this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at seven: a canadian kidnapped with his wife and held for nearly five years in afghanistan speaks for the first time about their ordeal at the hands of the taliban. it will be of incredible importance to my family that we are able to build a secure sanctuary for our three surviving children to call a home, to focus on edification and to try to regain some portion of the childhood they have lost. tougher sentences for the perpetrators of acid attacks — victims give a cautious welcome to proposals for minimum jail terms. the fear of going to jail is always a deterrent in some way, even if it's a small way. so a start is good, is what i'm saying. there's more that needs to be done, but a start is always good. also in the next hour — the hollywood establishment holds crisis talks over harvey weinstein. the movie mogul could be thrown out of the academy of motion picture arts and sciences, which awards the oscars, after a string of sex

assault allegations. and a warning of heavy rain and wind gusts up to 80 miles an hour as hurricane ophelia tears across the atlantic towards the uk. good evening and welcome to bbc news. a canadian man kidnapped with his pregnant wife in afghanistan has been giving distressing details of the five years they spent in captivity. joshua boyle and his wife were released earlier this week after being held hostage by islamic militants linked to the taliban. mr boyle told reporters his wife caitlin had been raped,

that she had given birth to four children in captivity — one of whom he said, a baby girl, had been murdered. john mcmanus reports. afghanistan, parts of the country remain in the grip of islamist militants. it was here that canadian joshua boyle and his wife caitlin coleman, travelled, he says, to carry out aid work. but instead, the couple were kidnapped by members of the haqqani network, linked to the taliban. over five years their captors released a series of videos. one of them showed their children — all four born in captivity. on wednesday, the family were finally freed by pakistani forces. they arrived in toronto late last night where joshua boyle outlined their grim ordeal including the horrific murder of his daughter. the stupidity and the evil of this haqqani network's kidnapping

of a pilgrim and his pregnant wife engaged in helping ordinary villagers in taliban—controlled regions of afghanistan was eclipsed only by the stupidity and evil of authorising the murder of my infant daughter. joshua boyle also said his wife was raped by the militants. the canadian government welcomed the family's safe return home. i'm going to ask people to respect their privacy and understand that they have been through an extremely difficult period right now, but i can certainly say that we're pleased that the ordeal they have been through over the past years has finally come to an end. joshua boyle's parents described hearing his voice for the first time since his kidnapped. we heard the wonderful news that they had been rescued and 20 minutes

later, we were allowed to actually talk with josh. that was the first time in five years. while they are undoubtedly relieved, caitlan coleman's own father says his daughter should never have been taken to such a dangerous place. that we are able to build a secure sanctuary for our three surviving children... butjoshua boyle says he hopes his surviving children can start again. the us—backed coalition besieging raqqa in northern syria says that remaining fighters for so—called islamic state must surrender or they will be killed. syrian members of is have now left the city in a convoy of buses, after reaching a deal with local officials, leaving only foreign extremists holding out. the coalition has said it expects to see more heavy fighting, but believes the city will be finally captured within days. tougher prison sentences are being proposed to tackle acid attacks. they've more than doubled in britain

in the past five years and the home office is proposing a minimum six month jail term for anyone repeatedly caught carrying acid or other corrosive substances in england, wales or scotland. some victims have said that doesn't go far enough. there are some disturbing images at the start of alexandra mackenzie's report. acid attacks can have devastating consequences. there were more than 400 in the uk between november 2016 and april this year, according to police figures. the agony of the aftermath of an attack in london. this man says the acid melted his motorcycle helmet, which saved his face from longer term damage. he's calling for trevor sentencing for those involved. —— hoffer

sentencing i realised it was acid and i was just screaming out on the street, crying for water, it was getting more dryer and more worse. i thought my face was going to be destroyed. i think you should be punished for that because he wanted to destroy somebody‘s face. the government wants to give police more powers to prevent such assaults. i think it's really important that we send out a very strong message that carrying a corrosive substance in a public place, unless you've got a really good reason to have it, is just totally unacceptable. speak to any victim of an acid attack and they will be living with lifelong scars. it's absolutely right that we take this as seriously as any knife attack. under the home office proposals, it would be an offence to possess a corrosive substance in public. there would be a ban on the sale of such substances to anyone under 18, and people caught carrying acid twice in public would receive a mandatory minimum six—month prison sentence if over the age of 18.

what it will do, it will allow us to bring more charges and convictions when it comes to carrying the substances, even before they are being used. at the minute, we have to prove the intent, the fact why are you carrying that substance. these proposals look to change that. the home office say victims and survivors are at the heart of everything they are doing. but some say that this does not go far enough and more needs to be done to bring people tojustice. in london, police are being issued with test kits to check the contents of suspicious bottles of liquid. they are also being given protective gloves and water bottles so they can treat victims quickly. together with the proposed new laws, officers hope it will help prevent more attacks. some of the most powerful figures

in hollywood are meeting to consider the future of harvey weinstein, the film executive facing a string of sexual assault allegations, including rape. the organisation behind the oscars — the academy of motion picture arts and sciences — is considering whether he should be expelled from the academy. our correspondent, laura bicker is in la where the meeting where the meeting is taking place. this is a 5k member board comprises some of the top executive producers and actors, including tom hanks, we did goldberg, stephen spielberg. their meeting to discuss revoking the membership, kicking out, one of this industry's most powerful producers. harvey weinstein stand accused of sexual assault dating back decades. some of the accusers

include one of paltrow, angelina jolie, ashleyjudd. —— one of paltrow. they say he abused his position here in holyrood. he has apologised for some aspects of his behaviour but denies allegations that he be sexless nonconsensual. he has left la, he is believed to be in some kind of rehabilitation. the company he co—founded has now fired him, his own brother has spoken to the us media this morning saying that he did not know anything about these claims of abuse. he said that when it came to his brother, he was a bully and he felt that he had suffered at his own hands and said that he would be pleading with the academy to kick his brother out. let's get more on this story with matthew belloni who is the executive editor for the hollywood reporter. he joins us now via webcam from los angels. was your feeling about this story to

date? it's an absolute tragedy, what happened here. this looks like a decade—long pattern of harassment, allegedly, against various women, actresses, both famous and non—famous. and harvey weinstein‘s brother, bob, is one of his harshest critics. he is saying the academy should beat him, he is a despicable person, he's depraved. —— should boot him. this coming from his own brother. but surely a lot of people in the industry will say, come on, it's hollywood, it's the movies, we all know about the casting couch, people aren't that surprised. why has this story broke and now? there are different levels has this story broke and now? there a re different levels of has this story broke and now? there are different levels of this. the casting couch has existed for many

yea rs, casting couch has existed for many years, it was pretty well—known harvey weinstein was not a good guy, that he was a philanderer, that he was flying around the world and meeting with different actresses and trying to have sex with them. but i think the details of the allegations against him, the sexual abuse allegations in particular and the fa ct allegations in particular and the fact that women are coming forward and saying this on the record, that is what has blown the scandal wide open. so why are the women coming forward now? what has triggered that? i think you have to ask them, particularly, but what we have heard and what i think is going on, is the culture in general is changing. and after bill cosby and after fox news and after some of these claims that happen levelled against silicon valley executives, i think women in hollywood are feeling a little more emboldened. there was a culture of fear that permeated and still

permeates the industry, like many others, but i think that is changing a little and it is giving women more ofa, a little and it is giving women more of a, more of the ability to come forward and say the stories and speak with their experiences are. on the subject of bill cosby, i would like to add a few more names to that. roman polanski, mel gibson, the academy does not have form when it comes to reprimanding their members. none of those were reprimanded. in fact, the only person that was kicked out, was an actor that was accused of cheating. what is it with the academy that people can commit these crimes, from except they are wrong, and yet they don't take the necessary action? that depends on whether you believe it is necessary action. the academy has maintained that it is not an organisation that legislates morals oi’ organisation that legislates morals or personal lives at all. it is an a rts or personal lives at all. it is an

arts organisation that proceeds the furtherance of cinema around the world and bestows the oscars based on that. roman plants kit was nominated for an oscar after he was convicted of rape. —— roman polanski. so it's not an organisation that has really got involved injudging people'spersonal lives. however, ithink involved injudging people'spersonal lives. however, i think the culture in general has changed to the point where at this meeting, they may say, we have to take a stand and we are, really kind of organisation that tolerates a member like this? and i would not be surprised if they kick harvey weinstein out. would not be surprised if they kick harvey weinstein outlj would not be surprised if they kick harvey weinstein out. i would add, yea rs not harvey weinstein out. i would add, years not been charged with any crimes yet, they are alleged as it stands. he has said any brief chat with reporters, everybody makes mistakes, he deserves a second chance, his spokesperson has also said that he hopes he will be given a second chance once he has been through rehab. what is the

likelihood he will? i don't believe harvey weinstein will ever have another chance in hollywood. i know hollywood has a long history of even people like mel gibson and roman la ns ky people like mel gibson and roman lansky a people like mel gibson and roman la nsky a chance, people like mel gibson and roman lansky a chance, but i think this is different. —— roman polansky. i think harvey weinstein is finished when it comes to making movies, that is my opinion. thank you. britain has said it will defend the international nuclear deal with iran, after donald trump announced he would no longer endorse it. the us president said iran had already violated the accord , and he threatened to abandon the agreement altogether. the other signatories — including france, china, and germany — have all said they remain committed to the policy. as we have seen in north korea, the longer we ignore a threat, the worse that threat becomes. it is why we are determined that the world's

leading sponsor of terrorism will never obtain nuclear weapons. at least four people have died after a cargo plane crashed into the sea off the shore of ivory coast. it had taken off from the main airport in the city of abidjan during a heavy storm. six other people, including french nationals, were injured in the crash of the antonov aircraft, which had ten people on board. hundreds of onlookers gathered at the beach near the crash site, as emergency workers tried to rescue those on board. the aircraft was carrying supplies for the french military. the headlines on bbc news: a canadian kidnapped with his wife and held by the taliban for nearly five years has spoken for the first time about his ordeal — including the murder of their baby daughter. tougher sentences for

the perpetrators of acid attacks — victims give a cautious welcome to proposals for minimum jail terms. the hollywood establishment holds crisis talks on harvey weinstein — the board of the oscars is meeting to decide its response to sexual assault allegations. the republic of ireland has issued a status red weather warning for parts of the country, as hurricane ophelia, currently in the atlantic, heads towards the british isles. the met office says ophelia has strengthened to category three and currently has wind speeds of near 115 miles—per—hour. our presenter matt taylorjoins me. matt, should we be worried about this? a little bit, yes, because it

is heading towards the shores of the uk and island. but for some, they probably won't notice it that much. it will affect some parts of the uk and not others. it is just south of the user is just now, very initial to see a storm this strong as far east of the atlantic, the first time we have seen a storm the strongest parties on record. it's fuelled by owners of one waters around the azores at the moment, you need one waters to fuel this, and it is starting to accelerate a bit. but it is going to move all over colder waters and will lose some of that field. it will lose its harry kane status and become a big tropical storm, still packing a punch. —— hurricane status. is it moving quickly eyes, it will start to accelerate on sunday for dust. be people in the republic of ireland who feel the brunt, it could be in

excess who feel the brunt, it could be in excess of 180 mph is an places, the met office of pitt out of a weather warning for them. it will be a mixed bag for the uk on monday. it places around the irish coast, western parts of england and wales, dumfries & galloway, northern ireland. we could see 70, maybe 80 mph, which will impact services group crossed the irish sea, could have an impact on power supply and bring down a few trees in the area. but you'll notice, for these, wind is nowhere near as strong, notice, for these, wind is nowhere near as strong, so notice, for these, wind is nowhere near as strong, so those places may not see what all the fuss is about. some place and macey wins touching 40, 50 miles some place and macey wins touching 40,50 miles per some place and macey wins touching 40, 50 miles per at. for the easter. yes. he's causal probably wonder what the fuss is about. —— the east coast. monday night and on tuesday, there is little chance read another album, southern scotland and the far north of england, where we could get destruction into tuesday morning rush hour. it is open about

hurricanes recently. a big, busy, devastating season. and na it has been a busy season. not unusually. the biggest thing this year is the fa ct the biggest thing this year is the fact that storms have been particularly strong, fuelled by one waters in the budget and the fact that quite a few have made landfall. some use, we go with very few manful. this season hasjust some use, we go with very few manful. this season has just been every u nfortu nate manful. this season has just been every unfortunate season, very strong and lots of landfall scores ina lot strong and lots of landfall scores in a lot of devastation. we have an update at the top of the hour? , i will. you have been warned. authorities in california are warning that huge wildfires north of san francisco could spread further, as they're fanned by dry windy conditions. 36 people are known to have been killed in the past week and hundreds more are missing. from california, dave lee reports. these fires have choked california, displacing 90,000 people and destroying more than 5,000 buildings. sir! you've got to go! this footage

shows a police officer's view on sunday in the city of santa rosa, helping terrified residents evacuating. the next day, the city looked like this. we walked in and we walk and see our neighbourhood flattened. it looks like a bomb has gone off in our neighbourhood. it's so heartbreaking. the smoky air can be smelt as far as 100 miles away. this is our winemaking facility where we made our wines. the harvest was pretty complete so we had most in in. this summer equipment, can see, completely destroyed. police are having to deal with

looters. some of the fires have been contained, thanks to the efforts of more than 8000 firefighters drafted to help. these firefighters are bracing themselves. weather forecasts suggest more wins on the way. —— and wind. this is already the deadliest wildfire in the state's history and it's not over yet. a woman who was gored by an angry stag in richmond park says she thought she was "going to die". you—en lee from east london was filming deer, when a stag charged at her causing serious wounds. she spoke to sarah harris and showed her the video she was recording seconds before the attack. still fragile and only just home from hospital, she is still in shock after being brutally attacked by a stag.

this is the phone footage she was taking in richmond park moments before the deer ran out. he uses the antler, just attacks my upper thigh area. and this enormous force pushed me to the floor and i felt extreme pain on my stomach and my thigh. at that moment, i think, i know i'm going to die. idid think i did think about that. it's mating time for deer, whose population is said to be at its largest for 1000 years. though experts say it is very rare for them to attack a human being, she wants to make other londoners aware of the dangers. i see wildlife everyday in london. i'm very used to it. and there are lots of photos online, you can see people petting deer, feeding deer, laying next to them and taking photos. that creates a kind of illusion.

whatever the temptation of a cute photo opportunity, the advice from wardens is clear. deer are wild and territorial animals and it's best to put at least 15 metres between you and them, especially at this time of year. a new 600 million pound toll bridge over the river mersey opened earlier this morning. the mersey gateway route is the largest infrastructure project in england outside london and connects runcorn and widnes in cheshire. andy gill reports. hundreds of people lined the banks of the mersey to watch a spectacular firework display a few hours before the new bridge opened. it links widnes on the north bank and runcorn on the south. tolls aside, the locals approve. it's very smart, it's a lot better than the sister bridge. it reminds me of the one in america. i think it's brilliant. long time overdue. it's a really fantastic development.

and just past midnight, the bridge was opened, hundreds of bikers among the first to cross. the mersey gateway bridge is the biggest civil engineering project in the country outside london. the total cost is more than £1.8 billion. 20 million vehicles a year are expected to use it. and its 810 miles of cable would stretch from lands end to john o'groats. the old runcorn widnes bridge now closes for a year for repairs. when it reopens, both mersey crossings will be tolled. locals can travel free if they pay a registration fee, but there is real anger among individuals and businesses who have to pay. the transport secretary says the bridge should be free the year's biggest literary prize, the man booker award,

will be revealed next week. between now and then we'll be previewing the six—shortlisted titles here on bbc news. our look at the nominees continues today with george saunders discussing his debut novel lincoln in the bardo — about the us president's reaction to the death of his son william. the idea came from a story that i heard 20 years ago, and the story was that while lincoln was president, his beloved son willie died, and lincoln was so grief—stricken that he actually entered the crypt on several occasions and actually interacted with the body. an exceedingly tall and unkempt fellow was making his way toward us through the darkness. this was highly irregular. it was after hours. the front gate would be locked. the form of the book was actually a big problem. so finally i settled on a kind

of greek chorus approach, where it is basically a series of hundreds of monologues that come from other ghosts in the graveyard, from historical sources both real and invented. here are some examples of actual historical quotes that i used. he was never handsome, indeed, but he grew more and more cadaverous and ungainly month by month. in lincoln's washington: recollections of a journalist who knew everybody by wa crawford. ——wa croffutt. i think in total there is 166 separate voices in the book, and it looks a bit on the page like a play or a screenplay. so it was a great adventure, and i'm glad i stuck with it. sir, friend. am i doing it again? you are. take a breath. all is well. one of the daunting things about this book was that suddenly you've got lincoln in it as a character, which is kind of like having jesus as a character. so what i finally did is i thought, well, maybe it's not a book about lincoln, it's a book about a father,

it is a book about a certain evening, it is a book about grief. and then you can allow yourself to sort of minimise lincoln's screen time a little bit. you know, you don't have to worry too much about the iconic figure. you're doing what fiction writers do, which is through specificity makes the illusion of reality. we had been loved, i say, and remembering us, even many years later, people would smile, briefly gladdened at the memory. and yet? and yet no one had ever come here to hold one of us while speaking so tenderly. ever. and you can see our special live awards programme next tuesday night at 9.30 here on the bbc news channel. students across the uk have been settling into their new university courses, but some freshers have more life experience than others. in fact, some are nearer 80 than 18.

our education correspondent, sean coughlan, has been to meet some of them. the report of a particular case... forgets the usual stereotypes about stu d e nts forgets the usual stereotypes about students and meet maureen, just starting a law degree at the tender age of 79. i'm a big old but inside isa age of 79. i'm a big old but inside is a young person still coming out with the same aspirations. —— i may look old. these students will be studying full—time for the next three years., what's it like studying with people so what younger than yourself? , it's delightful. they have that flexibility of mind, the ability to be spontaneous, the way they make sure that they support each other. and that means support even the old lady. has been an increase in older students on full—time university courses. but

there are still a pretty rare bunch. only 25 students aged over 70 started last year. at this university, though, they pride themselves on having students from all ages and backgrounds. rita, a relative youngster converged to maureen, says the different generations help each other. maureen, says the different generations help each otherlj maureen, says the different generations help each other. i think all of them, we help each other. they are strong in some areas and maybe i am strong and others, we all come together, we have a study group, last session we had a study group, last session we had a study group helping each other pass assessments. and we all passed in the group, nobody had a reset. what are the younger students make of their veteran classmates? it was quite surprising when i came in for induction day. i expected a lot of teenagers and when i saw the diversity in the group, the different ages from all sorts of different ages from all sorts of different places, it was quite nice. if anything, i find different places, it was quite nice. ifanything, ifind is different places, it was quite nice. if anything, ifind is inspirational

but they can feel like they can come back into education and, yes, it's really interesting. they all seem to have a lot more knowledge. worries as age shouldn't be a barrier to anyone wanting a new challenge later in life. —— maureen says. anyone wanting a new challenge later in life. —— maureen sayslj anyone wanting a new challenge later in life. -- maureen says. i say go at it. older people are capable of being up to a challenge. they have been through life would have had to meet many challenges. —— where they have had to meet. will take you to america, albuquerque, were thousands of people have gathered to watch a mass ascension of hot air balloons on the last weekend of the international balloon fiesta in new mexico. the festival — which is held in against the backdrop of the region's desert landscape — includes inflatable characters hovering over the city, as well as hundreds of the traditional hot air balloons.