this is bbc news. i am ben bland. the top stories. millions of american women could lose access to free contraception as president trump says employers and insurance companies can opt out on religious grounds. the president believes the freedom to practise your faith is a fundamental rights, along with all of us. an apology from spain for the violence during the disputed catalan referendum. the government could declare independence as early as next week. a group which campaigns to abolish nuclear weapons has been given the noble peace prize. how to combat macho culture in the tech industry? the 100 women series continues. welcome to bbc news. the donald

trump administration has issued new rules limiting women's access to contraception under former president 0bama's affordable care act. the new rule allows employers and insurance to decline birth control if doing so violates religious beliefs or moral convictions. 55 million women benefited from the barack 0bama rule which made companies provide free birth control. the american civil liberties union has challenged these rules in court in san francisco, and the state of massachusetts is doing the state of massachusetts is doing the same. the president believes the freedom to practise your faith is a fundamental rights in this country. all of us do. that is all the was about. the federal government should a lwa ys about. the federal government should always protect that right. and donald trump always will. what would you say to the women out there, the

families out there, who now have to pay more out of their pocket to get contraception coverage that the jews? contraception coverage that the jews? -- they choose. donald trump believes in the freedom of religion. that should not be an issue. the court has validated this decision many times over. the president is someone many times over. the president is someone who believes in the constitution. if people do not like the constitution, talk to congress about changing it. as you would expect, there has been strong reaction to the story and social media. ted cruz welcomes the plan. he said this. a different view from nancy pelosi, a democrat. and planned

parenthood, a women's health organisation that provides health control said this. they say it is unacceptable. i asked peter bowes about the legal battles beginning of this announcement. it is not going to be the practical chaos the travel ban caused around airports across the country. this'll bea airports across the country. this'll be a legal battle going through the courts and it could take some time, going all the way to the supreme court. because we have already heard from the organisations you mentioned, they are inclined to go to the courts, it is an example of how angry people are in this country with this decision which has come out of the blue for so many people even though the candidate, donald trump, said he would do this during his election campaign. nevertheless, 110w his election campaign. nevertheless, now people are reading it in detail, there is a lot of anger. does the

president enjoy broad support for this change in his own republican party? well, he certainly enjoys a large degree of support. the leader of the house, paul ryan, said it was a landmark day for religious liberty. 0ther a landmark day for religious liberty. other leading republicans have stepped up to support this. we have stepped up to support this. we have heard constitutional arguments for this. there is a potential danger. some people are pointing to the fact this will anger many women, lots of low income women, who may well be his supporters, in the months to come. as this rule changes, they may feel the effect. they will want contraception and have to pay for it. they will not get it free from employees through health plans. if they feel angry with that, that could potentially affect their decision come the next election. so, perhaps we will see how this rules out. perhaps it will affect some people in donald trump's

base which will affect him politically down the road. catalonia's president says he plans to address the catalan parliament on tuesday, a day later than planned, where he may declare independence from spain. he was expected to address the parliament on monday. that was before the constitutional court of spain suspended the proceedings. meanwhile, the regional government has released what it says is the final result of the referendum. more than 90% are reported to have supported independence. it is worth bearing in mind that turnout was below 50%. we have also had the first public apologies and within the spanish government for those injured during the referendum violence. james reynolds reports now from spain. espana, espana. tonight, spain has brought its football and its many arguments to this, the coastal city of alicante. the national sport reveals this country's divisions. spain's fundamental questions extend to these, its fans, and its national team. can you be both catalan and spanish at the same time, or must you choose between the two?

gerard pique, the team's most famous catalan player, faces these questions. he was booed here in training for having publicly supported the catalan referendum. in a tearful statement, he even offered to leave the squad. but tonight, protected by headphones, he got off the team bus ready to play. but tonight, protected by headphones, he got off the team bus ready to play.

i don't really like him, to be honest. why? because he's mixing all the time sport and politics. but he won the world cup for spain! so? it doesn't allow him to say everything he wants anywhere, you know. translation: he can do whatever he wants off the pitch so long as he performs on the pitch. translation: i'm going to whistle him. he's a hypocrite who thinks one thing and says something else. tonight, at a bar in alicante, fans scrutinise pique's performance. translation: pique always delivers. the problem with him is that he always wants to be on the front page. gerard pique helped his team to victory here and qualification for next year's world cup. and that really is spain's entire point, the whole country is better off when its catalans stay put. james reynolds, bbc news, alicante. las vegas police still have no idea why a gunman fired hundreds

of bullets into a crowd at a country music concert five days ago. there have been vigils to remember the victims of the shootings. but some of those who survived the attack have since told the bbc they remain fiercely opposed to tighter gun control. 0ur correspondent james cook reports. # amazing grace, how sweet thy sound #. in their darkest hour, they have turned to their god. #..like me#. the massacre in las vegas struck at the heart of the christian country music community. these are patriotic americans. they are proud of their country and of its freedoms, including the right to carry a gun, even after the deadliest of mass shootings. we lost my uncle from a head wound on tuesday afternoon. tara king is the niece

of brett swanbeck, who was 61 years old. my uncle was the funniest, funnest, hillbilly, red neck, country music—loving good old boy. this was brett at the concert with his fiancee. even though tighter gun laws may have perhaps saved his life his niece is resolute. i believe in the right to bear arms. we are in the land of free. we are here because we are free to make our choices. your uncle was shot and killed by a gunman. yes. that doesn't change your view? absolutely not. are you kidding me? my uncle is all about... ..he's all for guns. the worst thing that could happen, my uncle would be in a fit, my whole entire family, if they were going to take oui’ guns away. grief, it seems, does not heal divisions in the united states. guns and country music have always gone together.

the cultures are intertwined. in rural america, you often hear people say that this lifestyle is maligned and misunderstood. and even in mourning, many people here are determined to defend their right to bear arms. for those americans, these crosses are the price of freedom. james cook, bbc news, las vegas. oil and gas companies have shut their operations and begun to evacuate staff in the gulf of mexico, as tropical storm nate gets closer. the storm has killed at least 2a people in central america and damaged thousands of homes. the storm system has now moved over the gulf of mexico, this image, taken earlier on friday, shows the eye of the storm at the bottom of the screen, moving up over the yucatan peninsula in mexico. the us gulf coast, and florida, can be seen at the top of the screen. nate is predicted to become a hurricane by the time it hits the united states on sunday. deadly floods, mudslides,

destruction. the scenes are all too familiar this hurricanes season. but this time, central america and countries spared the worst of the previous hurricanes are in the firing line. translation: the flood has taken away everything they had. they had breakfast this morning, but no lunch or dinner, because they have lost everything. aid agencies say the succession of the storms these years have made them expand their provisions. we need to relook at scenarios and planning and take

into account the fact we will see more storms and they will be more ferocious. what is now way tropical storm going north could strengthen into a hurricane as it heads mexico and the us. it will be the third in two months. storm watchers have issued a warning. it should be all right. i lost my boat in hurricane katrina. i don't want to lose it again. louisiana declared a state of emergency, ordering people to evacuate coastal areas. the coastal areas of mexico remain warm so there is the potential for it to intensify quickly. landfall is expected early sunday morning either as a strong tropical storm or a week category1

hurricane. texas, florida, puerto rico, and many caribbean islands are still hurting from maria and irma. for many, the end of november cannot come soon enough. the mayor of new orleans has ordered evacuations and a mandatory curfew in some parts of the city, as tropical storm nate heads towards it. although overall rainfall may not be as high as other tropical events, it could produce flooding we are mindful in this regard for this particular storm of coastal flooding because of the potential storm surge for those areas of the city outside of the levy. stay with us and bbc news. still to come. tackling what's known as the male "bro culture" which dominates the tech industry as our 100 women series continues. 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 latest headlines: us companies are to be allowed to opt out of funding birth control as part of the healthcare insurance they offer their staff. an apology from spain for violence during sunday's disputed catalan referendum, but the regional government could declare independence as early as next week. let's get more now on the trump administration's decision to roll back health insurance provisions for family planning. employers are being given the right to opt out of funding health insurance for contraception, on religious grounds. i spoke to maya rupert from the center for reproductive rights in washington dc. this really is a devastating shift in policy and it's going to have a huge impact on millions of women in the country. this... it's an over

step of employer and university authority to give them the opportunity to weigh in on people's health—care decisions. opportunity to weigh in on people's health-care decisions. that said though there will be some people who are for religious or moral reasons do not feel comfortable about their public tax money being used to fund contraception. is there not a case to be made that actually if people wa nt to be made that actually if people want it they should pay for themselves? i think that's the important point here. people do pay for it themselves. what happening is not... with big talking about this a lot, free contraception. that's really not what we're talking about. we are saying that the insurance coverage that people already pay for include this as a type of healthcare and it needs to keep including vat. that said, as a candidate, mrtrump pledged to eliminate the requirement that employers and insurance companies have to provide birth control under these schemes. so he

is he not just control under these schemes. so he is he notjust fulfilling the promise he made now that he is in office? what a number of us hoped, once he got into office, is that he would understand the existing policy, which already does provide employers the ability to opt out, so that the funds are segregated. so that the funds are segregated. so that if an employer has a religious objection they are able to... they are able to make sure that money they are providing doesn't go towards this service. but for the woman, accessing the service is seamless. what he has done instead is massively extend that extension toa number of is massively extend that extension to a number of more employers and universities and to make it so that the women can't receive this coverage. it's not just the women can't receive this coverage. it's notjust about whether or not the employers' monies goes to it, it is whether the people receive the services and that is an overreach that i don't think he was

even talking about during the campaign. what you think the consequences will be if employers and insurance companies truce to exercise the opt out? —— choose to. i think the result will be a number of women and people who need birth control losing coverage and not being able to afford it and being in a situation where they are paying into an insurance plan. they are paying for services and they are just being denied this type of healthcare. but was someone from the centre for reproductive cab be —— writes. an anti—nuclear arms group has won the annual nobel peace prize, with the awarding committee in oslo saying the risk from such weapons is at an all time high. the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons, or ican, say they're elated by the honour. in announcing the winners, the nobel committee said there was a risk of more countries wanting to procure nuclear weapons. this is the fifth time the nobel committee has rewarded a group

campaigning against nuclear weapons. for an organisation that's only been around ten years and has a relatively low profile, it's a big boost. we can abolish nuclear weapons. the norwegian nobel committee has decided to award the nobel peace prize for 2017 to the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. ican. the organisation is receiving the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons. more than 60 years after the world's first dreadful display of nuclear power, the nobel committee says the risks are once again growing. this year's series of provocative moves by north korea the most

obvious and troubling example. ican brings together hundreds of non—governmental groups around the world. their efforts rewarded this summer with the first legally binding agreement outlawing nuclear weapons. 122 countries have signed on. none of the nuclear powers. it's long—term work. getting rid of nuclear weapons isn't going to happen overnight. the treaty is meant to make it harder to justify nuclear weapons, to make it uncomfortable for states to continue with status quo, to put more pressure on them. that isn't going to happen overnight, of course. they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. it is notjust the weapons themselves. the group says fiery rhetoric could lead to what it calls unspeakable horror. some will question the feasibility of ridding the world of all nuclear weapons, but the nobel committee

says this is a good moment to revitalise that debate. paul adams, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news from around the world. the un has warned of a further exodus of muslim rohingyas from myanmar to bangladesh as the crisis in rakhine state continues. an estimated 2,000 rohingyas are escaping the region every day, where more than half a million have already fled since august. pope francis has urged internet companies to use their profits to protect children from sexual exploitation. he was addressing more than 100 international digital and child experts at a major conference in the vatican, in a speech shared live on facebook. the pope spoke out about the dangers of ‘sexting' and cyber bullying, calling it "a true form of moral and physical attack". japanese advertising firm dentsu has been fined for making employees work excessive overtime, a practice that is widespread in the country. the firm was scrutinised after a young worker killed herself in 2015. but critics have claimed

the amount of the fine, just over $11,000, is unlikely to be a deterrent to the company. this year the bbc‘s 100 women season has asked teams to find solutions to tackle the everyday problems women face. this week, women in tech have taken up the challenge, to come up with a new product. along with two mobile phone apps, one of the women involved, product designer roya ramezani, has come up with an eye—catching way to portray everyday examples of workplace sexism. nuala mcgovern has been following the women all week and here is what happened when they literally road tested roya's idea. so, behind this door is some of the work that roya and her team have been creating, inventing, throughout this week. it is something that is meant to help with a solution to bro culture, to raise awareness. she also talked about bringing men and women into this particular project. i'm really excited to see what it is. and it is just beyond this door.

oh, my goodness. it's huge! 0k, bbc, 100 women. we saw some of the laser printing earlier, and let's see what's on the other side. there is the hashtag "me too" and so this is some of the painting and spray painting. what does sexism sound like? and then we've got a map of the world. so this is what was going on behind those closed doors of roya's team. i do wonder. what's next? and here it is on the streets of silicon valley. we have our two first people trying out roya's invention to help smash the glass ceiling.

there is a story that is told, the same story by a man and by a woman. and let's see what they think. it was very interesting because i first heard... so there was a guy saying, "i have to take my two—month—old baby to work because i don't have paternity leave." and then he said, "i still feel like i'm pregnant." right? do you want a word, maybe? yeah, do you have a word to describe your feeling right now? i have to think about it a little bit. what did you think about what you heard? yes, i heard a male and then a female state about how you don't need to say anything, you just need to wear something that looks attractive and just stand there. and it was very interesting hearing it from a woman,

which i think as a female is kind of relatable. ok, so thought—provoking and relatable. thank you so much. if you want to look back at all the action from the week in silicon valley you can find more at bbc.com/100women. and the next city to take up the 100 women challenge is delhi, where a group of women is taking up the challenge of tackling female illiteracy. a reminder of our top story. millions of american women could lose access to free contraception, as president trump says employers and insurance companies can opt out on religious grounds. the american civil liberties union has already launched a legal challenge. you can reach me and some of the team on twitter. thanks for watching.

we've had a treat over the last couple of deep innings. some amazing sunset pictures and this was one of them from friday evening. useful colours, all because the sun was setting underneath the high cloud that's been in down north—west —— beautiful colours. another picture from coventry. you can see the layers of cloud, which has been beginning and bringing some outbreaks of rain from the north—west. that spilling down across england and wales. the rain not amounting to very much but it does mean it is more difficult to see them move at the moment. —— see the moon. a lot of cloud into the weekend. throughout the weekend we continue to feed in cloudy skies and probably on saturday you are more likely to catch some rain. it should be dry across more of the day on sunday. a dull start on saturday in southern parts of england and south wales. a bit of rain and drizzle round. brighter as you move northwards for a while. and other

parts of wales and the midlands, already showers moving on. on the stronger winds, a lot of showers in northern ireland and scotland. the showers in the north could be rather heavy for a time. most of the showers in scotland and northern ireland will be in the morning. in the afternoon they become fewer and in the afternoon there should be sunshine breaking through in scotland. in between the drizzly rain bands that are moving towards the midlands, and the rain stuck in the midlands, and the rain stuck in the far south—west, we could get them unreliable breaks in the cloud for central and southern england and wales. temperatures up to 17 degrees. not as warm for the super league grand final. that's at old trafford and there will be some rain around. it will be a dull and stamp weekend on the whole across manchester. although the weather front is taking the rain away from the english channel. around the top of the flat area of high pressure we again have lots of cloud. staying mild overnight. we still have some

drizzly showers around on sunday. especially in western scotland. a few running on across wales and perhaps the midlands. many eastern parts of england and scotland, perhaps southern england and south wales brighter and brighter. which is similarto of wales brighter and brighter. which is similar to of saturday. it is the early pa rt is similar to of saturday. it is the early part of next week and we find all of our weather coming from the atlantic. moving on more quickly over the coming few days, these systems a re over the coming few days, these systems are weakening as they run across the uk. it means the wind will pick up on monday to wednesday and the wettest weather will always be in the north—west. at this stage, not much rain in the south—east. this is bbc news. the headlines. spain has apologised to people injured during sunday's disputed referendum in catalonia. the catalan government could bejust referendum in catalonia. the catalan government could be just days from declaring independence from spain, but its former leader has warned the region's not ready to go it alone. the trump administration has announced new rules that could

deprive around sixty million american women of access to free contraception. employers and insurance companies can now exempt themselves from providing birth control on religious or moral grounds. tropical storm nate is heading for mexico. evacuations have been ordered in some parts of the city. the nobel peace prize has been given to the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. they said the organisation had been at the forefront of efforts to ban the weapons. those are the headlines on bbc news. right now, it is time for a special