i'm rico hizon in singapore. 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's 1am in london and 8am on the indonesian island of sulawesi where volunteers have begun burying victims of the deadly earthquake and tsunami in a mass grave. friday's disaster has left more than 844 dead and 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're 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 also 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 more than 190,000 people in indonesia urgently need help. rescue teams are calling for heavy lifting equipment and more qualified staff to search for survivors. a short time ago i spoke to the bbc‘s mariko 0i in pasang kayu. she's on her way to palu. well, we started driving from the city of makassar,

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 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 wood 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 trying to get access, how 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 now managed to arrive in palu, but they had to wait hours until some of the main roads were cleared of mudslide. that 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 under way, but electricity is still out and petrol is completely out in palu. 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 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 along, the fact that the government couldn't come up with the funding to keep maintaining the system. so they were not working, 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 saved if there was money. of course, others would disagree, saying there is no perfect system, that 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 one confirmation of death, but he was driving this same journey for 20 hours to find out what happened to the rest of the family as well. so a lot of tragedy, a lot of personal tragedies as well, and a lot of challenges for the local authorities and the government. the indonesian government says it will accept offers of international help. with communications down, and access by land severely disrupted, rescue teams are struggling to reach communities nearer the epicentre of the quake. the bbc‘sjonathan head has also managed to get to 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's 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 one, it does feel that very little has been done up to now.

let's cross to our correspondent nick beake who is a few hundred kilometres 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 high—tech medical equipment, but it will be received well by those in need. there is a concern as well 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 ofaid a number of aid agencies have sent things to the disaster area including save the children's partner in indonesia. earlier i spoke to their communications manager fajarjasmin injakarta. we have a response team of six staff, 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 need to access this area is that they need to land in makassar, which is still about 800 kilometres from ground zero. and the only road that they are able to access ground zero from makassar has been extensively damaged,

and that would translate easily to about 20—24 hours alone to reach palu and donggala. so the biggest problem in this kind of disaster will always be access, with the damaged infrastructure and such, and then also of course the bottleneck airport. so it's 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 weeks 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. president trump has said he wants a comprehensive fbi investigation into historic allegations of sexual assault againstjudge brett kavanaugh — the man he's 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.

0ur 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 plan b, ‘cause i think — 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 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? would i 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. 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 sea could escalate if china is provoked. 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. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera 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. we start with the straits times, which leads with our top news story — the devastation caused in indonesia by friday's earthquake and tsunami. the paper says that 18 countries,

including singapore, have offered assistance. the south china morning post marks hong kong's national day. under a picture of fireworks lighting up the night sky, the newspaper reports on a day of official celebrations, as well as protests against the chinese government's crackdown on political dissent. and finally to the japan times, and japan's nobel prize winner. tasuku honjo is celebrating after being awarded the prize in medicine. along with a us scientist, he discovered a brain protein that can help use the body's immune system to fight cancer. honjo will share around $1 million in prize money. we were talking about this earlier. two scientists who pioneered a breakthrough in the treatment of cancer have won this year's nobel prize for medicine. tasuku honjo from japan

and james allison from the united states were jointly awarded science's most prestigious prize, after discovering how the human body's own immune system could be turned against cancerous cells. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh has the story. for tasuku honjo, in tokyo, fortasuku honjo, in tokyo, it for tasuku honjo, in tokyo, it was late afternoon when celebrations began, but forjames allison in texas, the time difference meant a very early start. my son called at 5:30 a.m., and then pretty soon i started getting calls from other people. a bunch of people came to the room, to the door, beating on the room, to the door, beating on the door at 6am in the morning with champagne, and... we had a little party early this morning. the two professors discovered how to take the brakes off the immune system, to fight cancer. 0ur immune cells are there to destroy foreign invaders like viruses, but cancer cells have several ways of hiding from the

body's defences. the scientists discovered some tumours used a chemical handshake to disable immune cells. this has led to drugs which block that handshake, and enable immune cells to kill that cancer. immunotherapy immune cells to kill that cancer. immunothera py has revolutionised immune cells to kill that cancer. immunotherapy has revolutionised the treatment of some cancers, and is producing stunning results in patients with melanoma, lymphoma, kidney, lung and bladder cancer. this oncologist at the royal marsden, in london, told me that many patients are now living much longer. this research has made a big difference to my patients. i now have people in my clinic who are alive five, six, seven, ten years after their diagnosis, as a consequence of the drugs that have been developed from this research. the life expectancy for melanoma in the past, before this, was only six months. lucy davies was told five yea rs months. lucy davies was told five years ago that she could have just months to live, because advanced melanoma had spread to her liver.

but immunothera py treatment melanoma had spread to her liver. but immunotherapy treatment at the marsden has kept the cancer in check. to have seen my eldest into secondary school, i today feel that the application for my youngest to go to secondary school, and i am pretty confident i will see that, barring any buses or unforeseen circumstances. it is an extraordinary situation. current research is examining why immunotherapy research is examining why immunothera py doesn't work research is examining why immunotherapy doesn't work for many patients, and how to best use it in combination with other cancer treatment to extend life expectancy still further. malaysia's prime minister says tensions in the south china seas could escalate if china is provoked. the prime minister was elected in a surprise victory at the age of 93 this year. he sat down for an interview. i explained that china has every right to go wherever they want to

90, right to go wherever they want to go, but please... i will prevent ships from passing through the straits of malacca at the south china sea, that's all i want. and could you see this escalating? well, it may escalate if people continue to irritate and provoke china. would you be one of those who might provoke china? well, it is -- somebody who is comparable in size and strength. who is that? who is that, the united states, are you thinking of? you can guess, i don't wa nt to thinking of? you can guess, i don't want to mention the word. so are you saying there could be a conflagration between the united states and china over the south china sea? our policy is not to have battleships and warships in the south china sea, because if people start stationing their warships there, there will be tension, there will be conflict, and it may result ina war. you have been watching newsday.

i'm babita sharma in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. we will be seeing how tesla is working to give australians more control over their energy by establishing virtual power plants. and, before we go, a reminder of our top story this hour: the united nations believes that 200,000 people in indonesia urgently require assistance following friday's earthquake and tsunami on the island of sulawesi. volunteers have begun burying victims of indonesia's deadly earthquake and tsunami in a mass grave. friday's disaster devastated swathes of the eastern sulawesi island, and has left at least 844 people dead. dozens of people are feared to be underneath the rubble of one hotel alone, the roa roa in the devastated resort of palu. hello. after a rather chilly start to october, it will feel a bit warmer for many of us

in the day ahead. there's an area of milder, warmer air that's been moving into the uk between these two weather fronts. but the weather fronts close by mean that there's a good deal of cloud around to begin tuesday, and for some of us it'll be rather damp, particularly from northern ireland into parts of england and wales. this is how it looks for early risers. from north—east england into scotland, though, there'll be some sunshine around to start the day, but there'll 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, for many of us it will turn brighter during the day. but we could still see patchy rain, southern parts of northern ireland, north wales, and for some into north—west england and the west midlands. here is the temperature at 4:00pm in the afternoon, white arrows indicate average wind speeds here for the day. you can see the temperatures, a good few degrees higher than they were on monday for many. the stronger the wind,

the further north we get. into some sunny spells north—east england and scotland, the black arrows indicate the wind gusts in excess of 40 miles an hour, and 60 miles an hour in northern scotland and the northern isles, with those showers rattling on through. but for many of us, it'll be a dry afternoon, brightening up a little bit. some clear skies developing on tuesday night, through particularly the eastern side of the uk. and this is where we will see the lowest temperatures going into wednesday morning. further west, well, temperatures will be holding up, with an area of cloud producing a bit of 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've got low pressure north of the uk, and a trailing weather front giving some cloud and a bit of patchy rain, particularly into the western side of scotland. and some of that rain may start to turn heavier late in the day, into the north—west in particular. elsewhere, 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 morning could well start with some fog affecting parts of southern england. it could be dense in places. a rather more active picture in northern ireland and scotland, as another weather front moves in, and some heavy rain beginning to move southwards evidently into parts of northern england with the wind strengthening once again. just a quick tease as we look towards the weekend. could well have low pressure close by, a chance to see some heavy rain in some spots, and turning a bit cooler too. we'll keep you updated. 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 dot 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. and the top story in the uk: a factory worker from the west midlands is facing a life sentence after he was convicted of murdering his eight—year—old