welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: a dramatic rise in the death toll from hurricane maria. puerto rico says nearly 3,000 people lost their lives last year, up from just 64. google strongly denies claims by president trump that it skews search results to portray him in a less positive light. several countries call for myanmar‘s military leaders to be brought to justice for atrocities against the rohingya minority, detailed in a un report. innocent human beings were raped, murdered and burned alive for no other reason than their religious and ethnic identity. the whole world is watching what we will do next and if we will act. #r, e,s, p, e,c, t. and a final farewell to the queen of soul. fans in detroit pay their last respects to the legendary aretha franklin.

hello to you. hurricane maria hit puerto rico almost a year ago, but only now is a clearer picture emerging of a far more serious disaster than the official figures suggested. the death toll is now estimated at nearly 50 times higher than previously thought. a study commissioned by authorities in the us territory suggests almost 3,000 people died in the most powerful storm of the past 90 years. the bbc‘s david willis is in washington. it was a monster storm with winds of 250km/h, leaving millions of dollars of damage in its wake. comparing the storm to katrina in 2005, president

trump initially marvelled at what appeared to be a relatively low loss of life. now it seems that the death toll from maria might dwarf that of the hurricane that devastated new 0 rlea ns. the hurricane that devastated new 0rleans. a study undertaken by research as he puts the number of people who died either directly from the storm's roth or from its aftermath at nearly 3000. we are officially changing... we are actually putting an official number to the death toll and we will take the 2975 number as the official estimate. hurricane maria took what little this impoverished island had and reduced it to rubble. power supplies were knocked out, power lines were cut, roads became impassable. worst affected were the poor and the elderly. the governor

concedes puerto rico wasn't prepared for a storm like maria but hopes it can learn from the experience. translation: it is a time to show solidarity for all those who have lost fa m ily solidarity for all those who have lost family and friends. it is also a time to reflect on what we did well and what we did badly. then we can have a better response in future. making such improvements won't be easy. parts of the island are still without power nearly a year after the hurricane and some 60,000 homes are still said to be lacking proper roof. the trumpet administration says it will continue to support the island's government but puerto rico was bankrupt long before maria pitched up on its shores and its best hope might be to pray that this disaster never happens again —— trump administration. president trump has long had a contentious relationship with the press and today it was social media companies he unleashed on.

in an early morning tweet he took aim at the likes of google, saying they purposefully surpressed conservative voices. in a moment we'll hear from our technology correspondent dave lee, but first let's hear exactly what president trump said in the oval office. i think google is taking advantage of a lot of people and i think that is a very serious thing and a very serious charge. google, twitter, facebook, they are treading on very troubled territory and they must be careful. it is not fair to large portions of the population. he is echoing what we heard from several members of congress in re ce nt several members of congress in recent months, the suggestion that silicon valley giants, the tech elite as many refer to them, using that power, this immense power to

somehow silence the views of the conservatives. the companies deny it strongly, however donald trump in his early—morning tweets amplified some anecdotal evidence, it must be said, from a conservative blog that suggests as much as 96% of results when you search for trump news were from left leaning outlets. it is very complicated to judge how reliable that sort of information is because everybody gets google results tailored to them personally. many experts do not give the research much credibility at all. google certainly doesn't. regardless of what google thinks, it does have this new problem... well, an enhanced problem on its hands and may be facing much more scrutiny about how its results are displayed in future. to put this in context and to be frank, it is part of a presidential drive to discredit any sources of news that are critical of him or are not 100% supportive of what he says and does. absolutely. we have seen it since before he came into office. he was always coining

the phrase, fake news media or co—opting that phrase. saying that some things in the media were simply not true. things that we knew to be true. that has now shifted to silicon valley. it is notjust google being taken to task here, facebook and twitter are as well. all three of those companies will be appearing in washington, dc next week to talk about some of these issues. i think that will be some very, will include some heated exchanges between the technology companies that are keen to defend themselves and politicians who feel hard done by. what we could be seeing is the sense that more transparency may be needed by some of these companies. google and its algorithms are a mystery to most people because that is their business and what makes them profitable, those algorithms.

the same could be said for facebook and to a lesser extent twitter. any attempt to make those companies more open about those processes would be damaging to the firms and that is why they would want to avoid that at all costs. in new york the un security council has been holding an open meeting on myanmar. the un secretary general called for accountability as the council looked at the findings of a report accusing myanmar‘s top brass of a long list of atrocities in rakhine state. several countries, including the united states, called for myanmar‘s military leaders to be brought before internationaljustice. the bbc‘s nada tawfik has more from new york. this was the first time that the security council met to discuss this report, which is the strongest yet out of the united nations, and the secretary general antonio guterres said that the security council should seriously consider

the conclusions in these reports. he said that accountability was necessary for any kind of reconciliation, and for stability in the region. and so, he really outlined what still needs to be done to get this crisis to be resolved. it is clear that conditions are not yet met for the safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return of rohingya refugees to their places of origin or choice. and i ask members of the security council tojoin me in urging the myanmar authorities to co—operate with the united nations and to ensure immediate, unimpeded, and effective access for its agencies and partners. we must also continue to press for the release ofjournalists who have been arrested for reporting on this tragedy. well, myanmar‘s representative was also speaking to council members. myanmar has denied ethnic cleansing, they say that their operation was in response to an attack from rohingya rebels. he, in the council, again said that there were numerous attacks

that were being ignored by the mainstream media, and he wanted that issue to be brought to the council's attention. but these facts were conveniently discounted or ignored by mainstream media. the violent attacks were not coincidence. as the terrorist and the foreign muslim minds knew too well that the myanmar military forces would respond to the attacks with full force, they must also have anticipated the exodus of people from northern rakhine to bangladesh. these events were well planned and executed with the support of foreign terrorist organisations. this debate really laid bare the divisions on myanmar, because china and russia still believe that this issue needs to be addressed through diplomacy — and that is an issue that myanmar agrees with. so certainly in the days and weeks to come, when the full report is presented to the security council and the world's leaders descend

on new york for the un general assembly, the conclusions of this report and the issue for the rohingya people will continue to be addressed by international leaders. nada tawfik there. ahead of that meeting of the security council, nada tawfik caught up with un goodwill ambassador cate blanchett. the actress was recently in bangladesh, where thousands of rohinja muslims have been forced to flee. well, i think that they're — you know, part of the security council's remit is to highlight and to continually and unfailingly not give up. just coming from speaking to the secretary general, when the situation is impossible, you have to push harder, and despair is something we cannot give into. and when you see the resilience of the refugees themselves, and when you sit in a school

with children who have lost parents, you know, children who have seen their grandparents pushed back into burning buildings and set on fire — you know, i sat with one particular girl who was 14, who had her three—year—old brother dismembered and thrown into a fire in front of her. and when you see them, you know, moving forward, positively, trying to go to school, it galvanises me, and makes me want to not forget those individual faces in the magnitude of the numbers that we hear. and i think it's beholden upon the international community to shine a spotlight on it. it may seem impossible, but it's not an excuse for not doing anything. have you been disappointed that aung san suu kyi, as the de facto leader, and with the moral authority from her nobel prize, has not done more? i think it's imperative that the government of myanmar now set about concrete paths towards giving the rohingya citizenship.

every human being has — we're sitting here, and we have a nationality. we're able to vote, we have the right to an education and basic healthca re, and these people have none of those rights. and so i think it's absolutely vital that the government of myanmar now, a year on from the crisis, starts to make positive, concrete steps towards making sure these things happen. it is, you know, of paramount importance. and after visiting the camps, being here to speak to international leaders, iwonder, have you reflected at all on the fact that there had been warning signs for decades, incitement to violence against the rohingya for decades, and yet international leaders did not prevent this from happening? i think when we're dealing with a stateless people, the problem can often be invisible, and you can feel, you know,

particularly in the west, that there's cultural barriers. but when you sit with a mother, newly arrived, who has not even unpacked her bags, because she's worried that the latrine she's built right above us will collapse when the rains come, you realise that there are human beings inside this crisis. and i think it's really important that, even though we talk about the numbers, that we don't lose sight of the human beings. and i suppose part of my role as a goodwill ambassador is to restore that human face. cate blanchett of course. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: air pollution may damage the brain and cause a massive drop in intelligence — a shock warning from china. he's the first african—american to win the presidential nomination of a major party, and he accepts exactly 45 years ago to the day that

martin luther king declared "i have a dream." as darkness falls tonight, an unfamiliar light will appear in the south—eastern sky. an orange glowing disk that is brighter than anything save the moon — our neighbouring planet mars. there is no doubt that this election is an important milestone in the birth of east timor as the world's newest nation. it'll take months and billions of dollars to repair what katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks is the longest the great clock has been off duty in 117 years, so it was with great satisfaction that clock maker john vernon swung the pendulum to set the clock going again. this is bbc world news.

the latest headlines: puerto rico has acknowledged a dramatic rise in the death toll from hurricane maria. it says nearly 3,000 people lost their lives last year, up from just 64. and president trump has accused google, facebook and twitter of prioritising fake and biased news, warning them to be "very careful". could air pollution make us less intelligent? research carried out in china suggests it might. the four—year study found that the longer people were exposed to dirty air, the greater the damage to their cognitive abilities. and men are affected more than women, as our science editor david shukman now reports. a wave of pollution rolls into the centre of beijing. dirty air is a reality of life for many in china. in fact, for billions of people around the world. and scientists now know how it can damage the lungs and the heart,

how it can shorten lives. some of the pollution we breathe in gets trapped in the nose, but tiny particles can slip into the lungs and then make their way into the bloodstream, and there is evidence they can even reach the brain. so pollution may not only have a physical effect, but a mental one as well. to explore what pollution might be doing to the mind, scientists in china embarked on a massive investigation. people's mental abilities can be affected by so many different factors that this task was never going to be easy. this was one of the largest studies of its kind. it looked at levels of air pollution in dozens of cities across china. and at the results of tests of verbal reasoning and maths taken by 25,000 people in those places.

the researchers conclude that long—term exposure to air pollution impedes cognitive performance. that is a bold claim, and it doesn't provide direct evidence of cause and effect. but it does follow a few other studies that have also suggested that polluted air may affect the brain, so a link is thought to be possible. we asked one of britain's leading pollution scientists to look at the chinese research, and he says it is another red—flag warning that pollution may undermine mental ability. what they find is that older men were more susceptible. other studies have shown older women, so there's a few things that we need to resolve. but certainly, the — those red flags, there's more of them, and itjust adds to the weight of evidence that air pollution has a wide range of effects in your body. this matters, because most of the world's population lives in air that's polluted. india, for example, has some of the dirtiest conditions. and, as the research into pollution advances and we learn more about the impacts, it may turn out to be that they're not only

physical, but mental as well. air pollution is a threat, from africa to here in britain. and its true implications may only become obvious in the decades ahead. david shukman, bbc news. a white police officer in the us who fired five bullets into a car carrying a group of teenagers has been found guilty of murdering a black 15—year—old. roy 0liver, who no longer works for the police, killed jordan edwards in texas last year. the teenager was unarmed and leaving a house party. 0liver had claimed that the car was moving towards his partner. but his colleague told the court that he didn't fear for his life at the time, and felt no need to use his weapon. the queen of soul, aretha franklin, is lying in state in an open coffin for two days in her home city of detroit, as fans pay their last respects. thousands queued from before dawn outside the african—american history

museum in the city to see her for one last time before herfuneral service later this week. rajini vaidya nathan was with the crowds who went to celebrate her life. # the moment i wake up, before i put on my make—up. # i say a little prayerfor you... for fans of aretha franklin, it has been the ultimate pilgrimage. # what you want, baby, i got it. # what you need, you know i got it... crowds lined up from the early hours, as they waited to say a final farewell to their beloved queen of soul. but, before she said goodbye, she made one last entrance. ever the diva, a white vintage cadillac transported her in a golden casket. for those waiting patiently to see here, the mood here was melodic, not morose. # r-e-s-p-e-c-t, that's just what it means to me. # r—e—s—p—e—c—t, take care, tcb...

why have you decided to queue up here to pay your last respects? i couldn't have did it for a better person. she is all of that and a bowl of soup. i am honouring her today. you know, she means a lot to me, to my family, you know, to everyone. she is the queen of soul, but she paved the way for a lot of black singers, and the d has turned it up for aretha. she will lie in state at the city's african—american museum for another day, her style, her grace and her ruby—red heels on show for one last time. it was beautiful. she looked like she was just sleeping. she had on red shoes, her dress was so elegant. she looked really pretty. herface isjust like she was relaxed. aretha franklin will be remembered as america's voice in more ways than one. she fought for gender

and racial equality, supported charities and communities she cared about, and remains a role model to so many in detroit and beyond. she was a global superstar who never forgot her hometown roots, and this week, her hometown is showing the world they will never forget aretha franklin. in short, it is full—blown scallop wars. french fishermen have been accused of throwing insults, rocks and smoke bombs at their british rivals in the english channel in a vicious scrap over scallops. the clash happened around 12 nautical miles, 22 km, off the normandy coast, near the bay of seine. british boats are legally entitled to fish in the scallop—rich area. but their presence has infuriated the french, who accuse the british of shamelessly depleting shellfish stocks. not teaches you often see. ——

pictures. a passengerferry with more than 1,000 people onboard is sailing back into the port of piraeus after a fire broke out on board. the eleftherios venizelos ship was en route to the island of crete when a fire started in the parking compartment. the greek coastguard say the situation is safely under control and there are no reported injuries. it was a case of hold the honey, double the mustard in times square at lunchtime on tuesday. police shut part of the road when a thick swarm of bees gathered on top of a hotdog cart in an area of manhattan already buzzing with swarms of pedestrians, tourists and traffic. lebo diseko has the story. they are not quite the sort of visitors would expect to see in times square. tens of thousands of bees taking over this corner of the new york landmark. it is hard to say exactly how many were in this swarm, what it thought between 20,000 and

30,000 settled what it thought between 20,000 and 30 , 000 settled around what it thought between 20,000 and 30,000 settled around and on top of this hotdog stand, and while they made it a little tricky for the vendor to do business, they certainly caused quite a buzz with locals and tourists alike. literally the craziest thing i've seen. and i'm allergic to bees, so i want to see it but keep my distance away from it. but it's certainly the craziest thing i've seen. it's fantastic that they should develop here, in an atmosphere like this. it's a bit scary, it's scary. what's it doing in the middle of town? police had to close the intersection for around police had to close the intersection foraround an hour police had to close the intersection for around an hour wealth they waited for backup. a specially trained officer from a waited for backup. a specially trained officerfrom a unit which deals with the six laggard creatures dealt with the operation. he vacuumed them up you shoot using a specially adapted machine called the bee—vac. the bees were then taken to another high of well away from the square. it is not known for certain exactly where they came from or why

they chose this spot, but the nypd bee unit said they probablyjust wa nted bee unit said they probablyjust wanted to pull down on what was a hot and wanted to pull down on what was a hotand humid wanted to pull down on what was a hot and humid day. the policejoked on twitter that the buzzing guests probably just wanted to on twitter that the buzzing guests probablyjust wanted to grab a drink and takea probablyjust wanted to grab a drink and take a break at the hotdog stand before moving on to a new home. there were still funds available. landing a plane is never easy and if its something you might dread — hold on to your seat. this flight was trying to land at tokyo airport during typhoon cimaron last week, which raised wind speeds up to 200 km/h throughout japan. as you can see, the pilot had some trouble with the initial descent but did eventually get everyone on the ground safely. winds were so bad many flights had to be diverted to another airport. there is much more on all the news any time on the bbc website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcmikeembley.

hello. wednesday starts with a bit of umbrella weather across some parts of the uk, but it should turn drier and sunnier for many of us as the day goes on. two weather systems to talk about early on. this one clipping parts of south—east england and east anglia, with either showers or some rain, could be some heavy bursts. and this one moving out of scotland and northern ireland, taking some increasingly light and patchy rain further south through england and wales. starting temperatures — double figures for england and wales, but something fresher for scotland and northern ireland. it is less humid behind this weather front, and there will be some sunshine around. a few showers pushing into north—west scotland, maybe the odd one to the west of northern ireland. rain clears east anglia and the south—east lunchtime at the very latest, and then our weakening weather front takes a few late—day showers

towards this part of the world. sunny spells develop elsewhere in england and wales. here's a look at things at ii:00pm in the afternoon, and on the breeze, a feed of a few showers into north—west scotland. but most other parts here in scotland, and indeed in northern ireland, it will be dry. you mayjust catch the odd shower in the west. good sunny spells, sunny speels developing across northern england, wales, the midlands, and into the south—west. but a weakening weather front, with still maybe the odd shower associated with it, moves into east anglia and the south—east towards the end of the day. but hardly any rain left, really, and then it clears away and then we've got clearing skies. and there mayjust be the odd patch of mist and fog as we go into thursday morning, but overnight into thursday, our weather systems have cleared away — clearing skies, and temperatures dip away. much cooler night to come going into thursday morning, mid to low single figures in some spots. under those clearing skies, the reason for that — we've got an area of high pressure starting to build into the uk,

which means although it's chilly first thing on thursday, there will be plenty of sunshine to come first thing. it may not last all day. you'll see the band here showing that we've got clear skies. as we go deeper into thursday, you can see some cloud starting to build. it may produce the odd shower, maybe more so into western scotland. most will be dry, just expect a bit more cloud to come, but still some sunny spells, and temperatures high teens, to a few into the low 20s. so, once we get past that chance of umbrella weather in the day ahead, for the rest of the week, it is looking mainly dry. but do note — again, that the night will be chillier. and then, as we go into the weekend, we'll see a theme of cloud coming into western parts of the uk that may produce a bit of patchy rain. the emphasis is on the plenty of dry weather, as the weekend goes on, it will start to warm up a little bit too. that's your latest forecast. this is bbc news. the headlines: authorities in the us territory of puerto rico are now saying nearly 3,000 people died as a result of hurricane maria, 46 times more than official figures have suggested up to now.

researchers from george washington university also found those from poorer backgrounds were at much higher risk of being killed. president trump has claimed that google, facebook and twitter prioritise what he calls fake news and left—wing sources to portray him in a less positive light. he suggested the big tech companies had to be very careful. google has strongly denied the claims. several countries are calling for myanmar‘s military leaders to be brought to justice — they're responding to a un report detailing atrocities against the rohingya minority. the report also criticised the woman who effectively leads myanmar, aung san suu kyi, for not intervening to stop attacks. it's just gone 4:30am in the morning. now on bbc news, hardtalk.