this is bbc world news today. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: in hong kong, some of the worst street battles yet between protestors and police spill over into the underground system, and continue late into the night. it's the very centre of hong kong — and look at it. they warned them not to protest today. the government building under siege, and it's complete mayhem. tens of thousands take to the streets across britain to protest against prime minister borisjohnson‘s decision to suspend parliament. a major battle is continuing in the afghan city of kunduz as the taliban launch attacks on the security forces and coming up — circling over the bahamas — the us national hurricane center says storm dorian poses an immediate threat,

as it heads towards the islands. hello, and welcome to world news today. it's 4am in hong kong — where police have just finished a press conference defending themselves against accusations of excessive force against protestors. it's been one of the most violent days since demonstrations began 13 weeks ago. several hours ago, riot police entered a metro station. they say they made a0 arrests. officers used batons and pepper spray as they entered the train carriages. two main underground lines were closed as the police moved in. police are still out on the streets, and in the past hour they have threatened to use force to disperse crowds they say have moved

into a residential area. the hong kong police say the actions of "rioters‘ actions" forced them to shut down the underground stations. in the past few minutes, they've said civilians weren't attacked by police but rather, protestors vandalised the stations, then changed outfits to "pretend to be civilians. " police also confirmed that officers fired into the air to clear crowds on the streets. and they've been showing these pictures — which apparently show protesters throwing petrol bombs and vandalising property. the bbc‘sjohn sudworth has been following the protests earlier in the day. tear gas from the roof of the hong kong government offices... ..met with utter defiance. the political deadlock here is growing increasingly violent. tear gas from the roof of the hong kong government offices... ..met with utter defiance. the political deadlock here is growing increasingly violent. the only way, some believe, to defend this city's freedoms under chinese rule.

by nightfall, this giant fire was raging in the central business district. but with scenes like these, china is also in no mood to compromise. hu xijin is editor of one of beijing's ultra—loyal communist party—run papers. translation: america and britain are interfering in hong kong's affairs. you're inflaming the situation. these irrational emotions don't come from this society. a large part has come from foreign support. despite the risk of arrest, this peaceful, unauthorised march was joined by tens of thousands. as well as one british mp — here to observe, he says. i know we're all obsessed about brexit, but we have the growing power of china and a growing authoritarian china as well. are you meddling?

no. if one mp gets blamed for this, that's simply nonsense. this is an indigenous protest coming from the people here. within a few hours, though, hong kong seemed to be on the brink again. for the first time, police used water cannon with coloured dye to make identifying suspects easier. even a few weeks ago, in a city once famed for its stability, this level of violence would have seemed unimaginable. this is the very centre of hong kong — and look at it. they warned them not to protest today. the government buildings under siege, and it's complete mayhem. the day ended with running battles and a number of arrests. a fight for democracy, a global clash of values playing out on the streets. as always, they were finally brought back under the control of the police. but no—one doubts the protesters will be back. john sudworth, bbc news, hong kong.

damon pang is a reporter for radio television hong kong, and has been following the protests, including those arrests later in the day in the metro stations. it's notjust really the arrests, it's reallyjust absolute mayhem. the police entered, notjust one, but apparently to underground stations, apparently indiscriminately attacking protesters and civilians. some of the critics have been calling police actions much like what happened a month ago, when apparently triad mobs entered another subway station to indiscriminately attack passerbys, civilians, passengers, what have you. this action by the police is a first, they haven't actually been entering subway stations to make arrests. but this time, they not only entered the station, but also went on a train, used pepper spray as well as

liquefied tear gas solutions to spray, not only at protesters, but also at civilians. apparently, there were a few people with head wounds after the police attacks... well, i shouldn't say attacks, but actions. demonstrations have been taking place across the uk, in protest at the prime minister's decision to suspend parliament for five weeks in the run up to brexit. the government insists it's acting properly, but critics say it's an attempt to bypass democracy. tens of thousands have taken to the streets. here's our uk affairs editor, mark easton. if you shutdown in parliament... we'll shut down the streets! calls for direct action from protesters outside downing street. several thousand gathered in whitehall, many to voice their opposition to borisjohnson‘s move to shut down parliament ahead of britain's scheduled exit from the european union on october 31. stop brexit! the crowds were diverse,

cutting across class, age, ethnicity and traditional party politics. today's protest is a reminder of how arguments over brexit represent a reshaping of political discourse in britain. bankers and corporations who get richer while the workers get poorer. as well as london, there were similar demonstrations in towns and cities across the country. from yorkshire to belfast to bangor. in london, the apparent unity of the crowd disguised divisions over what they were opposed to. the government suspension of parliament orjust the government? opposed to a no—deal brexit or leaving the eu at all? is this about proroguing or brexit or conservatives? a bit of both, really. mainly proroguing and brexit, but a bit of both. are you a supporter of the european union? i am not in support of a bosses' club, i am in support of the european workers of greece, spain and italy but i don't support

a bosses' club in europe. you're anti—eu? i am anti the european union, yes. i am opposed to a no—deal brexit. brexit with a deal would be ok? i would prefer we would remain but i could live with a brexit with a decent deal, yes. you are a french national. why are you here? why am i here today? because i am one of the eu 27 who has been living for decades here. it is about a no—deal brexit and it's about the hatred and it's about hindering democratic processes . deeply held feelings are on display as thousands take to the streets. but it is worth reflecting on the people who are not here, people with equally passionate views on the other side of the brexit debate. public opinion and the country are riven as to what democracy should mean. the organisers of today's demonstration say it should be seen as the beginning of a campaign of civil disobedience against the government's treatment of parliament.

mark easton, bbc news, whitehall. the taliban has carried out a major attack on one of the biggest cities in afghanistan. the fighting began on friday when the militant group entered the northern city of kunduz from four different directions. at least ten people have been killed in a suicide bombing. the taliban says it's tageting afghan security forces. it comes at a sensitive time, when the group is engaged in peace talks with the us. our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, has more from kabul. well, residents in kunduz were jolted from their sleep in the early hours of the morning, as the taliban moved into this strategic northern city from three directions, under cover of darkness. but today throughout the day, the afghan special forces have been been moving into kunduz, backed up by air strikes, to try to push the taliban back. pushing into those neighbourhoods where the taliban had occupied some of the areas. according to the government forces,

the taliban has been taking cover in the homes of residents where, of course, it's not clear how long they will wait until they launch new attacks. so even as the afghan government, political and security officials are telling us that they are carrying out cleaning up operations, it's clear that the taliban have not completely retreated from their positions. it's clear that the afghan security forces are out on the streets of kunduz, but right in the centre of kunduz, the taliban were able to carry out a powerful suicide blast, which has killed a number of people, including police who were operating in the area. during the day, too, the afghan defence and interior minister, along with the top us commander in afghanistan, flew into kunduz in a show of strength and solidarity, and to reassure the residents

of kunduz that, in the words of the afghan defence minister, asadullah khalid, they allow kunduz to fall to the taliban. of course, this comes at and absolutely critical time, as the taliban negotiate in the gulf state of qatar with the united states. that has led afghan officials, including the afghan president, to say that this attack on kunduz has proven that the taliban are not serious about peace. but for the taliban, of course, this is intended to send a powerful message that, even as they talk peace, they still remain a powerful military presence in so many parts of afghanistan. the us national hurricane center says storm dorian poses an immediate threat to the bahamas, as well as millions of people along the southeast us coast. nasa has released these images of the storm, which were taken from the international space station. meteorologists say dorian is travelling with maximum sustained winds of 240 kilometres per hour

and could reach the maximum category 5 hurricane status. this is how the bbc weather centre expects the hurricane to develop over the next few days, hitting the northern bahamas on sunday. the storm has changed course slightly, putting itself on a possible track to make landfall in the carolinas rather than florida as previously forecast. the bahamas prime minister, hubert minnis, has made a final appealfor people in certain parts of the country to evacuate the area. i've asked bahamamians, especially those in the keys to kindly, kindly — i beg and plead with you — to leave the keys, and move to the mainland. the surge, i expected to rise as high as 12 to 15 feet, and even more. to put it in perspective,

i am 6'1” — the surge, i expect it to be two to three times my height. what this would mean is that homes may potentially be completely submerged with water. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: nearly two million people in india are facing detention after being left off a controversial "citizens list" that could see them become stateless.

this is bbc world news today. i'm lewis vaughan jones. the latest headlines: police in hong kong have used tear gas and water cannon against crowds holding a pro—democracy protest in defiance of a ban. dozens have been arrested. tens of thousands take to the streets across the uk to protest against prime minister borisjohnson‘s decision

to suspend parliament. nearly two million people are facing the possibility of detention and becoming stateless in the indian state of assam. the government has released a list of people who can prove they came to assam before bangladesh declared independence from pakistan in march 1971. 31 million people have done that already — but the register leaves off 1.9 million. india's governing bjp party denies the charge it made the change to favour hindus and target muslims from bengal. let's now hear from our south asia correspondent, rajini vaidyanathan, who's in assam for us. across the state of assam, people have been coming to the centres to check whether their name appears on the national citizens register. for the last few years, people here, all 32 million of them, have had to prove they are indian by providing documents and paperwork. and today is the moment of truth,

where they come here and see if their name and face is on this list. now, we've been told that 1.9 million people in the state of assam have been excluded, and it's unclear what will happen to them. they will have the chance to appeal but once that appeal process is over, then what?