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. with less than a week to go until the us midterm elections, president biden says democracy itself is on the line. we must with one overwhelming, unified voice speak as a country and say there's no place, no place for voter intimidation or political violence in america. 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 services�* response. and with three weeks to go until the world cup kicks off, critics deny the tournament will be carbon neutral. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to the programme. 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 since a brutal conflict began in ethiopia's northern tigray region. since then, a civil war has left hundreds of thousands dead, almost 5 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. an update on a story we have been bringing you over the last hour or so. north korea has launched at least another two ballistic missiles, with one of them falling into the pacific east of japan. the latest launch follows

wednesday's launch of around 20 missiles, including one that landed less than 60 kilometres from south korea's city of sokcho. those launches were met with anger from us secretary of state antony blinken, who said the launches were "dangerous" and "escalatory". the launches appear to be north korea's retaliation for the joint military drills that the south and the us have been doing. of course, we will keep you up to date with the latest information. and lots more on the bbc website if you want more in—depth analysis on that story. president biden has been speaking at a democratic national committee event in the past hour. referring to next week's midterm elections, he says americans must unite in opposition to political misinformation and lies as well as violence and voter intimidation. and he warned of a rise in republican extremism ahead of next week's midterm elections. here's a little of that television address.

in this moment, we have to confront those lies with the truth. the very future of our nation depends on it. my fellow americans, we are facing a defining moment, an inflection point. we must with one overwhelming, unified voice speak as a country and say there is no place, no place for voter intimidation or political violence in america, whether it is directed at democrats or republicans, no place, period, no place ever. that was president biden, speaking there. brazil's defeated president, jair bolsonaro, has called on hundreds of truck drivers blocking the country's highways to go home, warning that the road blockages would cause harm to the economy. the blockades began on sunday in protest at the right—wing incumbent�*s narrow loss to his

left—wing rival, luiz inacio lula da silva. they caused severe shortages of fuel and food. 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—based medicines. 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 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 found evidence that these i 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. now for a special report on the response of the uk 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, responded more quickly. had been "embarassing and shameful".

repeatedly to save the life of a 28—year—old victim, by the emergency services. siren wails in the aftermath of the explosion at manchester didn't respond at all for more than two hours.

was badly hurt. told me his name and all that. asked him where he were from. so, he communicated. in less than a minute of that explosion, you rang 999, didn't you? yeah. 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. that was judith moritz without

report —— was not reported. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the legacy of invasion — how is russia's war on ukraine affecting the people back home? donald trump has defied the posters to take the keys to the oval office. i posters to take the keys to the oval office-— oval office. i voted for him because — oval office. i voted for him because they _ oval office. i voted for him because they did _ oval office. i voted for him because they did newly - oval office. i voted for him - because they did newly believe he cares about the country. it is keeping the candidate's name all within— is keeping the candidate's name all within the public eye that counts _ all within the public eye that counts. success or failure depends— counts. success or failure depends not only on public display— depends not only on public display been on the local campaign headquarters and the heavy— campaign headquarters and the heavy routine work of their women _ heavy routine work of their women volunteers. berliners from us east _ women volunteers. berliners from us east and _ women volunteers. berliners from us east and west - women volunteers. berliners from us east and west linked j from us east and west linked hands — from us east and west linked hands and _ from us east and west linked hands and danced _ from us east and west linked hands and danced around - from us east and west linked| hands and danced around the liberated _ hands and danced around the liberated territory. _ hands and danced around the liberated territory. and - hands and danced around the liberated territory. and with. liberated territory. and with nobody _ liberated territory. and with nobody to _ liberated territory. and with nobody to stop _ liberated territory. and with nobody to stop them, - liberated territory. and with nobody to stop them, it - liberated territory. and withj nobody to stop them, it was liberated territory. and with - nobody to stop them, it was not long _ nobody to stop them, it was not long before _ nobody to stop them, it was not long before the _ nobody to stop them, it was not long before the first _ nobody to stop them, it was not long before the first attempt - long before the first attempt made — long before the first attempt made to _ long before the first attempt made to destroy _ long before the first attempt made to destroy the - long before the first attempt. made to destroy the structure itself — made to destroy the structure itself. . , , ~ ., ., made to destroy the structure itself. . ,, ~ ., ., itself. yasser arafat has died. the palestinian _ itself. yasser arafat has died. the palestinian authority - itself. yasser arafat has died. the palestinian authority has| the palestinian authority has declared a state of mourning.

after 17 years of discussion, the result was rooted with an outburst of joy. the result was rooted with an outburst ofjoy. it suddenly felt welcomed. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines: a surprise peace deal after nearly two years of civil war in ethiopia. it's hoped it'll allow aid into northern tigray, where 90% of the population is going hungry. with less than a week to go until the us midterm elections, president biden says democracy itself is on the line. several police stations have been raided in south korea by a team investigating the halloween crush that killed more than 150

people at the weekend. there are allegations that the police did not respond quickly enough to the unfolding tragedy, despite receiving multiple emergency calls. earlier, i spoke to areum jeong, an academic and researcher on issues of public safety in south korea. i asked her if it had been possible to avoid this tragedy. this tragedy that took place in itaewon was completely avoidable. people are talking about how the south korean government's failure to ensure public safety resulted in this tragedy in itaewon. when you look at those two horrific tragedies, i wonder whether you think, like it was in the case of the seoul ferry disaster, where the public response was one of outrage, understandably, and it galvanised action and momentum there to increase public safety, do you think we're going to see something similar this time around? yes, just like the people did eight years ago. the people are calling out government's insincere acts of authority and care. they are questioning the systemic causes

and failures that brought this tragedy in itaewon. and while president yoon said that korea lacks capabilities in crowd control management and other officials have said there weren't any guidelines to manage the crowd in itaewon last weekend, it was actually expected that that many people would gather in itaewon for the halloween festivities. and we have seen numerous demonstrations, parades, protests, world cup gatherings, k—pop 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. just in terms of the public safety measures that we have seen in the past, as you point out, and what experts recommend that was areum jeong there, speaking to me and little earlier. let's turn to ukraine

now, where many areas have been devastated by vladimir putin's war. 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 escalating economic problems caused by 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're 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'd been arrested for protesting against mobilisation for the war in ukraine. he'd spent ten days in jail. but look at the sendoff his students gave him on his last day at work. cheering i love my students very much. they are very smart, very energetic and they understand very well what is happening now in russia. denis says that 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, scum and the fifth column". to help him do that, president putin has introduced a new patriotic lesson in russian schools. it's called conversations about what's 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, st petersburg. fascinating bbc news, st petersburg. report they are from fascinating report they are from our russia editor steve rosenberg. 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. that's all the time that we have for you on tuesday at this hour. do stay with bbc news for

the latest analysis. thanks for joining us. 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 ia 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.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. winter is coming to europe and vladimir putin is hoping the battle lines in his war on ukraine will be frozen, buying him time to reinforce at the front while exposing ukrainians and all of europe to the reality of an energy crisis.

the ukrainian armed forces have made gains in recent months,