this is bbc news. i'm james coomarasamy. our top stories. cuba is the latest victim of hurricane irma as the storm rages along the island's northern coast — tearing through towns and villages and knocking out communications. even those places that were supposed to serve as safe havens — like the capital havana, are now under hurricane warning the eye of the storm is now moving towards florida where 6.5 million people have been ordered to leave their homes. the death toll rises to 65 in mexico as emergency workers continue to hunt for survivors of thursday's earthquake. also in the programme — here in britain manchester arena reopens with a benefit concert, more than three months after the terrorist attack that killed 22 people. hello and welcome to bbc news.

hurricane irma is battering the northern coast of cuba, lashing towns and villages in its path with strong winds and heavy rain. many areas in the centre of the island have lost power and flooding is expected as far west as the capital, havana. one million people, nearly a tenth of cuba's population, have been evacuated. our correspondent will grant is in havana with the latest on the situation. cubans had hoped they had avoided the worst of the hurricane. they had no such luck. with the full force of a category five storm, the hurricane entered through the island's northern shore. the storm surge almost completely engulfing several small fishing villages. electricity and communication links are out across swathes of the country. some communities along the coast are wondering how they will ever rebuild, others are bracing

themselves for irma's impact. even in the big cities, people are getting nervous. translation: i'm really worried. my home is not in a good state so i hope the hurricane stays away and moves out to sea. translation: it is one of the bigger storms we have ever seen so we have to get ready. as hurricane irma rumbles along the coast of cuba, even those places that were supposed to serve as safe havens, such as the capital havana, are now under hurricane warning. and for the many thousands who evacuated here, they hope they still have homes to return to. cuba was in the middle of a tourism boom when the storm struck and thousands of holidaymakers found themselves suddenly trapped in the biggest hurricane to hit cuba in 80 years. among them, a british couple evacuated from their honeymoon. they blamed their tour operator, thomas cook, for not providing more information. we were left in the dark

until thursday morning when we were told we would be evacuated by coach. we were evacuated from one town, where the hurricane was going to strike, in another. thomas cook has defended their emergency response, saying they followed the instructions of the cuban government to transport tourists to another resort. beyond those who've had the holidays ruined, this could also cut short cuba's ever to rebuild its crippled economy. tourism has been the main economic motor of the island recently, this could set them back for many months. at least twenty—two people have been killed by hurricane irma across the caribbean — five of them in the british virgin islands. the bbc‘s laura bicker is there. five people died here in the bvi and

you can see the devastation wrought by the hurricane and. as we flew in we saw holmes looked like they had him blasted our way by the hurricane. tattered and in ruins and scattered across the island. boats as well. you can see the effect of a 20 foot storm surge. boats were scattered all across the island and then when they had been moored together they had crashed into one another and they are now when pieces. there is an massive effort under way now after criticism here of the response by the british government to the crisis. i have spoken to the royal engineers who are here. they have been repairing this runway. has been a first priority. reason for that is a need to aid in and people how. now they have done that, they say they can

try to re—establish communications. when it comes to other problems in the aisle and they have been reports of looting, especially on the east side of the island. i spoke to the deputy governor and he said he would get things back under control but there is an appeal for calm and for law and order to prevail. very difficult conditions for people to really deal with the aftermath of the hurricane and because they are also worried about hurricanejose on its way. the latest forecast is show that skirting the island and heading north rather than a direct impact. that may bring some relief as they tried to continue the recovery effort. and you have seen a lot of destruction on various islands. how does that compare to what you saw in barbuda? the problem with barbuda is that it barbuda? the problem with barbuda is thatitis barbuda? the problem with barbuda is that it is a small island and com pletely that it is a small island and completely flat. when the hurricane and went across itjust completely flat. when the hurricane and went across it just flattened most of the island. here you see

areas that have escaped the worst of the damage but where there has been a blast of wind you can see where it has carved out areas. that is different here in the bvi. they both have the same issues, they are isolated, the port has been destroyed and the runway has been difficult to get aircraft to land on. people are desperate to get off oi’ on. people are desperate to get off or to get aid in. the problem is getting to them in getting information. in this twitter age it is unbelievable that it has taken two or three days to get proper information about what has been happening in these islands and now that they have there is a realisation there is much work to be done. stephen o'malley is the un co—ordinator of humanitarian affairs in the eastern caribbean. speaking from barbados, he spoke about how the humanitarian issue will be dealt with. you can see thatjust about every

single building has been affected in one way or another. the first thing that had to happen, and i want to give the credit to the government of antigua and barbuda. yesterday, given thatjose was coming today, they were able to evacuate the entire population of barbuda in one day to antigua so that they would not be further affected. so people will want to start to go home and thatis will want to start to go home and that is something that will have to happen on a certain schedule. they will need to make certain that their house can be repaired. they want to bea house can be repaired. they want to be a part of doing that. they need food, water. are definitely have been problems with the water system. electrical grid will have to come back up and children will want to go back up and children will want to go back to school. we need to facilitate and help them to facilitate and help them to facilitate that. there is much that needs to be done to restore normal

life. certainly it is my experience that people will want to go home as quickly as possible and begin to rebuild their lives. in the united states, southern parts of florida are already beginning to feel the effects of irma. governor rick scott said the southeast was already experiencing tropical storm force winds and that thousands of people were without electricity. if you had been ordered to evacuate, you need to leave now. this is your last chance to make a good decision. evacuations are replacing areas across the state and over 6.5 million floridians have been ordered to evacuate. do not put yourself or yourfamily ‘s to evacuate. do not put yourself or your family ‘s life at risk. now was the time to do the right thing for yourfamily. the bbc‘s aleem maqbool is in miami and sent this report. even so many miles out to sea, are myrrh is now making her presence felt on the american mainland. there

is little left to do for people in florida but to get somewhere safe and wait. this hurricane shelter, like so many more across the city, is packed to capacity. we decided, well, we will live on and we got up and saw the television all of the traffic backed up. we said, well, we have waited too led to leave. we left everything, you know? our furniture, ourfamily... left everything, you know? our furniture, our family... but material things, we can build them again. family is the most important thing, you know. after days of talking about it, after all the warnings, it is now starting to feel real to the people of florida. the sky has darkened and the wind has picked up and the rains have started. in the coming hours, people here feel they will be in the firm grip of hurricane irma. nasa has recorded this spectacular footage of the eye of the hurricane and and its

massive cloud that. all on a projected course for florida. billion —— massive cloud mass. despite the ominous warning is there are many in florida who will not leave their homes. we saw vince prepare his house. you cannot control it. what you can't control is boarding up, protecting, water, generators, gas. i'm not scared. i know what will happen will happen. why be scanned? but thousands do not wa nt to why be scanned? but thousands do not want to risk gambling with nature. they are anxious though it about the city they will emerge into once the hurricane has passed. other news now, and relief work is under way in mexico after thursday's massive earthquake.

at least sixty—five people have died and many more are afraid to return home after thousands of buildings were destroyed or damaged. more than half of the victims were in the southern state of wahaca and many others in neighbouring chiapas. i spoke to pressia arifin—cabo, deputy representative of unicef mexico about the most pressing challenges they are facing. in the biggest challenge so far here is not the destruction but, particularly for the children and women, the trauma and the fear that the earthquake will return and they will not be safe in their homes. just now we have visited some shelters where these children are and you could see that they were stressed. the space is cramped and hot, though no play areas for them

and they have requested unicef to help with support for the children and for school materials because they want the children to come back to school on monday. they also need mosquito nets, drinking water and bla nkets mosquito nets, drinking water and blankets especially in areas where mosquito borne diseases are prevalent. there are schools and hospitals that are badly affected. some homes were destroyed but the community is still returning to their homes but they go back to shelters at night because of their fear. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. pope francis has been celebrating mass in colombia's second biggest city, medellin. huge crowds of up to a million people gathered at the city's airport to join the mass. the pope is also due to visit a children's shelter on the fourth day of his tour of colombia. organisers say 50,000 anti—brexit campaigners marched

on westminster to demand that britain stays in the european union. the rally, called the people's march for europe, carried the message "unite, rethink and reject brexit". on monday mps are due to vote on the repeal bill for brexit. the main opposition party in angola, unita, has asked the country's constitutional court to annul the results of last month's election. unita alleges that in many provinces the official results did not reflect the actual vote count. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: after a career spanning close to half a century — the bbc‘s veteran cricket commentator, henry blofeld, gives his final broadcast at lord's freedom itself was attacked this morning and freedom will be defended. the united states will

hunt down and punish those responsible. bishop tutu now becomes the spiritual leader of 100,000 anglicans here. blacks in soweto township as well as the whites in their rich suburbs. we say to you today, in a loud and clear voice, enough of blood and tears. enough! the difficult decision we reach together was one that required great and exceptional courage. it is an exodus of up to 60,000 people, caused by the uneven pace of political change in eastern europe. iam free! this is bbc news. the latest headlines: hurricane irma is pummelling the northern coast of cuba, lashing towns and villages in its path with strong winds

and heavy rain. rohingya insurgents in myanmar have declared a unilateral ceasefire, starting on sunday, to try and ease the growing humanitarian crisis in the country. a military campaign in response to insurgent attacks has led to hundreds of thousands of rohingya muslims crossing the border into bangladesh — many of them hungry and traumatised. our correspondentjustin rowlatt reports on their continuing plight, from teknaf, close to the border. they fled persecution and now they are desperate, fighting just for a bag of rice. many refugees are rise with nothing. —— arrive. well—meaning people from bangladesh

arrived in trucks to hand out food but the refugees need much more than this. yesterday, we met this girl. she is nine months treatment. her babyis she is nine months treatment. her baby is due any day. —— we met this woman. she escaped the army after the radical buddhists attacked her village. translation: they came at two a.m.. they set fire to our houses and started shooting. that's when i fled. i walked for seven days to get here. it has been so hard but we had to escape. guards moved her and her family onto some land but they reasoned room for everyone. tempers were high. today we tried to find her to get some help. but there

was no sign of her and herfamily. after we left, the owner of this area said if you want to stay here, you have to give money otherwise you have to go away. but how do you find someone have to go away. but how do you find someone in amongst all this chaos? as night falls, it begins to rain. east side of the road is a family who crossed the border today. —— beside the road. their baby girl is nine days old. she was born in the jungle on the way here. they as well have nowhere to stay. if there is one thing, there is no shortage of here, it is misery. this mother and here, it is misery. this mother and her baby are on her way to hospital. they will get some care tonight. the other woman and tens of thousands of others will not be so lucky. thousands of people have been attending a benefit concert

at manchester arena. it's the first event at the venue since a suicide bomber killed 22 people in may. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson reports. manchester arena, back, opened manchesterarena, back, opened the business. there is heightened security with armed police and after the show, accorded will be in place around the arena. but that wasn't stopping those going in without having fun. even if many were expressed —— expressing mixed emotions. obviously we are scared but. just a feeling of hope. what the terrorists did won't overcome us. the terrorists did won't overcome us. we just want to come back and show that nothing will stop people from coming here. we are manchester and we are proud. it will be a challenging even for this family.

bought tickets to light despite having been in the foyer when the bomb went off. we are going to enjoy it. we are here but the 22 people that died, we have the memories. they can't make memories any more, can they? the first people to sit in the seats before the bomb exploded in may. greater manchester's mayor read the names of the victims. southee rose, wendy ——. read the names of the victims. southee rose, wendy --. always remember, never forget. to make sure that happens, the proceeds will go towards the memorialfor that happens, the proceeds will go towards the memorial for those who died. sloane stephens beat her american compatriot madison keys 6—3 6—0 in us open women's final to claim her maiden grand slam title. stephens played a solid match and defended perfectly to frustrate the 15th—seeded keys, in the first all—american women's final at flushing meadows since 2002.

stephens‘ world ranking had plummeted to 957 at the start of summer. now with the rest of the sport here's jess creighton. manchester united remain top of the english premier league despite drawing 2—2 at stoke city. united went 1—0 down. they went up to — one but they were able to hold on to the lead. iam not i am not satisfied with the points because we were achieving that to win. we were the team with the result. i accept the result. one

tea m result. i accept the result. one team tried to win, one trend tried to get the point. meanwhile, manchester city thrashed at the etihad. edison was caught in the face and went off on a stretcher. sergio aguero went off. he didn't see the goalie. trust the ball, that's it. unlucky. for me, if an accident nothing else. it was a big thing. bigger wins for

the north london clubs arsenal and totte n ha m. the north london clubs arsenal and tottenham. chelsea won at leicester. england have clinched the test series against west indies. the day after climbing his 500 test wickets, james anderson followed it with best figures. the bowlers were bowled out for 177. they got it with nine wickets to spare. they won the series 2—1. wickets to spare. they won the series 2-1. disappointed after coming offa series 2-1. disappointed after coming off a good win. we copped a lot of criticism but we rallied back and heatherley to put up a good finale here. it is commendable. i have seen a lot of positives from

this group. we show fight that we haven't seen in the west indies group for haven't seen in the west indies groupfora haven't seen in the west indies group for a long time. hopefully we can put in some good performances. fantastic week. to get across the line as he did and play with a great tempo. a great sign. great britain's chris froome is on the verge of being crowned champion of a second grand tour. he leads going into sunday's final stage. chris froome who won the tour de france injuly will win the overall race when it ends on sunday in madrid. that will make in only the third man in history to win both in the same year. the bbc cricket commentator, henry blofeld, has made his final radio broadcast, bringing a career that lasted nearly half a century to a close. "blowers", as he's known to his many fans, has retired at the age of 77. he signed off to applause from around the ground at lord's in london, where england were playing the west indies. it is 88 1:1. that,

it is 88 a1. that, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of it. thank you all for listening, it has been wonderful. you all say you are going to miss me and i will miss you something dreadful. archeologists in egypt say they've discovered the tomb of a goldsmith that's more than 3,000 years old. it was found in a burial site on the west bank of the nile, near the city of luxor. our middle east editor alan johnston has more. staring out of the past, remains from the world of ancient injured. they may here in the darkness deep beneath the banks of the river nile for well over 3000 years. now, they are emerging from their grave. every detail of their surroundings is being examined. and slowly the story of this burial place and it's dead is becoming clearer. it's believed that this was the tomb of a goldsmith and we even find an image

of this man captured in a sculpture. he sits beside his wife who is clothed in traditional headwear and a long dress. lower down, between their legs, is the outline of anotherfigure, their legs, is the outline of another figure, thought to their legs, is the outline of anotherfigure, thought to be one their legs, is the outline of another figure, thought to be one of best ones. the archaeologist believes the goldsmith will have dedicated his work to the glorification of the god. along with the mummies and the dedicated coffins, the tomb has given out other riches including masks on the jewellery and figurines. all now on show for the first time. it's thought this place may have even more to offer. there are plans keep searching for other burial chambers. a remarkable discovery. thanks for watching us on bbc news.

it has been a day of mixed weather fortu nes it has been a day of mixed weather fortunes and i don't mean across the british isles, low pressure has been the dominant driving feature and we have had a bit of shower activity urged along by a noticeable north— north—westerly wind across the bed —— british isles, lurking in the wings. that is sunday's weather. a lot of showers and thunderstorms, quite heavy, drifting their way towards the south and east. a little build a pressure just in the first pa rt build a pressure just in the first part will tend to kill off some of the showers. some eastern parts were i think skies will stay clearest of the longest may have cool night. we could get down to four or five degrees. later in the night, we will begin to bring them up as this area

of cloud and rain begins surveys is a go. —— to make itself known. a bit cool perhaps but it will be a lot of dry weather. as we come further west, the cloud bills in and wouldn't rule out the odd showery burst ahead of the main event which lurks off the coast of wales. it lurks off the coast of wales. it lurks over the top of scotland, far west of england and northern ireland as well. this is a weather front bringing continuous rain that whole out of weather boost its way towards the east. it will be replaced by a great raft of shower is battling their way in on a noticeable wind across northern ireland and eventually increasingly across the mainland of scotland. further south, it is the tail end of the weather front which, from the north, middle and southwards, would have a lot about it. yes, a bell of wet weather but it will take time before it gets into the south—east, later in the

afternoon. —— spell. on monday, gusts of 60 mph. the day, another blustery and showery day across all parts of the british isles. with something again a little bit quieter as we get on into tuesday. more cloud and rain later in the west. you this is bbc news, the headlines. the most powerful storm to hit cuba in more than eighty years is moving slowly along the island's north coast, causing floods and widespread damage. the government has extended its alert to more provinces, including the capital havana. the hurricane is also beginning to batter the us state of florida. the governor there says the southeast is already experiencing tropical storm force winds. more than six million people have been ordered to leave their homes. the death toll in mexico has risen to 65 as rescuers continue to search

for survivors after thursday's massive earthquake. many residents are afraid to return home fearing aftershocks. sloane stephens defeated her american compatriot madison keys 6—3, 6—0 in us open women's final to claim her maiden grand slam title. now on bbc news time for a special programme — historian adam smith tells the extraordinary story of former us president ronald reagan's final film. an actor for many years before he entered politics, in the killers, reagan played a criminal for the very first time.