i'm rico hizon in singapore, the headlines: china's president says it's the start of a new era, but what does xi jinping's vision mean for the rest of the world? president trump denies a congresswoman‘s claims that he was insensitive during a phone call to the widow of a soldier killed in action. didn't say what that congresswoman said, didn't say it at all. she knows it, and she now is not saying it. i did not say what she said. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: stranded and at risk of cholera, we have a special report on the rohingya muslims fleeing violence in myanmar. so many young children we are seeing here today. this has to be one of the biggest single—day influxes of refugees, from across the borderjust over there, in the whole of this crisis. he's the author who created

the world of his dark materials, philip pullman tells us why he's bringing the cult series back to life. live from our studios in singapore and london. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. it's 8am in singapore, 1am in london, and 8am in the morning in beijing, where delegates are gathering for the second day of china's communist party congress. many are still digesting the detail of president xi jinping's marathon opening speech on wednesday when he spoke for three and a half hours, promising to build a prosperous society through socialism with chinese characteristics. our china editor carrie gracie reports on what mr xi described as the start of a new era.

like no other party conference. nearly 90 million members, more than 2,000 of them here, and they‘ re all tight—lipped on the way in. speaking mandarin the first time i came to one of these was 25 years ago, and the striking thing is that the choreography just doesn't change. china has changed, it now has more billionaires than the united states, but the ruling party is making the point that, whatever else happens, its political rituals go on and on. china, a global power which affects us all, but with politics as secretive as north korea. there are rumours of a rift between the men at the top, but on stage, there's only one voice. translation: the banner of socialism

with chinese characteristics is now flying high, for all to see. it will be an era that sees china moving closer to centre—stage. "socialism with chinese characteristics" means socialism that allows for private enterprise and brings economic growth. he's determined he won't be swept away, like communists in the soviet bloc. translation: no stone's being left unturned, and no tolerance shown. applause a firm message against corruption there. behind the rhetoric of this speech, there is a clear mission statement, that only a disciplined and united party under his firm leadership can survive. he's already disciplined nearly 1.5 million people. no wonder they follow his every word. xi jinping has set out his goals, modernise the economy, clean up pollution and build a mighty army. and it's a strategic vision not

just for five years, he's looking ahead 30 years. but it's the party's vision, insiders only. that speech lasted nearly 3.5 hours, which has made delegates late for lunch. hunger and political survival... two good reasons not to talk to the bbc. but some delegates were inspired. it sends the message that, for china, for the development of china, for the future of china, that the communist party and the people are full of confidence. it's nearly 30 years since a peaceful democracy protest right here in tiananmen square was crushed by the army. today, china is far richer and far stronger, but its all—powerful leader is more determined than ever not to give his people a say. carrie gracie, bbc news, beijing. and for more on president xi's

opening speech to the national congress, i spoke to the bbc‘s robin brant is in tiananmen square. it was hugely significant for the communist party and for its leader, president xijingping, communist party and for its leader, president xi jingping, he was on communist party and for its leader, president xijingping, he was on his feet for 3.5 hours, looking back to work, looking back to promises made in his first term but also giving pointers as to what is to come. and this is a man who at the very hard of this address yesterday spoke about seeing china becoming a great socialist nation and taking centre stage in the world by the time we get to 2050. now, 2050 is key because that is just after china, in its current incarnation with the communist party in charge, passes its centenary. a big smile from xi jingping, you don't get to see that very much, he was buried confident. 0n the economy it was interesting,

there's been lots of talk at the beginning of his term about a more decisive role for market forces here, would there be radical reforms that would try to target those big behemoth state—run companies and make them more efficient? is that pa rt make them more efficient? is that part of trying to overhaul this country's economy. he talked about that pledge yesterday but more importantly he made it clear that in those big companies that the government owns and runs in the railway, construction, telecom, he wa nts to railway, construction, telecom, he wants to see them get even bigger. there will be some consolidation, they need to change, but those companies are not going to be split up, they're companies are not going to be split up, they‘ re not companies are not going to be split up, they're not going to go bankrupt, they‘ re up, they're not going to go bankrupt, they're going to get bigger and will have an even bigger role for him in terms of a economic policy. what big it .my going to be happening today? the most important 2500 people are going to be here for a few days, that doesn't happen very often, it's a chance to hear from these people and sometimes get a chance to ask a question. the next key moment comes on tuesday when the

formalities of this congress, this five yearly congress wrap up, we hear briefly from the president and then the next day we get to see the new faces that will fill 5% on top slots in what's known as the politburo standing committee and will president xi jingping politburo standing committee and will president xijingping get his people into those jobs? will president xijingping get his people into thosejobs? that's will president xijingping get his people into those jobs? that's the next key moment. our other top story this hour: the bereaved mother of a us serviceman who was killed while on duty has accused donald trump of being disrespectful during a phone call which was meant to express condolences. but mr trump denies the claim. the white house says his own chief of staff was listening, and agrees it is not true. gary 0'donoghe has the story. an all—too—familiar picture, the return of a fallen hero, the grief of a family that will never be the same again. sergeant la david johnson was killed along with three other soldiers in an ambush in niger two weeks ago. but his family and his local congresswoman say the president disrespected his memory, in a phone calljust before the body arrived back home.

i was in the car when president called. he never said the word "hero." he said to the wife, "well, i guess he knew what he was getting into." how insensitive can you be? what's more, according to the congresswoman, the call left the widow in tears, as the president didn't seem to know her husband's name. in characteristic style, donald trump responded on twitter. the white house later said there was no recording of the phone call. and in the cabinet room, he was asked, just what did you say to sergeantjohnson's widow? i didn't say what she said. and i'd like her to make the statement again, because i didn't say what she said. i had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife, who sounded like a lovely woman. didn't say what the congresswoman

said, and most people aren't too surprised to hear that. earlier in the week, the president had to respond to claims that he had been slow to call and write to the families of fallen service personnel, particularly as almost two weeks had passed since the niger incident. that led him to lash out at his predecessor, accusing president 0bama of neglecting to contact families. more than many other countries, america displays a deference and respect for its military, which makes this a controversy the president could well do without. gary 0'donoghue, bbc news, washington. what

also this hour: the us attorney general, jeff sessions has denied lying to congress about his contacts with russia during the 2016 election campaign, saying he had no improper discussions. appearing before the senate judiciary committee, mr sessions also refused to answer questions about his discussions on russia with president trump. ican i can neither assert executive privilege nor today can i disclose the content of my conversations with the content of my conversations with the president. under the administration of both parties it is well established that a president is entitled to have private confidential communications with his cabinet officials. the president of the spanish region of catalonia is expected to announce whether or not he is declaring independence by 10am local time on thursday. the deadline was set by the spanish government, after carles puigdemon said he was making a suspended declaration of independence. the spanish government has warned it will take direct control of the region unless mr puigdemont backs down. new zealand's political kingmaker, winston peters, says he will reveal which main party he will support to form a government. the country's general election on 23rd september failed to deliver an overall majority to either major party leaving mr peter's new zealand first party holding the balance. we expect that announcement very

soon. take a look at these villagers in thailand, who came together to rescue an elephant which had been stuck in a canal after heavy floods struck the area. experts say the animal was close to exhaustion. vets treated it, and you'll be glad to know the elephant recovered, and is back in the wild. the un's refugee agency has told the bbc there is a real risk of an outbreak of cholera among the rohingya refugees who have fled violence in myanmar. the crisis began earlier this year, when the burmese military launched an offensive, after claims that rohingya militants had attacked police checkpoints. more than 500,000 rohingya muslims have now fled across the border into bangladesh. over the past three days, some 15,000 refugees have been stranded with limited food and water. the bbc‘s clive myrie reports from the port

of cox's bazar in bangladesh. in the distance in myanmar, where rohingya villages have burned in recent weeks, and the people have been driven out, there's another fire. it's ethnic cleansing, says the un. and the purged are fleeing for their lives into neighbouring bangladesh. translation: in my village, many were killed. but my son had just been born, so we have only now been able to escape. as we drew closer to the border, nothing had prepared us for the full extent of the day's exodus. almost as far as the eye could see, left and right, a tide of humanity. between 10,000 and 15,000 people had crossed the border in one night.

young and old, hungry, exhausted, traumatised. and, for the weak, it's a painfuljourney into exile, with the searing heat stinging the skin infection of this child beneath an unrelenting sun. well, as you can see, they're carrying with them whatever they could salvage from their villages, their homes, that they say they were burnt out of by the myanmar military. look at that little baby there in a basket, and there's another one here on the other side. so many young children we're seeing here today. this has to be one of the biggest single—day influxes of refugees from across the border, just over there, in the whole of this crisis. iveagh to go to save us, her husband

mohammed tells me, we haven't eaten for two days and she went into labour. i don't know what will happen to my baby now. since august more than half a million rohingya refugees have crossed into bangladesh. experienced humanitarian workers say they've seen nothing like it. i've seen a lot of these crises around the world and i really wasn't quite prepared for the degree of suffering and despair, and yet these people are very religion, they have not lost hope, they still think that they can make a life again in their home country —— resilient. it certainly doubles our resolve to go back and find more resources for them until we can bring them home. for the bangladeshis the mass influx

of so many refugees is difficult to control. after a delay these rohingya muslims should begin moving to an established refugee camp in the coming days. the border remains open but for those still wanting to escape a myanmar, the fear is that soon escape a myanmar, the fear is that soon the gates could shut. tens of thousands are already massing on the front tier ready to make their dash for survival. clive myrie, front tier ready to make their dash forsurvival. clive myrie, bbc front tier ready to make their dash for survival. clive myrie, bbc news, in bangladesh. human rights watch has released new satellite images that it says shows the burning of rohingya villages after burmese officials claim there is operations by security forces have seized. these what do they tell us about what is happening in part of myanmar that

the international community has not been able to reach? we are clearly seeing massive amounts of clearing, 280 villages that have been destroyed, more than 40,000 structures that have been destroyed. 0ver structures that have been destroyed. over 500,000 have fled bangladesh. when you see this level of destruction from a satellite, it indicates huge swathes of northern rakhine states which were full —— state which were full of rohingya are now empty. what is going to happen? we are deflecting the narrative that has been pushed that the clearance operations sop —— stopped on september five,

the clearance operations sop —— stopped on septemberfive, but the clearance operations sop —— stopped on september five, but they are continuing and we have over 66 villages that were destroyed after september five. that figure villages that were destroyed after septemberfive. that figure is going to go higher. they are also claiming that the rohingya burn around villages. we are seeing satellite photos burned to the ground with rakhine villages burnt to the ground. what kind of action do you wa nt ground. what kind of action do you want from bodies such as the united nations and the international community, to act on what we've seen in the satellite images? there needs to be an effort to stop the violence against the rohingya but the time when we are looking at a global arms embargo against burnley ‘s military, we are talking about identifying key commanders that have been committing the ethnic cleansing and targeted sanctions against them. we need to

put pressure on the burnley ‘s military to stop this and be accountable for what they have done. phill roberts from human rights watch joining phill roberts from human rights watchjoining us from bangkok. still to come, we will be going back to the world of historic materials. also on the programme, a crash before the bash. we reveal why to racing drivers came to blows in the middle of this race. an historic moment that many of his victims have waited, elder and slimmer, moment that many of his victims have waited, elderand slimmer, he moment that many of his victims have waited, elder and slimmer, he sat down, obedient enough. dawn and as the sun breaks through the chilling

night, it lights up a biblical famine. now, in the 20th century. the depressing conclusion in argentina today, it is actually cheaper —— argentina today, it is actually cheaper — — cheaper to argentina today, it is actually cheaper —— cheaper to paper your walls with money. we had issues in the past. we have always found a good and lasting solution with great britain. concorde bowers out in style after almost three decades in service. an aircraft that has crawled many of its admirers so long heads home for the last time. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: it's the second day of the chinese communist party congress

after it was opened by president xijinping laying out a confident vision of china's place in the world. president trump is embroiled in new controversy after a congresswoman says he made insensitive comments during a phone call to the widow of a soldier killed in action. canada's ca nada's unofficial poet canada's unofficial poet laureate, gord downey, has died, and the canadian prime minister paid tribute to him. 0ne story dominates the morning's editions of the papers, china's national congress. the china daily focuses on all the new things president xi jinping says he'll bring to the government during his marathon speech at the party congress in beijing. the papers quotes some of the points the president promoted including, new eras, new thoughts, new contradictions, and new goals. the south china morning post is filled with the congress too

with this headline president xi has mapped out a "confident vision" of china's rise as a "global power" by 2050. the japan times is a little more restrained, calling the president's plan a "road map" for his country. the new york times isn't excited about all the new things president xi is offering. the paper says he's still muscling for control, and describes a vision of party rule centred on restoring china to greatness. and now we shift our attention to what is trending. what stories are sparking discussions online? rico, a fight broke out between two drivers in indiana after car collided with another. the footage has gone viral. one of the drivers was a bit annoyed after the crash, to say the least, and rammed his car into the other, ending up on top of it.

well, the other driver responded by getting getting out the car and punching the driver. the fight eventually came to an end when a police officer used a taser to break things up. more on that story at bbc.com. the writer, philip pullman, broke new ground when his books, which were written for children, started to win prestigious prizes for adult fiction. millions of people read the dark materials trilogy, and he's now gone back to that amazing world for his latest writing. will gompertz went to meet him. the inn was an old stone—built, rambling, comfortable sort of place. there was a terrace above the river, where peacocks, one called norman and the other called barry, stalked... philip pullman, reading from his latest book la belle sauvage, in which he returns to the fantastical world of dust and demons he created in his dark materials. it sees the return of lyra, who is now sheltering in a priory from her own father, in a story that pits liberals

against totalitarian oppressors. i think the greatest menace to the world is the point of view that says one size fits all. there's one answer and we have it and if you don't believe it, we're going to kill you or torture you, or imprison you, or burn you you or whatever. the book is set in oxford — one of the world's great centres of education, a subject, as an ex—teacher, on which the author has some views. i think the way in which we educate children now discounts, greatly discounts the importance of the imagination, and overemphasises a culture of getting things right and getting the right answer and ticking the right box and rewarding it in a quantitative way. "yes, you got four out of five, you've got a bit of room for improvement there, do better next time..." that discounts about 90% of what the child is doing, or what anyone is doing.

you can see when a child is actively and imaginatively engaged in the world, and you can see the sad results when they're not, when they haven't been. when all they've had to do is look at a screen, that's all the entertainment, the only way into the world they've had because they can't play outside, the traffic‘s too dangerous, there's a paedophile hiding in every bush... there's a terrible imaginative poverty that, i'm afraid, dominates the lives of so many people. are you watching what's going on? oh, yes. and adjusting your writing and your story along with what's happening? well, i'm not describing our world, so there's no direct commentary on brexit, for example. no, but it's not a million miles away, the sort of themes and outcomes. the world is in the most extraordinary state. i've never known things so desperately confused, people so bitterly angry, solutions so far away. and naturally, if you're

a thinking person at all, if you reflect on what you see in the news and read in the paper, that's going to colour your understanding of things. la belle sauvage might be set in an alternative reality, but the themes and conflicts played out in its 500 plus pages reveal an author deeply concerned with and very connected to the here and now. will gompertz, bbc news. you have been watching newsday. just the ticket. as much of the world celebrates diwali today, we'll see how a hike on ticket prices has affected movie sales in the south of the country. and very happy diwali if you are celebrating. they give forjoining

us. celebrating. they give forjoining us. goodbye. —— thank you. if you want to see what the weather has in store for the british isles in the coming days, you basically just have to take a look towards the atlantic because low pressure is queueing up. this is one towards the west at the moment. it will come into play first evening and into friday. and this innocuous looking area of cloud will explosively deepen into an area of low pressure on the weekend. more on that in a moment. first thing, a lot of cloud across the british isles. low cloud and misty and murky conditions for the majority on thursday. grey skies, and a mild start. rain to go with the cloud in central and southern england for a time on thursday morning. to the east, with a bit of brightness, a warmish afternoon. highs of 18—19. the west, early sunshine. replaced by cloud and rain. northern ireland, getting quite a lot of rain really through the course of the day.

thursday evening and friday, that area of low pressure starts to whip up the winds, especially for the cornish coast, but anywhere for the channel coast for the small hours of friday. cloud and wind and rain in the night. not the prettiest of starts to friday. most areas getting off to a grey and wet start. northern ireland seeing the best improvement through the morning. elsewhere, after a few hours, the rain will clear as you can see by lunchtime. the wind will be light. 0vercast, but a great improvement from the start of the day. 15—16 in the afternoon. temperatures just about right for this time of year. the first signs of what awaits for the weekend. explosively deepening low pressure set to bring rain and wind to almost all parts of the uk at some stage on the weekend.

look at all of those isobars. particularly strong wind. the worst should stay in the atlantic and start to weaken on saturday. nonetheless, the risk of gales for exposed coasts. heavy rain for northern ireland, that could cause some problems. rain in the south—west of england, wales, part of scotland as well. eastern areas not having too bad a day. most areas picking up showers at some stage. still some strong and gusty winds around as well. and, quite sorry, temperatures of just 12—15 degrees. i'm babita sharma with bbc news. our top story: china declares a new era for the country and president xi jinping is set to outline how that will become reality. day two of the five—year china communist national congress will discuss economic policy a day after after president xi promised greater prosperity through what he called socialism

with chinese characteristics. president trump has denied a democratic congresswoman's claims that he was insensitive during a phone call to the widow of a soldier killed in action. and this story is trending on bbc.com. google says it's developed an artificial intelligence programme that can learn without human interaction. the new alphago zero learnt and mastered the chinese game, go, with no data other than a blank board and the rules of the game. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk. bbc research has revealed that nhs hospital targets,