hello and welcome to bbc news. hurricane nate has made landfall in the us state of louisiana, close to the mouth of the mississippi river. forecasters have warned of powerful winds and a potentially life—threatening storm surge of more than three metres. it's already caused major damage to several central american countries leaving at least 25 people dead. the un secretary general, antonio guterres, is currently touring the caribbean to see the damage for himself. earlier he spoke to my colleague alpa patel and said he's increasingly concerned by global warming and its effect on the weather. it is horrible to see paradise — a paradise island like barbuda turned into hell. 95% of the houses have been destroyed. total devastation. the people had to be completely evacuated. and this is something we are seeing more and more, there is an increasing intensity of hurricanes and increased frequency and an increased devastation.

and the origin is clear — we are facing the consequences of climate change. we're hearing the most appalling stories of people who are homeless, they're without clean water, hospitals are without electricity. do you think the response to these hurricanes just wasn't good enough? well, there is an enormous effort — first of all by the caribbean states themselves and the caribbean emergency mechanism, that is working. the un is doing its best to support the islands. but we launched an appeal and the appeal is not sufficiently funded, so i strongly ask the international community to increase humanitarian aid to the caribbean states and especially to be able to support these states for reconstruction and to build resilience in relation to the future.

there will be a very important donor conference in terms of the imf and world bank and their meeting. i appeal for strong solidarity with the people of the caribbean. these people have not contributed to climate change but they are in the first line of victimisation by climate change. they need the support of all the international community. you said you hadn't seen the donations flowing into these countries. why do you think that is? well, i think that the world is so focused on so many crises and so many situations that, naturally, these things tend to be forgotten. but this level of destruction, this level of devastation is such that i believe we have all — because we all contribute to climate change around the world — we have a moral obligation to express solidarity with these first victims of the dramatic increases we are seeing as a consequence of climate change.

you talk about climate change, and as we speak another hurricane is on its way through this area. what do you make of that? will we be seeing more and more hurricanes? unfortunately it is true. i mean, the scientific proof is there. warmer oceans, more heat in the atmosphere and as the oceans warm there is more evaporation and vapour in the atmosphere and that means heavier rainstorms. so when an hurricane now moves over the ocean, its intensity is increased dramatically. and when it reaches land it has a devastating impact, as we have seen. instead of dissipating over the oceans, the intensity is, indeed, enormously enhanced. and it is clear: warmer climate means more hurricanes and more devastating hurricanes,

and we need to do everything to stop this, so we need to make sure that the paris agreement on climate change is implemented and more. the paris agreement is not enough. be on hand commitments need to be made by countries around the world in order to make sure we are able to dominate this very dramatic evolution. and you can keep up with the progress of hurricane nate with our online coverage. visit bbc.com for the latest preparation efforts on the us gulf coast. tens of thousands of people have been taking part in rallies across spain, in response to last sunday's controversial independence referendum in catalonia. the spanish prime minister, mariano rajoy, has insisted that any declaration of independence by the catalan region will have no effect. in an interview for a spanish newspaper, el pais, he said he couldn't rule out suspending catalonia's regional autonomy. james reynolds reports. in spain's capital, demonstrators

came out to deliver a simple message: this country should not be broken into pieces. the region of catalonia must give up its plans to declare independence. translation: this is horrible. i don't agree with any of it. and i hope we reach a solution soon, because it's very bad for spain. translation: we have come to ask for the unity of spain. we don't want spaniards to fight amongst each other. there is a minority of separatists, but i think the majority of catalans want to be with us. these spanish demonstrators in the southern city of alicante are fed up with flag—waving. they choose to wear neutral white. they are from a new movement called shall we talk? the middle ground of spain is now trying to make itself heard. campaigners here want the authorities in madrid

and barcelona to end their brinkmanship and begin real talks. translation: i'm here because i want unity for spain. i don't want division for anything in the world, because the most important thing is that we unite with love and help each other. what's the solution? dialogue. dialogue between both parts. madrid and barcelona? yes, of course. will that happen? i don't think so. an explosion at a fuel station in the ghanaian capital, accra, has killed a number of people. the blast, involving natural gas, sent a giant fireball into the night sky and caused panic among residents. to bbc news. still to come: a threat to thousands of bombadier workers in

northern ireland as the us imposes ta riffs northern ireland as the us imposes tariffs on their planes. 11 people have been injured after a car mounted a pavement in one of london's busiest tourist areas and crashed into pedestrians. it happened outside the city's natural history museum. the driver was detained as police mounted a major security operation, due to concerns the incident could be terror—related. police have confirmed the collision was an accident. richard lister reports. minutes after the car drove into the crowd, a man is pinned down in the street, awaiting arrest. there is confusion here. no—one knows exactly what has just happened, but when a car strikes pedestrians in an area full of families, people fear the worst. people started running. people were saying, "run." and then everything went mental, with police cars, and they locked down the whole place. lots of people screaming, crying, sort of panicked, people picking up their children, dragging their children. and so i thought, immediately, something's happened. armed police quickly

arrived on the scene, responding to what looked to many like a terror attack, right next to some of the city's busiest museums. 11 people were injured. ambulances took nine to hospital with head and leg injuries. but, for several anxious hours, police couldn't confirm what had happened. downing street was kept informed. a wide cordon was maintained around the crash site. then, in a brief statement, police confirmed this was in fact an accident, not an attack. the investigation is continuing tonight, as police try to learn more about what caused this serious accident. but things are returning to normal here, and there is a palpable sense of relief that this was not a deliberate act. none of those hurt have life—threatening injuries, but this was an alarming incident, and tonight, the driver remains in custody. richard lister, bbc news. there are renewed fears for the future of jobs at the bombardier aerospace

factory in belfast. the us government has announced a further increase in tariffs on planes made by the company, making it prohibitively expensive to import them. the united states claims bombardier has received unfair financial support from the uk and canada, where the planes are assembled. our business correspondent joe lynam reports. bombardier and its predecessor, shorts, have been at the heart of the manufacturing economy in belfast for decades. 4,000 skilled workers make high—tech composite wings, in a province which doesn't have many of those jobs. but, over the past fortnight, potential american tariffs have placed a huge question mark over their future. now, in a new blow, the us commerce department has slapped a further 80% tariff on bombardier planes, meaning that all of its largest aircraft could soon face import duties of up to 300% in america. it looms very large over these workers, and it's time for this

british government to actually step up for british workers. we see it with britain being bullied now, the british government being bullied by boeing. the eu needs to step in, because effectively, they are being bullied now, too. it needs to stop, and it needs to stop now. and, for the bombardier workers, it is a waiting game. we've know we've all still got a job to do, and we keep our fingers crossed. we keep knuckling down and keep working away. it will affect whole economy, probably, if — whatever the outcome is. and this is the plane that the americans object to. the c—series is assembled in canada, with wings made and sent from belfast. but the americans claim it has received $1 billion in subsidies from the canadians, which allows it to undercut boeing in bidding for contracts. this whole row puts the government, and especially the business department, in something of a bind. it is kept in power by the dup, and the bombadierfactory in belfast is dup heartland.

——bombardier. but at the same time, boeing, which is the eca to these tariffs, employs more people than bombardier, 19,000 people elsewhere in the uk, and it is building a new factory in sheffield. we have an international regulatory regime which has worked extremely well. these type of measures threaten competition and innovation, and as a consequence, that's bad news for consumers, wherever they are. these 300% tariffs are recommendations by one branch of the us government. if there is no solution, though, they will come into force in february. in that time, the nails of thousands of workers here, and trade negotiators on both sides of the atlantic, will be bitten down to the quick. joe lynam, bbc news. this is bbc news. the headlines: the un secretary general is touring caribbean regions devastated by recent hurricanes. he has asked the international

community for a greater commitment to affected regions. andy raleigh so taken place across spain as tensions continue over catalonia's bid for independence. the spanish by minister has ruled out any mediation or is election as a result the crisis. more and now now top story. hurricane net has made landfall in the us. —— nate. a short time ago i spoke to the andrew ‘fofo' gilich. he's the mayor of biloxi, mississippi which is right on the gulf of mexico and i asked him what the situation was there. right now, it is pretty much a lull before the storm. i just right now, it is pretty much a lull before the storm. ijust look right now, it is pretty much a lull before the storm. i just look down oui’ before the storm. i just look down our major highway, at us 90, and i see the rising tide, and i guess the first lines coming in. we are about 100 miles away from the eye of the

storm at this point, so it is travelling, thank goodness, at a rapid speed, about 20 mph. level will take place in about five hours. we have two prepared for every contingency. —— landfall. a mandatory evacuation and a curfew has gone into place now. 70 our time. —— 7:00pm. you could hear the rain asi time. —— 7:00pm. you could hear the rain as i am in my car right now. it is that we take seriously. a storm surge of 911 feet is expected. people know that with the storm surge and the rise of the sea, it is a very serious situation. 0ur city isa a very serious situation. 0ur city is a peninsular, so we are surrounded on three sides by water.

it has been a test to make sure that, you know, everybody is battened down, and that is what we're doing right now. we are just looking at live pictures the weather, there. you are out and about. what are you doing? what preparations can you may? well, you know, again, if there are some folks who are hanging around the place, the harbour is, we have a number of resorts here. —— 7:00pm. the state gaming commission has shut their operations down a few hours ago, but some of the hotels and the substantial building, multistorey, above the storm surge, and after the hurricane katrina experience, we feel like it is a test of those

engineering and building improvements. so over the past yea rs, improvements. so over the past years, since 2005, our structures have improved in height in the ferocity zones, where we pay attention to this. there will be a test. we don't feel that, after this season, with texas and puerto rico, and the southern us, it is just mother nature, this is something you cannot take lightly. more now from our extensive interview with the un secretary general, antonio guterres. my colleague alpa patel began by asking him how concerned he was with the growing tensions between the us and north korea. i believe it is very important above all to preserve the unity of the security council, to keep all the countries together. i think the sanctions were a very important step.

that unity, on one hand it puts enormous pressure on north korea, that is necessary to keep. but on the other hand, i believe it opens the possibility and the opportunity for diplomatic engagement. i am a believer there is no military solution for this crisis. a military solution would be devastating. i'm a believer that the the opportunity created by the unity of the security council must be put in place and that we must have an effective diplomatic engagement. 0n iran, donald trump is expected next week to withdraw his support from the nuclear deal. do you think that will harm the future security of that deal? well, it depends of course on what the congress will decide and there are other important partners to the deal that corresponds to a resolution. i am a strong believer that the deal was an important step forward for all collective security and i hope the new deal will be able to stand.

moving on to the rohingya muslims. the un has repeatedly asked myanmar for access to rakhine state. will you be able to access this area where there has been alleged human rights abuses? i hope that will be possible. we have insisted on the need to stop military operations, on the need to have unrestricted humanitarian access access to the areas impacted by the violence, and also to affirm the right of return of the people that fled in huge numbers, more than half a million, to bangladesh. a return that needs to be voluntary in safety, in dignity, and to their areas of origin. and i strongly hope that this, together with the recommendations of the group led by kofi annan, trying to find a solution to this dramatic problem, i hope what i have asked for will be implemented by the government of myanmar. we have heard the most horrendous stories of the rohingyas

in neighbouring bangladesh, of rape and murder. will the un be pushing to hold those people responsible for these abuses accountable? the human rights council has appointed a commission of enquiry and they will be travelling soon to bangladesh. they asked to be allowed to visit myanmar. until now, that authorisation was not given. i strongly urge the government of myanmar to allow the commission of enquiry to be able to enter and to witness what has happened and that is a basic condition for accountability to be a reality. moving on to the un itself. president donald trump had said he wants to see the organisation reformed and i believe you have expressed support for that. what can we see in the future when it comes to the un and reforms? since the beginning of my presence

in the un, i have said that we needed a number of very important reforms to make the un more effective, more cost effective, more nimble, more quick in responding to the different situations of emergency we face in the world, more able to have preventative and mediation capacities facing the enormous conflicts we have. we launched a number of processes in related to the peace and security architecture, the management aspects of the reform. making the un development system more able to respond to the needs of the member states and implementing the agenda 2030. all of these aspects are now presented to the member states, to the general assembly, to the different bodies of the un, and hope that countries will come together and be able to support these reforms that i think are essential for the un also to regain full confidence of the peoples of this world. we are here to serve, to serve the people. and it's necessary that the people see the un as an instrument to support them and for that, we cannot be bureaucratic, we cannot be slow. we need to be effective and we need to respect taxpayers around the world that support our activity,