welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: while thousands protest in catalonia, belgium receives an arrest warrant for the independence leader carles puigdemont. first stop hawaii. president trump is on his way to asia, with north korea high on the agenda spared jail by a militaryjudge — the american soldier who abandoned his post in afghanistan. and, police in new york say they have a viable case against the disgraced hollywood producer, harvey weinstein. hello. a spanishjudge has issued an international arrest warrant for the ousted catalan leader, carles puidgemont, and four other ex—ministers.

it follows the disputed independence referendum for the catalan region, which the spanish government declared illegal. mr puidgemont, who's in belgium, has insisted he's not there to evade justice. tom burridge reports. another night, another protest. this time, calls for catalan politicians to be released. these prisoners are not... they didn't commit any crime. if they take them to jail, they should take us to jail too. we only want to vote and to be free. catalonia's former government, which they elected, is accused of rebellion. eight former catalan ministers will spend the weekend in prison after a judge denied them bail. and now, an arrest warrant for the former catalan president carles puigdemont.

he's in brussels. tonight, on belgian tv, he described the case against him and his colleagues as exceptional and wrong. translation: this is not normal, that we face up to 30 years in prison. 30 years because we respected the wishes of the electorate. this is not normal. it is extremely barbaric. and in sleepy catalan villages, divisions are now often on public display. the abuse hurled atjordi, a pro—independence councillor, at the local school where a month ago he, arms crossed at the front, led a human wall blocking spain's civil guard. it's because of that disputed referendum that his political leaders are now injail ahead of their trial. translation: it reminds me more of a repressive state like turkey than a country of the european union.

lively discussions at home too. this family split on that key question. who is in favour of independence for catalonia? his sister is, his mum and dad are wavering. but jordi is not. "spain's laws have to be followed," he tells me, "and those who don't should be prosecuted." almost every day, a new chapter in this catalan crisis. on the horizon now, regional elections. but with pro—independence leaders in jail, divisions below the surface are ever more entrenched. tom burridge, bbc news, in barcelona. president trump has arrived in hawaii en route to asia. with tensions in the region simmering, not least over north korea, the world is watching to see how mr trump handles this round of diplomacy. the president and first lady arrived on air force one in oahu in the last few hours.

after arriving in tokyo on sunday, it's on to south korea, followed by china, then vietnam. mr trump will round things off with a visit to the philippines. robert daly, director of the kissinger institute at the woodrow wilson center, says mr trump will be hoping to strengthen america's trade and investment relationship with china. he is going to come home mostly with minor deals and some vague assurances. but he will probably not get, at least from china, any structural changes to the american trade relationship with china, which is what he really wants. xijinping just had a 19th party congress that elevated to him to an extremely strong position. he likes the current state of the us—china relationship. he doesn't have many asks for donald trump, and there's no particular reason he has to give him anything big. so they're rolling out a big, thick carpet, and what this is code for is that they think

through flattering president trump they can get him to not lean as hard on them, and to perhaps praise xijinping as he has in the past, for being powerful, speak about how much he respects him. they would like a purely ceremonial meeting, and they think flattery is the way to get that. our correspondent stephen mcdonnell is in tokyo, where the president will arrive on sunday morning local time. quite a sombre and reflective start to the trip? absolutely on the streets in tokyo people are expecting donald trump's visit to be com pletely expecting donald trump's visit to be completely dominated by the security question around north korea's nuclear weapons programme but on his way to asia he has snuck dog in hawaii and visited pearl harbor ——

snuck off. they tend to do this on the way to japan, us presidents. he has received a briefing from the us pacific command and no prizes for guessing what they would be talking about and it is north korea and its nuclear weapons. he is on his way to two countries particularly nervous about developments in north korea? that's right. when he arrives here injapan and also south korea, donald trump will be speaking to us troops. he will be speaking to the governments here, trying to build the mend them to put more pressure on north korea to get them to give up on north korea to get them to give up their nuclear weapons and this also involves beijing and some have said beijing needs to do more to force the hand of north korea but on

his way here, donald trump actually praise is counterpart, xijinping, saying he has done a pretty terrific job so far so he will notjeopardise the coalition is trying to build an little doubt that throughout asia, thatis little doubt that throughout asia, that is what they are going to be talking about although it is hard to see where the answers are in terms of getting north korea giving up its nuclear weapons give an he is so determined to have them. quite a high—stakes trip. thank you very much. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: the so—called islamic state has lost control of its two remaining strongholds in iraq and syria. the syrian army says it has taken back the city of deir al—zour, while the iraqi town of al-qaim has been captured by government forces. iraqi soldiers say they have also driven is from the last border post it held between the two countries. malta has observed a day of mourning for the funeral of the murdered anti—corruption campaigner,

daphne ca ruana galizia. the blogger, who had made allegations of corruption against leading politicians, was killed by a car bomb last month. the french footballer patrice evra, who plays for marseille, has been suspended after he kicked one of his own fans. the france international, who was a substitute in a europa league game in portugal, was sent off after he aimed a kick at the head of one of his club's supporters, before the match had even started. european football's governing body uefa has charged evra with violent conduct. the us soldier, bowe bergdahl, who pleaded guilty to abandoning his post while serving in afghanistan, has been spared a jail sentence by a militaryjudge. bergdahl has instead been given a dishonourable discharge, had his rank reduced to private, and will have to pay a $10,000 fine. president trump, who had previously suggested that bergdahl should be executed, reacted

immediately on twitter, calling the sentence "a complete and total disgrace to our country and to our military." during the trial, bergdahl‘s lawyers argued that he had several mental health conditions, and should not face prison. his lawyer, eugene fidel spoke to reporters outside the court. in american society as a whole, we're not at the point yet where all stigma that has traditionally attached to mental hygiene and mental health issues has been dissipated. if this case leads to renewed attention to that, that will be a really wonderful byproduct, won't it? i spoke to greg foley. he is ten

miles away from bowe bergdahl hometown. at us if there was any sympathy. there is some, there a faction of people here and across the who are angry at the sentence and they feel justice may not have been served. in this community we've had some comments and feelings of certainty for bowe bergdahl. many of those people aren't as vocal as the others. greg, you've been following this story for a long time, how has opinion changed over the years? well, we have seen a bit of a shift. at times it's hard to gauge. when bowe bergdahl was in captivity with the haqqani network in pakistan, there was very wide support for him here and there were community rallies, there were bumper stickers that said bring bowe home, there were posters and yellow ribbons around the trees. much of the campaigning you're talking about was led

by bowe bergdahl‘s parents, have they been visible over the last year or two since he came home? they haven't been very visible. they don't seem to be taking any calls or videos with the media. i did an interview years ago when bowe was still in captivity and we've had some limited contact with the parents, but in a quiet manner. at this time it doesn't appear they are talking about the matter and they are keeping a pretty low profile. i think perhaps they and we are waiting to see if bowe bergdahl will return to this part of idaho. how much contact have they had with him, because he's been working on a base, hasn't he?

he's been stationed at fort houston in texas. his trial has been in carolina, at fort bragg. i know his family has been in contact with him and they've been talking to him and they have been supporting him. they're very concerned about him i think and as our other people here in hailey. they haven't spoken out but i think they are relieved bowe didn't get a prison sentence and they are probably happy with the outcome to some degree. greg foley, editor of the idaho mountain express. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: it's a pink piece of presley pop history — and this cadillac is coming up for sale the israeli prime minister, yitzhak rabin, the architect of the middle

east peace process, has been assassinated. a 27—year—old jewish man has been arrested, and an extremistjewish organisation has claimed responsibility for the killing. at polling booths throughout the country, they voted on a historic day for australia. as the results came in, it was clear — the monarchy would survive. of the american hostages, there was no sign. they are being held somewhere inside the compound, and student leaders have threatened that, should the americans attempt rescue, they will all die. this mission has surpassed all expectations. voyager one is now the most distant man—made object anywhere in the universe, and itjust seems to keep on going. tonight, we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of ourarms, or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: the belgian prosecutor's office says it has received an international arrest warrant issued by spain for the ousted catalan leader carles puigdemont and four other ex—ministers. president trump has begun a tour of the asia—pacific region. air force one touched down in hawaii for the president's first stop on what's set to be his longest foreign trip so far. away is the president's first stop. —— hawaii. one of the argentine survivors of the new york terror attack has spoken of his long friendship with those who died, and says he hopes love conquers hate. vigils have been held across the city for the victims of the truck attack which killed eight people and injured a dozen others on halloween. an uzbek immigrant is facing federal terrorism charges. five argentine friends celebrating the 30th anniversary of their college graduation were among the dead. three others in the group survived. translation: we will have to live

with this pain that will always be with us. but we go on, convinced that the way to confront this world is the way we learned from when we were kids, in our homes and school. it's what brought us to this city. to celebrate our friendship of more than 30 years. in the name of those feelings, which are also values and a way of life, we want to make a bet — love conquers hate. that life should come before death. for our friends, families, for us, and for the whole world. meanwhile, security has been increased across new york ahead of the city's annual marathon. police drills have been carried out in lower manhattan, as well as on the brooklyn bridge. more than 50,000 runners and hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected at the event on sunday. the governing conservative party in britain has suspended one of its members of parliament because of what it called "serious allegations". charlie elphicke says he's not aware

of what the allegations are, and denies any wrongdoing. the move follows the publication of a new code of conduct for elected representatives in the wake of sexual harassment allegations. john pienaar reports. could the scandal of alleged misconduct in politics get much worse? it just has. it's emerged tory mp charlie elphicke has been suspended from the party at westminster and allegations have been referred to the police. he denies any wrongdoing, and said the media heard of his suspension before he did. at this stage, no more detail is known but the allegations against mr elphicke fall within the scope of the unfolding controversy about mps' behaviour. it won't be the last chapter of the story. step by step, one by one, in one party then another, and today, a young labour activist with more allegations of sexual misconduct in politics. her story isjust added to the crisis unlike anything else westminster has seen. ava etemadzadeh tells of a labour mp 50 years her senior, kelvin hopkins, who she says

subjected her as a labour—supporting student to inappropriate treatment again and again. the first happened on campus, and he hugged me very tightly and rubbed himself against me. he made me feel extremely uncomfortable and it was a revolting act. the second incident was in parliament when i went to have a conversation with him and he told me that, "let's not talk about politics. do you have a boyfriend?" he also mentioned that — he also said that if nobody was in his office, he would have taken me there. i was absolutely shocked. there were calls she didn't answer and then came the uncomfortable text messages. i'm an "attractive, lovely young woman" and a man "would be lucky to have me as a lover" and if he was young... but he's not.

kelvin hopkins was reprimanded two years ago after she complained, yet he was made a shadow cabinet minister when jeremy corbyn was facing a party mutiny and needed allies lastjune. now the story has come out and he has been suspended from the party. there's an investigation and tonight, he's denying any wrongdoing. he said in a statement: he said she'd thanked him in a text for a fantastic time. today, jeremy corbyn was in no mood to defend his position as leader in the whole affair. thank you for coming to my road, goodbye. reporter: were you aware of the allegations against him, mr corbyn, before you promoted him to the shadow cabinet? no word from him or his office but he knew about the reprimand and some, if not all the detail, and promoted kelvin hopkins anyway. corbyn: goodbye! but some in labour's

ranks want to hear more. she said she was satisfied with the way in which the chief whip at the time managed the situation, but horrified to then see the mp in question promoted. i think it's a fair question as to how that happened and it is one that only the leadership can answer. i don't know i would have promoted him. i know the victim felt a bit bereft by his promotion. expect more allegations. labour mp clive lewis is under investigation for allegedly touching a labour activist inappropriately during a party event. he says it's all untrue. i'm completely refuting the allegation. it didn't happen the way this person is describing it. i think it's right and proper that they and others have the ability to be able to complain about these situations, and situations that happen like that in a way that leaves them feeling confident about the process, but i think we will find a number of these allegations simply aren't going to stack up and, from my point of view, this clearly is one of them. as for the tories, reports say cabinet minister andrea leadsom accused sir michael fallon before he resigned after allegations

of misconduct six years ago — he denies it — and downing street said she never called for him to go. theresa may has produced a tory code of conduct with complaints hotline and an independent figure to help cases. tories accept action's needed. it's very important all political parties have codes of conduct where they set out the standards that should be expected of people who are in elected office and who are in public life. no—one here is arguing with that, but new safeguards for people in parties and in parliament won't banish the dark clouds hanging over politics. the fear that every day could bring a new scandal and another crisis. the italian coastguard says that rescuers have brought 700 migrants to safety from the mediterranean, but have also found 23 bodies. ships have carried out a series of rescues this week. these pictures are from two days ago. today alone, six rescue operations were carried out in the central

mediterranean route between libya and europe's southern frontier. the efforts are some of the most intense recorded in the area in recent months after the number of migrants reaching italy had fallen sharply. police in new york say they have a viable case against the hollywood producer harvey weinstein. the announcement came after actress paz de la huerta claimed that mr weinstein raped her twice in 2010. she is among dozens of women who have come forward since october to accuse the 65—year—old of sexual misconduct. he has denied all allegations of non—consensual sex. david willis reports. recent weeks have seen a torrent of allegations against harvey weinstein. now comes the first word ofa weinstein. now comes the first word of a possible arrest. new york detectives following up a call to the department last week are

investigating an actress's claim that the former movie mogul recto twice back in 2010. they say the woman's account is detailed and credible. we have an actual case here so we are happy with the investigation is right now. mr weinstein is out—of—state. we would need a arrest warrant to arrest him so right now we are gathering all evidence we will continue to do so every day. a sum of hollywood's biggest names among them gwyneth paltrow and angelina jolie came forward to its use harvey weinstein of sexual harassment, he issued a statement, emphatically denying any allegation of nonconsensual sex. he is now under investigation here in los angeles and in the uk as well. and the allegations against him have spawned claims against several other high profile individuals, among them the hollywood actor kevin spacey who stands accused of sexually assaulting a string of young men, including one in london when he was

serving as the artistic of the old vic theatre. like ripples in a pond, the accusations of misconduct against men of wealth and influence appeared to be growing rapidly. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. the streets of the us city of houston came to a standstill on friday as hundreds of thousands of people welcomed their world series—winning baseball team back home. it's the first time the astros have taken the title, and it seemed like the entire city wanted to come out and say thank you. the team has not decided whether to accept the customary invitation to the white house to meet president trump. if you have ever wanted to own whitney houston's grand piano, orjackie kennedy's nightgown, or perhaps even a painting by frank sinatra, well, you're in luck. an auction is due to take place where all of those things are up for sale. the star item is a special car which had a very special owner. tim allman explains.

elvis aaron presley, an icon of the 20th century, the king of rock ‘n' roll. # it's a long, lonely highway when you're travelling all alone...# but a king needs to travel in style and this pink cadillac was as cool as it got in 1957. for 30 years, it sat in a museum but now, you could own it. as far as any of his automobiles have ever been made available with that type of provenance, i have not seen one in a very, very, very long time. so dollar—wise, that's the question of the hour. it could be $100,000, it could be $2 millions. you just never know — that's the beauty of auctions — so we'll see what happens. other items up for grabs include a grand piano given as a gift to whitney houston by her husband, bobby brown, and a nightgown that once belonged to jackie kennedy onassis. what is so exciting for people is, you know, not only their connection to these people, the icons that they love, but also the fact

that they tragically passed and we lost them so early, so this is just that opportunity to own a little piece of them, you know, and have something that was so close to them, close to us, because we love them so much. the biggest seller is expected to be elvis's pink cadillac but if you do not happen to have $2 million burning a hole in your back pocket, this jar containing some of his hair might be a little cheaper. tim allman, bbc news. and finally, imagine returning to your motorbike and finding a swarm of bees had decided to make it their new home. well, that's what happened to the owner of this bike in sydney. fortunately, bee keeper vicky brown arrived on the scene and removed the queen bee before the colony had settled. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. hello once again.

the weekend is upon us, let us see if the weather is going to fit in with your plans, whatever they may be. the weekend certainly turning colder eventually across all parts of the british isles. eventually, many of us will get to sunny spells and showers, but for some we'll have to contend with a rather wet start to the weekend, especially so across england and wales because yes, we have the weather front getting in across scotland and northern ireland, but i suspect it's this cloud coming in from the south that will be the thing that many of you notice first up as the two weather systems combine to produce just a lot of rain across a good part of england and wales to start off the day. especially here concentrated down through lincolnshire, east anglia and into the east midlands, parts of the south—east and away across the channel. further to the west, the rain becoming a wee bit more patchy and you've really got to get up into scotland or northern ireland to see a brighter start to the day, a glorious start i would have thought in the eastern side

of scotland but from the word go, showers aplenty in northern and western parts of scotland and into the western side of northern ireland. slowly, oh, so slowly, as we get on through the morning towards lunchtime, into the early part of the afternoon, yes, it will be that late until we see the last of that persistent rain getting towards the east anglia coast and getting away from kent. with somewhat brighter skies following in towards the midlands and across the south—west as well, where we will keep a peppering of showers for a good portion of the evening, so if you've got plans for bonfires and fireworks, across many northern and western parts, you'll have to contend with quite a noticeable wind, so safety first of course, and the peppering of showers, drier i would think further east and this is how we start sunday. the showers there in northern and western parts but you get the sense there are fewer of them. if you're holding off with your firework plans until sunday evening, many more of you i think will be dry by this stage although there will be a few showers flirting with the eastern shores. underneath the clearing skies, a widespread frost to start the new day on monday,

certainly in the countryside, but there is a sign of a change. after that dry enough start for many parts of the british isles, eventually we”ll bring weather systems in from the atlantic so it's a combination not only of wet weather but also quite windy weather getting into northern and western scotland through northern ireland. generally speaking the further south and east you are the drier, finer and brighter the day will be. this is bbc news, the headlines: belgium has received an international arrest warrant issued by spain for the ousted catalan leader, carles puigdemont, and four other ex—ministers. they are accused of rebellion and sedition. a belgian prosecutor will study the document before deciding whether to pass it to an investigativejudge. president trump has made his first visit to pearl harbor, after leaving for a marathon tour of the asia—pacific region. it will be mr trump's longest foreign trip so far, with visits to japan, china, vietnam and the philippines.

he's expected to unveil a new american strategy for trade and security in the region. president trump has expressed outrage at a decision by an american military court to spare a soldier from prison. bowe bergdahl admitted deserting his post in afghanistan and was captured by the taliban. let's take a quick look at what's making the headlines on some of the front pages of the first editions of the morning's papers: