this is bbc news. i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: at least 1a dead as typhoon mankut wreaks havoc in the philippines. it's now heading towards hong kong and southern china. warnings in the us that storm florence is "farfrom done". president trump declares a disaster in north carolina. the british prime minister defends her brexit plan — but dismisses talk of a leadership challenge. this is where i get a little bit irritated. this debate is not about my future. this debate is about the future of the people of the uk and the future of the united kingdom. and charting the polar icecaps from space. nasa's new mission launches a laser into orbit. hello and welcome to bbc news.

at least 1a people have now died in a massive storm, which has brought destruction to the north of the philippines. typhoon mangkhut ripped through the main island of luzon triggering more than a0 landslides. it's the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year. five million people were in its path. howard johnson sent this report. mangkhut has been called by meteorologists the strongest typhoon in the world so far this year. and now the reality of the utter devastation it has caused is becoming obvious. extreme flash flooding. the fragility of human existence laid bare. the road to cagayan province was littered with destruction. electricity posts ripped from the ground, street lamps bent in two, and this man's house torn to shreds. he showed me where the roof had been pulled back like a tin of sardines. fighting back the tears,

he told me how he'd spent the night in an evacuation centre worrying about the fate of his home. when we arrived in cagayan province, we saw a line of people queueing for fuel to power their generators. how did you feel? scared. we were so scared. all the windows are broken. the whole night. the whole night, no sleep. the scene here repeated across this vast region. debris is scattered across the ground. electricity cables dangling dangerously. people wading their belongings through floodwaters. two rescue workers were killed in one of many landslides, and a third person drowned in six metre high storm surges. a team of search and rescue workers — clearly it had been a long night. our evacuees total about 15,000, scattered in more than 500 evacuation centres. we have not really released them yet because of the kind of wind we have. the typhoon is now on its way

to southern china and vietnam. it's expected to pass near hong kong tomorrow. the magnitude of the devastation left behind here in the philippines still isn't known, and more heavy rain is on its way. howard johnson, bbc news, tuguegarao. is now heading towards hong kong. forecasters say it poses a serious threat. we are tracking the storm and will keep ringing that story on bbc news. meanwhile, another devastating weather system, storm florence, is causing catastrophic flooding in the us states of north and south carolina. officials say at least 12 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands of homes are without electricity. from wilmington, chris buckler reports. large parts of north carolina's

coastline now lie underwater as the rain continues to fall. and as the water levels have risen, people have had to be rescued from their homes. more people now face imminent threat than when the storm was just offshore. i cannot overstate it. floodwaters are rising and if you are not watching for them, you are risking your life. it's obvious as you drive through this area how much damage has been done here. it will take time to remove the felled trees that block many streets, and repair the downed power lines that have left hundreds of thousands of households without electricity. president trump has declared this an official disaster, freeing up money to help

people with repairs. but some families will never recover from this deadly hurricane. a woman and her baby were killed when a tree crashed through the roof of their home here in wilmington. so many trees downed — and you can see them in our neighbourhood and down the street, trees that are barely missing houses, huge trees that have barely missed houses. you know, when you see something like this, you're just really, really lucky. it is awful it has happened to someone, because so many people chose to stay. after days when they were completely deserted, there are signs that towns are cautiously getting back to normal. this was the queue for one of the few petrol stations to reopen after closing for the storm. the effects of hurricane florence are still being felt, and the authorities say as long as the rain falls, there is the danger of further catastrophic flash flooding. and after this week in north carolina, both man and beast are well aware of the impact of that. chris buckler, bbc news, wilmington. well, as we've heard,

hundreds of thousands of householders have been left without power. duke energy is one of the companies supplying customers in north and south carolina. we can speak to their spokesman, neil nissan. he's on the line now from charlotte in north carolina. thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. first, give us an update on the situation. how many people are without power as we head into the night there? hello. currently we have about 400,000 customers without power in the carolinas. we hit a peak of about1 million customers who were without power as the storm moved through the carolinas. we have managed to restore power to about 600,000. 0bviously tropical storm florence is

a massive storm that is hitting us with not only high winds, but historic amounts of rainfall. as soon as it clears out our workforce jumps to action to be able to restore power for our customers will stop but right now the heavy rainfall is causing a lot of flooding which is keeping us from some of the hardest—hit areas so we can some of the hardest—hit areas so we ca n start some of the hardest—hit areas so we can start restoring power to those customers. we have some pictures from your company of your team is trying to restore energy, working on the power lines there. give us a sense of how hard it is to go into an area that has been so deluged by water. it is very difficult. we have seen uprooted trees, toppled power poles, flooded substations, damaged power lines across both states. the issueisit power lines across both states. the issue is it is still moving. it is moving about 2—3 miles west. i had some bc today that you can walk

faster than it is moving. as it moves slowly over both states it is dumping historic rainfall —— i heard someone dumping historic rainfall —— i heard someone today say. the heavy winds are also an issue. it is very dangerous for our linemen to girl up when it is 50 or 60 mph. we have to wait for some of the flooding to recede before we can get there. they are having to shut down some roads. there is a lot of debris in the rose. we —— roads. we are telling our customers this is not has been an hour restoration, or a day restoration, it might be a week or weeks or longer. we have to assemble an army of 20,000 personnel in the carolinas. they travel from florida, texas, missouri to help us restore

power. i suppose there is a tension between wanting to help your customers get their power back on, but as you say, you have to be mindful of your employees, because they are physically going up high. he described it as a bucket study are absolutely. they are in their bucket trucks. the buckets go up about 12 feet high. the storm is still hitting us. it is moving very slowly. we want customers to stay away from fallen powerlines, just because they are forlan does not mean they are not energised. that same danger is what employees are experiencing as well that make forlan. there are downed power lines throughout. they are professionals, they know what they are doing some of the best in the business. we have restored about 600,000 customers in the past day and a half. they know what they are doing, they are just waiting for it to be safe to

continue restoring the power. some of these areas have been flooded so we can't even get to them. we are using new technology like drones so we can assess the damage and get to restoration even quicker. but because it is dumping historic rainfall it is making the challenge even harder. 0k, neil nissan, they queue for taking the time to speak to us. we do appreciate it. thank you very much. let's get some of the day's other news. a rwandan opposition leader has been released from prison. victoire ingabire was serving a 15—yearjail term after being found guilty of threatening state security and belittling the 1994 genocide. she's among more than 2,000 prisoners who have been freed from jail after receiving a presidential pardon. nigeria's finance minister has resigned over allegations of forgery. kemi adeosun stepped down over accusations that she used a forged certificate to avoid nigeria's mandatory one—year

youth service scheme. ms adeosun is a dual british and nigerian citizen and lived in the uk until she was 34. the british prime minister has passionately defended her plan for brexit, and added that she gets a ‘little bit irritated' about debate concerning how long she'll last in herjob. in an exclusive interview with nick robinson for the bbc‘s panorama programme, theresa may was also sharply critical of the former foreign secretary borisjohnson. he described her blueprint for leaving the eu as being like ‘wrapping a suicide vest‘ around the country. borisjohnson says this plan you‘ve agreed to is a suicide belt around the british constitution. well, first of all, i have to say i think that choice of language is completely inappropriate. i was home secretary to six years and now prime ministers for two years, and i think using language like that — it‘s not language i would have used.

let‘s look at the argument about the issue in relation to northern ireland. the people of northern ireland deserve to be listened to in these negotiations, as do people elsewhere in this country. i want to ensure that as we go forward we have that strong union that northern ireland. it is part of the united kingdom, and it is important that we deliver for the people of northern ireland. they don‘t want a hard border between northern ireland and ireland. the only proposal that has been put forward that delivers on them not having a hard border and ensures that we don‘t carve up the united kingdom is the chequers plan. you told your party you would only serve as long as they wanted you to. without getting into dates, because you never do that, that is evident, can you reassure people in your party that you are not determined to go on and on and on? you will listen?

look, i said what i said to my party. throughout my time in public service it has been about service. as a councillor, as an mp, as a home secretary and now as prime minister. but actually — and this is where i get a little bit irritated — this is not, this debate is not about my future. this debate is about the future of the people of the uk and the future of the united kingdom. that‘s what i‘m focused on, and that is what i think we should all be focused on. it is ensuring we get that good deal with the european union which is good for people in the uk, wherever they live in the uk. that is what is important for us and that is what i‘m focusing on. it is the future of people in the uk that matters. that was theresa may speaking on the

panorama programme. well, this coming week across bbc news — we‘re marking 6 months to go until the uk leaves the european union. 0ur correspondentjon kay has been to birmingham — one of the most polarised areas of the country — to find out what people there want to know about brexit. i really can‘t get my head round what‘s going on. absolutely no—one knows what's happening. so what‘s brexit? confusion. it‘s dominated the news for more than two years but we still have so many questions, wherever we live, however we voted. kimberly is exhausted by the whole thing. how confusing is the brexit process for you? it hurts my brain cells, it irritates my soul. it‘s like... it hurts, it really hurts. like, on the news, brexit is going this way, brexit is going that way. do you get it? do you understand where we are with brexit? no. so we gathered questions from people in birmingham. how‘s your handwriting? elsie‘s heard all the arguments about tariffs and treaties

but she doesn‘t know what to believe. big question mark. tell us the truth. who is right? which one of you is right? which side? which side is right. do you think you know? no. i actually think they should support the prime minister. i really do. instead of all of this division. many had questions about the future of our economy. when are we going to get some transparency so that business can have a sigh of relief and know exactly what‘s going to happen and when? i'm just saving up. i want to get a new car. eventually i want to get a mortgage. ijust want to move forward in life. so if prices do go up? it will make it a struggle to do that. we got questions about the uk‘s borders. i think the biggest question is how do you control it without letting alland sundry in. again, is it as much of a massive problem as perhaps we think it is? write it as big and clear as you can. elijah wants to know about northern ireland.

the ripple effect from this referendum is going to be colossal, i think. will this woman need a visa to holiday in spain? and what willjohn be able to bring home? it feels like dragging on. what do you want to know? how soon can we leave? from chequers to the backstop, for 0liver... i‘ve just got bored with it, to be honest with you. soft brexit, hard brexit, but there‘s absolutely no definition of what either one is. i‘m ready to just stop reading about brexit. you‘re exiting the debate? i‘m exiting brexit. jon kay, bbc news, birmingham. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: nasa launches a laser into orbit to measure the condition of earth‘s ice sheets. 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 news. the latest headlines... typhoon mangkhut has wreaked havoc across the northern phillipines, killing at least 14 people. the full scale of the destruction is still unknown. president trump has declared a disaster in north carolina, amid warnings that storm florence is farfrom done. let‘s stay with that story now. we can speak tojordan bloodsworth from the louisiana cajun navy, a specialised rescue support organisation, which began during hurricane katrina. he‘s in burgaw, north carolina, just north of wilmington. good to speak to you. tell us what the situation is looking like

they‘re now. the situation is looking like they're now. right now we are monitoring a lot of the rainfall and the river systems that are surrounding the area we are in, and the amount of rain that is still coming down, just to see which areas will be flooding more. so jordan bloodsworth, you are part of a rescue group. tell us about some of the operations you have taken part in the last or two. in the last day we have got on with the emergency command centre here for this county where we are in burgaw. we teamed up with these guys are some of the foreign rescue teams, so we have been going out on rescue calls to get people out as the floodwaters are coming up. tell us how do you get people out. are they going up to the higherfloors get people out. are they going up to the higher floors of their homes, ha rd the higher floors of their homes, hard does it work? a lot of people are moving as high up as they can go

all catching up right before it reaches their homes. —— how does it. we go in as far as we can with outright, then send the boat ‘s end. and then we try to get them out. sometimes there is water in the home already and they can‘t go any higher, or sometimes they are outside come on top of cars, waiting, or on second floors, and some go to roofs and addicts. how dangerous is that? i guess there is debris under the surface of the water and you do not know what you‘re wading into. water and you do not know what you're wading into. -- attics. it is extremely dangerous for everyone. we try to stay safe as possible. we have lifejackets and helmets and think they can‘t and we try to proceed with caution and make sure that we operate safely and get a run who is in trouble to safety. but as you said, there are tons of things that we are unfamiliar with, and you are unsure of the debris that is

available. i'm sure the people in your communities appreciate all that your communities appreciate all that you are doing, jordan bloodsworth. we appreciate you forjoining us here on bbc news. pope francis has appealed to the italian mafia to abandon a life of crime and violence. he was on a visit to sicily to pay homage to a parish priest who was murdered by the mafia 25 years ago. courtney bembridge has more. on his way to the sicilian capital with a clear message, pope francis chose palermo‘s port, a centre of mafia activity, to send it. translation: today we need men and women of love, not men and women of honour, of service, not of overpowering. we need men and women to walk together, not to chase power. the catholic church has had a chequered history of relations with the mafia in southern italy, but the pope says people cannot believe in god and belong to the mafia at the same time. translation: a mafioso does not live as a christian,

because he blasphemes with his life in the name of god. the event was held to mark 25 years since parish priest giuseppe puglisi was shot dead on his doorstep by the italian mafia. it was his 56th birthday, and reportedly he said to the gunman, "i‘ve been expecting you." the priest was known for being outspoken against injustices. with little support from the church hierarchy in sicily, he preached against the mafia and worked with young people to keep them away from the group. translation: we hope that something will change, bit by bit. there are many youths who are arriving here at the social centre. they are beginning to realise that life is not only about violence and degradation. he ignored their threats and banned mafia members from leading religious processions. in the months before his murder, the mafia planted several car bombs throughout italy, killing at least ten people. it was part of a bloody offensive against the state and anyone who threatens the group‘s existence,

which also claimed the lives of two magistrates. puglisi was shot in the neck at point—blank range. two mafia hitmen, salvatore grigoli and gaspa re spatuzza, were among six men charged over the murder. large crowds attended puglisi‘s funeral. translation: why did the mafia kill him? translation: i don't know, maybe because he wanted to destroy the mafia, and he could do it. puglisi was beatified in 2013, the last step before sainthood in the church. nasa has successfully launched a satellite designed to measure changes in the world‘s ice sheets, and provide precise information on how they are being eroded by global warming. the billion—dollar project will put a satellite almost directly over the north and south poles. our science correspondent, jonathan amos reports. five, four, three, two, one...

a hot and fiery start for a mission that will study the coldest places on earth. a new nasa satellite was launched safely onto a path that takes it almost directly over the poles. its quest — to determine precisely how global warming is affecting the planet‘s ice. icesat—2, as it‘s known, is equipped with a green laser that‘ll fire down on glaziers and sea ice. the faster the beamed pulses of light bounce back to the satellite, the thicker the ice must be, and if the heights are seen to drop over time it‘ll indicate the ice is melting. previous observations have shown that both antarctica and greenland are losing mass as warm ocean water erodes their edges, and in the arctic the floating sea ice has lost two thirds of its volume since the 1980s. but the changes that are occurring are often quite subtle, and scientists see only the most exacting measurement tools can tell us what‘s really happening.

it‘ll be a few weeks before icesat is ready to start work. nasa is reassuring everyone that the laser cannot itself melt the ice its monitoring — but look up on a dark night and you mightjust catch a green dot passing across the sky. jonathan amos, bbc news. and that is just about it. you can get more on the bbc new website, on typhoon mangkhut heading to hong kong and china, and hurricane florence, in the united states, affecting the carolinas. you can reach me on twitter — i‘m @duncangolestani. goodbye for now. hello.

there‘s the potential for some turbulent whether in the forecast over the next few days and that is already making its presence felt across scotland, northern ireland, parts of northern england and north wales as this front works its way south and east overnight, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds. through sunday, the frontal system is running into an area of high pressure to the south of the uk. through sunday, it will weaken. the rain will tend to fizzle out and we will be left with a band of cloud and the odd spot of rain through the afternoon, stretching down through the midlands and south—west england. on either side, spells of sunshine. some patchy drizzle for the western isles of scotland where it will continue to be quite windy. elsewhere, the strong winds from overnight will ease down but still quite a breezy day and fairly warm across east anglia and south—east england. temperatures up to 22 or 23dc. elsewhere, generally 17 or 20 celsius, cooler for the far north of scotland. keeping an eye on this area of low pressure, it has in it the remnants of hurricane helene, no longer a hurricane but providing tropical moisture and energy to that area of low pressure. it will strengthen the winds as we go through monday and pull some very warm and humid air

across england and wales, particularly the further south and east you are. on monday, a mixture of variable cloud and a sunny spells before the rain arrives into northern ireland, parts of north—west england and western scotland. it will be heavy. some strong winds accompanying that with some very strong gusts as well. these are the average speed through monday afternoon. the gusts will be even higher. as we go from monday into tuesday, the gusts for the western isles of scotland could touch 60 or 70 mph. as we head south and east, in the warm and humid air we could see highs of 23 on monday across east anglia and south—east england. here is our area of low pressure marching across the western side of the uk into tuesday. notice the squeeze in the isobars. this is where we will see the strongest winds — across northern ireland, scotland and northern parts of england. some very strong gusts. on tuesday, a mixture of sunny spells and heavy showers,

particularly for northern ireland, scotland, western side of england and wales. again, a windy day for all of us but still holding onto some very warm and humid air across east and south—east england where we will see that which is up to 23 and 24. some sunshine here, yes, and very warm, but windy for all of us. particular gusty for northern ireland and scotland and northern parts of england. strong winds early next week, very warm in the south—east but some rain for the north and west. bye— bye. this is bbc news. the headlines: at least 14 people are known to have died in the massive storm which brought destruction to the north of the philippines. typhoon mangkhut ripped through the main island of luzon tearing off rooves, felling trees and triggering more than 40 landslides. many remote areas remain cut off. authorities in the us have

warned that storm florence is "far from done". the weather system has caused catastrophic flooding across both north and south carolina. officials say at least 12 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands of homes are without electricity. the british prime minister, theresa may, has passionately defended her plan for brexit, and added she gets a "little bit irritated" about how long she‘ll last in thejob. in an exclusive interview with the bbc, she said "this debate is not about my future, but the future of the people of the united kingdom".