welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: federal agents search a mail sorting office in florida, as the us steps up the hunt for whoever is behind the bombs, sent to prominent critics of donald trump. saudi arabia admits for the first time, the murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi in istanbul, was pre—meditated. it's one of the worst public health emergenies in us history, we hear from some of the addicts ravaged by opioids. i am addicted to heroin. i want to stop, but i can't. the french spiderman scales one of london's tallest buildings before being caught in a police web. police in the us have intensified their search

for a serial bomber, after more suspect packages were sent in the post. ten have been discovered after being sent to prominent critics of president trump, two weeks before the us mid—term elections. investigators believe some of the pipe bombs were posted from florida. our north america correspondent, nick bryant reports. these are the scenes that america woke up to — what looked like old footage from the war in iraq, but which were real—time images from a postal facility in delaware. a bomb disposal expert examining a suspect package, addressed to the former vice president, joe biden. yet another prominent democrat sent a crude bomb. in the middle of the night, lower manhattan became the focus and a package sent to the office in tribeca of movie star robert de niro, an outspoken

critic of donald trump. once again, a suspect explosive device hauled safely away in a vehicle that's fast becoming a familiar sight — the bomb squad's total containment vessel. we are treating them as live devices. as you see the way our bomb squad detectives went into cnn yesterday, this has to be taken with the utmost seriousness. so as far as a hoax device, we're not treating it that way. at a campaign rally last night, donald trump said acts of political violence were an attack on democracy, but some of his strongest remarks were directed atjournalists. as part of a larger national effort to bridge our divides and bring people together, the media also has a responsibility to set a civil tone and to stop the endless hostility and constant negative — and often times — false attacks and stories. have to do it. the president accepted no personal blame for his part in the coarsening

of american public life. and this morning on twitter, he renewed his attack on the media... because none of the devices have exploded, the fbi has a mound of forensic evidence to help track down who's responsible. but some prominent conservatives have claimed this is all a liberal hoax, timed to coincide with crucial congressional elections. a focus of the investigation right now is south florida where some of the parcels were put in the post and it is worth stressing again just how politicised this moment has become. we haven't seen a nation coming together. we are watching once again as america tears itself apart. clint van zandt is the former supervisor in the fbi's behavioural science unit and he was also the bureau's chief hostage negotiator. he led the team that

identified the unabomber, and profiled oklahoma city bomber timothy mcveigh. he's in virginia. thank you for being with us. that is quite the cd. it in your experience, what you make of the patterns of what you make of the patterns of what we have seen so far is mac —— cv.i what we have seen so far is mac —— (v. i think the authorities and other agents working this are on a two track investigation. track number one says, as your correspondence suggested, these are potential explosive devices. there are ten of them. i think all investigators are working this case as if they are real devices. obviously the people that they were sent to, that would basically kill potentially two former presidents, the secretary of state and many other government officials. so we are going all out trying to find the person or persons responsible. but we realise that the other side of

that investigation, just like a set of railroad tracks going down the road, that second track says these are devices that are built to scare us, to terrify us, but not to go off. one or more of the devices we know was missing an essential part, that would allow that to become an actual explosive device. is there someone who is deeply trying to terrorise us by the sending of these devices? just like one of the devices? just like one of the devices had an envelope of white powder, which many immediately suggested could be an tracks. again, this wasn't anthrax. if it is not anthrax, perhaps it is not a real bomb too. until we find out who is responsible, we will pursue this case as if the bombs are real and the bomber is out there perhaps making more bombs today. that is interesting, regardless of whether they were viable or what the intention was corner you have to

proceed as if they were. if she or he, or they, and proceed as if they were. if she or he, orthey, and not proceed as if they were. if she or he, or they, and not track down quickly, due think there is a risk of more devices being sent out the? i think it depends on the purpose on which the devices were originally set. if they were sent to get our attention, to terrorise us without any actual intent to kill, i do think we will see any other devices. however, if the bomber are now fully aware that their devices did not function, then, as a friend of mine suggest, we will start to see pipe—bomb 2.0, where the bombers will go back, improve the device, find another method of delivery and we will see at a new wave of these devices coming out. time is of the essence. thank you very much fought your expertise. —— for your expertise. the eldest son of the murdered journalist,

jamal khashoggi, has arrived in the united states after being allowed to leave saudi arabia. salah khashoggi had previously been subject to a travel ban because of his father's criticism of the kingdom's leadership. the saudi authorities have for the first time admitted that the killing of the journalist three weeks ago in istanbul was premedidated. mark lowen reports from outside the saudi consulate in istanbul. we are here over three weeks since jamal khashoggi was killed, at the spot where he was last seen entering the saudi consulate here in istanbul. friends and colleagues of his here holding a vigil at the spot. you can see they hold candles and photos, posters with his face on it. one man we've just seen dressed in saudi traditional clothing with red paint on his hands, the suggestion that the saudi authorities have blood on their hands. these are people close to mr kashoggi who note that the news cycle moves on, that political deals might try to sweep this under the carpet, but they're determined to keep the pressure on the saudi authorities in their demand for efforts.

ratcheting up the pressure today is report that gina haspel, the director of the cia, has been played by the turkish government audio recordings of mr kashoggi's murder, leaks of which are very graphic, suggesting you can hear the screams, torture, and dismemberment of the body. the question now is, is that the smoking gun, and will that reveal be able to trace a direct line of accountability to the top levels of the saudi state? turkey is now very confident this was a planned murder, the saudi public prosecutor saying they believe that is the case, as well, based on the evidence they have received from turkey, that it was a premeditated murder. but the question tonight is still whose orders the saudi hit squads were operating under. let's get some of the day's other news. google is reported to have given a huge pay—off to a senior executive after he was alleged

to have sexually harrassed another member of staff five years ago. the man in question has denied any wrongdoing. the company says it's fired 48 employees accused of sexual misconduct over the past two years. the us defence secretary, jim mattis, is expected to order the deployment of at least eight hundred additional troops along the border with mexico. he's received a request from the department of homeland security, as a group of several thousand central american migrants make their way towards the us. and earthquake has struck in greece. village in the southern part of zakynthos. at least eighteen people, mostly schoolchildren, have died in a flash flood injordan close to the dead sea. a witness said their bus was hit by floodwaters that swept them into a valley.

the israeli military says it is helping thejordanian search and rescue effort. catherine armstrong reports. alone in the dark, this canyon is searched for any son of those missing after a deadly flashlight. this was the scene earlier in the days of the eyewitnesses say a torrent swept away everything in its path, including family speak the king in the area and a bus carrying students. —— picnicking. later, bodies were recovered from the seashore. many of those killed were under the age of 14. translation: the water came up strongly for 4—5 kilometres, which is the location between the pool and a bridge and the beginning of the dead sea. there we re the beginning of the dead sea. there were people who ended up in the seawater and there were people who managed to reach crocs and save themselves. the dead sea is the

lowest point on earth and a popular tourist destination because of the natural buoyancy and rejuvenating properties of its waters. however, the area plus a dry conditions make it susceptible to flash flooding. dozens of people have now been rescued from the area. at this hospital, frantic family members wait to be reunited with their loved ones are. some people are said to be ina ones are. some people are said to be in a critical condition. meanwhile, the rescue mission has been called off for now, as those involved wait for the weather to improve. japan's prime minister shinzo abe is in beijing, for a summit with chinese president xijingping. it's the first bilateral talks in seven years. rupert wingfield—hayes is live for us from tokyo. relations between these two leaders have been pretty frosty over the last few years. is this going to change? i think this is a

tremendously important visit for shinzo abe and cheating thing. as you said, no meeting of this level in beijing between these two neighbours to seven years. that is an extraordinarily long time for two countries of this importance, the world ‘s second and third—largest economies, the biggest economies in asia, the two military and strategically powerful countries in asia not meeting for that amount of time is the strange. japan has wa nted time is the strange. japan has wanted this meeting for sometime. at least since 2015, and has been pushing for it. is really the chinese are now decided and xi jinping has decided himself it is time to thaw relations which have been on ice over various things, history, territorial disputes, all sorts of things, for a long time. this is really china opening up to japan and what is really behind this for the chinese, is a trade war with america. it is an opportune moment for china to get closer to japan.

briefly, is anything concrete to come out of this? i think there are going to be lots of nice word and commitment to free trade. interesting that china and japan are now the countries leading the argument forfree now the countries leading the argument for free trade and it is america that is doing the opposite. they will commit themselves to working together on infrastructure projects in the developing world, around the developing world are. but this is really about starting to ove rco m e this is really about starting to overcome these difficulties that have been so difficult between them over the last few years, and also showing america that if it is going to turn its back on free trade, that china andjapan to turn its back on free trade, that china and japan will not. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: america's drugs crisis. we have a special report on the worst public health emergency in us history. a historic moment that many of his victims have waited for

for decades. the former dictator in the dock, older, slimmer, and as he sat down, obedient enough. dawn, and as the sun breaks through the piercing chill of night on the plain outside korem, it lights up a biblicalfamine, now, in the 20th century. the depressing conclusion — in argentina today, it is actually cheaper to paper your walls with money. we've had controversies in the past with great britain. but as good friends, we have always found a good and lasting solution. concorde bows out in style. after almost three decades in service, an aircraft that has enthralled its many admirers for so long taxis home one last time. this is bbc news,

the latest headlines: federal agents search a mail sorting office in florida, as the us steps up the hunt for whoever is behind the bombs sent to prominent critics of donald trump. saudi arabia has admitted for the first time the murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi in istanbul was premeditated. america is in the grip of the worst public health emergency in its history and drugs are to blame. now the government is trying to get a grip on it by introducing new laws. a drugs overdose is now the main cause of death for americans under the age of 50. in 2016, we reported on the growing problem of opioid addiction in america. darren conway been back to talk to three people he met, steve, anna and brittney, to see what has become of their struggle.

you may find their stories upsetting. i'm addicted to heroin. i want to stop, but i can't. i'm not going to die from this. like, i'm not. not going to die from this. opioids are now the biggest drug epidemic in american history. tomorrow's not promised. the number of deaths from opioid abuse have skyrocketed over the past 15 years. it's not a poor people thing any more. it's not an inner—city ghetto drug any more. it's everywhere, and it's killing people every single day. killing tens of thousands of americans every year. that's more deaths than from car accidents and from guns. when we first met anna, she was a new resident

on baltimore's backstreets of addiction. little bit of a rush. two years later, and we find her on the same street. oh, god! someone's missing something. she's just been released from jail after spending two weeks for prostitution. that's two weeks of no heroin. still homeless and relying on hand—outs, anna isjust one of the many faces that are lost in the darkness of america's opioid crisis. i know that heroin can kill me. i know the consequence. and even right now, i'm scared to shoot up again. but i know eventually i probably will if i stay down here. it didn't take long. anna started prostituting herself for the money need to buy drugs for herself and her boyfriend dave, and is now back in the full grip of her addiction.

like, we don't know what else to do. do you understand ? like, when people break their arms and legs, they need rehab to walk. like, we need rehab to learn how to live all over again. brittney had overdosed several times throughout her four years of addiction... ..before she was admitted to a rehab centre in florida, where we met her there two years ago. the date resonates in my brain — march 19th, 2016. that's when i got clean, and it wasn't easy, but it was the most glorious experience of my life. but even in recovery, addiction is a daily struggle. i was sick for three months. like, throwing up constantly. i thought it was a bad flu. i got all these different tests done. one of them was a pregnancy test. i remember her coming back and telling me, "you're positive." i was like, "i'm positive for what?"

and she said i was pregnant, and i immediately started bawling. brittney had a baby girl. beautiful, sweet baby girl. and about a month after that, sadly, brittney relapsed again. ijust felt nothing but anger — anger, frustration again. and i really... i was so angry at her. i wasn't thinking about my daughter. i just felt like my daughter didn't deserve me. she deserved better. one of the saddest things i would ever have to do would be to have to tell my grand—daughter about her mother — that her mother was an addict, and she tried very hard to get past this addiction, but was unable

to, and died from it. steve had hit rock bottom when we first met him, and was living in the same house where his friend had died from an overdose just months before. seeing that scene, like.... it disgusts me, how i looked. couldn't even keep my eyes open. i couldn't form a sentence, slurring. this got hold of me. it took everything from me, and i gave it everything i had, willingly. after rehab, steve moved to kentucky with his girlfriend, found a job and is living a clean life. two years ago, i couldn't even dream

that i could be here, doing what i'm doing. and as happy as i am. my story doesn't end here. i want my daughter to be proud of me. i want people to be proud of me. you know, i want to be proud of myself. if i was your mother right now, what would you want to say to me? i would tell her, i'm sorry. i mean, i can't tell her... "hey, wait. couple more years and i'll get better." i can't tell her that.

i don't know. that's what sucks about this. tomorrow's not promised. for her orfor me. you can get more of darren conway's reporting on america's opioid crisis on our website, including this story about a stretch of highway that's found itself on the frontline of the opioid epidemic. sir phillip craven has been named as the man who got an injunction to prevent allegations of sexual harassment being made public —— sir phillip craven. local peer lord fain said the serious nature of the allegations, which the bbc can't verify, said it was his duty to use

parliamentary privilege to name him. sir philip green has categorically denied any allegations of unlawful conduct. a climber known as the french spiderman has been arrested after scaling one of london's tallest buildings. police cordoned off roads in the city's financial district, as 56—year—old alain robert completed what's called a free climb of the salesforce tower, also known as the heron tower. lebo diseko has the story. it's not hard to see why they call him spiderman. alain robert setting out on his climb of one of london's tallest buildings. he used no safety gear and no rope, just a bit of chalk and some light gloves, as he scaled the 202—metre tower. traffic had to be diverted, and workers are stepped out of their offices to watch the spectacle in the city of london. crazy! i work in that buildingm so we were, like, looking out of the window to see what the police were

doing and we were really confused, and then i see this guy climbing up. crazy, but i'm all for that. i saw these people standing looking up there, so i wasn't sure what was happening, and someone told me there was a man climbing up without any support. i thought that's... it's crazy to see something like that. he's brave and more crazy, i think. the rock climber turn his attention to skyscrapers in the mid—1990s. it's thought he's done about 160 of these climbs, including the world's tallest building, the burj khalifa in dubai. he tookjust a0 minutes to reach the top of this tower. but not everyone was impressed. the police arrested him for causing a public nuisance. they say robert's antics took officers away from real emergencies, and posed significant risk to people in and around the tower at the time. the message from them seems pretty clear, don't try this yourselves. lebo diseko, bbc news. good advice from lebo there at the

end. let me know what you think about that story and the others. you can reach me on twitter, i'm @lvaughanjones. this is bbc world news. goodbye. hello there. the weather is dishing up something significantly colder than we've been used to of late as we head towards the weekend. the as we head towards the weekend. winds switching northerly, the winds switching to a biting northerly, there will be some sunshine but showers as well and they will be wintry over some hills in the north. the cold air is coming from a long way north, in fact it's coming from the arctic, brought down on these northerly winds behind this cold front. the front itself showing

up cold front. the front itself showing up as cold front. the front itself showing upasa cold front. the front itself showing up as a band of cloud and patchy rain drifting across southern areas through the first part of friday morning and behind that, skies clear out, sunshine and showers packing inc in areas exposed to the wind particularly, northern scotland, the east coast of england, western fringes of wales, northern ireland and the farce out west and those temperatures at the very best between six and 12, a bit below par for the time of year. on friday evening, some showers could drift in man for evening, some showers could drift in manfora evening, some showers could drift in man for a time. they'll continue in northern scotland, where snow levels will come down to 250 metres through the night, a few hills in northern scotla nd the night, a few hills in northern scotland will seize no, showers elsewhere, perhaps wintry over the likes of the north yorkshire more and clear spells temperatures close to freezing so ic stretches to take us to freezing so ic stretches to take us into saturday morning. a chilly day on saturday. fairly bright with spells on saturday. showers bore northern scotland, northern ireland, parts of pembrokeshire and cornwall and a few more into eastern england, may be drifting into the midlands.

the wind is noticeable, brisk from the north. this is what your thermometer will read, 6—11, the north. this is what your thermometerwill read, 6—11, none too impressive but add on the strength of the wind and this is what it will feel like. a feels like temperature of seven implement and one in aberdeen. a change on sunday, we shift in the winds to a north—easterly direction and that will focus the showers into eastern areas, some lifting further inland to the midlands and the further west you are, largely dry with spells of sunshine and not especially warm. changes into next week. this area of low pressure, which will make for a rough weekend across the western mediterranean, looks like sliding in our direction bringing outbreaks of rain and strengthening winds. we'll see wet and windy weather at times next week. slowly but surely, though, it should turn a bit less cold. this is bbc news. the headlines: investigators in the united states believe some of the pipe bombs sent to prominent critics of donald trump were posted from florida. they're concentrating their inquiries on a sorting office nearmiami.

the police say 10 suspicious packages have now been identified. saudi arabia has admited for the first time, the murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi was pre—meditated. mr khasshoggi, a fierce critic of the kingdom's leadership, was killed three weeks ago in istanbul. google says it's sacked nearly fifty employees over sexual harassment allegations in the past two years. the statement was issued in response to a newspaper report that one executive received $90 million when he left the company four years ago, despite credible claims of sexual harassment against him. now on bbc news, panorama. it's been ten years since the government bailed out the banks. nearly there mate, nearly there.

but thousands of families with mortgages are still counting the cost. it's outrageous, i don't know how they got away with it. that's the extra you've paid, 20 grand over ten years. tonight, we reveal how the government's own bank charged exorbitant interest rates. it's just daylight robbery, isn't it? evicted people unfairly from their homes. suddenly, i'm out of the house no explanation. ifeel like i've been sold down the river. and then flogged off their mortgages to the highest bidder. what kind of government, steps in and bails out the corporate bank and has no, er, accountability to actually help