i'm mariko oi in singapore. the headlines: nearly 50 dead in an indonesian firework factory — the country's safety standards are criticised again. what should the world do about half a million rohingya refugees now in bangladesh? we'll be asking the un's former head of humanitarian affairs. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme. president trump blames chinese suppliers for flooding the us with opiods — as he declares a national public health emergency. cheap and deadly fentanyl, manufactured in china and 50 times stronger than heroin. and with singapore fashion week in full swing, we'll be talking to the taiwanese designer who created this dress for michelle obama. good morning.

it's 8am in singapore, 1am in london and 7am injakarta where rescue workers have been searching for survivors after a firework factory exploded in the indonesian capital. at least 47 people have been killed, others are still missing, and dozens were wounded in the blast in the tangerang industrial zone, just west of jakarta. the bbc‘s ian palmer reports. a factory building destroyed. just hours before it was full of workers but something went wrong. the fireworks inside caught fire. the explosion was so loud people living nearby said it sounded like a bomb. hundreds of fireworks ignited, the flames spread, factory workers had just arrived for the day shift. the fire took hold, the roof

collapsed, dozens of people inside. the factory had only been open for two months. many of the survivors suffered severe burns and life changing injuries. the list of those still missing as long. the relatives of those affected by the blast have many questions for the authorities. translation: we have checked again with the disaster mitigation agency and local military to make sure that the site is clear to conduct a site investigation by our friendly team. the anti—bomb squad also sterilised the site for the remaining explosive material and we are still investigating to find out the cause the explosion. as the hours passed the scale of the disaster becomes clear. the operation of emergency team switches from rescue to recovery. the factory is 100 yards from the school. residential houses are closer. the task will investigation team is to discover what happened and why.

of course we will bring the updates if we get them. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. president trump has declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency in the us. accidental drug overdoses are the leading cause of death in the united states and they are responsible for a death every 19 minutes. opioid is a term that covers some legal painkillers — and some illegal drugs like heroin. both are serious problems in the us. mr trump also accused china of flooding the us market with cheap and deadly pills. the us postal service and the department of homeland security are strengthening the inspection of packages coming into our country, to hold back the flood of cheap and deadly fentanyl, a synthetic opioid manufactured in china and 50 times stronger than heroin. in two weeks i will be in china with president xi

and i will mention this as a top priority. applause. and he will do something about it. a short time ago, i spoke with my colleague laura bicker about president trump's plans to crack down on the opiod problem. that was one of the measures announced today, the other was he said he wanted to stop the flow of heroin coming across the mexican border, saying the border wall he plans to build will help. they also wa nt to plans to build will help. they also want to limit the prescriptions which go out to those who are getting these kind of painkillers. he says he wants to limit them to seven days, he wants to take one in which he described as evil of the market altogether. but he stopped short of what he said he would do

just last week for instance. he said he was going to declare a national state of emergency. he has gone one step below that. although it is slightly semantics when it comes to funding the difference is vast. critics have said what he has done todayis critics have said what he has done today is reorganising the deckchairs on the titanic, funds will be redistributed, there are no new funds. if you go to places like i have been where they desperately need resources to help pregnant women get off opioids, to help people recover from abuse, women get off opioids, to help people recoverfrom abuse, they women get off opioids, to help people recover from abuse, they say they need funding and needed now. also making news today. votes in kenya's re—run election are being counted in many parts of the country — but the poll was suspended in four counties until saturday. in those areas opposition supporters clashed with the police, and many polling stations did not open. the opposition leader raila odinga had called on his supporters to boycott the poll. a un—backed report has concluded that the syrian government was behind a chemical attack

on the town of khan sheikhoun earlier this year which killed about 90 people. investigators said the nerve agent, sarin, was dropped from an aircraft. syria has previously denied responsibility. james mattis has arrived in south korea for a crucial leg of his asian tour as tensions continued to escalate between washington and pyongyang. he is expected to visit the demilitarise zone dividing the north and south of korea later today with his south korean counterpart. pope francis has made a call to the international space station. the iss, which has been continuously manned since 2000, is home to six astronauts; three americans, two russians and an italian, paolo nespoli, who was on hand to translate for the pontiff. the pope asked the crew a variety of questions including their views on man and the universe. now imagine turning up to work

and discovering this. it's a 1.5 metre long alligator that construction workers came across which hit itself in an underground pipe in indian—town in florida. lucky for them, an expert was brought in to take the reptile to safety. with donald trump heading to asia next month, pressure has been mounting for a tougher us response to the expulsion of muslim rohingya people from myanmar. more than 600,000 people have fled the country since late august when rohingya insurgent attacks sparked a ferocious military response. people fleeing the violence have accused security forces of arson, killings and rape. baroness valerie amos was formerly the united nations under—secretary—general

for humanitarian affairs. she's now director of london university's school of oriental and african studies and shejoins me now. thank you so much forjoining us this morning, the crisis in my emma, what is your assessment? is terrible, i remember when i went to myanmar and saw several pictures which were similar but not the mass exodus we have seen recently, there isa exodus we have seen recently, there is a crisis in terms of the ability of the united nations and the world to protect those rohingya people. you have a situation where a country is saying that people who have been born in that country and have been there for generations somehow do not belong and they are going to expel

them. it's an absolutely appalling situation which some have described of course as a form of ethnic cleansing. as you mention we could see this problem brewing for quite some time, do you think the international community could have done something quicker and better? more pressure needed to be put on the government of myanmar, undoubtedly. and of course the worse high hopes when and size i think the words of kofi annan when he talked of his disappointment with what he had seen, the very firm view of the united nations secretary general and the damning report of the un, the responsible arm for human rights when they talked about the complicity of the security forces in what has been done to the

rohingya really reminds me of the situation in syria for example when i was at the united nations and watched for over five years that situation unfold before our very eyes. it got worse and worse. we we re eyes. it got worse and worse. we were not able to get the kind of humanitarian aid we needed to people. they left in their thousands and then it became millions and we we re and then it became millions and we were unable to protect them in the way we should. it's a real damning indictment on the international community. and of course syria still remains in the headlines, donald trump will be heading to asia next month, what can be done about the situation in myanmar now? one of the things which worried me at the united nations and became frustrated by overtime was that you have a security council, five permanent

members including china, russia, the united states, france the united kingdom, who are essentially responsible for maintaining peace and security the world. if they cannot agree it means the situations continue. they can put enormous pressure on countries through sanctions ta ken place pressure on countries through sanctions taken place but they can also ensure humanitarian access for people, work with the countries in the region and the rohingya have a right of return. 0ne the region and the rohingya have a right of return. one of the big challenges is you have a constitution which doesn't actually recognise the rohingya as being citizens of myanmar. this is something that needs to change and more pressure needs to be put on the government to ensure they take their

responsibilities seriously. we have talked about myanmar and syria, are there any other crises which are keeping you up at night or something you discuss with your students? one thing about our students is they ca re thing about our students is they care about the world and what is happening, the middle east, the situation in yemen, in parts of the african continent, the democratic republic of congo, south sudan and elsewhere, all of these things concern them and i think the fact that politics gets in the way of being able to find solutions in these fragile and vulnerable countries is something which deeply concerns them. thank you so much for joining us this morning. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: president trump comes under fire again from within his own republican party. this time it's from a former deputy secretary of state. also on the programme

new zealand has a new prime minister and a new first cat — paddles — who's already got plenty of fans on twitter. gandhl gandhi, ruler of the world's largest democracy did today. 0nly yesterday she had spoken of dying in the service of a country and said i would be proud of it, every drop of my blood will contribute to the growth of this nation. after 46 yea rs of growth of this nation. after 46 years of unhappiness these two countries have concluded a chapter of history. no more suspicion, no more fear domino more uncertainty of what each day might bring. liftoff of discovery with the crew of six astronaut heroes and one american legend. this is beautiful. a milestone in human history. born

today, this girl in india is the 7 billion person on the planet. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm in singapore. i'm in london. our top stories. police in indonesia are investigating a fire and explosions at a firework factory on the outskirts of jakarta, which killed nearly 50 people. president trump has blamed chinese suppliers for an epidemic of opioid abuse in the united states and said he'll be raising the issue with president xi next week. an ancient human skull discovered in papua new guinea is likely to have belonged to the world's oldest—known tsunami victim. scientists say the area was once a coastal lagoon that was hit

by a tsunami about 6,000 years ago — that story is popular on bbc.com across asia. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. in the straits times, coverage of the funeral ceremony for thailand's late king bhumibol the picture shows the urn being brought to the cremation site on a royal chariot. 0n the front page of financial times international edition, coverage of the story we brought you earlier in newsday — an opposition supporter in kenya demonstrates against the country's presidential election re—run. and in thejapan times, mount fuji. the paper reports the peak of the iconic mountain was covered in snow for the first time this season, 31 days later than last year according to the local prefecture. what stories are sparking discussions online?

yes let's looks at what is trending right now. this is "first cat" paddles. she belongs to jacinda ardern, new zealand's newly—elected leader. paddles now has her own twitter account and, although it is not clear who is behind it, she's gone viral! other political feline counterparts have been tweeting their congratulations to her, including larry of 10 downing street fame in the uk. tensions among republicans about us president donald trump don't look like they're any closer to being resolved. richard armitage is the latest one to lash out at mr. trump. the bbc‘s sharanjit leyl caught up with the former deputy secretary of state in singapore, where he accused mr trump of not being a republican. to describe donald trump

as a republican is not fair. it's not correct. he's nothing. he's not republican, not democrat. he's nothing. what does he stand for then? that's the question. he does not seem to have any strong views on foreign policy or defence. he just i think stands for himself. do you think he should be impeached? i don't think i would like to see my country go through that kind of rip, evolution, but if it comes out that high crimes and misdemeanours were somehow committed then it should happen. how do you view the situation in north korea, is it solvable? i don't think it can be resolved by diplomacy alone, i think it will take a certain amount of continued pressure and resolve, our south korean allies, ourselves and the japanese and the assistance of china and russia. i don't think there is any affection

for kim jong—un but there is also certain conservative circles and bought those countries who do not want to see a quote ally and quote be cut adrift. i think we have our while to go, i don't think we are dealing with a crazy man or someone who is suicidal. my term for him is hedonistic and you can look at him and see he likes his life just fine. we are seeing a very resurgent china, a successful national party congress, it is reaching out to the region through its one belt one road initiative, are there are worries that china is starting to usurp the power and influence the us once had in the region? the question of china's resurgence from when, 1800? let's not forget china is full of contradictions, the fastest aging country in the world, think

about where the population is going to be by that time, where is the health care going to be? where is the water are going to be? china has their own difficulties to overcome, they cannotjust spend their time being all—powerful, all things to all people. now for those of you who like to drive fast, prepare to be blown away. there is a british built car that is designed to go 1,600 kilometres an hour. the bloodhound super sonic car will ultimately be fitted with a rocket motor to carry it to such speeds. its makers hope to break the world land speed record in 2019, and today it was tested for the first time. the bbc‘s robert hall reports. 0n the taxiway at newquay airport, a five tonne vehicle that can generate six times more power than an entire formula 1 grid and accelerate to 130 mph in eight seconds.

you are clear to roll. the wind is 2 o'clock, and five knots. this is a really important day for bloodhound and her team. if they can get the engines and the systems working together at 200 mph, then the car is well on its way to its eventual target. hurtling down the 1.5 mile runway, driver andy green, a former fighter pilot, had no room for error. switching from throttle to brakes, just in time to halt bloodhound safely. how did it go, andy? that was surprisingly hard work. it's the longest runs we've done so far, the fastest runs we've done so far. this is massive for us. bloodhound is go. this car is now operational and is demonstrating something it was never designed to do. short distance runs to a very high speed with high acceleration and it's making it look easy. this project has cost £30 million to date and captured the imagination of a worldwide audience.

over 4000 watched today's run, and thousands more will be here over the weekend. among them, the 85—year—old engineer who came up with the original blueprint. i'm proud that we've got this far. what i really want to do is make nice loud supersonic bangs that will reverberate around the world. in the coming months, rocket systems will be added to bloodhound as its speeds are gradually increased ahead of that record attempt on the sandy plains of south africa. singapore fashion week is in full swing. one of the highlights is an appearance by the celebrated designer — jason wu. he's making his first runway appearance in asia — showing off his spring 2018 collection. the taiwanese—born designer shot to fame after michelle 0bama picked him to design her inaugural gowns. and jason wu joins me now.

i want to start by asking how you found out about michelle 0bama choosing your address. found out about michelle 0bama choosing your addresslj found out about michelle 0bama choosing your address. i find it at home watching tv. what was your reaction? i dropped everything, shocked. i knew he made for the occasion but i just shocked. i knew he made for the occasion but ijust don't know if it worked out or not. it was definitely a jaw—dropping moment. worked out or not. it was definitely ajaw-dropping moment. where worked out or not. it was definitely a jaw-dropping moment. where did the inspiration come from for that very famous dress? it is funny, so many people have read so much into it and the idea really was i thought she would look great in white and it was the first idea. we did not have a lot of time to cement tonnes of options so that design was the first to design i thought of in my head andi to design i thought of in my head and i got the project. it came from and i got the project. it came from a doodle in my book. do you have

some favourite celebrities you would like to dress or people you go i did not want to? i addressed diane kruger a lot, she is a good friend of mine,jamie king, kruger a lot, she is a good friend of mine, jamie king, kate bosworth, some of those girls have been wearing my clothes for many years. what i would love to do is dress more asian celebrities. what i would love to do is dress more asian celebritieslj what i would love to do is dress more asian celebrities. i was going to ask, you were born in taiwan, is there any kind of asian element you think is making a stand out in the competitive industry?” think is making a stand out in the competitive industry? i think my asian heritage, it is seen less obviously in my work but i find myself an international person because i have lived everywhere from thailand to canada to the us to france, that is why i live in new york because i'm a very new york person because it's very multicultural. you want to dress more asian celebrities, any names we

can expect? i love fan ben ben and there is a singer i really love, simon amor, i would love to spend more time in asia. iam all was i am all was inspired by the women i dress, as a male designer designing female clothes it's important to have inspirational women around me andi have inspirational women around me and i am always looking to them for ideas and inspiration and it's super important to me. showing off your latest collection here, briefly, what is the latest at the moment? the latest collection is inspired by my year—long journey creating my fragrance, ijust my year—long journey creating my fragrance, i just lost my my year—long journey creating my fragrance, ijust lost my first fragrance, ijust lost my first fragrance in the us two months ago severely very pastel, very signature, very feminine, centred

around american sportswear but excited to be showing in singapore. thank you so much forjoining us. we will leave you with images taken by a drone showing the words of one of the most famous poems to emerge from the most famous poems to emerge from the horrors of the great war. written in poppies across locations in england, wales and france. it's part of the royal british legions poppy appeal to help veterans of the armed forces with this stunning poppy display. as you may know people around the world often wear a poppy to remember those killed in world war one on remembrance day day the 11th day of the 11th month. the poem in flanders fields was written by a canadian officer called john mccrae. friday looking beautiful and sunny

across friday looking beautiful and sunny a cross m ost friday looking beautiful and sunny across most of the uk, that the forecast at least, morning might be a bit cloudy and misty in some areas particularly across the south but by the time we get to the second half of the morning and lunchtime it will bea of the morning and lunchtime it will be a case of a beautiful autumn day across the country. a lot of cloud and drizzle earlier on but now that pushed out of the way, moving further east and south, i pressure building and squeezing the weather front which will be about hugging the south coast during the early morning saw temperatures here on the mild side, thick cloud and drizzle keeping temperatures from dropping to low, clear skies for the loss means it'll be quite a chilly start to the day. glasgow i think 6 degrees first thing in the morning, less cold in belfast around 9 degrees but wherever you are it will be somewhere within that range. the far south still around about 11 or 12, notice parts somerset and somerset and devon and maybe

cornwall still underneath the cloudy during the early morning, even a spot of drizzle, that should quickly fade away and then we are left with are mostly windless day, sunny skies and decent temperatures, nothing to be sniffed that across the south of the country up to around 15. the winds a bit stronger, more arrows, they will increase, change coming, friday will be the best day over all of the next few. by the time we get a friday night and into the early hours of saturday the winds keep strengthening across many northern and north—western parts of the country and the cloud returns of the atlantic, drizzle in places, hill fog too so i think quite a great picture on saturday for many of us but eastern part of the country, anywhere from aberdeen sure, the borders, these areas having another sunny day, saturday and sunday we see called air coming from the

north, not desperately cold, not forecasting a freeze but it will feel quite bit more fresh compare to what we have had recently. temperatures i think on saturday and certainly sunday around eight or 9 degrees across northern areas, few showers scattered around, further south you are the mild colour it will be in london, plymouth still around the mid—teens. still relatively settled, high—pressure, on tuesday will start to see weather fronts marching in of the atlantic. i'm kasia madera with bbc news. our top story: police in indonesia are investigating the cause of a blaze at a fireworks factory, where a series of explosions killed at least 47 people. thick plumes of dark smoke billowed from a factory warehouse in the tangerang district, near the capital jakarta. president trump has officially declared a public health emergency in the united states because of widespread addiction to prescription painkillers, heroin and other opioids. he said more than 140 americans died

each day as a result of overdoses. this video is trending on the website... pope francis has made a call to the international space station. he asked the crew about their views on humanity and the universe. an italian astronaut translated for his american and russian colleagues. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk... a 21—year—old woman from birmingham has been found guilty