>> this is "bbc world news america." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, and kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. >> how do we shape our tomorrow? it starts with a vision. we see its ideal form in our mind, and then we begin to. chisip we strway everything that stands in the way to reveal new possibilities. at purepoint financial, we have designed our modern approach to

banking around you -- your plans, your goals, your dreams. your tomorrow is now. purepoint financial. >> and now, "bbc world news." laura: this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i am laura trevelyan. scenes of devastation fr indonesia, where at least 1300 people have died in the earthquake and tsunamist which ck the region. >> a sea of mud has buried all of the houses right up to halfway, and some of the inhabitants, too. laura: as the fbi continues its investigation into brett kavanaugh, president trump defends his nominee for now and says it is a scary time for young men in america. plus, texas is serving up a sena race with high stakes.

democrats are hoping to pull off an upset, but has the state really changedts tune? viewers onome to our public television in around the globe. scenes of complete destruction are everywhere on the indonesian sulawesi, and now it is against time to reach survivors of the earthquake and tsunami. more than 1300 people are known to have died and the number is stl rising. for those who survive, food and water are in short supply. the bbc's jonathan head is in palu, one of the worst-hit areas in the island of sulawesi. jonathan: three days under the ruins of an office building, but he is alive. few of the victims have been as

lucky as this 38-year-old man, ut after a three-hour rescue operation. many more are still buried in these impossible mountains of rubble. the city center, they are trying tin to open some blocked roads. from the air you can see what the indonesian government is up. agai this village was literally swallowed by the liqfying ground churned by the earthquake. and here they were hit by a mudslide. sometimes it seems that the city has been hit by a atole series oftrophes, not just the earthquake and the tsunami. in this ighborhood, a sea of mud that fell down the mouain and buriede all of thuses right up to halfway, and some of the inhabitants, too. he has come back with his

youngest son to check what is left of his home. they had a narrow escape. the mud came down right after the earthquake, he told me. three or four minutes later. wi and his family just ran only the clothes they were wearing. he and his neighbors salvaged what they can, but it isn't much. they need everything, and they e not getting it yet. palu's inhabitants e taking matters into their own hands. here tryinto break into a small supermarket, and then being driven back by police officers who seem afraid o being overrun. one hour later, the poli relented, and the crowd poured into the shop. token effort to stop nonessential items from being looted, but the government is unable to help most of these

earthquake victims, and can't really stop them from helping themselves. the first real sign of order we saw, this extraordinary line for petrol, with each bottle with its own queue number while the owners sit in the shadr the long hours they will have to it. jonathan head, bbc news, palu, indonesia. laura: international efforts are underway to help those in the mostevastated areas, but for many it cannot come soon enough. how griffith reports. helpter: desperate for after days without food, when the aid convoy fally arrived, it was grab what you can. shelter and supplies are getting to somee of the 60,000 peo forced from their homes, but thousands more are out of reach, roads turned to rubble. ionesia's want to

help. onating food and water and mountains of clothes. the problem is getting it to those in need. to getthis some have has to the north of the island. it is a frenetic, heartfelt response, but some of these volunteers feel frustrated. >> we need more help from the government. we need all the help we can get. we more help is coming slowly. the indonesian authorities admit that they were not well prepared. not impossible to prepare fo complaint it is very difficult. of thethe frustrations humanitarian sector is that the disasters are treated as a surprising events, whereas we mostly nowhere disasters will take place. leavingvery aid flight

the airbase as returned with people fleeing the disaster zone. some clutched their only possessions, others held onto the hope that missing relatives will be found. this woman tol us her two-year-old niece has not been seen since friday. she is too young to speak, she said. the only words he knows our "mom" anddad." the agony some field cannot be called, but there need the nation and the world to support them laura: so much heartbreak there in indones. president trump says he is still waiting for the fbi investigation, but for now he ih standingd brett kavanaugh. speaking before he left the white house, mr. trump said the it seemed like his supreme court nominee was being treated as guilty until proven innocent, and that led to a larger issue in society. pres. trump: it is a very scary time for young men in america where you can be guilty of something that you may not be ilty of. this is a very, very -- this is

a very dficult time. laura: the fbi has been given a week to conduct their extended background checkbut is that enough time? for answers, we oke earlier to a retired fbi agent. y think with your experience, can the fbi conduct a meaningful investigation by friday into the events of 30 ars ago? >> absolutely.d y i say that is because ofor the ty of this particular investigation, the fbi will spare no asset and will connect -- conduct these investigations asap, as soon as possible. laura: well, it is good to hear your confidence there, but meanwhile, tonight dr. ford's lawyers have written to the fbi director chris wray saying that there -- their client has not been contacted by the fbi and they have not asked her for an interview. would you expect that dr. ford would be interviewed by the fbi as part of the invesgation?

warren: well, dr. ford has been extensively intervieweprior to the fbi getting involved, and that is really up to the head person at the bureau to figure out whether there is anythingal additio be spoken about. she was under oath during the hearing, and i don't know if a there is aitional information that would be gleaned. if there is additional information, i'm sure they would contact the lawyers and set up an interview. we have to take it a day at a time, an hour at a time, a minute at a time, and they will exhaust every lead. i will assure the public that that will occur. laura: how about the scope of the investigation? dr. ford says judge kavanaugh was drunk at the time of the leged assault, so should the scope included his drinking in

high school and college, especially with the questions whether he was truthful about drinking under testimony in -- to congress? m rren: well, let me explain it this way -- i're the bureau went in and took all the reports from the democratic side and all the reports from the republican side, and took any other information. they allowed those agents to go out, teams of very dedicated speciaagents, to go out and specifically delve into the background. those questions are on the table. i can't, you can't, nobody can predict what those investigations are going reveal. ey will collate all that, send it to headquarters, right up -- write up a report of all of the interviews, rn it over to

the judiciary committee. laura: the former fbi director says the significance drives memory. do you think people can remember significant events from 30 years ago? i warren: i don't knownnot speak for those people who are being interviewed. i know those questions will be aske i if i was doi i would ask those questions. and i'm sure my colleagues who are currently employed at the fbi will be debried properly anthey will handle this properly as professionalsthey will remain anonymous unless the interviewee obviously breakst to the press. laura: thank you so much for joining us. warren: thank you, and good night. laura: in other news, the pentagon says it has received ngmail suspected of contaihe deadly poison ricin. one envelope sent to the pentagon was addressed to ffense secretary jim mattis. officials said t are now investigating. ricin is highly toxic, and exposure can lead to d you are watching "bbc world news

america." still to come on tonight's program, china is showing the world it is open for business, but behind all the show, is there also ahreat? the scientist who play nude the first womanbe to win the prize for physics in more than 50 years. donna strip canadaa strickland from won the award. victoria gill has this report. the ultimatead scientific acc and donna strickland is only the third woman ever to have won the nobel prize for physics. she and her fellow winners were honored for what were called the groundbreaking inventions in a laser physics. professor strickland devised a way to use lasers as precise

cutting tools. millions of i operations are performed --ye operations are performed every year with these sharp laser beams. has uprising is it to be the third woman to win the prize? professor strickland: that is thent story people o talk about. thereng are so many women d fantastic research, so why did it take so long? victoria: physics still has one of the largest gender gaps in science. one study concluded that at the current ra it would be more than two centuries before there were equal numbers of senior male and female researchers in the field. >> not only is this great for women, it is great for career researchers that you can make discoveries and inventions that will chae the world and you can do that and any point in your career and it doesn't matter what background were gender you are. victoria: the last woman to win a physics nobel was in 1963, for

her discoveries about the nuclei in adams. before that it was marie curie, who shared the 1903 price with her husband, pierre. this is winter hopes that half-century hiat means that the focus in the rcture will be other resea rather than the gender of the researcher. pretoria gill, bbc news. -- vicria gill, bbc news. in just five weeks from now, voters in the u.s. will cast their ballots in the midterm elections. all eyes will be on the democrats to see if they can eck up key seats and tip balance of power in washington. of the 35 senate races taking place, one of the most closely watched is in texas, where ted cruz is trying to fend off a challenge by democrat beto o'rourke. from dallas, james cook reports. >> ♪ we're the kids in america ♪

james: texas is changing. it is becoming more urban andhi less. the democrats have not won ahe senate sea for 30 years, avt maybe the lone star state is about to see a new this former punk rocker wants to shake things up, ref police and prisons, embracing immigration, spendg more on health and education. critics call beto o'rourke a socialist, a dirty word here. rep. o'rourke: these are common-sense texas american values. i think -- you know, i know from listening to the people in the t countit we are beyond partisanship and labels. we want action, we want to get things done.ne james: they surrounding

this campaign is rooted in the hope of people who are disenchanted with the state of this rich and powerfuln, and it is the latest evidence th americans are prepared consider some very different solutions to the country's problems. >> ♪ only in america jas: that will be the day, say the many texans who prefer tradition. in buddy holly's hometown, ted cruz has been forced onto attack to defend his senate seat. sen. cruz: this is a fundamentally a debate betweene azy left-wing and the great people of the state of texas. james: they like the style of o the man in trich skin boots. why do you like ted cruz? >> he has conservative values. >> i just really like his morals. i think he is a really christian maand that is an important thing to me.

james: but he is not turning the other cheek, calling this a fight agait the tyranny of socialism. sen. cruz: socialism is government ownership or control of the means of production and distribution of the economy. o' does congrur not support that, does it? sen. cruz: it is very simple.e you om the u.k., i take it? you are familiar with socializee medi as margaret thatcher said, the problem with socialism is that you run out of money. people's james: but younger texans are more open to trying things different. in the bars of dallas, beto o'rourke is the talk of the town. >> texas is changing. i've seen a lot of beto o'rourke signs, i've seen a lot of folks campaigning r beto. the folks at the table had been excited for beto in no way that is really invigorating. >> they want someone youngel who they cane to, who has been through similar struggles, who

is conscientious of the privilege he has been afforded. james: even withhe support of willie nelson, beto o'rourke's task is tough. int a liberal victor conservative texas no longer looks impossible. james cook, bbc news, dallas. laura: well, tonight president trump will be back on the campaign trail, this time in mississippi. e bbc's rajini vaidyanathan is already there, and she joinedmes a short go. the president -- it feels like he is the campaigner in chief during the midterms. is his role to fire up the base and get people out to vote? rajini: it absoluly is, laura. as you can see, there arele hundreds of peiling in to this rally in mississippi, hoping to meet or at least listen to president trump, and otat is because even though he is not on the bahe may have an impact on the way people vote, and in terms of getting

out the vote in places like here, where mississippi, he was in tennessee, he is in kansas later this week, in iowa early next week. republicans could be in some trouble.s heying to sprinkle some presidential stardust on those races to get out republican votes. laura: you have covered many of these presidump rallies, and when he was a candidate, too. what is the mood like tonight? rajini: well, he never really stopped campaigning even after he won offic the mood is certainly one of defiance. arpeople are saying that w solidly behind our president despite the fact that there might be a russia investigation going on they are also solidly behind brett kavanaugh in the wake of last week's hearings. most people i spoke to say they don't believe christine blasey ford and they are looking forward to brett kavanaugh being a conservative supreme court justice. just like in 2016, the base, the core supporters of donald ump, are here and they are incrediblo l. the question as we head into the

midterms is whether they will be enough to make sure the republans hold power. ura: people are turning out to see president trump come to a rally, but do you have much sense if they are also going to go to the polls and vothe key senate races in mississippi? rajini: that is always a good question. people here are certainly fired up. people are looking ahead to the midterms. theyre very keen to make sure that the senate is still in republican hands and indeed, the house of representatives. one would imagine that a lot of the activism here atday will traninto votes. i have to say, we talk about a divided america. people here don't have much positive to say about the democrats. laura: rajini vaidyanathan, thanks so much for joining us. for months, china and the united states have been battling over trade and over tariffs. the escalating trade war iomes as beijimaking ever bolder military moves in the south china sea, taking over disputed

reefs. how worried should the west be? world affairs editor john simpson habeen reporting from china for 30 years and has returned to assess the latest delopments. john: in the breathtaking setting ofhe great wall, a ukrainian model poses for a british fashion photographer. still, it is the dress that is the center of attention, and that is chinese-designed. yes, china is open to the world, but increasingly on china's own terms. the wall was built to keep the outside world at arms length. now the long centuries of isolation are ov. today, everything here is about outreach. china is building an immense nor transport neto spread its goods and influence worldwide. a small cog in this vast project, working on a new

airport. >> i feel extremely excited, and i feel the weighof responsibility on my shoulders. for the countries developed and -- for the country's development, we need to make personal sacrifices. is he ie sacrifice separated from his daughter. she is in africa working on a new airport for zambia, part of the initiative. >> pushing the trade betweenr china and otuntries, it also increased the infrastructure in china. it is a win-win, two-win things. john: still, as chinese technolo starts to become dominant, the west increasingly sees china as a threat. this intrica dance for 100 driverless cars was staged by

china's rival tooogle. and now baidu is trying out a driverless bus. yet baidu's president insistat hina isn't a threat. >> china is a positive force in the world. i think the u.s. needs to understandnehat. the worls to understand that. for companies like baidu, we are a global partner. we of course are in china, but we would like to be a global player. john: for decades, china has been biding its time, getting quietly richer and stronger. now, though, it feels the moment has arrived. a year o ar there, xi jinping, leader for life if he chooses to be, committed china to becoming a world leader in

influence, and in military power. what he didn't add is that china is also becoming far more authoritarian. my local producer sh what happens if you try to text the name of a government critic on social media. >> iould like to say we are going to arrange an interview. that goes through. john: ok, now put in a name and see what happens wheyou do that. >> let's try th. john: we sent it, but it does not come through. it is blocked. yet, even though he is constantlyma monitored, ged to meet up with another journalist wh recently wrote an open letter strongly criticizing president xi. >> currently under xi jinping, power is becoming more and more concentrated. the country will be more a tyranny. there will be more stepping on the rule of law.

the outlook is completely pessimistic. : the problem is that china's values are so different from the west's. it demandsotal obedience to the state and resents any outside criticism, though china insists it is no threat to the west. what does it all come down to? is china the west's friend or potential enemy? well, it is too rich and musclesed to flex its be an easy friend. yet it is not so much foe as a competitor. the troublis that history c shows thpetition unchecked can have a dangerous habit of turning really nasty. john simpson, bbc news, on the great wall. laura: the changing face of china there. remember, you can find much more of all the day's news on our website. plus, to see what we're working

on at anytime, make sure to check us out on twitter. i would love to hear from you. i am laura trevelyan. thanks so much for watchin a"bbc world nemerica." >> with the bbc news app, our vertical videos are designed to work around your lifestyle, so you can swipe your way through the news of the day anstay up-to-date with the latest headlines you can trust.wn load now from selected app stores. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, and kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. >> how do we shape our tomorrow? it starts with a vision. we see i ideal form in our mind, and then we begin to chisel. we strip away everything that stands in the way reveal new

possibilities. we havepoint financial designed our modern approach to banking around you -- your plans, your goals, your dreams.yo tomorrow is now. purepoint financial. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles. po

captioning snsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, truth and temperament-- the scrutiny of judge brett kavanaugh expands beyond the specifi allegations of sexual assault. then, an extensive invesnegation by the york times" reveals president trump engaged in potentially illegal tax schemes to gain wealth from his father. inus, a rare look at life in libya amid escalg violence and a growing migrant crisis >> ( translated ): i can't work to pay my landlord will evict me in three days. i don't know what i'm going to do. can't cross the sea to europe like this. i'm trapped. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.