i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: war games in korea but calm words in washington. the us says tighter sanctions and more diplomacy are the way forward. as president trump and mattis have made clear, all options are on the table. we want to bring kim jong—un to his senses, not to his knees. president trump's team unveil big tax reforms but critics say they'll add trillions to the deficit. i'm kasia madera in london. half a century on, doctors confirm that a cheap drug invented by a japanese couple could save tens of thousands of mothers‘ lives. gay couples can't get married in australia but hundreds are doing so on british diplomatic territory. now a christian group wants that to stop. live from our studios in singapore

and london. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. it's 8am in singapore, 1am in london and 8pm in washington where the administration has given new details about its plans on how to deal with north korea. the us state department said the president aims to put pressure on pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear and ballistic programmes. in an unusual move, all us senators were given a classified briefing on the us strategy. one democratic senator called the briefing sobering. our north america editor jon sopel reports. this isn't for real but it looks terrifyingly like it. a live—fire exercise conducted

by 2,000 us and south korean troops, just miles from the north korean border at a time of extraordinary tension. it's a show of force, a show of unity. a military exercise with an unmistakable message to the south's unpredictable northern neighbour, we want peace, but we're ready for all eventualities. in washington this morning, the head of us pacific command put it like this. as president trump and secretary mattis have made clear, all options are on the table. we want to bring kim jong—un to his senses, not to his knees. eight he said the us had no option but to take the north koreans at their word. i believe that we have to look at north korea as if kimjong—un would do what he says, and when he threatens the united states, that's one level, but when he threatens the united states with

the capability of realising that threat, that's a different place. from the capitol today, an unprecedented event. the whole senate decamping to the white house, though some seemed a little lost on where to go, to be given a classified briefing on the north korean situation from the president and all his key national security staff. a fleet of tour buses taking republican and democrat senators on their day trip. i think the symbolism of going to the white house, where the commander—in—chief lives, to hear from the commander—in—chief and his team about what we need to do or be prepared to do with north korea is an appropriate sense of how serious this is. and after the meeting, there was the reaction. it was a sobering briefing, it was clear how much thought and planning has been going into preparing military actions and a diplomatic strategy that seems to be well proportioned to the threat. 0vernight, the us moved in a missile defence system called thad,

which will be operational in the next few days. something that has not only caused unease in the north but in china too. for the military exercises, a grandstand was built so that south koreans could watch. this woman says that kim jong—un would see in these drills how strong we are, and he will never dare to attack us. but this man comments, "i'm certainly more worried than before. kim jong—un is not the type of person to be pushed around". and the north korean leader has also ordered military exercises. nervousness seems to be the one thing that is shared on both sides of the border, and in the region as a whole. let's keep the focus on president trump. the trump administration has announced plans to slash the corporate tax rate from 35% to 15%. some economists have criticised the move, saying it will increase the budget deficit. but treasury secretary steven mnuchin insisted it would help economic growth.

our objective is to make us businesses the most competitive in the world. right now we have a 35% corporate rate on worldwide income and deferral. it is perhaps the most complicated and uncompetitive business rate in the world. not a surprise that companies leave trillions of dollars offshore. under the trump plan, we will have a massive tax cut for businesses and massive tax reform in simplification. as the president said during the campaign, we will lower the business rate to 15%. rico will take a longer look into those proposed cuts on asia business report right after newsday. also making news today, moonjae—in,

the man expected to be south korea's next president, has come under fire after making anti—gay comments during a live tv debate. he declared he doesn't like homosexuality and has no intentions to legalise same—sex marriage if elected as the south korean president on may 9. mr moon's comments prompted gay—rights activists to gatecrash one of his campaign events on wednesday. a 21—year—old taiwanese trekker has been found alive in the himalayas 47 days after he and his girlfriend went missing. rescuers believe the pair slid off a slippery trail and became trapped in a cave—like formation. his 19—year—old girlfriend died three days before the rescuers reached them. hollywood directorjonathan demme has died at the age of 73. demee is best known as the director behind the 1991 film silence of the lambs. the film won best picture that year, while demee took the best director award.

he'd been suffering from cancer. two english league football clubs have been raided by tax officials over suspected fraud. officials say they've arrested several men from west ham and newcastle united football clubs. they seized documents, computers and mobile phones. the bbc understands the suspected income tax and national insurance fraud amounts to more than $6 million. finally, what you're seeing here is an illustrated depiction of cassini's final dive through the rings of saturn. nasa's probe has been making the first of 22 dives through the narrow gap between saturn and its spectacular rings. scientists are waiting for what promises to be unparalleled pictures, as well as hoping for information to unlock some of the mysteries of this gas—giant world. nearly two weeks after the us dropped its biggest non—atomic bomb

in afghanistan, heavy fighting is still going between supporters of so—called islamic state and the afghan army. as result, its been difficult to assess the real impact of the blast. the mother of all bombs was dropped in a remote corner of eastern nangarhar province. bbc‘s afghan‘s auliya atrafi was one of the first reporters to be given access to the area. 0n the road to action district where the us dropped its mother of all bombs. islamic state militants are active here but this missile caused little damage. as we get closer we begin to see the first signs of the massive explosion that rocked these mountains. afghan forces say the bomb killed around 100 militants from the so—called islamic state. the target was a network of caves, like these. used as a hideout. these

caves a re like these. used as a hideout. these caves are left from the time of the soviet invasion and they were also used by the taliban. now is militants are using them too. the cave network has been destroyed and its possible most of the dead are still under the rubble. what looks like from the situation that we see here is that the mother of all bombs might have destroyed the network of caves in this one location but we're told there are hundreds of other caves in the area still field with is fighters, has one soldier here put it, the more we kill, the morecombe from the other side from pakistan. along the valley, american warplanes are carrying out raids on targets. and here are more scars of a long battle. this is the market of

maccabi bazaar. it used to be lively market but the ongoing fighting has forced many to flee. many residents say the us bombing raid isn't going to change much. translation: this was just a trick to show the world that their mission is going well. but the bomb did nothing. you think is will come back? yes, as soon as government troops leave the locals won't be able to fight them.“ government troops leave the locals won't be able to fight them. if the government makes permanent bases in the area and helps us then we will be ok. the fight is far from ending. be ok. the fight is farfrom ending. and for these locals, the us's biggest bomb is not going to be the end of their troubles. auliya atrafi, jalalabad. every year, tens of thousands of women die around the world from blood loss after childbirth. but now new research conducted in london has found a cheap and widely available drug that can cut those numbers by about a third.

that drug has been around for half a century. it was discovered by a japanese couple who couldn't convince doctors to use it at the time. the bbc‘s global health correspondent tulip mazumdar picks up the story. having a baby can be extremely dangerous here in pakistan. for every 100,000 births in the country in 2015, 178 mothers died. in the uk, that figure was nine. the leading cause of death? severe blood loss. this woman gave birth to a little girl two days ago. she is lucky to be alive. translation: i was bleeding so much i felt like i was going to die. i was given 41 bottles of blood. the doctor had to remove my uterus to save my life. but there could be another lifeline to mothers like her. this hospital was part of a major international study which found

that the cheap and easily accessible drug, which helps with blood clotting, could prevent a third of deaths from what is called postpartum haemorrhage. it is being used for things like heavy menstrual bleeding, it's being used for surgeries where bleeding is a little more. it is being used for trauma patients. but it hasn't really been used for postpartum. any drug which can reduce it by 5%, 10%, whatever, would be very welcome. hundreds of women die from preventable causes in pregnancy and childbirth every day around the world. sierra leone has the highest mortality rates, more than 1,300 mothers died per 100,000 births in 2015. that compares with countries like colombia, where it was 64 deaths.

and, in parts of europe, including greece, poland and finland, it was three deaths. researchers hope this drug could now be used more widely to help stop so many women die in childbirth. nobody should bleed to death after childbirth in the 21st century. tranexamic acid is a cheap, safe, effective treatment and can save thousands of lives worldwide. txa is sometimes used as a last resort for haemorrhaging new mothers. the who says it is now updating that advice, but this discovery could easily not have happened. txa was actually invented 50 years ago by a husband and wife duo in post—warjapan. but they couldn't convince local doctors to run a clinical trial for postpartum haemorrhage. it's only now after their deaths

that their life—saving theory has been proven and their hopes that more mothers will live to see their babies grow because of their drug may finally be realised. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: there's been a surge in people migrating to new zealand. we'll speak to one expert saying brexit and donald trump are partly to blame. also on the programme: quite a handful. a zoo in austria shows off its newest occupants for the first time. nothing, it seems, was too big to withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government to build better government housing. internationally, there have already been protests. sweden says it received no warning of the accident.

indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. only when radioactivity levels began to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war for them. they've taken the capital, which they've been fighting forfor so long. it was 7:00am in the morning, the day when power began to pass from the minority to the majority, when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: the trump administration says it aims to force north korea into dismantling

its nuclear and missile programmes through diplomatic pressure and economic sanctions. and president trump's economic team have unveiled plans for what they're calling the largest tax cut in american history. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. japan times says the rising tensions over north korea could mean that security bonds between the us and japan are growing closer. it says the current us—japan naval drills signal the start of what it calls "a new normal." china daily makes a big splash over the country's first domestically built aircraft carrier. the front page has this detailed graphic of its flight deck. it says the ship is the largest and most sophisticated surface vessel china has ever built. and orangutans grace the front page of the new york times, with a story about a controversy over a refuge for them in borneo, indonesia.

some environmentalists are uneasy that the money for the sanctuary has come from a company they say has been destroying the orangutans‘ natural habitat. now, kasia, united airlines and a rabbit are sparking discussions online? oh, rico, it's really attracted a lot of attention online. it's another pr disaster for united airlines. this time the airline is investigating the death of a giant rabbit. the 90cm long bunny, similar to this one, was called simon. he was being transported on one of the airlines places and was found dead in the cargo hold when the flight arrived at chicago's o'hare airport from london heathrow. united says it's saddened by simon's death. there's been a surge in people

migrating to new zealand, with one expert saying brexit and the election of donald trump are partly to blame. the uk, germany, australia, south africa and the us are the top five countries making their way to new zealand. joining me now from wellington is migration expert, professor paul spoonley. professor, thank you so much for joining us. is it really brexit and donald trump that's making a lot of people migrate to new zealand? that's one of the reasons. when we saw the figures last year, we would normally get about 3000 enquiries per month from the us. in the 48 hours after donald trump was confirmed as president we got 10,000. the same happened with brexit. there has been a spike in the numbers arriving. and particular from the uk and the usa. it is one of the factors. there has really been a surge over the past few

months. what type of people, professor spoonley, are migrating to new zealand? well, we have a skilled migration policy, so 60% of those who arrive as permanent settlers come under the skilled migration category and therefore they need to have skills that new zealand requires. so they are essentially what we would call economic migrants. 35% come under the family reunification. they come from all parts of the world, so you've mentioned the usa. there are also large groups of arrivals from china and from india. what about the low skilled workers? they tend to come from europe and north america by and large at there are also groups that come from asia, various parts of asia. and the international students who come to new zealand, about 100,000 at the moment, they can transition once they have completed their degree to permanent residents.

and, professor, over the their degree to permanent residents. and, professor, overthe past their degree to permanent residents. and, professor, over the past months we've been seeing other countries tightening immigration and citizenship rules. at which point do you think will new zealand go the same way? well, new zealand already have. the government announced last week it was tightening some of the rules. i should week it was tightening some of the rules. ishould make week it was tightening some of the rules. i should make it clear that new zealand does not require people who settle here permanently to become citizens. in fact as a permanent resident you can vote. we don't have a citizenship test like australia or the usa. and that doesn't look likely. there are some of those elements, anti—immigrant populist politics, beginning to play out in new zealand. it is not as intense as other countries. why are people really moving their lives to new zealand? is it the living conditions, the economy, what is it? the economy is doing well and the

labour market is doing well, so we have major skill shortages. and it is doing well compared to australia. new zealand and australia tend to get competitor lot. at the moment new zealand is more attractive for immigrants who want to live and work your —— get compare it a lot. the majorfactor your —— get compare it a lot. the major factor they say they are coming for is the standard of living, the quality of life they get here —— here. it is the environment, the relatively small cities and the climate. looking forward to visiting new zealand one of these days, migration expert professor spoonley, thank you so much for your insights. let's stay in the region. a christian lobby group in australia has called for britain to keep out of the country's long running debate on same—sex marriage. gay couples can't get married under australian law, but hundreds of gay weddings have taken place since 2014 using british law, with the help of the british high commission. hywel griffith reports. walking down the aisle into married life. ben and simon exchange vows

and rings all with the help of a diplomatic a loophole. they will be legally wed in britain and not australia using the british embassy. as i'm sure you're aware, this ceremony is taking place under uk law. it only happened because ben has a british passport. once they leave the stately grounds, their union will not be legally recognised on australian soil. this is honoured by the queen, god damn it! who is more important, the queen or your bigotry? these relationships are strong as anybody's. canberra is at the centre of the struggle with same—sex marriage in australia. polls suggest public support,

but politicians in parliament cannot agree on the best way forward. a nationwide vote plans earlier this year was scrapped because of fears it would stoke homophobic hatred. advert: the purpose of marriage is to produce offspring... those campaigning against same—sex marriage claim their views are being discriminated against and they prefer countries like britain keep out of the debate. just because britain has made a decision does not mean we should. we are seeing negative impacts in britain because of this. it is up to australia to decide and not to be influenced by others. i now pronounce you husband and husband. ben and simon's same—sex marriage means there have now been 380 married under british

law in australia. a few have taken place in other countries as well, from azerbaijan to vietnam. so is britain trying to exert some soft power? we would never seek to enforce our values on other countries, particularly not a country like australia, with which we have such close and respectful relations. this is more about the services, but also a celebration of our own values that we have taken that step. for ben and simon, today is about their future together, but they hope the time will soon come when all of australia will embrace their marriage. now for something fluffy, or four fluffy things to be precise. a zoo in austria has shown off a litter of white tiger cubs to the public for the first time. janey mitchell reports. they are likely to become the biggest stars of the zoo over the

coming months before they go off overseas. they're so cute. those cutie cubs, kasia! you have been watching newsday. stay with us. we'll be taking a more in depth look at that tax reform proposed by president trump. the plan would slash taxes for us firms and wealthy americans. and we'll leave you with these pictures from california, as you've never seen it before, a vast area with lots of deserts. but parts of the state are enjoying an explosion of wildflowers blooming on an unprecedented scale. hello again. our weather is set to turn milder over the next few days, quieting down in many respects. but before we get there, yesterday we had really big some thunderstorms hanging around. this one brought hail in west hampsted. thanks to this weather watcher for that picture.

you can see the extent of the showers as they have worked in. showers have tended to die away overnight. just one or two left over. by and large, today we are looking at quite a cloudy weather picture for many of us. and there will be some showers knocking around as well. ok, let's take a look at how the weather starts off in the morning. quite a lot of cloud around. showers from the word go in north—western areas. towards southern parts of england and wales, this is where the clearest weather will be. certainly a cold start to the day. patches of frost around. temperatures at —3 or so. a cold and frosty start to the morning. it should be reasonably bright. brightness will not last, though. quite quickly, we will see areas of cloud come down from the north. that will tend to trap cold air at the surface. one of those days where temperatures will be slow to rise. northern england, northern ireland, scotland, a cloudy start to the days. occasional bright spells. already, a few showers from the word go. quite breezy in northern scotland as well. through the rest of the day, showers associated with weak weather

fronts will go south. it will turn cloudier and cloudier as the day goes by. eventually we will start to see those showers in east anglia and the east of england. late in the day, the far north of england will brighten up. temperatures generally about 11 degrees for many of us. now, looking at the weather picture through the night time. showers will continue to go southwards. quite a bit of cloud initially. then the showers fade away and skies clear in the second half of the night. that will allow things to get chilly. there will be some pockets of frost developing by the time we get to friday morning in parts of scotland and the far north of england in the countryside. here's the weather picture on friday. generally a quiet weather day. again, we're looking at a few showers. most in eastern parts of scotland and eastern england. for many of us, it's a dry and bright kind of day with cloud coming and going through the day. those temperatures will be rising a little bit. so, highs between 11 and 14 degrees. feeling a little bit more pleasant. that trend goes on into the weekend. saturday, by and large a dry

day with sunny spells. isolated showers possible in western areas. but mostly quiet for most of us. temperatures continuing to rise. 12—15 degrees. not bad for the start of the weekend. and that's your weather. i'm kasia madera with bbc world news. our top story: after days of military manoeuvres, the us says it wants to push for tighter sanctions and more diplomacy to end north korea's nuclear and missile programmes. the commander of american forces in the pacific says deploying an advanced missile defence system aims to bring the north korean leader to his senses, not to his knees. the trump administration has unveiled plans for what it's describing as the largest tax cut in american history. it plans to slash corporation tax from 35% to just 15%. and this story is trending on bbc.com. another pr problem for united airlines. it's investigating the death of a giant rabbit, similar to this one, called simon.

he was found dead in the cargo hold when the flight arrived in chicago from london. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc world news. our top uk story: britain is to accept dozens more unaccompanied child refugees from europe. the government has revealed it has under—counted the number of places