hello, i'm tom donkin. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. here's our top stories: florida police launch a criminal investigation into the deaths of eight residents at a nursing home hit by hurricane irma. the crisis of the rohingya muslims reaches catastrophic levels. the un warns the exodus is destabilising the entire region. i call on the myanmar authorities to suspend military action, end the violence, uphold the rule of law. another case of the brexit blues — european commission president jean—claude juncker says britain will soon regret its decision to leave the eu. the man dubbed the most hated man in america, martin skreli, is jailed in the us. thejudge says he posed a

threat to the public. back from the dead — this tortoise thought to be extinct for a hundred and fifty years, creeps back out of its shell. eight residents of a florida nursing home have died after hurricane irma knocked out its power and air conditioning, when it hit the state on sunday. 115 other residents of the home were evacuated, a number of them were in critical condition. police are now conducting a criminal investigation into the deaths. sarah corker reports. a state of emergency at a nursing home in florida. without air—conditioning since hurricane irma hit, four days ago, police say the deaths at the home in hollywood hills, north of miami, may be related to high temperatures inside the building. a tragedy described by one florida senator as inexcusable. 115 elderly and vulnerable

residents, some in significant distress, were taken to safety on wednesday. at this time we have other patients in critical care. right now the building has been sealed off and we are conducting a criminal investigation inside. we believe as this time, it may be related to the loss of power in the storm, but we are conducting a criminal investigation, not ruling anything out at this time. among those who died, men and women in their 80s and 90s. others are being treated for heat—related issues, including dehydration. the scene was chaotic when i arrived. we mobilised at least 50—100 of our employees, that left the hospital, ran down the street and pulled all of these patients out of the facility., and made sure that they got to a safe place. care homes across florida are now being checked by hte authorities. around 10 million people are still without power, in three us states, after irma's

trail of destruction. homes in the florida keys hit by the full blast of the hurricane, were brutally ravaged, boats dumped on shore. they keys are still dramatically impacted. the watermain...we still haven't figured out where the break is — got that back on. the sewage system down key west is not working. we do not have the power in the keys. but everybody is working hard with that. as people tried to start rebuilding their lives, president trump is due to visit florida on thursday, to see the damage first—hand. but concern is growing for the safety of florida's 3.6 million senior citizens, as officials struggle to restore power amid sweltering temperatures. sarah corker, bbc news. on many islands across the caribbean, the relief efforts after hurricane irma continue. the british foreign secretary boris johnson visited the british virgin islands to see the full extent of the damage. more than 1,000 troops have now been deployed, to help with the recovery operation. 0ur correspondent laura bicker

is in the british virgin islands and sent this report. when you have devastation on this scale, where do you start to rebuild? thousands of people are homeless, businesses have been destroyed and, as the shock subsides, reality kicks in. the people on the island are willing, but they know they need help. is this where you live? yeah, i live right around the corner, you don't want to see my house. after days of criticism that the uk government response has been slow, the foreign secretary is on tortola to assess the damage himself. these roads were completely impassible with debris. i can believe that. it has taken a week for some to get basic supplies. i'm feeling hungry. and everyone takes the opportunity to eat when they can, even when borisjohnson is in what remains of your front yard. you've really come together and got through it. yeah.

well, that's what you have to do. i have just i havejust spoken i have just spoken to the premier, 0rlando smith, who says they have two months‘ supplies, and they are intensifying the effort. there are also still a number of security concerns on tortola. we‘ve just been told not to walk too far up this street because a number of serious criminals are still on the loose from the damaged prison. something else for the local and national government to deal with. and when you walk around this neighbourhood, you get a real sense that it‘s notjust about rebuilding lives and homes, it‘s about rebuilding trust. we‘re trying to make some phone calls. some just want to leave or at least get their family of the island. how have things been for you? it‘s really difficult, there‘s no food, there‘s no water. we have been hearing that there are some people bringing some help, but we haven‘t seen anything. they‘re kind of organising the logistics and while that happens, people are suffering. you're gone! that's how people just pass.

you're alive, there is hope. but others, like doris, will stay. if we had any animosity among anyone of us, this is the time now to pull together and get stronger and move on. and i think that we have to keep hope alive and, when we do that, we're going to make it to where god have us to go. there is a special spirit on these remote islands, so many are working hard to help themselves. they now have but one dream, to restore tortola to its former glory and, once again, it will earn its local nickname as nature‘s little secret. in malaysia, at least 25 people have died in a fire at a school in the capital, kuala lumpur. the fire broke out early thursday morning at a religious school. a fire official confirmed 23 students died along with two wardens. the un secretary general says myanmar must stop the military operation that‘s triggered the mass

exodus of rohingya muslims, describing it as ethnic cleansing. antonio guterres warned that the crisis was destabilising the region. hundreds of thousands of rohingyas have fled to bangladesh from rakhine state in myanmar. mr guterres said their situation was catastrophic and tragic. grievances that have been left to fester for decades have now escalated beyond myanmar‘s borders, destabilising the region. the humanitarian situation is catastrophic. when we met last week, there were 125,000 rohingya refugees who had fled into bangladesh. that number has now tripled to nearly 380,000. many are staying in makeshift settlements, or with those communities who are generously sharing what they have. but women and children are arriving hungry and malnourished. i call on the myanmar authorities to suspend military action, and the violence, uphold the rule of law and recognise the right of return of all those who had to leave the country. myanmar‘s leader aung san suu kyi,

who‘s been criticised for failing to defend the rights of the rohingya muslims, said she won‘t be attending the un general assembly in new york next week. but she does plan to address the nation about the crisis for the first time. our special correspondent fergal keane has been to the country‘s second—biggest city, mandalay, to assess the mood of the buddhist majority. bell tolls. the sense of a buddhist country is powerfully felt in mandalay, so too are the echoes of current events. this collection was ostensibly for all refugees in rakhine state, but we heard the line repeated all over myanmar now — muslims were being burned out by muslim terrorists. translation: they are not only

destroying buddhist homes, but also muslim houses. i don‘t want all the terrorist groups. this is a war about the occupation of the territory. they are killing all the people they see, and destroying all the houses they see. it was meant to be very different. a year ago, the pro—democracy, pro—human rights party of aung san suu kyi became the government. but the country‘s de facto leader has refused to either condemn the security crackdown or call for military restraint. in mandalay, her party‘s spokesman sees rakhine buddhists as the victims. what do you believe is happening in rakhine state? "i just want to say what my own view is," he told me. "i only see that rakhine ethnic people have been attacked."

there‘s very little sympathy here for the persecuted minority in rakhine state and if aung san suu kyi was to say or do anything that was considered as showing solidarity with them, she would be politically exposed. that‘s something the military understands well, as it continues with its brutal crackdown. the perception here among many is that it‘s burmese buddhism that is under siege from militant islam. these men belong to an organisation that‘s done much to stoke fear. the monks of ma ba tha, a hardline nationalist movement with much popular support. its leader, ashin wirathu, went to jail for inciting hatred against muslims, but wasn‘t keen to speak to us when he appeared for breakfast at his monastery. bbc, can i ask you about the ethnic cleansing in rakhine state, please? but later i was granted an interview with eight of the movement‘s senior monks. the organisation was

banned six months ago by aung san suu kyi‘s government. they refused to recognise the existence of the rohingya, referring to them as bengalis. so i wondered how this monk felt about her response to the rakhine crisis? that is not an endorsement she will cherish. there are efforts being made here by some moderate buddhist clergy working with muslims to ease communal tensions, after attacks on muslims three years ago. the memory of that violence and the rohingya crisis has created pervasive unease. these muslims working with buddhist peacemakers, are worried. translation: i trust the current government not to let the violence happen here. on the other hand, i do not trust the army. there is an immediate crisis in rakhine, but wider questions too,

about the power of the military and the hardline clergy, about what kind of country this might become. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the galapagos tortoise back from extinction. we report on a triumph for science and conservation. 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 spiritual leader of 100,000 anglicans here — of the blacks in soweto township, as well as the whites, in their rich suburbs. we say to you today, in a loud and a clear voice, enough of blood and tears — enough! translation: the difficult decision

we reached together was one that required great and exceptional courage. it‘s 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: florida police have launched a criminal investigation into the deaths of eight residents at a nursing home hit by hurricane irma. the un secretary general has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe, as more rohingya muslims flee the violence in myanmar. let‘s go to syria now, and the battle for raqqa —

the main stronghold of so—called islamic state. coalition air strikes are continuing as us backed forces, try to drive militants out of the city. this latest offensive began injune and since then tens of thousands of civilians have fled. but it‘s unclear how many are still there. quentin sommerville has more. on the one thing you will really notice here in raqqa city, apart from the destruction, which is pretty much everywhere, all around us, is the absence of people. when we have been to other cities, mosul and so on, people were always coming out. but not here. the reason for that is we just heard some coalition air strikes not that long ago that rattled some shutters here. and the artillery shelling is almost constant. the realfighting is going on from about one or two kilometres from where i am now. there, people are facing isis snipers, minefields, and coalition bombardments

from artillery and coalition jets. the old city is just done here, actually. imagine living through all that. if you look up here, this was somebody‘s home. look at the bullet holes all over that. there are almost isn‘t a building in this city that we have passed that has been untouched by the violence. if wejust moved down here a bit closer, beyond there, right inside raqqa, almost an ironclad death trap has been created for people, where they are facing snipers, they‘re facing minefields — and that was another blast from artillery, i think — there‘s no escape for civilians at them. it is better for them, there is less risk, if they stay in the midst of it, in is territory, than try to escape. that is why the streets are so empty. more gunfire in the background there. there are about 20,000—25,000 people trapped in this city, trapped by is, trapped

by coalition air strikes. about half of them are children. their are options are limited at the moment. noone is coming back to the city any time soon. it is going to take a long time before it is taken. it may take a month or longer. but for the people trapped inside raqqa, it‘s absolute hell, and they have almost no escape. the former drugs company boss, martin shkreli has beenjailed in the united states after a judge found that he posed a threat to the public. shkreli had offered five thousand dollars to anyone, who could get him a strand of hillary clinton‘s hair. us media had dubbed shkreli the "most hated man in america" after his company hiked the price of a life—saving drug. for more on this, our north america correspondent peter bowes joins us live from los angeles. is this story is bizarre as it

sounds? it is extremely bizarre. it is nothing to do with why he is notorious in the us, for hiking the prize of a drug that was used for aids patients by some 5000 % but what has happened now he has been on trial for what has happened now he has been on trialfor broad what has happened now he has been on trial for broad and a waiting sentencing, due to happen in january. last week, as hillary clinton is promoting her book about what happened during the last election, she is about to go on a book tour, martin shkreli posted a message on facebook offering money for a strand of her hair. he said this was satire. the judge disagrees. just to quote what she

has said, this is a solicitation of assault in exchange for money and shows he is a danger to the public and that is why she sent him to jail. he is injail awaiting that sentencing in january. since coming to infamy, he has not left the headlines. he has been trolling individuals or clashing with his critics? he is placed with a lot of people on social media and it is clearly social media right now getting him into trouble. he has been vilified by so many people in this country and many people quick to get into an argument with him on social media and he has been on trial, as i mentioned, found guilty of security fraud, again quite a different case, a company he was in

charge of, hedge funds. for the past two or three years he has been persistently in the headlines but often the —— for very different reasons. the president of the european commission jean—claude juncker has told the european parliament that britain will soon regret its decision, to leave the eu. in his annual speech on the state of the european union mrjuncker outlined his plans for a more integrated eu — an opportunity which he said, would be provided by brexit. our europe correspondent damian grammaticas reports. this was a striking shift from the eu, its leaders oozing optimism because they believe the worst crises of recent years are behind them. europe‘s economy is now growing faster than america‘s. the migrant serge receding. even brexit has not proved fatal to their union. translation: on the 29th march 2019, the united kingdom will leave the european union.

it will be a sad and tragic moment. we will always regret it, and you will come to regret it soon. what‘s striking listening to this whole speech, is that that‘s the only reference mrjuncker‘s made to brexit in an hour of talking. the rest of it has all been about the eu without the uk, setting out his vision for the future and he wants quite far—reaching change. an eu that both grows bigger and integrates even more in many ways. his plan includes a new single eu president to head all its institutions. a new eu finance minister. an expanded european union with more member states, starting with the balkan nations. more countries in the borderless schengen area and more countries adopting the euro currency as well. plus, mrjuncker wants to seal new trade deals with mexico, australia, new zealand and more, so the eu‘s most ardent

supporters feel emboldened. the only one for the moment who still doesn‘t get it, i think, is mr farage because, let‘s be honest, it clear i think, is mr farage because, let‘s be honest, it‘s clear what our citizens want. they don‘t want to destroy europe, they want to reform europe. but to destroy it? no bloody way. all i can say is, thank god we are leaving. if you'd given cameron concessions, particularly on immigration, the brexit vote, i have to admit, would never, ever have happened. and yet the lesson you take is you're going to centralise, you're going to move onto this new, i think, very worrying, undemocratic union. and he predicted a new populist backlash, but not here. the european parliament of course welcomed mrjuncker‘s ideas. if they‘re to happen, he‘ll have to convince the eu‘s 27 other member states to back his vision. damian grammaticas, bbc news, strasbourg. the international olympic committee has chosen the french capital,

paris, to host the 2024 games, and awarded the 2028 ones to los angeles. last month it was decided that the two summer olympics will be awarded at the same time, after a number of cities cancelled their bids over concerns about the size, cost, and complexity of organising the event. now to a story, of truly coming out of one‘s shell. a breed of giant tortoise which has been listed as extinct for 150 years, is making a triumphant comeback, albeit, slowly. an island in the galapagos bares the same name as the flore—ana tortoise, which was supposedly wiped out. but now, dozens of descendents are growing in number, to reclaim their home. virginia langeberg explains. nothing happens too quickly in the tortoise world. but this is a comeback worth the wait. the florea na tortoise, once thought wiped out, has been on the extinction list for one and a half centuries. now with careful conservation,

the species has been brought back from the dead. translation: today, we are announcing to the world very good news. we have managed to recover a species that was once thought to be extinct and listed as such for the last 150 years. the species became an extinct from its home island of floreana during the mid 19th century after hunting and exploitation from the first settlers. some floreana were dropped on other islands, breeding with other tortoises. now the original species is slowly and steadily staging its return. a breeding programme at the galapagos national park has yielded dozens of floreana pure—bred tortoises, with hopes of thousands more in the coming years. translation: we will recover this floreana species with a programme of reproduction in captivity, using experience that the galapagos national park has already used for 5000 other tortoises reintroduced into the habitat.

this is the first time we will do the same thing but with a species that was considered to be extinct. this is the gift that we give to humanity. they will be given time to grow into their shells within the national park and then it is hoped within five years the floreana will be released back into the wild to reclaim their island. but there is no rush. the cassini mission to saturn will be making its final plunge into the planet in the coming hours. the probe will take its last pictures of saturn, its rings and its moons. the cassini mission has made some extraordinary discoveries about the gas giant over the past thirteen years. nasa is bringing the mission to an end because it‘s run out of fuel — the spacecraft will burn up in the atmosphere of saturn. a reminder of the top story: ait

people died in a nursing home in florida after hurricane irma knocked out electricity. other residents remain ina out electricity. other residents remain in a critical condition. well, if you‘re on twitter — i am as well — and if you want to get in touch i‘m @tomdonkin bbc. goodbye for now. hi there. the weather‘s going to stay unsettled and showery for the next few days. certainly cooler for the weekend, as well. the area of low pressure with the first named storm of the autumn season working across to europe. that‘s aileen. bring some very strong winds to north poland, lithuania, and estonia, with gusts reaching 70 kilometres per hour early in the morning. a blustery start to the day for us, with showers around. if you are heading out early, temperatures will be about 9—10 degrees celsius.

across the far south of england, especially towards the south coast, sunshine for a time. but there‘s a strip of cloud coming down across the midlands, east anglia, and across wales, too, that will have heavy showers in it, and that‘s going to be pushing southwards as the morning goes by. so the sunshine in the south will not last long. to the north, for scotland and northern ireland, there will be some sunshine to start the day. still, though, with that blustery wind making it feel cool around the coast. stornoway 9 degrees, but factoring in the strength of wind, it will feel a little chilly. as we go through the rest of the day, that band of cloud and showers pushes south across england before clearing. then the sunshine comes out across england and wales, that sunshine triggering one or two heavy showers. some of the showers will turn thundery. when the showers come along, they‘ll really drop the temperatures for a time. it‘ll be quite a cool day, in any case, across the north—west, with temperatures of 13 degrees or so in glasgow. showers in the north of scotland could merge to form a lengthy spell

of rain for a time. through the night—time, the band of showers will push south and across northern england and across wales, as well, still tied in with this week when a front that is pushing its way southwards. going through friday, this will push the showers southwards across the midlands, east anglia, and into southern counties of england. along that line, there‘ll a lot of cloud, and some heavier showers. the sunshine comes out across the north across scotland, northern england and northern ireland. another cold day, though, across northern parts for this time of year. just 12 celsius. factoring in the wind, it will feel that bit cooler. that low is sending northerly winds across the uk. this area of low pressure will continue to feed in showers. the majority of the showers will be across central and eastern parts of england. elsewhere, particularly through the weekend, the weather could become drier and brighter across the north—west of the uk. the winds continue to ease. we will have some cool weather, perhaps some overnight frost across sheltered parts of scotland this weekend.

and that‘s your weather. this is bbc news. the headlines: it‘s emerged eight residents of a florida nursing home died after hurricane irma knocked out its power and air conditioning when it hit the state on sunday. a number of the 115 other residents remain in a critical condition. police have launched a criminal investigation into the deaths. the un secretary general has called on myanmar to end the military violence which has forced hundreds of thousands of rohingya muslims to flee. antonio guterres said the situation in the refugee camps in bangladesh was a humanitarian catastrophe, with women and children hungry and malnourished. the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, has told the european parliament that britain will soon regret its decision to leave the eu. in his annual speech on the state of the european union, mrjuncker also outlined his plans for a more integrated eu. now on bbc news, click. this week, the women fighting

for tech recognition.