this is bbc news. the headlines at midday: after leaving a trail of devastation across central america, hurricane nate moves further inland across the us's south east coast. after her difficult party conference, theresa may says she's resilient and won't hide from a challenge. nicola sturgeon says she will commit to exploring all options to secure eu citizens‘ status in scotland ahead of her party's annual conference. the case for decisions that shape ourfuture being in our hands and not in the hands of this disfunctional goverment in westminster is probably stronger than it's ever been. spain's prime minister says he won't rule out suspending catalonia's autonomy as tens of thousands of people take to the streets to call for talks. this is the scene live in barcelona as people march through the city to oppose plans to declare catalonia independent. also in the next hour: the royal foundation announces

a £2 million grant to help find digital solutions to mental health problems. it's the largest investment ever made by the charitable trust of the duke and duchess of cambridge and prince harry. lewis hamilton takes a major step towards a fourth f1 world title with victory at the japanese grand prix. no way! oh my god! and click explores the ever evolving world of virtual reality. that's in half an hour... hello, good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. hurricane nate has hit the united states, bringing torrential rain and powerful winds

to communities along the southern coast. since making landfall, its winds are weakening and it has now been downgraded to a tropical storm. but weather officials warn the threat of dangerous storm surges does remain. after claiming at least 30 lives in central america, it became the fourth major storm to make landfall in the us this year. anisa kadri reports. as it approached, hurricane nate promised strong winds and torrential rain. it hit the gulf coast of the united states, causing flooding across many states and people have been ordered to evacuate. although it is weakening... the impact is still being felt. water on most road ways.

two miles inland. seven, ten feet of storm surge. overwhlemed. the force of nature has already devastated central america, killing at least 25. in nicaragua and honduras, hundreds of people are reported to be without running water. and scenes like this have become all too familiar after back—to—back hurricanes, irma and maria. people in the caribbean have been left without homes, power, water. visiting to see the damage, the united nations secretary—general had this stark message. it is clear... warmer climates mean more hurricane and more devastating hurricanes and we need to do everything to stop this. we need to make sure that the paris agreement on climate change is implemented, and the paris is not enough... enhanced commitments have to be made by all countries around the world,

in order to make sure that we can dominate this dramatic evolution. people in new orleans, who remember the devastation of katrina 12 years ago did what they could to prepare themselves. early indications are that they have been spared the worst. some americans are looking at hurricane nate as a near miss, as it has been downgraded to a tropical storm are still warnings of life threatening storm surges. the un secretary general, antonio guterres, is currently touring the caribbean to see the damage for himself. 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 a paradise islands like barbuda transformed into hell.

95% of houses destroyed. totally devastated. people evacuated. this is something we are seeing more and more. an increased intensity and frequency of hurricanes, frequency, devastation. the origin is clear. we are facing the consequences of climate change. we are hearing the most appalling stories of people homeless, without clean water, hospitals are without electricity. do you think the response to these hurricanes was not good enough? there is an enormous effort by the caribbean states themselves, the caribbean emergency mechanism which is working. the un is doing its best to support here in the islands. we launched an appeal and it is not sufficiently funded. 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 for the future. context in terms of world bank and the annual meeting. i appealfor very solidarity to be taken with the people of the caribbean. they need the support of people of the international community. you said donations are not flowing into these countries. why do you think that is? well... i think the world is so focused on so many crises, so many situations, that naturally these things tend to be forgotten. but this level of destruction and devastation is such that i believe we have all, because we are all contributing to climate change around the world, we have all the moral obligation to express solidarity to the first

victims of these dramatic increases that we are seeing of the consequences of climate change. climate change and another hurricane is on its way through this area. will we see more? unfortunately, it is true. the scientific proof is there. warmer oceans, and as oceans are warmer, more evaporation, more vapour in the atmosphere, heavier rainstorms. the hurricane intensity is increased as it moves over the ocean and when it reaches land it has the devastating impact that we have seen. instead of dissipating over the oceans, the intensity is enormously enhanced. it is clear, warmer climate means

more hurricanes and more devastating hurricanes. we need to do everything to stop it. we need to make sure the paris agreement on climate change must be implemented and because it is not enough, enhanced commitments are made by all countries around the world in order to make sure that we are able to dominate this very dramatic evolution. theresa may has declared that she's resilient, despite the setbacks she suffered at the conservative conference and won't hide from a challenge. senior conservatives have renewed their condemnation of efforts to oust her. borisjohnson has told the party to get behind mrs may and sirjohn major who faced simmering rebellions when he was prime minister, has also said the disloyal plotting must stop. our political correspondent,

susana mendonca, says the prime minister is now setting out her stall as a strong leader after a difficult conference speech. she said today it was uncomfortable and frustrating, acknowledging the difficulties of the speech, but never at any point in time thought she would finish or step down from the podium. thanking people such as her husband for supporting her through the speech. and really... trying to set her stall as somebody who can be a strong leader. because of course that speech was supposed to consolidate her position, set out that opportunity for her to put her stamp on the party at a time when she has plenty of rumours about various people wanting to take herjob off her hands. some have come out in her defence, john major, ruth davidson, the scottish conservative leader who today has been talking about how the whole party has to get behind theresa may. we are really lucky to be able

to serve our country, and it is all about delivering for the country. it should never be about private ambition. i want to come onto that. do you think borisjohnson is the right person in the rightjob? he said that he was behind every dot, comma, tand word in the speech. do you believe him? i want the pm to hold him to that. ruth davidson mentioning borisjohnson. possibility of a reshuffle? just speculation, this idea of a reshuffle. but if you read the article that theresa may was questioned on, she talks about how it is not her style to shy away from a challenge when she was directly asked if she would move boris

johnson out of his position. something that could potentially happen. but there are those who think this should be the perfect time for theresa may to have some sort of reshuffle, some new names. so that if it was a leadership challenge, some more names in the frame than boris johnson and david davis. looking back to michael howard, who brought in george osborne and david cameron who went on to be prime minister. that sort of pressure going on but downing street saying the idea of a reshuffle is just speculation. and sirjohn major, who faced plenty of rebellions and unrest on his backbenches. he has come out loyally for theresa may. he faced difficulties over europe.

backbench rebellion. it is perhaps quite telling that he is somebody who has come to the defence of the prime minister who is at a similar position. he has criticised the disloyalty but also made the point that if the party does not get behind a clear course of action, the prospect could potentially be that the conservatives lose to labour and jeremy corbyn‘s labour party. he said that would be a disaster for the country. thousands of people waving spanish flags are marching through barcelona to oppose plans to make catelonia independent, a week after the disputed referendum. this is the scene live in barcelona. huge crowds have come out on the street. demonstrating against

independence. spain's prime minister, mariano rajoy says any declaration of independence by the catalan region will have no effect. our europe correspondent james reynolds reports. in spain's capital, demonstrators came out to deliver a simple message... this country should not be broken into pieces. 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. the campaign for dialogue extends to barcelona, the heart of catalonia's pro—independence movement. politicians on either side have shown recent signs of wanting

to find a way out of the crisis. more mass demonstrations expected in the city today may help them to make up their minds. going back again, live to the scene of barcelona. this is one of the main squares. these people demonstrating against independence, after that referendum. describing themselves as the silent majority. they said that their voices have been silent for too long. they do not want independence, singing viva

espana, going to be a session of the cata la n espana, going to be a session of the catalan parliament on tuesday. speculation that the region's president, could declare catalonia's independence. the constitutional crisis goes on. these people waving the spanish flag, saying that there should not be any independence for catalonia. help for eu citizens who've settled in scotland and want to stay after brexit will be discussed at the snp conference. the party's leader, nicola sturgeon, says migrants have made a big contribution, and their right to remain in scotland should be guaranteed. the party will also consider its response to the political challenge from the conservatives and labour, but speaking to andrew marr, mrs sturgeon said independence is still a target, especially in light of brexit.

many people i think in scotland desperately want to see scotland become independent. some are not convinced and will never be convinced. some people will think that we need dust to settle on brexit. also an element of some people being scunnered on certain decisions, notjust independence, but brexit, two general elections, in two years, so i understand that. myjob is to make the case. i think the damage that is going to be done to scotland, the uk to be frank, is going to be monumental. i do not want that to be imposed on scotland. i have also got a mandate to give people in scotland the choice. let me stress this... the case for decisions that shape our future should be in our hands, not this dysfunctional government westminster.

it is stronger than it has ever been. joining me now from glasgow is our scotland correspondent, james shaw. ahead of that conference, opening this afternoon, what is the mood among delegates? i think if you compare this to previous years it is probably not going to be as upbeat as 2015, when the party had that extraordinary success. 56 mps in scotland. three short of the total. but this is different. losing 21 in the last general election, 500,000 votes. difficulties that they have got to confront, and those are the challenges that they have got to face and also this issue that independence could still be the most

important thing as far as the snp is concerned but it is on hold at the moment because of those setbacks that nicola sturgeon said after the general election. she said she would not be considering the timing of an independence referendum, at least until the end of next year. what are they going to talk about? domestic issues, perhaps tax. we have heard nicola sturgeon saying that she wa nts to nicola sturgeon saying that she wants to open a discussion about the progress of policy on income tax. perhaps that means doing something at the high end for those people with the highest incomes, perhaps increasing the burden on them. i think that will be a matter for discussion, not a specific section of the conference but among the delegates and policymakers. definitely going to be for discussion. and nicola sturgeon talking about european union

citizens rights, brexit the backdrop to this conference? i think so. just before we came on air, i was talking to the scottish national party's brexit minister, and we were talking about the idea that the scottish government would subsidise the settled status fee for eu citizens who want to stay in scotland after brexit. that would not be an enormous amount of money. perhaps {60-65 enormous amount of money. perhaps £60-65 that the enormous amount of money. perhaps £60—65 that the scottish government would subsidise for public sector workers. it is a symbolic gesture. the scottish national party wants to see that it is to open for european union citizens. once those nurses, doctors, care workers, all those people coming from the eu. it desperately wants those people to stay because they support public scottish services. perhaps symbolic,

but one way the snp wants to distinguish itself from the conservatives and uk government. they would probably say it is not offering any guarantees to the eu citizens after brexit. thank you very much. sport now, and for a full round up we can cross to the bbc sport centre. lewis hamilton has been popping the champagne? it's been the perfect day for lewis hamilton at the japanese grand prix at suzuka. the briton started from pole and went on to win for the eighth time this season. he now leads the championship by 58 points with just four races to go. hamilton will be confident of claiming his fourth world title, thanks mainly to misfortune for his rival sebastian vettel. the german's ferrari broke down and had to retire after just four laps. max whitlock has become the first british gymnast to retain a world title by taking gold in the pommel horse in montreal.

the olympic champion was competing in his first final since rio. he now has six world championship medals, more now than beth tweddle and louis smith. i didn't even think about it. it didn't even come into my head that it would be history to do that, until i saw — i think it was your tweet this morning. and it made me feel a bit nervous, and it put things into perspective a bit more. so ijust tried to put that to the side. i try and focus on what i do, like i always do, focus on myjob. and myjob was to go there today and perform as good as i possibly can. i mean, that's what sport is all about. well done max. england may have made sure of their place at next year's world cup, but a route to russia via the play—offs remains a possibility for the rest of the home nations heading into the crucial final round of qualifying matches. wales and northern ireland are second in their respective groups, as are scotland, who are in slovenia ahead of their match at five o'clock today. after victory against slovakia on thursday, the scots know another win will secure

their play—off berth. as soon as i walked off the pitch, as soon as i walked in the dressing room, i could sense we were ready now... there was no singing and dancing, anything like that. we realised they'd beat a good side. we have to play another good side. as a group of individuals, we know how important it is to everybody. we know how important it is, because we're all getting texts from all our friends, wishing us good luck, and e—mails, and people we've not heard from in a wee while. so we know that. northern ireland are expected to field their strongest team for the world cup qualifier in norway today. they're already guaranteed to finish second and could be assured of a play—off place before the game even starts if other results go their way. we've been good in the double headers to date. and again, you know, as i say, we come into this game knowing that there's a huge amount at stake. we have neverfor one minute thought it was anything other than that. and you can tell already that the players are looking forward to the game. but they know that, obviously, they have to try and make sure they win the game as well.

there's no pressure on england, of course, after they secured their world cup place on thursday. but manager gareth southgate will be hoping for a much improved performance when they travel to lithuania. southgate has opted to replace goalkeeper joe hart with jack butland, a chance for butland to challenge for a more regular spot in goal. we're all after the same shirt, but we're all keen to push each other, and make sure that we're all performing to a high standard, because ultimately that means success for us as a nation. so there is brilliant rivalry there, but also great friendship between all of us. and we supported joe excellently the other night, and he obviously went on to make some great saves, and put in a really good performance for us, which is what we want. and i'm sure it would go the opposite way if it was someone else in the goal. britain'sjohanna konta has lost her place at the end of season wta finals — after caroline garcia leap—frogged her into the final qualifying spot. garcia beat the new world number one simona halep to win the china open — her second title in two weeks. konta is taking a couple of weeks off with an injury and must now reach the final of the kremlin cup which starts

on 16 october to claim back her place at the season finale in singapore. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. thank you. the duke of cambridge and prince harry have been very open about their own experiences with mental health, and set up their charity heads together to encourage people to speak out. now they've announced the next phase of their mission. it's a £2 million investment fund to help improve the nation's mental health through technology. our royal correspondent sarah campbell has finding out more. in the run—up to the london marathon, the younger royals‘ focus was almost exclusively centred on heads together, the campaign they founded, and which aims to improve the nation's mental health. in april, thousands took up the challenge to run the 26 miles and, in doing so, help to raise awareness of an issue that affects millions of people. this has been an unapologetically personal mission, with the princes

opening up in a way they hadn't previously. do you think we've made enough of an impact, or a stepping stone into the schools area at a younger age? i think we are making good progress. so, has it worked? in a high—tech suite in imperial college london, prince william was shown survey data which indicates their campaign has encouraged more people, and particularly men, to talk about mental health issues. and evidence from the partner charities which make up heads together suggests a significant impact. the mental health charity, mind, had its busiest ever day with 58% more calls the day after the marathon. places2be, which focusses on childrens‘ mental health, has seen a 148% increase in their downloads to schools. and young minds saw a 15% increase in calls to their parents helpline around the time of the marathon. phase one of the heads together campaign was about starting the conversation on mental health.

now it is moving on to phase two, which is about practical solutions to keep the conversation going. starting with a £2 million grant from the royal foundation to fund digital ways to help people cope with mental health issues. digital allows us to open up the timescale that people can access stuff, so a lot of people struggle late at night with their mental health, and it's very difficult for traditional services to stay open. could a digital intervention start working in that space, so there's always someone you can talk to? as well as digital projects, heads together will focus on mental health in schools, workplaces, and the military, with this issue remaining at the very top of the agenda of the royals. thank you all very much. pleasure. sarah campbell, bbc news. an explosion at a fuel station in accra, has killed at least six people and injured more than 35. the blast, involving natural gas, sent a giant fireball into the night sky causing panic among residents. it's understood the blaze triggered a second explosion and fire

at a nearby petrol station. thomas naadi reports. the incident occurred just a few metres behind me. two separate explosions were heard here. according to eyewitnesses, it started around 8pm local time. the exact cause is not known. there are a number of security personnel here, including the ghana fire service, who are battling to put the fire under control. this latest incident has once more questioned safety standards at the country's fuel stations. white nationalists have held another rally in charlottesville, virginia, after a woman died after clashes at a previous protest in august. several dozen people took part in a torchlight protest led by far—right activist richard spencer to oppose the removal of a statue

of the confederate general robert e lee. the city's mayor, mike signer, tweeted saying the protestors were not welcome and telling them to "go home". approaching 12:30. there's only one week to go until the £1 coins are taken out of circulation. from midnight next sunday, the ‘round pound‘ will lose its legal tender status and no longer be accepted in shops and restaurants. people have been urged to spend them, bank them, or give them to charity before then. time for the weather now. not a bad day out there today. for many of us, dry with sunshine. some showers into the afternoon. especially across parts of western scotland, north—west england. one or two in northern ireland. scotland, north east england in the south of scotland.

likely to stay drier. temperatures around 13—17. the evening, most places dry. cool with patchy outbreaks of rain in the north, drier towards the south but the odd spot of drizzle. mild, frost free morning with temperatures 12—13 overnight. during the day on monday, patchy rain to start off on the west. slowly pushing eastwards. central and eastern parts of the country should stay dry. more persistent rain in northern ireland in the afternoon. 14—18 in the sunshine. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines. after leaving a trail of devastation across central america, hurricane nate moves inland in the south—east