welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories. it's one of the most powerful storms in a decades: hurricane michael batters florida and moves swiftly inland — one person has been killed so far. extradited from belgium. a chinese intelligence officer appears in an american court charged with spying. new evidence emerges about missing saudi journalist jamal khashoggi. president trump says he's asked top saudi officials for answers. and 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 buyer in india and an unknown fate. hurricane michael is making steady and powerful headway across north

west florida and into georgia with sustained winds of 140km/h. officials in florida confirmed one death. gasden county sheriff's office say a tree knocked down by the strong winds fell on a house and killed a man. hundreds of thousands have been urged to leave their homes and flee to higher ground — many have not. they've said they want to try to save their homes and businesses or have nowhere else to go. some floridians caught in the path of the storm have posted videos describing what they're going through. 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. a little earlier i spoke to michael mann, a climate scientist at penn state university.

i asked why we're seeing so many of destructive weather events in this part of the world. if we step back and look at what we see here in the 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 irma, the strongest storm ever in the open atlantic. harvey had the worst flooding event. collectively, when we take a 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. it's the strongest land—falling storm to occur 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 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 ride this sort of storm out. when you see them being described still as a natural disaster do you feel we need a different 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 warming, but what it does 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 seasons

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 26.5 degrees celsius 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 had a record wildfire just last winter during what is supposed to be the wet season. that is indeed the case. the conventional rules about the seasons during which we get wildfires 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 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 accord to meet their obligations and improve on those paris commitments in the years ahead. we're joined from georgia by glenn burns, meteorologist with wsbtv in atlanta. thank you very much for your time,

we know you are busy. this storm is now heading towards daughter and has caused devastation in florida, the most powerful hurricane to get that area of florida. storms of the gulf of mexico at this point in october not read that this is severe. the water temperature in the gulf of mexico is still up around the mid— 80 degrees. october is a prime area. you have warm water eddies that circulate around the golf that feed the storm with energy. the problem was that the storm formed quickly, intensify quickly, so there was very little time to get ready for this one. and how bad is the storm? we shall wind reaching over mile an hour. it moved into georgia and this

is the first time we have seen a category three hurricane move into georgia. it did that late this afternoon, early this evening. it is weakening but it is still a hurricane moving into south—central georgia. we are seeing reports of a high storm surge as well? it was incredible. if you are familiar at all with fishing very as a thing that final fish into a certain area. we had that situation in an area of florida to the east of panama city. it funnelled the water into the bay is in the rivers and streams and the storm surge was quite intense, reaching 13 feet. and then you had waves up reaching 13 feet. and then you had waves up to 15 or 20 feet high over that. the shoreline could catastrophically damaged as a result of the storm surge. looking at the

bigger picture, we are seeing reports of the sea being warmer than people would expect at this time of year and of their being energy in the clouds. what does that mean and what does that do? you have tremendous energy feeding into the storm. and we have yet to see temperatures drop here. they are still in the 90s and we are close to setting records every day. there is a lot of warm a in the eastern part of the gulf of mexico, where the storm formed, is extremely warm. so it all contributes to the intensity of the storm. and it had everything favourable for development occurring. a warm ocean, a low pressure that contributed to the powerful storm. just briefly, what is coming up. what do you expect next? we will see locally heavy rainfall tonight across georgia. we

have already had two tornadoes and that will continue through the night and i. so everybody needs to hunker down and get ready for the worst. thank you very much indeed. and you can keep up to date with all the latest on hurricane michael on the bbc website. there you will find reports and analysis from our correspondents in the area as well as eye witness accounts— go to bbc.com/news or download the bbc news app. 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. our north america corespondent peter bowes has more. 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. let's get some of the day's other news. 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. " nearly two weeks after an earthquake and tsunami hit the indonesian city of palu — search and rescue teams are ending large—scale operations. they've given up hope of finding many more of the 5,000 people still missing. at least 2,000 are known to have died. the government has imposed the deadline, it says, because it's increasingly difficult to identify bodies. us stock markets have seen their biggest falls in a single day since february. the three main share indices all closed down over three percent. technology stocks have been hit especially hard. president trump blamed the federal reserve, which he said has gone "crazy" raising interest rates. 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 3:00pm, blacked out vehicles left the consulate. they drove 200 metres away, here 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. are you concerned that he is dead? today, donald trump, who has formed close ties with the saudi crown prince, said he has 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. extradited from belgium, a chinese intelligence officer has appeared in an american court charged with spying. 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 katmandu. 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. 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. a scientific paper containing the final work of the renowned physicist stephen hawking has been published. the study was completed by three of his colleagues after his death earlier this year. it is a further contribution to understanding what happens to objects that disappear into black

holes, and where their information goes, a central part of his work during his decades as one of the world's leading cosmologists. shares in sears holdings plunged by more than 30% on wednesday on news that the us retail chain is preparing to file for bankruptcy. monday is the deadline for a $134 million debt payment, according to the wall streetjournal. sears hasn't commented on the report. lebo diseko has the story. sears and appliance is spectacular, where america shops for value. it was once america's largest retailer and 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 hard time modernising, unlike some other stores that have been kind of keeping up with the times, like walmart, for instance.

obviously not as old a retailer as sears, but they've been evolving as time went on, 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 that were not able to do that will fall by the wayside. sears roebuck and co was founded 125 years ago, and at one point had stores in almost every big mall across the us. it sold everything from clothes to car parts to mail—order homes. but the 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.

the cuban 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 demajagua", the place with the greatest amount of patriotic feeling — a reference to where the revolution began. a reminder of our top story: hurricane michael, the most powerful storm in decades to hit the south—east of the us has made landfall in florida, packing wind speeds of up to 200 km/h. so far one death has been reported, at a home in gadsen county. more on all the news any time on the

bbc website. 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 to hit the south east of the us in decades, has made landfall in florida, with wind speeds up to 200km/h. so far one death has been reported, at a home in gadsen county. a chinese intelligence official has appeared in a us court on espionage charges. yanjun xu is accused of stealing sensitive trade secrets from an american aviation company. he's an official from china's ministry of state security. he was extradited to the us from belgium. president trump says he's had

high—level talks with saudi officials about the disappearance of a prominent saudi journalist and government critic. jamal khashoggi was last seen entering the saudi consulate in istanbul last week, but was never seen leaving. newly—released cctv is said to show a saudi hit—squad arriving in turkey. now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with stephen sackur.