welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: as prince mohamed bin salman arrives at the 620 summit, the us senate votes to take forward plans to end american military support for the saudi—led war in yemen. the bank of england warns that the uk could face a deep recession and a collapse in the pound if there's a no—deal brexit. fleeing the land of fire and flood. thousands evacuate their homes in the australian state of queensland as warning levels are raised to catastrophic for the first time. and the gadgets of the past finding new life in the african nation of togo, but the transformation comes with a risk. senators in the us have strongly criticised the absence of the cia director at a senate hearing on relations with saudi arabia.

secretary of state mike pompeo gave evidence, along with defence secretaryjim mattis. the head of the cia did not. gina haspel has heard the audio of the murder the jamal khashoggi, and one democratic senator described her non—appearance as a cover—up. from washington, here's laura trevelyan this is the controversial saudi crown prince who reportedly, in the assessment of the cia, ordered the killing ofjournalist jamal khashoggi. mohammed bin salman arrived in argentina today ahead of the 620 summit, as on capitol hill, a chorus of senators demanded saudi arabia face consequences for violating human rights. the us secretary of state had to defend a crucial us ally. there is no direct reporting connecting the crown prince to the order of the murder of jamal khashoggi. the president himself says in a washington post interview once again maybe mohammed bin salman did know about the killing, maybe he didn't. the trump administration argues

saudi arabia is a crucial partner against iran and islamic state, which buys billions of dollars of us weapons. but us senators say america can't ignore murder. when we do not send a message to a country like saudi arabia, we tell an ally you can kill with impunity simply because you have some other interests with us, then we send a global message that is frightening and doesn't serve us interests and national security. after hearing from top trump officials today, senators asked why they hadn't been alloed to hear from cia director gina haspel herself. she's heard the tape of the khashoggi killing. i'm not going to be denied the ability to be briefed by the cia, which we have oversight of, about whether or not their assessment supports my belief that this could not have happened without mbs knowing. senators are asking hard questions about us support military support senators are asking hard questions

about us military support for the saudi—led coalition carrying out airstrikes in yemen. the administration says withdrawing that backing would only embolden iran. some of the things that have been approved... observers of the us—saudi relationship say the administration could use its leverage over crown prince salman to try to stabilise the alliance and the kingdom. every saudi watcher that i have talked to tells me that mohammed bin salman is not going to leave power. so the question for me is realistically, how does a country in which he remains the crown prince, potentially some day will be king, becomes more stable? the administration says it's naive to abandon autocrats who are friendly to us interests, but after the khashoggi murder, the spotlight is on the us—saudi relationship, with lawmakers now demanding riyadh pay a price for its behaviour. laura trevelyan reporting there. let's go further in this.

bernard haykel is professor of near eastern studies at princeton university, and he's in princeton now. professor, thank you for your time. this is a move against america's current foreign policy, against the president's policy, against a c0 ng ress president's policy, against a congress entirely republican—controlled. how significant would you say it is?” think it is significant. the fact many republican senators, some of whom were supporters of saudi arabia, worst so vehement in their condemnation is significant. i think it may spell that's something to do with us domestic politics. you have to remember one thing, saudi arabia has no domestic constituency in the united states, so putting pressure on saudi arabia for senators has no downside, has no cost domesticly. i think that there is a long—term anger against saudi arabia that dates back to 9/11. do you think

this may be perhaps more to do with making a point to the president than actually helping yemen or promoting the saudis? those are not mutually exclusive. i think there is definitely an anger at the president, including by some republicans. many of them feel that, for instance, the mid—term elections did not go well in the house of representatives for the republican party. but i think also many people in congress, both democrats and republicans, are extremely angry with saudi arabia. and, as i said, the anger goes back to 9/11 and there is no, you know, no price to pay for being anti— saudi in the united states for these senators and these house of representatives members. how much would you say saudi arabia has to take note of all this? i guess the crown prince wouldn't have gone on tour if he thought there was a real threat of a

palace coup. that's right. i think, in fact, most of the attacks on him have emboldened him, have strengthened him domesticly, because this has been presented in saudi arabia as an attack on the country as much as it is an attack against him. so there's been a rise of nationalism inside the country. the black keys in argentina also means he feels very secure in being the crown prince, and there's not likely to be any coup inside the country against him. and i think that the thing the saudis who should worry about is not so much whether the us helps or doesn't help with yemen, because i don't think they really need us help in yemen any more. what the saudis ought to worry about is whether congress puts limits on arms sales, weapons sales, to the kingdom, because that would inhibit the ability of the kingdom to wage war in the first place.

still those trials of the supposedly attackers of jamal khashoggi to keep an eye on. we may well come back to you on that at some point. thank you very much indeed for the moment, professor. thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. heatwaves linked to climate change pose an increasing danger that threatens to overwhelm health services around the world, according to research just published in the lancet. the study found vulnerability to extreme hot weather has risen steadily since 1990, and suggests people in europe and the eastern mediterranean are more at risk from heatwaves because of the high number of older people living in cities. at least 10 people have been killed in an attack on the compound of british security company gas in kabul. 19 were wounded, including several children. the afghan interior ministry says gunmen stormed the complex after detonating a car bomb outside. the taliban says it carried out the attack. the duke and duchess of cambridge have paid tribute to the five people killed in a helicopter crash at leicester city's ground. william and kate laid flowers

and met leicester city players, as well as the family of the club's thai owner, vichai srivaddhanaprabha. he died with four others when the helicopter came down in october. the bank of england is warning of the possibility of an immediate economic crash, if the uk leaves the european union without a deal. the governor says a shock to growth is possible, more damaging than the financial crisis of 2008, shrinking the economy by 8%. and the government is also giving some details of its own economic analysis, suggesting britain will be poorer under all brexit scenarios, than if it remained in the european union. here's our business editor, simonjack. enter brexit centrestage. a man with a warning. leaving the eu without a deal could trigger an economic crash worse than the one that followed the financial crisis. we've constructed a sort of worst—case no deal, no transition brexit scenario, where you have a series of events

including friction at the border, difficulties at ports, sharp falls in financial markets would costs more for people and businesses to borrow, a series of events that all happen at the same time. now, this is not a prediction orforecast, merely a possibility. in the bank's worst—case scenario, gdp is down 8% in one year, house prices down 30%, unemployment almost doubles to 7.5% and prices rise by 6.5%. it's in these marbled halls that bank of england economists look into their crystal balls to see what could, what might happen in the future, and some scenarios are pretty grim, but the bank says it's not here to scare us, in fact, it's there to reassure us that if we get a no deal, no transition brexit creating a financial emergency, the bank will be ready. but is the real economy ready?

the bank says 80% of small businesses have done no planning for a no deal scenario, an outcome this furniture maker from high wycombe would like to avoid. for us, we'd like to get on with it. a no deal would be difficult because i think it would increase the damage to consumer confidence. presumably it would damage the strength of the pound, which makes our life more expensive. and i think itjust... simplicity would be good for us. the worst case is only one unlikely scenario. 0thers analysed include staying in the eu, that's the orange line at the top, staying in the eu, a trade deal similar to the one proposed by the prime minister is underneath, and the no deal disorderly brexit at the bottom. remember, this bank report was requested by mps who asked a simple question — does the bank of england think the uk will be better or worse

off than it predicted before the referendum ? in some respects, it's very simple. for a period of time, if we reduce the degree to which we can trade with our largest trading partner, the economy has to undergo an adjustment. during that period of time, it is likely, all things being equal, that the economy will grow less rapidly. the government's own analysis reached a similar conclusion today, but it says that delivering brexit requires and is worth the economic compromise. simon jack, bbc news. nick eardley says whether the worst—case scenario nick eardley says whether the worst—case scenario might actually help theresa may. it allows her to turn round and say to members of her own party, and members of other parties too, "if you try and block my deal, if you stop this getting through, you are risking a situation in which the uk economy could tank."

that's exactly what the bank of england are warning. i must say, from hanging out in parliament tonight and from speaking to some of the brexiteers who've been extremely dismissive of her plan, they're equally dismissive of what the bank of england is saying tonight. they quite simply don't believe these worst—case scenario predictions. one of the leaders of the brexit campaign, jacob rees—mogg, told me that project fear had got even worse and was now turning into project hysteria. in fact, he launched a pretty personal attack on the bank of england governor, mark carney, as well, saying that he's a second—rate canadian failed politician. i wouldn't expect this would suddenly turn the numbers in theresa may's favour. and she's also worried that, on the other hand, those people that want a closer relationship with the european union than the one she's proposing, are going to say, "well, actually, according to some of these analyses, if you stay in the european union the economy will be better off."

nick eardley for us there. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the european union condemns russia over the seizure of three ships in the crimea at the weekend. president kennedy was shot down and died almost immediately. the murder ofjohn kennedy is a disaster for the whole free world. he caught the imagination of the world. the first of a new generation of leaders. margaret thatcher is resigning as leader of the conservative party and prime minister. before leaving number 10 to see the queen, she told her cabinet, "it's a funny old world." angela merkel is germany's first woman chancellor, easily securing the majority she needed. attempts to fly a hot air balloon had to be abandoned after a few minutes, but nobody seemed to mind very much. as one local comic put it, "it's not hot air we need, it's hard cash." cuba has declared

nine days of mourning following the death of fidel castro at the age of 90. castro developed close ties with the soviet union in the 1960s. it was an alliance that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war with the cuban missile crisis. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the us senate votes to take forward plans to end american military support for the saudi—led war in yemen. a warning from the bank of england that a no—deal brexit could mean recession and a collapse in the pound. it's known as the land of fire and flood and this week australia is experiencing both weather extremes. two people died in sydney when the heaviest rainfall in decades fell in the city. meanwhile, further north in queensland, thousands of people have been evacuated from areas around rockhampton as unprecedented

conditions push bushfires into regional communities. georgina smyth has the story. it's hot, dry and windy. the perfect conditions for a bushfire. this is queensland's coastline. the flames are out of control and the smoke is so thick it is blocking out the sun. more than 8,000 residents have been forced to leave their homes after the state issued a catastrophic fire warning for the first time in its history. these are unprecedented fire conditions. there are no surprises here, we expected fires to be developing rapidly. but there's one surprising element to these fires — their location. authorities are battling to contain 100 blazes burning through a region that should be experiencing its wet season. the unprecedented conditions, exacerbated by a heatwave and the ongoing australian drought, are being barely contained by waterbombing aircraft and crews

brought in from other states. further south, sydney went under as two months' worth of rain fell injust two hours. flash—flooding, traffic chaos and power cuts ensued. at least two deaths have been blamed on the storm. georgina smyth, bbc news. the heatwave is also the two creek haveit the heatwave is also the two creek have it on the great barrier reef. an underlying risk of bleaching on the reef. european union has condemned russia over the seizure of three ships in crimea at the weekend. but it's failed to agree new sanctions on russia preferring instead to issue a statemnet expressing dismay at what it calls russia's unacceptable use of force and calling on them to release the vessels earlier i spoke

to steve fish. he's political science professor at university of california, berkeley. i asked him what he thought was really going on? well, in this part of the world, mike, it is always hard to know but it looks like both putin and poroshenko, both the presidents of ukraine and russia, have something to gain with the little conflict right now. poroshenko is facing elections coming up, he's not very popular right now, it looks like he'sdestined to lose the elections and, of course, politicians always like a good rally around the flag effect that you get from a conflict with another power. putin, for his own sake is facing declining popularity at home because he has had to undertake some difficult economic reforms, the economy is not in great shape and oil prices are down again. whenever he gets in that situation, you can look for him to start a little trouble abroad. and is it fair to say that at the moment, he doesn't expect too strong a response from the united states? i think that's part of why he's actually moving now, i think he knows that his man in the white house, he's days are numbered right now.

if there's one guy that actually knows about the trump—russia if there's one guy that actually knows everything about the trump—russia connection, of course, it's putin and putin probably knows some things about what mueller is going to report in his ivestigation, what mueller is going to report in his investigation, that could probably end up dooming the trump presidentcy. if that's true, then of course, he needs to move now while he's still got his guy in the white house. as you will know, supporters of president trump and the president himself would have something to say about the idea that his days are numbered. at this particular point, the declaration of martial law is odd, isn't it? it really is odd. it looks more like a political than a military move to me, and i think it is a very unwise political move. you can imagine how this is being played out in moscow right now. of course russian tv shows these provinces in red that are under martial law, they're the russian speaking provinces in the east and the south, it really makes it look like something on a kind of assault on the russian speaking population in those parts of ukraine. again, i think this is probably

about poroshenko's future, much more than any military need. there's no need to declare martial law in these provinces. spain says it is in talks with italy and malta to try and find a port where a spanish fishing vessel carrying 12 migrants can dock. the boat has been stranded in the mediterranean for a week after rescuing the african migrants and there are concerns for both their immediate well—being and their future safety. kathryn armstrong reports. a difficult conversation over what next for a dozen migrants rescued at sea. the second captain of the spanish vessel describing those on—board. they spanish vessel describing those on—boa rd. they reportedly spanish vessel describing those on—board. they reportedly fleeing from libyan coastguards. what actually happened is yet to be

verified. spain asked libya to take charge of the migrants as it was the nearest country where they were rescued however the un refugee agency has repeatedly said the country is not safe for migrants. now the spanish government is negotiating with walter and italy but both countries have reportedly refused to get involved. the latest ofa refused to get involved. the latest of a series of stand—offs involving asylu m of a series of stand—offs involving asylum seekers. since june, of a series of stand—offs involving asylum seekers. sincejune, several rescue vessels have been left stranded as people debate who should be taking them. human rights groups are calling for the boats to dock as soon as possible. conditions are cramped and the vessel had to move towards the italian island of lampedusa because of worsening weather. it is unclear how much longer it will take to find a port willing to accept these migrants. now with the holidays approaching, many of us are eyeing the latest gadget, but what happens to those phones

and tvs which have fallen out of favour? well, a lot of electronic waste is shipped abroad, ending up in africa. recycling it can be dangerous but in the west african nation of togo, old gadgets are big business. there a growing number of entrepreneurs are putting e—waste to good use. waihiga mwaura, has sent this report from the capital lome. a child's toy, from an unlikely source, made from other people's u nwa nted waste. this is plastic, so we print it with a 3d printer. 0k, and you made this 3d printer? yeah, we made the 3d printer from e—waste material. so, we recycle old printers, conventional printers, and we take parts that we use to make the frame. this is one of a growing number of young entrepreneurs who sees the potential of e—waste as an emerging business in togo. his vision is to empower children through science.

our hope is that we produce and sell the science set that will help students, mostly kids and girls, be interested in science and solve the problem we have in our community. it's estimated nearly half a million tons of used electrical goods arrive here through the port of lome every year, from old mobile phones and laptops through to tvs and generators. there is a rising demand for the latest secondhand electronics at bargain prices. but we've been told that 80% of imports that are sold at markets like these no longer work. despite international conventions that ban the movement of non—working electronics, they find their way to these shores, hidden inside vehicles that have been shipped from the west. this market wouldn't let cameras in,

so we filmed what we could on our phones. where are the tvs from? germany and holland. germany and holland? wow. how many do you have? 130. 130 tvs...? and if these electronic goods don't work, they will likely end up here in landfill sites across the capital. and just look at this, the cover of a slide projector. and if you look closer, you can actually see that it was made in west germany. almost three decades after the fall of the berlin wall, this ended up here. a sobering example of how togo is fast becoming a dumping ground for the world's unwanted e—waste. for those dismantling discarded electronics come serious risks. toxic materials like mercury and lead can be contained within them. there are people here who are trying to reprocess this material safely in recycling centres.

but even this man, whose business depends on discarded technology, is concerned about the long—term environmental cost. translation: there are lots of people who make a living from the fact that e—waste is coming into the country, and regulating it would reduce the amount of money that can be made. but a lot of the waste which arrives here is dangerous, so we should really think about the impact it could have on our environment. despite these challenges, initiatives are cropping up across the capital, including here, where children as young as ten are learning ways to recycle electronics safely. in a country with limited job opportunities, start—ups like these could provide togo with some of the answers to a sustainable technological future. waihiga mwaura, bbc news, togo. the world number one norwegian, magnus carlsen, has retained his world

chess championship title, beating us opponent fabiano caruana in a tie—breaker event. carlsen's victory, decided in three dramatic time—limited games, ended the american's hopes of becoming the first us champion since bobby fischer won in 1972. the showdown in london followed a record—breaking streak of 12 drawn games of regular chess. this one is huge for me. fabiano played very well, and he's an extremely strong player. so it's very special for me, for sure. clearly, this time, it was very close, and fabiano is very strong. and the match, although i'm very happy that i won it, it shows i have a lot to work on still. and, you know, next time i have to raise my level again further. of course that rivalry certain to continue. much more on the bbc

website. thank you for watching. hello there. the atlantic is set to be pretty relentless in terms of throwing spells of wet and windy weather our way in the coming days. this hook of cloud here is the spell of windy weather and rain that we had on wednesday. that low centre rolling away. this one, though, developing quite explosively as well to the south—west, as we go through the early part of thursday, promises even stronger winds than we saw yesterday, and some very heavy rain. certainly not looking great for the morning rush hour. there will be a risk of some disruption, and bbc local radio is a great place to head to, to get the details where you are. this is what that will look like, however. 6:00am, pretty much, just about everywhere seeing some rain at this stage. on the plus side it is a mild start, temperatures in double figures. through the morning, the wettest weather will start to push its way northwards pretty quickly. the strong winds, though, will remain an issue, i think, throughout in the morning,

especially across the western side of the uk. around the coast and across the hills, these are the gust strengths in the black circles. you can see 50, 60, maybe even 70 mph there off the coast of pembrokeshire. the stronger winds, as well, pushing further north into northern england and the south—east of scotland as the morning goes on. so, as a rough rule of thumb, 50—60 possible just about anywhere towards the west. in exposure, we could be talking 70 or a little bit more. the rain pushes its way northwards pretty quickly through the morning, many areas actually seeing a great improvement come the afternoon. quite a few showersm though, packing into the west, the north—east of scotland keeping the rain until the end of the day. a mild story, though, thanks to that air coming in from the south—west, 13 or 1a as a high. quite a few showers around in western exposures through thursday evening. low pressure stays in charge. that's what's feeding those showers in. it just, though, starts to change its orientation slightly on friday, bringing in the air from the north—west, and that will be just a slightly cooler direction. still some showers thanks to that low for western exposures on friday,

but for many, actually, a much quieter day. yes, still breezy, but nothing like the winds of thursday. and i think many areas could escape with a dry day, temperatures just a couple of degrees down on those we see on thursday. now, onto the weekend. another couple of these areas of low pressure look like they're going to head our way. the question is, will they be around in the daytime or will they come rolling through overnight? at the moment, it looks like some of the wettest weather could be first thing on saturday and first thing on sunday, and as the day goes on, we could see increasing amounts of sunshine. but stay tuned to keep up—to—date with the detail for your weekend weather. this is bbc news, the headlines: the us senate has voted to take forward plans to end american military support for the saudi—led war in yemen. the bank of england is warning

of the possibility of an immediate economic crash if the uk leaves the european union without a deal. the governor says a shock to growth is possible, more damaging than the financial crisis of 2008, shrinking the economy by 8%. thousands evacuate their homes in the australian state of queensland as warning levels are raised to ‘catastrophic‘ for the first time. two people died in sydney when the heaviest rainfall in decades fell in the city. now on bbc news, it's time for click.