welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's tom donkin. our top stories: horrific stories emerge of sexual violence and brutality against rohingya women and children who've fled the military crackdown in myanmar. we have a special report from a refugee camp in bangladesh. the catalan government insists sunday's vote on independence will go ahead. but the authorities in spain say it's illegal and have launched raids to prevent the poll. puerto rico is still struggling in the wake of two hurricanes, while american relief efforts are becoming tangled in political disputes. and in austria, a controversial new law banning face veils like the burqa or niqab comes into effect. hello and welcome.

the bbc has heard disturbing accounts of sexual violence and brutality against rohingya women and children who've fled the military crackdown in myanmar. the rohingya — a muslim ethnic minority — live in rakhine state in mainly buddhist myanmar, but more than 500,000 are now living in refugee camps on the southern tip of bangladesh. a warning — you may find some of the details in sanjoy majumder‘s report distressing. the memory is still fresh, the pain very raw. her village inside myanmar was attacked two weeks ago, allegedly by the burmese military and a mob of rakhine buddhists. translation: i came out with my children to try and escape. two rakhine men pinned my arms to my side. then they started raping me. after one finished,

another one took his place, and then a third. when they let her go, she picked up her children and began running. then this happened... they snatched my 2—year—old boy from my arms and threw him inside a burning house. it took her three days to get here, a refugee camp in bangladesh, just inside the border. i cannot find my husband, my parents, my other children. doctors treating the rohingyas say they are seeing more such cases of sexual violence. i find this 22—year—old rohingya woman inside her tent, trying to put her baby to sleep. she says she was raped by a burmese soldier inside her home while others kept watch. her husband, who is missing, was the village cleric. translation: how can i tell anyone about what happened to me?

it is a matter of shame. it is better to die than tell anyone. deeply traumatized, she never leaves her tent. 0thers bring her medicine. it is not easy to independently verify what is happening inside myanmar‘s rakhine state. access is strictly controlled, journalists are not allowed inside, and the burmese military has denied all allegations of sexual assault. in fact, it's denied having anything to do with the violence altogether. but it says it's willing to investigate individual cases that are put before it. but how do you do that when all the victims are living here in bangladesh, and are simply just too scared to go back? in bangladesh, the focus is very much on providing basic needs to the refugees. there is little time to heal those who have been abused. sanjoy majumder, bbc news, at the bangladesh—myanmar border. despite spain's efforts to stop an independence referendum

in catalonia, regional leaders insist that polls will open in a few hours time. it's unclear how easily people will be able vote after spanish police sealed off polling stations and raided a communications centre, where votes are due to be counted. from barcelona, here's tom burridge. goes against the referendum last night took to the streets. a sea of spanish flags. 0utside night took to the streets. a sea of spanish flags. outside the headquarters of catalonia devolved government. those protesting happy that thousands of spanish national police will on board to cruise ships docked in barcelona's port. this is madrid saying it is ultimately in charge. together we are more stronger, together is a great country inside of europe, and we

weren't continued to be a part of disdain. those who want a referendum have occupied schools they can be used as polling stations this morning. at all other nationalists need a big turnout is the british to have credibility at home and abroad. —— catalan. action taken by spanish police means it will be hard. it is one of europe's most iconic cities, at the heart of this most controversial of polls. tom burrage, bbc news in barcelona. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. thousands of people have marched through the irish capital dublin to demand changes to the country's strict abortion laws. the annual rally is the first major demonstration since the country's prime minister announced last week that ireland would hold a referendum on the issue. protesters have clashed with police in the swedish city of gothenburg during a march organised by a neo—nazi group, the nordic resistance movement. at least 20 people are said to have been arrested. the unrest reportedly began

when protesters tried to deviate from the planned route. the us state department has said north korea has expressed no interest in talks over its missile and nuclear programmes. the statement follows comments made in china by the secretary of state, rex tillerson, that washington was in direct contact with pyongyang and exploring the possibility of dialogue. china is keen for the two sides to talk after escalating rhetoric between donald trump and kim jong—un. ten days after puerto rico was devastated by hurricane maria, the situation in the american territory remains desperate. the entire island is still without power and there's a shortage of drinking water, food, and fuel. there's also deepening political tension over relief efforts. while much—needed aid is now arriving, president trump has continued to angrily defend the us response on twitter. the governor of puerto rico gave this update. 0ur priorities at this juncture keep being food delivery,

delivery of gas, making sure that the hospitals are working, making sure we can get more hospitals online and that they get their diesel and their fuel, establishing the best mechanism for robust communication, whether it be telecoms or otherwise, and the air traffic control, so that we can get more assets here in puerto rico. the government is also working in conjunction and collaboration with fema. 0ur housing department, the office of the first lady the family department are also doing efforts to distribute food and water in different areas in puerto rico and we are coordinating all of the logistics with fema so that we can make sure they arrive at their destination. mexican prosecutors have opened an investigation into potential

criminal responsibility over the collapse of a privately owned school in mexico city in which 19 children and seven adults died. the tragedy has become a symbol of the devastation inflicted by the country's 7.1 magnitude quake nearly two weeks ago which killed more than 300 people in the capital and surrounding states. andrew plant reports. flowers, teddy bears and balloons — tributes to the 19 children who died here alongside seven adults after an earthquake caused this school to collapse. translation: it is a memorial to all the people who are suffering. as you can see, this is an area of grief which is not going away. it is a small tribute and a memorial to the people. it was the worst in a generation, killing at least 355 people in mexico city and the areas around. now what happened here is under investigation.

engineers believe the school should never have fallen down and that illegal building work meant its steel supports gave way, killing many of those inside. investigators are now looking at the building and the companies behind its construction. officials have already said they suspect it did not comply with regulations. translation: we will put together the files and make a detailed investigation as to what building permits were issued, who issued them, who reviewed the site, and who authorised it. it is indisputable that there could have been criminal negligence, and that is why we are investigating. since the massive earthquake that hit mexico in 1985, planning and building codes have been improved and rigidly enforced — quake—proofing buildings a national priority. translation: we are not going to hide anything. a terrible tragedy occurred here. i think we are all shocked, and i think it is my obligation to investigate everything we can. the suspicion here is that the steel

columns that supported the school were too weak to withstand a strong earthquake. now many here believe it was an accident that was waiting to happen. andrew plant, bbc news. police in southern germany say they've detained a man they suspect of trying to extort millions of dollars from supermarkets by concealing poisoned food products on their shelves. he was arrested after tip—offs from the public following an appeal for information. officers say they've discovered material they intend to use as evidence at his flat. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. this all began when five jars of baby food containing a liquid used in antifreeze were found in a supermarket in southern germany. cctv footage was released, showing a potential suspect it was alleged had e—mailed store owners demanding millions of euros. now an arrest has been made.

he has not been named, but police say he is 53 years old and has been described as eccentric and mentally disturbed. translation: we currently have no leads pointing in the direction of an accomplice. at the moment, we are talking about a single perpetrator who planned and carried out the crime alone. the public prosecutor has applied for an arrest warrant for blackmail, but a charge of attempted murder could also be considered. authorities say the suspect admitted the accusations when he made his first appearance in court. he also said he had not put any poison products in other supermarkets. but german shoppers are still being warned to remain vigilant for signs of tampering when buying food. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: a football match in northern france ends in injury for a number of fans after a barrier collapses. 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.

you are watching bbc news, the latest headlines. the united nations warns of an increase in sexual violence against rohingya refugees fleeing the military crackdown in myanmar. let's stay with the story. earlier i spoke to president of the burmese rohingya organisation in the uk. he is currently in southern bangladesh, assessing the situation on the ground. i have seen many refugees taking shelter in the refugee camps and some are not getting proper shelter yet. many women, especially with babies, these women are facing serious, seriously they are facing, you know, a kind of disease and not getting proper shelter nor medical aid.

we appreciate what the bangladesh government has been doing but it is hard to handle such a large population. when i visited there i had many women telling me about stories, they were ashamed to say and some women were told me they had been raped by government, by military, they had been raped three or four times by the military. these horrific things and told me and some elderly man told me they had seen their sons being slaughtered, their grandchildren thrown into fires, it is an unbelievable situation, unspeakable what i heard from them.

truly horrific accounts. we know that there are children in these camps. some unaccompanied by any adult. are they being properly cared for? not really. as far as i know there are many agencies here trying to take care of them. we really need much more international help, international expertise to take care of these children. it is quite important. i think that the international community must support the bangladesh government to accommodate and give proper shelter because as i said earlier it is a heavy population there and the people must, they left from burma, so it is important. we need international support to bangladesh to accommodate them. we really need much more

international help, international expertise to take care of these children. an air france a380 passengerjet has been forced to make an emergency landing after serious damage to one of its engines. the super—jumbo was travelling from paris to los angeles with more than 500 people on board, but was diverted to goose bay military airport in eastern canada. 0ne passenger said he heard a loud boom and felt a sudden movement. it's unclear what caused the incident. 15 minutes into the match, lille opened with a goal. lille fans erupted with joy, many pressing against the metal fence separating them from the pitch. unable to bear their weight, the fence collapsed, sending supporters tumbling over each other on to the ground. the match was stopped as emergency workers treated people on the pitch. amiens are playing in france's first division for the first time. the stadium is undergoing

renovation work. 0fficials insisted there was no link between the work and the accident. the club president blamed lille fans for charging the fence, which he said was in perfect condition. officials in bali have urged people who live outside the immediate danger zone of the mount agung volcano to return home. the governor of the indonesian island said the number of evacuees had become too high. more than 75,000 people have been moved from their homes, as the volcano is said to be entering a "critical phase." 0fficials stress they can not predict when exactly it will erupt. columbia is getting ready for the start of a ceasefire between government forces and the national liberation army or eln. rebel fighters have been told to respect the ceasefire from sunday until mid—january.

janey mitchell reports. many of the eln guerillas has known no other life. after over 50 years of fighting the government, the commander of the marxist group has for the first time ordered his fighters to observe a ceasefire from 0500 gmt on sunday. translation: i order all troops far and wide throughout the nation's territory to cease all offensive activities and to fully comply with the bilateral ceasefire. the truce comes seven months after talks began in ecuador between then government and the rebel group's leadership. since then, hostagetaking by the eln has continued. and it's stepped up attacks on oil companies. this image reportedly showing pollution of a river in a northern province just days ago, after the eln blew up a major oil pipeline. such attacks should now stop. and after signing the ceasefire agreement, the president of columbia hailed the deal as the first step towards peace with the eln.

translation: this is the first. the first bilateral ceasefire that the eln has signed in its entire history. it is agreeing with humanitarian object is to protect the civilian population, to defend their rights and liberties. it comes weeks after juan manuel santos locked away the final cache of weapons from the larger farc group following its peace deal in november. it relaunched as a political party in early september. part of the country remained plagued by violence as groups move in on former strongholds. but after more than five decades of conflict, peace with the country's left—wing rebels is within colombia's grasp. let's turn to the united states now, where several thousand demonstrators

turned out on saturday in washington to demand racial justice. this was the scene in barcelona where people are queueing at a voting station for a referendum on independence in catalonia. the spanish government has cold this illegal and is trying to stop it. earlier a place where votes are to be counted was raided. polling stations are going to open in just underfour hours' stations are going to open in just under four hours' time. let's turn to the united states now, where several thousand demonstrators turned out on saturday in washington to demand racial justice. the demonstration took place days after some american football players defied president trump by kneeling during the national anthem at games, to protest police brutality. the gesture sparked a national

debate after the president told a political rally that any protesting nfl player should be fired, and he also urged a boycott of nfl games. a separate march for black women joined the protest, starting at lincoln park, leading the way to the capitol. protesting is the best way to show this is not right. you have to notice us. i support the protesting of the nfl. it is conversation in a place that does not often get it. the sport world has a history of socialjustice activism, but it is easy for it to be forgotten and not heard. people don't want to see protesting? they need to move to another country. my fathers and u ncles another country. my fathers and uncles did not fight nazis to do

this. austria's law banning of face veils such as burqas or niqabs has begun. only an estimated 150 austrian women wear the full face veil. the measures are seen as an attempt to counter the rise of the far—right, ahead of a general election next month. there are around 700,000 muslims in a country with a population of about eight million. bethany bell reports from austria's capital vienna. austria is banning the fullface veil in public places. headscarves are allowed but the tiny minority of muslim women who wear the burqa or niqab now face a fine. it is estimated only 150 women here actually wear one. the law doesn'tjust target muslim veils, it also restricts the use of medical masks and clown make—up. this shop sells clothes for conservative muslim women. they would not let us film inside, but on their website they do so ads for the niqab. it is very rare to see muslim women

wearing full faced veils, here in austria. those who do so are believed to be young and converts. the coalition government of the social democrats and conservatives says the law is about standing up for women's rights. in a free society, we have to protect the values of the free society, and one of the values is the equal rights of man and woman and not ban the woman from the public. we cannot accept a woman as a second—class person. this election poster by the far—right freedom party says islamisation should be stopped. fears about muslims are wide spread, although there have not been major terrorist attacks here. carla amina baghajati, from the islamic community in austria, says she is not in favour of face veils but she does not like the new law. muslims feel that populism is taking over and they are very worried

that they are made responsible for attacks. we need a feeling of us, in our society, and these laws do not help but are counter—productive. tourism officials are concerned too. they say those most likely to be affected by the ban are wealthy tourists from the gulf. arrests could be bad for business. bethany bell, bbc news, vienna. before we go, united nations is warning ofan before we go, united nations is warning of an increase in sexual violence against rohingya refugees fleeing a military crackdown in myanmar. doctors in bangladesh say many of the women and children who

have crossed over the border from myanmar have been sexually assaulted and abused by soldiers. more than half a million refugees have now passed into bangladesh from myanmar. that is it from me and the team. you can get in touch with me on twitter. iam tom can get in touch with me on twitter. i am tom donkin. for now, thank you, and goodbye. hello again. it's typical autumn fare over the next few days. the start of a new month, wind, sunshine and rain. these weather systems tracking rain in from the atlantic, deepening low pressure strengthening winds as well. quite a contrast in temperatures. clear skies in scotland, not far from freezing this morning. much milder weather with rain and drizzle further south, low cloud as well. rain on the way for the great scottish run after a chilly start. temperatures lifting but winds picking up as well. heavy rain across western scotland as the rain moves in and east across the country through the morning,

some rain will drizzle at times in england and wales. a glimmer of sunshine, the best in the afternoon across northern ireland. improving across some other western areas later in the day. quite a muggy field across england and wales. a windy day across the uk. winds picking up in wembley for the nfl. drizzly rain at times. you can see the saints vs dolphins game on bbc two later on today. this rain finally clearing away in the evening across eastern parts of england. skies clearing away from showers in the north—west. seeing the weather changing. warmer, tropical, muggy air giving way to a north—westerly winds overnight and into monday. pulling in something a bit colder. this is the former hurricane maria, sliding through the english channel. a big impact on monday because of the low pressure to the north. winds even stronger by monday morning. 50 mph for rush—hour on monday. 60 mph quite possible across some western and northern parts of scotland. accompanied by a lot of showers as well, quite nasty weather for a while. further south, wind is not as strong. not much rain, a decent day for the south—east. chilly in the wind, temperatures a bit lower on monday. seeing rain clipping the far

south—west of england in the afternoon. this is what is left of hurricane maria. rain running through much of england, through the channel, gone by monday. we still have north—westerly winds. by this stage, not as strong, thankfully. some sunshine around, probably not as many showers. quite a chill in the air, 13—14 fairly typical. high pressure on the scene in the week, but not likely to hang around. getting squeezed out by this low pressure, bringing wind and rain back to the north—west. this is bbc news. the headlines: the united nations is warning of an increase in sexual violence against rohingya refugees fleeing a military crackdown in myanmar. doctors in bangladesh say that many of the women and children who have crossed over the border from myanmar have been sexually assaulted and abused by soldiers. separatist leaders in the spanish region of catalonia insist that polls will open in the coming hours for an independence referendum banned by the central government. spanish police are working to block the vote but catalonia's vice—president said ballot

boxes would be available at polling stations. the situation in puerto rico is still dire after the devastation caused by two hurricanes. there's also deepening political tension over the us relief effort. in a series of tweets, president trump promised his support but tried to blame local officials, democrats, and the media for the poor situation. let's have a look at the front pages of this morning's papers. the observer says the knives are out for theresa may