welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. millions of residents are told to evacuate florida, as hurricane ian brings dangerous winds and heavy rain. there will be catastrophic flooding and life—threatening storm surge on the gulf coast region. we hear from the tampa fire rescue department as they try to help those affected. also on the programme: the us vice president heads to south korea, as the north tests yet more missiles — kamala harris will visit the demilitarised zone at the border. iran's president ebrahim raisi accuses protesters of misusing the death of a young woman in police custody to cause riots.

we start in florida, where the state is being battered by hurricane ian. this is the scene live in tampa bay, showing the sunshine skyway bridge, which is getting battered by the heavy wind and rain. there are warnings of catastrophic damage, both from the high winds, which are gusting at up to 235 kilometres per hour, that's around 145 miles per hour, and from the heavy rain. combine that with what experts are saying could be the highest storm surge on record, and there are fears for the safety

of thousands of people. azadeh moshiri is in tampa for us. a life—threatening hurricane is now barrelling towards america's sunshine state. and put millions under evacuation orders across the west coast. ian is unpredictable. it's already caused widespread damage in cuba, wiping out power to the country's entire grid, with some residents killed. but now its hurricane force winds are leaving the gulf of mexico and taking aim at florida's coast. this satellite image shows the eye of the hurricane packed with lightning. clearly, this is a very powerful, major hurricane, that will have major impacts, both on impact in south west florida, so this will be a nasty, nasty day, two days. probably we think now it will be exiting the peninsula sometime on thursday. the problem is, while officials are warning of life threatening consequences, with storm surges

that could reach as high as 3.5 metres in some areas, they don't know exactly where hurricane ian will hit, and so communities are bracing themselves, unsure of exactly who will face the worst of the hurricane. every hour counts, as the storm surge begins to build, and when it does hit, there isn't much time to react. that's why the message has been consistent to those in danger. leave, shelter, and ride out the storm. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to barbara tripp, who is the tampa fire rescue chief and emergency manager. she started by explaining how conditions in tampa have intensified. so here in the tampa bay area, we see a lot of wind that has been coming through. the winds have been up anywhere between 30—a0 mph. the first responders

are responding to calls. we have a couple fires and power lines being down but overall we haven't seen the aftermath of the storm we know we will get a lot of the rain which will flood a lot of the low—lying areas of the tampa bay area. since the storm has hit we know there is a lot of flooding down south, which is the counties below us and of course with all of the resources we were able to prepare for, we have the resources available and ready to assist the other counties down south. where hurricane ian had a big impact on. just listening to what you are describing there, how do you start to prepare for something like this? what sort of resources do you put in place? so one of the things is, of course, communicating with different partners throughout the national weather service to see what type of storm it will be and what potential damage we will face. if the eye actually came through tampa bay

and we noticed that the storm will produce a lot of water. so we reached out to the state for additional water resources and we called in additional first responders for extra manpower and to respond to calls. we have communicated with our utility services to call in different utility services from out of the area as well. so we have been working with the local and state agencies to help out with whatever we need. since those assests are here we are ready to deploy the down south to assist neighbouring counties. just looking at the pictures of the scene right now while we have been talking to you — just heavy rain and those gusts of wind that we have been talking about on the programme. talk us through the big challenges that you are facing in trying to help people. and what people have been saying to you. we had an evacuation

that was put in place and we still hold that evacuation order, due to the fact that even though some of the areas have a low tide right now, we know that there will be a high tide soon. so we had the evacuation which we ordered a few days ago we have been communicating through e—mails as well as websites as well as social media to get the info out. we provided sandbags for individuals that wanted to help secure their homes. we have also over 46 shelters that are open throughout the county. we have special needs shelters and pet—friendly shelters. we also reached out to the vulnerable community as well to assist them with some placement throughout the storm. hurricane ian has already struck cuba on its way to the us. and the island is still struggling to recover from the damage caused.

there have been country—wide power cuts, even in parts of the country which were not badly hit by the storm. some areas have had their power supplies restored. let's look at some other stories in the headlines. there are heigtened fears over europe's energy security there are heightened fears over europe's energy security following explosions that ruptured major undersea gas pipelines. officals say the leaks in nord stream 1 and 2 appear to have been caused deliberately. europe's biggest gas supplier norway is beefing up security at its energy installations, which experts say could be vulnerable targets. earlier, the eu commission president ursula von der leyen stopped short of accusing russia of sabotage but said deliberate disrpution would be met with a strong response. the eu has proposed an eighth set of sanctions against moscow over its latest escalation in ukraine. moscow has held self—styled referendums in four occupied

areas of ukraine tojoin the russian federation. it also announced the mobilisation of reservists and issued nuclear threats. the eu says the latest measures would include new import and export bans, as well as a price cap on russian oilfor developing countries. police in the pakistani city of karachi say unidentified gunmen have opened fire inside a dental clinic, killing one chinese national and seriously injuring two others. they said the deceased had been identified as a chinese doctor who also had pakistani nationality. no group has admitted responsibility for the shooting. us vice president kamala harris is on her way to the south korean capital seoul. once there, she's expecting to visit the demilitarised zone separating north and south korea. tensions are high on the korean peninsula at the moment, with pyongyang firing a missile

in response to large—scale naval exercises jointly held this week by the us and south korea, which resumed for the first time in five years. duyeon kim is a senior fellow at the center for new american security in seoul, and gave me her assessment of what the trip is all about. i think vice president harris�*s trip is intended to send a message to both south and north korea. south korea, to demonstrate and show its commitment to its security and defence and a message to north korea that the united states again is committed to the south korean defence and it will not tolerate and accept continued north korean provocations. but we are already seeing those provocations, and it doesn't look like pyongyang

is backing down. it doesn't, and that will be a challenge and homework, so to speak, for both the united states and south korea, and evenjapan, on how to deal with north korea. how to stop or prevent them from future complications and the biggest challenge has been notjust stopping weapons tests but trying to bring north korea back to the dialogue table. so i think vice president harris�* trip is important. some high—profile visits, notjust among the political leadership but the united states sending its military hardware as you saw. uss ronald reagan made a visit in the port city and engaged in bilateral naval engagement. both a political message and a security message. that the united states has south korea and japan's back when it comes to north korea

but also china. i was just going to ask you about china because it is such a big player in this part of the world. how do you think beijing is viewing all of this? beijing certainly would not be happy about this. and it would certainly aggravate and annoy beijing. but the fact of the matter is that the united states�* presence in the region is not going anywhere. vice president harris�* visit also clearly seems to be aimed at strengthening and building a united front in asia to not only promote a free and open indo—pacific but also defend a rules—based order. and also sending a strong message to china that has been increasingly aggressive and coercive in the region

and to north korea that is being increasingly provocative. let's turn to iran now, where, in a national television address, president ebrahim raisi has accused protesters of misusing the death of mahsa amini to cause riots. as protests continued for a twelfth day, mr raisi said the death of the young woman while in the custody of the morality police had saddened everyone and was being investigated with transparency. at least 75 protesters are reported to have been killed so far, as police have fired live ammunition to try to break up the demonstrations, which have taken place across the entire country. other protests are taking place around the world. rana rahimpour reports. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe named

the woman who died as she cuts her hair. she is a british iranian national who spent six years in prison in iran, and named herformer inmates years in prison in iran, and named her former inmates one years in prison in iran, and named herformer inmates one by one. also her mother and her daughter. and for the women of iran, forfreedom and daughter. and for the women of iran, for freedom and justice, she says. for nearly two weeks, women in iran have been protesting the death of 22—year—old mahsa amini by cutting their hair and burning their hijab. her death has sparked the largest anti—regime protests since the islamic revolution of 1979. here, a woman mourning the death of her brother who was killed in the protests, is cutting her hair. from new york to spain, women

are showing their support. iranians�* demand for freedom has been heard across the world, but in iran so far, it has fallen on deaf ears. in iran today, the president said everyone is saddened by mahsa amini�*s dare, but warned that protests won�*t be tolerated. —— death. you�*re watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. we don't have a thursday murder club, _ we don't have a thursday murder club, not — we don't have a thursday murder club, not yet anyway. be careful with _ club, not yet anyway. ee: careful with those knitting needles. you never know. british tv host turned best—selling author richard osman and his mother, whose retirement village inspired several of his novels. in all russia�*s turmoil, it has never quite come to this. president yeltsin said

today would decide the nation�*s destiny. the nightmare that so many people have feared for so long is playing out its final act, here. russians are killing russians in front of a grandstand audience. it was his humility that produced affection from catholics throughout the world. but his departure is a tragedy for the catholic church. this man, israel�*s right—winger ariel sharon, visited the religious compound, and that started the trouble. he wants israel alone to have sovereignty over the holy sites, an idea unthinkable to palestinians. after 45 years of division, germany is one. in berlin, a million germans celebrated the rebirth of europe�*s after 45 years of division, germany is one. of europe�*s biggest and richest nation.

this is newsday on the bbc. i�*m karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines. millions of residents are told to evacuate florida, as hurricane ian brings dangerous winds and heavy rain. the us vice president heads to south korea as the north tests yet more missiles — kamala harris will visit the demilitarised zone at the border. now to the uk, and faced with growing alarm on the financial markets about the government�*s economic strategy, the bank of england has been forced to take emergency action to try to stabilise things. last week�*s widely—criticised mini—budget unveiled by the uk chancellor has been followed by a collapse in the pound and a sharp increase in the costs of government borrowing. our economics editor faisal islam has the latest. what started as an attempt to grow the economy with the biggest tax cuts

in half a century led to havoc on currency markets, more importantly on debt markets, and then within days, led to a tidal wave of interest rate rises reaching every corner of the economy. in an emergency statement, the bank of england said, "were dysfunction in this market to continue or worsen, there would be a material risk to uk financial stability." it said it was "seeking to restore market functioning and reduce any risks from contagion to credit conditions to uk households and businesses," and would, this explains the intervention. since the mini budget, the effective cost of borrowing long—term for the government has shot up and was spiralling above 5%, a 20—year high. these were rises in two days that would normally take years, increasing the cost of borrowing for the government and everybody. the bank of england intervened today, buying up those debts in unlimited quantities, which brought down

those interest rates, but they remain high. high interest rates mean the value of the government debt, an iou called a bond, decreases. for some long—term loans, they were effectively halved, with severe consequences for one sector in particular. this was a dramatic, surprise intervention by the bank of england to save a trillion—pound corner of the pensions industry. ordinarily, these funds buy up government debts because they�*re safe as houses, no risks. but their value fell so rapidly in two days that they had to be saved in this way. but this also helps the government at a tricky time by finding a customer — the bank of england — for the tens of billions of pounds of debt that they have to raise. so this is an emergency intervention, it is a crisis. and, whilst this will help buy some time, it doesn�*t solve the underlying problem, which is the government�*s economic credibility

with the markets. so this intervention staved off market turmoil turning into the collapse of some types of pension fund. but, in terms of growth and the roots of this crisis, they�*re still there. activists in the philippines say they are fighting a wave of misinformation which aims to whitewash one of the darkest periods of the country�*s history. it�*s now 50 years since president ferdinand marcos declared martial law in the country. but since the former dictator�*s son came to power earlier this year, there have been a series of false and misleading claims posted online. 50 years on, these victims of a time of trauma and fear are no longer worried about being heard. they are worried about being believed. santiago martello kept records after he was dragged off the street in 1977 by soldiers who demanded he falsely confess to being a communist.

translation: i was beaten using a cane, and they hit . my body many times. they used ice and let water drip through my nose. i went through almost all kinds of torture, even my genitals were tortured by the militaryjust to make you confess, but you should not be what you should not be confessing. yet santiago�*s son is one of millions who helped vote in another president marcos. translation: you want me to just disregard what i wentj through, that cannot happen. the sufferings i went through are already embedded in my mind. president ferdinand marcos declared martial law in 1972, a response to what he described as a communist threat. he and his glamourous wife, imelda, amassed a fortune.

her decadent shoe collection just one symbol of their accrued wealth. public anger at ongoing abuse and corruption led to an uprising in 1986. the family were forced to flee. but his son and namesake has led an extraordinary marcos comeback. now elected president, he�*s defended his father�*s rule as a golden era. i haven�*t read all of the stories. and each one represents a life. the written accounts of more than 11,000 victims of martial law are in this archive. i tremble every time i try to read their stories. fears the past may be rewritten have led to a push to preserve the stories and hope they can be placed in a museum. it�*s for the younger generation, that this happened to our country, and if we can come together, they can determine what type

of country consists of a government and rules of liberty and democracy they want for the future. searching for the truth about the country�*s dark past is tricky for generation z. it can be a struggle to pin down the facts on social media. historians now run games and tours to help people navigate the maze of martial law myths. and many find it emotional. they�*ve lost their dreams, their lives, and i wanted to recognise that, i wanted to tell my fellow friends that. in order for us to have the liberty and democracy we are having today, in order for us to speak freely, there were actual people who sacrificed their lives and their dreams. so it seems voices from the past, however painful, are keeping this country�*s collective memory alive. laura bicker, bbc news. i want to tell you now about the crime novels

by television presenter richard osman. they have sold more than 5.5 million copies, and a third book in the series has now become the fastest—selling adult fiction hardback by a british author. the books were inspired by his own mother and the retirement village where she lives. it may look a tranquil scene, but this retirement village in sussex holds a dark secret. lots of the stuff in the book is in the geography of this place, and in the first book someone is murdered in this car park, right here, and plenty more murders this way. these are the sedate surroundings that inspired richard osman to write his thursday murder club novels, about four elderly amateur detectives who live in a retirement village. it�*s home to his mother brenda. we have a thursday knit and natter club, but we don't have a thursday murder club. not yet any way. you have to be careful with the knitting needles. you never know. you could be right there. richard, one of the joys

about the books is the way they portray elderly people. this is a group of people who are overlooked, who become invisible, who are underestimated and actually, culturally it�*s important to represent the fact they�*re not, but also, as a detective, being invisible is perfect, so i sort of have my cake and eat it. so thank you for your cultural invisibility. but while the village and its residents inspired the books, the characters aren�*t based specifically on brenda and herfriends. you have a little bit of that person and a little bit of that person, rolled into one. there�*s some very interesting people here. and we've had a couple in the secret service, haven't we? we have, we have. real spies. mi5. it was fascinating, - having coffee with them. so no thursday murder club, but friday line dancing instead. plenty to spark richard osman�*s imagination for the next two books in the series, and while brenda is his biggest fan, you can always rely on your mum to keep your feet on the ground.

i think the books are very good. i've thoroughly enjoyed then. come on, you prefer hilary mantel to... no, i don't. really? no. - cj sansom. yes. — yes, there we go. absolutely. sorry, you can't compete there. listen, it�*s good. murders up here, murders up here. and there�*s still more to come from the thursday murder club. steven spielberg has bought the film rights. rebecca joan, bbc news, east sussex. just before we go ijust want to take you to new york where diners are getting a real taste of singapore. for the first time ever in the us, a singapore—style hawker market has opened in midtown manhattan. there are 17 vendors, 11 of whom have come directly from singapore. the food guide maven and street—food guru kf seetoh says he wanted to export the food he grew up with, as cooked by his grandmother. that includes dishes such as white beehoon, a rice noodle dish, typically served with clams or prawns

or pork in a flavourful stock. hello. yesterday was a day of sunshine and showers. today, it�*s a pretty similar theme, but if anything, i think more in the way of sunshine and fewer in the way of showers. still quite a cluster around first thing on thursday on the tail end of this weather front that�*s sliding off towards the continent, but actually this little finger, a brief finger of high pressure is going to try and settle things down for this thursday. so, there�*s some showers to start the day across the south—west of england and pembrokeshire, gone through the morning, but winds in off the north sea will feed some scattered showers into northern england, the north midlands, perhaps the north of east anglia through the afternoon, a few across scotland, too. but predominantly, i think, dry and sunny and temperatures up a degree or so on wednesday, 15—17.

through the evening and overnight, it�*s going to turn quite chilly across eastern areas of england, winds fall light light and the skies stay clear. different picture towards north—west, winds kick up, cloud comes in and rain by the end of the night for northern ireland and western scotland. so, 10—11 the overnight lows here. perhaps the odd 3 across the south—east of england. friday, we are going to be dominated by low pressure. we start the day fine with some sunshine across central and eastern england, but wet towards the north—west. and this whole system will swing its way through during the course of the day, brighter but with some showers in the afternoon for scotland and northern ireland. temperatures dipping behind the weather system yet again, and then it�*s a wet end to the day across eastern england. that whole frontal system, though, does push away quite quickly, and in time for the weekend, we�*re left with low pressure, yes, but i think more in the way of sunny intervals again. some showers, just the chance of some more persistent rain running into the south of the uk later on on saturday. so, in comparison to friday, well, yes, it�*s still quite

breezy on saturday, but we shouldn�*t see so much cloud around and outbreaks of rain will come and go rather than being persistent, aside from potentially this area pushing into southern england later on in the day on saturday. and that could linger on overnight saturday into the early part of sunday, too, but sunday daytime, of the two days, perhaps the one offering up less in the way of showers. it�*s still quite a notable westerly breeze. our greatest chance of getting caught in the rain will be along many of our west coasts, but in the east, with some shelter, it should feel pretty pleasant again. temperatures getting up into the mid—teens.