this is bbc news. our top stories: president trump's health secretary quits after using expensive private planes for government business. but after tom price, could others follow? mass rallies in catalonia in support of sunday's planned independence referendum. spain says the vote violates the constitution and won't ahead. the us cuts its staff in cuba by more than half and warns americans not to visit. it says mystery attacks injured several embassy staff. and at the eu summit in estonia, the head of the european commission says brexit talks need a miracle to keep them on track. hello and welcome to bbc world news. the us health secretary tom price has been forced to resign after dragging the white house

into another scandal, this time over the use of private jets. mr price promised to repay more than $50,000 after it was revealed he took private charter flights instead of going commercial. the bbc‘s laura bicker is in washington and she gave me the details. donald trump pledged his supporters that he would come to washington to drain the swamp, to end politics as usual. here we are, his own health secretary is seen swanning around on private planes when the official government business should always be done on commercial planes. so when it comes to how he's going to persuade his supporters that he's the man in charge, that he is going to continue to rail against the elite and he can sort out his own cabinet, he needs to have shown that his own health secretary

is following the rules. he is said to have been absolutely furious with mr price. and here we are, friday evening in washington and yet another resignation. i think the other problem with this scandal is that it has been a huge distraction for the white house. you've had several attempts at healthcare reform. there is a hurricane crisis in puerto rico and donald trump is trying to reform taxes here in the united states. all the while he's doing it, republicans and democrats are still not coming on board. so he now has a health secretary and other members of his cabinet using private planes during government business and simply mr price had to go. as you mentioned, the timing is absolutely dreadful. tom price is not the only one as you suggested there, who has a bit of an interest in private planes, is not the only one to use them for

government business. could you elaborate? well, we have the treasury secretary steve mnuchin, the interior secretary and the environment chief and all three members of cabinet are under investigation for their private plane use. so far that's still under investigation. there are allegations that that newspapers have been digging and posting, a number of... certainly times when each of those members of cabinet have used private planes. when it comes to that kind of usage, it is something that donald trump supporters, the blue—collar workers, are simply not going to support. so donald trump will probably be looking as well. this is also not following the rules. a number of the people that he hired onto his team have been wealthy bankers or people with wealthy backgrounds. so when they're seen swanning around

in a private plane seats, it doesn't look good for donald trump. the other issue is that this is the 14th member of donald trump's administration to resign or be fired since he took office. the rest have been members of the white house administration, this is the first cabinet member. but to lose 1a members of your administration in such a short time doesn't look good. the bbc‘s laura bicker in washington. thousands of catalan separatists have held a final rally ahead of sunday's planned referendum on independence from spain. the head of the regional government told the crowd he believed catalonia would become a sovereign nation. but madrid is trying to block the vote, claming it is unconstitutional. a court has ordered google to block an app informing voters about the location of polling stations. tom burridge is in barcelona. chanting tonight, a call to vote on a yes—no question,

should their region break away from spain? it's true that a lot of people are waiting this moment lots of years. to vote 7 to vote, and i hope it will be yes. but beyond the fiesta, there is deep uncertainty. and in the palace at the heart of catalonia's devolved government, the leader disobeying spain's courts and government. a referendum on sunday, he says, will go ahead. translation: the overwhelming majority of people in catalonia want to vote, to decide. not like this. yes, but what other option did we have? we've offered to negotiate. this vote is not a crime. but there is a catch. many in spain's richest region only want a referendum with madrid's consent.

likejose gonzales. born in malaga, barcelona has been his home for 66 years. translation: our families and friends are divided. we can barely talk about politics any more. in madrid today, a mock vote. they want catalonia to remain part of spain. and like their government, they don't recognise sunday's referendum. it is not a question of stopping people voting. well, that's what you want to do this weekend. no, no. let me be clear on this. in catalonia, they vote, they vote on local elections, european elections, according to the law. sure, but not... what they are trying to do is an illegal self—determination consultation. this evening, after—school activities, a bid by parents to occupy polling stations and prevent the police

from shutting them down. barcelona, and its region, walking into the unknown. rhythmic clinking listen to this nightly ritual. a protest of pots and pans. ringing out across the city. people who say they will vote. tom burridge, bbc news, barcelona. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the united nations is to send war crimes investigators to yemen after a compromise agreement overcame objections from saudi arabia. the un human rights council unanimously adopted a resolution as a group of eminent regional and international experts to examine all violations committed by all parties in the yemen

conflict. president trump is to attend a summit of south—east asian nations in manila. the white house says he'll visit several states in november. stops include china, south korea, japan, vietnam and the philippines. the crisis in north korea is likely to dominate. ryanair says it's agreed to implement measures ordered by the uk's airline regulator, the caa, to ensure all passengers affected by flight cancellations are aware of their rights. it's updated its website and e—mailed customers affected by its decision to ground hundreds of flights in the coming weeks. the us diplomatic presence in cuba will be cut by more than half and american citizens have been warned not to visit. that was the announcement from the state department after what they called mysterious attacks which have caused hearing loss, fatigue and dizziness among those working in the us embassy. cuba has responded saying the decision is hasty

and will affect relations. barbara plett usher reports this was supposed to mark the beginning of better relations between cuba and the us. but little more than a year after the mission was formally reopened in havana, us employees began to report hearing loss and other mystery health problems. the americans now say their diplomats are being attacked. they do not know who, or with what, but they have decided no longer safe for them. only a skeleton staff will remain. it will be a blow for us travellers. many were excited by washington's historic opening with cuba in 2015. there's no evidence that private citizens have been attacked but the state department is warning they could be at risk. president 0bama took a risk by renewing ties with cuba's communist leaders. he was convinced it was in america's interests.

the cuban government has denied any role in this bizarre and troubling episode. it has been helping with the investigation. but the secretary of state, rex tillerson, has reminded havana it has an obligation to protect us government employees and their families. until the government of cuba can assure the safety of diplomats in cuba, he said, our embassy will be reduced to emergency personnel to minimise the number of diplomats at risk of harm. relations had begun to strain under the weight of the new president who rolled back some elements of the agreement. they did some bad things and you will see what happened. cubasaid the decision to downsize the embassy was hasty and will further affect ties. the ending of hostilities between the two cold war enemies was a legacy moment for president 0bama. celebrated with scenes that could have been filmed for a feelgood american movie. now sabotaged by a plot that could have been written for a cold war spy novel. so what is a sonic attack, and why might it be used?

robin cleveland is a professor of engineering science at the university of oxford. the amount of data that has been provided is limited but the reports suggest that people who have been suffering from these effects have heard things, all sorts of different sounds. the sounds that have been reported have not themselves been loud enough to affect their hearing assuming it was some frequency above what we can normally here, what we refer to as ultrasound, effects such as dizziness and nausea have been well reported in the literature. there have been ultrasonic sound waves used. they are short wavelengths so you have the ability to target individuals or small areas of space. it is certainly plausible. hard to say without more information at the moment. it is also possible that many of the electronics we use now generate ultrasonic waves and it is something that started

to be of concern in the acoustics community in the last five years or so, is that, these ultrasonic waves around all the time the probably do impact us without us realising because we cannot here. it is possible that it could come from other devices but the fact that the us state department has said they have identified it as attacks specifically on some of their personnel seems unlikely that they just somehow inadvertently they are affected and nobody else. president trump has defended his response to the hurricanes that have ripped through puerto rico, saying aid efforts have been hampered by the fact the territory is an island. the governor of puerto rico has said more food is now getting through, although there's an issue of who will pay for it. david campanale has more. puerto rico faces a series of challenges unprecedented in its recent history. even before hurricane maria struck, the island was hit by a deluge of another kind. a torrent of debt.

$72 billion that puerto rico has no means to repay. over a week on from the category 5 storm, islanders continue to pull out what they can salvage from under their collapsed homes. but puerto rico has already submitted to the crushing weight of local government debt. in may, the island filed for america's biggest ever municipal bankruptcy and now there are questions over how much of a role the federal government will play in the crisis. and the response and recovery effort probably has never been seen for something like this. this is an island surrounded by water — big water, ocean water. ultimately the government of puerto rico will have to work with us to determine how this massive rebuilding effort will end up being one of the biggest ever,

will be funded and organised, and what we will do with the tremendous amount of existing debt. most of the island's 3.4 million residents face a tenth day without the basics and their political leaders believe not enough is being done. iam begging. begging anyone that can hear us to save us from dying. federal authorities are now rising to the enormity of the crisis caused by hurricane maria. it is also one that will take not days but months to overcome. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: celebrations as radio i clocks up 50 years on britain's airwaves, but who's still listening? in all russia's turmoil,

it has never come to this. president yeltsin said the day would decide the nation's destiny. the nightmare that so many people have feared for so long is playing out its final act here. russians are killing russians in front of a grandstand audience. it was his humility which produced affection from catholics throughout the world. but his departure is a tragedy for the catholic church. israel's right—winger ariel sharon visited the religious compound and that started the trouble. he wants israel alone to have sovereignty over the holy sites, an idea that's unthinkable to palestinians. after 45 years of division, germany is one. in berlin, a million germans celebrate the rebirth of europe's biggest and richest nation. welcome. you are watching bbc news.

the latest headlines: the us health secretary, tom price, has resigned amid an outcry over his use of private jets for government business. campaigners have taken to the streets of catalonia, as the region prepares for an independence referendum that spain has banned. the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, says miracles are needed, if the brexit negotiations are to move onto the next stage, any time soon. speaking at a summit of eu leaders in estonia, he said he didn't think there'd been enough progress, to allow talks on trade to begin, before the end of october. but theresa may says she's pleased, with what's been achieved so far. 0ur europe correspondent kevin connelly reports, from estonian capital, tallinn. at a military base in estonia,

the prime minister on a mission. theresa may's signal, that britain will remain an important player in european defence and security far beyond brexit. the problem, well, getting beyond brexit isn't easy. at the very least, there's a difference of emphasis about how the first rounds of talks are going. i'm pleased that the negotiations have been making progress and i look forward to developing that deep and special partnership with the eu, because i think it's not only in the interests of the uk, it's in the interests of the eu as well. the eccentric staging invited the thought that the remaining eu 27 are singing from the same hymn sheet, as brexit looms. and never far away, a sense of the uk isolated, as the eu presses for more concessions. there will be no sufficient progress from now until october unless miracles will happen.

in bilateral meetings like this one, theresa may is trying to broaden the brexit conversation, beyond those difficult divorce talks in brussels. it's not clear to what extent leaders like angela merkel are engaging. the next time these leaders meet, brexit will be centre stage and they will be deciding if britain has given enough to persuade them to move the talks on from those difficult separation issues, like money, to a future trade deal, as theresa may would like. for now, the odds are against early progress. when they sit in judgment in three weeks' time, theresa may will not be in the room. kevin connolly, bbc news, tallinn. the united states has confirmed it won't recognise the iraqi kurds' referendum on independence from baghdad. tensions have increased, since 92% of voters in the area backed the move.

iraq's central government has retaliated by suspending international flights to and from the region. 0ur correspondent mark lowen reports from irbil‘s airport. the last passengers are arriving here at irbil‘s airport to take flights out of the country before all flights will be suspended this evening. we've spoken to some passengers who say they're flying out early because of the suspension. they don't know when they will be allowed back in. it's the first major punitive step taken by the iraqi government in baghdad, in response to the disputed kurdish independence referendum that the iraqi government does not accept. the kurdish authorities are calling the action illegal and unconstitutional and they say it's collective punishment for the kurdish people. there is a lot of angry rhetoric about regarding the independence referendum. the iraqi government say

they will only sit and talk to the kurds once the referendum and null and void. turkey and iran have hit out at the referendum because they want to keep their own kurdish minorities in check. and yet there's no real demand or for fresh conflict here. there is the belief that only dialogue is the viable way forward and when that will come is not clear. the un says it will mediate between both sides, but expect days of tension to heighten over the days and weeks ahead before they might ease. mark lowen in irbil. there's been another huge rockfall in california's yosemite national park, a day after a massive granite slab fell from the famous el capitan vertical rock formation, killing a british man and seriously injuring his wife. the authorities say the second rockfall in yosemite injured one person who was airlifted to hospital. james cook has the story. it is a climber‘s worst nightmare. the thunder and dust of a giant rockfall, the second in as many days.

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