this is bbc news: welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm james reynolds. our top stories: turmoil in barcelona: police fire rubber bullets and use tear gas at protesters angry at the jailing of catalan separatist leaders. what's clear is that they are becoming worse and worse. more violent, more protesters on the streets and more response from the police as well, who tonight have used tear gas for the first time and rubber bullets as they are trying to protect the national police headquarters which are just down here. super saturday in the british parliament — just hours before mps decide whether or not to back borisjohnson‘s brexit deal. what matters is mps coming together, across the house tomorrow, to get this thing done.

rare criticism of president trump's decison to withdraw troops from syria by a republican party heavyweight — mitch mcconnell calls it a ‘grave mistake‘. and making history that's out of this world: two astronauts take part in the first ever all—female space walk. hello and welcome. in barcelona the anger atjail sentences for catalan separatist leaders shows no sign of dying down. a fifth day of protests ended with police using tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon against stone throwing youths who also set fire to makeshift barriacades. by contrast, during the day half a million people held a peaceful demonstration in the spanish city. damian grammaticas sent this report from barcelona.

central barcelona. parts of it are a battleground tonight. a full—scale confrontation under way, between police and protesters. round after round, fired by the riot officers. in return, stones, bottles and fireworks, hurled back at them. this is now the fifth night in a row of these clashes in barcelona, and what's clear is that they are becoming worse and worse. more violent, more protesters on the streets and more response from the police as well, who tonight have used tear gas for the first time and rubber bullets as they are trying to protect the national police headquarters which are just down here. the day began with huge columns of people, converging on barcelona from across catalonia.

some had been walking for three days to get here. a general strike had shut down the city. now, they took over the streets. these are pro—independence supporters, putting on a huge show of force after spain jailed on monday nine catalan leaders who tried to declare independence for the region two years ago. it's only going to stop once we achieve what we want, that are changes, real changes. not all catala ns want the region to split away. there've been counterprotests by those who want to stay part of spain. they have been tiny by comparison. they don't speak for the majority, because the support for independence is not majoritarian. this was the spark for the violence today, protesters hurling eggs and cans at spanish police officers. eventually, police patience snapped. every day this week, there have been scenes like this. police action, fuelling tempers on the street.

the severity of the jail sentences for the catalan leaders has caused real anger. but so too have police tactics, which the protesters see as heavy—handed. spain's prime minister has warned those involved in any violence will face the full force of the law. there has now been a week of unrest with no sign of it ending. and catalan leaders say their hopes of independence are undimmed. in just a matter of hours borisjohnson will be asking mps across westminister to unite behind his brexit deal. and while parliament is deciding the fate of britain's departure from the eu, thousands of protesters are expected to march through london demanding a new referendum. the stage is set, then, for a "super saturday" — but no—one knows quite what the outcome will be. it's expected to be a knife—edge vote in parliament — and in the last few hours a number

of hardline tory brexiteers say they will back the agreement. laura kuenssberg has the latest. that's not the real borisjohnson. it's a fancy dress version, a climate protester who had scaled the scaffolding around big ben. the actual prime minister is teetering on an even narrower edge. he has to take a leap, not knowing if he'll meet victory or defeat. we've got a deal that allows us to get out of the backstop, that's abolished, and we can do free trade agreements as one whole united kingdom around the world. clearly, what matters is mps coming together across the house tomorrow to get this thing done. and ijust kind of invite everybody to imagine what it could be like tomorrow evening, if we have settled this. but in order to get this deal, though, you have given some concessions, you've accepted quite a significant customs border between northern ireland and the rest of the united kingdom. that is something you said you would never do, you said no

british prime minister could do that. no, on the contrary, nobody wants to have checks at the northern irish border. so, what we've agreed with the eu is that temporarily — temporarily, and by consent of the people of northern ireland, if there's stuff that is coming from gb into ireland, or from anywhere else in the world via northern ireland into ireland, then, yes, there can be checks. but that, of course... and those checks can be levied by uk authorities. but that is very far from having a tariff border. by your admission, and it's there in black and white in the deal, there will be extra customs checks, and for some people, including your allies, that's just not acceptable, that puts the union at risk. no, there are no tariffs going from gb to ni.

but there are extra checks. they already are, as you know. but of course it is also going to be superseded, as we come out, as i hope we do at the end of this month, as we get on to negotiate the uk—eu free trade agreement. the deal brokered by brains in whitehall and in brussels contains concessions from the eu and the uk. it leaves the future more open between the two sides, compared to the previous agreement, and in theory gives the uk more ability to trade round the rest of the world. but it does contain what could be significant changes to how northern ireland fits into the jigsaw of the rest of the uk, and that's not the only reason why the prime minister faces an uphill struggle to get this through mps. you can watch all the developments at westminster across bbc news on saturday — with special live coverage outside the houses of parliament.

on thursday turkey's president recep tayyip erdogan agreed to suspend his military operation against kurdish—led forces in northern syria for five days. but those forces have accused ankara of breaching the ceasefire. they say turkish air and artillery attacks are still being carried out against border towns. well in washington, the majority leader of the us senate says president trump's decision to withdraw troops from syria was a ‘grave mistake‘. in a rare criticism of president trump, mitch mcconnell has warned that that there are significant dangers in america abandoning its allies. here's the bbc‘s north america correspondent peter bowes. well, this is clearly something he feels strongly about and there is a lot of people analysing why he's written the article and gone so public about it. one theory is that he's actually signalling to republicans,

look, it is ok to criticise the president on this issue, such is the strength of feeling. a lot of republicans haven't spoken out up until now, but maybe they will in the future. and just to summarise, what he is saying in this article is that he is really focusing on the implications of withdrawing american forces from syria. he has grave concerns about the rise of groups like islamic state and the possibility that in future, attacks could be staged on the united states. he says, "if permitted to regroup and establish havens, they will bring terror to our shores." and he ends with this line, he says "america's wars will be endless only if america refuses to win them." that is a direct criticism of what president trump has been saying, talking for many months now about the fact that he wants to end these endless wars around the world. lebanese riot police have fired tear gas during clashes with anti—government protestors in beirut.

it's the second day of demonstrations — the biggest in years. they're angry at unemployment, high prices and the poor state of public services. in response, prime minister, saad al—hariri, gave his coalition partners three days to commit to a programme of economic reforms. local journalist timour azhari has told the bbc what he's seen on the ground. well, on the ground we have been seeing thousands of people in the streets of beirut, expressing their anger. expressing expressing their anger. their anger ideas of mismanagement expressing their anger ideas of mismanagement by the government. they have been calling for economicjustice, they have been calling for the downfall of the regime, which is a slogan side to the 2011 arab spring, as it's known. people have been extremely hopeful, as well, which is interesting to see in this country, where for the last few years we have had smaller protest movements happening,

but they would usually fizzle out after hours in the square. now we are seeing a staying powers of the protests. they have been basically going on non—stop for two days. there are hundreds of people in the main square of beirut, hundreds more across the country. mexico's president has been defending the actions of his security forces — after they first captured and then released the son of drug kingpin joaquin "el chapo" guzman. ovidio guzman has run the notorious sinaloa cartel along with his brothers ever since his father was sentenced to life in prison in the us. ovidio was detained during a routine patrol, but when cartel members opened fire in a deadly street battle, he was set free. mr lopez obrador says the security forces took the right decision to protect civilians. will grant reports. the scenes were reminiscent of a war zone.

——the scenes in culiacan were reminiscent of a war zone. heavily armed cartel gunmen prowling the streets and engaging armed forces in battles in a sustained firefight across the city. and those caught in the middle of the conflict have no idea what is happening. fearing for their lives, parents and children cowered in shopping malls and restaurants, behind their cars, anywhere they could find cover. once the smoke lifted, the explaining began. one of the heads of the sinaloa cartel, ovidio guzman, son of the notorious jailed leader el chapo, had been briefly obtained by the authorities. overwhelmed by the cartel‘s firepower, police handed the wanted drug lord back, to the astonishment of many mexicans. an embarrassed state government, who first said they found guzman by chance, admit now it was a bungled operation. at the federal level, red faces were not much better.

president andres manuel lopez obrador said he had approved the decision to let guzman go. translation: the capture of a criminal cannot be worth more than people's lives. they took that decision and i supported it. it was a stunning admission. to say that he supported the decision to release ovidio guzman are the sort of words can come back to haunt a presidency. but his strategy of nonviolence towards cartels remains the right one, according to the president. but many feel it is not working. but this week alone there have been huge gun battles in western states which left around 30 dead between them. one was an ambush of police patrols, the other a clash between the army and a cartel. with violence still plaguing so much of mexico, mr lopez obrador‘s claims to be pacifying cartels does not ring true to those people whose streets descended into gunfire and flame.

stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: stepping out in space: two nasa astronauts complete the first all—woman spacewalk. a historic moment that many of his victims have waited for for decades. the former dictator in the dock, older, slimmer, and as he sat down, obedient enough. dawn, and as the sun breaks through the piercing chill of night on the plain outside korem, it lights up a biblical famine, now, in the 20th century. the depressing conclusion, in argentina today, it's actually cheaper to paper your walls with money. we've had controversies in the past with great britain. but as good friends, we've always found a good and lasting solution.

concorde bows out in style. after almost three decades in service, an aircraft that enthralled its many admirers for so long taxis home one last time. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: protestors have clashed with police in barcelona, after a huge demonstration by catalans against jail sentences imposed on separatist leaders. ‘super saturday‘ in the british parliament — just hours before mp‘s decide whether or not to back borisjohnson‘s brexit deal in a special sitting. at least 62 people have been killed and dozens injured by a bomb during friday prayers at a mosque in afghanistan. the blast — which destroyed

the building‘s roof — occurred near the city of jalalabad, in the country‘s east. no—one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, as katie silver reports. a friday press service gone horribly wrong. as a good time in the week for most muslims, instead, these afg ha ns for most muslims, instead, these afghans rush to get wounded were supers medical attention. translation: it was a time for friday prayers and everyone had gathered in the mosque when suddenly a bomb exploded and everyone got hurt. a voice was suddenly silenced bya hurt. a voice was suddenly silenced by a loud boom and the mosque‘s roof caved in. don't let there was a big exclusion, it became dark then the villagers came and rescued me. i was under the debris in the mosque —— and the mosque was completely destroyed. so many were killed and wounded. we went there, the entire

mosque was destroyed. we don't know if it was a rocket attack or a bomb blast. children were among the injured. local authorities say the number of casualties is likely to rise as people work to bring bodies out from the rubble. there has been a surge of violence in the country in recent months. with the un saying it has reached unacceptable levels. there have been almost 1200 civilian casualties in the three months to the end of september, about 1.5 times higher than the previous year. much of this, the un says, was caused by an effort by the taliban to disrupt democracy. the report not only documents the harm to civilians caused by the taliban‘s violent offensive to disrupt the election, but also highlight a pattern of adduction, threats, intimidation and harassment carried out by the taliban against civilians leading up to and during the election. no-one so to and during the election. no-one so far has claimed responsibility

for the attack. the taliban are languor blame on the islamic state group. katie silver, bbc news. let‘s get some of the day‘s other news. floods caused by eight days of torrential downpours in northeastern ghana have left 28 people dead and displaced hundreds. relief items are being transported 800 kilometres by road from the capital accra to the affected region on the border with burkina faso. meteorologists warn the rains could last into november. it‘s emerged that boeing employees exchanged messages about possible problems with the automated safety system on its 737 max jet nearly two years before the plane was involved in its first crash. the max planes have been grounded pending an investigation because of two accidents which killed more than 300 people. a federal court in new york has found the brother of the president of honduras guilty of drug trafficking charges. tony hernandez was arrested last year in miami.

prosecutors accused him of using his honduran government connections to smuggle 200 tons of cocaine into the us. now, in another milestone for space exploration, the first all—woman space walk has taken place. the american astronauts christina koch and jessica mier replaced faulty equipment on the outside of the international space station. more than 200 people have carried out spacewalks since 1965 but only 1a of them were women — and until today they were always accompanied by men. gareth barlow has the details. for almost eight hours, they made history. the first all—women spacewalk in history. christina koch, and jessica meir, who has a doctorate in marine

biology, stepping outside the international space station, 400 kilometres above the earth. we hope we can provide an inspiration to everybody, not only women, but to everybody that has a dreams — that has a big dream — and is willing to work hard to make that dream come true. watching from solid ground as they made repairs to the space station, president trump hailed the moment. and i just want to congratulate you, what you do is incredible. it‘s so — you‘re very brave people. i don‘t think i want to do that, i must tell you that, i want to tell you, but you are amazing people. earlier, what would have been the world‘s first all—women‘s spacewalk was cancelled because nasa did not have enough medium—sized spacesuits. in the early days of human space flight, women were not astronauts. there were only a couple selected as russian cosmonauts. it took nasa until 1978 to start selecting women.

now in 2019, amid the inky abyss, proof that there is space for us all. gareth barlow, bbc news. dr carly howett is assistant director in the department of space studies at the southwest research institute in boulder, colorado. she told us why this spacewalk is a cause for celebration. imean, i mean, fundamentally, these professionals doing the work they‘ve been trained to do, and so they are the right people at the right time to do thejob the right people at the right time to do the job and they did amazingly well. this is a toughjob. they to do the job and they did amazingly well. this is a tough job. they have been training six years to do it. they are professionals above all. this is a significant moment and i don‘t want to take away from that at all. this is the first time that two women have the work together. as your report already said, women have done space walks, the first was in 1983, but this is the first time two women have done it and i think that isa women have done it and i think that is a significant milestone in terms of space exploration for women and all minorities by extension. about 600 people have gone into space,

only 65 women are among them, why are women onlyjust beginning to catch up? well, i think it was to do with opportunity. when space exploration began, most of the people that flew hard heritage in the air force. they were traditionally pilots, traditionally man, and that has been slowly changing. andi man, and that has been slowly changing. and i think as we go forward , changing. and i think as we go forward, women will continue to play an important, maybe even a dominant role in space travel. if you think about even the language that we use, manned space flight is still used very widely, and that has that heritage. but as we move toward human and crude spaceflights, this coverage that you are giving them really shows that women are involved don‘t have always been involved but 110w don‘t have always been involved but now we are teaching a more prominent role and that is great to see. now we are teaching a more prominent role and that is great to seem

humanity goes back to the moon or mars, can we expect it will be a woman to plant the flag on the surface of the planet? well, i hope so. surface of the planet? well, i hope so. but there is a lot of good scientific reasons to send women, especially on his longer sense. women are lighter, which makes them easier to launch, but they need less calories, they need less food and these less dejun. you have to take less, they produce less carbon dioxide by extent. there are a lot of practical reasons why you might wa nt to of practical reasons why you might want to send women instead of man to do these sort of long duration missions. eventually, if we do want to go out and populate the solar system, you are going to have to be sending women. women are not able to reproduce without women, but there are ways of reproducing without man. soi are ways of reproducing without man. so i think the possible future of spaceflight is within women‘s hands. polo is often referred to as ‘the sport of kings‘ but one programme in philadelphia in the us is out to break the mold. inner—city youths are saddling up and they‘re not only learning how to play but they‘re also enjoying

new opportunities to travel and care for the horses. they‘re they‘ re pretty they‘re pretty much the only kids of colour, at least here in the states, the play sport. we each are assigned jobs, like one person is the barn manager, and then there is someone that cleans the office, someone that cleans the bathroom, there is a laundry, they itiow bathroom, there is a laundry, they mow the lawn and we work if it is the time of season. i think those are all the jobs. a lot of kids don‘t get out of their six block radius, and being in this programme, because we just go so many places,

it, i think, because we just go so many places, it, ithink, helps because we just go so many places, it, i think, helps them feel co mforta ble it, i think, helps them feel comfortable being outside, you know, their own little neighbourhood. people think of polo as something that really is just attainable by people of means. but the fact that, you know, these kids play it, and, maybe you can sue? —— can too? travelling to games, i felt me being here was unusual. i don't really know about this, you know, but i'm fiow know about this, you know, but i'm now getting a little bit used to it fiow. now getting a little bit used to it now. i'm trying to do my best and i prove them wrong. 0r now. i'm trying to do my best and i prove them wrong. or that i am as them, and that is like, my goal, and also to have fun. with the polo programme, the kids just love

also to have fun. with the polo programme, the kidsjust love it. stay with bbc world news. good morning. this time last week the world weather story was typhoon hagibis. and in fact, we were watching this powerful typhoon barrelling its way towards the shores of japan. weather warnings were enforced, several of the rugby world cup matches were cancelled, including the england—france match. well, i‘m pleased to say fast forward seven days and yes we have some shower cloud across japan but the weather story looks much better for the quarterfinals. in fact, it should be relatively dry, bright and warm, with temperatures into the mid—20s for the england—australia match. i wish i could say the same, however, for the uk on saturday. yes, it does look as though we‘re going to have plenty of showers, some of them heavy with the odd rumble of thunder again.

but there is an improvement for the second half of the weekend. however, we‘re still under this influence of low pressure with this weather front enhancing the rainfall across eastern scotland. we‘ll also see plenty of showers out of the west as well. some of these showers will push further inland as we go through the day, perhaps not as many as we have seen across england and wales, but the rain fairly persistent through eastern scotland, drifting down towards the scottish borders as we go through the day and then a northerly breeze kicking in behind. so top temperatures on saturday of 10—15 degrees. but as we go to the overnight period, the showers will start to fade away and the northerly wind will start to kick a little bit further south. so, that‘s going to allow temperatures to fall away. low single figures in a few spots, a chillier start to sunday morning but a quieter start to sunday morning. and that, i‘m sure, will come as welcome news. in fact, the second half of the weekend looks drier and there will be fewer showers around as well. a better day for getting out and about. so we start off on a chilly note.

that northerly wind will be a feature, albeit light, a few showers along the east coast a little more cloud here, damp and drizzly in places. further south and west we will see a little more sunshine and after that chilly start temperatures will recover 9—11; degrees, the high. again, we could have an issue with some fog and frost through the night, but the story into the early half of the week is high pressure building from the west. there is this weather front that could just be a little bit of a fly in the ointment for the extreme south—east, maybe the risk of some rain close to the kent coast. we will need to keep an eye on that. but generally across the uk on monday, that quieter theme of weather is set to build. there will be light winds, there would be a little bit of fairweather cloud and it will feeljust a little bit cooler. but with the sunshine compensating, hopefully a better feel. 9—11; celsius. take care.

$:/startfeed. this is bbc news, the headlines: violent clashes between protesters and riot police have continued into the night in the spanish city of barcelona. earlier on friday, about half a million people held a peaceful demonstration against the jailing this week of catalan separatist leaders. british mps will be heading to parliament in a few hours in what‘s been called super saturday — a special vote on prime ministerjohnson‘s new brexit deal. he spent friday trying to secure the 320 votes the government needs to win a majority for his agreement. one of president trump‘s most loyal supporters, the senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, has condemned his decision to withdraw troops from syria as a ‘grave mistake‘. writing in the washington post, he said it would embolden washington‘s enemies and leave americans less safe.