i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: the un gets the go—ahead to enter myanmar‘s troubled rakhine state. we'll hearfrom one rohingya militant about his struggle against government forces. bali's biggest volcano threatens to erupt for the first time in 50 years. almost 100,000 have fled the danger zone. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: a week after hurricane maria, help is arriving in puerto rico, where half the island still has no access to clean water. and the canine controversy overshadowing australia's increasingly heated debate on same—sex marriage. live from our studios in singapore and london, you're watching bbc

world news. it's newsday. it's 8am in singapore, 1am in london, and 6:30 in the morning in myanmar, where, on thursday, un agencies will enter rakhine state for the first time since the mass exodus of rohingya muslims began. the burmese army has been accused of ethnic cleansing and nearly half a million rohingyas have fled to bangladesh to escape the brutal crackdown, which the army says began after attacks by rohingya militants. the bbc‘sjonathan head has tracked down a man who claims to be one of those rohingya fighters. here is his special report. this is where a desperate ring of muslims started to fight back. this town in rakhine state is now a smoking ruin,

with its muslim population gone. for years, rohingyas have endured discrimination, abuses, and confinement to squalid camps, but, unlike other minorities in myanmar, they did not rebel against the government. that's now changed. a burmese police officer showed me me where hundreds of men, carrying only machetes and petrol—bombs, stormed towards the police station. they were easily driven off, he said, and many were killed. shortly afterwards, the self—styled leader of the group, calling itself the arakan rohingya salvation army, published a video. rohingyas, he said, had now no choice but to take up arms. over in bangladesh, i went to see one of the thousands who had answered his call. we met discreetly, in a quiet corner. he described how his commander — his amia, he called him — had come four years ago,

and took me to the hills for training — forjihad, he said. 0n the 23rd of august, the attacks began, and the army immediately struck back. he heard shooting, he said, and sought has been satellite. what followed can only be described as suicidal charges by the rohingyas. translation: the army surrendered our villages. the people had no weapons. 0ur amia said we were going to die anyway, so we should die for the cause, and be martyred. so we picked up bamboo sticks — even old men and teenagers — and started fighting. and then the army was shooting at us. what we found as we have spoken to refugees in bangladesh is pretty wide sympathy for the asa militants, especially amongst younger men, because this is the first group that has started to fight back against the burmese military. but there are others here

who are angry with the militants for bringing all of this trouble onto them — and don't forget, there are victims of asa as well. in this community on the coast, there is a mix of old and recently arrived refugees. after friday prayers, i talked to some of them about asa. had it done any good, i wondered. "i think they acted for our benefit," said this young man, "but they were not strong enough to fight the myanmar government." they complained of the many abuses by the burmese military. "at least the militants tried to stand up for us," they said. but then this woman accused asa of killing and beating other muslims. "and how can they fight, when there aren't enough guns and ammunition?" she asks. bangladesh has accepted these refugees, but its security forces are uneasy.

in this sea of human need, the radicalised movement has taken root, ready to risk all in its article struggle against the burmese military. and for internationaljihadist groups, there is here, perhaps, a new recruiting ground. jonathon head, bbc news, southern bangladesh. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. president trump has outlined plans for what he says would be the biggest tax cut in american history. speaking in the state of indiana, mr trump claimed the move would boost growth but critics say inequality will rise. this is what the president had to say. but our country and our economy cannot take off like it should u nless we cannot take off like it should unless we dramatically reform america's outdated, complex, and extremely burdensome tax code. it is a relic. we have to change it. we

have to compete with other countries. also this hour: results from the independence referendum in iraqi kurdistan show a 92% vote in favour. the iraqi government is preparing to block all flights to the region in protest. the russian president, vladimir putin, says his country has destroyed all of its chemical weapons. the global watchdog which aims to eliminate such arms, the 0pcw, said it had verified the destruction, describing it as a major milestone. president putin criticised the united states, accusing it of failing to meet its own obligations. for the second time in weeks, europe's biggest airline, rya nair, has announced the cancellation of a large number of flights. ryanair has denied reports that it's suffering from a shortage of pilots. a further 18,000 flights have been cancelled between november and march affecting about 400,000 passengers. a case of deja—vu?

well, for a second day, there's been another bust—up in the ugandan parliament. yet again, chairs were thrown along with punches between mps in the main chamber. it's all to do with a move by government to lift the age limit of 75 on presidential candidates. if passed, it would clear the way for the current president, yoweri museveni, to stand again. help is on its way to the millions of people affected by two devastating hurricanes in puerto rico. a week after hurricane maria made landfall and almost half of the island's population, that's almost two million people, are still without clean drinking water. fuel and medical supplies are also in short supply. sarah corker reports. in puerto rico, food and water are

scarce. there are long queues for even basic supplies. the us territory was hit first by hurricane irma, but it was maria that hit it a week ago, killing 16 and knocking out power and communications. translation: we need more help. we are us citizens. we are supposed to be treated equally. help is arriving, though. 16 us ships are pa rt arriving, though. 16 us ships are part of the relief effort, bringing generators and heavy machinery. the governor of puerto rico told cbs news restoring power is the priority. keeper help coming. we recognise our lot is being done. infrastructure was completely devastated. we want generators, water supply, hospitals, and the communications going. president trump has rejected allegations or the ricoh has not received the same

amount of assistance as florida and texas. —— puerto rico. amount of assistance as florida and texas. -- puerto rico. it is truly catastrophic what happened. and donald trump said he would visit the region on tuesday, that is almost a fortnight after the storm struck. sarah corker, bbc news. fears are growing on the island of bali, where tens of thousands of people living near the slopes of mount agung have been evacuated. experts say the volcano is on the brink of eruption for the first time in 50 years. hundreds of tremors have been recorded this week, in an increase of volcanic activity. an exclusion zone of twelve kilometres around the mountain has been set up, and the government has told residents to leave immediately. now we go live to bali. the bbc‘s hywel griffith is there for us. it is good to see you. tell us what

the situation is at the moment. so, so the situation is at the moment. so, so far, 80,000 people have been evacuated from here, the red zone, the 12 kilometre exclusion zone around mount agung that you mentioned. 0ther around mount agung that you mentioned. other places have been affected. we have learned even a prison has been evacuated, moved to a secure location. 0n prison has been evacuated, moved to a secure location. on one part of the island, at least, it is disaster management. the other side of the island, in bali, they are trying to keep tourism and industry open. the government is bleeding to the world to come to bali and there are plans in place if planes are affected by volcanic activity. there will be buses and boats to replace them. all the tourist infrastructure and businesses could be impacted. you

say it is a waiting game, but what about the tremors being recorded, hundreds of them everyday?” about the tremors being recorded, hundreds of them everyday? i had felt a few myself to be honest. we have had 130 small earthquakes in the last six hours, including yesterday, the largest earthquakes of us. the intensity as well as the frequency is what they are monitoring. everyone is asking the question, when? we don't have an answer. the last time it erupted in 1963, they did not have all of the instruments in place, so they don't know how this volcano acts when it is going to erupt. all they are seeing is it is especially active at the moment and especially dangerous. if it goes and when it goes, no one knows. thank you for following this for us. live from bali. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme:

we take the political temperature in thailand after the former prime minister, yingluck shinawatra, was sentenced to five years in jail. also on the programme: nasa begins work on a new mission, sending a probe deep into the sun's atmosphere. ben johnson, the fastest man on earth, is flying home to canada in disgrace. all the athletes should be clean going into the games. i'm just happy that justice is served. it is a simple fact that this morning, these people were in their homes. tonight, those homes have been burnt down by serbian soldiers and police. all the taliban positions along here have been strengthened, presumably in case the americans invade. it's no use having a secret service which cannot preserve its own secrets against the world.

and so the british government has no option but to continue this action, and even after any adverse judgement in australia. concorde had crossed the atlantic faster than any plane ever before, breaking the record by six minutes. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: un agencies will be allowed to visit myanmar‘s rakhine state on thursday, for the first time since the start of the exodus of rohingya muslims. another day of waiting for tens of thousands of people evacuated from near bali's mt agung volcano, which threatens to erupt at any moment. pet owners in the uk have complained

to the supermarket sainsbury‘s after their dogs became ill after eating promotional chocolate sent in the post. the dogs ate the chocolate when it arrived through the letterbox. vets say dogs only need to eat a very small amount of chocolate to become seriously ill. more at bbc.com. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the new york times detects a new tone of caution in north korea's president towards the us. kim jong—un‘s bluster, the paper says, may mask a desire to avoid war. it also notes that pyongyang did and said nothing after american bombers and fighterjets prowled along north korea's coast at the weekend. america's better links

with china are the focus of the south china morning post. the paper reports on the us commerce secretary, wilbur ross's, visit to hong kong, ahead of president trump's visit to beijing in november, but it says the two countries must deal with the many barriers to trade between them. the japan times assesses the economic implications of saudi arabia's decision to allow women to drive. it says it is good news for toyota and hyundai, who dominate the saudi market, but it is bad news for uber, and the estimated 800,000 chauffeurs who currently ferry saudi women around. now, what stories are sparking discussions online? there is more on that news of women driving in saudi arabia. not surprisingly, it has prompted a lot of discussion online. early criticism focused on the dangers of women drivers. the hashtag "the people refuse women driving" was widely shared after the announcement, but supporters quickly co—opted the hashtags to poke fun at those who had initiated them. thailand's former prime minister

yingluck shinawatra has been sentenced to five years in prison for her mishandling of a rice subsidy scheme which allegedly cost the country at least $8 billion. ms yingluck was not in court to hear the verdict. she denies all charges and fled thailand last month. paul chambers is an expert on thai politics at naresuan university. hejoins us from chiang mai. professor chambers, thank you so much forjoining us on newsday. tell us much forjoining us on newsday. tell us how will this sentence possibly be enforced, or is it merely symbolic? yes, well, thank you for having me. this sentence is largely symbolic. however, if, you know, she is ever apprehended, then a convicted felon in thailand cannot

run for office. and the idea really behind this conviction is to read thailand of any shinawatra, thaksim, yingluck, any shinawatra, because there has been a vendetta against there has been a vendetta against the shinawatra family. but she is now out of the country, professor chambers. what do you think will be the next move of the government? i mean, they cannot impose this five—year sentence. will they take it against the family, who still live in thailand, do you think? well, first of all, the sentences on appeal. so she has a chance to come and try and appeal the case. but, that being said, the military government can go after her family in the sense that going after other

shinawatras as well. so right now, the son of thaksin shinawatra is being investigated for some allegations of corruption. so again, more members of the shinawatra family. it is a vendetta against the shinawatra regime which forcibly and illegally took power in 2014. so what is your reaction, professor chambers, to the thai prime minister, who says that he knows where yingluck shinawatra is currently located? well, he... everyone would say, well, where is she located? everyone would say, well, where is she located ? he everyone would say, well, where is she located? he also said she is not in thailand. yes, she likely is in britain or dubai, and she likely is going to try to request political asylu m going to try to request political asylum they are. and if she does, she is going to have to say that this court ruling is very unfair,

very much against the rule of law, which appears, and then she can probably get some sort of asylum. thank you so much for your insights on this issue. paul chambersjoining us on this issue. paul chambersjoining us from thailand. thank you. 16 million australians are currently being asked to vote in a same—sex marriage postal survey. the issue of legalising gay marriage is so polarising that parliament has approved new anti—vilification laws to keep the debate respectful. both no and yes campaigners have been accused of violence over the past few weeks. 0ne lady from melbourne says the marriage debate is getting so heated, even her dog has been drawn into it. claire sutherland told me about an incident with her dog, mack. he's been wearing a marriage equality bandana for about the last ten days. and most of the reaction hasjust been that he is getting more pats

than usual when we go for walks. but two days ago, he was with a dog sitter, because my husband and i were out late. she took him for a walk, and a man in a dog park tried to kick him. and, when she spoke to him, he responded with a bunch of homophobic, foulmouthed abuse at her, referencing the marriage equality survey that we're all going through at the moment, and just calling her some awful slurs, really. she was really taken aback. i picked mack up soon after it had happened, she was very shaken, and couldn't believe what happened. can you? no— i mean, i have been quite shocked by the way people have been behaving in this debate, so i suppose it's not surprising, in a sense. look, i don't think this grey, i don't think it represents most of the people who might be voting no in this survey,

in the same way that i don't think the guy that attempted to head—butt our former prime minister in hobart last week represents anywhere near the average yes voter, either. but i think what's happened with this survey is it's allowed people that hold really extreme views to feel emboldened to express them in public, whereas previously it might have been something that they would have maybe just expressed to their friends. so yeah, i'm surprised and not surprised at the same time. we've been following this debate, the same—sex marriage debate, in australia for some time. from its inception, through to the postal ballot, and them being sent out. and along the way, there has definitely been two sides here, and a very heated discussion with the people we have interviewed on this programme.

given what you've just said, where do you think this is going to go, moving forward? do you think we're going to get any resolution to this? oh, look, i hope so. if you'd asked me two months ago what i thought the result would be, i would have thought it would be an overwhelming yes. but now, i wouldn't be surprised if it's really close, or even if it was a no. in the same way that the trump election and brexit took everyone by surprise. i feel like it's really difficult to tell. people are doing surveys — there's a suggestion that people don't want to tell surveys that they're voting no. because of my position as an editor of a website, i might have a bit of a skewed view of what people are thinking, because online comments do tend to be the extremes. i think people that are more sort

of centre—left or centre—right may not feel like arguing with other people on the internet about this stuff. but yeah, i really couldn't tell you what the result is going to be. nasa has been working on this spacecraft for almost 60 years, and it will finally be launched next july. it is called the parker solar probe. it is a mission that will almost touch the sun, travelling deep into its atmosphere. here is more. we're going to go into the corona, which is the home of many mysteries which have baffled scientists for decades and decades, we're finally going to have a mission that will unlock those mysteries for us. 0n launch day, i will be a mess and have very mixed emotions, i have grown to love the spacecraft because i have seen her so much. she has been part of everybody‘s lives. it's kind of like sending your kid off to college. but i know she's going to write and send lots of data,

it is going to be extremely exciting and i am pretty sure i'm going to cry. this 0ctober, bbc‘s 100 women will design and develop and create ways to tackle the glass ceiling. female illiteracy, street harassment, and sexism in sport. but they need your help. send us your ideas online and joined this year's100 women challenge. you have been watching newsday. i'm rico hizon in singapore. and, before we go, we will leave you with this scene in paris, and the eiffel tower, which is being lit up in bright pink to mark breast cancer awareness month. look out for those pink ribbons all the way through october. hi there.

it's been over a week now since hurricane maria devastated the island of dominica and puerto rico, in the caribbean, leaving more than 40 people dead. many still remain missing. since then, the hurricane has been working past the east coast of the united states. it is a category1 storm now. it could come closer to home over the next few days. it is going to work northwards, getting tangled up with low pressure. not a hurricane, but the remains of maria could be heading our way through sunday night and into the early hours of monday, potentially bringing wet and maybe windy weather to the north—west of the uk. before we get there, this is how we start the day on thursday. a lot of cloud, outbreaks of rain left over from the night—time system. a mild start to the day.

that rain band still with us, then, across north—eastern scotland with a fairly brisk wind. a lot of low cloud and misty conditions around some of the hills. northern ireland starting today on a rather cloudy node, but some sunny spells for wales early on in the morning. across central and eastern england, some cloud. through the day, outbreaks of drizzle which could be extensive. may be misty over the hills, as well. in fact, that cloud will be slow to break across east england, eastern scotland, probably only breaking up in the afternoon. but then most of us would see some sunshine coming through. but the rain set in, really, through the northern isles, picking up. a cool day, but otherwise some decent temperatures. 20 degrees in london, on the warmer side of average. the next atlantic system making its presence felt on thursday, working into northern ireland before spreading to scotland, western parts of england, and wales, too. tied in with this area of low pressure spinning in of the atlantic.

some fairly strong winds coming into the far north—western coast. so, for friday, a band of rain to start the day. pushing east across scotland, england and wales. heavy at times, behind that, some sunshine but also some blustery showers in northern ireland. with the showers, looking at temperatures coming down. feeling a bit cooler, but still relatively mild across eastern counties of england, that rain reluctant to clear away. saturday, a decent start to the weekend. many dry areas with some sunny spells. some showers around, maybe some lengthy showers around wales. but it is during sunday night and into the early hours of monday the remains of maria could be coming our way, and bringing some heavy rain to the northern parts of the uk. and that's your weather. i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story: the un is given permission to enter myanmar‘s rakhine state for the first time since the mass exodus of rohingya muslims began. the un has been demanding

access since august, when myanmar‘s military launched operations against rohingya rebels, causing hundreds of thousands to flee into neighbouring bangladesh. nearly 100,000 people on the indonesian island of bali have now left their homes near the mount agung volcano as they prepare for it to erupt. vulcanologists have been recording hundreds of earth tremors each day. and this video is trending on bbc.com. fights have broken out in the ugandan parliament for a second day. mps threw chairs and microphone stands, angry about a move by government supporters to change the constitution. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk: jeremy corbyn has closed the labour conference in brighton, saying the party occupies the political centre ground and is on the threshold of power.