this is bbc news. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: cyclone fani hits india with 200 kilometre an hour winds. it's heading towards kolkata and bangladesh after leaving widespread damage and disruption across the east of the country. this is bbc news, the headlines: the un says north korea cyclone fani has struck has cut food rations to just 300 grammes a day, india's east coast, with heavy rain and 200km/h winds. following the worst officials say the storm is expected harvest for a decade. pomp, prayers and pageantry — to cause widepsread disruption we'll have the latest as thailand witnesses the coronation of its new monarch, officials say the storm is expected to cause widespread disruption as it makes its way north, towards bangladesh. king maha vajiralongkorn. more than a million people have been moved from their homes. north korea has launched a number of short—range missile, according to south korea's joint chief of staff. caster semenya the missiles were launched says she won't take medication to comply with new competition rules from wonsan, in the east of the state. according to military officials after racing to victory in doha. in seoul the projectiles flew between 70km and 200km

into the east sea. in thailand, preparations are being made for the coronation of king maha vajiralongkorn. elaborate ceremonies will take place from saturday until monday. earlier the king paid his respects to the sacred emerald buddha and the royal remains. he will succeed his father, as king rama x. hello, and welcome. cyclone fani is hearing down on one of india's biggest cities, kolkata, after hitting the state of odisha, formerly known as orissa. the storm, one of the worst in the region for years, now on bbc news it's is now weakening, but it's leaving time for a look back a trail of destruction. at least at eight people have been killed in odisha and more than a million people have been moved from their homes. winds of up to 200 kilometres an hour have brought down power lines and severely damaged buildings. rahul tandon is there in the town of puri and sent this report. such was the fury of one of india's most powerful storms in recent times. glass smashes. shouting.

cyclone fani hit the eastern state of adisha with torrential rain and devastating winds of more than 125 mph. it made landfall at eight in the morning in the tourist town of puri. anticipating its impact, the authorities had evacuated hundreds of thousands of people. in the state capital, bhubaneswar, this crane was brought crashing down. one of india's poorest states now has a huge clean—up operation on its hands. and that's not going to be easy where many parts of it are cut off from each other. this is why a million people were moved into temporary shelters. most of them are now safe, but the question they're asking

is what has happened to their homes and what impact will this have on their lives? many villages are now submerged, and flooding is a major concern. and it's not over yet. cyclone fani is now moving towards one of india's most densely populated cities — kolkata. rahultandon, bbc news, bhubaneswar. a short while ago chris fawkes from bbc weather was here to talk to us a bit more about how the cyclone is moving. the cyclone we know made landfall at about 230 gmt on the south coast of 0disha, around puri. that's 8 o'clock local time. from there it's been travelling in a north—eastward direction and it currently is about 20km west of balasore, which is still in the state of 0disha but onlyjust. it's about to cross over the state boundary into west bengal and is probably

going to get really close to kalkata, actually. it'll probably just travel to the north—west but the winds are still strong, it's been overland for 16 hours but the winds are still gusting at about 150km/h and i think it's been able to maintain some of its strength. because it's been travelling so close to the coast and it's still been able to feed off the warm waters of the bay of bengal. the winds are just half the story — the other is the torrential rain. chris fawkes. and you can keep up to date with the progress of cyclone fon —ee and you can keep up to date with the progress of cyclone foni on our website. there are details on all the damage on the east coast of india, plus the latest weather charts. let's bring you some breaking news now. north korea has launched a short—range missile, according to south korea's joint chief of staff. the missile was launched from wonsan near the hodo peninsula in the east of the state. the missile was heading eastwards

but there's no information about what happened to it. that breaking news again: north korea has launched a short—range missile according to south korea'sjoint chief of staff. we'll bring you more information when we get it. last month pyongyang said it had testified a new tactical guided rocket. we will keep you posted on bbc news. north korea has cut public food rations to 300 grammes per day, after last yea r‘s harvest was the worst in a decade.

that's according to the un. that's just 1300 calories, when the average minimum the world food programme recommends is 1800. that is a significant difference. it's estimated that over ten million north koreans suffer from severe food insecurity, and that some could soon run out of food supplies altogether. sung—yoon lee, is a professor of korean studies at the fletcher school at tufts university, and he told us who he thought was responsible for the crisis. when one thinks of north korea, north korea is such a weird amalgamation of mediaeval mores and buffoonish bellicosity. 0ne tends to mock, one tends to patronise north korea and one assumes the food situation, the pervasive hunger and malnutrition must be due to incompetence, a combination of bad weather, bad fortune and perhaps even us— and un—led sanctions. simply not true. north korea is an industrialised economy, north korea is urbanised, literate society and for the first

time ever in human history, an industrialised, urbanised, literate country which has suffered famine as north korea did in the mid—90s. it's an entirely manmade famine and over the past 20 years or more, north koreans have been among the top in terms of food insecurity. 10 million people means, 10 million north koreans hungry means over 40% of north koreans are undernourished. according to the fao, the un food and agriculture 0rganisation, the latest figures show over 43% of north koreans, 43% of the overall population are suffering from undernourishment. so this is all due to the perverse choices made by the regime. let's get some of the day's other news: stock markets in the us have

surged on strong job growth figures, with the nasdaq closing at an all—time high. markets were boosted by a fall in unemployment in the us to 3.6% - the lowest level in almost 50 years. the figures have allayed fears that the world's richest economy is heading for a slowdown. results from local elections across england and northern ireland show the main parties, conservative and labour, have suffered significant losses in what seems to be a backlash against the brexit process. smaller parties such the liberal democrats and greens, and independents have made some large gains. the us and russian presidents have had an hour—long phone call to discuss various matters, including the venezuelan crisis. the us has backed the opposition leader, juan guaido, and accused russia of convincing president maduro to stay in power. but after the call, donald trump said that vladimir putin didn't want to do more than provide aid to venezuela. the bbc‘s nick bryant is in caracas with this update. this was supposed to be the week

that president maduro was swept from office, and opposition leader juan guaido would take charge but after claiming early on tuesday morning that he had significant military support for a public uprising, thatjust failed to materialise. there weren't the defections amongst the military top brass that were needed and within 48 hours, the mass demonstrations had fizzled. earlier, i caught up with the self—declared interim president who's recognised as legitimate leader of venezuela by the united states and some 50 other countries. i asked him whether this week, he'd blown it. mr guaido, did you miss your chance this week, sir? did you miss your chance? "venezuela hasn't lost the chance," he replied. "we are closer to freedom." mr guaido is calling for his supporters to gather at military bases on saturday morning. the idea to hand in letters to commanders of the armed forces asking them to change sides.

this is basically turned into a battle for the hearts and minds of the military, an incredibly influential group in this country which controls so much of the economy and often tends to make its decisions based on economic self—interest. so far, the generals are backing the president and the high hopes that the opposition had at the beginning of the week have been dashed. a review commissioned by the british foreign office indicates that christians are the most persecuted religious group around the world. its interim findings suggest that christianity could be wiped out in parts of the middle east. the british foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, said political correctness had prevented proper discussion of the subject. here's david campanale.

what happens in china, where freedom to worship is guaranteed in the constitution. churches that refuse to comply with the state can be knocked down flat. according to the review, chinese communist ideology has led to the suppression of the christian church. the report's findings, compiled by a british bishop, state that unregistered churches come under great pressure to close and experience surveillance, intimidation, fines, and their leaders are regularly detained. the problem, though, is global, with evidence that acts of violence and other intimidation against christians are becoming both more widespread and increasing in severity. in parts of the middle east, the report says christianity faces being wiped out, with the main impact of genocidal acts against christians being exodus. in iraq, where christians have been for millennia, it says they have fallen from 1.5

million barely 15 years ago to less than 120,000 today. a targeting of a religious community, whatever that religion is, is deplorable. and especially, as we have seen recently, most recently in sri lanka, where communities are praying — whether it is sri lanka or christchurch or any other place — praying, worshipping communities cannot become a target, just to become a political pawn. the report's findings come after 250 people were killed and more than 500 wounded in attacks at churches and hotels in sri lanka on easter sunday. but the report warns that number of christians are killed for their faith every month, on average, around the world. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we'll have the latest from thailand as the country witnesses the coronation of its new monarch, king maha vajiralongkorn.

i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterand. but the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now, the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in the future of peace and freedom.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: cyclone foni has hit india, bringing a deluge of rain and winds gusting at more than 100km/h. the un says north korea has cut food rations to just 300 grams a day, following the worst harvest for a decade. in thailand, preparations are being made for the coronation of king maha vajiralongkorn. he will succeed his father as king rama the tenth. elaborate ceremonies will take place from saturday until monday. on friday the king paid his respects to the sacred emerald buddha and the royal remains. before that, royal objects including a golden plaque, inscribed with his name, title and horoscope, was brought to the grand palace. from bangkok, jonathan head reports.

over the next 2—3 days, we will see some extraordinarily elaborate rituals taking place here in the old royal quarter in bangkok as the king is formally consecrated in what they call a coronation but it involves a whole range of highly significant brahminic and hindu rituals blended with buddhism. it involves the buddhist monkhood, the king is the formal protector of buddhism as well as brahminic rituals that go back deep into indian history that has influenced much of thai culture. these rituals anchor the king as the latest in a long line of kings in a dynasty that dates back to 1782 and that's important for him because he's come to the throne relatively late in his 60s, he follows a king, king bhumibol, who pretty much made modern thailand, or is seen to sort of mould it, and has built up an extraordinary store of respect and reverence which is very hard for any king to match. this king has had a much more controversial lifestyle and is going to have to mould the monarchy in a different way.

now, it is remarkable how strong the thai monarchy is when you consider that in this region, monarchies have largely been eliminated or diminished to near insignificance. here, the monarchy is at the very centre of life, it wields enormous power and it has enormous wealth and one thing we have seen with this king is that he intends to exercise tight personal control over that wealth and power, and to reign in a rather different way from his father, much less hands—off. but he does take over at a difficult time, after a controversial and much criticised election that is supposed to end military rule, with a really uncertain future for the country over the next few years. thailand is still bitterly divided politically. its conflicts, political conflicts have not been resolved. whereas king bhumibol himself was often a calming, unifying figure, nobody is sure yet given the personality and style of this king, king vajiralongkorn, how effective he can be in restoring some kind of calm again

to a very divided country. the bbc‘s laura bickerjoins us now live from bangkok. well, as you have heard, a number of elaborate ceremonies will begin in the next few hours. let me give you an idea of what is happening now. a number of office workers, all dressed in white, have lined the route. they are ready for the royal procession, they will give a salute, there are hundreds of them all lining the streets. we are also expecting a number of people to come out but the heat is absolutely brutal. we are wondering exactly how

many people will manage to brave the weather. a number of ceremonies will start with the anointment of water, which comes from five rivers across thailand. but will then go into another ceremony involving water from hundred and seven rivers from across thailand. but what is kept in across thailand. but what is kept in a sacred vase alongside water which comes from the palace itself. he will be anointed in that water. later they will be a bit of a housewarming party where guests will be welcomed. he will also have one of his crowning ceremonies. this involves him being crowned under a 90a involves him being crowned under a 90 a parasol —— nine—tier parasol. these are very elaborate ceremonies which have their roots in both buddhist and hindu rituals. hindu rituals represent the power which comes from the hindu gods. the buddhist rituals come from the good

deeds and good actions. that is said to be the balance of the king. this is just the start of three days of those elaborate ceremonies. very symbolic ceremonies. what can we expect from the new king? what we are hearing is that he is very different from his well—known, well revered father. many said he spoke to them in the way that they would expect an uncle to speak to them. he has lived a very different lifestyle. he is very close to the military. he studied at both military. he studied at both military and defence studies in australia and in britain. the military here in thailand plays a very large role and has in the past overthrown governments. when it comes to how he has run the palace in the last couple of years, he has changed things, he has changed palace bureaucracy, he is seen to be intolera nt palace bureaucracy, he is seen to be intolerant of poor performance. he has also changed the palace finances. those are said to be around $30 billion. —— $30 million.

and of course in the past week he has married once again. this is his fourth wife. she has been out of his security detail, so perhaps it will see them both on the balcony later on as these ceremonies proceed. laura bicker, keeping us up—to—date in bangkok, thank you very much. more than a thousand people are now known to have died in the latest ebola mac outbreak in the democratic republic of the congo. the world health organization said violence in the region is hampering efforts to stop the disease from spreading. 1008 and cases rising fast. the drc in the grip of the world's second worst ebola outbreak. for medical staff writing to contain the virus in the eastern city of bukavu, it is a race against time. we are anticipating a scenario of continued intense transmission. 0ur regional

director has recently returned from the democratic republic of the congo. where he found the situation on the ground to be worse than it has been previously. health workers are also facing a number deadly threat. armed groups targeting them and their makeshift hospitals. since january, we have experienced 119 separate attacks. 42 of which have been directly on health facilities, with 85 health personnel either injured or killed in those settings. so we are dealing with a difficult and volatile situation. each time a health centre and its staff are attacked, services are suspended, allowing the epidemic to spread. thought to be responsible, rebel

groups competing for resources and power, and local suspicious of outsiders and their motives. medical teams have demanded and been promised more protection. we are going to see an increase in the security coverage of the operation, very much sensitive to the fact that we don't want to, if you like, obstruct and confront the people first with the military. this is a public health response. for the first time, a cocktail of experimental drugs is raising hope. a massive immunisation campaign is under way, with early signs suggesting the pioneering treatment could drastically cut rates of transmission. so far, just two provinces in the drc are affected. despite its best efforts, the world health organization says cases are very likely to spread into neighbouring countries. it has

pointed to a multimillion dollar funding gap, and cold forfar greater resources to back its response. the south african world and olympic champion caster semenya says "no human can stop me running", after winning herfirst race since she was told to reduce her testosterone levels. semenya told the bbc at the diamond league meeting in doha that she has no plans to retire. ade adedoyin reports from doha. caster semenya has had a lot on her mind this week, not that she showed it. storming to victory here in doha. my word. is there any end to her talent? she is just running away. dominant, determined and defiant. that was the easiest race of i've ever run in my life. for me, negativity is nothing. so, as long as it doesn't kill me, it makes me stronger, like i said. so i'm here to perform, i'm here to show people of the world that anything is possible if you believe.

caster semenya continues to demonstrate qualities that made her a champion. a real show of strength and courage to come here to doha and perform like this after everything that has happened this week. and with the eyes of the world watching. when semenya is at her best, there's only one winner. but defeating her legal battle against the iaaf this week, means that if she is to defend her world title in doha in september, she will have to start taking medication to lower her testosterone levels next week, which may affect her performance. people were wondering, have been asking me, is caster going to retire? is caster going to keep going? how am i going to retire when i'm 28? i'm still a young soul, man, i'm still young, i still feel young, i still feel the energy. i still have ten years or more in athletics, so it doesn't matter how i'm going to do it, what matters is, i will still be here. i will see you here in doha?

of course. i will see you in the 800? of course! former european champion lindsay sharp has in the past questioned whether semenya has an unfair advantage, and she says she's paid a heavy price for that. no—one benefits from the situation, of course she doesn't benefit but it's not me versus her, it's not us versus them, i've had death threats, i've had threats against my family and that's not a position that i want to be in. a week that started in defeats end in victory, semenya showing strength when others would crumble, a moment to save her when she still has a very big decision to make. just a reminder of our breaking story this hour. north korea has launched a short range missile. that is according to south korea'sjoint chiefs of staff. the missile was launched from wonsan in the east of the state. the missiles east but there is no information about what happened to it. launched from hodo

peninsular in the east which is used for launching missiles. we will keep your christmas story. —— across that story. hello there. it feels like our weather has gone a bit weird, what with the 21 celsius we had in february, and now snow in may. yeah, that's what we've seen over the last 2a hours. some wintry showers in scotland, snow settling on some of the northern hills. you see those wintry showers feeding in behind this line of rain, which is a cold front heading south across england and wales. don't be surprised over the next few hours if we see some of that rain get a bit heavier and perhaps turn to snow over the hills of wales, even. wintry showers continue to feed in further north in scotland, with further snow to be spotted here. it is the brisk winds which will prevent a frost from falling for most of us, but where those winds fall off in the countryside, the odd patch of frost is possible. and for the weekend, big, dramatic skies like these. sunshine and cumulonimbus clouds. when the clouds come across the sky, combined with the cold and windy air, that will make the weather feel

really quite chilly. out of the winds, in the may sunshine, where the winds are lighter, perhaps more to the south—west, feeling fresh more than anything else. not too bad. mixed fortunes, really. saturday, the lion's share of the showers coming across northern and eastern scotland, driven by the strong and cold northerly winds. those winds putting the showers onto the north sea coasts as well. we will get a number of heavy downpours, a bit of thunder mixed in with some of these. inland, fewer showers. lighter winds and may sunshine, perhaps not feeling too bad, really, with temperatures up to 1a degrees and those strong winds around the north sea coast, you'll be doing well to see temperatures reach double figures. disappointing for may. heading through saturday night and into sunday, still showers around, especially across northern areas, and another chilly night. we could see a few patches of frost. five degrees in london, three in cardiff and two in edinburgh. sunday's forecast, the wind coming from more of a north—north—westerly direction, more from iceland, really. that will change who sees the showers. for example, showers continue for northern scotland. at the same time we could have an odd shower sneaking in through the north channel

to affect north wales and perhaps north—west england as well. after a sunny start it tends to cloud over and it will be a coolish day, 10—13. bank holiday monday, a greater chance of seeing showers across inland areas as a trough makes its way south, bringing those showers inland. if anything, the temperatures will be dipping down again. highs of eight degrees in aberdeen. 00:28:23,015 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 that's your weather.