this is bbc news. the headlines: welcome to bbc news, 300 people are now known to have broadcasting to viewers died after cyclone idai hit southern africa. in north america 200 of the victims were in and around the globe. mozambique, and another 100 my name is mike embley. our top stories: in zimbabwe, where the government, has admitted they failed to anticipate the magnitude of the tropical storm. fears that cyclone idai has left hundreds of thousands hundreds of thousands have been made homeless. homeless in africa. it could be the worst natural the first funerals are taking place disaster to hit the southern hemisphere. in new zealand of victims of the two mass shootings at mosques in the city of christchurch. the really striking thing as you walk through here is just how there's been some criticism of the authorities for delays exhausted they are. person after person has come up in returning the 50 victims' bodies to their families to us, asking for help, for a speedy burial. wondering when aid is going to arrive. theresa may is formally asking brussels to delay britain's withdrawal from the eu the first funerals begin beyond march 29. in new zealand for some of the 50 the prime minister is to request people who were killed in last an extension until the end ofjune or, possibly forfar longer. friday's mosque attacks. the request will be considered by eu theresa may is formally asking heads of government on thursday. brussels to delay britain's withdrawal from the eu beyond march the 29th. american—backed forces in syria say they've captured the last bit of territory held by the so—called

islamic state group. hello. the united nations says cyclone idai has created a massive disaster in southern africa. officials say the scale of it has yet to be fully appreciated but they believe it may be the worst weather—related catastrophe that's ever hit the southern hemisphere. potentially, millions of people are affected. at least 1,000 are feared dead in mozambique alone. hundreds are missing in zimbabwe and malawi. aid agencies are struggling to reach communities that have been cut off. 0ur africa editor fergal keane sent this report from one of the worst—hit areas of mozambique. whatever once lay here has been overwhelmed. now, the flooded land is an expanse of questions.

what has become of those who lived here? only a silence below, and very occasional moments of reprieve. these survivors landing at beira airport, rescued from high ground near their submerged village. driving into the city, we saw how nature's full, awesome force had ripped through homes and lives. 90% of this city has suffered destruction, and you see it in the ruins, and in faces. because we were foreign, because we came from a richer world, the people called out to us for help. "no food, no water, no place to rest" — we heard it again and again.

this man led me to his family's battered one—room house. the floodwater soaked their meagre belongings. so how many of you live here? ten — ten peoples. ten people. yes. in this little room? yes. here, his sister, seriously ill with tuberculosis, already marginal lives now made desperate. i have more problems. my house is broken. and in my house, i don't have nothing to eat — nothing, nothing. from morning up to now, we have nothing to eat. we're getting a few minutes‘ respite now from the rain, because it's been falling non—stop, and just adding to people's misery. the really striking thing as you walk through here is just how exhausted they are. person after person has come up to us, as you've seen, asking for help, wondering when aid is going to arrive. beira is severely damaged,

but it is at least reachable, and even here, the warehouses that store food aid have been badly damaged. it is out in the countryside, though, that many are thought to be waiting for rescue. this is a glimpse of what helicopters and courage can do, but there are too few such rescues. some food aid is now being distributed, but the relief effort is still nowhere near what is needed. everything the storm could destroy, it did, and there is an ominous sense that the tragedy we have seen so farforeshadows much worse to come. fergal keane, bbc news, beira. a little later on, we'll hear from climate expert michael e mann, and you can see aerial footage of the disaster in mozambique on the bbc website. you'll also find what the aid agencies are doing to help.

that's all at bbc.com/news, or you can download the bbc news app. let's get some of the day's other news. dutch police have arrested another man suspected of involvement in monday's shooting on a tram in utrecht. three people died. police say their prime suspect, gokmen tanis, is being kept under guard. they've still not established a motive for the attack. president trump has said the united states and brazil have never been closer than they are now. welcoming brazil's far—right presidentjair bolsonaro to the white house, mr trump claimed he was considering how brazil mightjoin nato. he also supported brazil's bid to join the international economic organisation, the 0ecd. thousands took to the streets in france on tuesday in strikes and nationwide protests organised by trade unions. the marchers oppose president macron‘s economic policies and want an increase in wages, pensions and welfare. at least 130 protests were planned nationwide. the us government has ordered a review of the way boeing's 737 max aircraft got its licence to fly.

after two fatal crashes in five months, with "clear similarities" between the disasters, canada's aviation regulator is also planning a full review of the max's anti—stall system, which boeing says needs a software update. funerals have been held for some of the victims of friday's mass shootings at mosques in new zealand. 50 people died and dozens were injured in the twin attack by a gunman in christchurch. names and nationalities of those being buried have not been released and the scale of the attacks has delayed the handover of bodies to relatives. prime ministerjacinda ardern is in christchurch and has been talking to pupils at cashmere high school, which lost two students and a former student in the attack. we have a lot of holes in our gun laws in new zealand, and we need to fix that. we also know that there are lots of questions left to answer, as well, around should we have known more, been able to detect that this individual was planning this terrorist attack?

we want an inquiry in to do that, so we can make sure there is some independence to the way we do that. so it isn't me standing up and giving explanations. the public can hear somebody independently come and look into that as well, so we are looking to set that up very quickly and also there is work around social media that we want to do. right now she is giving a press conference so let's go there. right now she is giving a press conference so let's go therelj right now she is giving a press conference so let's go there. i have heard the complete opposite. when i'm focused on is the response of the muslim community in new zealand and asi the muslim community in new zealand and as i say, there has been com pletely and as i say, there has been completely counter to some of the rhetoric that has been used internationally. and they are my concern, my focus, they are the group that we need to be wrapping all of our support around and are

only demonstrating, i think, after compassion for one another and gratitude from the support of new zealanders. inaudible question. again, i reflect back what i have heard from the muslim community — make a rejection of extremism, violence and hate, no matter where it comes from. in the front. you had so it comes from. in the front. you had so much international support in the la st so much international support in the last few days, do you think the president of the united states as the leader of the free world has done enough to reflect what you want disease spread is the message around the world? forgive me if my focus first and is new zealand, on the communities i represent, the communities i represent, the communities that i serve, but is where my duty of care lies. inaudible question. again, as whether or not it is the issue of terrorism, violence, racism, or whether it is an issue of climate change or other issues of international concern, i will always speakfrom international concern, i will always speak from a new zealand perspective

on behalf of new zealanders. it is up on behalf of new zealanders. it is up to other world leaders what they in turn choose to do. but mrjacinda ardern live at the press conference there in christchurch. —— pm jacinda ardern live at the press conference there in christchurch. 0ur correspondent mariko 0i is in christchurch. this is a city and country still in shock and who can blame them? the government is moving there though. give us a flavour of how things are feeling. the prime minister talked about the support and strength of the community and that is what we have been feeling on this street. we are outside the botanic garden where this makeshift model —— memorial has sprung up. people continue to come here to pay their respects to the victims of the attack on friday but we have also been meeting people sharing their stories and we saw a police officer offering muffins to people who were coming here to pay tribute so we have been struck by

the resilience, the strength of the community. funerals are taking place, as you mentioned. there have been some frustration being voiced by the family members of the victims because, based on islamic tradition, bodies must be buried immediately which could not have happened because of the identification process taking a. we heard from the police commissioner earlier today, apologising for the delay but also emphasising the importance of that process to get all of the evidence, to make sure that everything is done properly and thoroughly in order to get the criminal case against the attacker. mariko, the government is making moves to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again. do we have any more detail on how the changes to gun laws may look? we heard from the prime minister that her cabinet is approved, in principle, to change the gun laws and of course a lot of opinions are being shared, among the

community, about how to do that and of course until now the discussion has been somewhat dominated by the gun lobby activists as well but now that has changed since the attack and so we're still waiting for the details on how those laws may change but the prime minister has been praised locally and internationally for her very quick action. mariko, thank you very much for that. american—backed forces in syria say they've captured the last piece of territory held by so—called islamic state. it follows a lengthy air and ground assault on is's final stronghold near the syrian village of baghouz. local forces have been celebrating what they called a victory notjust for the middle east, but for all humanity. —— localforces have been celebrating what they called a victory — notjust for the middle east, but for all humanity. but they say some is fighters may still be hiding underground. from baghouz, aleem maqbool reports. and a warning — his report contains some flashing images. they're dancing forjoy in northern syria after fighters here claim they've taken back every

last bit of territory from the islamic state group. we got to this point after a massive ground offensive. we were there for the opening salvoes — a barrage from the hills into the remnants of the is camp. the militants had so many chances to surrender, but patience had been running out. the assault came from positions all around the camp and went on for many hours. in daylight, we were taken by a local fighter to a point where we could survey the damage. a large part of the camp had already been taken from the militants but the offensive continued, including from our own position. at one point, we could make out islamic state group fighters running through the battlefield, perhaps trying to launch a counter—attack. is itself released a video from inside the camp, a female militant among

those still fighting. but, just hours later, the front went quieter. "the entire area is under the control of our fighters," says chiyagar amad, the spokesman of the local forces. "we can say, as a territory, the so—called islamic state is completely finished." he cautioned that some is fighters were still hidden and sporadic clashes would go on, but that wasn't dampening joy here. music plays. there is no doubting how these fighters who've just come back from the frontline feel. they feel the job is done. they say that for the first time, tomorrow, they're going to relax and celebrate what they feel is the end of the so—called islamic state. even if all is territory really has been retaken, no—one is under the illusion the danger posed by the group is over. for now, though, these men are savouring what they feel is their moment.

aleem maqbool, bbc news, in baghuz, syria. the british prime minister is formally asking the european union to delay britain's withdrawal beyond march 29. theresa may is to request an extension in the deadlocked brexit process until the end ofjune, or possibly, as one cabinet source told the bbc, forfar longer. the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier has said theresa may must be clear about what the extension is for and how long it should last. 0ur europe editor katya adler has this assessment. i think the eu will grant an extension through gritted teeth, and it is not going to be that straightforward. why will they grant an extension? because they want to avoid an ideal brexit at the end of the day. the eu chief negotiator said that no deal is still possible to happen if there isn't a deal or

there isn't an extension and everybody should keep repairing —— preparing. this decision comes down to the 27 eu leaders, and they want to the 27 eu leaders, and they want to avoid an ideal brexit if they can because they want to avoid the blame game that would inevitably follow and 0dile brexit. i think that is why at the end they will grant an extension. theresa may has to be decided long or short. you can have a longer extension that you shorten, but you cannot have a shorter extension that you lengthen because of european parliamentary elections in may. if the uk doesn't have any p sitting in the european parliament, cannot continue as an eu state, and thatis cannot continue as an eu state, and that is what delaying brexit does. it keeps the eu longer as a member state. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: visiting a museum that's happy to be going to the dogs. we take a look at a collection of art where canines reign supreme.

today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision — all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. now, this was an international trophy, and we understand now that the search for it has become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: fears that cyclone idai has left hundreds of thousands homeless in africa. it could be the worst natural disaster to hit the southern hemisphere. the first funerals begin in new zealand for some of the 50 people who were killed in last friday's mosque attacks. let's return to our main story: i'm joined now by michael e mann, distinguished professor of atmospheric science and director of the earth system science center at pennsylvania state university. welcome. very good to talk to you. thank you for your time. when you look at what is happening in southern africa, what do you think? what we are seeing a course is

tragic, and we have seen this too often in recent years. storms that intensify more rapidly and produce far larger amounts of rainfall, flooding rain fall like we saw with this storm. we are warming up the planet, warming up the oceans. that puts more moisture into the atmosphere, puts more energy into these storms and we have seen unprecedented super storms and hurricanes around the world in recent yea rs hurricanes around the world in recent years and of course it is taking its toll in terms of damage and human life. do you expect much more of it? if we continue to burn carbon fossil fuels and put carbon pollution into the atmosphere and warm the planet, then, yes, these storms will continue to intensify and will produce larger amounts of flooding rainfall. in the us, we have seen the two worst flooding events during the last two years in the form of hurricane harvey two

yea rs the form of hurricane harvey two years ago and hurricane florence a years ago and hurricane florence a year ago and that is not a coincidence. former oceans, more moisture, you get more rainfall in short periods of time out of these storms. what other chances now of somehow mitigating this or if we can't somehow, adapting to it? we are going to have to adapt to a certain amount of additional warming, a certain amount of additional climate change worsening sealevel rise and strengthening storms. we are going to have to adapt to a certain amount of additional climate change, just from the climate warming that is already baked in. but we can prevent the words from happening. if we can keep the warming of the planet below two celsius, then we likely have irreversible impacts of climate change. we can still do that by bringing carbon emissions down by

about 5% a year for the next decade or so about 5% a year for the next decade orso and about 5% a year for the next decade or so and beyond. i follow you on twitter, thousands of people do. i see people saying to you, and i am sure elsewhere, this is not anything systemic in the climate, it is just more random weather, or if climate change doesn't exist, it is not driven by humans or sciences disputed or you are part of an international conspiracy. what do you say to people who are still thinking that? this is basic physics, folks. the recent — the greenhouse effect decides going back two centuries. when you increase the c02 in atmosphere, you warm up the planet. we are on our to doubling the concentration of c02 in the atmosphere in a number of decades relative to the levels that existed in the preindustrial time. that is not a small effect. we are nearing a doubling of the concentrations due to the atmosphere. we have gone from 280 ppm in the atmosphere preindustrial two now over a10 ppm. what we would explain given the basic nature of the science would be if the planet were not warming up,

sea levels were not rising and if these storms were not intensifying. professor, horrible but very interesting to talk to you. thank you very much indeed. authorities in gaza have made more arrests after unprecedented protest about economic conditions. dozens of journalists and human rights workers. this from our middle east correspondence. and it's one of many arrested. many have been badly beaten. these pictures come from social media as journalists have been stopped from doing theirjobs. protests began last week. nothing has been seen like this since they took full control of gaza over a decade ago. the sons of hummus

leaders have houses and cars. they can leaders have houses and cars. they ca n afford leaders have houses and cars. they can afford to get married. they have everything, this woman says. and our children have nothing, not even a piece of bread. high taxes are pushing up prices in gaza which has a broken economy. israel and egypt oppose a blockade. 70% of young people are unemployed. with the crackdown, activists can only share their grievances online using the # we wa nt their grievances online using the # we want to live. we have a right to build our dreams we want to live. we have a right to build ourdreams and we want to live. we have a right to build our dreams and aspirations, says this student. hummus blames its political rival fata h hummus blames its political rival fatah for stoking the flames of dissent, which it denies. hamas, widely seen as a terrorist group, has widely ruled this territory with

an iron fist. while i was —— locals may not choose to voice their criticisms openly, recent days show cracks in its authority. attention, dog lovers — there's a new museum in the heart of manhattan dedicated to your four—legged friends. the american kennel club has created this dog haven packed with all things canine, including a fossil of a doggy ancestor. though puppies aren't really allowed, that didn't stop jane 0'brien from sneaking in with alfie. the museum of the dog does exactly what it says on the label, and i've been allowed to bring a very special guest to see it. this is alfie. this is the largest collection of canine—related paintings and objects in the world courtesy of the american kennel club. this is alan. alan fausel is the curator. good boy! his job is to bridge the job between art lovers and dog lovers using art to tell the history of the dog. it's part of the english culture of portraiture, memorialising your ancestors. it started with people and moved

to horses and then moved to dogs in the victorian era. in fact, it was queen victoria who really started the craze for dog portraits, and british women in particular were highly influential as breeders and painters. well, this is a painting called silent sorrow by maud earl, one of the great female artists in britain. maud earl was a favourite of the royal family and painted this portrait of caesar mourning the death of his owner, king edward vii. here we see, after the king has passed away, she's placed caesar on the armchair of edward vii and the armchair itself sort of fades into the background. like a memory. absolutely. this is also a hall of fame with artworks doubling as historic documents. written standards began in 1850s, but many breeds didn't come into existence until the 1900s. this chart shows the 193 officially recognised breeds. now, unfortunately, alfie, being a labradoodle,

isn't on this chart because he's actually a designer dog, not a pedigree, but don't tell him! painters often idealise dogs in the same way human portrait painters idealise their patrons, and the aesthetic quality of some of the works here is the same. and then there's that old saying that dogs look like their owners. or is it the other way round? this is fun. what breed do i look like? i look into the camera, it takes my photograph, it does its magic... and — ta—da — i am a cavalier king charles spaniel, affectionate, gentle and graceful. clearly, there's something in this collection for everyone. what do you think of that, alfie? unless, of course, you're a cat. jane o'brien and alfie, bbc news, new york. and you can get in touch with me

and most of the team on twitter. thank you very much for watching. hello there. the most noticeable feature of the weather for the next few days will be the feel of it. it's going to be very mild with temperatures a little above the seasonal average, in fact. and it should be largely dry too with the high pressure taking control. winds will be light for most away from the far north of the country. now, the air mass is key to how it's going to feel for the next few days. got low pressure to the north of the uk, high pressure to the south, and we're bringing this warm air on a south—westerly wind. but it is very moisture—laden off the atlantic, which is why we're seeing quite a lot of cloud around, thick enough to produce outbreaks of light rain and drizzle for northern england and scotland early on wednesday. there could be a bit of mist and fog too. a mild start to wednesday in places. no lower than 10 degrees,

for example, in belfast. so, through this morning, again, we'll have quite a lot of cloud around, generally light wind. iam hopeful, though, through the afternoon we could see some good breaks of sunny spells appearing. again, across the far north—west of the uk, it will be windier here, with outbreaks of rain for the north—west highlands. we could see temperatures reaching the high teens, but generally, even where you have the cloud, it's going to feel very mild, temperatures around 13 or 1a degrees. into thursday then, a similar picture. quite a bit of cloud around, but some good holes breaking, particularly to the east of high ground to allow for some sunny spells. staying very wet, though, for the north—west of scotland, where it will be breezier, temperatures 11 or 12 degrees here. further south, again, given some good spells of sunshine, we could make 16 or 17 celsius. now, as we head on into friday, a developing area of low pressure, which will bring a spell of gales and rain to the north of the country. the further south you are,

close to that area of high pressure, largely fine again with variable cloud and some sunny spells. it will be a breezy day across the board, very windy across parts of scotland with gales, 50 to 60 miles an hour gusts inland. 60 to 70 perhaps for the northern isles and the western isles, and we'll also see rain, which will spill its way southwards and eastwards, tending to weaken as it does. another very mild day ahead of it, given some spells of sunshine. but even where it's cloudy, it's going to be mild. the through friday evening and night, that band of cloud and rain sinks south—eastwards, introducing cooler air. we'll see a few wintry showers pushing there to the north of scotland. you can see the blue colours invading from the north—west as we head on in towards the weekend, but it's still high pressure in charge. it means it should be largely fine and dry, and with drier, cooler air, we could see more sunshine around both saturday and sunday. but you'll notice the temperatures a little bit lower and nights will be chilly too with a touch of frost in places.