i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. the headlines: the us is to place sanctions on russia in response to the poisoning of the former russian double agent sergei skripal and his daughter in the uk. the death toll rises in indonesia. at least 150 people are now known to have died in the lombok earthquake. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: total drought. the entire australian state of new south wales suffers its driest start to the year for five decades. remembering amiens. a ceremony is held to commemorate the campaign which helped bring about the end of the first world war. good morning.

it is 7:00am in singapore, midnight in london, and 7:00pm in the evening in washington, where the state department has announced fresh sanctions on russia. it comes as the us says it has determined that it was russia which used the nerve agent novichok against former double agent sergei skripal and his daughter in the uk in march. the sanctions are to take effect on or around 22 august. britain has welcomed the sanctions, while russia has always strongly denied playing any role in the attack. chris buckler in washington has more. well, three months ago they were asked by congress to look and see whether russia had broken international law. now, normally there is a two month time limit for that determination to come, but actually it has taken three months.

the state department have come back and said as far as they are concerned russia has broken international law and therefore sanction should come into effect. as you mentioned there, they won't come into effect immediately. it takes two weeks, there is a notification period. but beyond that, there is also something that goes beyond even that, because there is potentially a second wave of sanctions that could be put into effect if russia cannot show that it is, a, will not use chemical weapons again, and b, will not open up its own sites to weapons inspectors, which is not something russia will want to do, be they un inspections or whatever, but it does mean that a new wave of sanctions is coming, and potentially that second wave could be tougher than the first wave. and what exactly do these current sanctions involve, exactly? well, there are a number of exceptions to them, but it is basically sanctions against russian

state owned or funded basically sanctions against russian state owned orfunded companies, which is a significant proportion of the economy. and it also specifically goes to anything that regards national security. as i mentioned, there are a couple of exceptions to that. but what they are specifically doing is trying to send a message to russia here. and certainly by striking those companies that are funded in some way by the state it is going to do that. our other top story this hour: more than 150 people are now known to have died in the earthquake that struck indonesia on sunday. rescue efforts have been hindered by destroyed roads and bridges in the worst—hit areas on the island of lombok. many villagers have been left stranded, unsure of what the future holds for their homes and businesses. let's cross to lombok now and speak to an expert. she works for the humanitarian foundation wahana visi indonesia, a partner organisation to the charity world vision. thank you very much forjoining us. how is the rescue operation progressing at this stage? well, currently we' re

progressing at this stage? well, currently we're on the ground looking for the children. at the moment, more than 400 are under a collapsed building, and we are actually focusing on giving support for this group of children, and we have mobilised our specialists, and we are doing the training for the community volunteers. how challenging hazard being for you to get help to the people that need it most —— has it been? get help to the people that need it most -- has it been? it is challenging, because we are also becoming the victim of the earthquake themselves. the children, it is also because they have experienced two earthquakes already, within a week they have lost their houses, they have lost their school

and their playground. so this kind of situation is becoming emotional for them. so they need a place where they can feel safe and protected. and this is where, actually, they will be active in giving them social support. and the situation also with the adults, they are also now traumatised. so essentially we try a step—by—step to get them to give a also support for the children, because the children cannot recover if it is becoming negative for them. so for us, it is also becoming important to get the support from the community, from the adults, and also from the teachers, to support the children, so they become safe and protected. that is incredibly important when we think about their

emotional well—being. we now know that evacuation centres have been set up, but are there enough for the many thousands of people that don't have their homes any longer? so, i was just asking, have their homes any longer? so, i wasjust asking, are have their homes any longer? so, i was just asking, are the evacuation centres now in place to help people who have lost their homes? actually, the community now is living in the evacuation centre, and humanitarian organisations at the moment are trying to deliver aid and all the support that they actually need at the moment. thank you very much for joining us, i know it is an incredibly busy and difficult time at the moment. we appreciate you joining us with your analysis. also making news today: 0pposing demonstrations are being held in the argentine capital,

buenos aires, as senators debate whether to allow abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. the law in argentina currently allows the procedure only in the case of rape or if the woman's life is in danger. more than half of the senators have already indicated they will vote against the bill. katy watson has more. it looks like the majority of senators, they have said their intention is to vote against this bill. a lot could change, within an hour of the vote. it is a big party down there, people don't seem to be put off by the rain and the cold. they are still waiting and watching what is happening in the senate. but as it stands, it does look like the senators in the majority will be voting against this bill. china has announced plans to impose tariffs on a further $16 billion worth of imports from the united states. this follows similar measures unveiled by washington. the new tariffs will target coal, oil, chemical imports and medical equipment. in venezuela, opposition lawmaker juan requesens has been arrested after president nicolas maduro accused him of being involved

in saturday's alleged drone attack against him. the arrest came as a government official revealed plans to strip two other mps of their immunity. seven people have been detained so far in connection with the alleged assassination attempt. firefighters in california say they've made good progress in tackling what has become the largest wildfire in the state's history. they took advantage of milder overnight temperatures to gain ground in containing the fire, which has scorched an area of northern california almost the size of los angeles. and thailand has granted citizenship to the coach and three members of the football team who were dramatically rescued from a flooded cave last month. during their ordeal, it emerged that the boys and their coach were among around 480,000 stateless people living in the country. it led to calls to fast—track their citizenship applications. australian officials have confirmed

that the entire state of new south wales, which produces around a quarter of the country's agricultural output, is now in drought. it is the driest start to a year there in five decades. less than 10mm of rain were recorded in some areas last month. phil mercer sent this report. australia is a land well used to nature's extremes. it is the world's driest inhabited continent, but the resilience of its farming communities is being severely tested. official figures show that australia's most populous state, new south wales, is now entirely in drought. two years ago, there were floods on gary sunderland's farm near the town of condobolin. how quickly things can change. now, it's just the opposite story. lambs are going dry,

no feed, stock are dying. some farmers have been carting up to 100,000 litres of water to their livestock since january. this video taken earlier this year shows cattle swarming around a water tanker. farmers in the small towns across new south wales are helping each other out with donations. many here say it is the worst they've ever known. all the climate gurus, that know all about the weather, still can't tell us when it's going to break. they've got no idea. we just — we're blind. you know, we'vejust got to plan and hope and pray that it rains. government aid will ease the financial burdens, and the prime minister is promising more help. i do understand these water challenges, and clearly we will work with state and local governments to ensure that water is provided.

the fear is that a dry spring will be followed by another hot and punishing summer for australia's farmers. andy pitman is a climate scientist at the university of new south wales. 0bviously obviously you saw in that report some very disturbing scenes, the heatwave there, the drought, some of the worst seen in recent years. but are we going to see more of these kinds of conditions, notjust in australia but elsewhere in the world, where of course we have been reporting about fires and heatwaves as well? so there are certainly trends in those sorts of phenomena in. the warming patterns that we are seeing globally, driven by c02 emissions, tend to make the landscape more vulnerable to drought, they dry out a little bit more quickly, which means that we tend to go into these sorts of circumstances more quickly, and so you tend to see them more often. and i'm afraid those are things that climate scientists have been predicting for 30 years. and it's

not a great surprise to the climate community that we seeing those things evolving around us. all right, you saying you have predicted this, you have predicted this, your bonus for a long time. so in particular, we know new south wales accou nts particular, we know new south wales accounts for about a quarter of the agricultural output. so does this speu agricultural output. so does this spell the end of australia's agricultural industry? 0h spell the end of australia's agricultural industry? oh no, certainly not. australian farmers are can credibly resilient and very adaptable. they are indeed quite outstanding. many farmers can cope with periods of drought. there are, however, i think some agricultural sectors that are going to find it very difficult, and will struggle in the future. but no, this doesn't harbour the end of agriculture in australia. you say there will be some sectors that will struggle. which ones are these, and how can they mitigate the damage being caused by drought? so there are

regions of australia where you really only get one good harvest every five years now. those have been struggling for a long time, and there are already conversations about some of those farmers need to move off the land. but other groups get three good years in five, or four good years in five, and there are four good years in five, and there a re systems four good years in five, and there are systems now in australia to enable those people to put those profits away, without taxation, and then draw upon those assets when we go intoa then draw upon those assets when we go into a dry period. so i don't wa nt to go into a dry period. so i don't want to undersell how catastrophic this drought is, but australia has been extremely innovative in trying to find ways for farmers to cope with the normal levels, and are trending levels of natural variability. all right, so what is the worst—case scenario? what happens if we don't cut emissions quickly enough? well, i don't think there is a choice in the matter we have to cut emissions quickly enough. climate science community has been telling governments to cut emissions since 1990. for 30 years

we have been in active and increasing emissions. this isn't rocket science. we simply have to, very urgently and very deeply, cut emissions. and i don't think the alternative to that is worth discussing. thank you. you are very welcome. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we'll bring you the latest on the special election in the us state of ohio, which is still too close to call. also on the programme: commemorations are held to remember those who took part in the the campaign that helped bring about the end of the first world war. the question was whether we want to save our people, and japanese as well, and win the war or taking a chance to win the war by killing all our young men. the invasion began at 2am this morning. mr bush, like most other people, was clearly caught by surprise. we call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all the iraqi forces. 100 years old and still

full of vigor, vitality and enjoyment of life. no other king or queen in british history has lived so long, and the queen mother is said to be quietly very pleased indeed that she's achieved this landmark anniversary. this is a pivotal moment for the church as an international movement. the question now is whether the american vote will lead to a split in the anglican community. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: the us is to place sanctions on russia in response to the poisoning of the former russian double agent, sergei skripal and his daughter in the uk. more than 150 people

are now known to have died in the earthquake that struck indonesia on sunday. and a 23—year—old has become the world's most expensive goalkeeper. kepa arrizabalaga isjoining chelsea from athletic bilbao for a fee in the region of 91 million us dollars. more on that at bbc.com. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the south china morning post picks up on a story we mentioned earlier, the warning from beijing that it will hit back at the us with new tariffs. it also refers to an editorial by chinese state media which insists the country could weather any storms ahead. the gulf news looks at the impact climate change has had across the world. they feature this image of the dried—up river bed

of the rhine in germany, caused by the ongoing heatwave. and the japan times reports that the president of japan's amateur boxing federation has resigned, it follows multiple allegations of misconduct, including pressuring referees to fix matches. that brings you up to date with some of the papers. now, babita, what stories are sparking discussions online? airbnb has got into a bit of bother in china. the holiday rental website has scrapped a contest offering people the chance to spend a night at a section of the great wall of china. critics condemned it as a publicity stunt that could have led to the ancient monument being damaged. according to chinese media, airbnb never received approval from local authorities to run the event. let's bring you the latest on a special

congressional race in ohio, which is still too close to call. republicans have declared themselves the winners already but the party spent millions on what should have been a safe seat. as it stands, democrats have closed the gap to less than 1%, which they say is an ominous sign for republicans in november's midterm elections. separately, a republican member of congress who was one of president trump's earliest supporters has been charged with insider trading. rajini vadyinathan reports. he's a really hard worker. drogba alderson, come on up. just a few days ago donald trump was on the campaign trail for this man. days ago donald trump was on the campaign trailfor this man. it days ago donald trump was on the campaign trail for this man. it was meant to be an easy win for republicans but tuesday's bloat is still too close to call in this 0hio congressional district, which backed

mrtrump in the congressional district, which backed mr trump in the presidential race. can you believe how close this is? we are in a tight ball game. democratic candidate danny 0'connor‘s strategy was to get republicans to switch sides. in some cases, that task was easier. how are you doing get? i'm engaged to one for first. we will talk to anyone about what matters. for many the issue that mattered was the presidency of donald trump. i voted for troy balderson, he will support the president's agenda, that's what i support, that's basically the reason. danny o'connor. wide? he will bring the change that we need. he's ready to bring the checks and balances on the current president that i think we desperately need. as ballots were still being counted, the president and troy balderson we re the president and troy balderson were already claiming victory. i'd like to thank president trump!

the fact democrats have gained ground in ohio is a worrying sign for republicans ahead of november's midterm elections, which is the first electoral test of the trump presidency. both parties are considering continuing to select their candidates for those races. in kansas boats are still being counted to see if trump tower like chris kovac ought incumbent coalition eight will be candidate for governor. in... and rashid tlaib won her race in the same state to represent democrats and looks set to become the first was lynn woman in congress in a year which has seen a record number of women candidates. for some of those who already served, the road to november looks unpredictable. chris collins was the first member of congress to back

candidate ramdin 2016. he has been convicted of insider trading. he denies the charges and said he will still fight in the midterms. 3,000 people have attended commemorations at amiens cathedral in north eastern france, marking the centenary of the battle that turned the tide of the first world war. the battle of amiens lasted just four days, but it was one of the most successful for the allies of the whole conflict. theresa may and the duke of cambridge were among those who paid tribute to the fallen, and hundreds of descendants of the troops that took part were also there. robert hall was at the ceremony. this is a landscape where the course of a terrible conflict was changed. in amiens cathedral, music and personal accounts combined to tell that story. the attack at amiens

was a total surprise. at dawn, a huge allied bombardment systemically destroyed german guns. the smoke barely clearing before 500 tanks led men from six countries in an advance which took some of them eight miles into enemy territory. amiens was symbolic of the entente cordiale... a battle whose significance was underlined by the duke of cambridge. today, we return to learn more about the experience of those involved during the historic summer of 1918. to honour the fallen of all nations. the amiens attacks were planned to the last detail as the clock ticked down, commanders penned their final messages. "every man will carry on to the utmost of his powers until his goal is won." "to those who fall,

i say will you not die, but step into immortality." by lunchtime on the first day, men could hardly believe the contrast with the chaos of previous offensives. "the americans swept everything before them and the german resistance colla psed." "the sun broke through, we began to see the countryside that we hadn't seen for quite some time. it was unscarred. all sorts of cultivated land. we began to feel, byjove, the war's coming to an end." at least 30,000 german lives were lost, thousands more surrendered, convincing commanders that that the time had come to consider a ceasefire. age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. today's ceremony remembered the fallen, but also

served to highlight a crucial moment in a long and costly conflict. robert hall, bbc news, amiens. bysta nders bystanders have captured the moment a mudslide hit an alpine village in switzerland. no injuries were reported when the mudslide gushed down a dried up mountain torrent and burst onto the streets, many people watching what was happening. two roads leading to other villages were blocked off as a result. mud was seen rushing past houses, taking over a large road and affecting streets nearby. nobody was hurt fortu nately. streets nearby. nobody was hurt fortunately. dramatic pictures from switzerland. you've been watching newsday.

stay with us. coming up: will diy ever take off in india? ikea launches its first store in india. after years of waiting, the swedish furniture store is finally set to take on one of the world's biggest markets. and before we go, let's take a look at these pictures from florida, where police received some unusual assistance in catching a suspect. they were chasing a stolen car when it crashed into a ditch and the female suspect ran into a field to try to escape, but she was confronted by a herd of cows who began chasing her. the encounter was caught on the police helicopter camera, the cows herded her across the field to a nearby road where officers were waiting to arrest her. that's all for now, stay with bbc world news. hello there. things are looking

cooler and fresher now for the rest of this week, particularly across northern and western areas with a mixture of sunshine and showers. some of the showers will continue to be quite heavy as well, maybe with the risk of thunder. the reason for the risk of thunder. the reason for the cooler air, area of low pressure has driven out the heat into the near continent, introducing something cooler and fresher off the atla ntic something cooler and fresher off the atlantic and will maintain a west or south westerlies airflow. early on thursday we will see further showers returning to western scotland and northern ireland, some could be quite heavy and across central and southern and eastern parts of england, thickening cloud from the south will bring showers and patchy rain. across scotland northern ireland, a chilly start to this morning with temperatures in low single figures in some areas. for thursday itself, its single figures in some areas. for thursday itself, it's looking bright, plenty of sunshine around. they'll continue to be some blustery showers across the north and west of scotla nd showers across the north and west of scotland and into northern ireland and then in the south—east, an area of rain moving up across the near

continent could just grazed south—east england and also east anglia. now, the winds will generally be light across england and wales, blustery across northern ireland. there's a chance this area of low pressure deepens here and it could turn windierfor a of low pressure deepens here and it could turn windier for a time across the very far south—east so could be quite a soggy end to the day here. pretty nasty evening commute i think for some. bit of uncertainty into the west, with the extent of the rain, looks like the heaviest of it will be a cross into the near continent. that area of low pressure pushes on into the north sea into friday. a ridge of high pressure builds in and an area of low pressure looms into the atlantic and will arrive just in pressure looms into the atlantic and will arrivejust in time pressure looms into the atlantic and will arrive just in time for the weekend. for friday's picture, we're in between the weather systems. a day of sunshine and showers and some could be the heavy side with a rumble of thunder. hit and miss, some areas staying dry and in the sunshine not too bad, temperatures from 17 to 22, cooler than what

we've been used to, especially in the south—east. this area of low pressure hurdles in from the atlantic, arrives in northern and western areas on saturday, but high pressure establishes itself in the south—east. some uncertainty as to weather rain will be but at the moment we think it will be wet in the north and west of the uk. the further south and east you are, the better chance of staying dry. much of scotla nd better chance of staying dry. much of scotland and northern ireland quite windy with outbreaks of rain, some of it heavy. for central, southern and eastern parts of england in particular you could get away with seeing good spells on some shine and feeling quite warm. —— sunshine. you are watching bbc news. our top story: the us is to place sanctions on russia in response to the nerve agent attack on a former russian double agent in the uk. the state department says it determined that the russian government violated international law by using lethal chemical or biological weapons against sergei skripal and his daughter. britain has welcomed the development. more than 150 people are now known

to have died in the earthquake that struck indonesia on sunday. rescue efforts have been hindered by destroyed roads and bridges in the worst—hit areas on the island of lombok. and this video is trending on bbc.com: the 23—year—old who has become the world's most expensive goalkeeper. kepa arrizabalaga isjoining chelsea from athletic bilbao for a fee in the region of $us91 million. more on that at bbc.com.