this is news date on the bbc. i am rico hizon. —— newsday. fresh allegations against harvey weinstein, the hollywood producer, denying claims he raped three women. catalonia's president signs a declaration of independence, but postpones it for dialogue with madrid. also in the programme, hackers from north korea are reported to have stolen military documents from south korea including a plan to assassinate the leader, kim jong—un. and it a plan to assassinate the leader, kimjong—un. and it is the old show stinky fruit. —— ultra. loved and

loathed. we get the secrets behind the aroma. live from singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. i am glad you could join us. newsday. i am glad you could join us. it is 7am in singapore, midnight in london, and 4pm in hollywood. allegations against harvey weinstein have intensified. three women, including an italian film star, have claimed he raped them. that is according to a report in the new yorker magazine. he was sacked from his company over the weekend after other allegations. he says he denies any allegations of nonconsensual sex. we have the latest. few people have dominated hollywood quite like harvey weinstein, a movie mogul who changed the face of the film industry, but who now stands accused of abusing that power by harassing women and preying on them sexually in a modern day version

of the casting couch. he could not. some of the biggest names in movies are now coming forward. gwyneth paltrow claims that when he hired her as the lead in the film, emma, he suggested they head to his bedroom for massages. she was a kid, she told the new york times, and was petrified. angelina jolie, who was in the weinstein movie, playing by heart, claims he made unwanted advances in a hotel room, which she rejected. in los angeles tonight, louissette geist, who was then a young actress, described pitching a film to him in 2008. when i finished my pitch, i was obviously nervous, and hejust kept asking me to watch him masturbate. i told him i was leaving. he quickly got out of the tub and grabbed my forearm, as i was trying to grab my purse, and he led me to his bathroom pleading that i just watch him masturbate. the italian model,

ambra battilana gutierrez, has accused weinstein of groping her and, after complaining to police, wore a wire to capture a conversation at this manhattan hotel, in which he appeared to admit it. i'm everything, i'm a famous guy. i'm feeling very uncomfortable right now. please come in now and one minute and if you want to leave, when the guy comes... why yesterday you touched my breasts? oh, please, i'm sorry, just come on in, i'm used to that. you're used to that?! please. yes, come in. in a statement from his lawyer, harvey weinstein denied accusations he'd raped three women. "any allegations of non—consexual sex are inequivocally denied by mr weinstein. "mr weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances." leading liberals were much quicker to condemn donald trump after a tape emerged of him boasting about molesting women than the movie mogul, a major democratic fundraiser. tonight, his friend, hillary clinton, gave herfirst response, saying she was "shocked and appalled." america is a country of second chances and improbable comebacks, but given the number of women

who are now coming forward, it's hard to see how harvey weinstein can ever be such a force in the movie industry again. hollywood hierarchies have been dramatically upended, the power now lies with his accusers. nick bryant, bbc news, washington. we will be hearing from our correspondent in los angeles shortly. first, otherstories. the leader of catalonia has signed a document which declares independence from spain. however, he told the cata la n from spain. however, he told the catalan parliament the effects of the declaration would be suspended to allow time for talks over the future of the region. the spanish government said the declaration of

independence was unlawful and would be met with new measures as we report from barcelona. they came in hope today, in expectation and determination. thousands and thousands of them to this central barcelona square, believing they'd witness the declaration of catalan independence today. independence! "now is our time," geneve told me, "the president here has to announce an independent catalonia today." their wish for separation from spain so nearly came true when their president, inside the regional parliament, announced the decision by catalans in favour of independence in their recent referendum. applause. this is the moment the crowd has been waiting for. catalonia has won the right to be an independent state, says their president. they believe they're witnessing the birth of the new republic of catalonia. then came the "but..." translation: the government

and a myself propose that this parliament suspends the effects of the independence declaration in order to establish dialogue without which we cannot reach a solution. this was the catalan president acknowledging the fact that spanish courts deemed the referendum illegal, so it hasn't been recognised by the spanish government or by catalans wanting to remain a part of spain. but disappointment amongst this pro—independence crowd was deep. translation: i'm really sad. we were expecting something very different. so, too little indepdence for the spanish catalans, too much for the spanish government. translation: the speech the president gave today is that of a person who doesn't know where he is, where he's going, or who he wants to go there with. the government can't accept the validity given to the catalan referendum law because it was ruled illegal by the spanish translation: the speech the president gave today is that of a person who doesn't know

where he is, where he's going, or who he wants to go there with. the government can't accept the validity given to the catalan referendum law because it was ruled illegal by the spanish constitutional court. tonight a roller—coaster of emotions here, including confusion. separation from spain may not be happening now, but the catalan president has simply put it on ice. katya adler, bbc news, barcelona. also making news today: the military government in thailand has announced that a general election will take place in november next year. the prime minister told journalists the exact date has not yet been decided. the military government has repeatedly delayed elections since seizing power three years ago. the un has started a mass vaccination programme against cholera for rohingya refugees in bangladesh. but the number of rohingyas arriving is not going down, on monday alone the un says more than 11,000 people crossed the border from myanmar, a big increase on last week's

average daily arrivals. the un says many of those arriving say they're fleeing violence, and the burning of their villages. many of the new refugees came from myanmar‘s northern rakhine state, 25 kilometres east. some said they fled torturing and killing back home. one boy was seen with a big gash on his neck. 0thers boy was seen with a big gash on his neck. others said they fled in fear of anticipated violence. president trump's administration has formally proposed the repeal of barack 0bama's clean power plan, to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power stations, including coal—fired plants. environmental activists and some state leaders have promised to challenge the repeal. the international monetary fund says global economic growth is on the up, rising to 3.6% this year.

but not everyone's a winner, workers are experiencing weak wage growth. and the imf is concerned about the rapid expansion of credit in china. wildfires which have been ripping through northern california are now known to have killed at least fifteen people. firefighters are battling the blazes, in the wine region of the american state. winds have eased, helping them make progress in bringing the fires under control. thousands of people have been left homeless. it's emerged north korean hackers have allegedly stolen military documents from the south, including a plan to assassinate kim jong—un. a south korean lawmaker said that the information came from its defence ministry, and included the latest war plans from seoul and washington. south korea said in may that a large amount of data had been stolen, a claim the north denied.

as with many things on the korean peninsula, it is deja vu. it happened some years ago. due to sloppiness on the part of the south korean defence official, north korea got a ccess korean defence official, north korea got access to a previous or another plan of this nature. so this is something we have seen before. it raises questions, i think, primarily about operational security here in south korea and in terms of the alliance with the united states. people are saying it is a provocation by north korea, but obviously this is something that any state could try to do, to gain access to these kinds of plans. state could try to do, to gain access to these kinds of plansm indeed, professor, pyongyang stole these military documents, could it have been the reason why north korea

ramped up its missile launchers? —— if. -- ramped up its missile launchers? —— if. —— launches. ramped up its missile launchers? —— if. -- launches. that is a bit of a leap. apart from the plans, there has been a public discussion about the capitation that goes back to at least 2015. —— decapitation. the north koreans have been upset about this. you could assume there is a plan behind what they have seen publicly. decapitation is a euphemism for removing their leader. that is highly provocative for the north korean leadership. that is a sensitive issue. i don't know if they would have to get anything out from this plan different than what they could have assumed, that this is part of south korea and the united states' gameplan in terms of hostility opening up. there is not much tension between south korea, the us, and north korea. one thing

you learn if you study these issues and patterns is that these lulls never last unless there is active diplomacy, but it is in the lulls do people say we don't have to worry about north korea and let's go back to iran and isis, whatever it is. that is the pattern we arian. there was expectation of a missile launch. —— we are in. be focused on moves away. it is in these periods of calm, a lull, where you need active diplomacy to get in there with the north koreans. that could be happening in back channels between the north koreans and the south koreans. that could be great. but the president of the united states has publicly dismissed and mocked

the idea of talking to north korea. so, that is dangerous. you're watching newsday on the bbc. live from singapore and london. still to come on the programme. 0ctober from singapore and london. still to come on the programme. october 11 is the international day of the girl child. it is aiming to highlight the challenges girls face around the world. this year the theme is about empowering girls before, during and after crises. also on the programme: yoga fans, don't look down, we'll be taking the ancient practice to new heights. this was a celebration by people who were relishing their freedom. they believe everything's going to be different from now on. they think their country will be respected in the world once more, as it used to be before slobodan milosevic took power. the dalai lama, the exiled spiritual leader of tibet, has won this year's nobel peace prize. as the parade was reaching its climax, two grenades exploded and a group of soldiersjumped

from a military truck taking part in the parade and ran towards the president, firing from kalashnikov automatic rifles. after 437 years, the skeletal ribs of henry viii's tragic warship emerged. but even as divers work to buoy her up, the mary rose went through another heart—stopping drama. i want to be the people's governor. i want to represent everybody. i believe in the people of california. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: hollywood producer harvey weinstein denies allegations made in a magazine that he raped three women. catalonia's leader signs a declaration of independence,

but says breaking away from spain must be put on hold to allow for talks. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the japan times is reporting on the country's upcoming snap election later this month, pollsters predicting a win for prime minister shinzo abe's liberal democratic party, despite a strong start from tokyo's populist governor, yuriko koike, who just launched a new political party. let's take a look at front page of the south china morning post, with tensions boiling over in hong kong's independence movement. some football fans, mostly young people, booing the national anthem and turning their backs at the asian cup qualifier against malaysia at hong kong stadium in so kon po. and finally, the china daily has a story on taking star—gazing to new extremes, with the world's largest telescope.

chinese researchers have discovered six pulsars, which are super heavy remnants of massive stars, using its 500m telescope. now, babita, what stories are sparking discussions online? rico, not surprisingly, this has got people talking online. and if you don't like heights, then look away, because this is a glass walkway on the edge of a sheer mountain in northern china. well, don't panic. the glass is not really cracking underfoot. this is actually a special effect. a headline—grabbing stunt, but understandably it got visitors worried, and the tourist park which operates this walkway had to apologise. a marketing video by the park went

viral in china after it appeared to show the walkway‘s glass platform splintering into pieces. let's go back to our main story. the hollywood film producer harvey weinstein has denied raping three women, after allegations were made in the us magazine the new yorker. it claims mr weinstein forced sex on the women, including the italian actress asia argento. with so many women coming forward, is hollywood waking up to the problem? the bbc‘s david willis is in los angeles. after these very serious allegations, disturbing allegations against harvey weinstein, there might use some other senior executives here in hollywood who are ruing their previous behaviour tonight. harvey weinstein‘s predatory behaviour towards women was long a subject of rumour here in

hollywood. but such was his power and such was his influence that basically nothing got done. he was just able to keep going. but now, more and more women are coming forward , more and more women are coming forward, including some big names. we have heard from angelina jolie, we've heard from gwyneth paltrow, for example, albeit somewhat late to the game. but coming out nonetheless with statements of their own. and more expected to come out in the next few days, i am told. there will also be some soul—searching, i think, on the part of those who enabled harvey weinstein to get away with this. the people who enabled him, and the people who covered up for him. some soul-searching, indeed. david, what has harvey weinstein set for himself? well, he hasissued weinstein set for himself? well, he has issued a statement today basically denying any suggestion of nonconsensual sexual intercourse with these women, also making the point that he would like, at some

stage, the chance to own forgiveness and returned to his role as a hollywood film producer. but you know what? such has been the level of condemnation from everybody from hillary clinton downwards to these allegations that it is very difficult, i think, allegations that it is very difficult, ithink, to allegations that it is very difficult, i think, to see a wave back for this man, even in a town as traditionally forgiving as hollywood —— way back. 11 october is the international day of the girl child, aiming to highlight the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girls‘ empowerment and human rights. the day has been marked since 2012, and this year the theme is about empowering girls before, during, and after crises. anna—karinjatfors is the deputy regional director of un women in asia and the pacific. she joins me now from bangkok to tell us more. thank you so much forjoining us. with this year's theme, how do you

plan to achieve it? yes, thank you very much for this opportunity to be here. and clearly the theme of empowering girls before, during and after crisis is very relevant to us here in the asia—pacific region. because of course, we are the most disaster prone region of the world, and we have seen also growing conflict and humanitarian crisis. so we really need to do much more to empower girls to be leaders in the humanitarian response. we see that young women and girls are the most vulnerable during times of crisis. they are more than twice as likely as boys, for example, to miss school as boys, for example, to miss school asa as boys, for example, to miss school as a result of crisis. and we see very high levels of violence, of trafficking, of child marriage. but we can also turn the tide and do much more to empower young women if they have the leadership skills, if they have the leadership skills, if they have the training, the economic and social skills that they need to be safe, to be in power, and if they

can make their voices heard in their communities. all right. international day of the girl has been there since 2012. has there been there since 2012. has there been progress made in empowering girls in the region? oh yes. we are seeing across the region very powerful stories of transformation. so, for example, after the earthquake in nepal, un women with oui’ earthquake in nepal, un women with our partners earthquake in nepal, un women with oui’ partners was earthquake in nepal, un women with our partners was working to set up multipurpose centres for women and girls affected by that earthquake, where they could access the trauma counselling, information, training, but where they could also come and feel safe. and what we saw from the women and girls who benefited from that training was that it was quite a life altering experience for many of them, which allowed them to then step up and act as leaders after the earthquake in their communities, in building the resilience in their

communities, and coming up with solutions. whether it is improving local water supplies, whether it is the stupid in hygiene kits for women affected, or shaping the response after the crisis. happy international day of the girl. thank you so much forjoining us right here on newsday. the last time there was a volcanic eruption in iceland, back in 2010, the resulting ash cloud caused massive disruption to flights throughout europe for three months. now, uk scientists have embarked on a mission led by the national centre for atmospheric science to measure the gases emitted by iceland's most active volcanoes, to help forecast the next major eruption. victoria gilljoined the researchers on their flight. land of ice and fire. iceland's ruggedly beautiful landscape is the product of volcanic activity, but it can cause chaos. the ash cloud from this 2010

eruption grounded thousands of flights across europe. that is why british scientists are here on a mission that is seven years in the planning. at the icelandic met office, monitoring volcanoes is daily work, but with their british colleagues the scientists can now take crucial new measurements from the air. we are measuring at the ground level, maybe up to perhaps two meters. but now we are flying above. so you can fly at different levels, and we're measuring at different levels in the atmosphere, which is going to help us understand how these volcanos are behaving. how they are breathing, you could almost say. and here is the key to this airborne mission. this is the uk's atmospheric research aircraft, and inside, you can see how banks of seats have been replaced by banks of analytical equipment, to analyse particles

in air being brought in through these pipes, sucked into the plane. this is a chemistry lab that can fly. circling, and carrying out passes at different heights, means researchers aboard can build a picture of any plume of volcanic gas in the air. that's not related to volcano, because we've got nox in there. the scientists think that changes in the amount of these gases could give them a signal of an impending eruption. i think we already know from this trip that we've got new findings, where we can explain the connection between the trace gases that we observ from the aircraft and what's going on on the ground. this is the first time this has been done. there is particular interest in katla, the large volcano beneath this glacier, that is thought to be overdue for an eruption. let's hope we've seen the peak this time. this is an active landscape. there will be many more volcanic eruptions. but working in the skies above it could help make these natural phenomena a little less

disruptive to modern life. victoria gill, bbc news, iceland. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. thank you for the music. thanks to streaming services, we will see how china's online giant tencent is making people pay for music. and, before we go, let's take a look at these pictures. first, there was beer and paddleboard yoga. then, someone added goats to the mix. now, fitness buffs in myanmar are taking the latest body—bending trend to whole new heights, pulling off yoga poses on a climbing wall. hello there. we have a wet wednesday

on the cards for some western parts of the british isles. some heavy rain, some strong winds as well, courtesy of a slow—moving weather front. an area of low pressure drifting to the north—west of the british isles. this front here really dragging its heels as it pushes its way southwards and east. so in some places it will rain for pretty much all day long. now, down to the south—west of england, could be some patchy rain first thing but a lot of dry weather at 8am on the morning and that dry theme extends further east as well, certainly across south—east england and east anglia we will see some spells of sunshine. fairly large areas of cloud floating around, as well. temperatures around 1a degrees. similar story for the midlands, north—east england getting off to a mainly dry start, particularly close to the east coast. a similar story

for northern scotland although some heavy showers will be packing in here. south—west scotland having a wet start. a pretty miserable rush hourin wet start. a pretty miserable rush hour in glasgow. rain moving across northern ireland for a time, but the wettest weather will be across north wales and the north—west of england. and here, with a south—westerly wind just funnelling this rain in across the same places four hour upon hour upon hour, especially over high ground, could see 50 to 80 millimetres of maybe 100 millimetres 01’ more millimetres of maybe 100 millimetres or more for some of the heels of the winds could be strong. could be gales and exposed spots. so our band of rain only slowly moving southwards and could be enough to give some issues with localised flooding, and the winds could be strong. could be gales and exposed spots. so our band of rain only slowly moving southwards and behind it, something brighter for scotland and northern ireland, but some hefty

showers as well. staying largely dry down towards the south—east, but often fairly cloudy, and temperatures of 1a to patch here and there, and particularly in the south, where the at our slow—moving weather front finally gets its act together during wednesday night, pushing off to the east, and behind it will leave largely clear skies. could be the odd fog patch here and there, and particularly in the south, where thicker cloud for northern ireland in northern and western scotland. some outbreaks of rain here later. 12 to 17 degrees. that cloud on the north—west will then seek its way into the picture on friday. another band of heavy rain, this one also quite slow—moving. the further south you light, it could be a bit chilly. some spots down to about four or five degrees. thursday, then, a decent day. certainly a dry day for north—east england and north wales. many fine with some spells of sunshine. thicker cloud for northern ireland in northern and western scotland. some outbreaks of rain here later. 12 to 17 degrees. that cloud on the north—west will then seek its way into the picture on friday. another band of heavy rain, this one also quite slow—moving. the further south you are, though, particularly if you get some sunshine, your temperatures could get up to 20 degrees. a sign of what

is to come for the weekend. warmer air wafting is to come for the weekend. warmer airwafting up is to come for the weekend. warmer air wafting up from the south. and if the sun does we could get to 23 degrees. but it will always be cooler, with some rain, towards the north—west. i'm with bbc world news. our top story: hollywood producer, harvey weinstein, denies allegations of rape. the new yorker magazine has published accusations he raped three women. his spokesperson said

he "unequivocally denied" any allegations of non—consensual sex. catalonia's president has signed a declaration of independence but suspended breaking away from spain to give time for dialogue. spain's deputy pm repeated the view that the referendum was illegal. and let's have a look at this video which is trending online. tourists crossing this glass walkway, attached to a mountain, got a real scare. they were tricked into thinking the glass was shattering under theirfeet. the park in china had to apologise for the special effect. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.