i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore, the headlines: australians say "yes" to same sex marriage. more than sixty one per cent back the move, in a nationwide survey. america's top diplomat heads to myanmar but can rex tillerson help ease the rohingya crisis? also in the programme. french president — emmanuel macron — warns donald trump and vladimir putin are threatening western values. and the spice island swapped for manhattan. an indonesian outpost celebrates its history — and bids for world heritage status. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. good morning. it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london and ham in australia where people have voted in favour of legalising same—sex marriage.

the results of an eight—week postal vote in which more than three—quarters of eligible voters took part, were announced an hour ago. more than 61% of eligible voters support the move. the government has promised to enact legislation enabling same sex marriage by the end of the year. this is the moment the announcement was made. for the national result, yes responses 7 million 800017,000 and 247, representing 61.6% of key responses. 61.6% prismall —— responses. 61.6% prismall —— responses. 4 million 8000 70,987 for the no. 38th point 1% of their

responses were no. the australian or of statistics announcing the result. 0ur correspondent hywel griffith is in sydney. many in the yes camp at prince alfred park celebrating that moment. can you set this into context. what is it like on the ground and what does it mean for australia? in terms of the initial reaction, maybe, as you expect, it was heartfelt, loud and very, very proud. although the opinion polls had suggested the yes campaign would win, nothing is taken for granted. there were tears, hopes and an awful lot of partying to be done. in terms of history, this is a landmark to equal the aboriginal

right referendum. however, it is not over the line in yet. they are looking to get legislation passed and that the prime minister malcolm turnbull says it could be done like christmas. many people will be tying the not are the expectations but nothing has changed in terms of the law and it will have to be debated in parliament and amendments made in the marriage act. how challenging will that be? there are to bills at the moment. 0ne backed by the prime minister and most of the political parties which would bring a change in law meaning gay and straight couples can marry in the same way. there is a counter deal preferred by more conservative politicians were they want measures put in to preserve religious freedoms and

allow some people who do not want to be part of weddings, who do not want their businesses to be part of gay weddings, they want those kind of measures put in and the prime minister says that bill has no chance. it will be a bit of a battle of wills in the next couple of weeks i think, however, of wills in the next couple of weeks ithink, however, it of wills in the next couple of weeks i think, however, it is likely to come through since the prime minister, the leader of the 0pposition will get their politicians to fall in line. people here are crossing their fingers that it will come in before christmas. celebrations continuing in sydney. we will have more coming from australia later. in breaking news, soldiers are reported to have taken over the headquarters of zimbabwe's national broadcaster ‘s abc. vehicles are seen on roads outside the camp in harare. earlier they

we re the camp in harare. earlier they were denials of suggestions of a coup. the ruling party has accused the top general of treason after he said the military was prepared to intervene in politics. in recent days mr mugabe has sacked a number of officials who do not want his wife, grace, to succeed him. we will bring the latest to you here on bbc world news. let's take a look at our other top story — the us secretary of state rex tillerson will meet the head of myanmar‘s military on wednesday to discuss putting an end to the violence in rakhine state. more than 600,000 rohingyas have now fled to bangladesh. 0ur washington correspondent barbara plett—usher says mr tillerson has called for a ‘credible' investigation into those who have committed atrocities. he has spoken out on myanmar a couple of times, he has stopped about the violence they and calling foran about the violence they and calling for an end to it. saying the army has to guarantee it the security of

refugees and create conditions so that they can come back. he has called for full access to the media and even terry and organisations and he has called for an incredible organisation that would lead to accountability of those who committed the atrocities. he will press those messages when he goes on wednesday as well although it has to be said, we havejust had wednesday as well although it has to be said, we have just had the myanmar military come out with its own internal investigation saying they did nothing wrong soldiers did not kill, rape or torture anyone. it is not a very auspicious beginning to rex tillerson's trip. his focus will be to try to get stabilisation of the province. also this hour — president trump's authority to launch a nuclear attack is to be examined by congress. it's the first time this has happened to a us leader in more than 40 years. mr trump has previously vowed to unleash "fire and fury like the world has never

seen" on north korea if it continued to expand its atomic weapons programme. it comes at the end of the president's five nation tour of asia and he's been giving reporters his assessment of the trip. very proud of it. from a standpoint of security and safety and military very proud of it. and trade numbers it will not over the years. they will be treating us much differently than they have in the past. people we re than they have in the past. people were taking advantage, countries we re were taking advantage, countries were taking advantage, countries were taking advantage, countries were taking advantage of the united states, more than just this region but the world and those days at are over. the us attorney general, jeff sessions, has dismissed claims that he misled members of congress about contacts between the trump campaign and russian representatives. in evidence to the house judiciary committee, mr sessions emphatically denied that he had lied under oath during previous testimony. more than two days after a powerful earthquake on iran's border with iraq, tens of thousands of people are still in desperate need of help.

the majority of the casualties and the damage were on the iranian side of the frontier. some survivors there have complained about the slow pace of the relief effort. more than 460 people died in the quake. at least five people, including a gunman, have been killed in a shooting at an elementary school in northern california. several people including three children were injured in the shooting at the rancho tehama school. the gunman is said to have fired randomly until two police officers killed him. at least seven scenes are being investigated and police say there may be more victims. this is the barbie new model which is due to be released wearing a hijab. it has been made to honour an american fencer who became the first us woman to wear the headscarf while competing at the olympic games. ibtihaj muhammad won a bronze medal at the rio 0lympics last year, and says the doll is a "childhood dream come true". the president of france, emmanuel macron, has told the bbc

that donald trump and vladimir putin are threatening western values of openness and tolerance. it is now 6 months since mr macron took office, promising to transform french society, the economy and even its modern sense of identity in the world. 0ur paris correspondent lucy williamson, who travelled with the president to abu dhabi recently, sent this report. most presidents enjoy a flash of military uniform in their schedules, a tang of old fashioned global power, but emmanuel macron is fighting his own slippery battle for french influence abroad. jihadi groups in this region have built a grand narrative around their vision, he says, the west needs one too, based on openness, tolerance and democracy. at the opening of a new louve museum in abu dhabi, he told me those values were under threat from leaders like vladimir putin and donald trump. if you don't defend these values, it will become harder and harder, iagree.

but is it harder now, is it under threat? i mean for sure it's a threat, for sure. but first of all, you have to speak and discuss with those leaders because sometimes there's a chance, they were not like that at the very beginning, and the explanation of the divergence is very often due to their paranoia of the threat and their willingness to protect something and to be much more nervous about what they want to protect, but forgetting the fact that part of their own civilisation is about openness. if you decide just to push them back from europe and all that you see, you are betraying our values. it's bad, you lose them. but does it work? when you sat down with mr trump and mr putin, have you found that you've been able to affect real change? i mean it's not overnight effect, for sure. i'm optimistic and i can... i'm extremely (inaudible). so i will insist and insist and insist. macron ran his election campaign

by insisting on the power of liberal values to solve france's problems, including its most pressing one — jobs. this area used to be the centre of a booming leather industry, with more than 100 factories. serge cathala's factory is one ofjust a dozen left. unemployment here is 21%, twice the national average, but president macron's sweeping reforms means serge has begun hiring again. translation: what's great about macron is that he's young, he looks like he's got guts. nobody‘s going to walk all over him, unlike his predecessors, and he's got good ideas, more flexibility for company owners to hire people and more freedom. a company needs leaders who will let them work. president macron has already reformed france's rigid labour law to curb the power of the unions, but this area's favourites for president were the protectionist candidates on the far—right and far—left. and in cafes like this one,

mr macron's plans to extend unemployment insurance have less impact than say his tax break for french millionaires. translation: he's the president of the rich. he hasn't changed my life or the lives of the people in this town. we are the little people and i don't know if this man is going to change things for us. here in paris, six months ago, mr macron vowed to remake french politics. since then, he's been criticised for being more king than president. even some of those who agree with mr macron's analysis have questioned his style as president. were some see clarity, determination and poise, where some see clarity, determination and poise, others see arrogance, pomposity and hubris. mr macron has said modesty doesn't interest him because he's france's last chance to prove to itself that openness, tolerance and democracy work. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. you're watching newsday on the bbc.

still to come on the programme: we'll have more reaction from sydney after australians voted in favour of same sex marriage. also on the programme: we report on the indonesian island that's so special its residents are hoping for world heritage status. berliners from both east and west linked hands and danced round their liberated territory. and, with nobody to stop them, it wasn't long before the first attempts were made to destroy the structure itself. it's keeping the candidate's name always in the public eye that counts. success or failure depends not only on public display but on the local campaign headquarters and the heavy routine work of their women volunteers. yasser arafat, who dominated the palestinian cause for so long, has died. the palestinian authority has declared a state of mourning for the leader who symbolised his people's hopes

for independent statehood. in the wake of the colombian volcano disaster, rescue teams are trying to reach thousands of survivors who managed to clamber onto rooftops and trees above the sea of mud. after 17 years of discussion, the result was greeted with an outburst ofjoy. women ministers who'd long felt only grudgingly accepted amongst the ranks of clergy suddenly felt welcomed. welcome back. the headlines: australians have voted in favour of legalising same—sex marriage. more than 61% of voters support the move. the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, will use his upcoming visit to myanmar to try and stop violence against rohingya muslims. he will again meet defactor leader aung san suu kyi. now — do you everforget

to take your medication? well, advances in technology may hold the answer. the us food and drug administration has just approved the ‘digital pill‘ — which can tell doctors, when a patient takes their medicine. that's trending on bbc.com. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. let's start with the philippine star which reports the association of southeast asian nations, the us and the european union have agreed to uphold the freedom of navigation in the south china sea. it also reports president duterte considered it a "personal and official insult" that canadian prime ministerjustin trudeau had discussed extra—judicial killings in an informal meeting with him. the state—run newspaper the china daily says beijing has assured leaders at the asean summit of safe navigation in the south china sea.

premier li keqiang said as the largest country in the south china sea and a major user of its sea lanes, he wants peace. the japan times reports us commerce secretary wilbur ross has urged japanese automakers to reduce exports. he says he wants to make it "more attractive" forjapanese companies to engage in production in the us. this, of course, is to try to cut the trade deficit. we are getting reports from the reuters news agency. the loud explosions have been heard in the capital of zimbabwe, harare. soldiers are reported to have taken

over the national broadcaster, zpbc. there are reports armoured vehicles have been seen on roads outside the capital. there are reports that a coup was under way. you may well remember that earlier, the ambassador of the country denied those suggestions of a coup. the ruling party has been accused by the top generalfor treason ruling party has been accused by the top general for treason after he said the military was prepared to intervene in politics. this is all come about in recent days after robert mugabe sacked a number of officials who don't want his wife to succeed him. it seems to be that some kind of situation is involving —— evolving in central harare. loud explosions following reports that the state broadcaster has come off air. we will keep you updated. let's get more on our main news this hour — of the sydney mardi gras — and i understand as the result was announce james — you proposed?

you are thrilled, aren't you? did you say yes? i said yes. congratulations to both of you. i know there is one earpiece between the two of you. you should be ok. congratulations. you still looked a bit shellshocked. i know that this has come... very unexpected. he is from the uk survey used a gay marriage for a long time. we are just catching up down here in australia. i did a sense that british accent coming through. the

both of you, very momentous day. just give us your reaction, not only to be newly engaged but that both results that we got, 61.8% in favour of same—sex marriage in australia. the country said yes and he said yes. we are so proud of this country that the population, we should never have done this postal survey in the first place. it was a political situation but the country to come overwhelmingly in support, we are thrilled and now we are engaged. we are doubly thrilled. the question for both of you, where do you think you are going to get married? stuart, you are still coming to terms with the question but it's still not legal in australia but it is in the uk. what are your plans? the prime minister has said it should happen by christmas. we've got to put a lot of pressure on them

to legislate for it. there is of course mardi gras next year in march. really, the country has overwhelmingly spoken for marriage equality. the politicians have got to get their act together and sort it out. stuart, where would you like to get married? i suppose we will have to wait and see how the law stands in the months to come. that might bea stands in the months to come. that might be a big deciding factor. we are thrilled view, congratulations again. thank you so much. 0nce again, congratulations to the happy couple. now the island of manhattan at the heart of new york city is a pretty valuable piece of land, but it seems it wasn't always that way. 300 years ago the dutch gave it to the british in return for a tiny spice island in what is now indonesia. back then, manhattan (tx was far less valuable

than the indonesian island of run one of a cluster of islands rich in valuable nutmeg, known as the banda islands. well islanders are now lobbying to have their home recognised as a world heritage site. rebecca hensche reports. iam from i am from the banda islands. this is run island which was exchanged for manhattan in 1667 so now we want to put run back onto the map again. manhattan in 1667 so now we want to put run back onto the map againm seems like a bad deal when you think about it now but at the time, it was about it now but at the time, it was a very good deal for the dutch. they we re a very good deal for the dutch. they were not doing anything in manhattan and yet they desperately needed the island of run to complete their

monopoly, their hold over the source of nutmeg, the only source in the world for nutmeg. and this is what made these islands so valuable, nutmeg on a commodity at that time worth more than gold because he was the only place you could find it. the mentality of the local people... in order to control the local people, the dutch generals massacred, basically in sturm to be indigenous people. almost half the population of 15,000 people were slaughtered. the rest fled or were

taken to other islands as slaves. the trade of this island and the war of the dutch and the british. that is an extraordinary history to have. things are much quieter these days on the island of run. we saw pod of dolphins go past our boat but on the island itself, there is electricity a few hours a day on the street they have called manhattan. locals are hoping that this festival will bring the eyes of the world back on these islands. new york might be the

centre of the world but run is the centre of the world but run is the centre of the world but run is the centre of mega marine diet bite —— biodiversity. we have wales and dolphins and new york is just a concrete jungle but still, dolphins and new york is just a concretejungle but still, i wouldn't mind an apartment on central park. more are now breaking news from zimbabwe that we are getting reports that loud explosions have been heard in the capital, harare and reports that armoured vehicles have entered the capital city. in the past our power, zimbabwe has reported that soldiers indeed in the country have taken over the state broadcaster, zbc. this is amid tensions between

president robert mugabe and the armed forces after the general of the army warned that he was prepared to intervene after robert mugabe fired a number of his officials in his cabinet last week, many thinking he is paving the way for his wife, grace, to take charge. we'll keep you more information on that. the loud explosions have been reported in central harare in zimbabwe. you have been watching newsday. stay with us, coming up — in the pink. as all eyes are on australia and that yes vote on same sex marriage, we'll be looking at the pink dollar and the purchasing power of gay australians. hi there. many of us, wednesday is

going to dawn on a pretty grey and cloudy day. competing with the story is really for wednesday. we have a big ridge of high pressure keeping the weather quite across much of the uk however a small area of low pressure has just trickled underneath the high and bought us a lot of cloud across england, thick enough to bring us some outbreaks of patchy rain and drizzle particularly across eastern england first thing. elsewhere a few fog patches are the high ground notably across the high parts of wales and south england circa many of us, a cloudy start the least that is early morning patchy rain across eastern england clearing out of the way so with a bit more detail, the morning forecast, a bit grey over the tops of the brecon beacons, the moors of south—west england with some hill fog patches. a bitter fog across the salusbury

plains and the downs and chilterns otherwise this thick cloud bringing patchy outbreaks of rain for the first part of the morning. that way and look away pretty quickly. a few fog patches on the values of northern ireland. some sunshine to scotla nd northern ireland. some sunshine to scotland but it is cold, low enough for a touch of frost across sheltered northern areas. as we go across the rest of wednesday, that rain should clear out but it will stay cloudy across the midlands and eastern england. the weather brightens up the north—west england and wales with some sunny spells here but no doubt about it, the best of the sunshine will be across scotland, particularly eastern areas. rain threatening the western isles. through wednesday evening in overnight, rain becoming a bit more extensive overnight, rain becoming a bit more exte ns ive a cross overnight, rain becoming a bit more extensive across western areas. rather patchy nature nevertheless but nevertheless some damp weather pushes its way in. this is the cold front reaching scotland and northern ireland, bringing heavy a further rain towards the end of the night. looking at the weather charts, this cold front will be sliding its way southwards, bringing a spell of heavy rain. lunchtime across northern england, across wales as well. to the south, a lot of cloud.

behind the front, a big clearance. much more on the web sunshine moving into northern ireland, scotland and north of england. sunny, yes, but also colder. notice the single figure temperatures. for friday, many of us with a decent day, bright and sunny spells but a number of costly shower was affecting the far north of scotland. those showers could gather to give some lengthy spells a brain. this weekend, sunny spells a brain. this weekend, sunny spells around. showers across northern and western areas. quite a chilly wind, particularly on saturday, the windfall in a bit vital on sunday. that is your latest weather. i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story: australians have voted in favour of legalising same—sex marriage in an historic postal survey. more than 61% of voters support the move. the government has promised to enact legislation enabling same sex marriage by the end of the year. in zimbabwe the ruling party has

accused the general of treason after accused the general of treason after a possible coup attempt. a stranded killer whale was rescued by military personnel in new zealand who happened to be in the area on an exercise. they dug a trench and managed to float the whale into deep water enabling it to swim back out to sea. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news it's time for extra time.