this is bbc news, i'm sally bundock with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. one of the most powerful storms in us history hits florida's southwest coast — leaving two million people without power. all of this is proof of what officials have said all along, that it doesn't matter if you are in the eye of the storm, the floods, the storm, they could all have devastating consequences and even life—threatening ones. this is the scene live in florida, as the state continues to feel the impact of this monster storm. the british government says it won't abandon its plan for big tax cuts, despite the turmoil it's triggered in financial markets.

gangsta's goodbye — the us rap star coolio dies at the age of 59. and proof that dogs really are man's best friend — they can even tell when we're under stress. hello and welcome. one of the most powerful storms in us history has hit florida's southwest coast, with winds of up to 150mph and torrential rain. some towns have been almost entirely submerged under floodwater that hurricane ian, a category 4 storm has brought. our correspondent azadeh moshiri has this report. 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. this is the scene live in daytona beach, near to where the eye of the storm made land a couple of hours ago. vehicles have been blown over, and there is localised flooding already. 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 cuba which were not badly hit by the storm. louisa pilbeam reports. in the darkness of cuba's capital, food rots in freezers. hurricane ian has knocked out

the power across the whole island, leaving more than 11 million of its people losing food they can't afford to replace. translation: in general, the power never goes out. | it goes out in phases — that is to say in some blocks, but the rest of the blocks have electricity. but this time it was a total blackout. restaurants watched their food go off, unable to trade with the power off, in a country with an economy already ravaged. translation: we are | always running the risk of our product spoiling. there is no alternative, and we have no power plant or way of storing the food. when the light of day came, the full devastation could be seen. two people so far reported dead, an island swamped, homes pulled apart. and no wonder. this is hurricane ian from space — the category 4 storm now turning its power on florida. cuba, with crumbling

infrastructure, has seen its electrical system collapse. translation: the country's | westernmost region is affected by damage caused by hurricane ian. pinar del rio and artemia suffered damage. on the isle of youth and part of mayabeque, the damage caused by the hurricane has yet to be recovered. in the last of the provinces, we are working on restoring the system. hurricane ian has moved on, but in cuba this destruction will take months — perhaps years — to recover from. louisa pilbeam, bbc news. the british government has said it will not abandon its plan for big tax cuts, despite the turmoil it has triggered in financial markets. on wednesday, the bank of england said it would buy government bonds to protect the uk's financial stability. the value of the pound has plunged since the cuts were announced on friday. here's the treasury minister andrew griffith. we think they're the right plans because those plans make

our economy competitive. at the end of the day that's ultimately what we've got to do — what we politicians are responsible for is making the economic decisions that will drive continued growth. and you know that one of the things that's bedevilled our economy is our inability to reach that top 2.5% rate of growth. it's happened in the past — it happened before the 2008 financial crisis. we can get back to that, but we're only going to do so with the programme of supply—side reform that was embedded in the growth plan. and we will unpick all the elements to this story in the business news in around 20 minutes' time. why the uk chancellor has said there will be no change to his announcement last week, what the bank of england have done, and what it means to peoples mortgages. so stay with us for that. plus an interview with a former

member of the monetary policy committee of the bank of england. the case of a us citizen accused of causing the death of teenage motorcyclist harry dunn by dangerous driving will be heard in court on thursday. mr dunn, 19, died in a collision in northamptonshire in august 2019. anne sacoolas had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf by the us administration and left the uk, prompting a diplomatic row between the two countries. the trial of felecian kabuga is due to start in the hague later. he's one of the last main suspects to be tried over the 1994 rwandan genocide. he's charged with genocide and crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the slaughter of about 800,000 people. mr kabuga, who's in his late eighties, has pleaded not guilty. an environmental activist was killed every two days over the last decade. that's according to the global witness report

that says more than 1,700 people died while trying to prevent fossilfuel extraction and mining on their lands. it attributes the rise to the growing global demand for commodities, combined with the rise of authoritarian governments. the european union has promised there will be a "robust" response if evidence emerges of deliberate intention to damage gas supplies from russia to the rest of europe. the eu's foreign policy chief, josep borrell, repeated claims by nations like germany and denmark that sabotage had likely caused a leak on the nord stream pipelines. russia has denied any involvement, the country was previously accused of using gas supplies as a weapon against the west over its support for ukraine. the united states has announced another $1.1 billion package of military aid for ukraine. it includes funding for 18 more himars rocket artillery systems —

a weapon seen as key to ukraine's recent success on the battlefield. there will also be systems to counter russian drones, as well as ammunition, radar and armoured vehicles. the us rapper coolio has died in los angeles. the legendary rapper, whose real name is artis leon iveer, was 59 years old. coolio was an up—and—comer in the late 1980s who rocketed to fame with gangsta's paradise, which he recorded as the soundtrack for the film dangerous minds. an official cause of death has not yet been released. broadcaster and writer dotun adebayojoins me now. as we say, no official news on what happened to him. he was at a grand's flat.

what happened to him. he was at a grand's flat-— a grand's flat. indeed, as far as we understand, _ a grand's flat. indeed, as far as we understand, he - a grand's flat. indeed, as far as we understand, he went l a grand's flat. indeed, as far| as we understand, he went to use the bathroom and his friend realised he hadn't come out after a short while and went to investigate and found him collapsed on the bathroom floor and called the ambulance. really sad, sad day for those people, certainly of my generation, coolio represents part of the soundtrack of our lives from gangsta's paradise, that will be his epitaph, the tune he will be associated with. probably the biggest rap song of its day and probably still today actually. an amazing feat of a combination of gospel music and lyrics taken from the bible and otherwise, to bring together what was then, in 1995, in los angeles, a very saturated gangsta rap landscape. but yeah, he managed to do something absolutely phenomenal, to take gangsta rap, if you like, to mainstream

usa and subsequently the rest of the world. find usa and subsequently the rest of the world.— usa and subsequently the rest of the world. and he won awards for that, didn't _ of the world. and he won awards for that, didn't he? _ of the world. and he won awards forthat, didn't he? it _ forthat, didn't he? it catapulted him as an individual, becoming a worldwide name. indeed. sometimes _ worldwide name. indeed. sometimes in _ worldwide name. indeed. sometimes in music, - worldwide name. indeed. sometimes in music, all. worldwide name. indeed. i sometimes in music, all the stars align, coolio wouldn't have been the person i would have been the person i would have said would be regarded as the greatest selling rap artist of all time. but then, you take stevie wonder�*s sample from pastime paradise, and you mix it with an absolutely amazing gospel vocalist, and the lyric, the first line taken out of the bible, and then bringing what was for many people seen as lyrics from a genre, rap, that wasn't necessarily positive, but actually it's the perspective... he talks about... it wasn't necessarily

commending a lot of the bad boys of gangsta rap at the time, this is the landscape of people like nwa, coming out of los angeles where coolio was based, and if you like, they were glorifying through their lyrics, straight out of compton, again where coolio was swum, they were glorifying the bad boy business, the guns, whereas he was more reflective and thinking, hang on a second, we're not going to live forever, let's take the perspectives from a gangsta realising his own mortality, and itjust captured the world. i must say, it's important to put it in the context of the film dangerous minds, like blackboard jungle 50 years before, this was the soundtrack of a film that will be forgotten about because the singles for blackboard jungle was rock around the clock, but

exactly the same thing, a new teacher comes to town in 1954, whenever it was, it was glenn ford. here, it was michelle pfeiffer coming into a roughneck school, but the film has been forgotten about, but the soundtrack to that film, in this case coolio's gangsta's paradise will live forever. absolutely, and i would imagine it might hit the charts and maybe reach number one again. but let's talk about the fact he is quite diverse. cooking with coolio is a thing. yeah, well, with coolio is a thing. yeah, well. good _ with coolio is a thing. yeah, well, good for _ with coolio is a thing. yeah, well, good for him. - with coolio is a thing. yeah, well, good for him. not - with coolio is a thing. yeah, well, good for him. not the| well, good for him. not the kind of thing you would associate with a gangsta rap artist from california, but he was a trained chef. he brought together his expertise as a chef with his expertise as a lyricist, and he's also got

personality. like ll coolj and ice cube before him, he surpassed the genre and became the camera's favourite in hollywood. they love this guy, not least because of his ability to make his hair stand up ability to make his hair stand up on end and defy gravity. that how people remember him. without their hair standing up like that as if it's lost in space, people probably wouldn't recognise him. fix, space, people probably wouldn't recognise him.— recognise him. a sad day, thank ou for recognise him. a sad day, thank you for sharing _ recognise him. a sad day, thank you for sharing your— recognise him. a sad day, thank you for sharing your thoughts. l you for sharing your thoughts. it is a wrap. stay with us on bbc news — still to come. paying their respects — the british public will now get their chance to see the final resting place of queen elizabeth ii. 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 catholics throughout the world. 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. in berlin, a million germans celebrate the rebirth of europe's biggest and richest nation.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines. one of the most powerful storms in us history hits florida's southwest coast, leaving two million people without power. the british government says it won't abandon its plan for big tax cuts, despite the turmoil it's triggered in financial markets. a bbc news arabic investigation has revealed the potentially deadly impact of toxic air pollution on children and the planet from oilfields in iraq, where the british oil company bp is the lead contractor. scientific tests carried out for the bbc indicate high levels of harmful and carcinogenic chemicals in communities near gas flaring — the poisonous practice of burning excess gas during oil production. hanan razek has the story. in southern iraq, the air is being poisoned. these flames come from

gas that is burned off as oil is extracted, producing dangerous chemicals. it is illegal for this flaring to happen so close to people's homes. translation: my name is ali. i have leukaemia. _ i live in rumaila, next to the british oil company bp. look at all the smoke and gases. they're all coming to our neighbourhood. like ali, 13—year—old fatima also has leukaemia. she lives less than three kilometres away from an oil field run by a different company. translation: i'm noti able to walk any more. i can't use my legs. i have to have one more of these, and then they'll give me blood. her doctor says that her chemo isn't enough, and she needs

a bone—marrow transplant. no data has been published about air pollution from gas flares, but a leaked government report blames air pollution for a 20% rise in cancer between 2015 and 2018 in basra. after multiple requests to film in rumaila were denied, our team decided to go in without a permit. we also asked an environmental scientists to run tests so that communities in oil fields across southern iraq would know what pollution levels they were being exposed to. our two—week study indicated high levels of the harmful chemical benzene in the air — above the national legal limit in some places. urine samples showed high levels of cancer—linked chemicals in 70% of the children tested.

iraqi law says oil companies should pay compensation if their pollution exceeds national limits. but ali says nobody�*s listening. translation: after i recovered | from my leukaemia, i tried many times to get oil companies to compensate me, and nothing happened. iraq's minister of oil told the bbc that flaring was not the main cause of cancer in the region. bp said in a statement that it was extremely concerned by the issues raised by the bbc, and would work with our partners on any necessary interventions. it added that the operator of rumaila had long—standing procedures in place to receive and manage concerns or complaints from communities. fatima died during our investigation. translation: she was wearing this when she died. _

whenever we asked her what she wanted, she said she just wanted to get better. as oil companies make record profits in iraq, families like fatima's remain exposed to poisonous air. hanan razek, bbc news. to watch the full documentary, under poisoned skies, directed byjess kelly and produced by owen pinnell, go to the bbc website and look for the programmes page. people will have the opportunity to pay their respects to the queen at her final resting place on thursday, as st george's chapel and windsor castle are due to reopen. they were closed during the period of mourning following her majesty's death earlier this month. our royal correspondent daniela relph reports. after the death of the queen,

to allow for official mourning and funeral preparations, windsor castle, along with other royal residences, was closed to visitors. today, the place the queen called home in recent years reopens. visitors will again be allowed inside st george's chapel within the castle precincts. now the queen's final resting place. from inside st george's, they'll be able to see where the queen is buried. visitors can't enter, but can look into the king george vi memorial chapel, where she now rests with her husband, father and mother. her sister's ashes are also interred here. a visit to the castle now has added poignancy. it has always been an important place for the queen. it was where she would come and worship at easter

with the wider royal family. in 2019, st george's chapel was where we last saw her distributing maundy money, and there have been and king charles and the queen consort also had their marriage blessing at st george's. history have happened here. and remember the queen's long reign at the place that became home. daniela relph, bbc news.

we remember her love for corgis. we know that dogs are very intuitive creatures and some owners will swear their animal can read their mood — well now there's some evidence to back up that theory. researchers at queen's university belfast found that dogs can smell when their human companions are stressed. our science correspondent victoria gill reports. our canine companions come in many sizes, shapes and personalities — but they all seem to share a common sensitive trait. she can sense that i'm stressed, so she gets more stressed. as soon as i, like, get up off the couch, like, they know that they're going fora run, or, like, they know how i'm feeling and are all like, "right, out, out! " really? out the house, yeah. many dog owners will tell you that their pet can sense their mood, but now there's some evidence to suggest that they can smell our psychological state. can't you ? this is a stress sniff test devised by scientists. willing pet dogs, volunteered by their owners,

were trained to nose through this canister line—up. each can contains a sample of sweat or breath taken from a person either before or just after they'd completed a difficult stress—inducing maths problem. the task — sniff out the stressed person's sample. she's one of our study dogs. she's a three—year—old mixed breed and she's a rescue dog and she's absolutely gorgeous. this is herbert. oh, they do look kind of similar! they do, don't they? having a psychological stress response changes the way that our body is emitting odours, and dogs can detect that change. why was stress of particular interest to you? i think it's just really interesting to kind of confirm that, alongside everything that we're aware of, there are these kind of more subtle cues that we might be emitting that dogs are picking up on. the researchers say their findings could help in the training of service and therapy dogs, understanding exactly what human scent cues their noses can detect.

but the researchers also sniffed out one more reason why people feel so connected to their dogs. victoria gill, bbc news. i'm sure my labrador can read my mind, he knows when i'm not going to give him food. we have the top business stories next, and the story dominating this entire week, the market reaction to last week's fiscal plan announced by the fairly newly in place uk government. the bank of england announced yesterday it would intervene to stabilise financial markets. today, share markets in asia are more robust, and that's partly why. also, the pound has gone up a little bit in value, but still at multi—year lows versus the us dollar and other

currencies. in a moment, iwill talk to andrew sentence, a former member of the bank of england monetary monetary policy committee. 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 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 northwest. and this whole system will swing its way through during the course of the day, brighter but with some showers through the afternoon for scotland and northern ireland. and then it's a wet end to the day across eastern england. quickly, and in time for the weekend, we're left with low pressure, yes, but i think more in the way

so, in comparison to friday, well, yes, it's still quite 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. into the early part of sunday, too, but sunday daytime, 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.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines sticking to their guns — no u—turn on uk budget plans, say the chancellor and his team — despite turmoil on the markets. we think they're the right plans, because those plans make our economy competitive. at the end of the day, that's ultimately what we have to do. what we politicians are responsible for is making the economic decisions that will drive continued growth. emergency intervention — the bank of england says it will spend billions buying up government bonds — to head off a pension fund collapse but there's chaos in the uk housing market as hundreds of mortgage products are withdrawn.

also coming up... into the financial fast lane — porsche gears up for a massive stock market debut. but is it the right time?