this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. the top stories: final warnings from the president, as hurricane florence bears down on america's east coast. we are ready, but this is to be one of the biggest ones to ever hit our country. residents in the path of these devastating storms should comply with all evacuation orders and other emergency instructions. the german catholic church says it's ashamed, after a report found priests abused thousands of children. the rise of video game addiction. how rehab clinics are treating the growing problem. coming up in the business briefing — desperate measures. turkey may push interest rates above 20% to prop up the plunging lira. also coming up. ten years on from the collapse of lehman brothers, we hear from the class of 2008 to find out how the crisis changed the lives of young people at the time. a warm welcome to the programme,

briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. i get up at the same time as mark wahlberg, you should check out his daily regime. what does yours look like? isa is a success is that he is at a.m. in the morning. —— his success is that he is up at 2:30 a.m.. mr wahlberg was the highest paid hollywood star last year. tell us what you think, just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing

if you don't get out, you're on your own. that's the stark warning from the governor of south carolina as hurricane florence looms over america's east coast. more than a million people have been told to leave. shops have been emptied and roads heading inland are choked. this is the path florence is likely to take over the next couple of days. it's weakened slightly to a category 2 hurricane, but windspeeds are still ferocious. laura trevelyan is in north carolina with more. here is the view of hurricane florence from space, as this powerful storm barrels across the atla ntic towards powerful storm barrels across the atlantic towards america's east coast. as teachers in the storms path, like this one in north carolina, empty, five states have declared emergency. —— beaches.“ you have been asked to evacuate, don't wait, leave now. you put your

life at risk by staining. this is going to be one of the biggest ones to ever hit our country. residents in the part of these dedicated —— devastating storms should comply with all evacuation orders and other emergency instructions. attraction —— protection of life is the absolute highest priority. the waves are beginning to pound the beach as hurricane florence bears down on us. she poses a triple threat to life and property. storm surges twice as high as me, hurricane force winds and catastrophic flooding after what could be very heavy rainfall. the storm is expected to stall and linger here. i have been taking things off the port, boarding up the windows. bill and charlotte are obeying the order to evacuate. charlotte experienced the devastation of hurricane hazel here in 1954 devastation of hurricane hazel here “11954 and devastation of hurricane hazel here in 1954 and she is not hanging

around. i dread it for everybody. i dread it for us. i want the house to be here when i come back. some plan to ride out the storm, likejohn and lloyd, who are braced. it is our home. we want to stay and make sure everything is ok and looked after. loss,itis everything is ok and looked after. loss, it is kind of exciting. but this is a catastrophic, life—threatening storm. you are taking a risk, aren't you? yes. but thatis taking a risk, aren't you? yes. but that is just what we have to do, we have to watch after things are. most have to watch after things are. most have heeded the warnings and fled to be the monster storm is fast approaching. you can track the progress of hurricane florence on our website. there's lots of information there, including this video about why many americans ignore hurricane warnings. just go bbc.com/news or download the bbc news app. germany's catholic church has

expressed shame over thousands of cases of historic child sex abuse by priests, which have been revealed in a leaked report. it comes as leaders of the catholic church in the us are due to meet pope francis at the vatican, to discuss allegations being made against clergy in america. here's caroline rigby. just last month, pope francis condemned what he described as atrocities of child sex abuse and clerical cover—ups in a letter to roman catholics around the world. now, a new study has revealed the potential scale of the historic abuse by priests in germany. it suggests that between 1946 and 2014, over 3500 children were assaulted, most of the victims boys, more than half under the age of 14. it found some 1620 clergymen carried

out various degrees of abuse but only 38% of those accused were prosecuted. the leaked report was released by the german magazine der spiegel, comissioned by the church itself, it had been due to be published later this month. researchers sifted through thousands of documents and, worryingly, it's authors say the true extent of the abuse could be even greater than what they found. translation: it is scary. above all, it is terrifying that it took us so long to finally be able to identify the numbers. responding to the findings, a spokesperson for the german bishops conference said the extent of the abuse was depressing and shameful, adding the study shed light on what he called the dark side of our church, so it can do everything to prevent such errors from being repeated. this report is the latest in a long series of revelations that have uncovered decades of sex abuse by roman catholic priests around the world.

it comes as a meeting is due to take place at the vatican between pope francis and leaders of the catholic church in the us. they will be discussing a summer of scandals in america, most notably, allegations against 300 priests in pennsylvania. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. the russian protest group pussy riot says one of its members, pyotr verzilov, is in critical condition in hospital in moscow and they fear he may have been poisoned. mr verzilov‘s partner said he fell ill shortly after a court hearing on tuesday, and started losing his sight, speech, and ability to walk. talks between the uk and france to try to end a dispute about scallop fishing in the english channel have ended without agreement. crews clashed last month over laws that allow british boats to gather

scallops all year round, but place restrictions on french vessels. the two sides had initially agreed on the principles of a deal. myanmar‘s leader, aung san suu kyi, says the reuters journalists jailed for violating the country's official secrets act can appeal the verdict. there's been widespread criticism over the jailing of wa lone and kyaw soe 0o, who were investigating violence against the rohingya minority. colombia's eln rebel group has released six people who'd been held captive for over a month. three others were freed last week. colombia's new president, ivan duque, has been demanding the release of all hostages as a condition for resuming peace talks with the eln. a renoir painting stolen by the nazis has been returned to its rightful owner at a ceremony in new york, after more than 70 years. "two women in a garden", which was painted by renoir in the last year of his life, was handed to the granddaughter of the jewish owner.

the painting was taken from a paris bank vault in 1941. in business today, we are focused on what the central bank will be doing in turkey. it could be forced to push interest rates up above 20% today, to try and prop up the country's plunging currency, the lira. it has slumped 40% this year, as foreign investors pull their money out of the country. it's a similar story in many emerging markets, from argentina to south africa to india. alpesh patel, ceo of praefinium partners, joins me now. good morning. give us your take on this. turkey is going to make its decision, the central bank, which is being leaned on a little bit. you

know, those of us who know what happened when britain came out of the erm and was trying to hike up interest rates to stop the pound from plunging. these knee—jerk reactions from the central bank do not have good ability because the interest rates are unsustainable. is all well and good to say all this money will flood into the banks, but the flipside is that businesses having to pay those rates will come crashing under. so i do think this will help turkey get out of this whole. turkey obviously has its own issues in terms of politics, the economy, but actually turkey, like many other emerging markets is seen a lot of money flow out. is to do with this ten year anniversary.“ is unfortunate, they get tired with the same brush. the indian index over last ten years has gone up fourfold. the uk ftse index has or only gone up 50%. —— only. hardly

budged. but the emerging markets, some of them doing well. argentina, it is like the italy of latin america. lots of foreign money went into emerging markets because they we re into emerging markets because they were looking for returns while we haveis were looking for returns while we have is very interest rate environment. those specific to individual countries have not done badly, those who removed in bulk, america is doing incredibly well, you might hate donald trump but he is doing incredibly well and that is why they are suffering because how well he is doing. he will return, having strong coffee in our greenroom. more stories to chew over in the next half—hour. the british prime minister theresa may will chair a special cabinet meeting later to discuss the government's preparations for a no—deal brexit. if there's no agreement with the eu, the brexit secretary has warned that the uk won't pay a complete financial settlement to brussels. here's our political correspondent, jonathan blake. since last summer you have been able

to get anywhere in the eu without paying extra for calls, text or data included in your mobile phone tariff. if written left the eu without a deal, that could end. the government has said consumers will be protected. they will also get details on what might happen to driving licences. current leaders issued in the uk are automatically recognised across the eu, but a no—deal brexit to change that too. could also affect how eu countries treat british citizens travelling abroad on holiday, with reports that anyone with less than six months left on their passport to be turned away. brexit secretary dominic raab has said that leaving the eu without a deal is highly unlikely, but there are still big sticking point in the negotiations to reach an agreement. how to avoid a hard border in northern ireland is one major

stumbling block. yesterday, conservative mps opposed to the government ‘s plan set out their alternative solution and called on the prime minister to change her stand. now, theresa may is sticking firmly to her plan and she knows many in her party don't like it. talk of a leadership challenge this week may continue if she comes back from brussels with a deal her own mps don't like. jonathan blake bbc news, westminster. that is another story we will unpack later in the news briefing. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the fastest man on foot becomes the fastest man afloat. usain bolt runs in zero—gravity. freedom itself was attacked this morning, and freedom will be defended. the united states will hunt down and punish those responsible. bishop tutu now becomes

the spiritual leader of 100,000 anglicans here, of the blacks in soweto township as well as the whites in their rich suburbs. we say to you today, in a loud and a clear voice, enough of blood and tears. enough! translation: the difficult decision we reached together was one that required great and exceptional courage. it's an exodus of up to 60,000 people, caused by the uneven pace of political change in eastern europe. iam free! you're watching the briefing. 0ur headlines:

president trump warns that hurricane florence will be one of the biggest to ever hit the us, but assures residents on the east coast that authorities are prepared. a report has found that more than 3,500 children in germany were assaulted by roman catholic priests over a 70 year period. now, is the addiction to playing video games a mental health condition? the world health organization thinks so and it's designated it accordingly as gaming disorder. the who has criticised the video game industry for failing to acknowledge the dangers of spending too long at the screen. marc marc cieslak reports. louisa is another of three. her son guy like lots of his friends enjoys

playing the videogame fortnight. guy like lots of his friends enjoys playing the videogame fortnightlj worry about his behaviour when he comes off the games, slightly aggressive, sort of takes him a while to get back into the real world. fortnight's global success highlights concerns around the amount of time spent and the fracture of playing videogames. earlier this year the world health 0rganization classified gaming disorder as a mental health condition. we have documented evidence that the same problem and the same conditions are being observed in countries of africa, europe, america is, so it is really a global thing. at the moment, europe, america is, so it is really a globalthing. at the moment, if you need help for video games at each and in the uk, then you have to seek treatment through a private facility, like this one. situated in a quiet part of surrey, primrose

lodge is a residential rehab treating people with drug, alcohol, gambling and videogame addiction.“ is quite interesting because initially we saw people coming in with an additional addiction, so substance and gaming but over the last 18 months or so we've seen an increase in pure gaming addiction. peter is in his 40s. he was a lifelong gamer antilles his entire world fell apart as a result of his addiction to playing videogames. world fell apart as a result of his addiction to playing videogameslj liked action first person shooter games. i would come home from work and play all night. eventually because of the time i spend on there i lost myjob. my relationship broke down and i lost my family. doctor joe twist is ceo of the uk games industry trade body which wholeheartedly disagrees with the world health organization, questioning the scientific evidence provided by the who. our view of the industry body, in line with many academics who feel there is no

consensus around the evidence taste upon which this is being drafted, we believe that this is premature to include this as a gaming disorder at this stage. and we believe that the evidence is confused and there just is no consensus evidence is confused and there just is no consensus at evidence is confused and there just is no consensus at this time. videogames are now one of the world's most popular forms of entertainment, but as they become more mainstream more questions are emerging, which demand attention right now. if you have comments on that story, by the way, # bbc the briefing. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. and as we've already mentioned, british prime minister theresa may chairs a three—hour cabinet meeting to discuss plans for a no—deal brexit. the prime minister's 0fficial spokesman said this was part of "detailed and sensible preparations in the unlikely event of no deal." the state funeral for former un secretary general kofi annan takes place later in the ghanaian capital

accra. thousands have already turned out to pay their respects to the 80—year—old who died last month. and president putin is expected to attend the joint military exercises taking place in siberia, involving more than 300,000 russian troops. military personnel from neighbouring china and mongolia are also taking part in the biggest exercise of its kind since the end of the soviet era. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. i'm chetan pathak: coming up in your thursday sport briefing, we look ahead to the final women's golf major of the year, to stage 18 of the veulta a espana, and we hear from the two men involved in boxing's fight of the year. the final women's golf major of the year, the evian championship, is getting underway in france. last year's winner anna nordqvist will be looking to become the first woman to successfully defend her title at the evian resort golf course.

meanwhile britain's georgia hall is aiming to make it back to back major victories after winning the british open just last month. it's a day for the sprinters at the vuelta a espana. the man who leads those standings is alejandro valverde, he's also second in the overall race so might fancy his chances of gaining some more time on the leader simon yates. the spaniard took eight seconds out of the british rider's lead on wednesday's mountainous stage through the basque country, leaving yates 25 seconds ahead. the 18th is a flat one. the race finishes in madrid on sunday. there was no head to head between canelo alvarez and gennady golovkin at their pre—fight press conference. we're told too much animosity meant they were kept apart as they spoke about saturday's fight. it's their second encounter after a draw last time out and the man they call triple g says he's expecting a different fight this time.

i believe a completely different guy from the last time. he has experienced too. i believe this fight is more interesting, more hard, likea fight is more interesting, more hard, like a realwar. translation: like i am saying, i am going out to win. i have been training to knock it out. i am going to be doing and trying that from the first round, that's the objective of this fight. and of course i am going to win. the 11 time world track sprint cycling champion and double olympic gold medalist, kristina vogel has been speaking about the crash in training which has left her paralysed. she suffered serious spinal and chest injuries when she collided with another rider injune and says she knew very quickly afterwards she'd never walk again. translation: because i realised

fairly fast i won't walk again, it helped me. waking up from the coma and hearing the diagnosis was for me like, ok, it and hearing the diagnosis was for me like, 0k, it might be betterfor me to be free to know that it won't get better, because it never will. and before we go, check this out, this is the guy who's been described as the "man who should have been born with wings." here's why. this is marco waltenspiel from austria, who posted this clip on his instagram account. he did his first tandem—jump when he was just 11 years old, and has been taking to the skies ever since. definitely not for the faint hearted. and nor is this, here's nicholi rogatkin who also likes to dice with danger. here he is showing off his latest tricks. the american started riding bmx at the age of five and became a professional bike rider at the age of 13.

here he goes again. some seriously impressive stuff. you can get all the latest sports news at our website. that's bbc.com/sport. but from me and the rest of the team, that's your sport briefing. thank you for that. and let's stay with sport. you can see who is behind me here. he's one of the greatest athletes of all time. usain bolt‘s won multiple golds at the olympics and world championships, and he's run all over the world. but what about sprinting in space? well, he's not quite managed that yet, but he got pretty close, as tim allman explains. there's no denying the fact that usain bolt is the fastest man on earth. the medals and the various world records are proof of that. but what about being the fastest man not on earth? finding the answer to that question

will leave you pointing injust one direction. so, to this airport in northern france, and a so—called zero—g flight. normally this plane is used for scientific research. this time, it was a little bit different. ready, set, go! 100m aircraft not being available, they had to use a somewhat shorter track. the running style wasn't quite as elegant, more of a hop than a sprint, but it turns out class is permanent, no matter what the altitude. kid in a candy store, that's how i felt. for me, it was just fun, you know what i mean? it's running in a different type of atmosphere. you know what i mean? it's like you're on the moon. there's no words. it's different. at first when you get into that first mode, the mind is blown. so for me, it was outstanding. glasses of celebratory

champagne all round, which is easier said than done in a zero gravity environment. and as for usain bolt, he was dancing on the ceiling. quite literally. tim allman, bbc news. now, let's talk about daily regimes, 01’ now, let's talk about daily regimes, or routines, some of which are extremely gruelling, that is the conclusion of mark wahlberg, the extremely successful hollywood actor who has revealed his daily regime. so if we have a look at it, we've got it outlined for you on the bbc news app, and i have tweeted it if you follow me on twitter, he is up at the same time as me, 2:30am and he has a strict regime, every minute is accounted for, we will talk about

this ina is accounted for, we will talk about this in a few minutes. hello there. this morning is starting off on a chilly note after lengthy clear skies overnight. it means lots of sunshine this morning for most of us and lasting throughout the day across england and where will. there will be showers in the forecast and more cloud across scotland and northern ireland. ifran from the world go we have this weather front here. north of it, showery rain into the northern isles and a breeze. they will be some sunshine around through the morning. more cloud in central and eastern scotland and crossing into northern ireland with outbreaks of rain. elsewhere it is a dry start. it is cool as i mentioned but at least we have sunshine. the sunshine holds on for many areas. in the afternoon we might see fair weather cloud building across northern and western areas. for parts of scotland and northern ireland we hold onto the weak weather front. some thick cloud at times with light, showery rain.

temperatures midteens in the north. after a cool start in the south we could see 20 or 21 in the south—east. that's the weather front bringing the showery rain to northern areas. as we head into friday it is replaced by significant weather pushing in from the north—west. along with it some strong wind. friday is a disappointing day for large parts of scotland, northern ireland and northern england. the heaviest rain will move off in the afternoon and we will see more sunshine and showers later on. still quite cool here, 12 to 15 degrees. in the south should be dry with sunny spells, temperatures in the high teens, maybe 20 selfies. to start the weekend average of high pressure keeps things fine and settled for most of england, wales and eastern scotla nd most of england, wales and eastern scotland but further west the weather front will bring rain to northern ireland and western scotland, stronger win here as well where once again it will be quite cool where once again it will be quite cool, 18 to 21 in the south. there is the area of high pressure that

will influence the south—east quadrant of england as we have into sunday. this area of low pressure will bring wet and windy area to northern and western areas. some of the rain could be quite heavy. also strong wind with it. a little sunshine and showers. when and northern ireland in the afternoon. it will be quite cool here. further south, not bad. 22, maybe 23 in the south—east. this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. desperate measures. turkey may push interest rates above 20% to prop up the plunging lira. plus the class of 2008. how the lehman brothers collapse hit the lives of 1.5 million us graduates. and on the markets, asia is having a better day. the first day of gains across the board for asia, the ten —— ten of them in

a row. on hopes of talks to resolve the escalating us—china trade war.