lam mariko i am mariko oi in singapore. the headlines: applause for president trump after congress takes the first step towards scrapping barack obama's flagship health plan. this isa obama's flagship health plan. this is a repeal and a replace of obamacare, make no mistake about it. make no mistake. three months after donald trump's badtempered phone call with australia's prime minister, the two meet to commemorate a major world war two battle. south koreans begin to choose their next president. could a surge in young voters signal changing attitudes towards the north? and an amazing story of survival — a surfer lost at sea for more than 30 hours describes the moment a helicopter crew spotted him. they turned around... and then they saved my life. this is bbc

world news, it's newsday. good morning. it is 7am in singapore, midnight in london and 7pm in washington, where the us house of representatives has narrowly passed a republican party proposal to repeal barack 0bama's affordable healthcare act. after suffering an embarrassing setback in march, president trump finally notched up his first major legislative victory. the vote in the house of representatives was tight, though. 217 to 213 with no democrats voting in favour. but quite how quickly this will become law is a very different matter, as it still faces a steep hurdle in the senate.

he is our north america editorjon sopel the momentjust after 2pm in washington this afternoon when trumpcare washington this afternoon when trumpca re became a washington this afternoon when trumpcare became a thing. the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. shame! outside, a rather different tune as protesters giant shame. this fight isn't over yet. getting the measure through the senate will be every bit as tight because as today's debate showed this is a deeply divisive issue. so i ask you, my colleagues, does trumpcare i ask you, my colleagues, does trumpca re loe i ask you, my colleagues, does trumpcare loe health cost? no! does trumpcare loe health cost? no! does trumpca re provide trumpcare loe health cost? no! does trumpcare provide better healthcare? no! does trumpcare protect seniors and families? as the season comes into politics, yes. are we going to be men and women of our word? yes. will we keep the promises we made?

will we keep the promises we made? will be false? in the rose garden this afternoon the president being too. a time for fist pumps and hugs with the speaker. this is an important legislative victory. this isa important legislative victory. this is a great plan. i actually think it will get even better. and this is, make no mistake, this is a repeal and a replace of 0bamacare. make no mistake about it. make no mistake. they are dancing a happy dance at the white house today by the extraordinary thing about this vote is that there has been no independent assessment done on who will be affected, in what way, and what the cost will be. by the time this gets to the senate that will have happened and that could affect whether 0bamacare have happened and that could affect whether 0bamaca re really does have happened and that could affect whether 0bamacare really does become trumpcare. well, president trump is still celebrating the healthcare win in washington, but he will soon be in new york, where he is holding talks

with the australian prime minister malcolm turnbull, who is in new york for the 75th anniversary of the second world war sea battle when the us and australia joined forces to fight the japanese fleet. it follows a reports of a bad tempered phone call between both men injanuary over refugees held in off shore detention centres. for more on this i spoke with our correspondent hywell griffiths in sydney. because of events in washington and that rather joyous because of events in washington and that ratherjoyous celebratory press conference from the president, everything has been delayed and curtailed, so the prime minister will now only get about 30 minutes instead of one full hour with the president. he has flown 20 hours just to be there to meet him. it is an opportunity to meet face—to—face, iron out the wrinkles from the early relationship, and a phone call you mentioned, which was one of the worst yet, according to president trump at the time. so, it is a chance for the men to get to know each other just a chance for the men to get to know each otherjust a little better. so i guess there is the refugee deal

that they somewhat disagreed on, but the leaders actually have quite a bit in common? absolutely. everyone is familiar with the trump story. malcolm turnbull maybe not so famous, or infamous, globally. pe is, was a businessman, lawyer, made his millions before going into politics and always talks about his ability and likeness for striking a deal, that is something obviously mr trump prides himself on. of course, the dumb deal you mentioned, as referred to by mr trump, over resettli ng referred to by mr trump, over resettling refugees from an australian refugee camp to the us, will be on the curtailed agenda but i think both men likely to talk about events on the korean peninsular, thejoint about events on the korean peninsular, the joint operations about events on the korean peninsular, thejoint operations in the middle east and maybe some trade, some actual hard cash flowing both ways in the future trading relationship between them. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. after a bitter televised

debate on wednesday night, the two candidates in the french presidential election, emmanuel macron and marine le pen, have been back on the campaign trail. mr macron was on the front foot, filing a lawsuit over online rumours he had an offshore bank account in the caribbean. his adversary, ms le pen, was pelted with eggs as she spoke to voters, in a sign of rising tensions ahead of the ballot. here is mr macron speaking about the law suit he's filed. translation: last night madam le pen showed her true face, that of the national front, of a party from the far right, with a lot of aggression, including a personal nature, many exaggerations, lies and insinuations regarding a personal account coinciding with an organised effort on the internet. my team spend all night with lawyers to off easily dismantled that. i am not letting it go because this is what is happening today to our democracies and this is what is threatening democratic life. it is what is called fake news and

it can confuse people who only experience of the campaign through social media and who often face falls information. when it comes to subjects as serious as this one you have to react immediately. that is why i am taking legal action today. also making news today. russia, turkey and iran have signed an agreement to establish four safe zones in syria. the proposals drawn up by moscow were agreed by delegates, at a second day of peace negotiations in kazakhstan. representatives of the syrian armed opposition walked out of the talks, saying they could not accept the plan. in britain, buckingham palace says the duke of edinburgh is to retire. officials said prince philip would fulfil his public engagements until august but would not accept further invitations. the duke, queen elizabeth's husband, turns 96 nex month. from his stead fast support for her

majesty the queen, to his inspirational duke of edinburgh awards, and his patronage of hundreds of charities and good causes, his contribution to our united kingdom, the commonwealth and the wider world will be of huge benefit to us all for years to come. an argentine mountaineer stranded on canada's highest peak has been told she'll have to wait another day for a helicopter rescue, due to bad weather. natalia martinez has been on mount logan since monday, unable to move after strong earthquakes triggered large avalanches. she is uninjured and her campsite is safe but the surrounding terrain is unstable. polls have closed in britain following local elections that are being seen as a key indicator as to how next month's general election might go. voters across england, scotland and wales have been choosing local councillors and mayors. for our uk viewers, we'll have more on this in about 20 minutes. and a komodo dragon, not this one but one like it,

has attacked a tourist in indonesia who was trying to photograph it feasting on a goat. the 67—year—old from singapore was rushed to hospital with leg injuries after being pounced on by the venomous creature. the head of the komodo national park said it was the first attack on a foreign tourist since 1974, when a visitor from abroad was killed. hundreds of thousands of south koreans have already cast their vote early ahead of the official polling day next tuesday. they're electing a new president after the previous one was sacked over allegations of corruption. the indications are that south korea may move leftwards, and so away from mr trump. there is a generational divide, with younger people not so hard—line on north korea. 0ur correspondent steve evans spoke to me earlierfrom seoul. the mood is optimistic, it is sunny

here, and people are looking forward to an election which matters, obviously, within the country. all elections matter within the country. this one matters outside the country as well, because of the hard line from washington towards pyongyang. so, any change in politics here in the south will clearly affect global politics. and you're absolutely right, in this election there is a very big generational divide. these people are the future in a land where the shadow of the past is long and dark. the young never knew the war that split career into north and south even until now. younger generation... it is history. at this

university in seoul, for some, north korea doesn't seem so dangerous. surely we don't really feel the threat of north korea these days. but lots of foreigners would say, why aren't you interested, why aren't you worried about the north korean problem, north korea and the development of nuclear issues? because we don't have collective memory of the war. we have a different perspective of north korea, as a dialogue partner, not a national security threat, so we are more open to negotiations and we favour recruitment with them, instead of a hardline policy frequently advocated by the older generation. a few miles away the past still lives. those who remember the war and the empty stomachs after it has set up camp to remind their fellow citizens as the election approaches. he says, young people have been brainwashed by the left, they are

endangering the country's security. and he says, young people don't know about the days when we were poor. they are being seduced by politicians. chicken bones with no meat that the eye can see arsal by the handful. no country has come so far so fast. 60 years ago a bowl of rice was a luxury. today, south korea rivals any prosperous country. the scam of right—wing activists is right at the centre of the south korean capital, the city hall is there and all the big hotels —— camp. it is not, though, at the centre of south korean politics any more. that centre is probably shifting to the left. the young people in this country are in the ascendancy. in this election young people protest for better pay and morejobs. they are much more prosperous than their grandparents

but expectations are higher. the uncertainty of getting work plays big even when pyongyang threatens nuclear war. now, the likely winner, never call an election before the actual voters vote of course, but according to the opinion polls are likely winner is a person from the democratic party called moon jay, person from the democratic party called moonjay, to the left of the previous president, when he was close in power, previously with their left of centre government, they wanted and they got dialogue with pyongyang, which seems to run counter to president trump in washington —— moonjae—in. mr moon is not in favour of the us anti—missile system, thaad, for example. would he remove it? if he gets power there could be questions

with the relationship with washington, and with pyongyang, and with beijing, so there would be big questions. we won't know the a nswe i’s , questions. we won't know the answers, though, until the voters speak on tuesday. steve evans reporting there from seoul. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: a new model for muslim women in sport. how a change in the dress rules for basketball players means there's now everything to play for. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby serve to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now the pope's visit symbolises

their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko 0i in singapore. president trump has scored a victory after congress took the first step towards scrapping barack 0bama's flagship health plan. three months after donald trump's bad—tempered phone call with australia's prime minister, the two men are to meet

to commemorate a major world war two battle an australian politician has told how he ended up in hospital because of laughing. graham perret was watching the us television show, veep, when he choked on his dinner, passed out and hit his head. he's battered and bruised, but doing fine — that story is popular on bbc.com let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the japan times says the population of children in the country has hit an all—time low. it reports the government has failed to follow through on its pledge to increase the birth rate — pointing to statistics which show the rate has fallen for the 36th consecutive year. the business section of the south china morning post reports on apple's gradual slip in the smart—phone market in china. it reports what was once a duo—poly

between apple and samsung is now a fierce competition with chinese brands like huawei making a serious mark. and the china daily reports on the sandstorm that engulfed one—sixth of china on thursday. the paper says the sandstorm, which also hit beijing, was the strongest the country has seen this year. basketball has changed its rules on headgear to make it more accessible to women's teams from muslim nations. hijabs had previously been banned because of what governing body said was a safety issue. qatar women's team even withdrew from the 2014 asian games after being denied permission to wear the hijab. new rules will take effect from october. joining me from our hong kong studio is sin heng sim, who's the deputy secretary—general

of the malaysia basketball association thank you forjoining us. there was a safety concern, was itjustified and how significant is the new rule? i cannot hear you. i was wondering whether you thought it was a justifiable for the old rule which excited safety concerns and how significant this new rule is? actually, the old rule had been dead for some time. as we progressed, we needed to make some amendments and yesterday the world congress in hong kong made a decision that the headgear is allowed to be worn by

basketballers and provided there are no pins underneath the headgear and the headgear does not cover the eye, nose or might injured the person if it is born to tightly around the neck. i think the decision will be good for basketball development. your team currently only has one muslim female player. is this old rule affected your selection of players? actually, no. we in malaysia we predicted this rule change would accommodate it. we completed the school championship which allowed female players to wear the headgear so it has not affected us the headgear so it has not affected us in any way because we have been doing it for some time now. surely it would encourage younger players

who might of been discouraged in the past? that is for sure and i am happy for basketball because now those who were wearing headgear is that they can join us in full force. the change in rules was approved unanimously, is that correct? so there was no opposition despite the old rules being there for quite sometime? not at all. it was presented by the secretary general of the organisation. it was unanimous. there was no objection. 0ther unanimous. there was no objection. other than malaysia, what other countries teams will be affected by this new rule? actually, if i remember correctly, there is even a player from remember correctly, there is even a playerfrom america remember correctly, there is even a player from america who was not allowed to play because she was wearing a headgear. but i think that will be good news for her. at the

other countries i sure, those that we re other countries i sure, those that were headgear, will welcome this new rule for basketball. thank you so much orjoining us at this morning. thank you. now to the incredible story of the british surfer matthew bryce, who was rescued after being stranded at sea, alone, for more than 30 hours. matthew is now recovering in hospital and has been telling our correspondent chris buckler about how he managed to survive his incredible ordeal. all my limbs were cramping. matthew bryce is exhausted, sunburnt and still recovering but he's just thankful to have survived after drifting alone in the irish sea for more than 30 hours. this picture, taken on sunday, shows him surfing off the west coast of scotland

before he was pulled out to sea by strong winds and tides. all this time the wind is pushing me further out. and... sorry. he ended up clinging to the serve on in the middle of the irish for a day and a half. a second night was approaching when he was rescued. half. a second night was approaching when he was rescuedlj half. a second night was approaching when he was rescued. i thought i was going to die. i was watching the sun set, i had made peace with the world and then i heard a... helicopter. so

ijumped off and then i heard a... helicopter. so i jumped off the and then i heard a... helicopter. so ijumped off the boat and then i heard a... helicopter. so i jumped off the boat and and then i heard a... helicopter. so ijumped off the boat and on lifted the board up and started waving the board add it flew right over me. i thought it would not return but it turned around... and then they saved my life. this is the moment he was rescued from the water and his family could finally be told he was alive. you have this in laois and and then 20 minutes later you crash rate down. you do not know what state he is in. you do not know how u nwell state he is in. you do not know how unwell it is and until we get that call from matthew... this search teams even managed to recover his surfboard. a year looking forward to be reunited with your surfboard, is

that the right question? yes... that's it, you are done with surfing? i think so. that pledge to keep away from the serve is one his family seem determined to make him king. —— keep. an incredible survival story. scientists have started using technique to watch these birds. they have been allowed to count the numbers of northern albatross south—east of new zealand. you have been watching newsday. stay with us.

i will be back with the business news and we will be telling you about the first made in china passenger jet that will have its first ever test flight. we will be discussing how much of a challenge it would be for boeing and other american and european companies. also we will see if it will have demand anywhere outside of china. we will be back in the next hour and of course the top story is that the house of representatives nareen passing the republican party pars mac proposalfor passing the republican party pars mac proposal for healthcare bill. passing the republican party pars mac proposalfor healthcare bill. —— narrowly. thank you for watching. good morning. northern and western areas the best for the sunshine.

still quite breezy across the country and fairly grey across southernmost countries. —— counties. any spot of rain limited to the south coast and the channel islands. with the sunshine best in the west, it could hit 19. still cool with the onshore breeze across eastern coastal counties. bright through northern ireland. a few spots of light rain and treason. 0n northern ireland. a few spots of light rain and treason. on saturday, more persistent rain close to the channel islands, cornwall. even a few showers in devon. scotland and parts of northern ireland stay with the sunshine and a brighter day to come. a very warm welcome. votes are being

counted in 88 councils in england, scotla nd counted in 88 councils in england, scotland in wales. there are a mayoral elections for six regions in england. all other parties looking for indications of their performance ahead of the election. here with me to discuss the key focus points of the results is john curtice, professor of politics at the university strathclyde. just first of all, lay out what is at stake. there are four sets of elections being counted overnight tonight tonight, the first four cou nty tonight tonight, the first four county councils in england, mostly rural england, relatively strong for the conservatives, and we also have six entirely new post for so—called city regional mayors, most of those, though not all of them, in

predominantly labour areas in the west midlands, greater manchester and liverpool. in addition, however, all other councils in wales are up for election in the contest today and also all of the councils in scotland. so, if the big set of results. because it is coming at the beginning of a general election campaign it will be pored over as to who is up and down and what the prospects will be in five weeks' time. some early results have come in? we've got a handful of early results. there is too little to put weight on but there are some indications. number one, the expectation that the ukip vote would fall away, having done incredibly well four years ago when the seeds we re well four years ago when the seeds were fought, it looks as though the expectation on the results will be fulfilled. labour probably will have a difficult time, though at the moment there is not enough information. certainly a loss of a seatin information. certainly a loss of a seat in warwickshire, a crucial marginal area that labour was

disappointed about and in trouble about in north—east wales. some relatively encouraging news for the lib dems in gloucestershire where they have done rather well in a couple of wards, hanging onto seats they had, but whether it proves to bea they had, but whether it proves to be a wider trend, we will wait and see. for the conservatives i think things are still on hold. yes, some advances, but whether they are white and consistent enough, it is too early to tell. at the end of the night, what will the party leaders be looking at? at the end of the night, the labour party will look at cardiff and newport in wales. they will see if they can hang on. the expectation is that they won't. the conservatives will look for some of the councils counted overnight like warwickshire, and if the opinion polls put the conservatives around 45% across the country, if they are right, councils like warwickshire, which don't have any party in control, should go to the

conservatives. and for people watching, at what point will things start to crystallise, or more they think, yes, i have an idea? if you wa nt to think, yes, i have an idea? if you want to wait, go to bed and get up in the morning, because... i knew that he would say that. only one third of the councils are counted overnight. and in scotland it is all tomorrow. that said, i think certainly by 6am in the morning we will have a good idea of the direction of travel, who is up and down, and whether or not they are up and down in line with expectations that has been sawn with the opinion polls we had, because theresa may called the election a couple of weeks ago. turnout i know is never great for these elections. is it because people are fired up for the