welcome to newsday. i'm babita sharma in london. the headlines: the divorce proceedings are under way after 45 years together. britain officially starts the process of leaving the european union. this is an historic moment, from which there can be no turning back. britain is leading the european union. the ousted south korean president is backing calls. —— leaving. we live in seoul with the latest. i'm rico hizon in singapore. it is exactly a year since i thanks and she took over from the military regime. expectations were high, we look at how much was changed. —— aung san

suu kyi. live from our studios in london. and singapore. good morning and welcome to the programme. it is 7am in singapore, midnight in london, and one in the morning in brussels, where a hand—delivered letter from the british prime minister has made history. theresa may has written to the president of the european council, formally announcing britain's intention to leave the eu. a process that will end for decades of membership. both sides now have two years of complex and difficult negotiations to work out. exactly what life will be like after the divorce. some moments make us.

this is one. the minute in westminster, belfast, edinburgh and cardiff that the united kingdom formally changed course. the article 50 process is now underway and in accordance with the wishes of the british people, the united kingdom is leaving the european union. this is an historic moment from which there can be no turning back. probably our last ambassador inside the european union handing over the letter at 12:25pm. the document that says we are on oui’ way out. theresa may's signature on our departure. herjob now, to make it work. this, her hope. in perhaps the most important letter that she'll ever pen, the prime minister wrote of her hope to give reassurance quickly to the millions of eu citizens who live here and brits abroad. "we should always put our citizens first, we should aim to strike an early agreement about their rights." but no guarantees. the prime minister wants a free trade deal with the eu of greater scope and ambition than any before.

a bold hope, seen as naive by some, to try to protect firms who do business around the continent from new rules and barriers. there was no overt threat to walk away, but a serious warning — a failure to reach agreement would mean our co—operation in the fight against crime and terrorism would be weakened. we must work hard to avoid that outcome. her message? the eu needs us. she wants also to agree the terms of our future partnership alongside those of our withdrawal from the eu, to work out how we leave at the same time as sorting out the future. there is no reason to pretend that this is a happy day. in a rare interview inside number 10 for the bbc, the prime minister promised, despite all the difficulties, our relationship with the rest of the continent will be just as good. what we are both looking for is that comprehensive free trade agreement which gives that ability to trade freely into the european single market

and for them to trade with us. it will be a different relationship but i think it can have the same benefits in terms of that free access to trade. an assertion that will take a lot to prove. one her counterparts in europe struggle to believe. number 10's time for preparation is up, now time to try to persuade. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. the business community is looking on with keen interest. i spoke with mark wu, and asked him what the process of brexit bank for international trade. it is really going to depend on what the terms the uk can secure with the european union. if, as the romans hopes, the uk is able to maintain access to the single market, maintain passport in right and so on, not much will change. but if those terms change, that will dramatically impact in a negative manner at the attractiveness of the uk for asian

trading partners. —— passporting. especially for the likes of japan. they already have a major footprint in the uk, particularly in banking and in autos. yes, of course. and many of those investments were contingent on expectations that britain would serve as a beachhead for the rest of the european market. so, should those passporting rights disappeared by the banks, should ca i’s disappeared by the banks, should cars now be subject to carys based on origin, that will affect the attractiveness of the uk as a location to make us. what will the impact be on trade? for the chinese, we're only at the early stages of seeing about investment into the uk. unlike the japanese, there not as large a level of investments. so in

terms of how brexit isn't a work itself out, this is going to affect where the chinese choose to invest over the next couple of years, whether that is on the continent, in ireland, or in the uk. briefly, professor, what about uk— us trade links? will that look like after brexit? i think everyone in washington is rarely waiting to see how this is all go to shakeout. there are political reasons on both sides to try to get a deal done. and obviously, with a deal withjust sides to try to get a deal done. and obviously, with a deal with just the uk, rather than with europe as a whole, that might prove easier. there are still some major hurdles to be had on both sides with regards to be had on both sides with regards to regulations, in banking and the like. so it will be a number of yea rs before like. so it will be a number of years before that deal could come to fruition. mark wu there from harvard university and a former trade negotiator. let's

now look at some of the other news. a top us army general from the middle east —— for the middle east at 300 members of the iraqi military have died since the battle to retake western mosul started last month. a full investigation will begin into whether a coalition airstrike may have killed more than 200 civilians in the city. may have contributed to this, and so we now move to the investigation phase. —— we may. now it will be a more formalised approach to look into the details as much as we can to establish what happened on the steps what the facts, identify accountability, and certainly identify the lessons learnt out of that. also making use today: engineers have managed to carry out work on a dam in the euphrates. the centre of the fighting with his rsa. us—backed local fighters

the fighting with his rsa. us—backed localfighters said the fighting with his rsa. us—backed local fighters said the gates were successfully opened, easy water pressure and fears of flooding. the us intelligence committee has vowed to get to the bottom of russian interference in the 2016 election as public hearings begin. the commission will question 20 people, including donald trump's son—in—law. the chairman said some of the techniques russia used were frightening. the chairman and i have serious concerns about what the russians have done and continue to do around the world. some of the techniques that russia used in this election, i think, would send a chill down anyone who believes in the democratic process in this country around the world. the conservation group save the elephant says the price of ivory has

fallen by half in the last few yea rs. and approach to performance byjohn legend has surprised fans and passing rail passengers at a geek in central london. he treated that he was about to get off from paris, and within 20 minutes, he had drawn a big crowd to hear his eight minute performance. —— legend. it is exactly a year since myanmar‘s first direct radically erected government was elected into office. its leader said the prodi was to end decades of conflict between the military and more than a dozen insurgent ethnic rebel armies. but it has hope that may prove difficult. we get this report from

northern shan state. the last year in myanmar has seen everything and nothing changed. this is the shan village of gone law. the people here are from the tang ethnic minority. in 2016, the burberrys army marched in. the village elders shoulders how the soldiers tied up on the floor. and then feed them with the butts of guns and knives as they looted their homes. —— the burmese army. they accuse them of supporting the tang rebel army. that is these guys. they are now in control of gong law. just like other rebel groups across myanmar, they say they are fighting for the rights of ethic minorities after years of abuse at the hands of the burmese army. that is the same army that former human rights icon aung san

suu kyi now shares power with. she has started a peace deal to end yet it was. she has avoided criticising the generals to keep onside. it has not worked so far. the tang leaders say they have not been invited to talks. shortly afterwards, word comes through that the burmese army is advancing. so we leave in a hurry. for all the talk, there is now more fighting across myanmar then there was under the previous government. having made little progress with

these, aung san suu kyi's first report card is not great. many people have questioned what she says. there is a lot of packaging that went into her. and inside the package, the contents were very minimum. this man is a human rights activist. this is injust after he was released from 11 years as a political prisoner. he tells me just as many others have in private that drawn is falling short as a leader. asa drawn is falling short as a leader. as a winner of the nobel peace prize, there is certain standards that you are expected to live up to. like moral courage. the qualities of

leadership. and compassion. and that has been totally lacking. aung san suu kyi's supporters say working with the army is a near impossible job, and say she needs more time. but after one year in office, aung san suu kyi has little to show for it, apart from survival and damage toa it, apart from survival and damage to a once unrivalled reputation. you are watching you stay on the bbc. light from singapore and london. still, the programme... as britain and the eu begin the process of separation, what will be the impact on immigration and trade? the accident that happened here was of the sort that can at worst produce a meltdown. in this case the precautions worked, but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of these stations from resurfacing. the republic of ireland has become

the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel, where he had been addressing a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthday is being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. this is newsday on the bbc. glad to

see you. i am rico hizon in singapore. thank you forjoining us. iam babita singapore. thank you forjoining us. i am babita sharma singapore. thank you forjoining us. iam babita sharma in singapore. thank you forjoining us. i am babita sharma in london. the headlines. british prime minister theresa may has formally begun the process of leaving the european union, describing it as an historic moment from which they can be no turning back, she says. the ousted south korean president will appear in court on whether to approve an arrest warrant on her corruption allegations. supporters of president park are gathering outside the district court in the capital, seoul ahead of a hearing district court in the capital, seoul ahead ofa hearing in a district court in the capital, seoul ahead of a hearing in a few hours' time on whether to approve an arrest warrant for the president over corruption allegations. president park will be attending the court hearing ina park will be attending the court hearing in a few hours. steve evans

is outside the court for us. bring us is outside the court for us. bring us up—to—date with what we are expecting to see happen there today. she will arrive in two hours' time. there is massive security. she arrived as a private citizen, but it does not feel like that. there are so does not feel like that. there are so many police it feels like she is still president. she will stay in custody until the decision. that decision could well be tomorrow. she will spend at least one night behind bars. and then the decision could well be that she remains behind bars. remember, the centre characters in this alleged scandal are already in prison, from the head of samsung to her best friend. —— central. it would be quite surprising if the woman in the middle of these allegations does not also end up in prison. but that is

for the caught behind need to determine. she made her first court appearance a week ago, steve evans, and we were talking at the time. hundreds and hundreds of people gathered to see her than. are we expecting a similar turn out to see her today? i think we are. we are 110w her today? i think we are. we are now getting the hard—cores in this political divide. her supporters on the right sad it is a political prosecution that she has been pushed from office for political reasons. that whatever crime she has committed, and she does not admit to committing one, is just committed, and she does not admit to committing one, isjust to get her out of office. the others say there is corruption at the very top of south korean life, and she embodies it at the moment. it is a very deep divide within society. the election is in two months' time. expect a vote to the left, but that division

will remain. it will be fascinating to see what happens in a few hours from now. iam to see what happens in a few hours from now. i am sure you will guide us from now. i am sure you will guide us through it, steve evans, live from seoul. more on the lead story of brexit which has of course created uncertainty not just for which has of course created uncertainty notjust for business but eu citizens living in the uk, reduce citizens in the eu, and others going for citizenship. —— british. i spoke to a resident and citizenship advisory consultant. i asked him what this meant for the freedom of movement. the biggest impact will be for british citizens. currently as a british and european citizen they are able to go through the eu. after brexit this will certainly be an uncertain status in the next two years and therefore as

a british citizen they stand to lose the ability to travel freely through the ability to travel freely through the 27 states. as a citizen of the eu, they may lose the access to one state in britain. this makes the whole process complicated. visa free travel between the uk and european union countries, that is separate to what we are talking about in terms of separate treaties. the uk continues to negotiate its these are short—term policy. the attraction of uk citizenship, eu citizenship and asian families that are looking at this attractiveness. that is all it's been a pull factor, the eu freedom that citizenship provides. it isa freedom that citizenship provides. it is a complicated negotiating process. what would you like to see from this negotiating? the hope is

that at the end of this process, the uk will negotiate a similar position with switzerland, norway, iceland, non—eu member states, but able to travel through the eu. their citizens still have the right to settle in the eu with reciprocal rights back into the country. the hope is that at the end of this length the two—year process that the uk will be in a similar position and a similar agreement will be reached. but it is also putting off travelling. will people also be putting off travelling to the region asa putting off travelling to the region as a result of this? i don't think so. as a result of this? i don't think so. as a tourist, brexit and what will happen now will have little impact on the tourism and visa free waiver agreement between these countries. especially in asia. visa free access as a filipino, singaporean, this would be impacted by brexit.

let us take a look at some of the front pages from around the world. the new york times. it leads with a report on the ferocious battle to reta ke report on the ferocious battle to retake mosul from so—called islamic state. it is this picture which is the front—page picture this morning ofa man the front—page picture this morning of a man calling out to relatives after his family was killed in a blast. iraqi civilians have been simply running whenever they can, says the article. geneva peace talks aimed at ending the war in syria in the arab news. they are quoting the chief negotiator saying there will be no real or viable solution without us acting. finally, the japan times reports a proposal for the government to be prepared to strike north korea and the event of an attack. an interesting panel, the ruling liberal democratic party recommending japan have its own

long—range cruise missiles that are capable of targeting north korea. rico hizon, that is the way the papers are looking this morning. what about on line? the us first lady is trending. melania trump has called for the empowerment of women in celebration of diversity at an event of the state department in washington, dc. mrs trump has not left the spotlight after being done are becoming first lady but made an appearance at the ceremony. science and the environment has had a tough week with the news on tuesday president trump signed an order rolling back some of his predecessor's and private policies. experts say that will put the us back a step in meeting us environmental and global goals. so, what is the environmental community to do? science is under attack. science has

realised that you can ignore politics but it will not ignore you. we will stop what obama has done with climate change. the american public and perhaps the public of the world really do feel like the world views they believe in are not being reflected by the government. conservative voters especially concerned scientists. trust in research is at a a0 year low. how can scientists change that?” research is at a a0 year low. how can scientists change that? i would love to see 20% of congress made up of scientists and engineers. we would have a different approach to governing if we did have that. rather than waiting for a seat at the table, they are going after it. the political action committee has been started to help them run for

office. it can be difficult for a scientist to talk to the public. we are tried to help facilitate that as well. how many would actually be interested ? well. how many would actually be interested? it turns out many. 3000 have already signed up for training. we have a lot of people in congress right now. the government went straight into policy without any expertise in the area whatsoever we need more politicians that go off on a track with expertise in an area, whether it is medicine, science, agriculture, anything! and then come in with that knowledge and be able to make sound policy for the public. that is the long game. but it puts science at the centre of the political conversation right now, they are taking a page from the women's march. it is a bit embarrassing when it took so long for people to mobilise. things got much more dramatic in the last month. caroline turned to twitter to organise a march in april for

science. injust four organise a march in april for science. in just four hours, organise a march in april for science. injust four hours, ten followers turned into a0,000, and not over 220 cities are planning marches of their own. —— now. it would be great to have an enormous crowd. what is important is it is not just about politicians crowd. what is important is it is notjust about politicians and representatives seeing it, but the people doing the march and the idea that you are surrounded by people who have heard these concerns about the lack of policy —based policy. there is no power like the power of the people! before we go, here are some incredible pictures from surfers around the world who are competing in the big wave awards. some as high as 3a metres in locations around the world. stay with us! we will be back soon. mixed fortunes for the weather in the next 2a hours.

mixed weather fortunes. some will have the best weather so far. western areas will have rain today. rain coming from the south and west. across eastern areas of england, the air has been coming up from the near continent, that will bring temperatures into the low 20s in the warm spots. the warmest day of the year so far. a mild start to the day with temperatures staying in double figures, 11—12 as we start off. the risk of rain affecting northern ireland. scotland is looking wet. cumbria as well. further polls as a rain across these western areas through the day on and off. over a cloudy start and after that, things will brighten up the sunshine coming in. scotland, south—western areas the warmest. not too much rain towards the coastline. brighter spells. northern ireland, rain. some

dry spells from time to time is. western wales seeing some rain. further east, warm sunshine. sunshine will be a few. temperatures pushing up to 22 degrees in the warmest spots. during the evening and overnight, more wet weather coming in across western areas of the uk. the rain will turn persistent and heavy. murky conditions in the hills as well with mist and fog. a mild night. temperatures 11—12 bore many of us. friday's weather picture. a band of rain moving north and east. then the weather will try to improve through the afternoon. northern ireland brightening up. sunshine in england and wales. some areas of scotland as well. windy for northern scotland later on. warm in the far north. in the sunshine, temperatures pushing well into the teens to be pretty mild for the time of year. the

weekend. and unsettled start to things on saturday. a mixture of bright spells and passing showers. temperatures, between 12 and 16 degrees celsius. the wind will be light. showers will stay with you if you are hit by one. showers will be killed off. we will look for a decent day on sunday. sunday, on the waterside. cooling off in the afternoon. passing showers for the north and west of the uk. temperatures reaching a high of 17 towards the south—east. and that is your weather. you're watching bbc world news. i'm babita sharma. our top story: theresa may has formally begun the process of leaving the eu. she described it as a historic moment, from which she said they could be no turning back. but there are signs that negotiations with european leaders will be tough. the ousted

south korean president, parker and haig, is in court for a south korean president, parker and haig, is in court fora hearing south korean president, parker and haig, is in court for a hearing to prove that an arrest warrant —— to contest a warrant for her arrest for corruption. the price of ivory has fallen sharply in china. the conservation group says an anticorruption conservation group says an anticorru ption drive has conservation group says an anticorruption drive has led to a reduction in the value of gifts come from ivory given to officials. —— the charity save the elephants. and here in bbc news, it is time for all the day's events in westminster.