this is newsday on the bbc. i am rico hizon in singapore. our top stories: the worst south asia floods in decades — 1200 people have died and more rain is forecast. in southern texas, floodwaters are expected to reach their peak on friday, nearly a week after hurricane harvey hit land. hello. i am hello. lam ben hello. i am ben bland hello. lam ben bland in hello. i am ben bland in london. also coming up on the programme: a ground—breaking new cancer treatment that uses the body's own immune system gets approval in the us. no match, but plenty of action as the english premier league transfer deadline passes. we'll take a look at some of the biggest deals. glad you could join us.

it's 7am in singapore, midnight in london, and 3:30am in the morning in delhi, where the full impact of the devastating floods across south asia is now becoming clear. heavy rains at this time of year are not unusual, but the sheer loss of life certainly is. more than 1200 people are believed to have died in the region. relief agencies are struggling to get help to millions of people who have been affected. the monsoon rains are the heaviest that india, nepal and bangladesh have seen in decades. the bbc‘s sanjoy majumder has this report. weeks after the worst flooding in decades, a third of bangladesh is still under water. many villages in the northern part of the country are still cut off. aid agencies are desperately trying to reach those affected. it's a similar situation across large parts of south asia. the eastern indian state of bihar has been hit the hardest. heavy rain and overflowing rivers have

left large areas under water. more than 500 people have been killed, here, in the last few weeks. tens of thousands of people have lost their homes, and are staying in temporary camps. there's still a lot of water, there's a lot of damage, a lot of people still out of their homes. people are surviving and getting on with things as they can. in india's financial capital of mumbai, a city of 20 —— and india's financial capital of mumbai, a city of 20 million, was brought to stand still, after heavy rain on wednesday. transport services ground to a halt, forcing many to simply wade out. that may transport services ground a halt. —— transport services ground to a halt, forcing many to simply wade out. it is raining intensely across india, nepal, and bangladesh. it has done so for weeks.

it has caused the worst flooding in decades, and it has led to a massive humanitarian crisis across the entire region. south asia is not unused to floods, but the scale of the disaster, this time round, has meant that the authorities have struggled to cope. sanjoy majumder, bbc news, delhi. of course, those floods aren't the only ones making the headlines. rescue operations are happening across texas, in the wake of tropical storm harvey. 100,000 homes have been affected by the disastrous flooding. a hospital had to be evacuated because of a water shortage and a fire is still burning at a flooded chemical plant. the bbc‘s laura trevelyan reports from richmond, south west of houston. here, they have been told that they are yet more mandatory evacuations in fort bend county, and people here are told that the river that has burst its banks will crest tomorrow, friday, at 56 feet. that means these homes here, already flooded, the water levels will rise even higher. that is tremendous in these ideas causing to beware. some people hoped

that they were out of the woods, but 110w that they were out of the woods, but now people realise because of the tremendous amount of rainfall that happened when the harry kane became a tropical storm, that has made the levels rise, and now you're getting the run—off ran into the rivers. —— hurricane. so this incredible level of flooding is happening. there is going to be record flooding here in richmond, texas, and people are brazel what they can find —— and people here are desperate to see what they will find when they return to their homes. laura trevelyan in texas. also making news today, at least 21 people have been killed and a similar number injured after a building collapsed in india's biggest city, mumbai. the residential property, which was more than a century old and due for demolition, was situated in a crowded bazaar area. about a0 people were inside when it fell after days of heavy rains. the us secretary of defense says he's signed an order to send more american troops to afghanistan.

jim mattis did not say how many but said they'd be there in a few days. he said they'd enable the afghan forces to fight more effectively. the move was announced earlier this month by president trump, who said he was sending additional troops to fight a resurgent taliban. the european union's chief negotiator says there's been no decisive progress in the talks about britain leaving the bloc. michel barnier also said there was a need to build trust in areas such as citizens‘ rights and financial obligations. britain's negotiator, david davis, said there had been some advances, but acknowledged that differences remained. people have been placing flowers and lighting candles at kensington palace in london to pay tribute to diana, princess of wales, who died in a car crash in paris exactly 20 years ago. the ex—wife of prince charles, the heir to the british throne, was well known for her charity work. in tribute to her work with people with aids, a memorial service was held at a former hiv hospice in london. japan's naomi 0saka, who is just 19 years old, followed up her win over defending champion angelique kerber in the us open with a 6—3, 4—6, 7—5 win over denisa allertova of the czech republic.

she is now facing the estonian kaia kanepi on saturday. about 2 million muslims from across the world have begun the annual hajj pilgrimage in saudi arabia. on thursday they climbed mount arafat east of mecca where muslims believe the prophet mohammed gave his last sermon 1a centuries ago. iranians are once again participating this year after missing the last hajj following a deadly stampede in 2015. health officials in the us have approved a new treatment which redesigns a patient‘s immune system to attack cancer. the therapy makes a so—called ‘living drug' that's tailor—made to each patient, unlike conventional therapies such as chemotherapy. it works by extracting white blood cells and reprogramming them to seek out and kill cancer when put back into a patient‘s body. initial tests of the so called car—t therapy have been promising,

but it's not as effective against "solid tumours" like lung cancer. earlier i spoke to oncologist steven tucker, the founder of tucker medical — a healthcare clinic here in singapore. he told me more about how the treatment works. it is immune therapy, which is a new tool for cancer therapy. it goes beyond traditional therapies, even targeted ones, from the last two decades. so it is better than chemotherapy? it is a new therapy. it has some amazing effectiveness in leukaemia and probably lymphoma. will it totally kill cancer cells? it has an 83% rate of complete remission with children with little plastic leukaemias. —— little plastic. when you tell people that

they are in remission, either the six times, with figures a game changer. —— leukoerythroblastic. what about other cancers? the markers that we would target in solid tumours tend to be more internal, so they are harder to find. so we have research into pancreatic, lung, and brain tumours. so you are saying it is not as effective against solid tumours like lung cancer? is still in the testing stages. i think it could be game changer. we have entered izaguirre of gene editing, and we have all sorts of tools that will make even t—cell therapies seem crude.

sorts of tools that will make even t-cell therapies seem crude. and this particular therapy has only been approved two days ago. but the pricetag “475,000 us dollars! why should we care about a drug that hardly anybody can afford? right now, there are about 600 children in the united states that will be in the united states that will be in the situation and will go to remission. the topical, is not the cost, but the value. and that is an ethical discussion and economic discussion. there will be some papers are the next year that look at the value to the health—care system to save a picture of, compare to the cost today. absolutely. but the cost is monumental. some companies want to do higher prices, and believe wall street goes one way, but it is too a huge amount of

money. will be available in asia? probably pretty soon. i forget who is leading. hong kong, singapore, china, they are really leading in gene editing technology. what you hear about in science fiction, whereby might deal to move faster with innovation in asia, and provide better products at a lower cost. especially here in singapore, where research is moving quickly? infrastructure is in place, and singapore has always been ill to move quickly with new technology. so ido move quickly with new technology. so i do think that we will see it at oui’ i do think that we will see it at our national cancer centres on. but the prize, $155,000. what about people who try to counteract this and market is on the cheap? —— counterfeit. it can't be because it is specifically designed for you. if you took my version, then my cells

would react against you very negatively. stephen tucker there. whether you've been crying tears of joy or despair about your team since the start of the football season, the fees paid in this transfer period have been eye—watering for everyone. more than $4.8 billion has been spent in europe's top five leagues — the window for english teams has nowjust closed. but is the whole thing nowjust completely out of control? the bbc‘s andy swiss reports. it has been a summer spending spree like no other. big names, with even bigger price tags, as from manchester to chelsea, from arsenal to everton, across the premier league clubs have been splashing the cash in record quantities. and today has been their last chance. among the movers, alex 0xlade—chamberlain swapping his arsenal shirt for a liverpool one, for a mere 35 million. it has been a window of such staggering numbers,

but fans of its biggest spenders, manchester city, say it's worth it. it's crazy, but that's football. that's why we pay the money, basically. we come here every match, we want to see success, we want to win trophies. don't get me wrong, some of the fees are ridiculous. but apart from that, it's great. five summers ago, premier league clubs spent just under £500 million on new players. last summer, the figure had more than doubled. but that record has already been broken. by this morning clubs had spent more than 1.2 billion. so why has it happened? well, a 50% increase in tv money, which brought last year's title winners, chelsea, some £150 million. some say that buying power could rise even further. i think we've talked for the last 20 years about the bubble potentially bursting, and it hasn't burst yet. what will happen to football rights if an amazon, a netflix or a google decides that they wish to acquire the rights, we can't really predict that at the moment. but you'd expect that the value

would go up even further. the summer's most jaw—dropping transfer was in france. neymar‘s £200 million move to paris st—germain. but collectively, it's the premier league that leads the pricing, or as some see it, the overpricing. it is mind—boggling, the figures that are about for players now. especially for the average players. if ever it was time to be a professionalfootballer, it's now. and deadline day has seen yet more striking numbers. manchester city offering 60 million for arsenal's alexi sanchez. it seems the trend to spend is here to stay. lots of money in football. you're watching newsday on the bbc live from singapore and london. still to come: the ban on americans visiting north korea comes into effect — we'll speak to a tour operator in pyongyang. also coming up, the inspiring story of a man who makes prosthetic limbs using his 3d printer — and gives them away for free.

she received the nobel peace prize for her work with the poor and dying in india's slums. the head of the catholic church said mother teresa was a wonderful example of how to help people in need. we have to identify the bodies, then arrange the coffins and take them back home. parents are waiting and wives are waiting. hostages appeared, some carried, some running, trying to escape the nightmare behind them. britain lost a princess today, described by all to whom she reached out as irreplaceable. an early—morning car crash in a paris underpass ended a life with more than its share of pain and courage, warmth and compassion. glad you are staying with us. this

is newsday. the top stories: the worst monsoon rains in decades continued to hit south asia. more than 1200 people have died. floodwaters in parts of southern texas will peak on friday, nearly a week after harvey hit the us gulf coast. and a new twist in the hollywood washington rail. kobe bennett says she changed her name to get action work. she says a chinese last name

makes people uncomfortable and she says tinseltown is racist. let's ta ke says tinseltown is racist. let's take a look at some of the front pages from around the world. many papers focusing on the north korean crisis. a less obvious angle. despite concerns about whether north korea can feed itself, it said sanctions are failing to stop the smuggling of seafood, particularly crabs, into china. tons of crabs are taken across the border at night time of the police go home and it says bribes to the rest. the singapore straits times has a pig —— picture of him hiding his wife, who

he says is his pillar of support. a possible breakthrough in parkinson's treatment. it says a stem cell test has successfully restored in selsey monkeys, which could help humans with the disease. what stories are sparking discussions online? it is worth the wait. let's look at what is trending. in the amazon, a two—year study by the world wildlife and has discovered 381 new species, including this monkey. the discovery comes at a sensitive time as the brazilian government tries to allow more development. it may be an unusual choice of

holiday destinations, but it set up to 1000 americans choose to visit north korea every year. but they may no longer do so. washington has imposed a ban on linking the move to the death of the american student recently. american citizens will now need special validation from the us state department. in the north korean capital, a man who runs a tourism capitaljoins korean capital, a man who runs a tourism capital joins us korean capital, a man who runs a tourism capitaljoins us now via webcam. thank you so much for joining us. we can see behind you freeze and the capital of pyongyang. tell us. no americans now in pyongyang. it is affecting your business? good morning. actually, this is a city outside of dong yang, a bit more greed in the capital. that's right. —— pyongyang. the last american tourists left

yesterday, so at present there aren't any yesterday, so at present there aren'tany in yesterday, so at present there aren't any in the city. it does affect business because it takes out at least 20% of the visitors, the proportion made up of americans. with this us travel ban affect the date, you think westerners will still want to continue to visit north korea? i would expect some people do. the us travel ban only affects americans. of course this sends a message from the us, that they think they feel strongly people should visit. but individuals need to make their own assessments and research the realities of the situation to look at travel advisories and so on. i don't imagine the market will suddenly fold. this band comes amid heightened tensions on the peninsular —— ban. you are there. have you said is the difference in

the mood or to? i honestly haven't. —— ought to? people are used to being warned that war is imminent. that's normal news here. 0ffcourse into the development of the nuclear deterrent and so on i think people here genuinely feel that they are safe and that there isn't too much to worry about. no one has approached me and said, gosh, we are really scared and worried. so business is usual. you, personally, there have been high—profile cases of being detained there. how heavily has it weighed on there. how heavily has it weighed on the line of work? it does cause a downward push in bookings. that's the thing that concerns people more than anything else, that they may personally get in trouble. of course

nobody wants to get into trouble and that's why it is important to be fully briefed and ask questions about safety and i always think the most important day of the trip is the day before, when we explain in great detail to everyone what they should and shouldn't do. but they should and shouldn't do. but they should remember where they are, that the laws and rules are different here, and they should avoid getting themselves or anyone else in trouble and that the most crucial thing. thank you. a taiwanese man who lost part of his arm ina a taiwanese man who lost part of his arm in a factory accident has taught himself how to make prosthetic limbs using inexpensive 3d printing technology. he now makes hands and arms for other disabled people for free. he has been telling us his story. mr chang is such an amazing person. making hands and arms for disabled

people for free, using 3d technology. with that we and this edition of newsday. stay with us, we will be looking at the cost of tropical storm harvey and how it can impact asia. before we go, let's take a look at these pictures, on a similar note, so to speak. this is a musician and pastor from texas who wants to show his son that music still works, despite the flooding. it's just one of the properties damaged by tropical is the harvey. he wanted to play a few chords for his son. the footage was shared on his instagram account, along with a note that said, what we used to have as a city is gone. headlines coming up. today marks the first day of the

meteorological autumn, so i thought we would start with a summary of some other. a decent start. temperatures soared up to 35 celsius backin temperatures soared up to 35 celsius back injune, temperatures soared up to 35 celsius back in june, but temperatures soared up to 35 celsius back injune, but since then it has been rather disappointing. a cool second—half, especially in august. quite wet at times. this morning we get off to a chilly start of the day. temperatures down to about 3—4 degrees in the cold spots first thing, soa degrees in the cold spots first thing, so a chill in the air. apart from that there will be plenty of morning sunshine. most areas having a dry morning. into the early afternoon the cloud will bubble up, especially in eastern parts of the uk. a scattering of showers begins to develop. a largely dry picture in scotland. a few showers towards the borders and in the eastern counties of england. those showers get going. some of them will be heavy. under mixed in. they will be pretty well

scattered. in the sunshine, wherever you are during the day on friday, there will be a pleasant sunshine and it should feel reasonable, with temperatures generally into the high teens and low 20s and a lightish north—westerly breeze in parts of the country. during the evening the showers begin to fade away slowly. the second half of the night should become dry, and with clearing skies it will be another chilly night. to stop the weekend again temperatures down to about 11— 12 degrees. colder than that in the countryside. what about the weekend weather prospects? definitely a weekend of two halves. saturday with the best of it. sunny spells for the most part. 0n saturday with the best of it. sunny spells for the most part. on sunday, after a bright start, we start to see a band of rain moving across the uk. here is the pressure chart for the weekend. high pressure initially. the wet weather moving on in the second half of the weekend,

with strengthening winds. in more detail, saturday is a decent day, with sunshine. dry for the vast majority. temperatures doing well. light winds it will feel pleasant in that september sunshine. most temperatures towards south—east england. we will see this rain approach overnight into northern ireland. after a bright start to the day across eastern scotland, much of england will see cloud thickened. 0utbreaks england will see cloud thickened. outbreaks of rain moving in and it will turn breezy. temperatures 18— 19 degrees bickely. that's a weather. —— typically. hello. i am hello. iam ben hello. i am ben bland with bbc world news. our top stories: across south asia aid agencies are trying to help millions of people affected by flooding. more than 1200 people are believed to have died. it's thought to be the worst monsoon season in decades, with tens of thousands of people forced from their homes in india, nepal and bangladesh. us officials say rescue operations

are continuing across texas to help victims of storm harvey. floodwaters are expected to peak in some areas later on friday. some 100,000 homes have been affected and at least 33 people have died. and this story is trending on bbc.com: the english premier league's record summer spending has come to an end with the closure of the transfer window. across europe, more than $4.8 billion has been spent in the top five leagues. eye watering amounts! that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news, it is