welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: a surprise peace deal after nearly two years of civil war in ethiopia. it's hoped it will allow aid into northern tigray, where 90% of the population is going hungry. why has a cough medicine for children claimed more than 150 lives in indonesia this year? we hear from the parents who are demanding answers. five years after the manchester arena bombing, we have a special report on the emergency service's response. and with three weeks to go until the world cup kicks off in qatar, environmentalists are demanding that fifa drops its claim that the tournament is carbon neutral.

live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 7am in the morning in singapore and 1am in south africa, where — after ten days of peace talks — a surprise deal has been reached between the government of ethiopia and rebel forces in tigray for a permanent cessation of hostilities. the african union's chief mediator — the former nigerian president olusegun obasanjo — has called it the beginning of a new dawn for ethiopia. it's almost two years to the day since a brutal conflict began in ethiopia's northern tigray region. since then, a civil war has left hundreds of thousands dead, almost five million displaced and a population on the brink of starvation. the bbc is the first international broadcaster to obtain footage

from inside the area since august. our senior africa correspondent anne soy reports. it's a major breakthrough, ethiopia's government has called it monumental. rebels have agreed to disarm. but there is some level of caution. this moment is not the end of the peace process, but the beginning of it. a previous ceasefire was breached in august. this footage is the first gathered by international media since then. a children's playground, bombed. the ethiopian government has always insisted that they are not targeting civilians. this granny fled some of the most recent fighting. "i left my kids and grandkids," she says. she doesn't know if they survived. the displaced have harrowing stories to tell.

translation: we saw elders being slaughtered, women i raped and kids killed. we've seen many things. we saw these things, that's why we were frightened and came here. there are many atrocities in this war. people are dying because of the blockade and famine. kids are dying due to a lack of medicine. we are losing people. the region has been cut off from the rest of the country and world for nearly two years now. the people here have been without banking, means of communication and power. aid agencies say almost everyone in northern tigray is in need of food aid. they're desperate for a return to normal life. at mek�*ele's largest internally displaced people's camp, this man struggles to grow food for his family. every harvest is a disappointment. he's desperate to go back to his large farm.

translation: we were working hard and living our lives. _ but now we have nothing to do. no—one is helping us. we've been here for a year now and received aid only three times. the new deal brings hope that his and many other families can begin the journey to reconciliation. but its success hinges on the commitment of the warring parties. anne soy, bbc news, nairobi. i want to take you to some breaking news now. developments on the korean peninsula. and in the past half an hour, authorities in south korea and japan have confirmed that north korea has launched another balistic missile. the japanese emergency broadcasting system has issued an alert for residents in three prefectures to take shelter indoors. the missile is reported to have flown over and past japnese territory. it comes as the us secretary of state antony blinken

has condemnded what he's called north korea's "dangerous" and "escalatory" launch of ballistic missiles. on wednesday, north korea began firing a series of more than 20 missiles — its most in a single day — including one that landed less than 60 kilometres from south korea's city of sokcho. seoul said the missiles were an "effective territorial invasion" and responded by scrambling militaryjets which fired three air to ground missiles over the disputed maritime border that lies between the two countries. pyongyang then fired back — with six more missiles and a barrage of artillery shells. on tuesday, north korea warned that south korea and the us would pay "the most horrible price in history" if they continued their joint military drills — that was seen as as a veiled threat from pyongyang about the use of nuclear weapons. of course, we will keep you up to date with the latest. so do stay tuned to us for that.

that is coming through on the new service in korea as well as from japan and south korea, as we have been saying. more than 150 children have died from acute kidney injury in indonesia this year, with a spike in cases in august. the authorities believe they were poisoned by contaminated syrup medicine. it follows the death of more than 60 children in the gambia in africa in similar circumstances. it's not clear at this stage whether there's a link between the two. valdya baraputri from bbc indonesian has spoken to one grieving family. laughter this is nadira, a i7—month—old baby, happy and healthy. when she had a fever in august, her mother gave her some paracetamol syrup. millions of parents do this every day in indonesia. but instead of getting better, nadira's condition worsened. after many visits to hospitals

and clinics, the little girl stopped urinating. translation: the doctor said she was suffering - from kidney failing. from kidney failure. that's what they said. what caused it? the doctors didn't know, because at that time in august, they were still investigating. nadira went into a coma and died five days later, on the 25th of august. her mother was heartbroken. this was her long—awaited only child. translation: deep in my heart, i said to myself, _ "if god loves my daughter more, i will let her go. "if she has to leave me, her mum, i will let my baby go." the smallest coffins are the heaviest. there are hundreds of parents in indonesia experiencing this deep sorrow. they demand an answer to why registered medicine could kill their children and, most importantly, they want accountability.

more than 150 children have died from acute kidney injury this year, with cases spiking in august. the indonesian authorities say two toxic chemicals were found above safe levels in the medicine syrup and believe the children were poisoned. a criminal investigation into three pharmaceutical firms is under way. |translation: we have also foundj evidence that these pharmaceutical firms changed their supplier of the raw material propylene glycol without going through the proper registration process, as well as the mandatory testing of the raw material. the authorities initially banned all syrup medicine but then published a list of products they said were safe. with such uncertainty and fear among parents, pharmacies have cleared their shelves. but a bigger question remains.

translation: how did this medicine pass safety checks and get _ distributed to the public? why are the authorities only acting after so many children have died? it's what so many grieving parents are asking — how something so normal could prove so deadly. valdya baraputri, bbc news, jakarta. lots more on the bbc website on that story, so do check it out if you want more in—depth analysis on that. now for a special report on the response of the emergency services to the bomb attack at the manchester arena in may 2017. the attack claimed the lives of 22 people and left hundreds injured. thursday brings the long—awaited publication of the second of three official reports, which will consider whether two of the victims might have survived, had the emergency services responded more quickly. the report is expected to make serious criticisms of the police, ambulance and fire services. one of the firefighters has told

the bbc that the response had been "embarassing and shameful". my colleaguejudith moritz has been talking to a man who tried repeatedly to save the life of 28—year—old john atkinson, whose family say he was "badly let down" by the emergency services. siren wails in the aftermath of the explosion at manchester arena, sirens screeched towards the scene. but the police were in disarray, paramedics mostly stayed out of the blast area, and the fire service didn't respond at all for more than two hours. firefighters were held back by their commanders at a station three miles away. we just waited and waited for instruction. this firefighter is speaking anonymously, for fear of losing his job. so, as time went on it was more embarrassing, and more and more frustrating, and then there's the feeling of guilt... "well, maybe if i did something."

even so small, you know, you can hold your head up high, but to stand there and do nothing all that time, it was embarrassing, shameful. failings by all of the emergency services meant the public had to step in, people like ron blake, himself injured, who could see that the man next to him was badly hurt. what did you notice about him? just the blood that were there — like, a trail. so ijust went to see how he were. but he was talking. told me his name and all that. asked him where he were from. so, he communicated. and less than a minute of that explosion, you rang 999, didn't you? yeah. police, emergency, - hello, can you hear me? john atkinson was the man ron was trying to help. his legs were bleeding heavily.

on the way down, i remembered my wife had a belt on, so i asked her to give me her belt. ron tied the belt tightly around john's leg to slow the bleeding. we know you did that for the best part of an hour. yeah. you thought help would be soon. yeah. it just seemed to last forever. seemed to go on and on and on, and nobody were coming, so ijust kept trying to talk tojohn. kept saying, "i'm not going to... "i'm not going to die?" i kept saying, "no, you're not." "you're not." and they got a barrier, a metal barrier, and then put him on that, went round to the lift, he wouldn't fit in the lift, so i had to go back and go down the stairs. not one paramedic attended tojohn inside the arena. he was carried out on a makeshift stretcher to a casualty area outside. ron left him after an hour thinking he would be ok now there were medics with him. when did you find out that

john had passed away? that next day, in the hospital. it were on the news. i went outside, i went through some doors and... just broke down. the inquiry has heard experts saying thatjohn had a high chance of survival. yeah. big mistakes were made that night. you're sure of that. yeah. the ambulance service have apologised, fire service, the police, does that help, does it mean anything, hearing those apologies? no. john's family have thanked you, haven't they? they've said how grateful they are. yeah. i hope i did what i could. you did so much, didn't you? other people have said that i did. but ijust looked at it as, i did what anybody else would have done. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme:

south korea mourns the loss of more then wanted 50 people in a crush in soul. we'll be asking expert what can be done in a public safety —— more than 150 people in the capital soul. the israeli prime minister, yitzhak rabin, the architect of the middle east peace process, has been assassinated. a 27—year—old jewish man has been arrested and an extremistjewish organisation has claimed responsibility for the killing. at polling booths throughout the country, they voted on a historic day for australia. as the results came in, it was clear, the monarchy would survive. of the american hostages, there was no sign. they are being held somewhere inside the compound, and student leaders have threatened that should the americans attempt rescue, they will all die. this mission has surpassed all expectations. _ voyager one is now the most distant man—made object - anywhere in the universe, - and itjust seems to keep on going.

tonight, we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth but from the enduring power of our ideals. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. let's head to south korea now and the tragedy of the halloween crush that saw scores of young people lose their lives. several police stations have been raided in south korea by a team investigating the horrific event. there are allegations that the police did not respond quick enough to the unfolding tragedy, despite receiving multiple emergency calls. at least 156 people were killed in the crush — another 172 were injured, 33 seriously. i'm joined now by areum jeong, an academic and researcher on issues like of public safety

in south korea. it is great to get you on the programme and ijust it is great to get you on the programme and i just suppose it is great to get you on the programme and ijust suppose i want to start by asking you,, sadly, this type of tragedy, south koreans have seen before, haven't they, the ferry deaths in 214 come to mind. that prompted a massive review of public safety. i know you have written about this. have officials become too complacent, in your view come after that? ~ too complacent, in your view come after that?— after that? like the seoul ferry disaster, this _ after that? like the seoul ferry disaster, this tragedy - after that? like the seoul ferry disaster, this tragedy was - disaster, this tragedy was completely avoidable. people are talking about how the south korean government's failure to ensure public safety resulted in this tragedy. public safety resulted in this traced . ~ , ., public safety resulted in this trated ,. public safety resulted in this traced .~ ., ., tragedy. when you look at those two horrific tragedies, _ tragedy. when you look at those two horrific tragedies, i _ tragedy. when you look at those two horrific tragedies, i wonder - tragedy. when you look at those two horrific tragedies, i wonder whetherl horrific tragedies, i wonder whether you think, like it was in the case of the seoul ferry disaster, or the public response was one of outrage,

understandably, and it galvanised action and momentum there to increase public safety, do you think we are going to see something similar this time around? yes. we are going to see something similar this time around? yes, 'ust like the people �* similar this time around? yes, 'ust like the people did i similar this time around? yes, 'ust like the people did eight * similar this time around? yes, 'ust like the people did eight years h similar this time around? yes, just| like the people did eight years ago. people are calling out the failures that brought this tragedy and while president yoon said that korea lacks capabilities in crowd control management and other officials have said there were not any guidelines to manage the crowd last weekend, it was actually expected that that many people would gather for the halloween festivities, and we have seen numerous demonstrations, parades, protests, world cup gatherings, kapok events over the years that were all managed and controlled by the local police, so in a way, the people are discussing

government responsibility and they are holding the government accountable for this recent tragedy —— k—pop events. just accountable for this recent tragedy -- k'p°p events-_ -- k-pop events. just in terms of the public — -- k-pop events. just in terms of the public safety _ -- k-pop events. just in terms of the public safety measures - -- k-pop events. just in terms of the public safety measures that l -- k-pop events. just in terms of. the public safety measures that we have seen in the past, and don't act as you point out, and what experts recommend, both from the sides of officials managing that event as well as people attending? mani; well as people attending? many koreans view _ well as people attending? many koreans view this _ well as people attending? ie’ia�*iy koreans view this inadequate route control to be the leading factor of the disaster, and they want to investigate why crowd control measures were not in place ahead of time. there should have been safety measures placed at of time because we have expected this huge crowd to gather last weekend.— gather last weekend. areum jeong, academic and _ gather last weekend. areum jeong, academic and researcher, _ gather last weekend. areum jeong, academic and researcher, thank - gather last weekend. areum jeong, | academic and researcher, thank you so much forjoining us on this story with your thoughts. let's turn to russia now, where, as we have been reporting, vladimir putin's war has devastated parts of ukraine.

but it's worth reflecting on what it has done to putin's own country. in russia, there are signs of growing repression and state control, as well as growing economic problems from sanctions and a brain drain. our russia editor steve rosenberg reports from st petersburg on how russia is changing as the military offensive continues. singing how many in russia want to remember the darker chapters of their country's history? very few. every year they gather to remember the great terror of the 1930s... ..by reading out the names ofjosef stalin's victims, the million he executed, the millions more sent to prison camps. the gulag has gone but fear is returning. "repression is increasing by the week," local politician sergei troschen tells me.

you can feel the fear today in russian society. and we can feel we are being watched and filmed. hardly undercover surveillance. for critics of the authorities, there are consequences. university lecturer denis skopin has just been sacked for immoral behaviour. he had been arrested for protesting against mobilisation for the war in ukraine. he had spent ten days injail. but look at the send—off his students gave him on his last day at work. cheering i love my students very much. they understand very well what is happening now in russia. denis says many of his colleagues, academics and scientists, have fled russia. russia is losing the best people now, the most educated, the most energetic, the most

critically thinking people are leaving the country. where is russia heading right now? in short, russia is going in the wrong direction. and it feels like the past is still casting a shadow over russia's present and future. history never repeats itself exactly, but there are worrying parallels between russia's past and the present. underjosef stalin, soviet citizens who fell foul of the authorities were often labelled enemies of the people. after invading ukraine, vladimir putin vowed to cleanse russia of what he called "traitors, some and the fifth column". to help him do that, president putin has introduced a new patriotic lesson in russian schools. it is called conversations about what is important. in this conversation,

putin claims that in ukraine, russia is fighting to protect russia. critics call it indoctrination. there are children who just believe, they open their eyes and they are ready to believe in everything. and that is very dangerous. because if there is one thing russian history teaches us, it is this — that if you believe in everything a leader here says and does without question, that can have tragic consequences. steve rosenberg, bbc news, saint petersburg. fascinating report there from our russia editor. the football world cup kicks off in qatar in under three weeks, and it'll be the first time it's being staged in the middle east. fifa — world football's governing body — claimed it would be the first carbon neutral tournament. but environmentalists are furious and are now challenging that claim.

in an open letter, a group of professional footballers are also demanding that fifa drops its carbon neutral claim, as our sports editor dan roan explains. despite being staged in the desert kingdom of qatar, organisers of the upcoming world cup have long hailed the green credentials of the event. this recyclable stadium, just one of a number of initiatives promoted by high—profile tournament ambassadors. the qatar world cup has set a real example in sustainability and what can be achieved. but today, fifa's official forecast of the event's likely carbon footprint was disputed by one renowned climate scientist. they're estimating 3.6 billion tonnes, we think it's way over the 10 million tonne mark, so three times that, at least. i mean, it'sjust an enormous high—carbon event. the idea that they've somehow made it green by cheap, nasty so—called offsets that just don't undo the damage from the emissions at all, you know, to become carbon neutral, thatjust... that doesn't stack up at all.

despite the impact of constructing seven new stadia in tiny qatar, one of the highest carbon—emitting countries per capita in the world, and the flights of more than a million fans, fifa claims the footprint will be offset. ourjoint pledge to make this next major tournament- fully carbon neutral. but the bbc can reveal that that claim is now the subject of a series of formal complaints by environmental campaigners to advertising standards authorities in five countries across europe. this one, filed in the uk, says that statements related to the carbon neutrality of the world cup were wrong and likely to mislead consumers, relying on deeply flawed carbon—accounting calculations. meanwhile, a host of footballers, including norway international morten thorsby, and signed an open letter to fifa asking it to scrap its claims of carbon neutrality. this tournament is an absolute

disaster in terms of also its environmental footprint. world cup is extremely important, but at the same time, we have to make it more sustainable, we have to work at finding solutions to make it better. fifa says it's taking concrete steps, such as energy—efficient stadia and offsetting emissions through investing in certified carbon credits. in a statement, it said it was... qatar's organising committee, meanwhile, emphasised no internal flights would be required at this most compact of world cups, pointing to a fleet of hundreds of electric buses and vowing the stadia would remain in use after the event. but despite the excitement they generate, the concern is that the sheer scale of such events now means fundamental change is required if they're ever to be truly sustainable. dan roan, bbc news. before we end the programme i want to tell you that japan pausing chief cabinet secretary is due to hold a

news conference in a short while. that is all for now. hello there. it was a stormy end to wednesday, low pressure sweeping rain and gales across the uk. as we move into thursday, though, we'll see some improvements with some sunshine around, one or two showers, but it will stay quite wet in the southeast as the overnight rain band lingers. and you can see here on the pressure chart, eventually, it'll wriggle away as we move into thursday afternoon, but this new area of low pressure will bring increasing showers to the southwest quadrant of the country along with strengthening winds. you notice the blue hue there on the temperature map. it will feel cooler across the northern half of the country throughout the day today. so a wet, damp morning across the southeast. eventually, that should clear away into the afternoon. elsewhere, plenty of sunshine around, one or two showers. most of the showers affecting wales and the southwest of england, with increasing winds here,

particularly through the channel. but it will be a blustery day across the southern half of the country. winds slightly lighter further north. that is away from the far north of scotland. and temperatures, 10, 11 degrees in the north, around 12 or 13 in the south, so it will feel cooler for all. looks like that area of low pressure will bring showers or longer spells of rain through thursday night for wales, southwest england, perhaps the south coast as well, and certainly through the channel, for the channel islands. winds will be strong for a while. but a ridge of high pressure starts to build in early on friday, so winds veering to a more northerly direction and it will be quite cold, temperatures down to freezing across some northern areas and a bit of mist and fog too. so here it is, ridge of high pressure building in across the country for friday before more low pressure arrives for the weekend. any early showers will clear away from the far south early through friday, and then its bright. plenty of sunshine around. a chilly start, mind you. temperatures rising a little bit through the day. a few showers still across northern scotland, but most places dry. 11—13 or 14 degrees across the south.

so the weekend is looking unsettled. we've got more low pressure working its way in off the atlantic. that's going to bring rain and gales at times. it looks like one frontal system will cross the country on saturday, though. it will tend to weaken as it pushes towards the eastern side of the country. then it's blustery showers, strong winds into sunday and this front bringing some wet weather once again to the southeast corner. so quite a mixed bag through the weekend. like i mentioned, it's wet in the west, showers further east, and a little bit drier in the north on sunday. very wet across the southeast.

hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are kevin schofield, political editor of huffpost uk, and anna mikhailova, deputy political editor at the mail on sunday. tomorrow's front pages. the telegraph says the bank of england will set its biggest rate rise since black wednesday in 1992. the times focues on sunak preparing extend windfall taxes on oil and gas companies to raise an estimated

£40 billion over five years. the guardian reports on the home office abandoning asylum seekers on a london street.