welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: hurricane michael strikes the florida shore — the most powerful storm to hit the south—west coast of the us in a century. thousands have been evacuated and police say that one person has been killed. new evidence emerges about missing saudi journalist and government critic jamal khashoggi. president trump says he's asked top saudi officials for answers. we cannot let this happen — to reporters, to anybody, we cannot let this happen. and we are going to get to the bottom of it. extradited from belgium — a chinese intelligence officer appears in an american court charged with spying. police in nepal smash a major smuggling ring trading in baby chimpanzees, stolen from the wild in west africa. if they hadn't been rescued here

they would have been driven on to a purchaser in england the —— in india and an unknown fate. hurricane michael has reached land in north—west florida, with winds reaching 155 miles per hour. officals have confirmed one fatality, gasden county sheriff's office say a tree knocked down by the strong winds fell on a house, killing a man. hundreds of thousands have been urged to leave their homes and flee to higher ground — many have not. in the last hour, floridians caught in the path of the storm have sent video and and described what they're going through. many said they wanted to save their homes and businesses or because they have nowhere else to go. teddy jaison rawlings gave this description of the storm damage so far.

0h, oh, my god. that is my grandmother's house right there. a tree in her ya rd house right there. a tree in her yard and her fence house right there. a tree in her yard and herfence is gone. and here is the tree trying to become a permanent fixture in the house. the storm will track up the east coast — florida's governor has warned it will be the worst storm in a century. our north america correspondent gary o'donoghue is there. this is what the full force of nature looks like in hurricane form. michael is now pounding the florida panhandle, threatening everything in its path. the sheer power of hurricane michael has started to hurl itself against the florida panhandle now. it is causing some devastation. some powerlines are already down. roofs have been destroyed as well. we're expecting this to go on for the next few hours, late into wednesday, with the winds going up to 145 mph. driving through the streets of panama city beach this morning, there were almost no other cars on the road. here and there, the odd

neon sign still glowed, but many houses and businesses were boarded up after an emergency evacuation order. not everyone, though, had heeded the instruction. dave jackson decided to stay, despite having a homejust yards from the beach. are you worried that you won't survive? not really. not really — i've been a survivor all my life. what gives you the confidence that you will? god, and god takes care of fools. for residents like dave jackson, their next hours are likely to be lonely ones. the emergency services are staying off the streets until the storm has passed. everyone is on their own. as soon as the storm gets to the position where they're no longer safe, my officers, i'll put them in secure locations. we'll sit it out until it's secure, and then when the storm passes, we'll get right back out there and start looking for anyone that needs our help. in washington, the president was getting a briefing from his emergency officials.

he plans to head to the panhandle later this week or early next. meanwhile, he is promising all the help florida needs. federal resources are on the ground, at every level, and so we are absolutely ready. it's a top priority, and the single top priority is the saving of life. the true cost of michael will only be known once the storm has passed, and with georgia and the carolinas in its sights, florida will not be the only state to feel the severe destructive force of this huge hurricane. gary o'donoghue, bbc news, panama city beach. live now to philadelphia and michael mann, a climate scientist at penn state university. a distinguished climate scientist. thank you for your time. what are these conditions telling you? what is going on here? if we step back and look at what we see here in the

united states over the last several yea rs united states over the last several years we united states over the last several yea rs we have united states over the last several years we have seen the strongest hurricane on record, patricia in the pacific a few years ago. last year burma, the strongest storm ever in the open atlantic. harvey had the worst flooding event. collectively, when we take on step back and look at what is going on. in this case now with michael, my namesake, this is the strongest storm ever to occur this late in the season. is strongest land falling storm to web recur this late in the season. technically it was a category four storm but it was on the edge of being a category five. what we see, collectively, is the fingerprint of human impact on our climate. warmer ocea ns human impact on our climate. warmer oceans providing more energy to intensify the storms. means a bigger storm surge and more coastal flooding to be warmer ocean temperatures also mean more moisture in the storms, moisture that they

are able to convert into record flooding like we have seen with many of the storms recently. and yet, people still say they have seen this sort of thing before and people are still hoping to write this sort of storms out. when you see them being described still is a natural disaster do you feel we need every language these days? yes, indeed. these are unnatural disasters. these are disasters that have been exacerbated by the impact of human caused climate change. that is not to say that michael would not have occurred in the absence of global warning, warming but what it does mean is that the impact of this storm, ina mean is that the impact of this storm, in a material way, were made substantially worse by the warming of the planet and the intensification of the storms that it causes. professor, are the season still intact or are we witnessing a complete changing of the rules and is there anything we can do about this or is this just the future and

getting worse? there is some evidence that the season is expanding as atlantic ocean waters warm up, there is a wider and wider window of time during which the storms can form. you need temperatures of around 26.5dc to form a tropical storm and the season during which we see those temperatures is getting wider. it is also the case that if you look at extreme weather in general, look at california and what it will this summer, california no longer has a fire season. they have a perpetual fire season. they have a perpetual fire season. they had a record wildfire just last winter during what is supposed to be the wet season. what is supposed to be the wet season. that is indeed the case. the conventional rules about the seasons during which we get wildfire is or destructive storms... the rules are changing and in an adverse way. is there something we can change? it certainly is. that was highlighted in this recent report that came out

the other day, the latest report to the other day, the latest report to the intergovernmental panel on climate change, demonstrating that it is still possible to limit warming of the planet to below two celsius, where we think the worst impacts of climate change, irreversible impacts of climate change, we will commit to if we warm the planet more than two celsius. but we can still bring our emissions down rapidly enough to avoid that warming. it will require concerted effort and it will require that all of the countries that have committed to the paris a chord meet their obligations and improve on those paris commitments in the years ahead. just to remind you however if you wish to keep up —— updated on hurricane michael go to our website for eyewitness accounts and news. let's get some of

the day's other news. at least ten people have died in floods on the spanish island of majorca. cars and vans were swept away as flash floods tore through the streets of a town on the east of the island. heavy rain caused a river to burst its banks. several of the dead are thought to be foreign tourists. part of a highway bridge on the italian island of sardinia has been swept away after three days of heavy rain. the road was already closed because a sink hole opened up. but the bridge collapse has effectively cut the highway in two. china has admitted for the first time that it is setting up what it calls "vocational training centres" for vast numbers of people in the western region of xinjiang. concern has been growing worldwide about the disappearance of uighur muslims in xinjiang. a un human rights committee heard recently that china may have locked up a million people. officials say the camps will tackle extremism through "thought transformation. " president trump is saying he's demanded answers

from saudi arabia at ‘the highest level‘ about the missing journalist jamal khashoggi, who disappeared on a visit to the saudi consulate in istanbul eight days ago. he was a prominent critic of the saudi government, well known and respected in washington. turkish authorities accuse the saudis of murdering him. today they released cctv said to show a saudi hit—squad arriving in turkey and leaving hours later. from istanbul, the bbc‘s mark lowen. the last timejamal khashoggi was seen alive, entering the saudi consulate in istanbul last week to get papers for his upcoming marriage. turkey believes he was killed inside. in his most recent interview, the journalist was again a voice for democracy in the arab world. a man once close to the saudi monarchy, now critical of its repression. did that cost him his life? the trail begins at istanbul airport, early morning.

a private jet arrives, carrying a group of saudis. they are captured passing through security. turkey claims this was a saudi hit squad. the turkish authorities have confirmed to the bbc these were the men, and we've been told this man was a colonel in the saudi intelligence, based at its embassy in london. another is thought to be a forensics expert. at 1:14pm, jamal khashoggi is seen entering the consulate building. his fiancee, hatice cengiz, waited outside. just after 3pm, blacked out vehicles left the consulate. they drove 200 metres away, to the saudi consul general‘s residence, and they are a focus of the turkish investigation. what did they carry? could they have contained jamal khashoggi's body? cameras caught one of the vans entering the garage. at 5:30pm, jamal‘s fiancee is seen still waiting. but six of the saudis are already

back at the airport, leaving by private jet. a second flight carries the others away. both planes head for riyadh. today, donald trump, who has formed close ties with the saudi crown prince, said he's raised it at the highest levels. it's a very bad situation and we want to get to the bottom of it. for mr khashoggi's close friends and journalist colleagues, hope fades further. he was the kindest person i knew — kind, i mean, on a very personal level. he always wanted to show the world how great his people were and how great saudi arabia was. was his trust misplaced? saudi arabia denies the allegations and says it is looking forjamal khashoggi. but turkey, it seems, is closing in on a direct accusation of state—sponsored murder.

mark lowen, bbc news, istanbul. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: why, after 130 years as the gold standard in us retail, department store sears is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection. this was a celebration by people who were relishing their freedom. they believe everything's going to be different from now on. they think their country will be respected in the world once more, as it used to be before slobodan milosevic took power. the dalai lama, the exiled spiritual leader of tibet, has won this year's nobel peace prize. as the parade was reaching its climax, two grenades exploded, and a group of soldiersjumped from a military truck taking part in the parade and ran towards the president, firing from kalashnikov automatic rifles. after 437 years, the skeletal ribs of henry viii's tragic warship emerged. but, even as divers work

to buoy her up, the mary rose went through another heart—stopping drama. i want to be the people's governor. i want to represent everybody. i believe in the people of california. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: hurricane michael strikes the florida shore, the most powerful storm to hit the south—west coast of the us in a century. so far, reports of one death. new evidence emerges about missing saudi journalist and government criticjamal khashoggi. the us govenment says it has asked officials in riyadh for answers. nearly two weeks after a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit the indonesian city of palu, major sea rch—and—rescue operation

operations will end today. more than 2,000 people are known to have died and around 5,000 are still feared to be missing. the government says it has imposed the deadline to stop the spread of diseases, and because it is increasingly difficult to identify bodies. howard johnson reports from balaroa, one of the worst hit districts of palu. the ruins of this couple's home. it once sat proudly on top of the hill overlooking the city of palu. but, on the evening of the earthquake, it was picked up by fast—flowing soil and dumped nearly 100 metres downhill. everyone made it out of the house alive, but since that night, they haven't seen or heard from their 22—year—old son. he had been out on a fishing trip with a friend when the earthquake struck, his football boots a stark reminder of one of thousands

of people still missing. but the government of indonesia says it will end major sea rch—and—rescue operations today, and declare devastated areas mass graves, a policy that offers little comfort to hasmina. translation: i hope the search will be extended, but if the government stop, i can't stop them. but i believe my son is still alive. elsewhere in the balaroa, the looming deadline has galvanised teams into action. this man here hasjust identified his aunty and his brother. they were praying in a mosque when the earthquake struck. it shows that nearly two weeks on, bodies can still be identified, as we've just seen here. this man's cousin believes there is still time for others to be found. translation: five of my family were missing, my mum and my dad

and my grandmother. we've just found my aunty and my cousin. i recognised him by his clothes and his haircut. after a long day of searching for victims from this earthquake, 13 bodies have been laid down here on the floor. a local imam has just delivered a sermon, and people are chanting as the bodies are put in this ambulance to be taken away. today, the government will switch its focus from search—and—rescue to rebuilding palu. but, with thousands still buried in the rubble, some here are questioning whether it is the right decision. howard johnson, bbc news, palu. a chinese intelligence officer has appeared in an american court charged with spying. the us justice department says yanjun xu was extradited from belgium on tuesday. well, according to us officials, this goes back to 2013. mr xu, working for the government, but not always revealing his true identity, would, according

to prosecutors, invite experts, engineers from overseas and especially america to visit china, perhaps under the guise of speaking to a university. but it was really to find out technical information about what they were working on. and this specific case relates to a company in cincinnati, in ohio, an aeronautics company that produces — that makes jet engines, has a special technique of making jet engines. and there was a meeting in china involving one of the engineers. but at this stage, this is last year, the fbi had got involved. and he was essentially lured to belgium for another meeting, where he was eventually arrested. clearly lured somewhere where he could be arrested and then taken to the united states, which has just happened. and he's appeared in court accused of stealing, spying on the united states,

especially aeronautics companies, making specialist equipment. at least 50 people have died when a bus crashed down a slope in western kenya. police in the rift valley say the bus was travelling from the capital, nairobi, towards kisumu when the driver lost control in tunnel area, a notorious accident black spot. us stock markets have seen their biggest falls in a single day since february. the three main share indices all closed down over three per cent. the dowjones has been down as much as 600 points, and it was the biggest daily decline this year for the s&p 500. tech stocks have been hit especially hard. shares in sears holdings plunged by more than 30% on wednesday following a report that the us retail chain was preparing to file for bankruptcy. the firm is preparing the filing ahead of a deadline on monday for a $134 million debt payment, according to the wall street journal. sears hasn't commented on the report. lebo diseko has more. it was once america's largest

retailer and employer. now, it was once america's largest retailerand employer. now, sears could be just days away from filing for bankruptcy. the company has been described as being to last century what amazon is to this one, yet the once innovative, iconic store has failed to keep up with its online competitors. i think they had a really ha rd competitors. i think they had a really hard time modernising, unlike some other stores that have been kind of keeping up with the times, like walmart, for instance. obviously not as older retailer as sears, but they have been evolving for quite sometime whereas sears just kind of stalled in place. you have to be relevant online and in—store in order to survive and i think that the stores which were not able to do that will fall by the raeside. sears roebuck and koh was founded 125 years ago, and at one point had stores in almost every big more across the us —— ceo it sold everything from clothes to car parks

to mail—order homes. but a firm which also owns kmart has been losing money for years. it now owes more than $5 billion and has until monday to pay $134 million on its debt. the chapter 11 filing is expected ahead of that deadline. it is possible the company could try and fight its way back after that, but it would likely be an uphill struggle. and so it looks like the writing is on the wall for what was once an american retail giant. police in nepal have broken a major smuggling ring trading in baby chimpanzees, stolen from their mothers in the wild in nigeria then flown thousands of miles to kathmandu. stealing a baby chimp usually involves the poachers killing most adults in its family. police say they were responding to a bbc news report which revealed the extent of the illegal trade. a global conference opens in london tomorrow aimed at tackling the problem. our science editor david shukman reports from kathmandu. a baby chimpanzee clings to the hand of a keeper.

at this age, it should be with its mother, but the tiny animal is a victim of wildlife traffickers. seized in west africa, two chimps were being smuggled halfway around the world when they were intercepted here in nepal. the men accused of smuggling them are awaiting trial. it is terrible what these little animals have been through, captured in the jungle when they were just a few months old. drugged, crammed into a packing case, driven across nigeria, flown to istanbul, and then here to kathmandu. and, if they hadn't been rescued here, they would have been driven on to a buyer in india and an unknown fate. the deal began when one of the men now facing trial posted this video. the chimps were on offer for $12,000 each. but, after a tip—off,

the police in nepal were keeping watch on kathmandu airport. a large crate arrived, containing some birds which can be legally imported. but detectives thought there was more to it, so they followed the delivery, and it was then that they discovered the two baby chimps. the policeman in charge says he was shocked that they looked so like human babies. so they were just like small babies. they were just sucking their thumbs. and when you look closely into their eyes, obviously you feel, you know, sorry for them, because... i know they don't speak, but the way they look, you can make out, you know, that they were very tired and in a very bad condition. this is the place of the hiding. the smugglers were using a technique that we exposed last year, with a crate specially designed to hide animals that aren't allowed to be traded, like chimpanzees. the monkey, here it is. the chimp, here also.

our investigation had revealed how baby chimps are in big demand as pets, and how capturing one infant alive involves killing the adults in its family. police! a police raid in ivory coast led to the country's first convictions for wildlife crime. and, when our coverage was seen in nepal, detectives there launched their own investigation. the bbc story is now taught to undercover officers in kathmandu. the police know that nepal is seen as an easy transit route by animal traffickers. and the chimps themselves? they are doing well, gaining weight, but they are caught in a diplomatic tussle. nigeria wants them back, but nepal says they are evidence for the trial. so, for the moment, this small cage is their home. david shukman, bbc

news, in kathmandu. the cu ban president, miguel diaz—canel, has sent his first message on twitter. in it he celebrated the 150th anniversary of the start of cuba's fight for independence from spain. he tweeted, "we are in la dema—jagua", the place with the greatest amount of patriotic feeling — a reference to where the revolution began. cuba currently has one of the world's lowest internet connectivity rates, something the leadership wants to change. briefly, that main news again, hurricane michael has made landfall in florida. windspeeds registering up in florida. windspeeds registering up to 200 kilometres per hour. so far one death has been recorded. thank you for watching. hello.

wednesday brought some unseasonably warm if somewhat breezy weather to the shores of the uk. a big contrast with what we saw piling into florida — into the panhandle here, we saw hurricane—force winds, torrential rain, and a big storm surge around the coast thanks to category 4 hurricane michael. that system, now moving over land, will start to weaken significantly, but it's still going to bring a lot of rainfall, particularly to the carolinas and parts of virginia, before eventually weakening into an area of low pressure that pulls offshore into the atlantic by friday. back closer to home, and for us today, quite a mixture, actually. some showers around in the east first thing, rain coming into the west, and decent sunshine between times. breezy, but not quite as warm as yesterday. but it will still be mild first thing, and our temperatures look like the figures we'd typically expect in the afternoons at this time of year.

there are the showers across eastern england first thing. i think they'll quickly move off into the north sea. into the west, though, some wet weather for the start of the day for the south—west of england, for south wales, also for western scotland some showers around initially, and then more persistent rain, really, as the afternoon wears on. central and eastern areas may escape, then, with a fine day. east anglia and the south—east of england, for example, and there will be some sunshine behind the rain for wales and the south—west of england. still getting up to 22, 23 in the south—east, cooler to the west of this front. some showery outbreaks of rain for central and eastern england out of the tail end of that front thursday evening. some heavier rain pushing north across scotland, and then look out towards the south—west, because this really is the low to watch. now, this is callum. it's a named storm, it's a very deep area of low pressure, it's been named by met, and as it rolls across the uk on friday, we can expect gale—force winds, with severe gales in exposure. gusts in excess of 70 mph, likely to be damaging winds. some pretty heavy rain piling into the west through friday, as well. again, eastern areas definitely

spared the wet weather, i think, for much of the day. but that wind is going to be the biggest problem, in association with this system on friday. still quite mild, even warm in the east, temperatures 19, 20, but much cooler weather eventually coming in behind callum. we've still got the trail of the weather front behind that system, though, with us for saturday. so some quite wet weather towards the north and west, pulling away at the moment, it looks like, eastwards for sunday. that should be the drier and brighter day of the two this weekend. still, though, a lot of uncertainty in the detail. it will be worth keeping regularly up—to—date with the forecast. this is bbc news. the headlines: hurricane michael, the most powerful storm in decades to hit the southeast of the us has made landfall in florida, packing wind speeds of up to two hundred kilometres per hour. so far so far one death has been reported at a home in gadsen county. —— so far, one death has been reported at a home in gadsen county. new evidence emerges

about the fate of missing saudi journalist jamal kashoggi. president trump says he's asked top saudi officials for answers. nearly two weeks after the indonesian tsunami, major search and rescue operations are about and. at least 2000 people are at motor the government says the deadline is because bodies are becoming increasingly hard to identify.