this is bbc world news, the headlines: huge anti—government rallies are being held in lebanon for the fourth day. demonstrators have filled the streets of beirut and other cities across the country. the protests are fuelled by anger at austerity measures and high unemployment. kurdish—led forces in syria have confirmed they have withdrawn their fighters from the border town of ras al—ayn under a ceasefire deal with turkey. it comes as ambulances evacuated the wounded from the town. parliamentary elections in switzerland have seen a big rise in support for green parties. with nearly all the votes counted, the two green parties have taken around 20% of the vote. in the rugby world cup, the hosts, japan, have lost to south africa in theirfirst ever world cup quarterfinal. wales are also through after

a cliffhanger victory over france. at ten o'clock, clive myrie will be here with a full round—up of the day's news. first on bbc news, it's time for our world. addicted — america's opioid crisis reports on the nation's opioids problem and its devastating impact. our world traces why so many americans have become addicted and meets the people who are now picking up the pieces. there is no other medication which within a week can condemn someone to a life of addiction. it is possible that i was promoting a drug on the basis of fraudulent science. but there was too much money to be made. when they first entered life, their first breath of air came along with withdrawal symptoms. if the pharmaceutical companies knew about the addiction possibilities,

then it's horrific that they would steal my son away from me. there is no other medication that kills so many people as opioids. my name is jacob, i am 12 years old. dear addiction. why did you turn my parents into something they are not? i don't know my own father because of you. it is not really that cool to ruin people's lives. i couldn't have a normal childhood or a life, because of you. my name is keira and i am 11 years old. dear addiction. you tore apart my family, why mine? i have been lied to because of you, i have cried because of you,

i have been bullied because of you. signed, an upset child. these are stories from a summer camp that no child should have to tell. i don't think, like, nobody really understands how i feel. i don't even know where my dad is, and really who he is, and also if he is doing drugs, not knowing if he 0ding and died, or hejust keeps 0ding. one in eight children in america live with a parent who lives with a substance use disorder. my dad would bring needles into the house, and then my friends, when they come over they'd be like, "what's that?" and i would be embarrassed to bring any more friends over. and they all have secrets that they need to share. all right, show of hands,

do you have a parent, close friend or relative who has died from drug abuse? so we have 100% of hands. does anybody want to talk about that? yes. i know people that overdosed and died. you shouldn't go to rest like that, you should go to rest a peaceful way. not hurting and in pain and high and all that. how about, do you have a parent, a close friend or relative who has overdosed ? so that is why we are doing this work, right? because all of us have those very, very, very hard and tragic things in common. we'll know somebody who has overdosed, right? at least once. anybody afraid that something might set off them using again? when i was younger, in elementary school, and like... i would get in trouble, i would beg my mom not to tell my dad because i don't

want him to find out and then him go and start doing drugs again, because then it would affect me even more. sometimes what's going on in the house makes you want to not be there. go ahead. there is a lot of instances where i don't like being in the house because she's, like, bringing drunk people over, high people over, with their families and talking to them, and it makes me uncomfortable because i don't like it in the house, you know? my sister's name is laura. i just love her. she is there for me, she is helping me get into middle school. i am trying not to fall off this swing. sarah, she's probably my best friend. she doesn't deal very well with feelings, i think that is why she didn't participate very much today. and she is going to sixth grade this year. middle school. and that is a very big emotional step. when i was in middle school

i could probably name four or five people that could definitely sell me drugs. or my closest friends, that could give me drugs. if i really wanted to ask for them. and i don't think she's ready to experience all of that. and i don't think she is ready to be able to process things like that. america's opioid epidemic is hard for anyone to process. every 11 minutes, someone dies of an overdose. that's more people than those killed by gun attacks or car accidents. but these are more than just statistics. these are the men and women, the mothers and fathers, and the children who have been sucked into what has become now known as america's

greatest health crisis. 80% of heroin users started their path to addiction on prescription painkillers. and now pharmaceutical companies are being blamed for igniting this epidemic. five years ago, the us had 5% of the world's population, we were using about 80% of the world's oxycodone. so we clearly had an overprescribing and an overuse issue. and that led to this high addict population that we had. as we realised what happened and started to clamp down on these prescriptions, we have this gigantic addicted population of americans out there that need an opiate. voiceover: imagine a life with chronic pain. persistent, debilitating, stabbing pain... it was in the 1990s when this opioid epidemic begin. pharmaceutical companies assured the medical community that prescription opioids,

originally prescribed for cancer patients, could be used to treat all chronic pain. but it was purdue pharma, with their painkiller oxycontin that revolutionised how they were marketed. purdue pharma was very effective in promoting their products, and in persuading us in those early days that their drug was different from the opioids we were used to using, and that it was likely to be more effective and safer than the opioids that had been used before. we were responding to a brilliant multifaceted campaign that was really a marketing campaign disguised as education. voiceover: many doctors and policymakers now say that opioids are safe and effective medicines for treating chronic pain. opioids are not safe. these are probably the single most dangerous class of medications that there is.

some patients may be afraid of taking opioids, because they are perceived as too strong or addictive. but that is far from actual fact. less than 1% of patients taking opioids actually become addicted. there is no other medication that kills so many people as opioids. there is no other medication which, within a week, can condemn someone to a life of addiction. within four years of oxycontin being introduced, purdue doubled the size of its sales force. so at the time when i joined the company and on into the first couple of years, the three years i was with the company, i was very excited about what i thought was the good we were doing for the patient. however, it wasn't until several years later, after i left the company, that i began to realise, and it was brought

to my attention, that what i could have been doing, not knowing at the time that i was doing it, it is possible that i was promoting a drug that was... on the basis of fraudulent science. looking back and knowing what i know now, i have no doubt in my mind that who is to blame is purdue themselves, and the family that owns the medication, that owns the company. purdue pharma argues that they manufacture a government—approved medicine that provides relief for millions of pain patients who need it, and that they only supply a tiny portion of america's opioid prescriptions. connecticut is home to purdue pharma. its attorney general is attempting

to hold them to account for the lives lost and money spent on the opioid crisis. i don't think that we as a state, and as a country, understood the depths and the extent to which the defendant members, the sackler family and purdue were engaged in misconduct and how far—reaching it was. but now we know. this is an email conversation between then purdue president richard sackler and an acquaintance around 2001. and the acquaintance writes, "abusers die, well, that is the choice they made." "i doubt a single one didn't know of the risks." and richard sackler writes back, "abusers aren't the victims, they are the victimisers." and i got to tell you, every time i read this email it's hard to read, it's hard to stomach that someone would write that about people who are suffering, people who are in real distress

and people who have died. we are learning more about a former football star found dead in an apparent drug overdose last friday in scottsdale... i am angry, that the world lost a really wonderful person. and i am angry that his daughter has to grow up without a father, and i am angry that i don't get to hug my son. this is wherejill hernandez came to watch her son brock grow up every weekend. this field brings back a lot of memories. he just lived for being on the field. that's brock, number 22, when he was 13 years old. he was just a gifted athlete, basketball, baseball, football. football was his passion.

he was such a good player, and he gave his heart every single game. there were injuries every year, if not every season, for whatever he was playing. and sometimes that led to a broken bone, a surgery, you know, screws being put in his foot. he almost always was prescribed some form of painkiller. brock died in 2017 — he was 2a years old. it's not just another story, he's a human being who has touched our lives, who we will all miss. it's not just another number on the tv. if the pharmaceutical companies knew about the addiction possibilities — and it's looking from what i read that they did — then it's horrible that they would steal my son away from me.

do you believe purdue's marketing was overly aggressive? no. 19 years after 0xycontin was launched, richard sackler was still defending purdue's marketing practices. do you believe the marketing was appropriate? i believe so. i presume somewhere richard sackler in the dark of night knew what he was doing was wrong. but there was just too much money to be made. and i think, for me, we learned how for the banks they were too big to fail in 2008—2009, well, some of these pharmaceutical companies, it feels like they're just too big to care. in total, 48 states have now filed lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies for their role in the opioid crisis. new york is in the midst of a crisis, a crisis that has ravaged our communities and families. a crisis that is claiming lives young and old all across our state

and our nation. a crisis that we firmly believe that was created and perpetuated by the manufacturers and distributors of opioid drugs. today we are suing the giant, the pharma lord who created 0xycontin. we believe the sacklers have contributed to the death and devastation in indiana and across this country. 0ur complaint alleges that purdue pharma knew as early as the 1990s that one of the drugs, 0xycontin, was among the most abused opioids in the country. this lawsuit contains detailed allegations about the sackler family and their attempts to hide the vast fortunes they collected at the expense of actual lives.

purdue pharma sent this statement to the bbc. every 15 minutes, a baby in america is born suffering from opioid withdrawal. these two children belong to that frightening statistic. their father kevin also fits an alarming trend. do it to me! laughter his addiction began when he was prescribed opioids after a football injury. he was 13 years old. i am worried about my boys being subject to addiction and that whole lifestyle.

it scares me to death to think they would do what i was doing at their age. i'm pretty sure i was high when i was watching and participating in the delivery of my son and couldn't wait to get out of there to go use more. father and son. come on, we've got to rescue them. they'll dry out. when they first entered life, their first breath of air came with withdrawal symptoms. just thinking about that... it always brings up a weird feeling within me, but it also drives me to do more of what i do today and live the way i do today and set more examples for them. kevin now works as an interventionist,

helping other families trapped in this crisis. this family's son derek has been battling an opioid addiction for 1h years. s'up, dude? mind if we talk to you for a few minutes? no. do you know who i am? you look fine to me. we've been talking and we put together a nice little situation. it's long—term, there is really no time limit on it. so there's not going to be a lot of pressure for you, you know, outside of whatever pressure you might put on yourself. and you've got a loving family that supports the heck out of you, and i'll be by your side

every step of the way. so all we need to know from you is how do you feel about that? yeah? you like the idea? you know, i'm excited for you, and i know this is confusing and probably a little difficult to comprehend. the good thing for you is that everything's kind of taken care of, you don't really have to do anything but put one foot in front of the other. so do you think it sounds like a good idea? awesome. awesome. it's the chance of a lifetime, bud. a gift of a lifetime. i love you. it will be good.

yes. i've been struggling for a while now, ever since 2005. it's been a long time. this means a lot to your parents. do you want to say anything to them? they've been here for the whole thing. they've been here for everything. thank you. for everything. never give up. i love you. you're going to get a whole lot better. but after struggling with addiction for so long, it's hard to break free. he says he's not getting on the plane like this, he's freaking out, he's scared now.

you're going to be all right, dude. your mom's out there shaking like a leaf, thinking, "oh, man, we did the wrong thing here and this is bad." and she is counting on this. it was scary for a moment, didn't think it was going to happen. and...i don't know. whatever kevin said, what a blessing. what a blessing. it looks like he's ready. to start the rest of his life and yeah. yes! god, yes! it's awesome. so awesome. derek flew to florida for rehab. two months later,

he is clean and doing well. as millions of americans struggled with addiction, pharmaceutical companies made billions of the sale of opioids. but others are also being questioned, including the food and drug administration. looking back, knowing what i know now, i don't put the blame on anyone except for the company themselves, and probably the fda that approved the product. it so happens that the same fda official who approved 0xycontin, which, shortly after proving the drug, take a position working for purdue pharma. the fda exists to protect the pharmaceutical industry, and it is funded by the pharmaceutical industry, primarily. i feel like all the attention paid to this one family in the role one family in the role played by other pharmaceutical companies that did exactly

what purdue and the sackler family did, is also missing some of the failures of our regulatory agencies, federal agencies, state agencies... all of the problems that need fixing. if we put the blame the solely on the sackler family and their greed, we aren't going to address these other failures. and one of the greatest failures of all is that the hopes and dreams of so many children have been shattered by this epidemic. my hope for sarah is that she can grow up and have a family of her own, if she so chooses to. she can separate herself from the addiction and recovery community and it won't come back to haunt her later. my message to men and women in active addiction that have children is to just realise that your actions are bigger than you. and that your actions could affect your kids or your kids' friends or your grandkids.

pharmaceutical companies will likely be fined billions of dollars for igniting this crisis, but will these children ever be free from america's opioid epidemic? hello there. before we look ahead, let's look back at the rainfall we've had so far this month, and already across england and wales we've had a month's worth of rain. it's been particularly wetter than normal in north east england, but a bit drier than normal across western scotland. and later on this week it's going to be western scotland that sees some of the heaviest rain.

we're going to start the week on a quiet note, because high pressure is having more of an influence across the uk. the fly in the ointment is that low pressure in the near continent, which threatens to bring some rain towards the south east. for scotland, though, after a frosty start there will be plenty of sunshine. sunshine for northern ireland. many parts of england and wales will brighten up. few if any showers, still quite cloudy, and pockets of rain affecting east anglia and the south east of england. temperatures perhaps 1a in the south, 10 celsius through the central belt of scotland. high pressure, then, still in charge for most of the uk as we head into tuesday. we've got a strong wind for northern areas. lighter winds for england and wales, so this is where it will be coldest on monday night, tuesday morning, and there may well be some areas of fog as well. those could linger well into the morning, and once they've gone, we'll see the sunshine for england and wales, it should be a nice day. we've got a strong wind for scotland and northern ireland, a bit of rain for the highlands and islands, but some sunshine around the moray firth, eastern scotland.

it should be quite a nice day here as well, the temperature maybe a degree or so higher. now, around the middle part of the week we start to see a few changes. still generally dry in the south but wet weather is arriving for northern parts of the uk, and it's coming from those weather systems that are starting to make inroads from the northwest, although this is a cheeky weather front here which will bring more cloud, i think, towards southeastern parts of the uk, so not as cold here on wednesday morning and there could be one or two showers too. that we've got a slice of dry weather and sunshine, but it will be turning much wetter across northern ireland, northern and particularly western parts of scotland, still dry for eastern scotland. temperatures 12 to 15 degrees. now, by the time we get to thursday, these weather fronts are very much weaker, that cold front moving down across england and wales, still an area of low pressure sitting to the north of scotland. so this is all that's left, really, of the weather front and the rain petering out. cloud breaking up, many places brightening up following that, though we'll keep a few showers going, i think, for northern ireland, scotland and the north of england. but to the south, with some sunshine, those temperatures are starting

to rise a bit on thursday, and that's a trend that could continue, i think, towards the end of the week for southern parts of the uk. we look out into the atlantic, and there's a big area of low pressure here, and that's going to push this warm front northwards up the western side of the uk and then draw in some warmer air on a southerly breeze. so we've got wetter weather moving up through the irish sea on friday. wetter for northern ireland, eventually into scotland, pegging back the temperatures. as we get a bit more sunshine from the south, it will lift the temperatures perhaps as high as 17 or 18 degrees as we head into the following weekend. we've got that warmer air that's pushing across many parts of the country on a southerly breeze, and the pattern looks like this. and most models agree actually lower pressure out to the west, high pressure over the uk. now it could be that the high tends to build down from the north, so we'll lose that real warmth, and temperatures may just drop a little bit. you can see where the colder air is,

across continental europe, and the main thing as we head into the following week is that for most areas it is going to be dry.

the government says it will push ahead with efforts to get a brexit deal through parliament this week, despite yesterday's setback. borisjohnson is expected to seek the backing of mps as early as monday or tuesday. ministers insist he has the votes. he's defied the doubters, got a deal. and we also now, notwithstanding the shenanigans in parliament, appear to have now the numbers to get this through. all this after the prime minister was forced to send a letter asking for another brexit delay. labour says the public should have its say. whatever deal gets through, it should be subject to a referendum where that deal is put to the public. we'll be taking a look at what the next few days could have in store on brexit. in other news...