welcome to bbc news. the spanish prime minister, mariano rajoy, has announced steps to remove the current administration in catalonia and to hold fresh tim willcox is in barcelona. i am standing in the centre of barcelona, leading down to... at the tail end of a massive demonstration against the decision to oppose direct rule from madrid. you can see some live pictures now. there are tens of thousands of people at this demonstration. according to the local police, at its height the run nearly half a million people out on the streets. it follows that crisis cabinet meetings held by mariano rajoy earlier today, with his cabinet in madrid. where they said that having gone through the senate, they would invoke article 155, effectively imposing direct rule from madrid on this region of catalonia. it follows that referendum deemed illegal by madrid on october one, when separatists claim 90% of the people who voted for independence, on a turnout of just 43%. who voted for independence, on a turnout ofjust 43%. what happens now? it will go, the decision by the spanish government, will go through the senate, which will clearly past because they have a majority. and then direct rule will be imposed, maybe as soon as thursday or friday next week. a hugely coveted task in the madrid authorities. a smack complex. this evening they took to the streets again. catalans who want independence. theyjust want to crush us down. we've got dignity, we've got our dignity, we've fought for it for years. we couldn't speak catalan only, like, a0 or 50 years ago. are we going back to that? i am young and do not have that much knowledge, but enough to know that it is not normal and it should not be happening in our country. we are a developed country, this isjust outrageous, i am speechless. it was earlier that spanish ministers took the never before used nuclear option. all senior catalan politicians will be dismissed. the spanish prime minister said all of their powers and responsibilities would be taken over by his team in madrid. mariano rajoy said he was forced to act by the long—term disobedience of catalonia's regional government. translation: we apply article 155 because no government of any democratic country can accept disregard for the law. catalonia is divided on independence. some here, like carlos, accept that the spanish government had no option. but he told us that madrid and catalonia's government are to blame for the uncertainty and crisis today. in the crowd this evening, the catalan leader, at least for now, carles puigdemont. hailed as a hero here, but a figure of hate for others in catalonia and millions across spain. tonight he will make another address, possibly this time a more emphatic declaration of independence, whatever that will mean. catalonia is on edge. catalonia has enjoyed large amounts of autonomy since the 1980s. when madrid steps in to exert control, many people here will resist. madrid will not physically take control here for at least several days. when it does, it will not be straightforward. that speak to two people on opposing sides of this debate. i have an mep for the erc pro—independence movements and also a business than he was supporting unity with spain. ifi he was supporting unity with spain. if i can start with you, where do we go now? just two days ago we suspended independence and we ask the negotiations. what we get back his political prisoners and suspension. before the catalan parliament is dissolved, before other people are arrested, with the police are taken under the control of madrid, willie finally do it and declare unilateral declaration of independence? i think we have no other option. it is outrageous that they will try to take over our autonomy, our government, to grasp oui’ autonomy, our government, to grasp our parliaments, our media, public media. they are leaving us with... they're doing that because they say it is out of the constitution, and illegal referendum and this region is split and a lot of people don't wa nt is split and a lot of people don't want independence. over half a million people who just demonstrated what except that. it seems inevitable given the stand—off between both sides, but this is a massive headache for madrid. chorus. the one wants to apply any direct rule, but it have to be done. —— of coui’se. rule, but it have to be done. —— of course. when a regional parliament declared themselves above the law. asa declared themselves above the law. as a democrat as pro—unity and solidarity, i feel relief that the government is establishing law and order and catalonia. if there were a referendum, for the whole country on the situation in catalonia, would you support that? at the moment, there doesn't seem to be any dialogue between the madrid government and here. dialogue between the madrid government and herelj dialogue between the madrid government and here. i would understand why the future of catalonia should be in the hands of the whole of spain. just as the scots, they only voted in scotland's, not the rest of the uk. for us it would be the same case. do you not understand the damage you we re you not understand the damage you were doing to spain, some critics would ask? the number of businesses moving away from here, the stock market has fallen. there is uncertainty about spain's future.|j think democracy is not damaged. this is only coming because we wanted to organise a vote, a referendum. they have a mandate from the people and they honoured that mandate. democracy can never damage anything. do you have an answer?” democracy can never damage anything. do you have an answer? i think it is not democratic when the regional government exceeds its own powers. this is causing great and the responsible damage to the economy and society. i think we have rules to follow and we have a democratic way of doing things. they definitely didn't do it. how is it going to work? the local police put under madrid's, the tv station may be taken off air. the parking fines, all the sort of mundane things of normal life. how is madrid going to do that? you will be sent up here to oppose it? i guess of the regional president is responsible as fair to everybody, he will declare elections in two months. would you support that? what for? we already have elections two months ago. the result was a clear majority. we could go on for hours. we have been discussing this for hours over the last few weeks. thank you very much. that is the division articulated by both five fire. a big decision taken by madrid today to impose direct rule, the first time it has ever happens. 70 knot on as regions. the biggest crisis the attempted to hear back in 1981. itu in london. kim wilcox with those enormous crowds in barcelona. army bomb squad specialists have been called to the nuclear reprocessing plant at sellafield in cumbria to deal with hazardous chemicals found in a lab. the chemicals, contained within a number of canisters, were discovered during a routine audit at a laboratory at the site in cumbria. they are industrial solvents which are potentially flammable in liquid states and can crystallise and become unstable when exposed to air. sellafield limited, which runs the plant, said there's no reason for people living locally to be concerned. a short time ago, i spoke to professor neil hyatt a professor of radioactive waste management at the university of sheffield. he began by telling me that the chemicals were uncovered as part of a clean—up operation from a laboratory that was decommissioned. he went on to explain the process for disposing materials. that lab will have been used for many different tests and experiments over a long period of time, over decades. in chemistry labs, at the end of a process, it is practice now that you should dispose of material that is not needed as quickly as possible. but in some cases, that doesn't happen. it happens in hospitals, in universities and in industrial companies. somebody will take a decision to keep hold of something because it might come in handy. if you are not so careful, after a period of years, you will find it again and then have to take steps to dispose of it. this is not an uncommon situation in industrial operations. and in the rest of the chemical industry. in terms of what happened today, you talked about taking steps to dispose of something like this, is that all we are talking about or was there a greater level of concern? there is a level of concern because of the nature of the operations that go on at the sellafield site, a nuclear site. there is an extra degree of caution and conservatism in dealing with situations like this. as we understand, the team took the right course of action. emergency services were notified, the regulatory bodies and steps were taken to remove that material and dispose of it by controlled explosion, which was the right thing to do. we know of one controlled explosion having happens, the second may have happened as well. that involves putting them in some sort of deep sandpit? is that right? that's right. i understand they excavate a trench, the chemicals are placed covered by sandbags and then detonated by remote control. police in northern ireland are investigating the murder of a woman in belfast. the victim, who was 51, died shortly after being found distressed and injured in the back garden of a house in finaghy on the outskirts of the city. two men in their 20s were arrested a short time later at an address two miles away. a local politician said the alarm was raised after neighbours heard screams at around 7am this morning. storm brian has hit the uk with gale—force winds and high seas, though disruption has not been as bad as predicted. gusts of 78mph were recorded in capel curig and aberdaron, north wales, with 84mph recorded on the isle of wight. there was flash flooding in several irish cities, including limerick. let's take a look at the storm has been affecting parts of the uk — starting in the south west. most places have escaped flooding caused by spring tides although there has been disruption to travel on the first weekend of the school half term holidays with brittany ferries cancelling dramatic scenes and fierce winds. that's not the treacherous conditions forecast but certainly rough at times. we are expecting a surge of the spring tides, as the search has come through a little under the forecast. so the result is that the levels in the harbour are about bit lower. they have not made it to the heights to start inundating the drainage system.- corporate succeeding in cornwall are out of action but luckily no cars we re out of action but luckily no cars were stranded. there are at least six inches of water at here and sign on the pavement. it has not stopped drivers ploughing along the road, as you can see, and that in spite of all the dangers. i've even seen two buses full of passengers ploughed through as well. a mixed reaction to the weather from local people. through as well. a mixed reaction to the weather from local peoplem has been quite rough. with the car parks flooding and stuff, it's a bit ofa parks flooding and stuff, it's a bit of a worry for businesses down here. i was expecting a lot worse. it's not that windy. hopefully it will get a bit worse later on. it's very windy along the coast. i have been up windy along the coast. i have been up as faras... windy along the coast. i have been up as far as... and it'sjust blowing away out there. some other places i've also taken a battering. the strong winds are expected to continue per several hours to come. i don't know why he wanted it to get worse than it was! high waves and strong winds from the storm has also been battering the cumbrian coast. the environment agency issued a flood alert for the whole of the county's coastline... but no major damage has been reported. jim knight sent this report. the shore line this lunchtime. a seething crashing awesome display of the sheer power of nature. as storm brian unleashed its worst on this exposed stretch of coastline. as you can see, here at saint bees, the high tide and these really strong winds easing supplied by storm brian are combining to create some pretty spectacular scenery. at the moment, thankfully, not life—threatening. however the emergency services are warning people all along the coastline here to exercise extreme caution, and to treat these big seas with the respect they deserve. those who came to see it could only stand and stare. marvelling at the sheer power and ferocity of the wind and sea. power and ferocity of the wind and sea. i was open to go for a nice coastal walk this morning for today, but i think i will put that on hold. fantastic. the power of nature. but i think i will put that on hold. fantastic. the power of naturem was still blustery and unpleasant at nearby whitehaven, but the brea kwater nearby whitehaven, but the breakwater and scarborough kept the world season they before the storm headed further north. having tha nkfully headed further north. having thankfully not delivered any of the widespread damage which some people had feared. two boys have been injured in a serious collision with a van in cleethorpes in lincolnshire this morning. humberside police were called to the incident after a white peugeot van mounted the pavement on st peter's avenue at about 8:30am. one of the boys suffered life threatening injuries, and both have been taken to hospital. the headlines on bbc news: a huge demonstration in barcelona after the spainish prime minister announced steps to remove the current administration in catalonia. explosives experts were called to the sellafield nuclear plant in cumbria after an audit of chemicals stored in a laboratory. storm brian brings with it gusts of over 70mph as parts of the uk are hit by power cuts and flooding. human rights groups and zimbawe's political opposition have condemned a decision by the world health organisation to appoint president robert mugabe as a ‘goodwill ambassador‘ for the un agency to help tackle non—communicable diseases. zimbabwe's zimba bwe's opposition zimbabwe's opposition said that the health system in his own country has all but collapsed. in his 37 years as bad boy's leader, robert mugabe has been called many things but not many could have expected he would be a world health organisation goodwill ambassador. the announcement was made by the new who head, who praised the president and zimbabwe for its commitment to universal health access. but his choice has been roundly criticised. the idea that they would name mugabe as any kind of example of contribution to health care is absolutely absurd. people are really wondering what's going on here, what possibly could have led to this. many critics say the health system in zimbabwe has collapsed under robert mcgarvey, with staff underpaid and medicines in short supply. they have also pointed out that mr maghaberry and other senior ministers go abroad for their medical treatment. as it stands, robert mcgarvey himself travels to singapore where he gets help with his cancer. and you can just imagine that if he has too coerced rattle of the world to get that sort of treatment and there is no treatment available in zimbabwe itself, and he's not even willing to use their hospitals in zimbabwe because they are such a sickening and worrying state, . .. because they are such a sickening and worrying state,... foreign governments have also waded in. the uk government described the decision as surprising and disappointing, saying his appointment risks overshadowing the work undertaken globally by the world health organisation on non—communicable diseases. previous ambassadors have included angelina jolie and roger federer, who have taken on prominent roles in promoting relief efforts. this role will be to... other medical diseases in north africa. he is expected to serve two years in this role. speed limits through motorway roadworks in england could be raised from 50 to 60 miles per hour. the proposed changes follow trials which found drivers would feel roadworks. some of them go for a mile after mile. the current speed limit is 50 mph, but highways england side that could be increased to 60. they conducted trials with heart rate monitors measuring drivers stress levels as they pass through roadworks at different speeds. 60% of them recorded a deep freeze and their average heart rate in the 60 mile an hour zone. in 55 mph terrorism, there was a decrease in 56%. what you find at 50 mph is many trucks have their speed limited to 56 will stop and therefore they try and drive faster, the tailgate ca rs try and drive faster, the tailgate cars as that of the bumper. that becomes incredibly dangerous. on those stretches, if you can have 55 or 60 miles an hour, you will get less tailgating, fewer drivers just studying their speedometer, and it really ca n studying their speedometer, and it really can be safer. but what about people working on the motorways? the unite union which represents them says these proposals ignore their safety. they say in recent years the number of motorway workers have been killed and increasing the limits will make their working conditions even more dangerous. motorists have mixed views. it would make my journey a lot shorter because immediately i would start the journey, i am experiencing 55 mph speed limit straightaway. 60 would be an improvement. i think that's too fast, especially when there are people on the roadside, men working on the roads. the speed limit should be 50. even that is pretty fast. if you go past, you can feel the speed and the wind from the car. i think that's too fast. highways england says it is carrying out further tests to ensure it can be done safely, but the changes could be brought in by the end of the year. the us and south korea are conducting joint military exercises off the korean peninsula, amid heightened tensions with north korea. the us has says the drills are designed to be a show of sea and air power, to deter north korea from any military action. pyongyang has described the exercises as a "rehearsal for war". among the ships taking part is the uss ronald reagan, the biggest of the us navy's fleet in the asia region. our correspondent mark lowen was on the ship. we have come down here to busan, south korea's second city, where the uss ronald reagan docked earlier today. if ijust step back and we can zoom in, we can't shoot directly at the port, so we have come up to the hill and you can see there the enormous aircraft carrier, the uss ronald reagan, leading the us‘s seventh fleet stationed in japan. it has a crew of 5,500. on board we went up to the deck, had a short time on deck and saw some of the 70 or so fighterjets and bombers that are stationed up there on the deck. this is one of the vessels that has been taking part in ten days ofjoint military exercises between the us and south korea. the commander of the vessel spoke to us. he talked about an ironclad alliance between the us and south korea. clearly the us very keen to reinforce its military support for the republic of korea at a time when the escalation of nuclear tension, military tension, with north korea, the nuclear crisis from pyongyang and also with that escalation of bellicose rhetoric putting a real strain on international relations. and it has caused some fear here in south korea. police in germany say an attacker with a knife has injured several people in the southern city of munich. the stabbings occurred near the rosenheimer underground station. there were no life—threatening injuries. a man has been detained. donald trump has announced he plans to release thousands of classified documents relating to the assassination ofjohn f kennedy in 1963. some us government officials are thought to oppose the publication of the papers on national security grounds. but mr trump has tweeted that he would allow them to be opened — "subject to the receipt of further information" the majority of households have experienced problems with their broadband over the last year, with slow speeds the most common complaint. a survey by ‘which‘ suggested customers of virgin media, talktalk, sky and bt were the worst affected. our personal finance correspondent simon gompertz reports. frustration with broadband is boiling over in some households. we've become so dependent on it for shopping, banking and entertainment that the internet not working can drive people mad. it cuts out more than it should. i live in the countryside and it's terrible there, like 5 megabytes per second is the maximum you'll ever get. the speed in my area doesn't actually work as well as it should. it depends on where you live. i live in a newbuild apartment, so the speed is pretty good. i get what i pay for. which?'s survey shows 21% of customers had problems with speed. 17% experienced frequent dropouts in the connection. 12% had a wireless router fault, and 8% had no connection at all for hours or days. with talktalk, 33% said their speed was very slow. 22% in the case of bt. while 38% of virgin customers complained about price increases. talktalk says it is disappointment and its extensive investment programme has already led to fewer faults and quicker repair times. virgin says its service is faster and the majority of its customers get their advertised speed or above at peak times. there is a regulator, ofcom, with the job of making sure companies provide what they promise. it says they must up their game. simon gompertz, bbc news. the church of england is to debate holding services of blessing for same—sex couples for the first time. if it's agreed by the church's ruling general synod, the services could be held after a couple has married in a secular ceremony, or formed a civil partnership. callum may reports. since 2014, same—sex couples have been able to marry outside a church, but the church of england does not allow their relationships to be blessed. it says there is real and profound disagreement about sexuality. bishops are set up a group to spend three years discussing what to do next, but there and may have been forced by members in the diocese of hereford, who voted in favour of an order of error and dedication following a marriage or civil partnership. now it will be debated by the church's ruling general synod. the proposed service is described as neither contrary to nor a departure from doctrine of the church. and individual churches and priests will be allowed to opt out. the c of e has not yet gone as far as anglicans in the scottish episcopal church, who began holding same—sex weddings this year. and conservative campaigners called the move a fundamental departure from church teaching. this synod, which meets twice a year, is yet to fix a date for the debate to take place. let's check on the weather forecast. good evening. i think the story with dora brya n evening. i think the story with dora bryan is not quite finished yet. still some strong winds to come in western areas, particularly through this evening at night. the satellite picture shows this storm system, this beautiful swirl of cloud. the view from space is pretty spectacular. some really heavy rain and strong gusty winds. the strongest winds through the night in price of south—west england, wales, north—west england, northern ireland and south—west holland. weather pulses of heavy rain and the risk of some localised surface water flooding. not going to be particularly mild eider at eight or 9 degrees. quite a coup field. a cool start tomorrow, a blustery start with some rain. as the re m na nts of start with some rain. as the remnants of our storm surge of the north—east, things will improve. the cloud bricking up, from sunshine, still a peppering of showers out west. with lighter but it won't feel particularly warm. up to 40 degrees, slightly below part of year. to the week, spells of rain, breezy but later in the week southern areas could be warming up. some places into the 20s. hello, good evening. this is bbc news. the headlines: large crowds have gathered in barcelona hours after the announcement of plans by the spanish government to strip catalonia's redevelopment desperation of its powers. the sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant says a bomb disposal team has successfully destroyed all potentially hazardous chemicals found on the site yesterday. britain and the united states have expressed disappointment that the decision of the world health organisation to name robert mugabe as a goodwill ambassador. highways england is considering raising speed limits through sections of war —— roadworks to combat motorway congestion. storm brian has hit the uk, with gale force winds and high seas. disruption has not been as bad as predicted. no time to cross to the bbc sports centre for sportsday.

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