i'm ben bland in london. the headlines: and there is lift off of the soyuz... russia launches a criminal investigation after the crew of a soyuz rocket were forced to make an emergency landing. a trail of destruction left by one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the united states. and should it be renamed the kanye west wing? donald trump hosts the rap star who appears to be his biggest fan. it was something about when i put this hat on, it made me feel like superman. you made a superman, that's my favourite superhero. it is midnight here in london and 5:00am in the morning at the baikonur cosmodrome in kazakhstan, where officials

are investigating how a space capsule launch went badly wrong. the mission taking crew members to the international space station came falling back to earth when the soyuz rocket malfunctioned. both of the men on board survived unharmed, but it has raised questions over whether the soviet—era design is still safe for carrying people into orbit. from moscow, sarah rainsford reports. and there is liftoff of the soyuz ms... a burst of fire and noise, as a soyuz rocket lifted its crew into orbit. at first, this was a routine launch to the international space station. then came this. less than three minutes into the flight, the commander, alexey ovchinin, reported an emergency. the booster system had failed. the launch had to be aborted. moments later, the two men

were plunging back to earth in their tiny capsule. the crew did train for this nightmare scenario, the gruelling g—force their bodies would have to endure. a russian soyuz rocket hasn't failed on launch in over three decades. for american nick hague, it was an abrupt end to his first ever mission. he was due to spend six months in orbit. ever since yuri gagarin launched into orbit, russia has been immensely proud of its space programme. this accident, then, will be a major blow. but it is notjust a matter of prestige. russian rockets are currently the only way up to the international space station. what happens now, then, is a big question. rescuers were quick to reach the remote landing site, rugely relieved, too, that the crew emerged unharmed, even walking. but all soyuz flights have now been suspended

as an investigation is launched. the safety measures of this launcher are very good, and the two astronauts are well, they are in good shape. so therefore i think we should investigate the case, and as soon as possible fly again. tonight, the astronauts were reunited with their families. for them, it was a moment ofjoy. for russia, though, a time of tough questions over what exactly went so wrong here. sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. the devastation caused by hurricane michael in northern florida has become clear. the 155 mph winds, that is 250 km/h, smashed thousands of homes. six people are known to have died. weather experts say michael was the third most powerful storm on record to hit the us mainland. gary 0'donoghue reports. two days ago, this was an orderly

beachfront community, home to around 1200 people. but street after street michael tore through this town, uprooting and smashing everything in its path. this is what the federal emergency director is calling ground zero. mexico beach, where hurricane michael came ashore yesterday with those winds of 155 mph. it has com pletely those winds of 155 mph. it has completely devastated the seat down to the sea, just two houses left standing, and people's things all over the street, microwaves, mattresses, kitchen sinks, you name it. the stuff of everyday life turned into tetra just in a matter of hours —— detritus. around the town, friends and neighbours are doing their best to consult one another, hard to do when your dream retirement home has ended up like this. 30 miles west of mexico beach, the hurricane's aftermath proved a temptation some couldn't resist. but, for the time being, the priority is seeking out anyone who

might need urgent help, as the rescu e rs might need urgent help, as the rescuers make their way to some of the more isolated communities. life will not back to normal here any time soon. —— not be back to normal. also making news today: ajudge in new york has dismissed one of the six sexual assault allegations against the disgraced hollywood mogul harvey weinstein. the dismissal relates to lucia evans, who accused the movie producer of forcing her to perform a sexual act. weinstein‘s lawyer has told reporters that this development taints the whole case against his client. at least five people have been killed by a cyclone in the east of india. the category 2 storm caused flooding in low lying areas of 0disha and andhra pradesh states. officials say 500,000 people have lost their power supplies. there have been more big falls in the value of us stock markets. the dowjones ended the day lower by more than 2%. the nasdaq and s&p indexes also fell. attention will now turn to the asian markets, which open in the coming hours, and we will have more on this in asia business report.

a singapore airlines plane is currently in the air for what the carrier says will be the longest non—stop passenger flight on record. it's currently about seven hours into the 19—hourjourney from singapore directly to new york. tickets aren't cheap on the airbus a350 and there's no economy class on board. it's due to land just after 10:30 gmt on friday. let's get more on our top story, that amazing emergency landing of the soyuz rocket. i was joined from houston by the former nasa astronaut terry virts, who has been inside a soyuz capsule, and from paris by the director general of the european space agency, jan worner. well, first of all, i want to say it was a very good ending to a very bad

day. the russian mission control and survival rescue forces did a great job getting them back quickly. but the men were going through a normal launch. they had been planning on spending six months of the international space station. they we re international space station. they were reporting that everything was normal. ground was telling them everything was fine, and then all of a sudden, and we are not exact a sure what happened, that investigation is going to come, but somewhere when the boosters came off there were some vibrations, and they suddenly got an alarm that the engine had shut down. they reported that they were weightless, and they went from everything is normal, i am going to space, to my rocketjust failed and we are going through this emergency, first ever of its kind, i bought. it was a pretty, i am sure, shocking turn of events for them —— abort. there must be training for all sorts of eventualities. is this the sort of scenario that they would have stimulated beforehand 7 absolutely, in fact, today i dusted off my old checklist from when i was flying the soyuz to reread all the

procedures, and as i was going through the procedures i could hear alexey 0vchinin, the cosmonauts, going off each step. he sounded like he was just taking a walk in the park. he sounded so cool and calm and collected, but he was riding a rocket that had just failed, and he had to do a ballistic emergency. so they had practised it. the g—forces we re they had practised it. the g—forces were pretty high, they got up to almost seven gs, from what i heard. as an f—16 pilot i got up to seven g, but they only had that for a few seconds, and then they were under parachute and landed in the desert u neve ntfully. parachute and landed in the desert uneventfully. the russian forces we re uneventfully. the russian forces were actually waiting for them before the capsule landed. the russians had helicopters on the site already. let's bring in jan woerner, who was in paris. as terry mentioned, fortunately the situation concluded with no one being harmed, but i just concluded with no one being harmed, but ijust wonder concluded with no one being harmed, but i just wonder what this means for the future of soyuz missions,

and specifically, what about those who are currently at the space station, who presumably were awaiting supplies to be delivered? no, so the ones who are in the space station right now, for them it is no issue at all. i have already contacted alexander guest, who is a european astronaut with a german passport on board the iss. they have everything what they need. so this is no issue. the transport to the international space station is normally made by the japanese or from some american suppliers. so this is no issue. and of course, this is no issue. and of course, this mishap of the soyuz is not a good thing, but on the other side, it shows that the system as such is very safe, because in each and every way, moment of the lodge, you can return. this is a very good message, and so therefore i think it is still and so therefore i think it is still a reliable launch. of course, we had

to look what was the problem. i have had some contact with my american colleagues, i had some contact also from our russian colleagues, because we would like to send again european astronauts with that launcher. so do i take from what you said just there that you don't see this as perhaps signalling a rolling back of human missions, especially considering that now artificial intelligence and robotics can actually achieve so much7 robotics can actually achieve so much? no, i think robotics can actually achieve so much? no, ithink the robotics can actually achieve so much? no, i think the soyuz is a reliable launch, but it shows also that to have two systems available, we caught it redundancy as engineers, is something which is very good. so i tried to convince also the europeans some years ago to go ahead with the european transport system. i could not succeed, but it is very clear we have more than one system available, it is a good

thing. and therefore we're also looking forward that the americans ready to launch again in the near future. terry, let's bring you back in. because ijust keep trying to put myself in the shoes of those two men who were in the capsule. how much of it comes down to their decision—making, in seconds and split seconds, and how much are they really just relying on split seconds, and how much are they reallyjust relying on others back at control to make the crucial decisions7 at control to make the crucial decisions? well, actually it is more the computers on board itself. the soyuzis the computers on board itself. the soyuz is very automated during launch especially, most things happen automatically. there were a few steps that alexey had to take, and they commanded ballistic entry, abort the separation and getting the parachute out, almost types of things, the soyuz is mostly automated. —— all those types of things. search and rescue efforts in indonesia are coming to an end today following the devastating earthquake and tsunami. more than 2,000 people are known to have died and around 5,000 are still feared missing. we can bring you now the story of a man who survived notjust the palu tsunami, but also the one

which struck in december 200a. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: find out why this korean pop video was watched 45 million times in the first 2a hours since it was released. parts of san francisco least affected by the earthquake are returning to life. but in the marina area, where most of the damage was done, they're more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. in the 19 years since he was last here, he's gone from being a little—known revolutionary to an experienced and successful diplomatic operator. it was a 20 lbs bomb that exploded on the fifth floor of the grand hotel, ripping a hole in the front

of the building. this government will not weaken. democracy will prevail. it feels to me that humility and gratitude to know that i've been chosen as the recipient of this for most on —— it fills me with. the catholic nation held their breath for the men they call the 33. and then... bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue and chile let out an almighty roar. welcome back. you're watching newsday on the bbc. i'm ben bland in london. our top stories: russian officials say they have begun a criminal investigation into a failed space mission which forced two crew members to perform an emergency landing in kazakhstan. a trail of destruction left by one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the united states.

let's ta ke let's take a look at what's been covered in the main newspapers. the south china morning post reports on a turbulent day on the world markets ahead of the opening bell. hong kong's stock market had its worst day in 17 months yesterday and shanghai shares sank to their lowest in four years, as fears over trade wars and slowing economies spooked investors. the japan times front page features the brand new toyosu fish market. the opening of the 40—hectare state—of—the—art seafood marketplace was bittersweet for many fishmongers after the closing of the 83—year—old tsukiji market on saturday. and the philippine star says 40,000 bags of rice have been seized by autorities following an intensified campaign against illegal rice trading. according to the government, the contribution of rice to inflation multiplied tenfold this year, amid issues on supply and importation. ajunior minister in the indian

government is facing calls to resign over multiple allegations of harassment and sexual assault. he's yet to respond, but the claims come as india is in the midst of a #metoo storm. yogita limaye reports from mumbai. just some of the hundreds of stories india's women have shared over the past few days. on twitter and facebook, there's been a torrent of allegations made against men from the media and entertainment industries. many have even been named. the most high profile, mj akbar, india's junior foreign minister and a former junior newspaper editor. he's not responded so newspaper editor. he's not responded so far. his boss, india's foreign minister, chose not to comment when

asked about the issue. the harassment reached such an extreme point... but the whole movement started with this woman, a former actor, she recently spoke out again about the sexual harassment she allegedly faced on a movie set ten yea rs she allegedly faced on a movie set ten years ago. she says she filed a police complaint back in 2008, but she got nojustice police complaint back in 2008, but she got no justice and it forced her to leave the profession. this is something i loved, loved dancing, loved movies, love acting, it was just taken away from me. i had movie offers all these years but every timea offers all these years but every time a movie of wood, would break into a sweat, my heart would start racing and i would figure out some excuse to not sign up for a film. the actor he is accused has denied the allegations, saying there were dozens the allegations, saying there were d oze ns of the allegations, saying there were dozens of people on set. he also says he will see what legal options he has. india consistently ranks among the worst countries in the world to be a woman, so it's hardly

surprising the kind of stories with hearing. but for the first time, not only are women choosing to name their alleged harassers, but we're also seeing action being taken. enquiries being initiated, some people being forced to resign, entertainment shows being dropped and contracts being cancelled. this woman is one of the lawyers who is offered legal counsel to the women who've come out with their stories. the response has been overwhelming to be honest. they don'tjust want overwhelming to be honest. they don't just want to, you overwhelming to be honest. they don'tjust want to, you know overwhelming to be honest. they don't just want to, you know what i mean, have the social media platform, they want to take it forward , platform, they want to take it forward, file complaints and caa logical end to this. on average i'd say i get a—10 women who contact me every day. in recent years, tough sexual harassment laws have been introduced in the country. but many are hoping this will be the moment that makes india's workplaces a bit more safe for its women. yogita

limaye, bbc news, mumbai. it was one of donald trump's most anticpated meetings, creating almost as much hype as his face—to—face talks with north korean leader kom jong—un. rapper kanye west was invited into the white house for a chat with the us president. here's ka nye giving the president a hug. as you can see, he's wearing his red ‘make america great again' cap, which he said made him feel like a super hero when he put it on. clearly he's a big fan. the event was an unusual one foertrump in that he sat at his oval office deskjust listening while kanye west spoke for more than eight minutes. just take a look at this. emily heil is a reporter for the washington post. i asked her what she makes of this somewhat unusual visit. you head on to things that are quite different about this bizarre spectacle. —— hit on two. first a celebrity came to the white house, that's something that's obviously happened for many previous administrations, they'd have

celebrities coming through for ever reason, pressing their causes, coming to events and doing concerts, whatever —— for whatever reason. that hit a high water mark in the 0bama era, they attracted tremendous amounts of visitors, and they deployed celebrities in different ways, whether to sell the healthcare bill or during the presidential campaigns. trump has really been kryptonite to celebrities. save for a few one of celebrities, kid rock being one of them, who was again at the white house today, just not lot of interest from celebrities to come to the trump white house. so first of all that was unusual. and yes, you also hit on the fact that donald trump was registered speechless —— rendered speechless, which we don't hear a lot of, and it took kanye west to do that. i want to get your thoughts on the political angle of all this, here we have a black american giving a ringing

endorsement, saying wearing the trademark donald trump baseball cap made him feel like a superhero. do you think this will help the president's relations at all with the african—american community given the african—american community given the problems he's had picking twitter fights with certain celebrities, and the nfl protests and the comments he's made about the cha rlottesville and the comments he's made about the charlottesville white supremacist rally, do you think this will make any difference at all? i don't think it well, i don't think kanye west has the ability to move the needle in that way. i don't think his endorsement and embrace of president trump is something that, you know, people of colour are going to look at and say, maybe there's something more here. this is kanye west of doing things kanye west does, call attention to himself, say something bizarre, say something very astonishing so people stop and they stare at him. i don't think this is something that people say, oh, this isa something that people say, oh, this is a thoughtful person who maybe now i should go back and give this a

second look. i don't think he has that cachet within his own community that cachet within his own community that we. certainly he has a tremendous amount of fame, but it's a different sort of fame —— that way we. this won't do what donald trump think it might —— thinks it might —— that we. —— that way we. the south korean boyband bts is one of the world's most influential groups on social media. they've just finished a run of sold out concerts at london's o2 arena, and they're more than just a craze. their success has brought k—pop, south korean pop music, to a global audience, showcasing the country's unique culture. here's sophie van brugen. kaufman kenai meet bts, global pop superstars, and they sing almost exclusively in korean. the band have had a record—breaking year so far. they're the first kapok band to break into the us and uk charts. —— kapok. this video, idol, was watched

45 million times in the first 24 hours, a new world record. they've even been asked to speak at the un. today i am who i am, with all of my thoughts and my mysteries. tomorrow, imight be thoughts and my mysteries. tomorrow, i might be a tiny bit wiser. it's the message of self empowerment to the message of self empowerment to the fans and their relationship with them that's given them this global appeal. they've helped us get over hardships and keep trying to find a way to ourselves i think... that's the best way to be happy. of course, psiand the best way to be happy. of course, psi and gangnam style was a breakthrough for kapok but this is different. groups like the beatles, they were global ones but we've never seen they were global ones but we've never seen it again, especially from an asian group. the music is so

good. ideal with an asian group. the music is so good. idealwith anxiety an asian group. the music is so good. ideal with anxiety and panic disorders but their music helps me. at the heart of it is the powerful mixture of slick pop and vulnerability through the lyrics. there more than just a new band. it's the sign of how the centre of gravity in the world of pop is shifting east. sophie van brugen, bbc news. and before we go, let's take a look at these pictures of ethiopia's prime minister, abiy ahmed, doing press—ups with soldiers who had marched into his office in addis ababa to demand a pay rise. he was unhappy that soldiers had brought weapons and ordered them to do 10 press—ups. judging by the smiles he has ended the situation amicably. i was going to end the show with some press ups but i'm told we're out of time! that's all for now, stay with bbc world news. hello there. storm callum is approaching and it is set to bring us some approaching and it is set to bring us some pretty wet and windy weather over the next few days. on thursday,

a breezy day with a few showers around, this is the picture as we ended the day from a weather watcher in reading and now our attention turns to the west and this is storm callum, this developing low pressure area. as it moves in on friday and lingering into saturday, it will bring windy and wet weather. the rainfall totals could be mounting up, particularly in parts of south wales, where we have an amber warning for the heavy rain, 40—60 millimetres of rain, could be even more over high ground, up to 100 over the two days. this is how friday is looking, let's focus on regional detail on friday morning, look at the wind speeds, 50 or 60 mph, maybe more on exposed irish sea coast and heavy rain in the south—west of england, wales and the midlands. northern ireland will have seen midlands. northern ireland will have seen the worst of the wet weather by 8am on friday but very windy here and wet and windy conditions in the

bulk of scotland and northern england, with strong gusty winds. particularly windy in the north and west, but wherever you are, you'll notice the strength of the winds. to the south—east of england and east anglia, more likely to be dry for a good part of the day and pretty warm, temperatures up to 22 or so in the south—east. cooler further north and west, but mild wherever you are, but we've got strong winds and heavy rain to contend with. this area of rain to contend with. this area of rain becomes quite slow moving on friday evening and into saturday morning, especially heavy in wales and remember, the amber warning morning, especially heavy in wales and remember, the amberwarning in force for heavy rain in south wales, maybe flooding and disruption to transport. as we go through the weekend, the trailing weather front from storm callum stays put through the day on saturday, slowly edging further east. again, parts of scotland, northern ireland, northern england, wales and the south—west of england, wales and the south—west of england seeing the bulk of the heavy rain. strong winds again, especially to the midlands and the south—east of england and with that mild air in charge, in the sunshine we could see temperatures up to 24, well above

average for the time of year. into the second half of the weekend, we'll see the rain edging further east. perhaps a soggy start for london and the south—east, some rain and even snow of the scottish mountains. when the rain and hill snow clears to the east, and improved today in much of the country but temperatures will be almost 10 degrees cooler on sunday than they are on saturday. into next week, still unsettled and breezy with showery rain at times. bye—bye. you are watching bbc news. our top story: russian officials begin a criminal investigation into a failed space mission which forced two crew members to perform an emergency landing in kazakhstan. russia has suspended manned flights to the international space station. shortly after takeoff, nick hague and alexey 0vchinin reported a problem with the rocket‘s booster. they ejected their capsule from the booster and began a ballistic descent. the number of people known to have died in the devastation caused by hurricane michael in the united states has risen to six. it has now weakened

to a tropical storm. and this video is trending on bbc.com. rapper kanye west was invited into the white house for lunch and a chat with the us president, and certainly stole the show when he embarked on a monologue so long and disjointed he left donald trump speechless. now on bbc news, it is hardtalk.