welcomed the newsday. —— welcome to newsday. the british get the parliamentary green light for brexit negotiations as scotland's first minister announces she will seek a second independence referendum.” will now take the steps necessary to make sure that scotland will have a choice at the end of this process. a choice at the end of this process. a choice whether to follow the uk a hired brexit, or to become an independent country —— hard brexit. defending its recent missile test, north korea accuses america of pushing to the —— pushing the region to the brink of nuclear war. it has been called the largest unitarian crisis in over half a century. 20 million people now face a deadly famine. we are in somalia, where the situation is critical. and disney postpones the opening of its new film beauty and the beast in

malaysia. is it because of the controversy malaysia. is it because of the c0 ntrove i’sy over a malaysia. is it because of the controversy over a homosexual character? welcome to the programme. it is sam in singapore and midnight here in london where a short time ago the british parliament gave its final approval to a landmark law allowing the government to formally start the process of leaving the european union. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon earlier dropped a political bombshell, announcing plans for a second independence referendum, prompted by opposition to brexit. written‘s prime minister, theresa may, wasn't too impressed. let's hear from nicola

theresa may, wasn't too impressed. let's hearfrom nicola sturgeon first. i will now take the steps necessary to make sure that scotland will have a choice at the end of this process. a choice of whether to follow the uk toa a choice of whether to follow the uk to a hard brexit, or to become an independent country. instead of playing politics with the future of oui’ playing politics with the future of our country, the scottish government should focus on delivering good government and public services for the people of scotland. politics is not a the people of scotland. politics is nota game. 0ur political correspondent chris mason has explained what happened a short time ago. politics has been very noisy for quite awhile. the decibel levels last night cranked up a few notches, but the government has got its way. it is the final stage of a process to get a law to give the uk permission to leave the european union. you might think that is a bit odd, didn't the rich people leave the european union almost a year

ago, so why couldn't she have just done it anyway? well, there was a challenge in the courts that courts that decided that there had to be this law for the brexit process to start. that took place a couple of months ago. since then the legislation has been working its way through the commons, be elected part of the british parliament, and the lords, the unelected, pointed part. tonight it passed its final hurdle in the house of lords, which means the bill will become an act. it will receive royal assent. it will become british law. but mrs may, the british law. but mrs may, the british prime minister, is not expected to go ahead and trigger article 50, the mechanism for starting the brexit process, for a couple of weeks yet, even though as of tomorrow morning she will actually have the power to do so. of tomorrow morning she will actually have the power to do som is coming up to a year, a few months away from that year, when that referendum result took place. chris, you and i were very busy that night. a lot of time was spent about scotla nd a lot of time was spent about scotland and how it was going to vote, and the majority remain vote

which was the case in the end. today, tell us more about the significance of what was said by scotland's first minister and the ramifications of what she said. yes, here is the potted history of scotla nd here is the potted history of scotland in the uk. in 2014 they had an independence referendum in scotland, and there was a majority for staying within the uk. at the scottish national party, which dominates scottish politics and is pro— scottish independence, said that if there was a significant change in scottish or uk politics, that would justify having another referendum. and they have said today, the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, says look, the brexit referendum and the uk leaving the european union is that you forget moment, because scotla nd that you forget moment, because scotland voted to remain in the european union where is the uk as a whole voted to leave. she is saying she wants another independence referendum in scotland within 18 months or two years, i.e. before the uk formally leaves the european

union. looks like the british prime minister, who has the legal power over the triggering of another scottish independence referendum will try and postpone it as long as she can. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. the north korean ambassador to the un has been defending the countries recent ballistic missile tests, blaming the united states and south korea for escalating tension that he says is pushing the region to the bring of "nuclear war". as you know, the us and south korean forces kick off the giant military manoeuvres aimed at a pre—emptive nuclear strike against the dprk, only to push the situation to the brink of nuclear war. i asked our correspondent in seoul steve evans what he makes of north korea's statement. strong words about the missile tests, and about kimjong—nam, the

half brother of kim jong—un, who was murdered last week in malaysia. the line from the dprk, as it calls itself, north korea, is that the murder of the half brother was basically done by the us, and, quote, it's vassal, south korea. that is because it wants to stoke up what it calls international repugnance for north korea. now, north korea says that the agent, that highly toxic poison which was smeared on the dead man's face, the us manufactures that. now, it has to be said that the malaysian authorities certainly don't believe that, and there is evidence pointing towards north korea. so if you are looking from the outside, north korea is probably playing the two audiences, and that is a kind of divided international audience. many people on the left in europe who have some sympathy with north korea, but more importantly, information

seeps into north korea, and there must be a question in the regime's mind about what ordinary north koreans make of the allegation that the leadership had a rival to the leadership assassinated. so there is a propaganda game going on here. as you say, steve, a game going on, and certainly the blame game is rife here. but where are we exactly into the investigation of kim jong—nam's death, which occurred on the brew the 13th? we are still at the situation where he has been identified by the malaysian authorities, on the basis largely, apparently, according to the malaysian press, of information which came from japan. kim jong—nam, bizarrely, tried to visit japan in 2001 to go to disneyland that, on a false passport, and was caught at it. and from that moment he fell out

of favour in the north and lived in exile, presumably under chinese protection. the japanese authorities, apparently, have given information, may mainly fingerprint information, may mainly fingerprint information, but certainly information, but certainly information about the moles on his face, for example. but what the malaysian authorities don't seem to have yet is watertight dna evidence from the family. and that is presumably because the family is in hiding. also making news today: the un's special rapporteur on human rights in myanmar has called for an urgent investigation into abuses against rohingya muslims. yanghee lee addressed the un human rights council in geneva today. earlier this month she released a report based on a 12—day trip to myanmar that detailed horrific claims of murder, rape and abuse. myanmar has rejected the allegations. a russian blogger is facing up to 7.5 years in prison for playing pokemon go in a church.

the 22—year—old was arrested last year after posting a video of himself playing the famous game in a russian orthodox church. he is standing trial in the city of yekaterinburg, and has pleaded not guilty to mockery of religious beliefs and inciting religious hatred. the south african city of durban has lost the right to host the 2022 commonwealth games. 0rganisers say they voted to take action after durban failed to meet key obligations. last month the south african government raised concerns about the cost of staging the event and warned it might withdraw financial support. the search is now on for a new city to host the games. malaysia's national football team says it's disappointed an asian cup qualifier against north korea was delayed due to diplomatic tensions between the two nations. the decision to postpone the march 28 game in pyongyang came after the assassination of kim jong—nam, the estranged half—brother of north korea's leader, in malaysia. the asian football confederation will announce a new date for the match soon. malaysia's assistant coach

says his players' safety is the top priority. i would like to think it would in effect a sporting event, but look, at the end of the day, the teams' players and officials, safety is paramount, so we had to respect the decision to defer the match, and i'm sure the federation will make the right decision to play that match, when and where, i'm sure it will be fine. these lucky elephants in thailand's ancient capital, ayutthaya, have been treated to a fruit buffet. it is all part of elephant day, an annual event that aims to remind thais of the animals' significance, and supports efforts to protect them. it is estimated there are about 3,700 elephants in the wild in thailand, and up to 4,000 domesticated ones. conservationists want to reduce

the number of animals being ridden by tourists or performing in shows. aid agencies are warning that time is running out to save more than 20 million people who are facing famine in africa and the middle east. the united nations says the crisis in nigeria, south sudan and yemen threatens to be the worst for 60 years. it has left nearly 3 million people without enough water and food, and vulnerable to disease. 0ur correspondent andrew harding is in baidoa, in south—west somalia. you may find some of the images in his report distressing. this is baido, a town besieged by two unforgiving enemy is. the soldiers are here to guard against al shabazz, the militant islamist ‘s controlling the countryside in this corner of somalia. but it is the

second enemy, drought, which is now far more dangerous —— al—shabaab. nine—year—old ali has been carried into the local hospital. he is unconscious. but it is not from hunger, not yet. after three years of failed rains, clean water is hard to find. the doctors here believe they are battling a sudden outbreak of cholera. inside, we can from diarrhoea, dozens of new cases —— weak. their families have diarrhoea, dozens of new cases —— weak. theirfamilies have walked miles to get help. it is a cruel opening salvo of disease before famine marches into town. we feel the situation is getting very bad. 0ut—of—control? the situation is getting very bad. out-of-control? yes. due to the disease outbreak in the outbreak, this is totally different. can you deal with a? with our capacity, no. for now, there is an orderly queue at baidoa's mean well. a nurse has volunteered to oversee the rationing. not every day more people

are coming into town from the parched countryside. the families going fast, very fast. there is not enough food, there is not enough water, from hunger, and the problem is very big. like any town under siege, baidoa is digging in and praying that reinforcements arrive $0011. praying that reinforcements arrive soon. as things stand, they only have enough supplies here to help one in ten of those who need it, and there is little doubt things are going to get a lot worse. new arrivals seeking shade on the edge of town. during the last famine in 2011, many left it too late before moving to seek help. so maybe this cou nts moving to seek help. so maybe this counts as progress. but it is hard to get the timing right in such a gruelling climate. this woman buried her four—year—old daughter and five—year—old son on the journey here. probably cholera again. and what happens if the aid supplies in

baidoa run out? those helping save the main lesson of 2011 is to sound the main lesson of 2011 is to sound the alarm early. what we want to do different is that we say there is a famine that is coming. we are sure that it famine that is coming. we are sure thatitis famine that is coming. we are sure that it is going to come. and especially if the rain doesn't happen. so we are saying give us help now, give us the resources we need now, and we will save the children that need to be saved. and look how easy it can be. after 15 minutes of treatment in hospital, nine—year—old ali opens his eyes and asked his father for nine—year—old ali opens his eyes and asked his fatherfor water. in nine—year—old ali opens his eyes and asked his father for water. in the besieged town, one life saved, many more to go. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: disney postpones the opening of its new film beauty and the beast in malaysia. is it because of a controversy over homosexual character? the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief.

this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 hours then the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. we heard these gunshots in the gym. then he came out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much do you think? i don't know really. i've never been married before. this is newsday on the bbc.

i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. and i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: as the uk government gets the parliamentary green light for brexit negotiations, scotland's first minister announces she'll seek a second independence referendum. north korea's ambassador to the un says military exercises carried out by south korea and the us are pushing the region to the brink of nuclear war. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the japan times has this story about the country's biggest warship heading to the south china sea. the paper reports that the vessel will train with the us navy, and tour the region for three months before returning home in the summer. the china daily covers the final day of the national people's congress. around 2,000 delegates have attended the session in beijing's great hall

over the last 11 days and over 5,000 proposals have been put forward. and the south china morning post leads on the highly anticipated meeting between donald trump and president xi. citing us media reports, the paper writes that a summit will take place early next month at president trump's mar—a—lago estate in florida. but it's emphasised that neither washington nor beijing have confirmed the meeting. well, the story of korean billy has been most watched on our website for the past 24 hours. there he is. billy is so enthusiastic about british accents, that he published a series of video explainers about local dialects and became an internet star. bbc trending spoke to him. you can watch the interview

on our website — here's a taste. hello, everyone. this is believed. today i am going to talk about british dialects. more on the bbc news website. a global shortage of donated kidneys has seen the illegal organ trade flourish in pakistan. late last year police uncovered a brutal harvesting operation in the city of rawalpindi. two dozen people had been lured with offers of jobs, but were instead held hostage for months in squalid conditions. the bbc‘s nosheen abbas met some of them. sahdi was saved just in time before he was going to be operated on. he was tricked into the illegal operation of kidneys via man but when he was driven to his

destination, he soon found out the awful truth. when destination, he soon found out the awfultruth. when i entered destination, he soon found out the awful truth. when i entered the building, there were up to 35 people already sitting there. one of them said, why have you come? they all looked worried so i asked them why? isaidi looked worried so i asked them why? i said i had come for a job. they said they had not been told about jobs and three men had been taken away and none of them knew where they had gone. in october last year, sahdi was one of 24 people rescued by police. the victims were imprisoned in a building in the suburb. even though this is a bustling area, it is tucked away. there is construction going on. so when the rescue happened, it was not easy to find them instantly. they we re easy to find them instantly. they were kept here in some of these rooms. the officers say when they found them, they were in deplorable conditions, their health was deteriorating and they were emotionally helpless. about 100

illegal transplants take place in pakistani each month. the cost ranges between $50 , 000 pakistani each month. the cost ranges between $50,000 and $60,000 us. the trafficking ring has been broken up although there are many others operating across pakistan but all that has come too late for another victim who chooses to remain anonymous. months earlier, he had his kidney forcibly removed by the gang with serious consequences. he has been traumatised. they did not sound and told me i had kidney stones are needed an operation. after the operation, i did not know where i was and after i came home, i felt u nwell where i was and after i came home, i felt unwell smuggled medication and went for a checkup. i got another ultrasound. i asked the doctor if everything was ok and he told me i was unwell because i had a missing kidney. since then, my stomach and body has become bloated. while there are laws against it, they are poorly implemented, leaving those in

poverty vulnerable to black—market operations but with the recent arrests now before the courts, the case is hoped to go some way towards stopping the exploitation. nosheen abbas, bbc news, is mum about. —— is and the bad. the dutch prime minister, mark rutte, and his rival 0ur geert wilders of the anti—islam freedom party, have taken part in a televised debate two days before the country's parliamentary election. mr rutte defended his economic record over the past five years and his decision to stop two turkish ministers addressing dutch turks at rallies over the weekend. for his part, mr wilders said the real problem was that turks waving turkish flags on a dutch street had shown where their loyalties lay. he attacked the prime minister's credibility, criticising him for allowing record immigration. turkey says it won't allow the dutch ambassador back into the country, as their damaging diplomatic row continues. the new disney movie beauty and the beast hits cinemas across the world but in malaysia its release has been postponed. no specific reason has been given for the decision but a spokesperson for disney reportedly told malaysian media that the film had caused controversy because it included a gay character.

it comes after a russian mp petitioned to ban the film for that same reason. earlier i spoke to garethjohnson — managing director of the webmagazine gay star news which specialise in lgbti issues. i began by asking him what his reaction to the news was? on the face of it, pretty disappointing. we are reading between the lines of it but with russia making it an adults only movie, this sends a negative signal from a country which doesn't have a great record on censorship. are you surprised? i think yes because in a way, the reference that is being talked about in the movie is so su btle talked about in the movie is so subtle and so cleverly and intelligently done, it is not an over the top gay reference in that sense. it is a fully realised character. but malaysia does tend to

overrea ct. character. but malaysia does tend to overreact. the character we are talking about, lefou, which is played by the actorjosh gad... you have seen the film. it's great. what was the significance of this character with his plot line? the director has talked about this a little bit. it is significant because according to him it is disney's first openly gay character and that is a big dealfor a studio which was tightly controlled. there has been gay signals and references previously but this is the first time we have seen the character who is just time we have seen the character who isjust a being time we have seen the character who is just a being who time we have seen the character who isjust a being who he is. so for you, a big shift? in the context of somewhere like the uk or the us, it is not perhaps such a big deal because we are used to seeing —— seeing gay characters. but not in a disney movie. that is a big move for

them. iam disney movie. that is a big move for them. i am sure they are not enjoying the controversy. but so far, they are holding their noses. we are yet to find out what malaysia is going to do but would you be particularly surprised if they said they were going to ban it? anything is possible. they probably haven't seen the movie so they might be overreacting. but that sense of the bad signal to people in malaysia to see positive representations. it is important that their identity. it is sad that they don't get to see this movie. gareth johnson speaking there. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. as britain moves closer to its divorce from the european union, we'll be looking at what it all means. and before we go, let's take a look at these incredible pictures from new york state in the us. this house on the shore of lake ontario is encased in ice thanks to five days of strong winds

and cold temperatures. forecasters are warning east coast residents from boston to new york city to prepare for what could be one of the biggest snowstorms in recent memory. hello there. the relatively settled thing for the weather continues for a couple of days. relatively mild during the day on tuesday but breezy to many of us, particularly windy across northern parts of scotland where the met 0ffice have issued a yellow warning for the strength of the winds, causing some disruption for the northern isles with heavy showers on the cards. further south, northern isles with heavy showers on the cards. furthersouth, most places looking dry first thing tuesday morning. pretty mild. around the country at eight o'clock, heavy showers to the northern and western isles with the odd rumble of thunder

in line with those strong winds and big waves. scotland and northern ireland, a bright start almost. isolated showers. glad if a northern england. a bit of hill fog. for much of england and central eastern parts, relatively right. sunny spells breaking through. a cloudy day then we saw during monday. most places, dried. gusts up to 70 miles per hour developing across the northern ireland —— the northern isles of scotland. less breezy elsewhere, still mild for this time of year. sunny spells, 15 or 16 degrees. a degree also higher. in one or two spots. the first day the cheltenham festival, decent. cloud but quite bright. 13 or 14 degrees with a gentle south—westerly breeze. through the latter part of tuesday and overnight, a few spots of light patchy rain moving south across

england and wales. some mist and hill fog. further north, clearer skies. particularly northern england and scotland. pressure first thing. wednesday is looking like a decent day to many of us. high pressure on the chart. variable cloud. cloudy towards the south and south—west. the best of the sunshine towards north—eastern parts of the country. some rain in the far north—west but dry and temperatures still in the mid—teens. pleasant enough on wednesday. thursday, a change. the atlantique low wednesday. thursday, a change. the atla ntique low pressure wednesday. thursday, a change. the atlantique low pressure system bringing afairly atlantique low pressure system bringing a fairly weak weather front. breezy day on thursday. it is here we will see a few outbreaks of light patchy rain. further south and east across much of england and wales, still mild and dry. slightly pressure towards the north—west. that pressure theme continues into friday and saturday and things will feel a bit more unsettled into the

weekend. goodbye for now. i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story: brexit moves a step closer. the uk parliament has passed a bill that enables the government to start the process of leaving the eu, and this as scotland's first minister said she will seek a second independence referendum. north korea's ambassador to the un has defended his country's recent missile test, and accused the us and south korea of pushing tensions in the region to the brink of nuclear war. and this story is trending on bbc.com. disney has postponed the opening of its new film beauty and the beast in malaysia. no official reason has been given. the film has courted controversy over the inclusion of a gay character. it comes after a russian mp petitioned to ban the movie for that same reason. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now it is time for hardtalk.