welcome to bbc news, i'm james reynolds. our top stories: after a two day standoff with the police protesters at hong kong polytechnic emerge from the building but are prevented from leaving the area. further controversy for prince andrew after the bbc‘s exclusive interview, he says he doesn't regret his association with sex offenderjeffrey epstein, now lawyers say he should assist investigations in america. whether a person is a prince or a pauper, if anyone has evidence or information that might be relevant to an investigation of a criminal case, that person should provide it. large parts of central venice in italy are once again under water, as another exceptionally high tide inundates the city. and the man whose lens

helped define the 1960s, the photographer terry o'neill has died. first to hong kong, where i want to build up a picture of rapidly moving events, in the last few minutes we have seen these pictures of at least a0 people arrested near polytechnic university. the people were detained outside hotel icon on science museum road. the university has been the scene of intense clashes between anti—government protesters and police over the weekend. at 5:30am local time, the police advanced in to the huge campus. protestors set the main entrance on fire. police used tear gas and water cannon. our correspondent gabriel gatehouse witnessed events. the assault on the campus started

about five minutes ago. we saw several dozen black clad police officers suddenly materialise out of nowhere and start storming the place. they were firing rubber bullets and tear gas and in response, the protesters unleashed all the petrol—bombs they had, sometimes hurling whole boxes at a time which caused two huge fires at the main entrances to the campus. you may be able to hear a fire alarm going off. everyone is milling around and there is a bit of panic. i have seen some injured people and this does look like the beginning of the end for this campus protest. and we will come back to that story later in the programme. the duke of york is said to be standing by his decision to give a television interview about his disgraced former friend jeffrey epstein, and allegations made against him personally. prince andrew told the bbc he didnt

regret his association with epstein, while admitting it was a mistake to stay with him in new york in 2010, when he was a convicted sex offender. he also denied the allegations of virginia roberts who says she had sex with him in london when she was 17. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. your royal highness, we've come to buckingham palace... the interview has been heard, andrew's answers have been noted, with incredulity in some quarters and, one suspects, with something close to despair within the royal household. the reaction to his words in most cases has been negative. the consensus — in pr terms — the interview was extremely ill—advised. andrew was categoric about his denial of impropriety with the then—17—year—old virginia roberts. she has claimed that on the night of their alleged first encounter, in 2001, she was introduced to him at tramp, the nightclub in central london. she says they danced together there, but andrew was emphatic that he was at home.

he says he had taken his daughter beatrice to this pizza restaurant in woking in surrey in the late afternoon. but how had he managed to remember a specific day so many years ago? because going to pizza express in woking is an unusual thing for me to do. a very unusual thing for me to do. i've never been... i've only been to woking a couple of times, and i remember it weirdly distinctly. as soon as somebody reminded me of it, i went, "oh, yes, i rememberthat." in the united states, wherejeffrey epstein lived, lawyers are saying andrew should now repeat his testimony under oath. whether a person is a prince or a pauper, if anyone has evidence or information that might be relevant to an investigation of a criminal case, that person should provide it.

and from those who have worked for the royal family and who are familiar with prince andrew, there is a feeling of weary resignation. they will be wondering, was the right decision made? who made the decision to put him on? did he make it himself? or did he seek advice within the palace? my guess is that he bulldozed his way in and decided that he was going to do it himself, without any advice. i'm truly grateful for the opportunity... it was supposed to be the interview which drew a line under the story for andrew and allowed him to move on. that moment is certainly some way off. there is no doubt that people close to prince andrew have been taken aback by the share intensity of the negative reaction to the interview, however i understand that he stands by the decision to do it. people that know him say that he wanted to confront these issues head on, they feel that he did so with honesty and humility and they say that they hope people willjudge him on that basis. let's get some of the day's other news:

the iranian president, hassan rouhani, says insecurity cannot be allowed, as protests against fuel price rises continue in a number of cities, for a third successive day. mr rouhani told the cabinet that while protesting is the people's right, it's different from rioting. he defended the decision to increase the petrol price by 50%. at least ten people have been killed in clashes and hundreds have been arrested. the former mayor of new york, michael bloomberg, says he is sorry for his strong backing of the "stop and frisk" tactic used by the city's police. it disproportionately affected black and latino residents. the billionaire democrat said he believed the policy saved lives, but that good intentions were not good enough. mr bloomberg has indicated he may join the democratic race for the presidency, but has yet to confirm this. the 21—year—old greek player stefanos tsitsipas has won the tennis atp tour finals in london. tsitsipas came from a set down to beat dominic thiem in a 3rd set tie break to take the title,

in his first appearance at the tournament. tsitsipas says he will mark the biggest victory of his career with a meal with his family and some champagne. large parts of central venice in italy are once again under water, as another exceptionally high tide inundated the city. three of the worst ten floods since records began in venice, nearly a hundred years ago, have now happened within a week. rich preston reports. for venetians, more water and more misery. a week of flooding has closed businesses and attractions in one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. this, the famous st mark's square, normally filled with people, the city is now streets and alleyways turned into a network of canals themselves stopping the floods, known as the

aqua alta brought suffering and heartache. translation: we have lots of damage stopping the electrical system of damage stopping the electrical syste m we nt of damage stopping the electrical system went underwater and lots of merchandise got lost. necklaces and other goods, all underwater. we had to work a lot, every day, as you can see we have had to lift desks and drawers. there is a lot of work still to do. rainfall of 140 millimetres floods roughly 70% of venice. sunday's rainfall was forecast to be around 160 millimetres. in the end, it was slightly lower. a small relief for residents and business owners to be the mayor of venice has blamed the recent extreme weather on climate change, calling for more to be done. translation: the water has devastated the city, but venetians are on their knees only when they pray. venice will stand up. it will a lwa ys pray. venice will stand up. it will always stand up. but i'd deem it

appropriate that promises made by the government and all political forces be carried out. strong winds brought these surges of water into venice and are threatening other areas, too. further south, venice and are threatening other areas, too. furthersouth, in florence and tuscany, the threat of the rising river arno. back in venice, the waters are now due to subside but a massive cleanup operation lies ahead, as well as the co nsta nt operation lies ahead, as well as the constant fear: what about next time? in sri lanka, a controversialformer defence chief has been elected president. gotabhaya rajapaksa took more than 52% of the vote, which was split along ethnic lines. from colombo, our correspondent yogita limaye reports a wartime strongman returns, as sri lanka's most powerful. mr rajapaksa is seen as a leader who can keep their country safe.

we don't have enough protection for the people. you see everywhere there are bombs and terrorists, day by day a lot of terrorists created here. so, we like to have a father for our mother country. in april this year, a series of attacks by islamist extremists killed more than 250 people. security became a big issue and a wartime defence chief sensed an opportunity. he got his deadly reputation during this bloody ethnic conflict between tamil insurgents in the sri lankan army. torture, killings, disappearances of minorities and the bombing of civilian areas. he is accused of them all. this is where the last very intense bit of fighting took place

at the end of the sri lankan civil war. hundreds of thousands of tamils who were trapped there walked over this bridge into areas that were under the control of the sri lankan military. among them were tamil rebel leaders who had negotiated the surrender with the government. but once they went across to that side, many of them were never heard from again. some believe they were killed on the orders of rajapaksa. thousands of those who disappeared were also civilians. their families still hold daily vigils asking for answers. even though it has been a decade since the war ended. translation: i don't think my son will come back. but we want to expose the atrocities to the world and that is why i come here.

mr rajapaksa has always denied the allegations against him. and as long as he remains president, he cannot be held to account. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: how to help workers when dirty coal mines close — can spain be a model? benazir bhutto has claimed victory in pakistan's general election and she's asked pakistan's president to name her as prime minister. jackson's been released on bail of $3 million after turning himself in to police in santa barbara. it was the biggest demonstration so far of the fast—growing european anti—nuclear movement.

the south african government has announced that it's opening the country's remaining whites—only beaches to people of all races. this will lead to a black majority government in this country and the destruction of the white civilisation. part of the centuries—old windsor castle, one of the queen's residences, has been consumed by fire for much of the day. 150 firemen have been battling the blaze which has caused millions of pounds worth of damage. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: hong kong police have arrested at least 40 protesters after a 2—day standoff at the polytechnic university building. let's stay with that story now. our

reporter is in hong kong monitoring developments for us. what is happening now? there is still a stand—off at the polytechnic university of hong kong. we don't know too much from inside but what i read from the local public broadcaster is that they have been told by the acting president of the student union, saying at least 500 stu d e nts student union, saying at least 500 students still stay inside the campus. some try to come out a few hours ago but they were then faced with tear gas from the police as well as arrest. so it is not quite clear at this moment if the police really wa nt clear at this moment if the police really want to let the students go 01’ really want to let the students go or do they simply want to arrest

every single one inside. has anyone been able to speak to any protesters still inside to find out what they are now demanding? some representatives, student representatives, student representatives from the student union are distancing themselves from the protesters but still saying in connection with them, somehow in communication with them say that there are many injuries inside the campus. we also saw pictures of first daters and doctors being arrested outside the campus overnight so they are running out of medical support inside campus. the situation sounds dire but there is a lack of live cameras inside the campus according to the student representatives as well, the protesters who have been trying to

stay in touch with the outside world. it is also difficult environment for journalists world. it is also difficult environment forjournalists to enter because those who try to come out with push backs to bag searches to say the least, intercepted by police officers. police have been firm overnight, even now some officers we re overnight, even now some officers were filmed trying to enter the campus and some are from this special technical unit. so it is a worrying scene. we have been monitoring the pictures and we have seen people almost encircling the campus. what is your sense of the current police strategy. ——? campus. what is your sense of the current police strategy. --? last week we had a siege at the chinese university of hong kong which is a very like environment. polytechnic is more of a plot of land in the

middle of the city centre. it is much easier to encircle it and try to sneak in the back and contain eve ryo ne to sneak in the back and contain everyone inside. so with over a day of clashes between polices it is difficult to see if they really want to retreat and say enough for today and allow people to go. there is no sign of that, especially with what you can see from these live vision, other frontline officers yelled to the protesters on loudspeakers. they demanded that arresting every single one of them so there is no sign to see any sort of police retreat. the burning of coal is a huge

driver of climate change, producing around 40% of global carbon dioxide emissions. but it's also estimated that coal mining employs 6 million people worldwide. so it stands to reason that helping those miners find alternative livelihoods will also help protect our climate. it's called a just transition, and one woman has been leading efforts to have it adopted worldwide. for our series climate defenders, ahead of a major un conference on global warming, maryam moshiri went to meet her in northern spain. the sun is setting on spain's coal mining industry. for years, the industry has been economically unviable, and now the demands of climate change are finishing it off altogether. but, as one door closes, could more open? sharan burrow is the head of the international trade union confederation. a union boss with a difference. one who wants to defend the climate as well as workers. we want to see this region live.

at the end of last year, spain reached an agreement with unions and the companies involved to suck down —— with unions and the companies involved to shut down all its remaining coal mines. a deal was forged which promised 250 million euros to help miners like these retire early or be retrained. they call it a just transition, and believe it is a model for the rest of the world. sharran is here to tell miners there is hope for them, but the spanish coal mining industry has some miners who remain unconvinced. it's good to look for alternatives. sharran is visiting the recently shut—down la escondida mine, one of many she has visited around the world to reassure workers about their future. coal burning is responsible for around one third of the rising global temperatures,

the biggest source. it looks very rich, guys. globally, around 6 million people are employed in coal mining. and in some parts of the world, mostly in asia, coal—fired power stations are still being built. around here, though, things are very different. mines like this one used to be the lifeblood of this area. but over the past decade, over 30,000 jobs have been lost in the coal mining industry in this region alone. in the nearby city of leon, sharon's visit is generating a lot of interest. just transition is under way in several countries, and industry sectors. her message is blunt. we recognise there are no jobs on a dead planet. but the scale she faces, the money she promised to help these men retrain hasn't filtered through because of continued political uncertainty in spain.

translation: what i want to say is this agreement is good but it isn't being implemented. we need to build living jobs on a sustainable planet. if the planet is to live, we need dramatic ambition. the transition to a zero—carbon society is essential. but it goes hand—in—hand with helping those whose jobs will be displaced. for sharan, it is very much a work in progress. she is well aware that in some cases, the reality does not yet match the aspiration. and next week we'll be looking at a huge source of global co2 emissions you may not even know about — cement manufacturing. we'll meet the boss of one cement company leading efforts to do something about it. terry o'neill, the british photographer whose pictures helped define the 1960s, has died at the age of 81. his images of rock and film stars and royalty helped frame an age

of celebrity, and the idea of the ‘swinging sixties.‘ david sillito looks back at his work. patrick macnee, twiggy. photoshoots don't get more ‘60s than that, and the man behind the lens was terry o'neill. his work, a who's who of the greatest stars of the last 50 years. this image of frank sinatra striding down a boardwalk is now a museum exhibit. indeed, his first assignment as a photographer on fleet street... the very firstjob i ever had on the newspaper, i got sent to photograph a group, and they turned out to be the beatles recording please please me, and i started at the top and i never looked back. # rebel, rebel, you've torn your dress... in the ‘70s, he captured david bowie's ever—changing image. to his admirers, one of his great talents was developing relationships with his sitters. when you work with musicians, you've got to respect that it's their time,

but terry got very close to a lot of people, and in, you know, in some instances, he married his subject. you know, he was married to faye dunaway. married to faye dunaway, photographed frank sinatra — it wasn't an easy life. this was one of the first stones photoshoots, but as the years went by, modern stars weren't so interesting to him. i don't know what it is, all the guys seem to wear black suits, all the girls seem to be fashion plates, but they all look the same. it was a portfolio that had everyone from bardot to churchill, sinatra to taylor. terry o'neill‘s life truly was a catalogue of a golden age of stardom. terry o'neill, who's died at the age of 81. washington's smithsonian national zoo is about to say goodbye to one of its most popular residents. in a couple of days time, bei bei the panda will be flown back to china. as part of an agreement

between the two countries, all pandas have to be returned when they are four years old, for breeding purposes. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. parting is such sweet solo that makes sorrow but there is always time for cake. bei bei enjoyed some last—minute treats before his trip to china, his fans having a last look at him. we love him and we have been coming regularly to see him and we just wanted to come for our last opportunity before he goes to china. i'm sad that we don't get to see him anymore but i'm happy he's going back to his homeland. i'm sure they will be happy to see some other pandas as well. bei bei was born at the zoo in august 2015. his mother was a gift from china. a panda

keeper and that will travel with him ona keeper and that will travel with him on a private jet. keeper and that will travel with him on a privatejet. appropriate, really, when you think that bei bei tra nslates really, when you think that bei bei translates as precious treasure. we'll be taking 15 to 20 kilos of bamboo, apples, potatoes, carrots, some some sugarcane, honey bamboo, apples, potatoes, carrots, some some sugarcane, honey and biscuits. all the things he likes throughout the day. we will take them with us so on that flight we can provide him with everything he needs. he sets off on tuesday, journeying to a new home and a new life stop by buyer, bei bei, buy buy. a reminder of our top story. police and hong kong have arrested at least 40 protesters after in two days stand—off at the polytechnic university building. we will monitor that story over the next few hours. if you want more, please go to our website. don't forget you can get in touch

with me and some of the team on twitter. i'm @jamesbbcnews. hello there. i think we've got a couple of drier days coming up. some sunshine, but some cold mornings on the way as well. that said, we've still got a legacy of cloudy weather for east anglia and south—east england over the next few hours. a few mist and fog patches, a few patches of drizzle. skies clearing further north, we've already seen temperatures fall well, well below freezing and a sharp and widespread frost across the northern half of the country with showers running in across northern scotland here. the added risk of some icy surfaces to take us into monday. but for monday, it's this ridge of high pressure that keeps low pressure at bay to our west and to our east, and that means it should be a fine and dry day for the vast majority of us. now, it might be quite cloudy across the extreme east of england

for a time, but for most of us, after that cold and locally frosty start to the day, we're looking at dry and sunny weather. showers for the north—east of scotland, a few running down our north sea coast of england. after that bitterly cold start to the day in the scottish capital, temperatures here only reach around 2 degrees through the afternoon, so it is going to be a cold one for sure. and if anything, monday night, the frost gets more widespread and more intense. some of the sheltered glens in scotland could potentially see temperatures getting down as low as —10 degrees celsius. if that happens, that would be the coldest night of the autumn. now, looking at the weather picture into the middle part of the week, high pressure initially stays with us. but, increasingly, we'll see this low pressure try to make inroads off the atlantic, and that's going to be bringing rain or showers to western areas. but that said, i don't think the rain's going to be as troublesome as it has been for much of this autumn. now, we could have some lingering mist and fog patches to start off tuesday. otherwise, cold and frosty. we'll start to see this band of rain working in across northern ireland,

maybe getting into western fringes of wales and perhaps into the extreme west of cornwall as well. but for most, it's another dry day — dry, yes, but still pretty chilly. temperatures, 4 in edinburgh, 4 in hull and a 7 the top temperature in london. heading into wednesday, the rain makes further inroads. so, a better chance of seeing some rain return to wales and south—west england, the rain turning heavier later in the day to northern ireland. with more of a south—easterly breeze blowing through the day, we're going to start to see temperatures lifting by a few degrees. so, highs getting up to around 8 or 9 degrees in london and cardiff, around 8 degrees or so in aberdeen and a 10 for belfast. so, over the next few days, any rain is not likely to be as heavy or persistent as we've seen so often this autumn. cold nights to watch out for, a few fog patches, but it does turn a bit milder later in the week. that's your weather.

this is bbc news, the headlines: hong kong police have arrested at least forty protesters after a two day standoff at the polytechnic university building. activists continue to occupy parts of the building after a night of clashes. overnight, protesters set fire to two of the entrances when police moved into the campus. there's further controversy for prince andrew after the bbc‘s exclusive interview, he said he didn't regret his association with sex offenderjeffrey epstein. the duke of york has been widely criticised for failing to express sympathy for victims of epstein who killed himself in august. large parts of central venice are under water again, as another exceptionally high tide inundated the italian city. three of the worst ten floods since records began nearly a hundred years ago, have now happened in a week. the mayor of venice has blamed it in part on climate change, calling for more work to study its effects. a number of homes and businesses

in gloucestershire have flooded