welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. our top stories: thousands take to the streets of barcelona, as catalonia's leader says he will not accept madrid's plan to curb the region's powers. we do what we do because we believe in a democratic and peaceful europe. after growing international criticism, the world health organization is set to rethink a decision to make zimbabwe's president a goodwill ambassador. millions of people across japan are voting in a snap general election. we will have the very latest live from tokyo. storm brian batters parts of britain, bringing high seas and violent winds of more than 120km/h. welcome to bbc news.

the political crisis in spain has deepened, with the leader of catalonia condemning the spanish government's plans to sack the regional administration. carles puigdemont declared that a coup was being mounted, and compared the actions of the government in madrid to those of the fascist dictator general franco. the spanish prime minister, mariano rajoy said he had been left with no choice by an "illegal" independence referendum. tom burridge reports from barcelona. angrier than ever before — catalans who want independence, digesting madrid's unprecedented move to temporarily scrap their devolved government. theyjust want to crush us down. and we've got dignity. we've got our dignity.

we've fought for it for years. we couldn't speak catalan only, like, 40, 50 years ago. are we going to go back to that? i want to see the army here, we're going to see it at this rate. i don't want that. i'm young and i don't have that much knowledge, but i have enough knowledge to know that that isn't normal, and it shouldn't be happening in our country. we are a developed country, this isjust outrageous. i'm speechless. the leader of catalonia's devolved government in the crowd. tonight, he called it the biggest attack on catalonia's autonomy since the dictatorship of franco. translation: this is the worst attack on the institutions and people of catalonia since the dictatorship of franco. earlier, spanish ministers approved what is known here as the nuclear option. in a few days, catalan autonomy will be suspended, the regional government sacked, all of its responsibilities run from madrid. prime minister rajoy said catalan leaders will not be allowed to destroy the whole way

in which spain is governed. translation: we apply article 155 because no government of any democratic country can accept disregard for the law. catalonia is divided on the issue of independence, and some here, like carlos, accept that the spanish government had no option. he says it is 50% madrid's fault, and 50% catalonia's government, for causing this crisis, a crisis which seems to be getting worse. they won't give up, even as european governments insist this is an internal issue for madrid. the key test will come when madrid tries to physically take control of the catalan authorities. will the catalan police and other local officials follow the spanish government's orders, or disobey? chanting. a new country won't appear through words,

even as they will it to happen. they know, too, that bearing down on them is the all—powerful spanish state. tom burridge, bbc news, in barcelona. human rights groups have condemned the decision to make robert mugabe a goodwill ambassador for the world health organisation. britain and the united states have also made public their disappointment at zimbabwe's president being offered the ceremonial role. our africa correspondent andrew harding reports. 93 years old, and in frail health, president robert mugabe is an unexpected choice to be the new goodwill ambassador for the world health organization. and it is notjust a question of stamina. the president's defenders insist he has earned this new honour. and yet, during his 37 years in power, mr mugabe has overseen the collapse of zimbabwe's

currency and economy, and of its once—impressive health system. zimbabweans who have fled abroad are outraged by today's news. it angers me, because i've seen millions of zimbabweans die. incurable diseases, which — some things which could be cured, but because of the health facilities that have collapsed, it has really been their death row. zimbabwe's falling apart. there's nothing absolutely that is alright. even if i fall sick today in zimbabwe, where will i getjust the consultation fee? critics point to a long history of human rights abuses in zimbabwe too. on that note, today the british government called mr mugabe's appointment: perhaps the mostjarring irony is the fact that, for years, mr mugabe has spent taxpayers' money travelling abroad for his own healthcare.

we know that every — every other month, president mugabe, even for eye cataract, president mugabe goes to singapore, president mugabe goes to the far east. he doesn't even trust his own public health system. and tonight, news that the backlash may be working — the who announcing a rethink. mr mugabe's goodwill ambassadorship may prove to be short—lived. andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, is in riyadh for a six—day visit to saudi arabia and qatar. mr tillerson will press for an end to the boycott of qatar over claims it supports islamist extremism. his talks are also expected to focus on countering iran's growing influence, and on improving relations between saudi arabia and iraq. polls have opened injapan‘s 48th general election,

after prime minister shinzo abe called a snap election to renew his mandate. mr abe announced the election in september, saying he needed a fresh mandate in order to deal with the national crises facing japan. the polls close at 8:00pm local time. let's cross live to our correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes in tokyo. rupert, of course, there is the need for this mandate, he believes, because of issues over north korea and wanting to lose the sort of pacifist status of the nation. yes, i have to say that mr abe and his right—wing supporters in the liberal democratic party are the only people who think that mr abe needs a fresh mandate. it is more than a year to go on the current mandate that he got three years ago, on the last

general election, and he enjoys two thirds majority is with his coalition partners in both houses of the japanese parliament. so there was absolutely no need to call the selection now. however, mrabe was absolutely no need to call the selection now. however, mr abe saw that his poll ratings were rising during the summer, in large part of his tough and tough stance in the ongoing sort of missile crisis, nuclear crisis with north korea, and so nuclear crisis with north korea, and so he has decided to go for it now and get another four years. so he has decided to go for it now and get anotherfour years. and it looks like at the moment, gavin, that it looks like at the moment, gavin, thatitis looks like at the moment, gavin, that it is about, it is a risk, that is going to pay off. it looks like mrabe is is going to pay off. it looks like mr abe is heading for another majority. and would you say that is because he has played a shrewd political game and being a good politician, or because of a lack of any good characters in opposition? yes, very good question. i think it is in part both. people are going with the candidate and the government that they know and they feel safe with. japan's economy is growing, slowly, but growing. there is almost full employment here, so

this is a vote for stability, in one way. it is also what one commentator called a vote for tina, there is no alternative. japan's opposition is in disarray. there was a new challenger to mr abe earlier in the month when the very popular governor of tokyo came out and said she was going to form a new party to run against him, but that has fizzled very rapidly, and it looks like her party, which is called hope, is not going to do that well. and so really, mr abe, he going to do that well. and so really, mrabe, he benefits going to do that well. and so really, mr abe, he benefits from not having any real opponents. and of course, if he does win, he is on track to become the longest serving political leader in japan's track to become the longest serving political leader injapan‘s post—war history. quite an achievement. political leader injapan‘s post—war history. quite an achievementm political leader injapan‘s post—war history. quite an achievement. it is a remarkable achievement, and this is mr abe's second go at being prime minister. he had a disastrous prime ministership back in the early 2000, then came back to power in 2012 and

has seen this extraordinary five yea rs, has seen this extraordinary five years, and it could now be as long as nine years as prime minister. that would put him well ahead of anybody else. and it will also, he says, give him a mandate, as you said earlier, to changejapan‘s constitution. and that is really the big takeaway from this election. if he wins and wins big, he has said he is going to reform the constitution and to get rid of that article, article nine, which commits to pacifism. —— commits japan to pacifism. at least 15 army cadets have been killed in an attack on a military academy in afghanistan. a suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives into a bus outside the training centre in kabul. it is the latest in a number of bomb attacks across the country this week. anbarasan ethirajan has more. the minibus carrying the army cadets was leaving the military academy in kabul when it was targeted. police are investigating how a suicide bomber managed to reach the high—security compound. it was the second suicide attack in the afghan capital in less

than 2a hours. 56 people were killed when a suicide bomber set off explosives at a packed shia mosque last night. the victims were buried in this cemetery outside kabul. those who died in the suicide attack have been remembered during funeral prayers. families have lost fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in the devastating attack. there was tight security outside the burial place as funerals were also targeted in the past. shia mosques in afghanistan have been repeatedly attacked. translation: the government has to provide security for its citizens, in any situation. the incident that took place was very tragic and we strongly condemn it. a routine friday evening prayer at this mosque ended in a nightmare. the blood—soa ked carpets and broken windows show

the level of devastation. the streets of kabul are tense today, and many residents say they are worried about the worsening security situation. many are angry that even a place of worship is not safe anymore. a billionaire businessman in the czech republic has scored a convincing victory in elections to the lower house of parliament. andrej babis, the country's second—richest man, emerged with 30% of the vote — not enough to govern alone, but far ahead of his rivals. a far—right, islamophobic party also made strong gains, while liberal, pro—european parties faltered. rob cameron has more from prague. this is what success looks like for a man who has already tasted so much of it. his business empire controls much of czech agriculture, chemicals and the media. now, he has set his

sights much higher. after almost four years at the finance ministry, the slovak—born business tycoon is on the brink of becoming prime minister. translation: i've already congratulated all the chairmen who got into parliament, and we hope that they will be willing to deal with us. i think it would be good to have a stable government for our country, which will fight for our interests. it was a result few had predicted. andrej babis's prospects had dimmed in recent months, after a string of scandals — two separate criminal investigations into claims he fraudulently obtained eu funds for a luxury resort. he said all of that was a campaign against him, a political witch—hunt by an establishment terrified of his pledge to clean up corruption. trust me, he said, and the voters believed him. populist, mildly eurosceptic, and hostile to immigration,

despite his non—czech origins, he has left the established centre—left and centre—right parties in tatters. instead, a host of new protest parties, including the far—right spd. they want to ban islam in the czech republic, and also hold a referendum on leaving the european union. they are unlikely to get one, attitudes hardening here to the eu, and to migrants, and andrej babis has tapped into them. parts of britain have been battered by storm brian, with violent winds and high seas. gusts of more than 120km/h were recorded in some places. strong wind warnings and flood alerts are still in place across much of wales, the south of england, and the midlands. briohny williams reports.

storm brian unleashes its worst as waves crash against the coast of wales. the ferocity of nature showing its hand. just taken the whole side of the officers out. buildings damaged and roads flooded. the picture in the south—west of england is similar — beaches empty. advice from the environment agency has been to stay away from the coastline. but walkers in the north—west of england couldn't resist watching the awesome scenes storm brian has supplied. fantastic. power of nature, isn't it? i tried to go for a nice coastal walk this morning, or today, but i think i will put that on hold.

the disruption hasn't been as widespread as predicted, and storm brian is expected to ease over the coming hours. only then will the true impact be revealed. briohny williams, bbc news. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: donald trump plans to allow the opening of a trove of long—classified files on the assassination of john f kennedy. a historic moment that many of his victims have waited for for decades. the former dictator in the dock, older, slimmer and, as he sat down, obedient enough. dawn, and as the sun breaks through the piercing chill of night on the plain outside korem, it lights up a biblicalfamine, now in the 20th century.

the depressing conclusion — in argentina today, it is actually cheaper to paper your walls with money. we've had controversies in the past with great britain, but as good friends, we have always found a good and lasting solution. concorde bows out in style after almost three decades in service. an aircraft that has enthralled its many admirers for so long, taxis home one last time. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: in a passionate appeal for the defence of catalonia's rights, carles puigdemont says he will not accept madrid's plan to curb the region's powers. after growing international criticism the world health

organization says it's rethinking its decision to make zimbabwe's president robert mugabe a goodwill ambassador. president trump says he's planning to release thousands of classified documents about the assassination ofjohn f kennedy in 1963. some us government officials are thought to oppose the move on national security grounds but mr trump has tweeted that he'll release the documents "subject to the receipt of further information". the bbc‘s laura bicker has the latest from washington. they were locked away 25 years ago, by law, to try to quell conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of president kennedy. it didn't work, because a recent gallup poll showed that around 30% of americans believe that the man accused of assassinating john f kennedy did not act alone. he of course was shot and killed before he had his day in court. now, the files that historians really want to pore over surround

oswald's visit to mexico city just a few weeks before the assassination. it is there he met with cuban and soviet spies, and it's alleged he announced his intention to kill the president — although that has not been made a fact as yet. now, when it comes to these documents, they will be released on thursday, unless president trump says otherwise — and his tweets suggest that he will — unless a strong national security argument is made. so decades of secrecy might be about to come to an end. almost a month after hurricane maria devastated puerto rico, the us territory is still struggling to provide basic services like electricity and running water. 3a people were killed by the storm and some estimates have put the clean—up bill as high as $95 billion. speaking on thursday, president trump gave his administration "10 out of 10" for its handling of the disaster. but there was strong criticism

of the response from the very start, and some of the strongest came from the mayor of the island's capital sanjuan, carmen yulin cruz. she's been talking to the bbc‘s yalda hakim for a forthcoming edition of our world. she told yalda about the recovery operation, and her feud with the president. in one of his tweets, president trump said that puerto rico is more or less broken. it has broken infrastructure, it is in trouble, it has debt. none of those things are factually incorrect? no, they're not. tell us something we didn't know, right? what is incorrect is for a president that is supposed to be the commander—in—chief to become the hater—in—chief, and to become the person thatjust tweets away his hate. that's what is incorrect. do you think it became personal, for you?

i mean, do you think — he called you nasty, you called him a hater—in—chief — that it became too personal? it is personal. it is personal — when my people are being left to die, it is personal. who was the one who spoke about the debt? the president. who was the one they called us ingrate? the president. who was the one that threw paper towels at us? the president. so, hey, i'm not going to start a fight, but i won't shy away from one either, when my people are in danger or fighting for their life, which is what is happening here. when you deny people clean water, you are denying them any rights. is he denying puerto rico clean water? it's not enough. if — if you're not giving people what they need, and you are chaining me to a piece of legislation that does not allow others to help me, then you're making me just depend on you. and that is not the spirit that the american democracy was made of. you choose to play, or not to play. yeah.

you know, we're getting food through churches, faith—based organisations, community leaders, and we have 21 community kitchens that have sprung up. army bomb—squad specialists have been called to the nuclear reprocessing plant at sellafield to deal with hazardous chemicals found in a lab. the chemicals, contained within a number of canisters, were discovered during a routine audit at a laboratory at the site in cumbria. they contained industrial solvents which are potentially flammable in liquid states and can crystallise, becoming unstable when exposed to air. sellafield limited, which runs the plant, said there's no reason for people living locally to be concerned. they are inside the laboratory which we are in the process of decommissioning,

so that is the nature of the beast here, at sellafield, as we uncover some of these things, then we deal with them in the most safe manner as quickly as possible. in a landmark ruling three years ago, india's supreme court recognised its estimated two million transgender people as a third gender, stating that "it is the right of every human being to choose their gender." now, the country's first transgender couple, are planning a wedding. some people want to kill us. some people say that we are mad. some people even abuse us sexually. i'm a male—to—female transsexual person. i'm female—to—male transsexual. we are going to make a new story in the life. it was very hard to be a person with gender dysphoria. now i'm happy that i became who i wanted to be. i'm getting minimum

3—5 calls every day. what to do, where to go for my hormone treatment, where to meet my doctor, so many, many questions they are asking. when i started doing these things, i was all alone. like, nobody was there to help me, so it was like laying my own path. so, if it happened with somebody else, ijust wanted to help them. i just wanted to work for the betterment and welfare of other people who are having gender dysphoria. i'll be doing that, but a small division will be there. especially females, they want pampering. one of the last letters written onboard the iconic british ship

titanic before it sank has been sold for a world record price. the letter was written by an american businessman, oskar holverson, and today it was sold at an auction in england for $166,000. mr holverson had written the letter to his mother the day before the ship sank. it's the only letter on headed titanic paper to have survived the waters of the north atlantic. a reminder of our top story — the catalan leader carles puigdemont has made a passionate appeal for the defence of catalonia's rights in the face of what he called a coup by the spanish state. he said catalonia was an ancient european nation and that deciding its future by a peaceful and democratic referendum was not a crime. this is bbc news. hello there.

storm brian has been bringing some strong winds across the united kingdom over the last 2a hours. the centre of brian crossed northern england during saturday night and headed out into the north sea, where it was going to be weakening through the course of the day today. rain or showers, though, showing up on the radar picture. and we did have some strong winds around the coastline of wales and south—west england, yesterday. the forecast was for gusts up to 70 mph, which wasn't far off the mark. inland, the forecasts were gusts to around a0 mph or 50 mph. and again, we had those kind of values across many inland areas. it was a kind of typical autumnal, windy day, wasn't it? now, those strong winds are still with us for the early risers, for the first part of the morning. outbreaks of rain across western scotland, north—west england, the north—west midlands, north wales. and the gusts were around a0 mph to 50 mph. irish sea coasts and up over the tops of the pennines, maybe one or two stronger gusts. temperatures 9—11 degrees first thing. so there is brian, working to the north sea, where it's going to continue to weaken

and die during sunday. nevertheless, we'll get this area of rain extending from north—west england across the midlands for a time, and heading into east anglia and south—east england, before clearing out of the way. what follows through sunday afternoon will be a mixture of sunshine and showers. the majority of the showers across western areas of the uk, dry weather across the east. north—westerly winds, though, bringing cooler and fresher air, so temperatures a bit down on those of yesterday, highs between 11 and 1a degrees. now, through sunday night, we'll see the next weather system approach, bringing rain to northern ireland, wales, south—west england. there'll be some low cloud around, some mist and hill fog patches developing. and the temperatures will be rising towards the south—west. 12 degrees or so as a low down towards south—west england. cooler conditions for a time across rural parts of scotland and north—east england. now, for monday, this strip of rain, this weather front, will continue to push its way in. so a lot of cloud, outbreaks of rain for many of us, heavy for a time for northern scotland. but then brighter skies work into northern ireland and scotland as we go through monday afternoon.

it turns a bit milder, temperatures up to 17 degrees across some areas on monday afternoon, and that's a sign of things to come. on tuesday, we've got a trailing weather front across southern counties of england, bringing a lot of cloud, and the potential of some outbreaks of rain, as well. cloudy for many of us, but the best of the sunshine, really, for eastern scotland and parts of north—east england. notice the temperatures continue to rise. for many of us, between 14—18 degrees celsius — a sign of things to come, because as we head to thursday, mild weather for this time of year. we could see highs reach 22 degrees. not bad for the middle of summer, pretty unusual for this late in october. that's your weather. this is bbc news. the headlines: catalonia's leader has made a passionate appeal for the defence of the region's rights in the face of what he called a coup by the spanish state. carles puigdemont compared the actions of madrid to those of spain's fascist dictator general franco. thousands took to the streets to protest against the government. the new head of the world health organisation says he is rethinking

his decision to appoint zimbabwe president robert mugabe as a goodwill ambassador for the global health agency. it follows international criticism of mr mugabe's human rights record and zimba bwe's health infrastructure. millions of japanese people are voting in a snap general election. the prime minister, shinzo abe, called the poll more than a year earlier than needed. if he wins, mr abe has proposed changes to the constitution, including scrapping the article that declares japan a pacifist country. now on bbc news, it is time for click.