good morning. it is 7:00am in singapore and midnight in london. if you are watching from malaysia, indonesia or here in singapore, you'll be well aware of the haze currently blanketing the region. the thick smog, mostly caused by forest fires in indonesia, has led to a significant drop in air quality. schools have been closed in malaysia and thousands of people have been treated for lung infections i'm rico hizon in singapore. linked to the haze. the headlines: the indonesian province of central kalimantan on the island of borneo has been one as indonesia battles forest fires of the worst—hit areas. in borneo and sumatra, our correspondent rivan dwiastono pollution reaches critical levels, and the land still burns. is in palangka raya. the air quality in the city are the and the land still burns. firefighters are still trying put the firefighters are still trying to put out the blaze, but it's hard because the water sources are very still at a hazardous level, dry because of the dry season that therefore people are being advised is occurring right now. to wear their mask every time they leave their houses. today we the us secretary of state, actually followed a team of mike pompeo, says the attack firefighters and volunteers to visit on saudi arabia's oil some hotspots in palangka raya. we facilities was an act of war. visited at least three hotspots he again blames iran. today, and from what i saw, it's not i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: an easyjob that they do. the fire from the burning heat line is getting closer to local residents, and here the fire broke outjust behind the house of a local that is the us federal reserve cut its main

built out of wood and that can interest rate by 0.25%, a move that easily be lit by the fire itself —— angers president trump. and the film—maker who faced his peatland. the firefighters are still trying to put out the blaze, but fear of heights to highlight global 00:01:08,519 --> 2147483051:37:18,974 warming's impact on 2147483051:37:18,974 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 the world's glaciers. it's hard because the water sources are very dry because of the dry season are very dry because of the dry season that is occurring right now. it took more than an hour for them to completely extinguish a fire in one hotspot. it is partly because of the nature of peatland itself. they have to make sure that they extinguish the fire not only on the surface of the peatland, but also beneath the surface, that can go down as deep as tens of metres. another reason is the fact that in the dry season water sources are very rare, so the dry season water sources are very rare, so almost every water source is dry. they need to actually go as faras source is dry. they need to actually go as far as two plummet as a way to pick up hundreds of litres of water, back and forth to the location where they need to extinguish the fire, and that takes up their time from what could have been a more productive day.

let's take a look at some of the day's other news: the us federal reserve has cut its main interest rate by 0.25% for the second time this year. the decision drew immediate criticism from president trump, who had demanded a bigger cut. he said the us central bank had shown no guts and no sense. us president donald trump has been a very vocal critic of the federal reserve. you will remember, the federal reserve is an independent organisation that operates outside of politics, so there is supposed to be this divide. but the president has really ta ken to be this divide. but the president has really taken to twitter and even speaking in press conferences about his dissatisfaction with the fed. what he wants is to see interest rates cut even lower. in fact, he's even called for them to be cut to zero. also making news today: ajapanese court is due to hand down its verdict later on whether three tokyo electric power executives are liable for the 2011

fukushima nuclear disaster. the trial is the only criminal case resulting from the incident. the nuclear disaster was triggered when a massive tsunami caused by an earthquake overwhelmed the reactors at the plant. president trump has named the us hostage negotiator robert o'brien as his new national security adviser. he replaces john bolton, who was sacked last week. mr 0'brien previously served under presidents george w bush and barack 0bama. indonesia is sending contaminated waste back to wealthy countries after discovering toxic materials in imported rubbish. officials say nine containers of waste that could not be recycled were returned to australia on wednesday. more rubbish has been sent to south—east asia after china banned the import of plastic waste in 2017. 16—year—old environmental campaigner greta thunberg has told us politicians that they're not doing enough to combat climate change. she was one of several young activists invited to address the senate climate taskforce during two days of action and speeches.

she sent congress a major report on global warming, saying she wanted them to listen to the scientists and then take action. india has announced a complete ban on electronic cigarettes, with immediate effect. the government says e—cigarettes pose a health risk, particularly to young people, and were being used as a style statement. while few people currently vape in india, the country has more than 100 million adult smokers, making it a huge potential market for e—cigarettes. let's get more on our lead story, the thick smog caused mainly by forest fires. the haze is affecting countries across the region, including singapore. more than 15 million tourists come here annually, many seeking to capture a picture of the city's iconic skyline, but the haze is making

that difficult. so what do visitors think of the smog? i come here, you know, for a trip, just to enjoy the beautiful air and, clea n, just to enjoy the beautiful air and, clean, you know, whether. but it's a little pity that i cannot get a very beautiful picture. two the sunlight cannot penetrate here, and it's very hot. at the moment it is quite foggy and hazy. but, you know, it's not stopping us from getting out and doing all the things that we want to doing all the things that we want to do while we are in singapore, so it's been great. yeah, it's fantastic. and yes, it's a bit disappointing that it isn't clear, i must say, but we'll take it on the chin like all good aussies do. we are only here for a couple of days, so are only here for a couple of days, so the haze doesn't really bother us, but if we were here any longer i think we would be in our facemasks, or something like that. i asked professor koh tieh yong, a weather scientist at the singapore university of social sciences, how these fires are different from previous years.

well, this year there has been a patch of cold ocean water off the coast of sumatra in the tropical indian ocean, and this has caused the atmosphere to be extra stable, discouraging the formation of rain clouds. and so it has been hot and dry in this region. and so when people burn the forests, the fires get out of control, and these are smouldering fires under peatland. but could this be a repeat, professor, of 2015, when the region experienced its worst haze on record? 2015 was quite special, because it was the year of the el nino, one of the strongest on record, and so it was extra dry. this year, the indian ocean cooling is just moderate by historical standards so far. so at this moment it does not look like it will be as bad as 2015. so for how much longer are we going to have this haze enveloping singapore? so u nfortu nately

enveloping singapore? so unfortunately the co— anomaly of the indian ocean is not going to disappear very quickly. 0ceans act ona disappear very quickly. 0ceans act on a slow timescale, so we may have to wait until the end of the monsoon season to wait until the end of the monsoon season for the winds to change. and when will that be? usually monsoon season switches around the middle of 0ctober. so there will —— that will still be a month away at least. 0h well, 30 days more of haze, but of course, in the meantime, you have the likes of indonesia dumping millions of litres of water on the fires, while malaysia is trying to see the clouds to make it rain. in the interim, in the near term, will this work? —— seed the clouds. the interim, in the near term, will this work? —— seed the cloudsm will help somewhat, but of course the forest they are dealing with, dumping water unfortunately there is not enough water to douse all of the fire. so there will still be fires burning, unfortunately. saudi arabia has produced evidence which it claims is proof that iran was involved in attacks on two of its oil refineries over the weekend.

the defence ministry unveiled parts from what it said were 18 drones and cruise missiles which caused significant damage during the raids on saturday. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, said that the attacks amounted to an act of war. 0ur middle east correspondent quentin somerville has the latest. here is what saudi arabia failed to stop — the remains of a swarm of 18 drones and seven missiles, a terrible miss that knocked out 5% of the world's global oil supply in an instant. the attack was launched from the north, and was unquestionably sponsored by iran. and, despite the pile of enemy debris before him, he praised saudi defences. well, we are pretty proud about our air defence. 0ur air defence have intercepted, until now, almost 232 ballistic missiles.

but what saudi arabia didn't say, as the united states has done, is that this was a direct attack from iran, and from iranian soil. instead, it said it was sponsored by iran. these two bitter enemies have proxies throughout the region. any direct escalation would spread like wildfire, and would be difficult to contain. arriving injeddah today, the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, called the attack an act of war. injune, the us blamed iran for these attacks in the gulf of oman. last year's abandoned nuclear deal and us sanctions have fuelled confrontation. good morning, prime minister. iraq's prime minister, speaking to the bbc, urged his neighbours to exercise caution. well, i hope we don't go to attack — they attack each other, really, because if we have an open war, it will not stop. this is a very dangerous war. it's not like any other wars.

this was an attack with global implications. tonight, president trump and borisjohnson spoke and called for a united diplomatic response — hardly fighting talk. few want to run the risk of this crisis raging out of control. quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut. in the us, the trump administration has announced it is revoking california's ability to set its own emissions standards on cars. the president tweeted that the move would allow manufacturers to produce far less expensive cars for the consumer, while at the same time making the cars substantially safer. this will lead to more production because of this pricing and safety" a little bit earlier i asked the question as to what the differences are between the emissions and california —— in california, the standards, and the federal

standards. i put that question to julia steyn, the director of the emmett institute on climate change in los angeles. isoi i so i think the important thing to know is that currently we have one harmonised national standard stop and this is important because the trump administration has said it wa nts to trump administration has said it wants to create one national standard, but that's actually what we have on the books right now. the federal standards in the california standards have been harmonised. what this would do is create some disparity, potentially, between what california has on the books and what the federal government has on the books. and so when it comes to air quality, what does that mean in realistic terms? well, it's pretty significant. so a big portion of the regulations that are covered under the waiver are regulations that california uses to address its very serious smog pollution problem. and there are also regulations that 15 other states in the united states

rely on to do the same thing. so there are significant consequences to this action. and when it comes to the decision—making, the reasoning for it, the president says that this will make car production cheaper, it could make them safer, morejob creation. what is the evidence, do you think, for that? yes, so i think that what we've really seen is that the evidence in the record doesn't support those claims. the administration is saying there will be safety gains basically because they feel that, when people drive more fuel efficient cars, they will drive them more frequently and there will be more traffic accidents, but even the government's own analysis shows that that is not the case. and then, with respect to cost savings, they have been multiple analyses that have shown that over the lifetime of a car, consumers will actually save on the order of thousands of dollars with the 0bama era standards, not the trump rollback. so in that case, why do you think the president is doing it? is it you think the president is doing it? isita you think the president is doing it? is it a political decision, giving that, well, california is — has been a democratic thorn in the

president's side? i think it's certainly clear that the president has a little bit of a vendetta with california, and you know, the tension has really heightened sense california has entered into this agreement with four major automakers to keep moving forward on emission standards, despite what the federal government does. so i think that has really been a thorn in the president's side. that was julia steyn, director of the emmett institute on climate change from ucla, speaking earlier. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: luxembourg's prime minister denies he was trying to humiliate borisjohnson this week, after holding a news conference without him. 30 hours after the earthquake that devastated mexico city, rescue teams still have no idea just how many people have died. there is people alive and there is people not alive.

we just can help and give them whatever we've got. a state funeral is being held for princess grace of monaco at the church where she married prince rainier 26 years ago. it looked as though they had come to fight a war, but their mission is to bring peace to east timor, and nowhere on earth needs it more badly. the government's case is being forcefully presented by monsieur badinter, the justice minister. he's campaigned vigorously for the abolition, having once witnessed one of his clients being executed. elizabeth seton spent much of her time at this grotto, and every year, hundreds of pilgrimages are made here. now that she's become a saint, it's expected that this area will be inundated with tourists. the mayor and local businessman regard the anticipated boom as just another blessing of st elizabeth. this is newsday on the bbc.

i'm rico hizon, in singapore. i'm kasia madera, in london. our top stories: as indonesia battles forest fires in borneo and sumatra, pollution's reaching critical levels across much of the region. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, says the attack on saudi arabia's oil facilities was "an act of war", and again blames iran. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world: the business times wonders why so many people singapore are unhappy. not me! according to experts, people in the city state are too obsessed with social expectations and financial security. they suggest taking more time out to smell the roses. the south china morning post features some very hands—on technology.

the county's industry fair has been showcasing the latest scientific know—how. that includes these mechanical arms, with a taste for making music. and don't look down if you're reading the front page of the japan times. it shows these brave workers cleaning windows on the world's tallest tower. that is onejob i do not want. you might need a head for heights, but at least keping the skytree looking smart offers spectacular views. you might want to give it a try. absolutely no way. one job i certainly will never be doing. the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier has said the uk and the eu should not pretend to be negotiating a brexit deal if no new proposals are on the table. the british government says it continuing to talk to eu leaders. meanwhile the prime minister of luxembourg has denied that he tried to embarrass or ambush borisjohnson at their meeting on monday, when the british prime minister did not attend a press conference. 0ur europe editor, katya adler,

spoke to xavier bettel. iam sad i am sad about these perceptions from people that i want to humiliate the uk. i have too much respect for the uk. i have too much respect for the uk, for the uk citizens and for borisjohnson to think i prepared this as a trick to have five minutes of popularity. really? there has been quite some outrage after xavier bettel decided to hold a press conference after a meeting with borisjohnson. loudly criticising the brexit process in front of anti— brexit protesters, after the prime minister had left the building. you vehemently deny accusation this was a planned humiliation but, prime minister, you are a very experienced politician, you must have realised

how it would look to have an empty podium where the uk prime minister should have stood but borisjohnson was not there in order to answer the very emotional criticisms that you had about the brexit process. you must have realised how that was going to go down? do you regret it now? it was agreed to have this press statement together. so keen was xavier bettel to show me why he was xavier bettel to show me why he was unable to hold the press conference indoor to avoid the noise of anti— brexit protesters, that he took me on a tour. i did not have the room. it was a problem. yesterday, we even had the us ambassador to the uk in the argument, saying your treatment of borisjohnson was evidence of why the uk is a right to leave the eu.”

ama the uk is a right to leave the eu.” am a friend of the united kingdom. the fact that some people have been hurt makes me sad. so let's look at the deal. you sat here with boris johnson and with jean—claude juncker, presidentjuncker described the meeting as a friendly and in parts positive. was that you're feeling as well, despite the kind of... it felt like anger outside, inside was it a construct if conversation? it was a perfectly friendly constructive discussion. but time is ticking. he told me that what could be plans, what could be ideas but i cannot decide on ideas. i need a legally binding text. are you going to find a deal by mid 0ctober. you going to find a deal by mid october. when we have concrete proposals, i can tell you. i really

hope we are able to have this deal and to have things decided. and in a few weeks we are able to say, they did it. xavier bettel, the prime minister of luxembourg. documentary maker craig leeson is so scared of heights that he struggles to stand on the balconies of hong kong apartment buildings but, despite his fear, the director of the 2016 documentary, a plastic 0cean, has swapped his wetsuit for mountaineering gear. he has been scaling peaks around the world to film the last glaciers, looking at the impact global warming has on our mountains. i'll be chatting to craig in a moment, but first let's take a quick look at his movie. i have to admit, i have a terrible fear of heights. mountains are not my terrain, they are not my comfort

zone but that is one reason i want to go on this expedition. he just becomes absolutely focused on and flying, paragliding, has been his latest passion. dave turner comes as a bit ofa latest passion. dave turner comes as a bit of a legend because he has devoted his whole life to this. how fardo devoted his whole life to this. how far do you push it? how far do you know to push it? craig leeson is with me in singapore. basically, you have this fear of height and you are paragliding and climbing and this is the first time we are seeing these pictures on a global tv. why did you decide to do all of this? it was a combination of all of this? it was a combination of a scientific presentation eyesore which explained me, for the first time, in layman ‘s terms about climate change and presented the fa cts climate change and presented the facts and i think that is what we have been missing in this debate for

some time and a combination of that with a holiday in the french alps, where they were supposed to be snow, and there was none, it was not white, it was brown. i started asking questions and brought the two together is and wanted to tell the story. you bring attention to the problem of climate change, despite all of yourfears. problem of climate change, despite all of your fears. i am an ocean's quy: all of your fears. i am an ocean's guy, not a all of your fears. i am an ocean's guy, nota mountain all of your fears. i am an ocean's guy, not a mountain guy. as you mentioned, just looking over a balcony makes me feel ill. i had to be trained. i had to go into the mountain and take the audience with me. it has taken you close to four yea rs me. it has taken you close to four years and what we're seeing right now is just 80% of the footage. still have 20% to go. now is just 80% of the footage. still have 2096 to go. we now is just 80% of the footage. still have 20% to go. we are heading to the himalayas next month because they are considered the third bowl and scientist are finding places a melting three times faster than

originally thought. already we are seeing migration happening in places like nepal because there is no hydration for the local people. the big question is, what can be done to turn this around? we need to stop burning fossilfuel and turn this around? we need to stop burning fossil fuel and regenerate plans and forests around the world and we need to sequester carbon... easier said than done! it is but, you know what, the thing a lot of people don't realise, there is a minority voice that is quite loud denying climate change but there is a lot being done and i have been talking all around the world about this issue and ceos of companies of renewa bles this issue and ceos of companies of renewables are doing quite a bit. when we likely to see the last glaciers? march, as long as we'll

get through the remainder of the project. thank you so much for joining us on newsday. craig leeson. thank you for watching newsday. i was incredible to see people conquering theirfears was incredible to see people conquering their fears for issues they believe in. congratulations to craig. thank you for watching newsday. thursday morning brings another rather chilly start but the emphasis over the next few days is for things to turn a little warmer and with that for the vast majority it will be dry. high pressure firmly in charge at the moment. centred on top of the british isles for thursday morning. 0ne of the british isles for thursday morning. one or two pot patches with light winds and one frontal system bringing extra cloud and a spot of rain in scotland. further south, one

or two spots around to all four degrees in the countryside. plenty of sunshine in wales. early fog patches clearing from north—west england. again some sunshine to come in northern ireland. loud in scotland, but it should break to give spells of sunshine. there is a cloud lapping into east anglia and the southeast through the afternoon but, generally speaking, a dry day for most and a slightly warmer one with ties of 17 to 22 degrees. it's those suffice as we go through thursday night. the club can renewing to peel away from scotland. the wind is picking up from western areas. no realfault the rest of the wind is picking up from western areas. no real fault the rest of the uk. not much fog here. further east some chilly weather to start friday morning. the fog risk pushing its way into south—east scotland and north—east england. any of that fog will lift. generally, and otherfine

day with quite a lot of sunshine and again, a little bit warmer. 19— 21 degrees, somewhere in north—east scotland, we could get all the way up scotland, we could get all the way up to 2a degrees. saturday looks warmer steel. warm air wafting up from the south. relatively humid as well. as a go for the weekend, we will turn our attention to the west because of these frontal systems will be trying to make some inroads stop the majority, on saturday we get away with a dry day with quite a lot of sunshine. quite breezy but just a hint of a shower across the south—west of england, moving into wales and northern ireland. the odd thunderstorm with hefty downpours as well. saturday, the warmest day generally. some uncertainty about this but on sunday looks like we will see showers and thunderstorms becoming more widespread. some doubts about just how becoming more widespread. some doubts aboutjust how far north and

east they will push. some spells of sunshine as well but it will start to turn cooler and fresher from the west.

you are watching bbc world news. our top story: as indonesia battles to contain the forest fires tearing through much of borneo and sumatra, pollution levels are reaching critical. this year's fires have been made worse by the dry weather, and a toxic haze is now blanketing much of malaysia, indonesia and singapore, leading to a significant drop in air quality. the american secretary of state, mike pompeo, has has again blamed iran for the attack on saudi arabia's oil facilities, calling it an act of war. and this story is getting a lot of attention on bbc.com. 16—year—old environmental campaigner greta thunberg has told us politicians that they are not doing enough to combat climate change. speaking to a congress hearing, she said, "i don't want

you to listen to me. i want you to listen to the scientists."