welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mile embley. our top stories: police in the us and uk launch investigations into sexual assault claims against the hollywood producer harvey weinstein. oscar winner emma thompson tells us... this man is at the top of a very particular iceberg. i don't think you can describe him as a sex addict. he's a predator. held hostage by the afghan taliban for five years — pakistani forces rescue a north american couple and their three young children. california's wildfires claim 31 lives. hundreds are still unaccounted for. thousands have been left homeless. fears for a new civil war in iraq as iraqi troops head north, towards the country's kurdish population. and fighting london's monster fatberg — we meet the team unclogging the city's ageing sewers. hello.

the growing scandal surrounding harvey weinstein is now being investigated by police in london and new york. the hollywood producer is facing multiple allegations of rape, sexual assault, and harassment — some of which he denies. in his first public comments, he's said everyone makes mistakes and he asked for a second chance. stars including emma thompson and jane fonda have spoken to the bbc about the allegations and the film industry's reluctance to speak out. our correspondent david willis reports from los angeles. harvey weinstein is admitting he needs help. in his first public comments on the widening sexual abuse scandal, he said he made mistakes but hopes for a second chance. more than 20 women, among them angelina jolie and gwyneth paltrow, have now spoken out.

the latest is british actress kate beckinsale, just 17 when she claims weinstein first harassed her. who are the women that he preyed on? praise on? young women. meanwhile, hollywood legend jane fonda has spoken of her knowledge of his activities on the bbc‘s hardtalk programme. most of these women were in their 20s when it happened, vulnerable, afraid that if they said or did anything, that it would ruin their careers. i found out about him about a year ago, and i wish that i had spoken out. why didn't you?

it didn't happen to me. i understand that, but nevertheless... i didn't want to expose him. i admit i should have been braver. male stars are also registering their revulsion at the allegations. i mean, it is horrific. anybody that i have spoken to shares the level of being appalled that i felt when reading of what went down. i wish everyone who was a victim of it a speedy recovery and a peaceful path through it all, and hopefully it makes whatever changes need to be made so it doesn't happen again, because it shouldn't. harvey weinstein has denied three allegations of rape and any suggestion of non—consensual sexual relations. yet it has now emerged that police on both sides of the atlantic are investigating separate allegations of sexual assault. prosecutors in new york have been criticised for not pursuing a case against weinstein two years ago, after mounting an elaborate sting operation against him. if we had a case that we felt we could prosecute against harvey weinstein, we would have. journalist: when you say we,

do you mean you made the decision? we made the decision as an office. some believe the problem of sexual harassment in hollywood goes way beyond harvey weinstein. i didn't know about these things but they don't surprise me at all, and they're endemic to the system anyway. what i find sort of extraordinary is that, you know, this man is at the top of a very particular iceberg, you know? i don't think you can describe him as a sex addict. he's a predator. harvey weinstein is now reported to have admitted himself into a rehab centre in arizona. meanwhile, police in new york are urging any other women with allegations against him to come forward. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. president trump has signed an executive order circumventing obamacare. the order makes it easier to purchase basic health insurance that omits the minimum benefits required under the affordable care act.

that could make some health plans much more expensive but mr trump claimed his reforms would cost the us government almost nothing, and bring "great healthcare" to millions. the united states is pulling out of the un's cultural organisation, unesco. according to the state department, it's a reflection of concern about the need for fundamental reform and what it called anti—israeli bias. washington had already cut off funds when unesco granted membership to the palestinians. israel has criticised a reconciliation agreement signed by the two palestinian factions, fatah and hamas, that seeks to end their decade—long rift. it said hamas should be disarmed. but the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas, said the accord would end divisions. results still coming in from tuesday's presidential election in liberia, but george weah — former —— ajudge in south africa has ruled that a prominent anti—apartheid activist was murdered, pushed to his death from the tenth floor of a police building. this overturns a 1972 ruling that ahmed timol committed suicide days after he was detained.

it's the first time since the end of apartheid that an inquest into an activist‘s death has been re—opened. it's being reported that a british woman, a prominent recruiter for the extremist group the so—called islamic state, has been killed in a drone strike. sally—annejones travelled to syria in 2013 and took part in propaganda activities, targeting western women and girls. our security correspondent frank gardner has the story. iconic, threatening, and british. the jihadist recruiter and muslim convert sally—anne jones from kent. she fled to syria in 2013 with her young son and joined so—called islamic state. from there, she broadcast a stream of hate—filled anti—western propaganda online, as well as the addresses of over 1,000 us service personnel. she was married to this man, junaid hussain, a computer hacker. together, they plotted attacks on the west and gave instructions on bomb—making. hussain was killed in a strike two years ago. now, jones appears to

have met the same fate. operating from this us air base in the nevada desert, pilots are said to have remotely targeted her using an unmanned drone similar to this one, killing her with a missile injune, close to syria's border with iraq. today, the government gave this stark warning to anyone joining is, also known as ‘daesh‘. i can confirm that if you are a british national in iraq or syria and if you have chosen to fight for daesh, an illegal organisation that is preparing and inspiring terror attacks on our streets, then you've made yourself a legitimate target and you run the risk every hour of every day of being on the wrong end of an raf or a united states missile. this boy was identified by his grandparents in an earlier is propaganda video as sally—annejones‘ son, jojo. his fate is unclear.

interpol had his mother on its wanted list, which gave her adopted pseudonyms and alleged crimes. she was certainly useful to is for publicity purposes, but an expert on jihadist movements gave this damning verdict. i remember speaking to syrian women who had joined isis themselves and they would ask me about women like her and they would say, "what does she have to do with us? this is our civil war." i think her legacy is one of the bewildering clash of lost souls in europe attaching themselves to a civil war and a distant movement that has nothing to do with them. sally—annejones, the former punk rock singerfrom chatham in kent, is now likely to be one more of the hundreds of western recruits to is to perish in the collapse of its caliphate. frank gardner, bbc news. a young couple kidnapped by the taliban in afghanistan five years ago have been released. canadian joshua boyle and his american wife caitlan coleman were freed by pakistani security forces, along with their three children, who were all born in captivity.

our north america correspondent aleem maqbool reports. over five long years, the families ofjoshua boyle and caitlan coleman had only seen them in a series of videos released by their taliban captors. they really will not settle this until they get what they are demanding. the couple disappeared in afghanistan. but they, and their our three children, were freed after being ta ken into pakistan. joshua was finally able to call his mother. it is the first time in five years we got to hear his voice. it was amazing and he told us how much he looked forward, his children were looking forward to meeting their grandparents, and that he would see me in a couple of days. we are waiting for that. it is believed their hostage—takers had been demanding the release of taliban prisoners — a demand never met before pakistani security forces freed the family.

i would like to thank the pakistani government. i want to thank pakistan. they worked hard on this, and i believe they are starting to respect the united states again. that is very important. i think a lot of countries right now are starting to respect the united states of america once again. the pakistani army praise the way american agencies worked with them. while both sides are unusually congratulating themselves on their cooperation, there will now be a lot of questions asked of the couple that has been freed about their time in captivity and about what they were doing in afghanistan in the first place. the death toll from the wildfires still raging through the wine country of northern california has risen to 31. fire officials say hundreds of people are missing in what is now

the worst fire in the state's history. the winds hampering firefighters‘ efforts have now died down but there's concern they may pick up at the weekend. dave lee is now in napa county. his talk on how many fire started at roughly the same time. we know the investigation into that has started, we we re investigation into that has started, we were in another part of the region earlier today, santa rosa, which was particularly devastated by the fire, a huge part of the city has now been destroyed, and while we we re has now been destroyed, and while we were there we did see people gathering pictures, evidence to find out the path of the fire and try to track it back to where it began. a say the strongest theory so far and one we have heard from the organisation looking after this entire firefighting operation is that the weak power line may be the culprit, one that may have fallen

down and caused a spark that began the initial fire and down and caused a spark that began the initialfire and of down and caused a spark that began the initial fire and of course from there, it was the high winds that carried the flames from one spot to another. embers will being thrown over street and lakes even and starting new fires. but it's thought perhaps the initial may have come from a power line. but they don't wa nt to from a power line. but they don't want to confirm that obviously that they are certainly not ruling it out. dave lee in napa county. stay with us on bbc news. still to come — with team usa out of next year's world cup, we ask american kids who they'll now support. under the go for peru. why? because i'm from peru. parts of san francisco least affected by the earthquake are returning to life. but in the marina area, where most of the damage was done, they're more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. in the 19 years since he was last

here, he's gone from being a little—known revolutionary to an experienced and successful diplomatic operator. it was a 20 pound bomb which exploded on the fifth floor of the grand hotel, ripping a hole in the front of the building. this government will not weaken. democracy will prevail. it fills me with humility and gratitude to know that i have been chosen as the recipient of this foremost of earthly honours. this catholic nation held its breath for the men they call the 33. and then... bells toll bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue and chile let out an almighty roar. our correspondent orla guerin, who's south—west of kirkuk, has seen a big build—up of iraqi forces. she sent this report. on the move once again. we came across convoys of iraqi troops. something the authorities didn't want us to film. they were on the road towards kirkuk.

held by the kurds, claimed by baghdad. kurdish commanders say they are coming for the oil fields. senior iraqi officials deny they are closing in on the city. the troops told us otherwise. "god willing, we are going to kirkuk," says hussein. "and we will crush them. the city belongs to iraqis." well, this area has only just been cleared of the so—called islamic state. but already, we're seeing a large amount of military movement, convoys on the road — iraqi troops, federal police and shia militia units. and this time, the enemy is different — it's the kurds. nearby, we found troops

showcasing their latest victory over is. at ease in what was the militant‘s last urban stronghold. britain and america want iraqi forces to stay focused on battling the extremists, not the kurds. locals here tell us they have suffered years of anguish. this sunni arab family was torn apart. some trapped behind is lines, others outside, unable to reach them. when his wife died, the militants wouldn't allow him to come home to bury her. his young relative hasjust been reunited with his mother. but he says it's time for the next battle. "i hope iraqi forces will liberate kirkuk today," he told us, "not tomorrow." the kurds want kirkuk,

and they hate the arabs. i am ready to fight myself." this could be just a show of force by baghdad to intimidate the kurds. but it's a risky move and there are fears that kirkuk could be the spark that ignites civil war. pulmonary results from liberia's presidential election showed the former football star candidate on course to win the most votes in the opening round. ofa course to win the most votes in the opening round. of a quarter of the votes counted, he is ahead in 11 out of 15 counties. his main rival, the vice presidentjoseph barker, is leading in one. if no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, there is a second run—off round next month.

at least 30 people have been killed in floods and landslides in vietnam's. officials are searching for a0 others who are missing after days of heavy rain. the north of the country has been hit particularly hard. thousands have been ordered to leave their homes and rescue teams have been sent in. new research shows chemicals containing short lived chlorine compounds widely used in plastics and paint strippers could delay the closure of the hole in the earth's protective ozone layer by 30 years. the chemicals, 110w layer by 30 years. the chemicals, now mainly produced in china, are not regulated. experts say the montreal protocol, which banned the use of other ozone damaging substances, should now be revised. there are signs the european union is going to begin preparations on post—brexit trade with the uk while still refusing to discuss the issue with the uk. at the end of the fifth round of talks, the eu's lead negotiator, michel barnier, said there still haven't been enough progress to allow a formal started

discussions on a future trade deal. we can find ourselves to technical discussions. useful discussions, but technical discussions. so on this question, we have reached a state of deadlock, which is very disturbing for thousands of roger promotors in europe, and it is disturbing also for taxpayers. —— project promoters. the british government's chief negotiator, david davis, urged the european council's. .. the negotiator, david davis, urged the european council's... the prime minister speech let out the scale of ambition with the european union, and also laid out case., clear and is -- and also laid out case., clear and is —— case for simple and clear implementations. as i said last time, i hope the leaders of the eu 27 will provide michel barnier with the means to explore a way forward with us. it weighs 130 tonnes, it's more than 820 feet long,

and it's blocking one of the biggest sewers in london. it is a mass of grease, bound with all kinds of other waste, widely referred to as a fatberg. specialists have spent weeks trying to cut it down to size and remove it. our science editor david shukman‘s been given exclusive access. a warning — it's revolting. in east london this morning, chris casbolt embarks on one of the worstjobs in the world. he checks a sensor that will detect toxic gases. he's given a constant supply of fresh air. this is what's needed to fight what's called a fatberg down in a sewer. we give chris and a colleague cameras to capture what they're facing. are you ok? yeah, i'm good. i asked to join them, but wasn't allowed. they're venturing into extremely dangerous territory. i need a hose. hose!

in the hot fetid air, the fat releases fumes of sulphur. this narrow tunnel is the only access to the fatberg, but right now, it's too deep in sewage for anyone to pass. a pump is used to try to clear it, but gets blocked with chunks of fat. right, the suction‘s blocked. suction's blocked? yes. then the flow begins. it's dropping, mate, it is dropping. the way is now clear, but the tunnel is too low to stand in, so chris has to hunch and shuffle in the dark. at last, he can do what he was sent for — hack away at a congealed mass of fat, tampons, wipes and condoms. it's blocking most of the sewer. pressure hoses can't be used because the brickwork is damaged, so it's one shovel stroke at a time, and it's hard to believe this is happening

in 21st—century britain. while they're working, the pipe reaching the surface twitches as each lump of fat passes through. but the work can't go on for long — it's just too hard. look at how tired chris is and what he's covered in. it's horrible down there, mate. there's so much fat everywhere, do you know what i mean? even upstream — upstream you can see 20 metres that way, it's fat. do you know what i mean, it's solid. and this is a piece of the fatberg — a compacted mass of oil, fat and grease. it's rock solid and, as you'd expect, it smells a bit like a blocked toilet and rotting meat, and the real problem here is that the only way to get it out is by hand. this is a national problem affecting countless sewers and it's getting worse. since the victorians built the network, the population has grown and diets have changed. fried food and takeaways mean more grease is flowing into drains.

there are devices to trap fats, but few places have them. we've visited over 700 food service establishments — takeaways, restaurants — to really understand what they're doing with the fats, oils and greases that they pour down the sink, and we found that over 90% — around 90% — have no type of fat removal to trap that fat and stop it going into the sewers. the fat is hard to break apart. it'll be turned into fuel. but as one of the sewer teams recovers , the hope has to be that less fat will end up underground in the first place. david shukman, bbc news. the american men's soccer team is of course out of the world cup for the first time in more than 30 years, but plenty of other teams will be heading to russia in 2018. and it turns out many younger fans were supporting them anyway. iam sad i am sad because the usa is my

favourite team. they are a really good team but they are easy to beat. we lost against trinidad & tobago.|j feel kind of happy. the united states and not my favourite team. they are in my top 20, but... i don't really care. eh. i am going for perouse. why? because i am from peru. peru and barcelona. i go for spain, argentina, brazil and portugal. spain. my mum is from germany andl portugal. spain. my mum is from germany and i have three germany jerseys and they are my favourite team. i think ithink i'm i think i'm going to make it into the world cup in 2025, and i will

play for the usa women's. the world cup in 2025, and i will play for the usa women'slj the world cup in 2025, and i will play for the usa women's. i hope i will be playing to germany. for the usa. 2006. 2028. 2028. i'm going to play for... the united states. usa. 2006. 2028. 2028. i'm going to play for... the united stateslj usa. 2006. 2028. 2028. i'm going to play for... the united states. i am going to play for... peru. and i think i might play in... 2030. going to play for... peru. and i thinkl might play in... 2030. yeah. just recently, that main news again, police in london and new york are 110w police in london and new york are now investigating multiple claims of sexual assault against hollywood producer harvey weinstein. in his first public comment see has told reporters "everyone first public comment see has told reporters " everyone makes first public comment see has told reporters "everyone makes mistakes", and he is now hoping to a second chance. —— comments he has told.

hi there. i'm going to talk about hurricane ophelia in a moment, but first of all the weather here in the uk. this is the set up. low pressure to the north of the uk. a weather front moving in with some wet weather and tightly packed isobars, telling you it will be a windy day with gales around coasts and hills in the north and west. temperatures starting the day into double figures everywhere. so it will be a mild start. but windy as well. this area of rain will be slow moving across scotland and northern ireland. a damp start to the day across parts of northern england, and the rainfall totals really mounting up across the high ground, the cumbrian fels in particular, could see around 60—80 millimetres of rain before the weather system is through. behind that across scotland and northern ireland, yes, some sunshine through the afternoon but to the south of the front things turn increasingly wet through the afternoon. in wales the winds pick up in england and they should blow some holes into the clouds and occasional sunny spells are possible

but overall we are looking at a lot of cloud. now, through friday evening and overnight the weather front stops moving southwards and returns back northwards. we will be left with further rain across northern england and north wales for a time. slightly fresher air for scotland and northern ireland but it is not exactly cold, is it? 16 degrees overnight taking us into saturday morning across parts of northern england and wales as well. here is the chart as we start the weekend. the weather front pushing its way northwards with the wind coming from a long way south, dredging up some very mild air. where it is cloudy temperatures into the high teens. where we see some sunshine this weekend we could see highs up to 23 degrees. way, way warmer than it should be at this stage of october. now here is the chart for saturday. most starting on a cloudy note. rain moving away from northern england but turning increasingly damp for western scotland. rain for a time in northern ireland. a lot of cloud, yes, but mild everywhere and where we see sunshine it will be pleasantly warm, the best across eastern england. maybe the chance of a few breaks of cloud on sunday, and where we see those breaks, temperatures up to 23 degrees

but cloudy and wet and cool in the north—west of scotland. now beyond that we have to look at this, hurricane ophelia, which this weekend is going to pass pretty close to the eastern azores. from there is stops being a hurricane on sunday. the winds expand as it moves underneath a powerfuljet stream and this storm system works towards the british isles. it could go to the west of ireland. it could go across the uk. a lot of uncertainty about the track. it won't be a hurricane when it reaches our shores but it could bring some stormy, disruptive weather, so make sure you stay in touch with the weather forecast over the next few days. that's your weather. this is bbc news. the headlines: police in the us and uk are investigating allegations of sexual assault made against harvey weinstein. several actors have now accused him of inappropriate behaviour, sexual harassment, or assault. the film producer denies claims of non—consensual sex and says he hopes for a second chance. a young couple kidnapped by the taliban in afghanistan five

years ago, have been released. canadian joshua boyle and his american wife caitlan coleman were freed by pakistani security forces, along with their three children, all born in captivity. 31 people are now confirmed dead in california's wildfires, and hundreds are still unaccounted for. entire neighbourhoods have been destroyed, thousands made homeless. officials are investigating whether a broken power line started several fires at once. now it's time for hardtalk. music playing.