this is bbc news, the headlines: in thailand, voting is under way in the country's general election. it's the first since this is bbc world news. a military coup in 2014. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: hundreds of passengers and crew are to be rescued voting is underway in from a cruise ship off thailand's general election — the coast of norway. the first since a military the mv viking sky issued a mayday after suffering engine problems coup five years ago. during bad weather. five helicopters are involved in the rescue, at least three people three people are seriously injured as bad weather hits a cruise off have been seriously injured. the coast of norway. helicopters are airlifting hundreds hundreds of thousands of people have marched of passengers to safety. through central london, demanding that the uk holds another vote on its membership organisers say a million people took of the european union. part in a rally in london, demanding another brexit referendum. there've been celebrations across syria after the so—called islamic state group was defeated in its last stranglehold, baghouz. syria celebrates as islamic state militants lose their last stranglehold, but is itjust a setback for the terror group? the kurdish—led syrian democratic forces, which is backed by the us, raised their flag above buildings seized from is fighters.

hello and welcome. the thai prime minister has joined millions of voters heading to the polls this sunday. constituents are casting their ballots in the first general election since the military ousted the civilian government of yingluck shinawatra in 2014. turnout is expected to be high. nick beake is following events in bangkok. voting well under way here in the heart of bangkok. this is one of the many open—air polling stations they have set up and we have seen a stream of voters come to cast their ballot today. of course, they have been waiting a long time — eight years since the last election here. there is a dizzying array of candidates to choose from. you can see some of the pictures of the candidates, the parties they represent. however, this election boils down to what many people are saying is a simple choice — do you go for the status quo, the militaryjunta that seized power five years ago, or do you go for one of the other parties promising change? and we know that in the last couple of years, the ruling junta has changed the electoral system so it

makes it harder for those other democratic forces to seize an overall majority. so this is unexpected, lots of excitement, and we do anticipate a pretty high turnout today. nick, there has been a message from the king as well? yeah, absolutely. this is a pretty unprecedented message from the king, coming just on the eve of polling, and he talked about how he was concerned about the security and the happiness of his people, and also he said that it was imperative that all thai voters thought about voting for what he described as "good people" — good people who could keep from power those he described as "bad people". so that's the message from the king. we have not had something like this before and, of course, the monarchy hugely important, revered in this country. people will be thinking about that as they cast their vote and, of course, they will be thinking about all the other things that candidates have been saying over the past few weeks as they have been desperate to gather votes.

we should get some sort of indication about how the polls have played out later today, but don't expect an overall majority. there will be some behind—the—scenes manoeuvring, we expect some sort of minority government to be formed in the coming days if the opposition parties have done well, but all of that is for later in the day and in the weeks to come. nick beake. an operation to rescue more than 1,000 people from a cruise ship in the sea off south—west norway is set to continue through the night. more than 200 passengers have so far been airlifted to safety. norwegian authorities say at least three people have serious injuries, mostly broken bones. eliza philippidis has the story. from this point on the coast, you get a real sense of a ship in trouble. all but one of its engines failed — not enough to drive it to safety. it was left stranded in eight metre waves. inside, passengers were tossed about as this ship pitched back and forth in winds of 70

kilometres per hour. this woman was struck on the head when part of the ceiling collapsed. tugboats are in position, ready to drive the cruise ship to safety but rough seas are hampering the operation. rescue helicopters were deployed through the night, airlifting around 15 passengers at a time to shore. a long mission with more than 1300 people on board. the very bad weather is going to be very difficult to make the evacuation proceed but also, as we've seen in other cases, the effectiveness and hard work of the crew is going to be vital in making sure that this evacuation operation is a success. crew on board viking sky have issued passengers with life vests. those that have been rescued are being accommodated in local hotels. very frightening.

we went up on a helicopter with a sling, the two of us together and it was quite scary. a freighter which was trying to help the cruise ship also got into trouble. it sent a mayday signal because of engine problems. the cruise ship is currently moving away from the shore very slowly in an attempt to get into calmer waters. helicopters will continue to rescue passengers but, in high winds, this is a stressful and complex operation. eliza philippidis, bbc news. earlier, i spoke with kelsey leighton, whose parents mark and nancy are onboard the viking sky, and have been updating her every hour on the situation. yes, they have been in pretty constant contact with us via text message, you know, unfortunately because they don't have any battery, you know, in their phone, it is just really relying on the other passengers' kindness to help them charge their phone and communicate with us and it is frightening to see all of the videos and just know

that my parents are on board and i want them home safely. what have they told you about what has been happening on board and what they have been seeing? so they have been seeing a lot of injuries, a lot of minor cuts, bruises, falls, you know, a lot of passengers, because they are a bit older, have some mobility challenges, many have fallen over in the rough seas. they have said that the rooms are trashed, they are not able to go to their rooms, many broken wine bottles, causing some injuries, and what my mum exactly said was "a lot of mess everywhere" that she did not even want to take pictures of. are they very worried? are they going to be airlifted at all? so they have just sent through another text message, 5am local norway time, that the captain has come up over the loudspeaker and said

that they are planning to ride into molde on the ship and all four engines are working, so i was very relieved to hear that. that is very interesting news! so, what is the plan, then, for the ship? are they explaining that they plan to dock, basically? it sounds like they are trying to get everyone into port on the ship. it sounds like the helicopters are still doing evacuations for those who are severely injured or, you know, in need of assistance. and what have your parents been telling you about the updates they have been receiving from the crew? i mean, have they been getting enough information? have you been getting enough information from the company? you know, they have been receiving very constant updates every hour or half hour from the captain and they said nothing but good things the professional crew who have been really keeping things very orderly, and professional, calm. however, when i called viking cruise, they really did not give me any information, they would not tell me when my parents would be — if they would be, you know, evacuated in any sort of, you know,

any kind of estimated time, and, you know, that was frustrating for me to hear. your parents must have really been looking forward to this trip. do you think that they will be going on another cruise after this? well, this was my mum's retirement celebration cruise! i was very much hoping for something much less exciting for her. i wanted it to be rewarding but not quite this exciting. i do not know if they will go on another cruise — i think they are probably very apprehensive and just want to get off the boat safely at this point. 0rganisers of a march in london to demand another eu referendum claim more than a million people turned out. a petition calling for brexit to be stopped has now been signed by approaching five million people, making it the most popular ever submitted to the parliament website.

it's believed theresa may is coming under increasing pressure to announce her resignation. 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports. brexit is at a crossroads. no support yet for theresa may's deal, but no agreed alternative. crowd chant: hey, hey! theresa may! give us all a final say! the organisers claim that a million people took to london's streets to call for a new referendum. the people's vote campaign say this would bring the country together. but so far, brexit has caused our big political parties to splinter and opponents of another public vote say it would only deepen divisions. some people are worried it would be very divisive, given the state of the country. and it's not now? we weren't told what brexit would actually look like because they didn't know what brexit would actually look like. i think now we actually know what brexit might be,

we should be able to make an informed decision. we want to have another referendum so people can voice their latest view, i think. would you accept other options — a softer brexit, some people call it? i think anything is better than the current options of either theresa's deal or no deal. i bring with me today solidarity from scotland. the snp and most opposition leaders at westminster have publicly pledged their support for a new referendum. jeremy corbyn is not here but has said it's an option the labour leadership will vote for in parliament, and the party's deputy leader says he could back theresa may's deal, but with a rather large and important caveat. i will help you get it over the line to prevent a disastrous no deal brexit but i can only vote for a deal if you let the people vote on it too. theresa may is not yet confident enough to guarantee that she will bring her deal back to parliament for a further

vote next week. campaigners here hope that will give them an opportunity to push their case for a new referendum. but that decision will not be taken by thousands of people on the streets, it will be taken by fewer than 650 mps and, so far, they have resisted all calls for a public vote. mps are likely to discuss alternatives to theresa may's deal next week. some want a closer relationship with the eu, similar to norway, others back a more distant free trade agreement like canada's, and some say no deal could still be the best option. but these campaigners are being accused by long—standing leave supporters of trying to stop brexit altogether. this march portends to be in favour of a second referendum, but that is only a means to an end. this is a march to try and stop brexit, to reverse the decision that the majority took in 2016. parliament is still in deadlock over theresa may's deal. it is still not clear how or exactly

when the uk will leave the eu. campaigners here are hoping that politicians can still be persuaded to give that decision back to the people. iain watson, bbc news, westminster. well, if the protests outside parliament weren't bad enough for theresa may, she'll find little comfort from the battles within her own cabinet. most of the sunday papers here in the uk are speculating about her future. the prime minister is pictured alongside her deputy, david lidington, on the front of the sunday times. it reports senior ministers say may's days are numbered and he is named as an option to replace her. —— it reports senior ministers say may's days are numbered and he is named as an option to replace her. the mail on sunday says that ministers are plotting to install environment secretary michael gove in number 10 to save brexit. and that is echoed by the sunday telegraph, which warns the cabinet must step up to oust may in order to rescue brexit. we spoke to nigel nelson, the political editor

of the uk newspaper the sunday mirror, and asked him what he made of the headlines about the prime minister. i think it is now not a question of if theresa may goes but when. there was a material change in the house of commons this week. we have known she has been in different crises before and she has somehow escaped out of them but this week felt com pletely out of them but this week felt completely different. all down to the fact that her tv address to the nation on wednesday went so com pletely nation on wednesday went so completely wrong. so it is no surprise that tomorrow's papers will be filled with speculation about her going and how she will go so the idea being that she will go as soon is this coming week. david lidington, hurt de facto deputy, could be installed as an interim prime minister. then there would be an awful lot of sort ofjockeying

between the cabinet because david lidington would have to accept he would never be leader, he would just stand in and the others would stand aside, get over this emergency part of brexit, and do a proper leadership election through the summer. leadership election through the summer. nigel nelson. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: we're in one of the world's most polluted cities meeting families who are trying to survive the smog. let there be no more war or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. very good. applause so proud of both of you. applause with great regret, the committee have decided that south africa should be excluded

from the 1970 competition. chants streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. onlooker: wow! this is bbc news. the latest headlines: voting gets under way in thailand's general election, the first since a military coup five years ago. three people are seriously injured as bad weather hits a cruise off the coast of norway — helicopters are airlifting more hundreds to safety. president trump and other world leaders, have welcomed the defeat

of the so—called islamic state caliphate in syria. after weeks of brutal fighting, kurdish—led forces claimed victory over the terrorist group. the final is fighters had been holed up in the town of baghouz. syrian democratic forces had besieged the town for weeks while planes conducted airstrikes. thousands of people were forced to flee. aleem maqbool sent this report from northeastern syria. it is the syrian democratic forces who raise their flag over baghouz today — the final sliver of territory recaptured from the islamic state group. undoubtedly a moment of triumph for the local forces who've sacrificed so much in the fight. "we are gathered here, sons of this great country," says kino gabriel from the sdf, "to confirm our total victory over the islamic state group and their fall." but throughout, while marking

the significance of the achievement, have been the voices of caution. we still have much work to do to achieve an enduring defeat of isis. we have been clear that the campaign is not over. isis or daesh, remains a significant threat in the region for the united states, and our partners and allies. but the land has been won back after a major offensive earlier this week with syrian forces advancing on the ground, backed by air strikes from the us—led coalition. in the end, this is what the so—called caliphate was reduced to — unused suicide vests, crumpled flags, and the squalid remains of a pitiful camp. horns blare. well, there have been parades and cavalcades in towns and cities up and down this region at the news, but it has all come at a huge cost to people here.

and while they celebrate now, they also recognise thatjust because the territory has been taken back from the islamic state group, that doesn't mean the fight is over. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in qamishli in northern syria. an attack on the fulani ethnic group in central mali has left 134 people dead including many women and children. local officials say armed men dressed as traditional donzo hunters surrounded a village in the mopti region before attacking people in their homes. senior un officials have visited the country — calling for an immediate end to the violence. translation: we clearly and firmly condemn these attacks against civilians, which claimed the lives of women and children. in the face of this unspeakable

tragedy, i personally, as the secretary general‘s special representative, i call first for an end to this spiral of violence. as part of our mandate to protect civilians — as soon as we learned of this attack, we sent un peacekeeping forces to the scene of the incident. you'll find much more on our website — including analysis of the security concerns in the area and what the un and other 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. there have been at least two explosions in the somali capital mogadishu. eyewitnesses say gunmen entered a building housing two government ministries and exchanged fire with somali security forces. it is not yet clear how many people were killed but officials say policemen were amongst the victims. the jihadist group al—shabaab said it carried out the attack. over 40,000 demonstrators have taken to the streets for the 19th consecutive weekend of gilet jaunes protests in france.

protests in paris were considerably less violent than last week, with military units deployed to back up police. the movement, which started with calls to scrap a fuel tax, has morphed into a wider arena for political and social grievances. germans are calling on eu lawmakers to save the internet in protests to changes to two—decade—old copyright laws. proposed rules would force google and other online platforms like facebook and instagram to sign licensing deals with artists to catch copyright violations. the reform will be voted on early this week. the us attorney general, william barr, has spent the day at the department ofjustice examining the report by the special counsel, robert mueller, into russia's role in the 2016 presidential poll — when donald trump was elected. mr barr is considering whether to release the main findings to congress on sunday. republicans claim it vindicates president trump. here's our north america correspondent chris buckler.

for months, the special counsel, robert mueller, has been investigating the election of a president to the fury of donald trump. but as he made his way to the golf course today, mr trump's mood seems to have improved considerably. it is now known that robert mueller has not recommended any further indictments and the president's supporters seem to be celebrating and taking that as backing for what he has always claimed. there was no collusion, there was no obstruction, everybody knows it. everybody knows it is a hoax, one of the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated on this country. during the 22 months of robert mueller‘s investigation, there were prosecutions and convictions. traitor, traitor! of among others, the president's former campaign chairman, paul manafort, the former national security adviser michael flynn, and mr trump's one—time personal lawyer, michael cohen. but none of those cases directly

address the key questions of whether the president tried to obstructjustice and whether russia colluded with the trump campaign in the 2016 election. i don't know what's in the report, nobody does. democrats already have their eyes on 2020 and those out campaigning to become mr trump's opponents in next year's presidential election have a new rallying cry. that report needs to be made public. the american people have a right and a need to know. the decision about what is released rests in the hands of this man, the us attorney—general. bill barr went to work this morning with the intention of publishing the main findings of the report before the end of the weekend. but while the special counsel's probe is at an end, other investigations are still taking place and democrats are determined to push their own inquiries here at congress. chris buckler, bbc news, washington.

all over the world cities are grappling with air pollution but the small capital of mongolia is suffering from some of the worst. and the effects are exacerbated because of climate change. rising temperatures have led to thousands of people abandoning the countryside for the smog—choked city where 90% of children are breathing toxic air every day. our reporter stephanie hegarty has the story. this is the view from this woman's house. she lives in one of the most polluted cities in the world. you can smell the air pollution. you can even taste it. it gets caught in the back of your throat. i have an air pollution monitor here and it is monitoring the levels of pm point to five. that only particles that go deep inside your lungs. the monitor

says 999. that is as high as it will go. a safe level as anything under 25. right now we are at least 40 times above what is safe. her son is five months old. he has already been hospitalised. he has chronic bronchitis. translation: as soon as he smell the smoke he has difficulty breathing and parts of his face start to go blue. when we see that we have too rushed to the hospital. the reason for this toxic air is all cold. it's the only source of energy for 60% of people in this city who cannot afford electric power —— raw coal. the government is trying to ban raw coal, but its replacement, process coal, but its replacement, process coal, is expensive. ulaanbaatarwas built forfarfewer coal, is expensive. ulaanbaatarwas built for far fewer people. and this is what most of them have abandoned.

this family come from a long line of traditional herders. but this generation could be the last. translation: if it wasn't for natural disasters would stay in the countryside as herders and raise our herd. they lost 20 authors and over 30 sheep in last year's bitter winter. —— courses. and this year the opposite, no snow at all. translation: because of the drought in the harsh winters our herd is disappearing. we think the only option will be to search for better opportunities for our kids. i don't wa nt opportunities for our kids. i don't want them to become herders. instead, she wants to find work in ulaanbaatar. the changing climate forcing another family into the crowded city, making it even more difficult for a place known for its vast and stunning landscapes to emerge from its choking smog. stephanie hegarty, bbc news, in

mongolia. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @regedahmadbbc. much more coming up. hello there. this weekend isn't looking too bad pretty much for all of us, but for scotland, it will be quite showery and even windy as we head through sunday. now, the wet and windy weather across the north is attributed to this deep low—pressure system, which is skirting to the north of scotland. and on its southern flank, we're seeing those gales. so the winds continuing to pick up during the early hours of sunday here. lots of showers, some of them merging together to produce longer spells of rain. yes, there will be some wintriness over the high ground too. but the further south that you are, closer to the area of high pressure, lighter winds and clearer skies. so it's going to be a chilly start to sunday. temperatures in low single figures for many. and out of town, across central northern areas, there will in fact be a touch of frost in places. so, sunday will be a chilly start, but many places starting dry and bright, plenty of sunshine. but there will be showers from the word go, windy conditions across scotland. some of these showers pushing their way southwards.

but i think through the afternoon, the showers become a bit more scattered, so there should be some sunshine in between. but it will be very windy with gales and quite chilly, 6 or 7 degrees across the far north. a few showers pushing into northern ireland and into northern england. but south of here, it's actually a glorious afternoon. more sunshine than what we had on saturday. same too for the channel islands, temperatures ranging between 12 and 14 celsius. now, as we head on into next week, this area of high pressure really exerts its force across the uk. slap bang on top of it, in fact. a few weather systems trying to skirt around it, may affect northern scotland at times, a little bit of rain. but for most places throughout next week, it's going to be largely dry with variable cloud and some sunshine. we could see quite a bit of sunshine in places. but nights will be chilly. also with this area of high pressure, as it moves a little bit further eastwards, it will start to scoop up some milder air and brings it towards our shores and that will be quite noticeable across southern and eastern parts of the country later in the week. for monday, this is the picture, again, it's another chilly start. but we should have plenty of sunshine around. a bit of cloud just toppling around the area of high pressure, into the north and the west of scotland.

perhaps a spot of rain or two on western hills. those temperatures reaching double figures across the north. a little bit milder for scotland on monday, closer to 12—13 degrees across southern parts of the country. into tuesday, it's a similar picture. plenty of sunshine around after a fairly cool start. could see a little bit of cloud just bubbling up into the afternoon, but it should be fair—weather cloud. and this weather front may bring a little bit of rain, more of a breeze to the far north of scotland. those temperatures creeping up across the south — 13, maybe 14 celsius. and, in fact, as we end the week, it looks like it could turn very mild again across southern and eastern areas. you could be looking at the high teens celsius. but nights will continue to be cool with a bit of mist and fog.