the headlines: mass burials for victims of indonesia's earthquake and tsunami. the death toll is more than 840, but could end up in the thousands. as the rescue operation continues, we report from palu, where food and fuel are in increasingly short supply. this town enters its fourth day without power and clean water. people are getting desperate. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh is accused of lying under oath about heavy drinking. president trump calls for a comprehensive fbi investigation. and two scientists who discovered how to fight cancer using the body's immune system win this year's nobel prize for medicine. good morning.

it is midnight in london and 7:00am on the indonesian island of sulawesi, where desperate efforts continue to rescue people trapped after the earthquake and tsunami. almost 850 are known to have died, but there are fears the final death toll could be in the thouands. survivors are running out of food, power and clean water. the worst hit city is palu, in the north of the island. our correspondent rebecca henschke is there, and begins our coverage. from above, you get a sense of the scale of the destruction here in palu, and the huge task for rescue workers. in palu, more than a8,000 people are unable to return to their homes,

many of which lie in rubble. this used to be a road. the residents say the ground rose several metres, swallowing homes and leaving huge rifts along it. translation: the soil somehowjust rose up and buried the houses. in my heart i said, if this is the time i die, what more can i do? ijust prayed to god. when the huge waves hit the coast, this woman picked up two youngest children and ran. translation: we were running for our lives, the waves chasing us. it was a race between us and the waves. it's like a bad dream. when is help going to arrive? when will the government pay attention to us? they are turning to creative ways to get their plea for help out. her family has painted this sign that says,

"pray for palu, we miss our home and we need help," in an attempt to try and get attention from passers—by. this town enters its fourth day without power and clean water, people are getting desperate. the city is almost out of petrol, with people queueing for hours for what little is left. there is no electricity. there's no signal, communication. there's no gas. everyone is queueing for this, and especially supply of food is very limited, you know. desperate people are now trying to salvage anything of worth from the debris, and today there has been more looting, as people take what they need. this was a building shop, so people have been coming in to take a equipment from it. you can see things like children's doonas and pillows amongst the rubble.

residents say there are also dead bodies here, that they can't retrieve, and there is a smell of decaying corpses in the air. up in the hills, authorities have dug mass graves, enough for thousands of bodies, in an attempt to stop the spread of disease. as things worsen, people are desperately trying to get out, crowds flooding the small, damaged airport in palu, hoping to get on limited military and commercial flights to nearby cities. the united nations has warned hundreds of thousands of people still need help. let's get more now and from our

correspondents in sulawesi. first to our correspondent jonathan head, who is in the devastated city of palu. the areas hit by the wave arejust appalling. i mean, just dreadful sort of scenes of absolute, complete and total destruction. i think there needs to be a more systematic effort by the authorities, if they are going to find people who might still be alive. it is all a bit haphazard. there aren't really enough people here, there aren't clearly people in charge. there are lots of volunteers coming in, but in terms of a functioning town, palu has ceased to function at all. there's no normal services, and the living themselves are without absolutely anything. i mean, it's extraordinary to meet people rushing up to your car and begging you for water. there is no drinking water. they've got no power. it is absolutely desperate. i mean, part of the problem is this is a very, very isolated place, and it took me 21 hours to drive here today. the airport, as rebecca said, is damaged.

it's very hard to get aid in. and yet you would think, by now, the government would be prioritising some absolute basic essentials. we're not seeing very much of it. there are an awful lot of people being left completely on their own, and there is a very, very desperate atmosphere here. people really feel abandoned. i think they willjudge the government very harshly if it can't speed things up. there is always this complaint, every time there's a disaster, about aid. but this time, they feel that very little has been done up to now. now we can get the latest with our correspondent nick beake, who is a few hundred miles to the south of palu, in makassar, a port city on sulawesi island. thousands of people have been sending in clothes and items to help in the relief operation. well, this place is the biggest of indications of the level of support indonesians are offering to the victims of this disaster. all of this aid was donated just today, would you believe it. there are toiletries here, snacks. they arejust going through the clothes, putting it into different piles

for men, women and children, and they have been working through the night here. i asked one man, why are you doing this? he said, they are our brothers and sisters. we need to do all we can to help them. now, this is not hi—tech medical equipment, but it be received well by those in need. there is a concern as well that it —— that there is a concern as well that it -- that it there is a concern as well that it —— that it is too little, too late, and crucially it is not the sort of machinery needed to free people from the rubble. so the fear is that many people who may have survived the initial earthquake and then the tsunami may well have perished while they have been waiting for aid to arrive. a number of aid agencies have sent teams to the disaster area, including save the children's partner in indonesia. we can now speak to their communications manager, fajarjasmin, who is injakarta. thank you for speaking to us. i understand that you have sent a team of six to sulawesi. tell us how

difficult it has been for them to get a ccess. difficult it has been for them to get access. yes, you are right. we have a team of six of us in the first wave to identify the impact areas and to assess the scale and type of needs. organising solutions and all these kinds of things. but again, the way they'd need to access this area is that they need to land in makassar, which are still about 800 kilometres from ground zero. and the only road that they are able to access ground zero from makassar has been severely damaged, and that would translate easily to about 20— 24 would translate easily to about 20— 2a hours alone to reach palu and donggala. so the biggest access in this kind of disaster will always be accessed, with the damaged infrastructure, and such, and then

also of course the bottleneck airport. so it is difficult. in fa ct, airport. so it is difficult. in fact, our team that went there, they needed to hitchhike on a government navy warship, and that tells you and gives you an idea about how complicated this was. indeed, and it will continue for some days to come. what is your concern regarding the welfare of children that have been caught up in this earthquake and tsunami? right, yes. there will be a huge, traumatic and emotional impact on the children, because many of them have lost their family members and friends. so there are cases of lone children wandering around the streets. and also, for those who haven't lost an immediate member of family or loved ones, they will most likely be out of school for or even months, which could lead to uncertainty in their future.

providing psychosocial and trauma support for these kinds of children will be our first priority, along with activating family reunification and tracking mechanisms for the first several days, there will be many children who are searching for their loved ones. when you get the access, when you finally get to the place where you intended to get to, what is your main action point, then? right. the first main action points will be similar to the government's standard of living procedure, and that is search and rescue, especially for children, because we are concentrating on children, but that will quickly shift to fulfilling their basic needs, which means we are going to be distributing hygiene kits and shelter, because these are the most immediate needs for children to even gaina immediate needs for children to even gain a small bit of their daily

lives. now, moving on to the next week or so, we are going to need to look closely into building a safe space for them, in orderfor look closely into building a safe space for them, in order for them to be able to continue with their daily rhythm, and even continue with their education, however temporary they would be, so that their life will be as minimally disrupted as possible, because this is important. we are grateful so much for you taking the time to talk to us, and i hope that we can keep in touch over the coming days and weeks to find out how the relief effort is proceeding with save the children, but thank you for joining us. we will have more on the situation in indonesia later in the programme. also making news this hour: britain's brexit minister, dominic raab, has told the eu to get real and reach a deal on brexit. earlier the foreign minister, jeremy hunt, sparked controversy, comparing the eu to a soviet—era prison and accusing members

of wanting to punish britain in brexit negotiations. diplomats from a number of eu countries have hit back, calling the comments insulting. the uk government is considering a new law on food labelling, after the death of a teenager who suffered an allergic reaction to a pret a manger sandwich. 15—year—old natasha ednan—laperouse was allergic to sesame and suffered a cardiac arrest on a flight injuly 2016, after eating a baguette which wasn't labelled as containing sesame. the environment minister says he is now considering introducing a so—called "natasha's law", to crack down on what her parents have described as inadequate food labelling laws. with every minute of every hour that passes, we are sitting and the uk is sitting on a timebomb of someone dying yet again. that is how serious is. -- dying yet again. that is how serious is. —— how serious it is. president trump has said he wants a comprehensive fbi investigation into historic allegations

of sexual assault against judge brett kavanaugh, the man he has nominated for the us supreme court. brett kavanaugh has faced allegations of assault by several women, which he has denied. but today, a former classmate of his said he was not telling the truth about his drinking in the past. our north america editor jon sopel reports. after the traumatic "she said," and the defiant "he said," and the bitter division over the nomination of brett kavanaugh to the supreme court, the fbi has now been given a week to investigate the allegations. but at a rose garden news conference, the president was repeatedly asked, would investigators be free to talk to whoever they liked? i think the fbi should interview anybody that they want, within reason. but you have to say, "within reason." they should interview, but they should also be guided. and i'm being guided, by what the senators are looking for, because they have to make the choice. and the president told me

he still had an open mind onjudge kavanaugh. mr president, if the fbi does find something, and brett kavanaugh falls, is there a plan b? i don't want to talk about a plan b, because i hope that he gets approved. i hope that the report comes out, like i really think it should. ithink it will, i hope, i hope. but i'm waiting, just like you. certainly if they find something, i'm going to take that into consideration, absolutely. i have a very open mind. a prosecutor engaged by the republicans on the committee to question dr christine blasey ford has written to senators saying that, in her legaljudgement, because of the "he said, she said" nature of the claims... sometimes i probably had too many beers, and sometimes other people had too many beers. we drank beer, we liked beer. but a college mate of brett kavanaugh has also come

forward to say that the judge wasn't being honest when he spoke under oath about his drinking. and, on the subject of drinking, the teetotal president cracked a joke at his own expense. i can honestly say i've never had a beer in my life, 0k? it's one of my only good traits — i don't drink. can you imagine, if i had, what a mess i'd be? i'd be the world's worst. the supreme court opened a new session today, still one person short, still far from clear that brett kava naugh will be the ninth justice. and that was jon and that wasjon sopel, reporting from washington, dc. you are watching newsday on the bbc.

still to come on the programme: two scientists from japan and the us win this year's nobel prize for medicine. we will tell you about their breakthrough in treating cancer. also on the programme: we hear from malaysia's prime minister, who says tensions in the south china seas could escalate if china is provoked. if people start stationing their warships there, there will be tension, there will be conflict and it may result in a war. in all russia's turmoil, it has never come to this. president yeltsin said the day would decide the nation's destiny. the nightmare that so many people had feared for so long is playing out its final act here. russians are killing russians in front of a grandstand audience. it was his humility which produced affection from catholics throughout the world, but his departure is a tragedy for the catholic

church. israel's right—winger, ariel sharon, visited the religious compound, and that started the trouble. he wants israel alone to have sovereignty over the holy sites — an idea that's unthinkable to palestinians. after 45 years of division, germany is one. in berlin, a million germans celebrate the rebirth of europe's biggest and richest nation. welcome back, everyone. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. thanks forjoining us. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories:

desperate efforts continue to rescue people trapped in indonesia after an earthquake and tsunami. the dead are being buried in mass graves. the death toll is 844, but there are fears it could end up in the thousands. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. let'sjoin marico ooi on let's join marico ooi on the way to palu on sulawesi island. i know that you have just arrived after a long journey trying to access the area, what more can you tell us? well, we started driving from the city in the south of the island, driving for around 20 hours, it is taking a lot longer than we expected but we finally arrived at this police station where we are waiting for instructions on how to be escorted into palu because of reported

looting. survivors of the earthquake and tsunami are desperate for food and tsunami are desperate for food and water and there have been reports that some of the cars going into the area have been looted, so we're waiting for the escort into the area. we are still 200 kilometres away from palu so it is still going to take several hours to get there. but along the way, babita, i saw some of the infrastructure, i guess, of indonesia's countryside, which could be quite similar to what we had in palu, some of the houses built by word and brick, so very modestly built even along the coastline, probably not strong enough to withstand a strong earthquake or tsunami. so we have been witnessing that. but at the same time we also saw people standing on the streets, collecting donations with the hashtag pray for palu, so we will continue this journey for several hours. and, mariko, we have heard

from the aid agencies trying to access palu, that the main road in there was also destroyed by the earthquake. it is hampering efforts to get in. i am wondering, like the other people try to get access, how are you and the team on the ground are you and the team on the ground are going to get there in the coming hours? yes, some of the teams, two of our teams have managed to a rise in palu, but they had to wait hours until some of the main roads were cleared of mudslide —— have arrived in palu. it has been a massive challenge for aid agencies trying to get the crucial supplies like food and water into the area. and of course if it is that hard to get simple supplies into the area, it has been a lot harder to get heavy machinery into the area as well, to start getting rid of the rubble, to hopefully get to the survivors who are still trapped underneath the

buildings, but of course time is running out. the rescue effort has been underweight, but electricity is still out on petrol is completely out in palu —— under way. so there are many challenges people are facing. have you been in touch with the local authorities? i am just wondering what more we have heard from the local authorities and in particular the government response, they have already been facing criticism regarding that response, that alert system. now of course the focus will turn to whether or not they are getting supplies into the people that need it most. indeed, babita, we had a press conference we re we babita, we had a press conference were we got some updates about the death toll, though the authorities say that the death toll currently just about above 800 will continue to rise, most likely, possibly into thousands. but there has also been criticism from experts about the warning system of the tsunami, that

was supposed to be implemented after that massive earthquake and tsunami in 2004, killing hundreds of thousands of people in indonesia a loan, the fact that the government couldn't come up with the funding to keep maintaining the system —— alone. so they were not working, we have been told, the bbc has the confirmation that the system was not working before that friday's earthquake, which means that experts have been saying that lives could have been saying that lives could have been saying that lives could have been saved if there was money. of course other two would —— others would disagree, saying each earthquake and each tsunami is different, but there will be some criticism from experts. we have met some local residents as well here last night, when we were driving we met a guy who lost one of his family members. he has won confirmation of death, but he was driving this same journey of 20 hours to find out what happened to the rest of the family as well —— one confirmation. so a lot of tragedy, a lot of personal

tragedies as well, and a lot of challenges for the local authorities and the government as to how to prevent, or how to better prepare for these natural disasters. 0k, mariko, thank you so much, i know that will have more from you in the next newsday. thank you. with me is professor philip liu li—fan from the national university of singapore, he's an expert on tsunamis. thank you so much forjoining us. were you surprised by the strength and the destruction of this tsunami that hit the island of palu? yes, u nfortu nately, yes. that hit the island of palu? yes, unfortunately, yes. when we first heard about this earthquake, and we we re heard about this earthquake, and we were told by the uses that this type of fault would generate very little ground movement in a vertical direction, which is basically required to generate a tsunami, so when we heard about this large tsunami attack on palu we were really surprised. so is it the co nflu e nce really surprised. so is it the confluence of factors? many know that tsunamis are triggered by

earthquakes. are there other means to trigger this tsunami? yes. primarily the landslide, the submarine landslide could also generate tsunami in some cases. in this situation, we don't really know yet. so if we look at the map around the area of the city of palu, it is situated at the end of a large elongated bay area, did this make the waves taller and more deadly? yes, in theory, when you have an elongated bay like this and when a wave comes in, usually it would be amplified because the area is small and the water depth is shallow as well, so that means that the amplitude, the height, would increase. also another factor is that this wave would be trapped inside that they and cause some kind of amplification as well —— inside the bay. what about early warning systems ? the bay. what about early warning syste ms ? we the bay. what about early warning systems? we just heard from our

report on the ground, mariko oi, that it was confirmed that the early warning system wasn't working when it all happen. why are we having these problems in asia when we have already experienced this in the past? yes, i think we need to understand the procedure of the early warning, tsunami early warning. usually, when you have an earthquake greater than 7.0 magnitude, the agencies would issue the early warning just because there was such an earthquake. then they would watch whether the buoyes in the ocean would observe the actual tsunami. if there is no signal, they will cancel the warning tsunami expert professor philip liu, thank you so much forjoining us. thank you so much forjoining us. thank you for watching newsday. hello. after a rather chilly start

to october it will feel a bit warmer for many of us in the day ahead. there is an area of milder, warmer air moving into the uk between these two weather fronts, but the weather fronts close by mean that there is a good deal of cloud around to begin tuesday and for some of us it will be rather doubt particularly from northern ireland into parts of england and wales. this is how it looks for early risers. north—east england into scotland there will be some sunshine around to start the day but there will be a few showers running through northern scotland on through the day. and even where you begin the cloud, northern ireland across a large part of england and wales, many of us it will turn brighter through the day but we could see patchy rain in southern parts of northern ireland, north wales and for some into north—west england and the west midlands. here is the teacher at 4pm in the afternoon, white arrows indicate average wind speeds here for the day, you can see the temperatures, a few degrees higher than they were on monday and for many, the stronger

the wind, the further north we get, though, into north—east england and scotland, the black arrows indicate the wind gusts in excess of 40 miles an hourand 60 the wind gusts in excess of 40 miles an hour and 60 miles an hour in northern scotland and the northern isles, with the showers rattling on through. for many of us it will be a bright afternoon, brightening up a little bit. some clear skies developing on tuesday night through, particularly, the eastern side of the uk. this is where we will see the uk. this is where we will see the lowest temperatures going into wednesday morning. further west, temperatures hover with an area of cloud, producing patchy rain for northern ireland and into western scotland. let's take a look at wednesday's big picture. high pressure is close by but running around the north of that we have low pressure, north of the uk, and a trailing weather front bringing some cloud and a bit of patchy rain, particularly into the western side of scotland. and some of the rain might turn in the day into the north—west in particular. elsewhere, rather cloudy wednesday, some bright or sunny

rather cloudy wednesday, some bright or sunny spells developing, probably the best of those will be in eastern england, and temperatures still into the high teens in the warm spots. now, thursday warning could start with some fog affecting southern england, it could be dense in places, rather more active in northern ireland as ireland as colin as another weather front here scene and some heavy rain beginning to move southwards evidently into parts of northern england with the wind strengthening once again. just a quick keys as we look towards the weekend. we could have low pressure close by, the john weekend. we could have low pressure close by, thejohn sosso in some heavy rain in some spots and turning a bit cooler too. we will keep you updated —— quick tease. i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story — desperate efforts continue to rescue people trapped in indonesia after an earthquake and tsunami. four days on, some remote areas are only now being reached, rescuers are struggling with a shortage of heavy equipment as they try to reach victims calling out from the ruins of collapsed buildings.

the dead are being buried in mass graves. the death toll currently stands at more than 840 but as emergency operations gain access to remote areas, there are fears the number of dead could end up in the thousands. and this story is trending on bbc.com — as president trump says he wants a comprehensive fbi investigation into his supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh, a former classmate of the judge says he has not been telling the truth about his drinking in his past. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news, hardtalk‘s stephen sackur speaks to