bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my north america and around the globe. my name is ben bland. our top stories: austria elects the world's youngest leader. but will 31—year—old sebastian kurz forge a coalition with the far—right? somalia's deadliest attack in a decade: saturday's massive bomb blast in the capital is known to have killed at least 230 people. warning of "potential danger to life" as hurricane ophelia barrels across the atlantic towards the british isles. and more claims of sexual assault against hollywood kingpin harvey weinstein. police in britain investigate allegations by three women. hello. the head of austria's conservative people's party is on course to become the world's youngest national leader, at the age of 31. after his victory in sunday's general election, sebastian kurz, is still well short of a majority — but he's in a strong position to form a new coalition government.

asjenny hill reports from vienna, he may have to rely on the far—right freedom party, whose campaign was dominated by immigration concerns. the new face of austrian politics. sebastian kurz has rejuvenated his party and changed his country's political landscape. translation: voters have handed us a great responsibility. many people put big hopes in our movement. i promise i will do all in my power to fight for change and i invite you tojoin me. herr kurz, a word for the bbc? has austria moved to the right today? is it a victory for the right? no answer for us but mr kurz is shifting his party's politics. as foreign minister during the refugee crisis, he closed the country's borders. now he's leaving the door open to the far right.

even on the campaign trail, his potential new partner, the anti—migrant freedom party, sensed a victory of sorts. at this rally, its leader warned that foreigners are replacing the native austrian population. mr kurz will have to form a coalition government, and this is his most likely choice. translation: we thank voters for their trust. many austrians used their democratic right today. democracy has won in austria today. so, perhaps, has image. austria's chancellor—elect talks not about his party but his bewegung, a macron—style movement. but vienna has seen it all before. nearly 20 years ago, mr kurz‘s party invited the far right into government. then there was shock, dismay, some european countries imposed diplomatic sanctions. today, in an eu bruised by the migrant crisis, few are surprised. translation: i think it's great that kurz is the leader. they're all tricksters. i did vote for kurz. translation: i'm shocked and outraged. i'm very disappointed that austria has voted like this.

it's irrational. populist success, the mainstream chasing the right. europe's youngest leader and embodiment of shifting political ground. jenny hill, bbc news, vienna. and there's lots more on our website about the austrian election — just go to bbc.com/news. there, you'll find analysis of the main issues and a profile of conservative leader sebastian kurz. you can also download the bbc news app. somalia's president, mohamed abdullahi mohamed, has declared three days of mourning to honour the victims of saturday's huge bomb explosion in the capital, mogadishu. at least 230 people are now known to have died in the attack, the deadliest since al—shabab militants began their insurgency a decade ago. anne soy reports. search and rescue efforts continue more than 2a hours after the blast. hopes of finding people alive are fading. those who recover the remains

of their loved ones can be counted lucky. many bodies cannot be identified. it is one of the worst bomb blasts ever on somali soil. a truck laden with explosives struck at a busy intersection on saturday, reducing buildings to rubble and setting vehicles alight. the scale of casualties is unprecedented. president mohamed abdullahi farmajo visited some of the injured in hospital. he also donated blood. the president is in no doubt as to who is responsible for the attack. translation: indeed, it is a hard period. yesterday's truck bomb attack is a national disaster that claimed many people's lives and it signifies that the terrorist group al—shabab are cruel and nasty people who kill anyone. a city with just a handful of hospitals has been tested

to its limit. medics are overwhelmed. translation: what happened yesterday was incredible. i've never seen such a thing before and the death toll is uncountable. corpses were burned and no—one could recognise them. somalia has been battling insurgency for years. the un—backed government is supported by a regional african union force but al—shabab has shown it remains capable of staging high—profile attacks in the capital. and every so often they test the resilience of a country determined to emerge from the rubble. in a rare show of anger, residents protest on the streets of mogadishu. they want the government to avenge the deaths of their loved ones and end a decade of attacks from the home—grown militants. anne soy, bbc news. iraqi forces are advancing

towards kurdish—held sites in kirkuk province — reports say iraqi forces have already taken control of large areas of the region. tensions between baghdad and iraqi kurdistan have been high since the kurds held an independence referendum last month. the us has urged both sides to turn to dialogue to defuse tensions. baghdad denies issuing any demands. earlier, iraq's central government accused the codes of deploying fighters from the turkish —based kurdistan workers‘ party. but the knesset administration denies bringing their men. tensions between

baghdad and pakistani have been high since the kurdish region held a referendum on independence last month. let‘s take a look at some of the other stories making the news. us—backed militias have launched what they describe as a "final assault" on the remaining militants from so—called islamic state in the syrian city of raqqa. some is fighters have withdrawn under a local deal, freeing three thousand civilians they‘d held as human shields. but as many as 300 extremists remain in control of one area of the city centre. president nicolas maduro has claimed victory, having won a landslide 17 out of 23 states in venezuela‘s regional elections according to results by the national elections council. the opposition democratic union roundtable coalition took five of the states. the results of the far north state a yet to be confirmed. officials in portugal and spain say at least eight people have been killed by wildfires.

thousands of firefighters and soldiers have been deployed to tackle more than a hundred blazes in central and northern portugal, and across the border in the spanish region of galicia. officials have blamed arsonists for starting many of the fires. britain and ireland are bracing themselves for the arrival of hurricane ophelia. it‘s the most powerful storm ever to have formed so far east in the atlantic. the met office has warned of "potential danger to life" with strong winds, heavy rain and storm surges expected. there‘s a severe weather warning in place, although it‘s hoped ophelia may weaken to a tropical storm by the time it makes landfall. sarah corker reports. with winds of up to 90mph on the way, those living on the galway coast were securing property, tightening boat moorings, and seeking shelter. ireland‘s southern and western coasts will be the hardest hit as ophelia moves in from the atlantic. forecasters have warned

the storm will be potentially life—threatening, causing widespread disruption and power outages. we are expecting significant disruption to electricity supplies across the country. we expect, from very early in the morning, to have all of our crews deployed to deal with fallen wires, we expect a significant number of trees to fall in our network. this is the 15th named storm in what has been a particularly active atlantic hurricane season. ophelia is an unusual storm for us. we‘ve never seen a storm that strong so close to europe, uk and ireland in history, really, and it has weakened a little bit, through the past 2a hours, no longer hurricane for today but it will still pack a punch. red weather warnings out across much the the republic of ireland, indication the severity of the storm, risk to life and property. 90 miles per hour gusts possible as that storm works its way northwards. and across western parts of wales, the coast of western england, south—west scotland, and northern ireland there‘s an amber warning in place. some ferries, flights and bus services have been cancelled. all schools, colleges and courts

in ireland are closed. we hope that all our students and staff and everyone hids the advice, stays safe, stays indoors, and we see everyone back in school, please god, on tuesday morning. news reel: the worst storm for hundreds of years hit the south of england early this morning... and ophelia will reach the uk late, exactly 30 years after the great storm of 1987, famously catching the forecasters out. news reel: earlier on today, apparently a waoman rang the bbc and said she heard that there was a hurricane on the way — well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't. weather forecasting has coem a long way since then. and this is the view of ophelia from space, as it moves towards ireland. it is predicted to be the country‘s worst storm in more than half a century. sarah corker, bbc news. police in london are investigating allegations of sexual assault made by three women against the hollywood

film producer, harvey weinstein. one of them, actress lysette anthony, says she was raped by weinstein at her flat in the late 1980s. another woman has made allegations of an attack in 1992, while a third says she was assaulted on three separate occasions since 2010. daniel sandford reports. being battered by a storm of sexual abuse allegations in america, the clouds are gathering over harvey weinstein in the uk too. this was british actress lysette anthony in 1982, 19 years old and at the start of her career, filming the science—fiction fantasy krull. that was when she met harvey weinstein. and in today‘s sunday times, she claims that a few years later, he raped her at her london home. she told the paper... harvey weinstein, who has been lauded as a hollywood a—lister for decades, has now conceded

he made mistakes and needs help, but has categorically denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex. the metropolitan police started investigating the allegations by lysette anthony last week. the force now says two more women have come forward. one claims harvey weinstein assaulted her in 1992, the other that he assaulted her three times, in 2010, 2011 and 2015. but if detectives decide they do want to charge harvey weinstein, bringing him here would not necessarily happen quickly. the courts in america would want to deal with all the cases there before extraditing him to britain. actress alice evans says she managed to avoid weinstein‘s advances in cannes in 2002 when he asked to feel her breasts, but she thinks it damaged her career. it was very odd. the overtures were nothing to do with, "wow, you‘re really pretty." or, you know, "i‘m really enjoying your..." it was nothing to do with me.

it was, i want to touch your (bleep)... they say your blood runs cold, but it‘s not really your blood, it‘s almost like your stomach turns. last night, the academy of motion pictures, which hands out oscars, expelled harvey weinstein and today, the french president, emmanuel macron, said the film producer would lose his legion d‘honneur, one of france‘s highest decorations. but he now faces the real possibility of a criminal prosecution either in america or in britain. daniel sandford, bbc news, at new scotland yard. stay with us here on bbc news. still to come: banging the drum for equality — we meet the woman muscling in to the male bastion of bhangra. 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 that 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. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: austria has elected 31—year—old sebastian kurz, of the conservative people‘s party, to be its next leader. somalia‘s president has declared three days of national mourning after saturday‘s massive bomb blast, that killed at least 230 people in the capital, mogadishu. let‘s get more on that story: muhammad fraser rahim, an expert on violent extremism for ouilliam international, told me who he thought most likely carried out the attack. for all indications, it looks like it is probably al—shabaab. i think the organisation itself certainly has been on the rise, despite really aggressive actions by western partners as well as a very growing national security apparatus in somalia trying to push it back. at the end of the day, al—shabaab is an organisation which is of concern to all of us and one in which the government

itself sees it as a top priority, they want to combat. given the insurgency of al—shabaab began ten years ago, by now should the authorities there, with the help of the african union mission in somalia, not have made much greater progress on tackling the militants and be able to stop attacks like this? you know, this is not a perfect situation and i think we have to give credit for regional entities — i mean, the kenyans have done quite a job in trying to prevent this issue, we‘ve seen certainly western partners as well — i think that the somali government is doing the best that they can, based on the limited ability that they have as well. what we have to do is really try our best to harness the areas that they are working

in that are good, the areas that they are working in conjuction in that are good, and areas in which they need improvement on, provide them the economic, military and intelligence support for that as well. if, as you suggest, they are doing the right things in trying to tackle al—shabaab, what is given this militant group the oxygen that keeps it going? this is really a global issue and so it would probably be the same questions that indiciduals who are dealing with al-qaeda questions that individuals who are dealing with al-qaeda or daesh itself as well — it‘s a global phenomenon, global epidemic. just look at the statistics. there are over 60% of that somali population that are under 35. you are right, some of those entities of that entities are there are in themselves a radicalising element, menaing that the individuals who see this foreign entity meaning that the individuals who see this foreign entity

being there as a concern. what the government has to do, what civil society has to do, what religious communities have to do, is to find creative efforts that really get ahead of the curb. in this businesds we say, what can we do that‘s left og boom — in this businesds we say, what can we do that‘s left of boom — boom meaning the actual events taking place, unfortunately that we saw yesterday, so we can get ahead of the curb in using prevention efforts. that‘s going to be getting to some of the root causes in which we can all collectively be in support of. the leader of the spanish region of catalonia, carles puigdemont, now hasjust a few hours left to tell the central government in madrid whether or not he has actually declared independence. it follows the referendum declared illegal by spain‘s courts. if mr puigdemont replies that he has declared independence, the central government says that it will begin the process of suspending self—rule in the catalan region. our europe correspondent james

reynolds reports from barcelona. carles puigdemont already has some of the trappings of a head of state. now spain wants him to spell it out. has he declared independence for his region or not? at this memorial on sunday, mr puigdemont remembered a previous catalan leader executed in 19110 by the military regime of spain. an event which fuelled the current campaign for independence. carles puigdemont is under pressure from all sides. pro—independence groups here want him to say that he has declared independence. the government in madrid wants him to say that he has not. on this, in his last major appearance on the eve of madrid‘s deadline, the catalan leader refused to pick a side. translation: i want to reiterate that the government i lead will make its decision based on commitment to peace, fortitude and democracy.

even on the way out he made sure to give nothing away. president puigdemont, your answer to madrid? spanish citizens in madrid are among many who want him to explain his position. they recently celebrated spain‘s national day. most of the people in spain want to be together. this part of spain cannot create this sort of issue that we are seeing today. here in catalonia, opinion is divided. many still displayed their desire for independence. and all wait to hear their leader‘s reply. this week the chinese communist party holds its five yearly congress at the great hall of the people in beijing.

the climax will be the revealing of the new leadership team behind president xijinping. at a time like this the authorities believe they must do everything in their power to stamp out anything potentially embarrassing for the government. so the censors are in full swing, as our beijing correspondent stephen mcdonell has been finding out. in order to land the 2008 beijing olympics, china made some promises in terms of opening up and freedom of expression. at the time, it seemed like things were getting better and better in that regard. but as we get further and further from the games, the censors have been cracking down hard. phone apps are powerful tools for control. pretty much everyone in china uses wechat. at sensitive times, like during the party congress, keywords and phrases are blocked. using them can mean being reported to the authorities. and now, if you set up

a discussion group on wechat, as administrator, you are responsible for what is said on wechat. the restriction of chat apps not from the chinese government has also been tested. whatsapp has been blocked, for example. if you cannot talk, how do you interact? this is what the communist party wanted to talk about. this has been opened to mark the achievements of the chinese government with president xi jinping as the leader. the fastest trains, the deepest submarines, and ever more powerful military, and hundreds of images of the man credited with all of this, xijinping. xijinping....

the hindu festival of light — diwali — is coming up this week and you can be sure that some of the celebrations will be punctuated by incredible sound of the dhol. if you haven‘t heard the sound — it‘s completely infectious! dhol players are mostly male but one woman, parv kaur, is changing things, and creating a niche for herself. here‘s parv‘s story. come on! knees up! told you, it was infectious! i will see you soon. hello there. fairly quiet conditions out there at the moment. on monday, things turn more stormy to the west of the uk,

especially in northern ireland. the met office has already issued an amber be prepared warning for strong winds from monday afternoon. damaging and disruptive gusts are expected. the worst will be in southern ireland. ophelia, an ex—hurricane, moves towards the shores. the met service in ireland has issued a red warning. danger to life and property across the entire country. the wind will steadily strengthen in the west. scotland will have rain come and go. dry conditions in england and wales. the winds start to pick up through the irish sea in particular as we go into the afternoon. western parts of wales, the isle of man, northern ireland, parts of south—west scotland in particular. we can see winds in excess of 80 miles per hour in a few spots. that will cause loose debris to fly around and travel disruption. only part of the story, of course. on monday, rain across the board in ireland. cool conditions in scotland with outbreaks of rain. england and wales, away

from western coasts, blustery day but quite a warm and sunny one, 23 degrees. evening rush—hour, midlands, northern england, gusty winds. the strongest of the wind in the north. the low pressure system will transfer to northern scotland. these areas could see 60—70 miles per hour winds. they could cause disruption. temperatures holding up into tuesday morning. through monday and tuesday, just a reminder, some problems around, not just with transport, power supply problems as well. check for warnings on the website and on the bbc weather app. the strongest winds will go down on tuesday. outbreaks of rain continue in scotland and northern ireland. a cold day there. england and wales, a lot of dry weather. light winds, hazy sunshine. feeling pleasant, even without the tropical layer of monday. later in the day, rain spreads in through the english channel.

this system willjust go north through tuesday night into wednesday. the warmest air confined to east anglia and the south—east. wet weather in southern counties of england. on wednesday, the midlands into northern england, southeasterly winds, the heaviest of the rain in the east of the pennines. part of eastern scotland as well. western areas, dry and bright. still feeling cool away from southern counties where it will be pleasant. overall this week, a stormy start to the week. things turn quieter but stronger winds as well. news. my name is ben bland. the headlines: the head of austria‘s conservative people‘s party is on course to become the world‘s youngest national leader, at the age of 31. sebastian kurz is in a strong position to form a new coalition government — but may have to rely on the far—right freedom party. police in somalia say the massive bomb blast in the capital mogadishu has killed at least 230 people and wounded hundreds more. it‘s the deadliest attack since al—shabab militants began their insurgency a decade ago. britain and ireland are bracing themselves for the arrival of hurricane ophelia, the most powerful storm ever to have formed so far east in the atlantic. the met office has warned of "potential danger to life"

with strong winds, heavy rain and storm surges expected. it‘s hoped ophelia may weaken to a tropical storm by the time it makes landfall. now on bbc news in a special episode of hardtalk, stephen sackur speaks to the hollywood icon and activist, jane fonda.