or 16 celsius across the south—east given some brightness. so, we're into a more unsettled regime midweek onwards. as you can see, tighter packed isobars, more of a breeze, outbreaks of rain, and most of this across northern and western areas closer to this area of low pressure. this warm front, though, will be moving its way northwards and in fact will let us tap into some warmth across the near continent for thursday. so east anglia and the south—east, given some sunshine, could have a really warm day and potentially the warmest day of the year so far. 18—20, maybe 21 degrees. but further north and west, it'll be cooler, breezier, without breaks of rain. then through friday, that weather front spreads its way northwards and behind it is a regime of sunshine and showers and it'll feel cooler for all. and that cooler theme continues on into the weekend. the latest headlines from bbc news.

tropical cyclone debbie has made land in the australian state of queensland. strong winds and heavy rains are battering the coast. thousands of residents have been evacuated from coastal towns, leaving homes sandbagged and boarded up. forecasters say it could last for up to 18 hours. government forces in iraq are intensifying their efforts to drive so—called islamic state out of western mosul. the use of helicopter gunships and crude rocket launchers is raising further concerns about civilian casualties. many of those fleeing the city say the assaults are too indiscriminate. the family of one of the victims killed in the westminster terror attack has spoken for the first time. relatives of the american tourist, kurt cochran, say they bear no ill—will following the atrocity. meanwhile the mother of the attacker has expressed her shock and sadness, saying she's cried for his victims. now it's time for the week in parliament.