this is bbc news. the headlines: i a the united nations says cyclone idai has created a massive disaster north—west of scotland. more of a breeze here, rainfall totals really in southern africa. officials believe it may be mounting up. a very mild day across the worst weather—related the board, especially where you get catastrophe that has ever hit the southern hemisphere. the board, especially where you get the long spells of sunshine. more of potentially millions the long spells of sunshine. more of the same for england and wales on of people are affected. friday, turning wet and windy across at least 1,000 are feared dead in mozambique alone. scotla nd friday, turning wet and windy across scotland and northern ireland, and hundreds are missing that it scotland and northern ireland, and thatitis scotland and northern ireland, and that it is cooler for all, with some sunshine on the weekend. welcome to bbc news, in zimbabwe and malawi. broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. the first funerals are underway our top stories: there are fears that cyclone idai in new zealand for victims of friday's mass shootings has left hundreds of thousands at mosques in christchurch. homeless in africa. there has been criticism it may be the worst natural of the authorities for delays disaster that has ever hit in returning victims‘ the southern hemisphere. bodies to their families. the really striking thing 30 of the 50 have now been as you walk through here is just how exhausted they are. person after person has come up to us, asking for help, approved for release. wondering when aid is going to arrive. the first funerals begin in new zealand for some of the 50 theresa may is formally asking people killed in friday's the european union to delay mosque attacks. britain's withdrawal with brexit deadlocked, beyond 29 march. the prime minister is to request theresa may is formally asking the european union to delay an extension to the deadlocked britain's withdrawal beyond 29 brexit process until the end ofjune march. — possibly far longer. eu heads of government will consider the request on thursday. american—backed forces in syria say they have captured the last territory held by the extremist

now on bbc news, hardtalk‘s stephen sackur speaks group the so—called islamic state. 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 has 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 will hear from climate expert michael e mann, and you can see more aerial footage of the disaster in mozambique on our website. you will also find what the aid agencies are doing to help. that is 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 in custody, but they have 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 president, jair 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 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 across the country. 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. 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. the prime minister, jacinda ardern, has been giving details about how the tragic events are to be marked. i discussed today, both with council and with community leaders, the future memorial service which new zealanders are desiring and will have in order to mark the loss of life in this terrorist attack. there is a desire to show support to the muslim community as they return to mosques,

particularly on friday. there is also a desire amongst new zealanders to mark the week that has passed since the terrorist attack. to acknowledge this, there will be a two—minute silence on friday. we will also broadcast nationally, via tvnz and radio new zealand, the call to prayer. 0ur correspondent mariko 0i is in christchurch. at is in christchurch. that press conference, the primt minister at that press conference, the prime minister did also acknowledge the criticism of the authorities about the delay in releasing bodies, and the delay in releasing bodies, and the muslim faith, of course, requires you to be buried within 2a hours. there is some movement, i think, more bodies released to families. that's right, mike. we understand that the majority of the bodies have now been released to the families, and as you mentioned,

funerals have been taking place not farfrom here. as you mentioned, family members have been voicing frustration over the delay in the process. but we heard from the prime minister, as well as the police commissioner, mike bush, saying that while they apologise for the delay, it is very important, it is crucial, to gather all the evidence to build the criminal case against the alleged suspect. we heard from both those leaders today. the prime minister also talked about the gun laws, how there are major loopholes that her government, her cabinet, has now in principle approved a change. we don't know the details yet, but she talked about how australia changed its gun laws within 12 days, and she said that new zealand would try to do it sooner. new zealand would try to do it sooner. there has been a lot of comment internationally, hasn't there, about the speed with which her government has moved to change gun laws. it is not a gun carry

culture, but there is a big hunting lobby in new zealand. still there seems to be a feeling generally that something really dramatic has changed. indeed, and she acknowledged that many new zealanders will be very surprised to find out that anyone can access those military style semiautomatics under the current laws. and now there is pressure on the government to change that, since friday's attacks. as you mentioned, there was attacks. as you mentioned, there was a strong gun lobby before friday's attacks, but the sentiment has changed somewhat. and so it seems like we will find out more details from her government about the changes to the gun laws as well. thank you very much for that. american—backed forces in syria say they have captured the last piece of territory held by the extremist group that calls itself islamic state. there has been a lengthy air and ground assault on the final is stronghold, near the syrian village of baghuz.

local forces have been celebrating what they call a victory notjust for the middle east, but for all humanity. but they say some is fighters may still be hiding underground, and hundreds more have dispersed far and wide. from baghuz, aleem maqbool reports. and just a warning — there are flashing images coming up. they're dancing forjoy in northern syria, afterfighters 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 allaround 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. there is no doubting how these fighters who've just come back from the front line 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 29 march. 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's not going to be that straightforward. so why will they grant an extension? because they want to avoid a no—deal brexit, at the end of the day. now, michel barnier, the eu's chief brexit negotiator, he also 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 preparing for a no—deal scenario. but actually, this decision comes down to the 27 eu leaders, and they want to avoid a no—deal brexit if they can, because they want to avoid the blame game that would inevitably follow a no—deal brexit. so i think that's why, at the end, they will grant an extension. what kind of extension, how long for, and under which conditions? but theresa may has to decide — long or short. you can have a longer extension that you shorten, but you can't have a short extension that you lengthen,

because of european parliamentary elections in may. if the uk doesn't have meps sitting in the european parliament, it can't continue as an eu member state, and that's what delaying brexit does. it keeps the uk longer as a member state. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: 0ur correspondent and alfie at the museum that is happy to be going to the dogs. 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 world 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 ta ke let's take you back now to that main story. i spoke just now to michael e mann, distinguished professor of atmospheric science and director of the earth system science center at pennsylvania state university. looking at what's happening now in mozambique, zimbabwe and malawi, what does he make of it? well, what we're of course is tragic, and we have seen this scene too often in recent years, storms that intensify more rapidly and produce far larger amounts of rainfall, flooding rainfall, like we saw with this storm. we are warming up, the planet, we are warming up the oceans, that puts more moisture into the atmosphere, puts more energy into these storms and we have seen energy into these storms and we have seen unprecedented super storms and high canes around the world in recent yea rs high canes around the world in recent years and of course, it is taking its toll in terms of damaging human life. —— high canes. taking its toll in terms of damaging human life. -- high canes. and of course, you expect much more of it? hello if we continue to keep turning

those fossil fuels and putting more carbon into the atmosphere, these storms will intensify and they will produce large amounts of flooding rainfall. —— hurricanes. in the united states, we have seen the two worst flooding events during the last two years, cocaine two years ago and hurricane florence, and that is not a coincidence. warm oceans, more moisture, you get more baneful and short periods of time out of these storms. what is the chances you think now of our somehow mitigating this, or if we can't, somehow adapting to it? hello well we're going to have to adapt to a certain amount of warming and additional climate change, worsening sea level rise and strengthening storms. we're going to have to adapt toa storms. we're going to have to adapt to a certain amount of additional climate change, just from the climate change, just from the climate warming that is already baked in. that we can prevent the worst from happening, if we can keep the warming of the planet below two celsius, then we likely adverse the

irreversible effects of climate change we can still do that by bringing our carbon emissions down by about 5% a year for the next decade or so and beyond. professor, i fully wa nt decade or so and beyond. professor, i fully want to do, thousands of people do. i have seen you saying on there and elsewhere, this is not anything systemic in the planets, if climate change does exist it is not driven by humans all the science is disputed or you are some part of a scientific conspiracy, what do you say to people who are still thinking that? this is basic physics, folks. the greenhouse effect is basic physics that goes back to centuries. we know that when you increase the amount of c02 in the atmosphere warm up amount of c02 in the atmosphere warm up the planet. we are on the way to doubling the concentration of c02 in the atmosphere in a matter 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 concentration of c02 in the atmosphere. we are at 280 million parts —— parts per million in the atmosphere. what we would not be able to explain, the basic nature of the science, would be if the planet we re the science, would be if the planet were not warming up, if the sea levels were not rising and if these storms were not intensifying. authorities in gaza have made more arrests, after unprecedented protests about economic conditions there. among those detained are opponents of hamas, who run gaza, and dozens of journalists and human—rights workers. this from our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. dragged away by hamas security forces. this man, one of dozens arrested. many have been badly beaten. these pictures come from social media asjournalists have been stopped from doing theirjobs. protests began last week. nothing has been seen like this

since hamas took full control of gaza over a decade ago. "the sons of hamas 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. since the hamas takeover, israel and egypt impose a blockade. 70% of young people are unemployed. with the crackdown, activists can only share their grievances online using the hashtag #wewanttolive. "we have a right to build our dreams and aspirations", says this student. hamas blames its political rival, fatah, for stoking the flames of dissent, which it denies. hamas, widely seen as a terrorist group, has long ruled this tiny

territory with an iron fist. while locals may now choose not to voice their criticisms openly, recent days show cracks in its authority. yolande knell, bbc news. the man who has led kazakhstan since the soviet era is stepping down after nearly 30 years as president. in an address to the nation, nursultan nazarbayev — who is 78 — said the country needed "a new generation of leaders." critics have accused him of corruption and widespread human rights abuses, as well as fostering a personality cult. the head of the japanese 0lympic committee has resigned over corruption allegation over the awarding of the 2020 games to tokyo. tsunekazu takeda is being investigated by french prosecutors over an alleged 2 million euro bribe paid to secure tokyo's winning bid. mr takeda said he will stand down from his position on the international olympic committee in order to prove his innocence.

firefighters are tackling a huge fire at a texas chemical plant. it's been burning in houston since early on monday, and the city's fire chief said he expected the blaze to continue for another 48 hours. no injuries have been reported and the plants's owners say the air quality readings are "well below hazardous levels". attention dog lovers — there's a new museum in the heart of manhattan dedicated to four—legged friends. the american kennel club has created this dog haven, packed with all things canine, including a fossil of a doggy ancestor. puppies aren't really allowed, but that didn't stopjane 0'brien 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!

hisjob is to bridge the gap between art lovers and dog lovers using art to tell the history of the dog. it's part of — it's sort of the english culture of portraiture, memorialising your ancestors. it started with people and then 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 the 18505, 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. i have a border collie, a big nose, a bit of black and white, mostly grey. draw your own conclusions about who looks like her. just finally, we have an explosive into the programme. —— like who. that is a volcano, it is as you can see definitely active at the moment. these explosions were in the sky on monday evening, a cloud of gas and ash went 200 metres into the sky. the volcano is in mexico, it is more than 400 metres high, making it the fifth—largest kennel in the world. there is more on all of the news any time on the bbc news website. thank

you 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 very 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 winds too. but i'm hopeful 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. depending on how much sunshine we get, 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 14 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, we'll see this 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, it should stay 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 60mph 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. cooler behind it, but again, another very mild day ahead of it, given some spells of sunshine. but even where it's cloudy, it's going to be mild. and then 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 in there to the north of scotland. so, 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. so 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.