hello you're watching bbc world news, i'm ben bland, our top story this hour. coastal areas in north—eastern australia are battered by heavy rain and winds of more than 250 kilometres an hour. as cyclone debbie makes landfall, parts of queensland are in lockdown. the monster storm sends debris flying, and cuts power lines to thousands of homes. welcome to the programme. our other main stories this hour: after yea rs of battle, we report from the city of homs. what next for syria's civil war? countdown to brexit. we examine what's at stake for the uk economy as the government prepares to trigger article 50. i'm sally bundock. in business... president trump's expected to ditch obama's clean energy policies later today, but the big question,

will the move really help to boostjobs? and hit the road jack, uber‘s self—driving cars are going back on the road after a crash in arizona. hello. what's being described as a monster cyclone has made landfall and is battering northeast australia. tens of thousands of people including tourists have been evacuated from coastal areas. there were warnings of winds gusting up to 250 kilometres an hour and dangerous tidal surges. caroline davies reports. cyclone debbie has hit australia. trees have been ripped up and buildings damaged as the storm moves across the queensland coast in north—east australia. the authorities have known that the storm was coming, and their advice has been to get out. it's very clear that the time to move is now, to go to family and friends. this is a severe weather system. move now! don't wait til 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 level possible. this is the city of bowen. it's been locked down. popular tourist resorts like airlie beach and the whitsundays have also been hit. windspeeds reached 260 kilometres per hour here. 30,000 people were told to evacuate from low—lying areas. they are at risk of tidal surges. it is the biggest evacuation 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. so yeah. i'm happy to go. well, i saw in the news that ayr's 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 have been filled,

schools have been closed, shop windows taped up, and airports shut down, in what has been a four to five day operation. the public have been told to charge their phones. 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. amelia butterly is a reporter for bbc radio i newsbeat and joins us now from airlie beach on queensland's coast. what are conditions like right now? until recently we were in the eye of the storm, so it's relatively calm, in the last hour or so the second half has livened up. i have a sea view room from my hotel but i can't

see the sea, i can see trees bending over, debris flying through the air, trees are being ripped up now and there's just a huge amount of water flying through the air. it's not just falling as rain now, there's a big mass of mist and see breeze coming over. we heard the authorities talking about the risk of power cuts, has that affected anywhere near where you are? as i understand it, most of any beach doesn't have any power at all, we certainly don't... we are at least 14 of 15 hours... it all went out in one go and the whole area was black —— airlie beach. it is so hard to keep up with what is happening, we aren't getting any news updates on tv, lots of the mobile networks have gone down so it's difficult to get any internet even on a smart device. there's no expectation on when we

will have the power restored. there's no expectation on when we will have the power restoredlj there's no expectation on when we will have the power restored. i want to... people are being advised to stay indoors, stay well away from the storm, but there is the natural curiosity often. ruc in people out and about orare curiosity often. ruc in people out and about or are they generally taking heed of the warnings and staying inside —— are you seeing. for the most part i haven't seen anyone, oui’ for the most part i haven't seen anyone, our balcony as a good view of the area, literally a few minutes ago the storm started raging again andi ago the storm started raging again and i saw two teenagers on skateboards in a supermarket car park riding around and leaping over barriers and things, which is certainly against advice given by authorities. what are they saying in terms of the outlook for the next few hours? are you hearing anything about whether you can carry on with your plans for the day, whether it will subside, or no indication as yet? i haven't had any official

indication but looking out the window it's clear there won't be business as usual for at least the rest of the day and possibly tomorrow. we are lucky in a secure hotel but other buildings could well be suffering right now, i can't see the seafront but i imagine from what i have seen of the waves that it will be completely flooded and that's where the tourist spots are, whether restaurants and tour operators are. i don't see them opening any time soon. amelia, thanks very much indeed. there's plenty more on our website, including the latest updates on the path of cyclone debbie, its impact on coastal communities and what emergency services and the government are doing to help. that's all at bbc.com/news. do check it out. let's round—up some of the other main stories: president trump's son—in—law, jared kushner, has agreed to testify to the senate intelligence committee, as part of its investigations into alleged russian interference in the us presidential election.

the white house said mr kushner would answer questions about arranging meetings with the russian ambassador and others. the city of flint in the american state of michigan has agreed to fund the replacement of thousands of pipes after lead contamination in the water supply caused a public health crisis. the state will set aside $87 million to pay for the replacement of at least 18,000 pipes by 2020. a couple in the united states has taken legal action after being told they couldn't give their child the surname our. the state of georgia said the law demanded that the baby be given either parent's family name or a combination of the two. the american civil liberties union, which filed the lawsuit on their behalf, says the government's refusal is an example of overreach. one of brazil's main airlines, gol, has agreed to pay $1.3 million to an indigenous tribe in material and spiritual compensation for the damage caused by a plane crash that happened more than ten years ago.

a privatejet and a gol commercial plane crashed in northern brazil in 2006, falling over the caiapo indigenous reserve. almost a0 countries, including china, the us and russia have refused to take part in talks at the united nations on a global ban on nuclear arms. weeks after north korea's latest missile tests, america's ambassador to the un, nikki haley, said a worldwide nuclear ban simply wasn't realistic. is there anyone that believes that north korea would agree to a ban on nuclear weapons? so 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. sally is here rounding up business.

0ur sally is here rounding up business. our focus sally is here rounding up business. 0urfocus again on sally is here rounding up business. our focus again on donald sally is here rounding up business. 0urfocus again on donald trump sally is here rounding up business. our focus again on donald trump and his agenda for today. after weeks of delay and speculation, president trump is finally expected to issue an executive order later today that will start to dismantle president 0bama's clean energy policies. this includes a sweeping environmental protection agency rule that mandates cuts in carbon emissions from power plants. it's also expected to quickly end the freeze on new coal mining leases on federal lands and reverse rules to curb methane emissions. during his election campaign president trump said he would run a government that allows us oil and coal producers to thrive and he said that steel and auto manufacturers will not face job—killing restrictions. but the experts say despite any moves by trump to boost coal it is facing stiff competition anyway from natural gas and renewable energy, which is already cheaper to produce and often more efficient to distribute.

we'll be getting the view of an energy expert on that in wb are. —— world business report. uber‘s self driving cars have returned to the roads in the us after a crash in arizona left one of the vehicles on its side. the crash happened after another car failed to give way to the uber. the firm initially suspended the programme, but now says it believes the vehicles are safe. we'll be looking at the company's driverless ambitions and the challenges ahead. dave lee will be telling us about that. all that coming up in about 20 minutes. see you then. thanks to much, sally. 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. it's still encircled by troops so we can't go in. 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. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: can roger federer make it a miami masters hat—trick? 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 world news. the latest headlines: cyclone debbie has made landfall in the australian

state of queensland, buffeting resort towns and islands with winds of up to 270 km/h. after yea rs of battle against syria's government forces, rebels begin to leave the city of homs. let's get more on our top story, and our correspondent hywel griffith is in ayr, a town in lockdown as people there prepare for whatever cyclone debbie throws at them. this is the centre of ayr, one of the towns that's preparing to be hit very hard by cyclone debbie when she hits. as you can tell, it's pretty much on lockdown. all the shops are close, sandbags lining every door. they are expecting torrential rain to fall here for several hours, and that brings the risk of flooding. people here know that, while the cyclone may pass, the impact could be with them for several days. for the local fire service, it's a case of waiting to see what the cyclone brings.

once windspeeds go above 80 km/h, they're not allowed to leave this base until it's safe to do so. so they've brought in all the equipment they'll need to respond and react. generators there, also search equipment, and, vitally, testing equipment, so that they know where it's safe for them to go. and even if they get cut off, there are tents there, so they can be self—sufficient. really, now, it's a case of waiting to see what cyclone debbie does to this coastline. after president trump's healthcare defeat, the big question now is what it will do to the rest of his agenda. another major promise made during the election campaign was to fix america's crumbling infrastructure. but, as james cook reports from california, it won't be an easy task. the tallest dam in the richest nation on earth is no longer a source of pride. last month, after heavy rain, its overflow channels began to crumble. nearly 200,000 californians had to flee. now the water level has fallen,

the damage is laid bare. what happened here at the oroville dam is a wake—up call, in a country where infrastructure spending has been out of fashion for decades. and the lesson is simple. the longer you put off repairs or upgrades, the greater the risk, and the higher the cost in the end. but that is exactly what the us has been doing. more than 2,000 american dams are rated as both deficient and high—hazard, which means failure would lead to loss of life. i think we have been doing what we thought was enough, but clearly we missed a few things. and when we say "we", it's a global "we," it's the regulators, third—party independent consultants. this is a catastrophic event, and we're all learning from this. file: with bands and parading troops, new york and newjersey dedicate the huge lincoln tunnel under the hudson river.

in the past century, us saw two big building booms. the first came in the 1930s, when roosevelt's new deal put millions of americans to work on projects like this one. the second was in the ‘50s and ‘60s, with the construction of the interstate highway system. and, minutes after he was elected president, donald trump promised a third. we're going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none. mr trump is particularly scathing about america's airports. once icons of progress, he now calls them third world. but los angeles international is already spending billions on more gates, new rail links and smarter terminals, funded not by the government, but by passenger fees and private capital. are we where we want to be? no. but is today's experience third world? no, it is absolutely not.

we are an incredibly robust airport. we have incredibly robust facilities here already. we're taking them to the next level, which will be the gold standard. showcase projects are one thing. but, when it comes to more mundane repairs to roads and bridges, pipes and dams, the us is $2 trillion short. we will increasingly look at what is normal in other parts of the world. it won't be a 21st—century, western country. the challenge is not to make america great again, but to stop it from falling apart. roger federer had few difficulties negotiating a path to the fourth round of the miami masters, after a straight—sets, 6—3, 6—4, win over argentina's juan martin del potro. the swiss, who has already won the australian open and indian wells masters tournaments this year, was rarely troubled against del potro, and will play spain's roberto bautista agut in the round of 16, as he searches for a third title at this event, and first since 2006. andy murray was meant

to be playing in miami, but had to withdraw because of injury. he is now unlikely to be fit for great britain's davis cup tie against france next week. his brotherjamie has revealed that the world number one has a tear in his elbow, and needs rest. we already knew about the injury, but not the severity. the scotsman had hoped to return for the start of the clay court season in about three weeks' time. on the wta tour, world number one angelique kerber is through to the quarter—finals of the miami open. the number one seed breezed past japan's risa ozaki in straight sets, the german winning 6—2, 6—2, to progress to the fourth round. the last few minutes we have heard

that one of nelson mandela's closest friends and allies has died. our correspondent looks back at his life. he was one of nelson mandela's closest friends. but not only was he a close associate of nelson mandela, he was a human rights activist in his own right. like mandela, he spent 27 years in prison for fighting white minority rule. following the famous trial of 1963. he was the fourth of six children born in the north—west province, previously known as western transvaal. at the age of 12, he became a member of the young

communist league of south africa, and subsequently joined the transvaal indian congress. ahmed kathrada completed degrees in history, criminology and african politics through the university of south africa while on robin island and other presents. apartheid prison authorities refused to allow him and his comrades to pursue postgraduate studies. our general approach was that we are not going to do anything that we are not going to do anything that impinges on our dignity. in latter yea rs that impinges on our dignity. in latter years he had been showing high—profile visitors around his old prison. here, he was sharing his history as a prisoner with former us president barack obama. but, even though i had followed kathy's political career as a senior anc leader since his release from prison in1990, my leader since his release from prison in 1990, my most memorable moment from him was when he delivered the

eulogy at nelson mandela's funeral in december 2015. farewell, my dear brother. my mental, my leader. i have lost a brother. my life is in a void, andi have lost a brother. my life is in a void, and i don't know who to turn to. thank you very much. ahmed kathrada was 87. just to recap that news which reached us in the last few minutes, that ahmed kathrada, one of the leading figures in the fight against apartheid, has died at the age of 87. police in germany are still trying to figure out how one of the world's largest gold coins was stolen from a berlin museum.

the thieves managed to evade a sophisticated alarm system, and bulletproof glass. if the coin was accepted in shops, you could spend $1 million canadian with it. however, in terms of its weight in gold, the coin is worth much more, around $4.6 million on the open market. it is 3cm thick, 53cm in diameter, and carries a likeness of queen elizabeth ii on one side. the coin was minted in canada about ten years ago. it is known the big maple leaf, and weighs 100kg. that is about the same as a refrigerator. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @benmbland. coming up injust a couple of minutes, sally has all the latest business news in world business report. well, we had a glorious weekend, nice start to the week, but things are set to turn more

unsettled as a low pressure begins to exert its force of the atlantic. it will be sending weather fronts our way, thicker cloud, increasing wind too. this first weather front will be bringing increasing cloud and some showers to the south—west corner of the uk as we head through the overnight period first thing on tuesday. cloudier night to come for many, central and northern areas, with hill fog and coastal mist, down the east coast of england in particular. temperature—wise, not too cold to start tuesday, one or two pockets of frost across the north—west of scotland. but it means for tuesday a cloudier start to the day. there will be some showers across wales and the south—west this band of showers moving its way northwards. some sunny spells for england and wales through the afternoon, but a cloudier day for most of scotland, and a cooler day as a result. though the north—west of scotland, certainly north and west of the great glen, potentially seeing the best of any

sunshine and temperatures. showery rain pushing into the south—west. for northern ireland, for northern england, the midlands, scattering of showers here, and some of them could be heavy, maybe a rumbling of thunder. but further south and east in the sunshine, it will still feel quite warm, temperatures around the mid—teens to up to 19 or 20 celsius, i think, at best. the breeze will pick up across the south—west into tuesday evening. the next band of rain, more organised rain, will be spilling up right across many northern and western parts of the uk. i think the south—east escaping it, and staying dry. but into wednesday, it is looking unsettled, as you can see. a cloudy affair, outbreaks of rain in the north and west, some heavy. top temperatures around 15 or 16 degrees. quite windy across the north and north—west as that area of low pressure scoots nearby. but an unsettled theme in thursday as well, northern and western areas seeing most of the weather fronts, outbreaks of rain here. but for the south—east we will be tapping into some warm air off the continent. so actually, thursday afternoon could be quite warm, potentially the warmest day of the year so far. highs of 20 or 21 celsius,

but cooler across the north and the west, with outbreaks of rain. into friday, that cooler air will be spreading to most areas. it is a day of sunshine and showers, i think quite breezy, too. temperatures of 13 to around 16 or 17, and turning cooler into the weekend. cyclone debbie has made landfall in the australian state of queensland. strong winds and heavy rains are battering the coast. thousands of residents have been evacuated, leaving homes sand—bagged and boarded up. hundreds of syrian rebels and their families have the anti—apartheid hero ahmed kathrada has died after a brief illness. kathrada, who was 87—years old, dedicated his life to the struggle for freedom in south africa and remained politically active until his dying days. 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,