this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: fresh allegations against harvey weinstein — the hollywood producer "unequivocally" denies claims that he raped three women. catalonia's president signs a declaration of independence, but suspends the move away from spain, to make time for dialogue with madrid. i'm kasia madeira in london. also in the programme: hackers from north korea are reported to have stolen military documents from south korea, including a plan to assassinate the north's leader kim jong—un. and it's the ultra—stinky fruit which is loved and loathed in equal measure. now scientists reveal the secret behind the durian‘s overpowering aroma. thank you forjoining us.

it's 8am in singapore, 1am in london and 5am in the afternoon in hollywood. allegations against the oscar—winning producer harvey weinstein have intensified, with three women, including the italian film star asia argento, claiming that he'd raped them — that's according to a report in the new yorker magazine. weinstein was sacked by his production company at the weekend after other allegations of sexual misconduct. he says he "unequivocally" denies any allegations of non—consensual sex. our correspondent nick bryant has 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. 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 get an update from david willis in a senseless, but first let's bring you up to date with some of the a that they's news stories. —— of the other days‘s news stories. the catalan leader, carles puigdemont, has signed a document declaring catalonia's independence from spain. but he told the catalan parliament that the effects of the declaration would be suspended, to allow time for talks to reach a negotiated solution over the future of the region. the spanish government in madrid said that the declaration of independence was unlawful and would be met with new measures,

as our europe editor katya adler reports 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," geneveive 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 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 military government has repeatedly delayed elections since seizing power three years ago. the prime minister told journalists the exact date has not yet been decided. 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 borderfrom 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 an area and myanmar‘s northern rakhine state, some 35 kilometres east of mongol. some said they had fled the torching and killing back home. one boy had seen a big gash across his neck. 0thers home. one boy had seen a big gash across his neck. others said they left 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 15 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. for more, we

foi’ more, we cross for more, we cross to seoul. what more can you tell us about these two us bombers on a training exercise in the korean peninsula? it is notable but routine that these bombers took pa rt but routine that these bombers took part in this mission. to us b—i bombers flew with ella paynes from the japanese and south korean air force. —— aeroplanes. we understand the exercise took place outside nbc ofjapan, to the exercise took place outside nbc of japan, to the east of the korean peninsula. controversial a few weeks ago, some b—i bombers went closer to the north korean coast and cause the north koreans to complain about that. those planes flew further north than they had ever been. this was not one of those exercises. this is one of the joint ones involving south korean, japanese, and american air planes, just training for any

possible scenarios. and of course, we tensions high in the region, we are closer to military action and as we have been for many decades. what about the hacking incident that the north koreans stole military documents from south korea? pyongyang has denied it. due to make a gate. the allegation is there has been a hack into the beta defence site. -- ok. the allegation. they wouldn't be drawn on what was taken in south korea. yesterday, a congressman in south korea claimed he had sources that told him that the full war plan involving us and south korean forces had been stolen, including details of special operations, specialforces operations, specialforces operations, and details on how they would sort to decapitate, if you would sort to decapitate, if you would like, the north korean government, if to war. now, the

government, if to war. now, the government here won't be drawn on whether that is true or not. it is quite alarming, but you could think the americans and the south koreans have adapted their plans since, because they would know about a security breach if the north korean scud that information. they of course denied. 0vernight, the american say their plans are intact. so these seem unfazed by any leak of security information at all. so a few raised eyebrows here over the past 3a hours, over concern over what information was stolen. the american say they are not worried. -- 24. thank you for that update. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... we meet the nepalese woman who ove rca m e we meet the nepalese woman who overcame illiteracy and poverty in her own life, to dedicate herself to helping the children of prisoners. 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 herup, 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 500—metre telescope. those are the top stories of key publications around the world. now kasia 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 walk way 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. this was part of a marketing video for the park and it went viral in china. 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, including some big names. we've 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'm 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 upfor him.

some soul—searching, indeed. david, what has harvey weinstein said 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 earn forgiveness and return 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's very difficult, i think, to see a way back for this man, even in a town as traditionally forgiving as hollywood grown in many countries across tropical south east asia, the spiky, stinky durian is known as the king of fruits. but it's an acquired taste. the fruit is loved and loathed in equal measure. eating durian is banned in many

outdoor spaces throughout singapore and carrying it, is prohibited on public transport because of its smell. now, scientists in singapore have idientified a gene that gives the fruit its notoriously pungent smell. professor patrick tan was one of the leaders in the study. if you look at reports about what characterises the durian smell, rotting egg, onion like, it comes from the pulp, the part that you eat when it becomes right. why does it deserve such a study? this project came about through a combination of very different circumstances. firstly, even though cancer research as is our dayjob, scientists are interested about the way the world works. it is known as the king of fruit and all of us have been

fascinated from very young about what makes the taste and smell of durian. what makes it the king of fruit and legendary? for different fascinating aspects were revealed. 46,000jints are found in the durian. twice the number we find in human beings. when you compare the gene to other plants, we find the closest common relation is chocolate. you are kind of eating chocolate. you are kind of eating chocolate. however, chocolate and durian are very different. durian has experience a duplication of its gene. a cloned recall. 0ne doesn't the housework, the other one can go paintand the housework, the other one can go paint and develop new traits. the million dollar question. the smell.

durian has more jints million dollar question. the smell. durian has morejints related to the production of sulphur. —— jints. what do you plan to do with the research? a number of different applications. it can be used to create more varieties of durian, either naturally or synthetically. durian is a very important economic fruit production. $600 million worth of imports and exports. we need to have technologies to have new barcoding to have quality control and checking. does it help us in terms of health? it is extremely nutritious and has many healthy qualities. some people cannot eat it up qualities. some people cannot eat it up people with diabetes because of its sugar levels. if we can reserve its sugar levels. if we can reserve its healthy qualities and expand

ability to more people. cloning paprika — could you imagine!. —— cloning rico hizon! this week in our 100 women series, we'll be looking at the issue of illiteracy. as a child in rural nepal, indira ranamagar taught herself the letters of the alphabet by drawing them out in the dirt using a stick. her parents worked in the fields and she alone during the day, in a shed with the cows. but she overcame the challenges and dedicated her life to helping others, by setting up homes for the children of prisoners. over the years she has provided shelter to over 1,600 children through her charity, pa nepal. all the girls, they take care of the young ones. everybody has a responsibility. special baby, indeed. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. thank you for the music — thanks to streaming services, we'll see how china's online giant, tencent, is making people pay for music. now fitness buffs

in myanmarare taking the latest body—bending trend to whole new heights, pulling off yoga poses on a climbing wall. as you do. thank you for watching. 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 south 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 rainfirst thing. but a lot of dry weather at 8:00am in 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 14 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 hefty showers will be packing in here. south—west scotland having a wet start. 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 for hour upon hour upon hour, especially over high ground, could see 50mm to 80mm of rain, maybe 100mm or more for some of the hills of cumbria. could be enough to give some issues of localised flooding, and the winds will be strong — could be gales in exposed spots. so our band of rain only slowly moving southwards, and could be enough to give some issues with localised flooding. behind it, something brighter for scotland and northern ireland, but some hefty showers, too. staying largely dry down towards the south—east, but often fairly cloudy, and temperatures of 14 to 17 degrees.

but 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 the winds fall 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. mainly fine, with some spells of sunshine. thicker cloud. 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, warm air wafting up from the south. and, if the sun does come out, we could get to 23 degrees. but it will always be cooler, with some rain, towards the north—west. hello. i'm kasia madera with bbc 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 for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk: