welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. our top stories: hurricane florence is pounding the carolina coast with powerful winds and devastating rain. several fatailities are reported, with predictions of more storm surges to come. super typhoon mangkhut has made landfall in the north—western philippines, with winds of over 200 kilometres per hour. thousands of people are being moved to safety. donald trump's former campaign manager, paul manafort, agrees to cooperate with an investigation into links between the president and russia as part of a plea deal. one of america's biggest basketball stars visits the uk for a series of exhibition matches. he tells the bbc why he's an advocate for those who can't speak out for themselves. one of the most savage storms

of the hurricance season is causing devastation on parts of the us east coast. four people have died in seperate incidents in north carolina, including a mother and her child. hurricane florence has been downgraded to a tropical storm, which has left more than 700,000 homes without power. 0ne meterologist has warned the slow—moving storm could bring eight months worth of rain over the next three days. 0ur correspondent chris buckler is in wilmington. the carolinas knew all of this was coming but they could never fully prepare for the force of florence. along this coastline, houses found themselves on the frontline for a fierce incoming storm and a surge of water that flooded streets and homes. despite the many days of warnings,

there were people caught out, and families who needed to be rescued from their homes. in newburn, north carolina, emergency services had to move in as people became cut off. i've never been so terrified in my entire life. it was horrifying. just wondering what's going on, and where the water's going to go and how high it's going to go and how we're going to get out. in the town of wilmington, street after street was littered with the debris of the storm. huge trees no match for the power of the winds, even though this hurricane had weakened before it reached land. this morning people gathered to see what was left of their neighbourhood. they kept telling us how bad it would be and we thought we were prepared, but you just can't be prepared for that. there's nothing you can do when a tree falls. and this storm has already proved to be deadly. a fallen tree near here was responsible for killing a mother and her child.

hurricane florence is powerful, slow and relentless. it is an uninvited brute who doesn't want to leave. while florence is here, some families have headed to the emergency shelters, places where they know they will be safe. what are you worried about? not having a place to go home to, or a job. all those practical concerns are shared, as florence continues to hover over the carolinas. she is wheelchair—bound and it has been really rough. i said, god, jesus christ, please protect our home and everybody else in wilmington. evacuation warnings remain in place as families steel themselves for another night of wind,

rain and damage here on cape fear. people might have been briefly relieved, but the truth is, the wind is still strong enough to knock you over, and it will remain like that for some time. joining me now from manning, south carolina, is rebecca torriani, who is the national spokesperson for the red cross. good to have you with us. tell us a little bit about how the efforts of the red cross are going? currently the red cross are going? currently the red cross is helping more than 20,000 people across six states. we have about 200 shoppers to provide safety a nd have about 200 shoppers to provide safety and food and comfort during this tragic storm. — 200 shelters. we have tremendous flooding, surges and rainfall, and wejust want we have tremendous flooding, surges and rainfall, and we just want to provide a comfortable place for people to feel safe and comfortable

with theirfamilies. people to feel safe and comfortable with their families. part of the challenge of this must have been to find places that could act as shelters, given the size of the area affected and the number of people you are dealing with? yes, essentially, we try to figure out places that are not by the water, not by the coast. it is important that we find shelters, work with our partners and finds shelters that are more inland, not close to flooding, where the storm surges won't affect them. some of these shelters may experience power outages that we have made sure that those residents are comfortable. and in terms of the timescale of this, how soon do you think people will be able to start going back to their homes? at this time we still don't know. the storm keeps approaching south carolina surely but slowly, so we urge people to stay in their homes, stay away

from windows, the winds are very strong and the flooding continues to come. at this time we still don't know when the storm will pass. it continues to go through south carolina and it is important that people stay safe and are informed with local media, and know that when the storm passes they will be ok and we will be here to take care of them. and when you sort of look at them. and when you sort of look at the disruption this causes to people, what is the mood like? are people, what is the mood like? are people just bearing up and getting on with it and accepting that this is the way it is, or is there a sense of frustration about the inconvenience of all of this?” think there is always frustration and confusion whenever you have to leave your home. it is somewhere co mforta ble, leave your home. it is somewhere comfortable, some were well known. that is why we try to make it as co mforta ble that is why we try to make it as comfortable as possible. we try to make sure that it is their safety that comes first. installers like

this you don't ever know what you are going to come home to. —— in storms like this. with this destruction and everything going on it is important that people remember that theirfamilies it is important that people remember that their families around and we are here for them, we are here to help them recover after this terrible tragedy. 0k, rebecca, thank you very much. meanwhile a super typhoon has hit the north east of the philippines, with winds of over 200 kilometres per hour. millions of people are directly in the path of the storm and thousands have been evacuated. officials have warned of storm surges of up to six metres. our correspondent howard johnson has been travelling through the provinces of cagayan and isabela, two areas weather forecasters say are likely to be hardest hit. within the last few hours, typhoon mankhut has made landfall on the northern tip of the main island of luzon. 5 million people are thought to be in the path of this potentially deadly storm.

authorities had already urged thousands of people to move inland from vulnerable coastal areas. in nearby santa ana, local officials aren't taking any chances. this village school has been turned into an emergency shelter. translation: there is a tendency for landslides in this area in the past, so a village council has advised them to get out early. on the road out of cagayan province, we passed farmers anxious to do what they can to salvage their harvest. the philippines endures about 20 typhoons and storms each year, mankhut is the strongest storm of 2018 so far. it's more than 500 miles in diameter, with sustained winds of over 160 miles an hour. we're around 100 miles away from where this storm is about to hit hardest. already, the winds are up and it's been raining heavily. as you can see, most people have

heeded the warnings to stay inside and wait for this potentially devastating typhoon to pass. alexandra pura is the country director for uk charity, christian aid in the philippines. she says disaster relief in the country's remote communities can be complex. you have seen the map of the path of the typhoon and you will see mountainous areas and small islands, and those are the geographically hard to reach areas. and an early warning system, even if it is done in many parts of the part of the typhoon, there will be areas where they will be disasters, so that's what worries us. that will be up—land communities, where indigenous peoples live, and also inhabitants of small islands, so that's what we are worried about.

and how will you reach of them, alexandra, or the authorities, what do they need? what we've done in the past is to build disaster risk reduction and building plans in these remote areas, but you can never be too sure about how prepared the communities will be. we are just hoping that all those awareness regimes and education sessions have paid off and that there are institutions in the communities like churches and ngos to support them. we have done a lot of preparedness with local government officials also, so we really hope that this pays off. and, alexandra, are you able to hear from them, is there communications, because that can be one of the first things to go in a situation like this? so, we've co—ordinated, actually days before this we've been meeting and trying to figure out how we can communicate with, you know, telecoms and power lines will be down, so we made sure that they have done their disaster preparedness work and we are sending in a team as soon as roads so we get that information.

so just making sure that they're safe and to get information from them, that will be our next priority. let's get some of the day's other news. medical sources in gaza say israeli soldiers have killed three palestinians. one of them is believed to be a 14—year—old boy. the deaths came during a protest on the territory's border with israel. the army said it had used force to prevent breaches of security fences. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo has accused his predecessorjohn kerry of "actively undermining" the trump administration's policy toward tehran. it's after mr kerry met iran's foreign minister for back—channel talks. mr pompeo told a news conference: "what secretary kerry has done is unseemly and unprecedented." the inquests into the westminster terror attack have heard harrowing details of attempts to save the life of pc keith palmer. khalid masood repeatedly stabbed the unarmed officer at the palace of westminster, after driving into pedestrians on the bridge in march last year.

lawyers for pc palmer's family today raised concerns about the lack of armed officers stationed near him outside parliament. daniel sandford was in court. pc keith palmer, on duty at westminster less than an hour before the attack. armed with a radio, a whistle, a stab—proof vest, cs spray and his baton. then, this. a car smashed into the side of parliament after killing people on westminster bridge. and witnesses saw khalid masood heading round the corner. police officers on duty at the entrance to parliament saw him coming through the gate. "i noticed a very large man with two extremely large knives, one in each hand," pc doug glaze told the inquest today. "he was walking like a robot, his hands moving up and down." pc glaze thought there might be multiple attackers. "i remember thinking, we're going to die," he said. antonia kerridge was watching from a nearby parliament building and she saw pc keith palmer fall

over as khalid masood charged towards him. "the policeman had collapsed," she said today. "the attacker ran over to him, lent towards him and raised the knife quite high, and hejust stabbed him two, three orfour times." another witness, james west, said the stabbing was slow and deliberate, like in a hollywood horror film. after about five seconds pc palmer, now badly injured, managed to get away, and a nearby close protection officer rushed in and shot khalid masood. the inquest was played a distressing audio recording of the 25 minutes in which people tried to save pc keith palmer's life. "police officer stabbed in the head," one person is heard saying into their radio, while others tried to reassure pc palmer, "you're ok, you're ok," and, "come on, son," they can be heard saying. but his pulse was getting weaker

and eventually they lost him. during today's hearing the coroner heard that at the time of the attack it was not routine to have firearms officers stationed at the main vehicle gates to the house of commons. instead, their instructions were to do a roving patrol around the large area behind the entrance. pc james ross, who was also on the gate that day, agreed that it left the ordinary unarmed officers like him exposed. "you've got no protection at all," he explained. asked if he thought the arrangements had been adequate, he said, "it's above my pay grade." no firearms officers had been at the gate for more than three quarters of an hour when masood attacked. the lawyer for pc palmer's widow, michelle, said her husband had been left to defend himself with a spray and a stick. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the old bailey. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: why south africa's biggest city is currently overrun with superheroes, androids, and masters of the universe. 30 hours after the earthquake that

devastated mexico city, rescue teams still have no idea just how many people have died. there is people alive, and there is people not alive. we just can help and give them whatever we've got. it looked as though they had come to fight a war, but their mission is to bring peace to east timor, and nowhere on earth needs it more badly. the government's case is being forcefully presented by monsieur badinter, the justice minister. he's campaigned vigorously for the abolition, having once witnessed one of his clients being executed. elizabeth seton spent much of her time at this grotto, and every year, hundreds of pilgrimages are made here. now that she has become a saint, it's expected that this area will be inundated with tourists. the mayor and local businessman regard the anticipated boom as just another blessing of st elizabeth.

this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: hurricane florence is pounding the carolina coast with powerful winds and devastating rain. severalfatalities are reported — with predictions of more storm surges to come. super typhoon mangkhut has made landfall in the northwestern philippines, with winds of over 200km/h. thousands of people are being moved to safety. well, we've obviously seen the impact of hurricane florence on the ground but a team of scientists is tasked with what sounds like a terrifying job — flying into the eye of the storm. there's a good reason for their work, they're collecting vital information to get a better idea of where the storm is heading and how ferocious it will be. the bbc‘s nada tawfik has gone up with the hurricane hunters and filed this report.

another mission complete, but there is no time to waste. with millions vulnerable to the force of florence, these hurricane hunters have been flying around the clock, right into the i of the storm. the team pilots and scientists from the us air force reserve will pass through florence five times during the exhaustive eight hour mission, drop—in centre is to collect the temperature, pressure, and wind speed of the storm. this cargo plane, with its cutting—edge technology, is essentially a laboratory with wings. an hour after takeoff we enter the storm. we are flying through hurricane florence now. and you can see that there is zero visibility. on top of that, we are hitting winds

of up to 100 mph. now, these pilots are experienced with flying in dangerous situations. they know that the information they collect will be critical to determining the storm's next move. now release one in the i wall, the i and the other while on the way out as well. censors get dropped at specific points in the storm. that was the drop. that sound was the drop, the still being released from the plane. the information gets sent back to the national hurricane center every ten minutes. it is used to constantly update the storm model and can improve update the storm model and can im prove forecasts update the storm model and can improve forecasts by up to 20%. when we reach the helene of the storm, it is clouded over. —— eye of the storm. hurricane florence has been weakening, but it is no less destructive. these underground, eyes

on the scene. i have had other storms i have got through where on satellite it looked like a tropical storm, but actually when you got into the storm the winds and data turned it into way category 2 hurricane. after a long day they turned for home. on the ground, the next tea m turned for home. on the ground, the next team of hurricane hunters prepared their journey next team of hurricane hunters prepared theirjourney back into the storm. nada tawfik, bbc news, in south carolina. nada tawfik, bbc news, in south carolina. president trump's former campaign manager will co—operate with the investigation into links between russia and the trump campaign during the 2016 us presidential election. paul manafort has admitted two criminal charges, and as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors he's agreed to help robert mueller‘s investigation. our north america editor, jon sopel has this update paul manafort had already been found guilty of bank and tax fraud and month ago, and he was due to face another trial when, at the eleventh hour, he cut a plea deal with robert mueller, the special counsel, the man investigating whether there was collusion between russia and the trump campaign and whether there was obstruction ofjustice. after manafort was found guilty

a month ago and was facing ten years in prison, donald trump tweeted about what a brave man he was for not doing a deal, what an example he was for standing firm. well, now manafort has flipped. it means he will agree to testify in any other proceedings. he will hand over papers. and one other key phrase: "he will help on any and all matters as to which the government deems relevant." in other words, he is giving robert mueller, the special counsel, a kind of wristband with "access all areas" written on it. one of the key areas for questioning will be, what happened at that trump tower meeting with donald trumpjunior and a russian lawyer who had very close links with the kremlin, promising dirt on hillary clinton? now, the white house have issued a brief statement saying, look, all of this, the criminal prosecution, relates to a period before manafort was working for donald trump. but be in no doubt, in the white house this evening, i think donald trump's mood will have darkened and some of his family members will become a good deal more anxious. in the world of basketball,

steph curry looms large. at six foot three he may not be the tallest in the sport but he's the highest paid player in the nba and is considered by many to be an all—time great. the superstar of american sport has been shooting hoops in east london. our sports editor dan roan has been to meet him. he's the sharpshooting superstar of american basketball. steph curry from downtown! twice voted the most valuable player in the nba, steph curry‘s become one of the biggest names in world sport — king of the long—range three—pointer. today he was the main attraction at a court in london's east end. he told me that basketball will soon grow this side of the atlantic. how big do think this sport could be in britain in the future? i think it'll be extremely huge and inspiring for kids to play, especially at earlier ages.

to get that instruction and develop their own passions for the game. curry‘s helped his team, the golden state warriors, dominate the nba, winning the title in three of the last four seasons. the californian franchise recently awarded him a record—breaking contract worth $200 million. are you at the peak of your powers now? i think so, but i'll hopefully stay there for a very long time. i've learned a lot about myself in the game. like you said, accomplished a lot. but i feel like there's more in the tank. and for me to continue to put the work in. but it's notjust on the court that curry‘s made an impact. last year he made a stand against the policies of the trump administration by snubbing an invite to the white house. the president himself then telling curry the invite was withdrawn. i said how i felt. i tried to provide reasons why i felt those ways and let it be. obviously i'm not going to waver off of that. even if it comes with

a risk or some fallout? for me, i know that you're not going to please everybody in this world. the whole thing is obviously about love and respect. curry‘s also backed tennis star serena williams after her claims of sexism in the sport following an outburst during the us open final last weekend. the way that she handled it post match, with how eloquently she put her sentiments around gender equality in her sports, and created that conversation that i think we can all assess for ourselves. another athlete activist who curry supports is colin kaepernick, the american footballer whose kneeled protests during pre—match national anthems became a movement that divided the nation. we wanted to shine light on police brutality, on racial inequality and things like that. that's what the nfl players have stood for, and i definitely respect that. both on and off court, curry‘s a man who rarely looks like missing.

and at a time when sports and politics seem closer than ever, he is determined to speak on behalf of those who can't. dan roan, bbc news. it brings together fans of science—fiction, video games, and super—heroes, and this weekend, comic—con is in africa for the first time. as lebo diseko reports, the genres represented at the convention are becoming increasing popular on the african continent. zombies, superheroes, and more. thousands of comic and science fiction fans all dressed up for comic con in johannesburg. it is the first time the convention has taken place in africa and organisers say it has brought in people from all around the continent. it is a chance for comic book lovers to dress up as their favourite characters. no outfit is too out there, no costume too crazy. you get to dress up and be somebody else for a day and i think that is pretty awesome. you get to be your favourite person. i think dressing up, i never pass up a chance to dress up.

i think it is very important to promote diversity, that you can cosplay anybody you want outside of your skin tone, your body type, your ethnicity — it's a form of expression. it's notjust about dressing up. there are exhibitions, performances, and a chance for those who come along to meet their favourite artists. the three—day event co—exists with a big push by streaming services to cash in on the continent's love of all things comic related. but if you are hoping to get in on the action, it's too late. organisers say it's a complete sellout for all three days. the upside for the cosplay community, though, is that this year's convention may be the first of many to come. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @benmbland. hello again.

before we look at the weather in the uk let us have a round—up of what is happening with the storms elsewhere in the world. for northern parts of the philippines battered by typhoon mangkhut, that is heading out into the south china sea, not far away from hong kong on sunday, not as powerful by this stage. back over the pacific, into north america, where we find florence. that will weaken over land this weekend it will continue to bring flooding rains to the carolinas. this area of cloud contains remnants of an ex—hurricane that could be heading our way next week. this weekend, bit of a mixed bag. wetter, windier weather in the north—west that will start to push its way will start to push its way into england and wales next sunday. the best of the weather will be in the south—east. we have this link of drizzly rain across northern england. perhaps even into north wales. the wetter weather a rise as the winds pick up in the afternoon across

northern ireland and into western scotland. elsewhere dry weather. the difference in temperatures in the sunshine. through the evening and overnight you can see how this rain develops more widely in northern ireland, in scotland, pretty heavy rain. quite windy out there as well. some of that will edge of the irish sea. the south—east dry and clear. and across the board it should be quite a warm night on saturday night. the rain should move away from scotland and northern ireland. being replaced by sunshine and showers in the north—west. the rain gets stuck across northern england, wales, not far from the south—west. the east midlands, east anglia, the south—east likely to be warm but towards the north—west of the uk a different story, quite a bit cooler with the show is coming in was the south—east, the temperatures continuing to creep up and up. into the early part of next week, this area of low pressure contains remnants of ex—hurricane helene. it will drive its way quickly

northwards up the western side of the uk. uncertainty about the detail. the winds will really picking up as it sweeps its way northwards and is threatening to bring heavy rain briefly as well. the system has come from a long way south and contains tropical air. that will be felt across the east and south—east of the uk for monday and tuesday. it will be not as warm in the north and west of the uk. stronger winds. rain for a while. towards the south—east this is where temperatures will continue to climb into the mid—20s. this is bbc news. i'm ben bland. the headlines: at least five people have died as hurricane florence lashes down on the us east coast. a mother and child were killed when a tree fell on their house in wilmington. emergency workers are battling strong winds and floodwaters to try to rescue hundreds of people trapped in their homes. a super—typhoon has hit the north east of the philippines,

making landfall in baggao, with winds of over 200 kilometres per hour. more than four million people are directly in the path of the storm and thousands have been evacuated. president trump's former campaign manager, paul manafort, has pleaded guilty to two charges, relating to his former role as a lobbyist in ukraine. as part of a plea deal, he will cooperate with the investigation into russian electoral interference. the white house say the new deal has nothing to do with mr trump. now on bbc news, our world: colombia,