welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: four days after the las vegas shooting, the white house, senior republicans and one of america's most powerful lobby groups consider limited changes to us gun laws. tropical storm nate kills at least 20 people in central america. it looks set to strengthen as it heads for the us. the oscar—winning film producer harvey weinstein apologises and admits he caused a lot of pain. there are claims he's sexually harassed women for decades. and spain's constitutional court suspends monday's meeting of the catalan parliament in a bid to block the push for independence. the author... i do feel the japanese

pa rt the author... i do feel the japanese part of my upbringing is crucial to who i am as part of my upbringing is crucial to whoiam asa part of my upbringing is crucial to who i am as a person and as a writer stopping hello. the powerful american lobbying group the national rifle association has backed calls to regulate rapid—fire devices for guns. stephen paddock, who killed 58 people in las vegas on sunday, used what's known as a bump stock to modify some of his weapons, turning them, in effect, into fully—automatic machine—guns. the white house and senior republicans are also saying they'll support a review. the bbc‘s james cook reports from las vegas. the golden glass was shattered by a man intent on mayhem. why, police still don't know. they say there is evidence stephen paddock had planned to survive the attack, and that he may have had help. we know stephen paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo and living a secret life,

much of which will never be fully understood. so far, there's been a lot of attention paid to the actions of the man who was in that building and what he did, firing down on this concert below. but what many people who were at that gig have told us is that they think the focus should be on the response and the bravery that was on display there. kristin babik showed immense courage. the 24—year—old kept running from the bullets, even after she had been shot in the back. i felt something hit me really hard and then i felt something splatter on my back, so i thought it was either somebody‘s drink, it kind of felt like a paintball or something like that. it's not fair and it's not right... and now i'll forever have to have a bullet in my back... ..for no reason. so i'm just sorry other people have to deal with similar or worse. the girlfriend of the man

who inflicted such suffering says he was kind, caring and quiet. marilou danley has now been questioned by the fbi. in a statement, she insisted she had no warning that something horrible like this was going to happen. that horror was intensified by the rapidity of the shooting, made possible by a device called a bump stock, which increases the rate of fire on a gun. this advert for bump stock salutes the founding fathers who codified the right to bear arms. senior republicans, the white house, even the powerful national rifle association, are talking about a ban. in a statement tonight, the nra said: but banning this accessory is not gun control, which is anathema to the nra and to the republican party it helps to bankroll. meanwhile, the killing continues.

since 59 people died here, at least 87 more americans have been shot dead. that's a las vegas massacre every three days. james cook, bbc news, in las vegas. and you can stay up to date with all the latest developments by heading to our website. there are pages dedicated to the stories of the survivors and the politics of gun law in the us. just go to bbc.com/news or download the bbc news app. a powerful hurricane is forecast to hit the united states this weekend, it would be the country's third in three months. storm nate has already killed at least 20 people in costa rica, nicaragua and honduras. the storm is expected to gain force over the next couple of days, hitting mexico and southern parts of the us. luxmy gopal reports. a trail of devastation, mudslides, and flooding in costa rica in the wake of a powerful tropical storm. storm nate has already killed people and left several missing.

the country has declared a national emergency, with more than 5,000 having to leave their homes, and the storm's destructive path has only just begun. forecasters predict it will go north, gaining force to become a categoryi hurricane when it reaches the united states across louisiana and florida. given these threats i have declared a state of emergency for the city of new orleans. it is strengthening and producing heavy wind and above—average rain for saturday and sunday. but models will change as this event draws closer. the current forecast is 3—6 inches of rain over the duration of the system, 36—48 hours, and potentially doubling back. all this after the us is still reeling from two powerful hurricanes in the last two months.

hurricane harvey tore through texas in august, killing nearly 50 people. then hurricane irma brought destruction and 41 deaths. puerto rico is still without power and running water following hurricane maria. now, yet again, people in this part of the world are bracing themselves for more destruction. luxmy gopal, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. president trump is again talking of de—certifying the international deal signed by the major world powers with iran, to limit its nuclear activities. he claims tehran has not lived up to the spirit of the agreement. but this week both his defence secretary and america's most senior military officer told a congressional committee iran is compliant, and said the deal is in america's national security interests. at least four toddlers and a teacher have died in brazil after a security

guard started a fire at a childcare centre. the man threw petrol over the children and himself before starting the fire. he died of his wounds. the motive is not clear, but local media have reported that he'd recently been dismissed. fierce storms in north and east germany have killed six people and injured at least ten. powerful winds ripped through the region, uprooting trees and lifting roofs. a number of trains have been cancelled leaving hundreds of passengers stranded in hanover. in the capital berlin volunteer fire crews have been called in to help answer emergency calls. the 0scar—winning hollywood film producer, harvey weinstein, says he is taking a leave of absence and seeking the help of therapists, after it was reported that eight women had made sexual harassment claims against him. the new york times has reported that mr weinstein, who is 65, reached settlements with the women. 0ur correspondent peter bowes is in los angeles. yes, he is a big player. he's usually influential and powerful and has been in hollywood for many decades. of course, he was the co—founder

of the mirramax company. he and his brother have run it for the past 12 years. he's got a string of very successful titles to his name, pulp fiction, shakespeare in love, the artist, the king's speech, the list goes on. a key player in hollywood. these are very serious allegations against him from the new york times. the paper says these are powerful allegations from the new york times. they say this is based on a clearly an intense investigation going back many decades, talking to past employees, current employees, legal documents, e—mails, painting a picture of a man at least according to this article is a serial abuser of women, who has behaved badly, inappropriate behaviour, sexual activities over many decades. he has reached settlements with eight of those women according to the new york times. people say hollywood has always been a seedy place. but he presented himself

as a liberal, a champion of women, promoting humanitarian and artistic causes. yes. and he reflects those sentiments to some extent in a statement he released. he has apologised and is saying sorry in a rambling statement he has released. he says he appreciates that he has caused pain in his interactions with colleagues and sincerely apologises for it. he says he is trying to do better and knows he has a long way to go. he says he has a journey to conquer his demons. he says he respects all women and regrets what happened. next week's meeting of the party of

catalonia has been suspended by spain's constitutional court. the session was cancelled after a challenge by the catalan socialist party, which opposes plans to break away from spain. 0ur europe editor katya adler reports from madrid. wherever you go in spain at the moment, people argue, angst and vent about it. the catalan question, and how on earth it can be resolved. in the capital madrid there's talk of little else. translation: of course we are concerned about the situation, and so are a lot of catalans, who don't want independence. translation: a lot of us don't understand what's going on. the politicians on both sides are acting in their own interests. they should be looking out for us, the people. tension is mounting. today, spain's constitutional court banned monday's meeting of the catalan parliament, where lawmakers were expected to declare independence. but the catalan government has ignored constitutional rulings before and you get the feeling they're going to do it again. translation: we condemn this ruling which violates

the freedom of expression. we will not be censored. inside the spanish parliament meanwhile, prime minister rajoy is feeling the heat. he's famous for his wait and see approach, in this case a kind of cat and mouse waiting game of will they or won't they declare unilateral independence in catalonia? but he's coming under increasing pressure from those on the left who want him to start a dialogue with the catalan nationalists, and those on the right. who favour what spaniards have dubbed the nuclear option. translation: we have to trigger article 155 of our constitution, dissolving the catalan parliament, revoking catalan autonomy, until new regional elections can be held there. i asked him if he felt differently about the situation because he is catalan. translation: i, like many catalans,

are torn between our mother, that is catalonia, and our father, that is spain, but i believe, like gordon brown said before the scottish referendum, that we are stronger together. in a nod to those demanding action, spain's prime minister has warned catalan leaders to abandon their unilateral independence plans, orface greater evils. former nato secretary general and eu foreign policy chief javier sola na has offered to mediate. i lived many events in the balkans i saw breaking countries, i saw changing borders. it leads nowhere. we are in a century where we have to go together and i don't want catalonia to go another brexit in the european union, they want to be the european union and they are demanding to be in the european union with spain. passion for the beautiful game

unites all spaniards but tonight in a sign of national nervousness, football club fc barcelona appealed for the dialogue to end the catalan crisis, while big bank sabadell moved its legal headquarters out of the region. this is a country bracing itself for what might happen next. katya adler, bbc news, madrid. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: as author kazuo ishiguro wins the nobel prize for literature, he tells us about his unique perspective. 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. this is bbc news. the headlines: the white house has welcomed backing from the powerful lobby group, the nra, for calls to regulate rapid—fire devices for guns used by the las vegas mass killer, stephen paddock. the fbi is still trying to establish his motive. tropical storm nate has killed

at least 20 people in central america and it looks set to strengthen as it heads for the us. one of the most senior cardinals in the catholic church, the vatican treasurer george pell, has appeared in court in australia, charged with historical sexual offences. cardinal pell, who's 76, denies the allegations — full details have not been made public. 0ur correspondent hywel griffith is following events in melbourne. to some extent, it was a procedural matter but it drew huge amount of attention, and some protesters outside court which means he needed a police escort. he is one of the most senior catholics within the church. 0nce most senior catholics within the church. once inside, he was subject to the same security screening as eve ryo ne to the same security screening as everyone else and matters got under way in courtroom number one which is filled with press and members of the

public, some who had been queueing outside the door since five a.m.. in front of the magistrate, it was mostly legal issues, particularly the number of witnesses the courts will hear from when they next set. there will be at least around 50 witnesses will be called. some discussing matters which occurred decades ago because these are historical sexual offences which he is accused. after 15 or 20 minutes, he made his way back out through the throng, not speaking to reporters, only to his barrister as they made their way back to the chambers. the actual allegations, the number of complaints, has not been made public so we complaints, has not been made public so we expect a long wait until march for more details of this case are known but one thing his barrister has made clear is that cardinal pell has made clear is that cardinal pell has returned to australia from rome in order to clear his name and he

will absolutely refute the charges against him. a prominent opposition leader from cambodia has called for international sanctions to be imposed on the government of prime minister hun sen over his increasingly authoritarian rule. mu sochua is the most senior politician in the cambodian national rescue party, after its leader kem sokha was arrested last month on charges of treason. 0ur south east asia correspondent jonathan head met mu sochua, in an undisclosed location in bangkok, and asked herfirst why she had chosen to leave cambodia. to flee the country has never been part of my agenda, but hun sen, the prime minister, said very clearly the case of the opposition leader is a case of treason, and that case does not stop with him, who is now in prison. you saw it as a direct threat to you? i was willing to stay, but monday night 10pm, i got another message from someone i know saying you need to leave, it will happen, this arrest

will happen this week. what i was afraid of was to be captured and be silenced and put in jail and having the case go through a kangaroo court for months and months. we don't have months to wasted. the election for cambodia is scheduled for the 29th ofjuly, 2018. i intend to have my voice heard, because it represents the voices of those whose voices cannot be heard. that is very important, that is critical. a critical moment for me, a choice i thought i would not have to make.

what can be done? prime minister hun sen has run cambodia and overcome every challenge for such a long time now. he seems almost unable to be defeated. the international community has invested billions of dollars into making cambodia a democratic country. those billions of dollars, actually, dollars they continue to flow into cambodia, will be dollars to give a free ride, another ten years, to prime minister hun sen. that is not quality of aid. the next stop is action. japan, for example, has to suspend its aid for infrastructure. democracy comes first. democracy first means sanctions.

it is not a word the international community wants to hear, but it is action. in britain, senior ministers are doing their very best in public, to bolster the prime minister's position after wednesday's fraught party conference speech and to dismiss any talk of a challenge to her leadership. but there are growing signs of disaffection. 0ur political correspondent ben wright has the latest. it was an ordeal to deliver and difficult to watch. a prankster, a cough and a disintegrating set derailed theresa may's keynote speech to the tory party conference. she looked vulnerable and exposed, but battled on. and, just as they did yesterday, her cabinet has rallied round. what did you think of mrs may's speech? very brave, very good speech. is there a plot against her? i should think not. "should think not",

the brexit secretary snapped. she has my full support, thank you. there was already heightened tension in the tory party after the snap election that destroyed the conservatives' commons majority. and the prime minister's rotten luck yesterday has got her critics circling again. in public, most people are being pretty loyal. i think in private people are very concerned. i think there will be quite a few people who will now be pretty firm in the view that she should resign. the tory party conference was a great opportunity to reboot the party and, therefore, reboot the country, to give a clear sense of direction, and that didn't happen. foreign secretary, is the prime minister going to resign? in recent weeks there has been much speculation about borisjohnson‘s own leadership plans. but in the absence of a standout successor to theresa may, and fear of another general election running deep within the party, this senior mp from the tory backbenches thinks his colleagues must get a grip. there are always tory members of parliament who have been grumbling about leadership.

they grumbled about david cameron, they grumbled before that about michael howard. they‘ re now grumbling about theresa may. you always get that. what would you say to your fellow tory mps who think this is the moment to try and depose theresa may? well, i haven't found any yet and i haven't talked to any yet but next week when the house returns i will find them and i'll politely ask them to shut up. at the moment there doesn't seem to be enough momentum among a minority of tory mps to threaten theresa may, who is, of course, embroiled in brexit and bridging divisions within her party on the issue. most tory mps i've talked to are very sympathetic about the prime minister's struggles yesterday. 0ne cabinet minister told me it was proper and fair to stand by her. number 10 scoffs at any suggestion theresa may might quit. so for now the embattled prime minister fights on. ben wright, bbc news, downing street. the author kazuo ishiguro has said it's a magnificent honour to receive this year's nobel prize for literature. he was born injapan and moved to the uk as a young boy and is probably best known

for the novel the remains of the day, also a successful film. judges praised the great emotional force of his work. he's been speaking to our arts editor, will gompertz. the nobel prize in literature 2017 is awarded to the english writer, kazuo ishiguro. i thought, in this age of false news, i thought it was perhaps a mistake. kazuo ishiguro has written seven novels in a 35—year literary career in which he's won numerous other awards to go with his nobel prize. his first novel, a pale view of hills, made an immediate impact when it was published in 1982. it, like his second book, an artist of the floating world, features a japanese protagonist. i do feel that the japanese part of my upbringing is crucial to who i am as a person and as a writer. i'm a british citizen, i've lived in this country since the age of five, entirely educated in this country. but i did grow up in a japanese home.

there was always this other dimension. i saw things through the eyes of japanese people. i saw british society through japanese eyes. he is perhaps best known for his 1989 booker prize—winning novel, the remains of the day, which was turned into a film starring anthony hopkins and emma thompson. mr stevens. yes. you mustn't take anything i said to heart. it's hideously easy to miss great opportunities in life. and i think that is something we all face, you know? and i think my books have often addressed that. people who didn't quite see love when it came yes, yes, mrstephens?

it is one of the things i resort to, is to create a situation in which the character perhaps understates things, almost frustratingly, from the reader's point of view. i want the reader to say, how can you just, why don't you react more, why aren't you screaming? why keep these things to yourself? he creates characters and worlds we can inhabit and believe in. of course, that's the novelist‘s job. i don't think many of them turned out to be true. it's just that he does it better than most. more on the website. thank you for watching. the chilly start on friday but the

good news is, it is looking sunny. a window of fine weather between weather systems. you can see some cloud over the atlantic. not in the short—term. as high—pressure briefly is going to build across the uk. very calm weather out the right now. it will be chilly, particularly across northern parts the uk. towns and cities, six, 11 degrees in rule parts of northern england and scotland. this is what it looks like at eight o'clock in the morning. absolutely fine out there. maybe a couple of showers in the northern isles. the weather is looking

absolutely fine in the north of the country. the south, sunny all—round. temperatures around 6— nine degrees, 10 degrees in the coast around plymouth with light winds. a beautiful start to friday and not much change. the cards will be increasing in northern ireland and parts of scotland, some light rain getting into the hebrides by the middle of the afternoon. maybe some spots of rain later in the day. i don't expect the rain to arrive in glasgow until the evening, late evening. full england and wales, a dry friday night and come saturday, whether funds will be pushing through, so a very different story on the way to most of us on saturday after a sunny friday. saturday is looking overcast. 0utbrea ks after a sunny friday. saturday is looking overcast. outbreaks of rain. the best way to describe it, a changeable day. certainly not a wet day. sunshine around to the east of the pennines. be prepared with an

umbrella. some spots of rain from time to time. sunday is looking better. there will be some light rain around but generally speaking, try these most of the time. here is the summary for the weekend. quite cloudy, particularly on saturday when we have that rain and writer on sunday. this is bbc news, the headlines: the white house and some senior republicans have welcomed a suggestion from the powerful gun lobby group, the nra, that it will back calls to regulate rapid—fire devices for guns. stephen paddock, who killed 58 people in las vegas on sunday, used what's known as a bump stock to turn some of his weapons into fully—automatic machine—guns. tropical storm nate has killed at least 20 people in central america. nicaragua looks hardest hit, costa rica and honduras are also affected. many more are missing and hundreds of thousands are without running water. the storm's expected to strengthen

as it heads towards the us, possibly making landfall on sunday. the 0scar—winning film producer harvey weinstein has apologised and admitted he caused a lot of pain following claims he sexually harassed women for decades. mr weinstein said he planned to take a leave of absence from his company and have therapy. now on bbc news, panorama. north korea's tested a nuclear bomb believed to be ten times more destructive than hiroshima. rocketman is on a suicide mission. kim jong un versus donald trump is the most dangerous stand—off in detectionades. we will have no choice but to totally destroy north korea. so how did north korea achieve its nuclear ambitions? we show how their spies have been trying to steal blueprints for missiles.

of course, they need technology, components, illicit activities to fuel the nuclear missile programmes. insiders who worked for the regime tell panorama how it uses secret