this is newsday on the bbc. i am rico hizon in singapore. our top stories: bodies are found in the us warship john s mccain amid questions over whether the pacific fleet is stretched thin. president trump heads for arizona to rally support after a foreign policy u—turn on afghanistan. lam babita i am babita sharma lam babita sharma in i am babita sharma in london. also on the programme: a major victory for women's rights activists as india bans the controversial islamic practice of instant divorce. this issue will change the entire landscape of muslim laws in india. and the curse of harry potter? we report on how the popular books have led to a demand for pet owls in indonesia. thank you forjoining us.

it's midnight in london, and 7am here in singapore, where the search continues for sailors missing after a us warship collided with an oil tanker. divers have located bodies in the flooded compartments of the warship. the accident is raising questions about state of the us fleet in the pacific — is it over—stretched? rupert wingfield—hayes reports. these are the latest pictures of the badly damaged uss john these are the latest pictures of the badly damaged ussjohn mccain as it limped into port in singapore, a massive hole in its side. today, the dues from here has only got worse. speaking to media tonight, the

commander of the us pacific fleet said the first bodies have been found. one body that has been reported by the malaysia navy has been found. we have discovered other bodies during the diving on thejohn mccain today, but it is premature to say how many, and what the status of the recovery of those bodies is. say how many, and what the status of the recovery of those bodies ism is only two months since this happened off the coast of japan, when an almost identical occlusion took the lives of seven us sailors. now, there might be ten more to add to that list. back in the us, naval families are suggesting it is not a coincidence. is there an issue of negligence here, or are your men and women exhausted from overwork?” negligence here, or are your men and women exhausted from overwork? i was on thejohn mccain this morning looking at the eyes of those sailors even after their heroic efforts yesterday. i didn't see it exhausted, so that view is not a

view that i see reflected to me by the 140,000 sailors that man the pacific fleet. these are some of the quotes from the families we have contacted... in singapore, this maritime expert agrees the us navy is overstretched. if you look at all the demands that are put on the us navy in the middle east, and the persian gulf, and increasingly out here in the pacific, i mean, basically, we have a 300 ship navy and we are asking it to do the job ofa and we are asking it to do the job of a 400 ship or 450 ship navy. so you may just be of a 400 ship or 450 ship navy. so you mayjust be up to see the outline of the john you mayjust be up to see the outline of thejohn mccain dock here behind the singapore. the search and rescue operation continues the night. and then there is the question of how this all happen. and thatis question of how this all happen. and that is a big and deeply disturbing

question the us. navy. —— question for the us navy. our correspondent james cook is in phoenix for us. it is only a few hours since donald trump made a statement on his policy for afghanistan. it is a u—turn on what he said during election time. james, lots of trump supporters around you. maybe not? ijust saw a dump trump sign. the donald trump supporters are mostly over to this site, queueing to get into the rally. as you noticed, the line behind me here are protesters. they have gathered here. if we turn around, the police have lined up

with their bicycles, just to — we arejust being moved behind the white line while we're on air. the supporters of donald trump are in a good mood, happy with their president, please with the progress they are making. i've been speaking toa they are making. i've been speaking to a lot of them. but on afghanistan, there are some conservative. they are not delighted that the decision, but they trust their president. is there anything there be said about north korea, about charlottesville, about steve bannon, or all the things that have been very much in the headlines for donald trump every single day, every single hour? what is being said are two words about these things: fake news. that seems to be the default a nswer of news. that seems to be the default answer of any supporter. not any, thatis answer of any supporter. not any, that is unfair. but quite a lot of supporters of donald trump. if you

mention individual specific issues, where people, including republicans, say he has not done as well as he could have done, or has gone off—course or made bad decisions, the response goes off and not to him but to the message. a lot of people here say it is a malevolent agenda to try and cause america, somehow, harm. that often is the plan. occasionally, you get into more of a conversation about the details. certainly in terms of his staff resignations and sackings. there is concern, i think, resignations and sackings. there is concern, ithink, among resignations and sackings. there is concern, i think, among some, resignations and sackings. there is concern, ithink, among some, that some of those people weren't loyal enough or were leaking on the half — 01’ enough or were leaking on the half — or rather, against the administration, or perhaps they weren't up to the job. the one being that were surprise you at this rally, —— the one thing that won't

surprise of his rally, they really really like him. when will he take the stage? it will arrive in about one hour, and then will be on stage and about three hours. we will be back with you then. also making news today, washington has imposed sanctions ona number of russian and chinese companies and individuals it accuses of helping north korea's nuclear weapons programme. well the us secretary of state rex tillerson has praised what he called "a level of restraint" shown by north korea in recent weeks following the adoption of a un resolution against the country. i think it is worth noting that we have had no missile launchers or provocative acts on the part of north korea since the unanimous adoption of the us security council resolution. and i want to take note of that, i want to acknowledge it. i am pleased to see that the regime at pyongyang has certainly demonstrated

some level of restraint that we have not seen in the past. we hope that this is the beginning of this signal that we have been looking for. iraqi government forces say they've pushed islamic state fighters into the outskirts of the city of tal afar, one of the last few remaining is strongholds, near the syria border. on a visit to iraq the us defence secretary james mattis said so called islamic state was "on the run". johnson &johnson has been ordered to pay $417 million to a woman who says she developed ovarian cancer after using products such as baby powder. the california jury's decision marks the largest award yet in a string of lawsuits that claim the company did not adequately warn about cancer risks. the firm says it plans to appeal. the spanish football club barcelona says it will demand at least $10 million from its former player, the brazilian striker, neymar.

it say the 25—year—old was in breach of contract when he left the catalan club for french giants paris saint—germain. the legal action follows neymar‘s world record $260 million transfer. german police have seized around 5000 ecstasy tablets in the shape of president trump's head. the pills were seized in the north—western city of osnabruck. it's thought the drugs would have been sold on the internet under the slogan "trump makes partying great again". an austrian father and son have been arrested. let's get more now on our top story, the collision involving the warship ussjohn mccain. bryan mcgrath is a naval expert and managing director of the ferrybridge group. he also served as the commander of the missile destroyer uss bulkeley. some are saying that the fleet is overstretched. do you agree? some are saying that the fleet is overstretched. do you agree ?|j some are saying that the fleet is overstretched. do you agree? i do. and i've been saying it for several

yea rs. and i've been saying it for several years. during your time, was also stretched thin? no, i left active service in 2008, and was in command for 2004-2006. this service in 2008, and was in command for 2004—2006. this is the pacific emerged as the active theatre of operations as it is today, and obviously, russia was acquiescent at the time. the american navy, when i was in command 2004100 2006, was probably rightly sized. but it is too small for what we asked to do —— what we ask you to do now. especially in the pacific. during this operational pause by the us navy, what you think should be done? i know what the head admiral of the navy wants the ships to do, and that is to spend a solid day thinking and talking and holding seminars about the procedures they used to safely

navigate their ships. the communications between the various places, at the bridge, the control room, and the engineering plant. he has raised the level of attention of a force that he believes needs a bit of stick put about. that is what he has done and i think that is what they will do. we were speaking earlier to an expert, and he said that the uss mccain could have been at fault because they weren't following the traffic separation scheme. that person has more information than i have. i don't have that information and i don't think any is public about what happened at the time of the collision. let's talk about the cause of the collision, which is not yet known. in your view, what could have happened ? yet known. in your view, what could

have happened? i don't know. it could range from on one side of the spectrum gross negligence by either ship, or it could have been a terrible engineering casualty on one or other of the ships, that could have caused a ship to lose its ability to move or steer. we don't know these things yet. we had to be patient and let the investigation reveal the cause. patient and let the investigation revealthe cause. indeed, patient and let the investigation reveal the cause. indeed, the investigation is ongoing. thank you for joining investigation is ongoing. thank you forjoining us. india's course has ruled instant divorce unconstitutional. it is one of the handful of countries where a man can divorce his wife in minutes

by saying a word. there wasjubilation there was jubilation outside the supreme court in delhi after the judges struck down the centuries—old practice. from now on, a muslim and cannot practice. from now on, a muslim and ca nnot insta ntly divorce practice. from now on, a muslim and cannot instantly divorce his wife by simply saying the word treatise. it isa simply saying the word treatise. it is a huge victory for women's rights activists, who have been calling for activists, who have been calling for a banfor activists, who have been calling for a ban for decades. this will change the entire landscape of muslim laws in india. it will definitely reduce the poverty that muslim women have to go through because of this controversial law. muslim men in india have divorced their wives by delivering the words by voice, phone call, or increasingly mobile phone. earlier this year, women are better by their husbands held meetings across the country, like this one,

petitioning for a ban. these three words taught their worlds apart, and left many of the destitute. this woman was one of them. better care about our lives, nothing. he got married again. —— they don't care about. someone else. he never turned back to us. he doesn't even look after myjob. back to us. he doesn't even look after my job. in outlawing this practice, india joins countries as farapart as practice, india joins countries as far apart as egypt, sri lanka, malaysia, the uae, but there are various interpretations in saudi arabia. so what now? muslim community leaders have corporate meeting to discuss the verdict. some said the ruling has affected the rights of the religious minority. but now, activists and victims can

enjoy this historic moment. you're watching newsday on the bbc, live from singapore and london. still to come: admitting that a much bigger assault was on the cards— new revelations about the barcelona attack as suspects appear in court. also in the programme: we hearfrom prince william and prince harry about the difficult time following the death of their mother in a new bbc documentary on princess diana. washington, the world's most political city, is today assessing the political health of the world's most powerful man. indeed, i did have a relationship with miss lewinsky that was not appropriate. in fact, it was wrong. in south africa, 97 people have been killed today, in one of the worst days of violence between rival black groups. over the last ten days, 500 have died. chanting: czechoslovakia must be free! russia is observing a national day

of mourning for the 118 submariners who died on board the kursk. we're all with them now, within our hearts. the pope has celebrated mass before a congregation of more than 2.5 million people, in his hometown of krakow. "stay with us, stay with us," chanted this ocean of humanity. "well, well," joked the pope, "so you want me to desert rome?" this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories. divers have located human remains in the flooded compartments of a us warship that collided with a tanker near singapore. ten sailors remain missing. president trump makes his first

public appearance at a campaign rally in arizona since he announced his foreign policy plans for afghanistan. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the japan times dedicates its front page to the news that the japan based us seventh fleet is to face review. this is following on from the collision of usjohn s mccain with an oil tanker near singapore on monday. the china daily reports that the chinese government has new plans to tackle beijing air pollution. it says they'll put more effort into regulating government officials and companies that pollute. and the south china morning post shows the preparation taking place in hong kong ahead of typhoon hato. the paper reports the storm is on track to be one of the worst in recent years and is expected

to cripple air travel. i , what is happening online? ,what is happening online? —— and now, what is happening online? well rico, a man called mr chen and his bearfeeding antics have gone viral. despite warnings at a wildlife park near beijing the man rolled down his car window to feed the bears but because of a car malfunction — the window didn't wind back up in time before a bear was able to lunge at mr chen and bite his shoulder. fortunately, he escaped with minor injuries! four moroccan men suspected of the attacks in and around barcelona last week have appeared in court. one of them admitted that a bigger attack was being planned, while another man has been freed without charge. the latest now from tom burridge in barcelona. in the wake of the deadliest terror attack in spain in years, four men moved from barcelona last night.

one by one, they were led into a high security prison outside madrid. the four men in court today are all linked in different ways to last week's attacks and a wider plot. mohamed houli chemlal, this morning taken to court in his hospital pyjamas. last wednesday, he was badly injured in an explosion in the town of alcanar. he admitted in court the group was planning a larger attack. he will remain in prison, and faces terrorism charges. driss oukabir‘s passport was found in the rented van, which was driven with such deadly effect down las ramblas the following day. he has also been imprisoned and charged. the man driving the van, younes abouyaaqoub, was shot dead by police yesterday in countryside outside barcelona. another suspect, salah el karib. he owned an internet cafe in ripoll

and remains in custody pending further enquiries. there have been police raids tonight in ripoll and elsewhere. and the fourth man in court, mohamed aalla. he denied being the owner of the audi a3 used in the attack in the coastal resort of cambrils on friday morning. today, he has been released without charge. it has been confirmed that a speed camera clocked four of the attackers as they drove to paris or week before the very attack. police in catalonia say their investigation is far from over. on las ramblas, five days on, there is a palpable sense of defiance. spain is a country where much of life is lived outdoors. and no amount of terror will change that. but of course, many lives have been cruelly touched forever. brave british tourist harry athwal held a young boy after he had been hit by the van. i was afraid for the boy at that point. when i looked at his injuries, they were severe. i was actually quite emotional, as well, because i knew straightaway

this boy had to be seven or eight years old, and that's the same age as my son. and like i said, due to the injuries, i was quite upset. but the first thing i tried to do was to check his pulse, to see if he was alive. his hairwas similar to my son's hair. it is a little bit shorter than my son's now, but it was brown, thick beautiful hair. i stroked it. i kept trying to talk to him. as more facts are revealed about the perpetrators of this, questions hang in the air. tom burridge, bbc news in barcelona. princes william and harry have been recalling the seven days between their mother's death and her funeral in a new bbc documentary. the princes describe how they were "numb and confused" when they first heard of their mother's death, and were grateful for the seclusion provided by balmoral castle in scotland. here's more of what the princes had to say to the bbc. when you have something so traumatic as the death of your mother when you

are fitting, as, sadly, many people have experienced, nobody wants to experience it. it leaves you, it can either make or break you. and i wouldn't let it break me. i wanted it to make me. i wanted her to be pa rt it to make me. i wanted her to be part of the person i would become. i didn't want her worried, or her legacy to be about william or harry, that we were devastated by it. that all the hard work and love and energy that she put in would go to waste. i think that one of the hardest things to come to terms with is the fact that the people that chased her into the time all were the same people that were taking photographs of her while she was still dying on the back seat of the car. william and i know that, we have been told that numerous times by people who know that was the case. she had had quite a severe head injury, but she was still very much alive in the back seat. those people that caused the accident,

instead of helping, were taking photos of her dying on the back seat. and then those photographs made their way back to news desks. that was prince harry and prince william. has the worldwide popularity of harry potter cursed indonesia's owls? the wide—eyed birds are a prominent feature in the books and films — and it appears that many people now want them as pets. the number of wild owls being sold in indonesia's notorious bird markets have risen dramatically in the last decade. our indonesia correspondent rebecca henschke reports. yes, people say i look like harry potter, and now even more with my owl. he paid $100 for this owl. it

was this owl that looked like harry potter's snow we white owl. my owl is the same colour as harry's. lots of owls are being sold in indonesia, it is easy to get one. —— snow we. the word for owl in indonesia and is ghost bird. there is a growing number of people inspired by fiction to ta ke number of people inspired by fiction to take a wild owls as pets —— in indonesia is ghost bird. someone whose job is to go out into the jungle and find them. he helps us find and catch them. we don't really know how they do it, we just get the owls. researchers say they are usually taken as babies from their nests and brought here to be sold in this huge bird market. it was very

rare to find owls on say you'll previously, but we quickly found this store. this owner rushed out the back to get this beautiful bird that he thought i might be interested in. it has a huge impact on the wild population of owls. they are very important in keeping the ecosystem imbalance. by removing so many hours, to be sold on the bird markets, it is very concerning. there is only one type of owl on the protected species list in indonesia. activists want that changed. they wa nt to activists want that changed. they want to lift the harry potter curse. you have been watching newsday. and before we go, there's a new arrival at queensland zoo in australia.

it's a rare white koala. the zoo says the koala is not albino and that her extremely pale colour is caused by a recessive gene, thought to be inherited from her mother. hi there. yesterday was a pretty humid day, wasn't it? we did have some sunshine going through. temperatures in the south—west england were the best, climbing to 25 degrees in bute. it was not sunny everywhere, a couple of inches of rain in northern ireland, 15 millimetres injust four rain in northern ireland, 15 millimetres in just four hours rain in northern ireland, 15 millimetres injust four hours in cou nty millimetres injust four hours in county tyrone. rain notjust heavy but also thundery. thunderstorms rumbling north—east across northern ireland through the night. to the start of friday, the band of rain has moved away from northern ireland and into scotland. a sunny start with some wet weather swinging into north—west england. mild and muggy to start, 16— 17 degrees. wet weather still with us for a good pa rt weather still with us for a good part of the morning across scotland. for eastern areas, low cloud with

fog patches around the coast and hills. an improving picture in northern ireland. cloud braking to give some sunny spells. starting to see things a bit brighter nibbling in across south—west wales in south—west england as well. time to see what happens through the rest of wednesday. this area of cloud and rain is tied in with this weather front. slowly pushing eastwards across the country. ahead of that, warm and muggy air across east anglia and south—east england. if the sunshine comes out through the cloud, it could become very warm. generally, the weather turning a bit fresher from the west as the day goes by. temperatures getting into the low 20s, had even mid— 20s in the low 20s, had even mid— 20s in the warmest areas in the west. further east, highs of 27. to get that, we need some sunshine. 27 would be the hottest day of august so would be the hottest day of august so far. wednesday night, rain taking a while to clear from north—east scotland. through the night, showers

from north—western areas. a fresh night, temperatures 13— 14 fairly widely. the picture through thursday, a north—west, south—east split. high pressure in the south, keeping weather largely dry for southern areas keeping weather largely dry for southern areas on keeping weather largely dry for southern areas on thursday. close to the low pressure in the north—west, seeing a number of showers affecting northern ireland, scotland and the north—west of england. at times, those showers could merge in northern ireland, becoming a long slow with the winds. could be lengthy places. friday, chances of rain across the west of the uk. the driest weather across southern and eastern areas. that's your forecast.

you are watching bbc world news. i'm babita sharma. our top stories cold la ke babita sharma. our top stories cold lake —— ourtop babita sharma. our top stories cold lake —— our top stories: divers have located bodies inside the us warship that collided with an oil tank in their singapore. ten sailors from their singapore. ten sailors from the ussjohn their singapore. ten sailors from the uss john mccain their singapore. ten sailors from the ussjohn mccain are missing after the collision on monday. us navy has halted all operations following the accident. president trump is in arizona to hold a rally. it is his first public appearance since what many are calling his u—turn on afghanistan. and this story is trending on bbc.com: a rare white wall as a writer queensland zoo illustrator. her pale colour is due to a recessive gene, thought to be from her mother. the zoo asking

for the public‘s help in naming the koalas. it is just got