21/08/2017 World News Today

Spanish police say they have killed the main suspect

22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub is thought to have been driving

After four days on the run, he was shot dead west of Barcelona -

police say he appeared to be wearing a suicide belt.

Millions of people are watching the total solar eclipse in America, the

first in nearly 100 years. And Big Ben bongs for

the last time in four years here in London,

due to restoration work. Hello and welcome

to World News Today. Spanish police say they have shot

dead Younes Abouyaaqoub, the main suspect in the Barcelona

terror attack last Thursday. He's thought to have been

responsible for 13 deaths after a vehicle was driven

at civilians on Las Ramblas. After four days being Europe's most

wanted man, he was spotted by a civilian in a village

west of Barcelona. After he was shot by

a police, a robot checked the his body for a possible belt

laden with explosives. But Spanish media say

the suicide belt he was wearing Our correspondent James

Reynolds reports on what's The police say that the hunt for the

suspect on the run for four base is now over. Officers rushed to a small

town after a woman reported a man hiding by a petrol station. Reports

say the police shot the man when he failed to take of a suspected

explosive belt. A bomb squad sent a robot to check him on the ground.

The authorities confirm that it was the man they had been looking for

since Thursday. Since he rented a van and drove it down Barcelona's

Main Avenue. This is the root of the attack. The fan hit pedestrians.

After 500 metres it stopped. The police say the attacker escaped into

the nearby market. The 22-year-old was wearing a striped shirt. And

sunglasses on his head. Police believe he was alone. These stills

appear to show him on his getaway through the market. Now wearing his

sunglasses. The pictures appear to show that he is walking, not

running, doing nothing to draw any attention to himself. Security

cameras picked him up for the last time right here on edges of the

market. Police say he then headed out and later stabbed a man, stole

his car and drove off. The police believe that he was part of a large

network which they have now dismantled. Five suspected members

were shot dead when they tried to carry out an attack last Thursday in

the town of Cambrils. Four more have been arrested. Authorities hope to

gain information from them. And there was an explosion in another

town. The BBC has learned the suspected ringleader left a mosque

in Brussels last year after Elders reported him to the police for his

radical town. Shortly after the attack, these pictures were filmed

from a home in the suburbs. It might show the moment officers found the

car stolen by the attacker. Lots of police suddenly in seconds. The

police intensified their search inside the city and across the

region. Now they say their manhunt is over.

Lets go to our correspondent in Barcelona.

Let's go to the US. This is the first time in 99 years a solar

eclipse has happened like this in the US. There is a path of darkness

crossing from the Pacific to Atlantic coasts of the US. Thousands

of people travel across the country to get the best view. It looks set

to be the most observed, photographed and documented eclipse

in human history. Let's get more now from our science

correspondent, Pallab Ghosh , who is in Oregon in the town

of Madras and sent us this report. And they've come to be awed by one

of nature's greatest spectacles. We are expecting to see the whole

sun blocked by the moon, so excited. Long queues of slow-moving traffic,

and campsites sprawled Problems for the mayor of Madras,

who is also a woodcarver, he has spent the last three years

planning for this very day. The impact on some people has

been that they didn't In fact, I have had some

people tell me, "Why did And I keep explaining to them,

we didn't invite them, So it's going to do

what it's going to do. A total eclipse happens

when the moon passes in front of the sun,

casting a shadow over They happen around every 18 months,

but often over the sea or in remote areas, where very few

people see them. But this time, the sun's shadow

will sweep across the whole It's been dubbed the great

American eclipse. Millions of people could see it

as it travels nearly 2500 miles all the way from Oregon to South

Carolina. The shadow of the total

eclipse is 70 miles wide, and will take 90 minutes

to cross the continent. Even American football pitches have

been turned over to science today. All across, US astronomers

will collect data, We would like to learn

more about how these eclipses affect the planet,

and how they affect the atmosphere, if there is any atmospheric

disturbance, if it causes wind changes or temporary climate

changes in the area. Very soon, this tiny town will

become the centre of the universe, as those here are among the first

to witness one of the great wonders The BBC's Lukman Ahmed

is in Nashville for us, where Skywatchers are also hoping

to get a view of the Let me update you by looking at the

Sunrise now. It is a crescent here. I can see them on -- the moon moving

towards blocking the sun totally and in a few minutes this will turn into

total darkness and a lot of people are here behind me celebrating and

playing music. They are a of 1.4 million people gathered in

Nashville, Tennessee to see this spectacular moment. It sounds like

all normal practice has stopped, almost like a public holiday. There

is excitement, people are very excited to see this phenomenon. It

is almost 540 years for this city to see a total eclipse. It is something

which happened a very long time ago. People are trying to grab this

moment and catch this moment in about a minute. Everybody is putting

their glasses on and trying to see what is happening just now. It is

very beautiful to see how the moon is moving to blocking the sun. We

should explain that the reason you're putting those glasses on us

because if you look at this eclipse without them it can be very damaging

for your eyes. Absolutely. Everyone should not look into the sun unless

you are wearing these classes. That is why I am doing this. I can see

the spectacular scene. Everybody here have these classes. And people

are distributing glasses. It seems everyone is ready to see that moment

. Enjoy it as it passes through Nashville.

The US Navy is to pause its worldwide operations

to reassess its fleet after a collision between a US

Ten sailors are still missing since the incident.

The USS John S McCain was sailing east of Singapore.

It's the second collision involving a US Navy ship in recent months.

Our Asia Correspondent Karishma Vaswani has been to see the ship

This is what happens when a massive oil tanker

A gaping hole in the left side of the USS John S McCain,

an American destroyer with more than 300 crew on board.

It was on its way to Singapore when just before dawn it collided

with this merchant vessel, the Liberian flagged Alnic MC,

an oil and chemical tanker much larger than the warship.

It's still not clear how the collision happened,

but an international search and rescue operation was launched.

President Donald Trump has tweeted about the accident,

saying his thoughts and prayers are with the US Navy

sailors on board, and the search and rescue teams.

And the US Defence Secretary James Mattis says there will be a wider

investigation into US Naval operations after the collision.

The chief of naval operations broader inquiry will look

at all related accidents, incidents at sea,

He's going to look at all factors, not just the immediate ones,

which will fall rightly under the fleet commander's investigation.

But this isn't the first time tragedy has struck a US

The last one in June resulted in the deaths of seven American

sailors and disciplinary action against the commanders of the ship.

This is an international disaster for them.

It's possible that some combination of poor seamanship or some

combination of things going wrong with the ship, actually things

physically going wrong with the ship that could have led to this.

This collision couldn't have come at a more awkward time

It's in the midst of its annual military drills with South Korea

All of this is raising questions about just how effective the world's

most powerful navy is in this part of the world.

Karishma Vaswani, BBC News, Singapore.

Let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news.

The US embassy in Moscow says it will temporarily stop

issuing visas for Russians, to visit the United States

It comes amid a deepening row over the expulsion of diplomats.

The statement says, they'll resume the service on a greatly

The Chinese car maker Great Wall says it wants to buy all or part

of one of the world's leading motor companies, Fiat Chrysler.

The firm says it's particularly interested

Tens of thousands of troops, aircraft and naval vessels

from the US and South Korea are embarking on a major

The joint military exercises, which have taken place

regularly since 1976, are occurring at a time of rising

North Korea has condemned the operation as a highly

Across South Asia, this season's monsoon rains have

devastated huge areas, killing more than 700

people, and forcing more than a million from their homes.

Bangladesh is experiencing its worst flooding in 30 years -

more than a third of the country is underwater.

Sanjoy Majumder sent this report from the capital Dhaka.

The only way around Northern Bangladesh is by boat.

With little sign of the water receding, people are settled on any

A partially submerged bridge is now home to this family.

They have brought with them whatever possessions they could carry,

TRANSLATION: The flood just washed away our home.

We were able to quickly grab some things and our animals.

Many of Bangladesh's major rivers flow through here,

which is why it is the worst affected part of the country.

This is the Brahmaputra River, one of the world's largest.

What's happened is because of heavy monsoon rain, it's breached

its banks and the entire area around it is flooded.

These people here have taken up the only sliver of land that's

Aid workers are trying their best to get relief to flood victims

but there's a mad scramble - such is the need for something

It's now a race against time, to get to those affected

In London, the world famous clock Big Ben fell silent earlier today.

It won't chime again, except for special occasions,

Our political correspondent Ben Wright reports.

As midday approached, a cloud swelled in Parliament Square.

All eyes on the clock, waiting for the bell.

There's about ten minutes to go until we hear it for the last time.

It's just part of being British, isn't it?

You're around in London and it's one of those things

To be a part of all this, and it's going to be the last

time for four years, erm, a little bit sad.

Protecting the hearing of workers renovating Elizabeth Tower is one

reason Parliament decided Big Ben must not be struck for four years,

except for Remembrance Sunday and New Year's Eve.

But a few MPs are mourning, not applauding, badgering

the Commons authorities to think again.

Everybody is interested in what's happening across the world,

so it just shows what a symbol of Britain Big Ben and the Palace

These are the chimes of freedom, and they've got to be respected.

Most MPs are not fretting about the infrequency

of Big Ben's chimes, but a Commons commission has

said it will look again at the timetable for repairs.

Trying to find a fix that would enable the bells to be

struck on the same basis that they are currently I think

It certainly would be a very, very expensive option.

The crowds have thinned, the political rumpus

will recede, and time, of course, carries on.

The renovations are now beginning, and Big Ben...

President Trump will announce his long-awaited

strategy on Afghanistan - in a live TV address

He ordered a strategic review, for America's longest running

military engagement, soon after taking office.

Our correspondent Gary O'Donoughue is in Washington for us.

We have given up predicting what Donald Trump would do long ago. The

options are from total withdrawal of American forces, 8500 currently in

Afghanistan, bring them all home, adding another 4000 or so to shore

up the Afghan army which is taking heavy losses in the fight against

the Taliban, possibly using private contractors to do some of that

training so that some American troops can come on. There are other

idea of options. The most likely is additional introduction of troops.

It goes against what Donald Trump said should happen before he became

a candidate and became president. He wouldn't be the only present changes

mind on this. Obama did the same kind of reversal. This is America's

longest running water. 16 years and counting.

In the last half hour, Catalonian Interior Minister Joaquim

Forn confirmed the killing of Younes Abouyaaqoub in a news

Just before 5pm the Catalan police shot dead Abouyaaqoub, the driver of

the van and direct perpetrator of the attack in Barcelona on Thursday,

causing the death of 14 people. It has been during the controls and

operations deployed by Catalan police throughout the country. This

afternoon I informed the Spanish president, but I have been in close

contact, from the first moments of the terrorist attack. My profound

thanks to the Catalan police for their very efficient task carried

out with utmost discretion and professionalism, in close

cooperation and coordination with all the security forces of Catalonia

and Spain. Let's go to our correspondent

Gavin Lee in Barcelona. This happened about 25 miles from

here. We are talking about an operation, police operation. The

police say it was a woman tipped the police off, she saw someone

described as wearing clothes you would not wear in the summer,

thought it was a suicide device, called the police and told them

where he was. He was by a police station 25 miles west of here in a

remote town. He ran through vineyards. Police say that two

police officers found him crouching in a vineyard, gathered ground in,

got quite close, ordered him to take off the suicide vest, he opened the

jacket and shouted in Arabic and they fired on them from about ten

metres. We have since learned the suicide vest was fake but it is

confirmed that it is Abouyaaqoub, on the run ever four days. He killed 13

people by hitting them with a fan. The terror cell has been dismantled

now, four arrested, eight dead, they're still investigating but they

said the threat has been neutralised. Another pleasant

evening going on behind you. If I were to go to the city and did not

know about these attacks, were to be a difference between now and how it

was before? Possibly but only if you came to Las Ramblas. People are

asking what is going on, not aware of it. Anecdotally, the street

sellers you see all over Las Ramblas, they aren't not there

because the police are there. There were questions about whether Las

Ramblas should be cordoned off after the attacks in Nice two years ago.

Today they Catalan government reinforced the message to reject

barriers. Back to the solar eclipse. It is

believed it will be the most observed, photographed and

documented event in gym in history. We are live to Kentucky. As you can

see it is almost like Twilight at this point. The sun is a thin

crescent and before this it was so bright and it was sweltering.

Everyone behind me is anticipating the moment of totality in just a few

minutes. That is the live stream from Nasa. This is the best seat in

the country to experience it. You will see how quickly the light is

fading. There is just a tiny sliver of son left. Very close to the

moment of totality. Everyone here is overjoyed and excited. People of all

ages are in all at the moment. And now it is gone. You can barely see

it. We have reached the moment of totality. You can see the corona. I

can see a ring around the sun. The temperature has dropped. It is

amazing. It is hard to describe but you can hear people gasping behind

me. My heart is pounding. It is awe-inspiring. It reminds us all,

from different countries, all different ages, all here to witness

this moment. It is breathtaking. The corona is so bright. Even though you

can Europe able's voices still, you do not hear the crickets. Scanning

the horizon, it is viewed a full. Stunning. You can hear people

behind, they can hardly believe it. I have to say, even seeing that

half, it is completely blocked it is amazing. That is all.