on sunday, it will be wet and east. on sunday, it will be wet and windy across scotland and northern ireland, with the best of the sunshine in england and wales. this is bbc world news today. our top stories... key republican senators say they will vote for judge brett kavanaugh‘s nomination to the supreme court — a final senate vote is expected on saturday. he has been an exemplary public servant, judge, teacher, coach, husband and father. as the death toll continues to rise in indonesia after last week's earthquake and tsunami — we report on the plight of villagers who lost everything. there were four houses here that have just completely disappeared. totally buried under the mud, there's nothing left of them at all. this year's nobel peace prize is awarded to two people —

who've both campaigned against sexual violence in war. and here in the uk — a man is found guilty of pushing an 91 year old complete stranger onto the tracks of the london tube. hello and welcome to world news today. president trump's nominee, brett kavanaugh, is a step closer to joining the supreme court after the us senate narrowly backed him in a preliminary vote. in the past few minutes, a key republican senator, susan collins, said she does not believe the accusations against brett kavanaugh are strong enough to prevent his confirmation as a supreme courtjudge. her vote makes it more likely that he will secure enough support in the senate vote on saturday.

here she is. mr president, we've heard a lot of charges and countercharges about judge kavanaugh. but as those who have known him best have attested, he has been an exemplary public servant, judge, teacher, coach, husband and father. despite the turbulent bitter fights surrounding his nomination, my fervent hope is that brett kava naugh his nomination, my fervent hope is that brett kavanaugh will work to lessen the divisions in the supreme court so that we have far fewer five decisions and so that public confidence in everyjudiciary and

oui’ confidence in everyjudiciary and our highest court is restored. mr president, i will vote to confirm judge kavanaugh. senators susan collins from maine. let's get more now from jane o'brien, who's on capitol hill in washington. that wasn't just susan that wasn'tjust susan collins saying she was going to vote in favour of this nomination, she made an incredibly powerful speech. she did. she really addressed all of the issues that have bedevilled this confirmation process which she called dysfunctional. she made a pretty good case. first of all, for ajudge pretty good case. first of all, for a judge kavanaugh‘s record pretty good case. first of all, for ajudge kavanaugh‘s record which pretty good case. first of all, for a judge kavanaugh‘s record which she said was exemplary, she addressed that first, the reasons why he was fiercely opposed by democrats and special interests who may she said spent an audit into the dark money on trying to derail his nomination.

she said that they were opposing donald trump's pic and that really anybody he picked would have been opposed like this. she went on to criticise the leaker of the letter from a confidential letter from christine blasey ford which led to her then being asked to give testimony about the sexual assault allegations she made against brett kavanaugh. she had very strong words to say about the person who leaked the letter saying they were not acting in her interest, in fact they we re acting in her interest, in fact they were using her in order to fight their own political crusade. she said very sympathetically she found doctor ford's testimony to be sincere, compelling and believes she isa sincere, compelling and believes she is a survivor of sexual assault but before witnesses she named it could not corroborate the details and she said it did not meet the standard, it did not reach the standard of more likely or not and in the

interests of fairness, she said, and the presumption of innocence she felt she had to support brett kavanaugh. and the result of her decision is what in terms of saturday's filled? well, it makes it far more likely brett kavanaugh will now be confirmed. susan collins was one of the handful of senators we we re one of the handful of senators we were all waiting to see which way she would go. it had been pretty uncertain. we've just in the last few minutes since she's finished that speech code from joe manchin, a democratic senator from west virginia, he had wooded yes to move the process and he says he will now supportjudge kavanaugh and that means unless somebody changes their mind in the next 2a hours, we could see a very narrow 51 49 majority mind in the next 2a hours, we could see a very narrow 5149 majority in favour of him. thank you very much. the death toll continues to rise in indonesia after last week's earthquake and tsunami. at least 1500 people are known to have died but rescuers fear the final death could be much higher as they try to reach remote areas on the island of sulawesi that have

been cut off. our south east asia correspondent has been speaking to people in a village in one of the worst hit areas. if you want help in palu, you have to turn up and demand it. and even that doesn't always work. these men have come from a village submerged under a sea of mud. i met them yesterday after their request for government aid had been turned down. but today, when we went to see how they were living, camped in the local mosque, our arrival coincided with that of a police truck carrying some much appreciated rice and noodles, albeit enough only for a couple of days. "they showed up out of the blue", said this man, one of the men i had met in palu just as the supplies were running out. "we're really happy. " it was a welcome opportunity, too, for some community outreach by a police force accused by some locals here of insensitivity to their plight.

these officers wanted to correct that impression. "this is actually our own food", said the colonel. "but we heard about these people and we felt sorry for them." so many of palu's inhabitants are still living like this. day—to—day challenges are hard enough. but their biggest concern is over when and how they can get back to their homes. i was taken to see where the torrent of mud had swept across the village. so they are telling me there were four houses here that have just completely disappeared. yes, totally buried under the mud. there is nothing left of them at all. without heavy machinery, which they don't have, there is no hope of clearing out this much mud. and there is another worry. the bodies of those caught by the mudslide. well, we have reached a point in the village

where there is a really strong smell because of a body that is buried in some of this debris. they cannot get it out. it is really distressing the people who live here and it gives you an idea, with all this mud, just what an immensejob it is going to be to get these villages back to some kind of normal life again. that worry was brought home to them later when a search and rescue team brought a corpse to the mosque. a reminder these people really don't need of the immense human cost of this disaster. jonathan head, bbc news, palu, indonesia. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news... the us newspaper, the washington post, has left a column blank in protest at the disappearance of one of its contributors, the saudi arabian journalist jamal khashoggi. the newspaper says it's worried about the fate of mr kashoggi, who went into the saudi arabian consulate in istanbul on tuesday and has not been heard from since.

shares in the italian football club juventus have fallen by 5% after a us court re—opened an investigation into rape allegations against its player cristiano ronaldo. juventus had tweeted that the allegations dating back to 2009 had not diminished their appreciation for the player. but his sponsor, nike has said it is deeply concerned. france has paid homage to the late singer, charles aznavour, at a national ceremony in paris. the french president, emmanuel macron, and the armenian prime minister, nikol pashinyan, led the tributes to one of the masters of french song. mr macron called him a poet who sang as if his life depended on it. mr pashinyan said aznavour — who was born in paris to armenian parents — had carried the country's name to the world. this year's nobel peace prize has been awarded to two people who have campaigned against sexual violence in war. one is a congolese gynaecologist

denis mucwege, the other a yazidi human rights activist nadia muraid. —— mukwege. the nobel committee said they wanted to send a message of awareness that women are being used as weapons of war and the perpetrators should be held to account. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports. a peace prize to fight one of the worst weapons of war — sexual violence. 25—year—old nadia murad was brutalised by islamic state fighters. it all came back when she returned to her village in northern iraq last year. horrific memories of being raped every day for months. her mother and six brothers killed, when islamic state stormed into the yazidi heartland, including their village. nadia spoke of it when i met her

in new york with her lawyer amal clooney. translation: i went to visit my family home a few months ago, it was completely destroyed. isis had left nothing behind. it is going to be hard to forget but at least we are working now to bring those criminals to justice. at least that is something, a tiny victory. and today in eastern congo, sweet celebration in a place known for its pain, the clinic where gynaecologist denis mukwege treats victims of sexual violence. translation: the prize has a big meaning that although it took time for the world to recognise us, the world has started listening to women and not just listening but getting to know the problems that you face. understanding our problems is not enough, they must realise that when you commit a crime against anyone, it is not right. they call him the miracle doctor.

in congo's war, sexual violence so severe many require surgery. they have used the world's podiums to fight for justice, now they are armed with a powerful prize, to try to end one of the worst crimes of war. lyse doucet, bbc news. israeli forces have killed two palestinians, including a iii—year—old, protesting along the gaza border. they shot another 126 people, gazan health officials said. the israeli army said it fired live rounds at demonstrators, accusing some of throwing grenades and rocks towards its soldiers on the israeli side of the border. its air force also bombed two sites in the gaza strip. there were no reports of injuries to israeli soldiers. a man who tried to push two people onto the tracks on the london underground has been found guilty of attempted murder. paul crossley, who's 46 and from east london, said he had chosen his victims at random and hadn't

intended to kill them. richard lister‘s report contains some cctv footage that may shock you watch the man in the macintosh coat, sir robert malpas, aged 90, and he never saw this coming. sir robert is badly hurt. commuters tried to raise the alarm. eventually one of them pulls him to safety. little earlier, another attack at another station. tobias french just avoids the train pulling in, but his assailant escapes. when passengers finally grabbed paul crossley, he said he knew what he had done was wrong. he told the court he'd had an allergic reaction to his schizophrenia medication. this was a most shocking incident and the victims in this case were extremely lucky to have survived. this could easily have been a double murder investigation. paul crossley showed no emotion during the proceedings. the judge has delayed sentencing until a

psychiatric report on him has been completed. the police stress this kind of attack is extremely rare, but for these two men it could easily have been far worse. richard lister, bbc news, at the old bailey. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: rising sea levels and life—threatening heatwaves — we'll take you to vietnam, one of the world's most vulnerable countries for global warming. this is bbc world news today. the latest headlines... key republican senators say they will vote for judge brett kavanaugh‘s nomination to the supreme court — a final senate vote is expected on saturday. officials in indonesia say more than a thousand people could have been trapped when an entire housing complex was destroyed by the tremor. rising sea levels, punishing

droughts and life—threatening heatwaves — these are the potential impacts of global warming. many of the world's most vulnerable countries say that the world must do more to limit the average rise in global temperatures. one of those is vietnam. our science editor david shukman is there. i'm in the incredibly hot mekong delta in the south of vietnam. this region is described as one of the most vulnerable anywhere in the world to the effects of climate change. i'm on board with a team of scientists, so let's find out what they're investigating. one of the scientists on board is professor dan parsons from the university of hull. just to interrupt for a second, what are you trying to find out here? we're using this acoustic sonar technology to map the flows of water, of sand, silts across this large delta plain. how much is this region changing? it's changing rapidly and changing very significantly. you found out the amount of silt

carried by the river has reduced dramatically. the silt is what actually builds the land up here. how serious is the situation? absolutely right, the silt and the sands that are delivered from the basin upstream are the only thing that is offsetting sea level rise across the entire delta, which is home to 18 million people. i mentioned this is a hotspot for climate change. what makes it so vulnerable? it's low—lying, it's a large delta plain and it's sinking. the sea level is coming up. it's essentially drowning. serious stuff. many, many thanks indeed. let's go see what else is happening. one of the really big concerns is food supplies, because the mekong delta is one of the world's greatest regions for producing rice. professor steve darby, university of southampton, you're looking into this. what are the risks to rice production? well, there are a number. the first and most important is with rising sea level we are seeing a flow of that salt water onto the agricultural soils in the delta.

the sea water's getting into the fields? that's right. during the flooding periods and during the dry season that salt water can flow over onto the rice growing areas and seep into the soils. it can contaminate them for productive rice agriculture. presumably rice can't grow when the water is too salty? that's right. some species or some crop varietals are very intolerant to that salt content. long—term, what are the implications? if you've got the land sinking, sea rising, sea water getting into the fields, what happens? unless there's a switch to some more tolerant varieties that can withstand that kind of salt pollution, then the current system of agriculture will have to change dramatically in order to be able to continue. to try to end on a positive note, what can be done? all of us need to do what we can to limit climate change, but also we need to find ways to learn how to live with the worst impacts.

many thanks for that. professor steve darby there of the university of southampton. we're waiting for a report from the un climate panel looking into the implications of trying to limit global warming in the way vietnam and other countries want. we'll see if that is going to be possible. three decades after the nuclear disaster at chernobyl in ukraine, a solar plant has been unvieled at the site. it's built just across from where the power station, now encased in a giant sarcophagus, caused the world's worst nuclear disaster. the solar plant is in a contaminated area, which remains largely uninhabitable and where visitors are accompanied by guides carrying radiation meters. nearly liooo panels produce energy to power two—thousand apartments. lizzie has all the sport. thanks. we're starting with the game

of the weekend in the premier league, liverpool against manchester city on sunday, joint top of the table, both teams unbeaten with six wins from their first seven matches. it is city's first return to anfield since they're rather hostile champions league tie in april, the city bus was pelted with objects on arrival at the stadium breaking windows and prompting extra security this time. in terms of the match pep guardiola doesn't have a good record againstjurgen klopp, india 1a previous contests, the spaniard has w011 previous contests, the spaniard has wonjust previous contests, the spaniard has won just five against the germans and he's lost the last three. won just five against the germans and he's lost the last threelj won just five against the germans and he's lost the last three. i have and he's lost the last three. i have a lot of respect for the wiki please, how proactive the art in his teens. whenever iplayer manager, i have to try and beat him. i'm going

to try next season. in the premier league we did it, in the champions league we did it, in the champions league we did it, in the champions league we could not do it. we've become used tojose mourinho's increasingly strange press conferences, but today it lasted just three minutes after summoning the journalists to the journalists —— ground foratm. the journalists to the journalists —— ground for atm. —— eight o'clock in the morning. most of the questions were based on whetherjose mourinho felt to be poor form was acceptable. this is what he said. that is the manager's business. only one defeat in the last seven matches. no victories at home in the past three matches. three draws. if

i'io past three matches. three draws. if no happiness of the victory. yes, it's important for us to try to win this match on saturday. there is one game in the premier league tonight between brighton and west ham. glenn murray the scorer on 25 minutes, 60 minutes on the clock at the annex. in the bedene disregard,... cricket now, india posted their highest total against the west indies. the declared on a huge 649—9 on detailed the first test. virat kohli also hit a century, top scoring with a in response, the

windies are really struggling on 94-6. windies are really struggling on 94—6. finally there was a huge crash in practice for the inaugural moto gp in thailand. he was spectacularly thrown off in the second session somehow escaping with just bruises. the three—time world champion has been declared fit to race but says he may sit this one out. his team—mate was fastest, while the championship leader was fourth fastest. south africa expect an all—out assault from world champions new zealand when the two countries meet in the rugby championship test on saturday. after a surprising away win in new zealand last months, the springboks captain is awaiting a backlash in the final match. they've made it clear that the coming to win this game, they want to beat us and get revenge. that's the thing for us, we don't want to be shocked by the intensity, we want to be ready from the word go. we can't control

what they can do. we've got to make sure... it's going to be a good game and a physical game. that's all sport for now. thank you. an eight—year—old girl in sweden has found a sword believed to date from 1,500 years ago — before the viking era. saga vanecek stepped on the sword in a lake this summer, when the water level was low because of a drought. richard galpin has the story. despite the approach of winter, this lake in southern sweden is still a popular destination for those in search of ancient treasures. because earlier this year, there was an extraordinarily discovery here of something that had lain under the water for up to 1500 years. and this is it. a sword dating back to the sixth century, before the vikings, and it's surprisingly well preserved.

translation: scientifically, culturally and historically it's very important for us. it's an important piece of history for this area and it's attracted attention abroad. and the discovery was made not by a seasoned archaeologist or treasure hunter, but by an eight—year—old girl who had been playing in the water here while on holiday with her family. translation: i felt around with my hands and knees when i noticed something that felt like a stick. so i was on the verge of throwing it away but i didn't. then i picked it up and i said to my dad, "i have found a sword". it felt very cool and also a bit scary. since then, archaeologists have found a relic dating back bye— bye. we've had a three—way split going on

across the uk today. southern and south—eastern areas seeing sunshine and warmth but it has been cloudy and warmth but it has been cloudy and damp as well. bright but chilly across northern areas. this weather front will continue to straddle northern parts of the country do the course of tonight and by saturday morning there will be pretty heavy rain in parts of england and wales. another chilly night to come with a touch of frost and places. for saturday, it looks quite mixed, england and wales cloudy with outbreaks of heavy rain, the brain slowly migrating sight words. further north, apart from a fuchsia brits, it should be a lovely afternoon. most of the show is affecting the north and west are lots of sunshine for scotland, northern ireland, northern england and an increasing aid of sunshine for wales and the north—west with the midlands holding onto the cloud. a very strong northerly wind and

those outbreaks of rain slowed to clear from the south—east. much cooler across the south—east computer friday, it will be chilly further north but sunshine to compensate. that area of low pressure and the rain subsided, a ridge of high pressure builds on, another weather system building to the far corner. it's going to be a cold start to sunday with a touch of frost and places. but at least it should be bright, chilly but lots of sunshine around. a much better day for the south—east but we will see increasing wind and rain across scotla nd increasing wind and rain across scotland and northern ireland as that weather system makes inroads. some of that rain will be quite heavy across western scotland. it'll feel to things in the north but better for england and wales. certainly feeling warmer than it did on saturday. high pressure builds and southern parts of the uk as we head into the new working week. outbreaks of renee continue throughout monday, maybe some

brightness to the far north of scotla nd brightness to the far north of scotland with the best of the dry and bright weather across vast parts of england and wales. temperatures creeping up a little bit. 12 to 1a degrees particularly for you hold onto the rain. during the rest of the week staying fairly wet across northern areas but with high pressure building for many buses going to turn sunny and warm. —— for many of us. this is bbc world news. here are the headlines. judge brett kavanaugh now looks likely to be voted onto the supreme court despite allegations of sexual assault against him. to keep republican senators say they will report them in the final vote on saturday. officials in indonesia say they fear a thousand people could have been trapped when a housing complex collapsed during the earthquake which struck a week ago.

and the nobel peace prize has been awarded the two campaigners against sexual violence. one has a clinic in the democratic republic of the congo and the other campaigns for the