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 wanna 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. 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: that got this response from the former cia director, john brennan, who was sent an explosive package. 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. a short time ago i spoke to clint van zandt, a former supervisor in the fbi's behavioral science unit, and he was also the bureau's chief hostage negotiator. van zandt led the team that identified the unabomber and profiled oklahoma city bomber timothy mcveigh. i asked him what he made of the patterns we have seen so far. well, i think the authorities, fbi, atf and other agents working this are on a two—track investigation.

track number one says, as your correspondent suggests, these are potential explosive devices. there are ten of them. i think all investigators are working this case as if they're 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're going all out trying to find the person or persons responsible. but realise that the other side of that investigation, just like a set of railroad tracks going down the road, that second track says, "well, 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. so is this someone who's simply trying to terrorise us by the sending of these devices, just like one of the devices had

an envelope of white powder, which many immediately suggest could be anthrax. again, this wasn't anthrax. if it's not anthrax, perhaps it's not a real bomb too. until we find out who's responsible, though, we'll pursue this case as if the bombs are real and the bomber is out there perhaps making more bombs today. that's interesting, regardless of whether they were viable or what the intention was you have to proceed as if they were. if he or she or they are not tracked down quickly, do you think there is a risk of more devices will be sent out? 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 or bombers are now fully aware that their devices did not function, then, as a friend of mine suggests, then we'll start to see pipe—bomb 2.0, where the bombers will go back, improve the device, they'll find another method of delivery and we'll see at a new wave of these devices coming out. 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. a strong earthquake of magnitude seven has struck off greece. the us geological survey said the epicentre was in the ionian sea,

west of lithakia, a village in the southern part of zakynthos. there are no initial reports of damage of injuries. 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. we're here over three weeks since jamal khashoggi was killed at the spot where he was last seen entering the saudi consulate here in istanbul. and friends and colleagues of his are holding a vigil at the spot. you can see, they're holding

candles, they're holding 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 know 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 answers. rushing up the pressure today is reports that gina haspel, the director of the cia, has been played by the turkish government audio recordings chronicling 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. at least 18 people have been killed and dozens more injured in flash flooding near the dead sea. most of those killed were students and teachers travelling in a bus that was swept away. the incident has promted a major rescue operation involving troops from both jordan and neighbouring israel. kathryn armstrong reports. alert in the dark, rescue was in jordan search this canyon on the edge of the dead sea for signs of those missing after a deadly flash flood. this was the scene earlier in the days. eyewitnesses say a current swept away everything in its path, including families picnicking in the area, and a bus carrying schoolchildren. later, bodies were

recovered from the seashore. many of those killed were under the age of 18. translation: the water came up strongly for 11—5 kilometres, the location between the pool and the bridge and near the beginning of the dead sea. there were people who ended up in the seawater and there we are people who managed to reach rocks and save themselves. the dead sea is the lowest point on earth and a popular tourist test the nation because of the natural buoyancy and rejuvenating properties of its waters, however the area's dry conditions and deep canyons make it susceptible to flash flooding. dozens of people have now been rescued from the area. at this hospital, frantic family members went to be reunited with their loved ones. some people are said to be in a critical condition. meanwhile, the rescue mission has been called off for now as those involved will wait for now as those involved will wait for the weather to improve. katharine armstrong, bbc news. one of britain's best—known businessmen, the retail billionaire sir philip green, has been named as the man who obtained an injunction to prevent allegations of sexual harassment and racial

abuse being made public. the court of appeal had ruled his identity must be kept secret but labour peer lord hain said the serious nature of the allegations, which the bbc cannot verify, meant it was his duty to use parliamentary privilege to name sir philip. sir philip green has categorically and wholly denied any allegations of unlawful sexual or racist behaviour. japan's prime minister, shinzo abe, is holding formal talks with chinese leaders as asia's biggest economies seek to bolster cooperation in the face of us tariffs. he has already met leaker chang, the chinese prime minister, and will later meet xi jingping, chinese prime minister, and will later meet xijingping, the president of china. relations over

the last few years have been frosty. —— wanna. there have been regional and territorial differences, but now the us sanctions on china are pushing the two regional powers closer together —— li keqiang. 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. indira gandhi, ruler of the world's largest democracy, died today. only yesterday she spoke about dying in the service of her country and said i would be proud of it, every drop of my blood will contribute to the growth of this nation. after 46 years of unhappiness, these two countries have concluded a chapter of history. no more suspicion, no more fear, no more uncertainty.

booster, ignition and liftoff of discovery with a crew of six astronaut heroes and one american legend. this is beautiful. a milestone in human history. born today, this girl in india is the seven billionths person on the planet. —— billionth. this is bbc world 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. 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.

in 2016 — we reported on the growing problem of opioid addiction in america. darren conway has 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. that's what sucks about this, 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 7 like, when people break their arms and legs, they need rehab to walk. like, we need rehab to learn how to live, like, 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 sheets got a 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. the multibillion—dollar games industry is preparing for the release of what could be another blockbuster. red dead redemption 2 is a wild west adventure from the company behind grand theft auto. much of the work has been done at the company's studios in scotland as our technology reporter, marc cieslak reports. red dead redemption 2 allows players

to experience a vast virtual version of the old west. robbing trains, riding horses, and even playing poker. it's all the work of rockstar games, and this latest release is so big, it had to be created in nine different studios across four different countries. gentlemen, you all know what to do. about as far from the old west as you can get, edinburgh is home to rockstar north. it's the largest of the studios involved in an international effort to make this game. for us, it's the biggest game have ever made. notjust going bigger and broader, but striving for a depth. you know, being able to go into more environments and interact with things, with people and animals and the world in a way that we haven't been able to do before. this

the games industry is big business. last year in the uk, it generated £3.35 billion in sales, almost as much as home music and video sales combined. but there are concerns in the games industry that those big numbers could be affected as the uk leaves the eu. one of our critical issues is the ability to hire the best talent from wherever they are in the world. if we don't have clarity over what that immigration system looks like, there will be some uncertainty. a gritty and atmospheric slice of roleplaying as an outlaw, from the extremes of caring for a sick horse to dealing with industrialisation spelling the end of the west at its wildest, even before its launch, this game is getting rave reviews. it seems a little piece of the american frontier will forever have its virtual roots in the uk. marc cieslak, bbc news, edinburgh. a climber known as the "french spiderman" has been

arrested after scaling one of london's tallest buildings. 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. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @lvaughanjones. 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 winds switching round to northerlies. we'll see some sunshine, yes, but there'll be some showers as well, and some of those showers over hills in the north will be a little bit wintry. the cold air is going to be coming from a long way north. the winds bringing that air down from the arctic behind this cold front. the fronts through friday morning bringing a band of cloud and some patchy rain across central and southern parts of england, the south of wales. behind that, the skies will brighten. yes, we'll see some sunshine, but some showers will start to pack in on the brisk northerly wind, particularly across northern scotland, down the east coast of england, some for northern ireland, into parts of wales and maybe the far south—west as well. the showers over the hills in the north will be wintry, and temperatures at best between six and 12 degrees. so, we spend friday night, all of us, in that cold air.

some showers most likely around the coast, but perhaps further inland for a time. snow levels across scotland coming down to around 250 metres. so a few hills in the northern half of scotland could see a little bit of snow, and temperatures through the night into the first part of saturday morning dropping very close to freezing, and there could be some icy stretches. so a similar sort of day on saturday. a bright day for many. lots of sunshine around, but those showers most plentiful in parts of northern and western scotland. some at this stage starting to spill into eastern england, perhaps moving inland into the midlands and a few for west wales, the south—west and also for northern ireland. the winds will be noticeable, a risk northerly wind. so, while the thermometer will read 6—11 degrees, not particularly impressive, if you add on the strength of the wind and it will feel like this. in aberdeen, it'll feel like it is just a degree above freezing. maybe five feels—like temperature in cardiff. on sunday, the wind direction shifts

subtly more to a north—easterly, so that will confine most of the showers to eastern areas. further west, it should be largely dry i suspect, with some spells of sunshine, but still not particularly warm with those temperatures between eight and 12 degrees. a bit of a change on the way as we head into next week. a frontal system which could bring rain into the west, but more likely we'll see rain from this area of low pressure, which is going to spin its way up from the near continent. so there's the potential for some wet and windy weather at times as we head on into next week, but slowly but surely it should turn a little bit less chilly. 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 50 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, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur.