am sharanjit leyl in singapore. the headlines: ‘s army takes over the country entertains the president. —— zimbabwe's. country entertains the president. —— zimba bwe‘s. donald trump country entertains the president. —— zimbabwe's. donald trump is his own glowing assessment of his tour of asia, it declaring success in uniting as against the threat in north korea. i am babita sharma in london. also in the programme: with special report from bangladesh, now home to hundreds of thousands who fled violence in myanmar. no wonder they are calling this the mega camp. just look at it. there are now more people living here than in washington, dc. there is therefore benedict allen, missing weeks after delving into the most dangerous and promote part of papua new guinea. good morning.

it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london and 2am in the morning in zimbabwe's capital, harare, where nearly 2a hours after the military mobilised to seize power, there have been mixed reactions to the intervention. zimba bwe‘s long—standing leader, robert mugabe, is still president, but is believed to be under house arrest. the whereabouts of his wife grace, who was bidding to succeed him as president, are not clear: there are unconfirmed reports that she's fled to namibia. well, our corresponded in zimbabwe, shingai nyoka, sent this report. —— correspondent. this is what zimbabweans woke up to this morning — tanks on the streets of their capital city, something that has never happened in nearly a0 years of independence, followed by a statement from the military on state tv, saying the mugabe family was safe and that this was not a coup.

what the zimbabwe defence forces is doing is to pacify a degenerating political, social and economic situation in our country, which, if not addressed, may result in a violent conflict. overnight, president mugabe, the world's oldest leader, lost control of the country he has led for 37 years. and though the generals say he remains president, he is clearly no longer calling the shots. the presence of the military is being felt here on the streets of harare and some parts of the city are in lockdown. now, this is as close as we can get to some of the military tanks that have stationed themselves in strategic positions. one, as you can see here, has blocked off access to the president's office. there's another that has blocked off access to parliament. the president still has his supporters, especially in the rural areas, but here in harare, it is a different story. translation: we're going to have a good life now.

we're looking forward to christmas because of what has happened. we want to thank those who organised this and we want them to remain until our problems are resolved. translation: i want to thank the general for removing this tyrant. he was ruling the country as if it belonged to his family. much now depends on how zimbabwe's neighbours react to this situation, especially south africa. its president, jacob zuma, spoke on the phone to mr mugabe earlier and has now sent south africa's defence minister to assess the situation first—hand. i am hoping that the defence force will not move and do more damage, that they will be able to respect the constitution of zimbabwe as well as the people of zimbabwe. but ultimately, this takeover is down to a power struggle within zimbabwe's ruling zanu—pf. last week, emmerson mnangagwa was sacked as vice president. a loyal ally, he was, like mugabe, a veteran of the country's

struggle for independence. but in recent years, he's found himself up against this woman, grace mugabe, the president's young, ambitious and some would say ruthless wife, a one—time typist and now one of the most powerful political figures in the country, with plans to take over as vice president. she remains a divisive figure among party supporters. just last week, she was met with boos while attending a rally. i don't care! since the takeover, the military has begun to arrest those close to her and the british foreign office issued a warning to british nationals in the city. stay at home. stay in your hotel room. wait until things settle down a little bit. tonight, the city remains in relative calm. so far, a bloodless military takeover, but it leaves those inside the country

wondering what lies ahead. change is under way but whether it's the change zimbabweans have been yearning for is far from clear. shingai nkoya, bbc news, zimbabwe. and we will have more on zimbabwe later in the programme. our other top story this our: president trump has been speaking for the first time since returning from his tour of asia. he said the united states was "confident again about the future", and that the days of other countries taking advantage of america on trade we re taking advantage of america on trade were over. he said one of his main goals on this trip was uniting the world against north korea. we will not allow anyone to hold us to ransom against the nuclear threat. we suggest cutting off all thais and trade until it stops is dangerous

provocation on, and this is the key to what we're doing, on the nuclearisation. —— cutting off "confident again about the future". we need to continue to rise north korea. as a result of moves we have taken we have already seen progress, including new sanctions from the un council. we have a security council that has been with us and just about with us from the beginning. also this hour: rescue teams in greece say 15 people are now known to have died in flash flooding near the capital, athens. homes and businesses were inundated and rose completely destroyed after the worst storms to hit the region in two decades. rescue teams a access to some areas is difficult. the german chancellor, angela merkel, has called for greater efforts to tackle global warming. speaking at a meeting in the german city of bonn, she said the paris agreement which seeks to limit the rise in world temperatures to less than two degrees, should be just the start of the process. three very sheepish—looking us

athletes have returned to the us after being arrested in china for shoplifting. the ucla basketball players were caught stealing sunglasses from a high—end shopping centre in china. they were in the country taking part in a college match. mr trump reportedly spoke to his chinese counterpart while on tour in asia. he later tweeted that the sportsmen were heading for a lengthy prison term had he not intervened. now, take a look at this planet, because it is the closest that astronomers have found, so far, to a twin for our planet, planet earth. it has a relatively mild climate which, it is believed, might possibly harbour life. it's called ross i28b and temperatures range from —60 to a perfectly bearable 20 celsius. just one catch — it's 11 light years away from our solar system. a painting of christ

by leonardo da vinci is due to be auctioned in new york shortly. it's the only one of his works still to be in private hands. the masterpiece could be sold for up to $150 million, which would be a record for a painting by an old master. frantic activity in new york. this is the seen daylight where it has just gone 7:10. we are expecting bidding to get under way for this classic leonardo da vinci painting that came out of nowhere in 2005. it was then sold a few years ago for $127 million, to a russian owner. private hands, but now it is going back out there. it will be interesting to see what pricetag he picture —— the picture called christ by leonardo da vinci goes for. the us secretary of state rex tillerson has called for a credible and independent investigation

into myanmar‘s rohingya crisis. he's been in myanmar, to meet the head of its military and its de facto leader, aung sang suu kyi. over the past few months, hundreds of thousands of rohingya refugees have fled myanmar because of what's been described as "textbook ethnic cleansing". our correspondent justin rowlatt has been to what's rapidly becoming the world's biggest refugee camp in the port city of cox's bazar. a bangladeshi army speedboat patrols the river that marks the border with myanmar. from the boat, you can see tens and hundreds of people trapped on the beaches. they are desperate to escape. so desperate they will ta ke to escape. so desperate they will take incredible risks. some 60 people arrived on this raft made of plastic containers, lashed together with rope. one big wave could have broken it apart. yet babies and

grandparents made the journey. broken it apart. yet babies and grandparents made thejourney. they tell the same, now familiar stories of violence and horror. " they kept us on of violence and horror. " they kept usona of violence and horror. " they kept us on a beach for a month and a half," she says. " we had so little food. the army shot my husband, leading him on one night. " like many new arrivals, they are in terrible shape. noor is two and half yea rs old terrible shape. noor is two and half years old and severely malnourished. if she does not receive nutritious foods then, it could affect her development for life. one in four children are now malnourished. we expect the situation to deteriorate before it improves. we have a crisis here, now. a dozen people will be given food at this one feeding station today. it is basic nutrition, just rice, lentils, and a little oil, but it is enough to keep

you alive. there are now more than 800,000 rohingya refugees here. no wonder they are calling this the mega camp. just look at it. there are now more people living here than in washington, dc. and every day, it grows and grows. things are getting more orderly. the mega camp is getting roads and bridges. thousands of toilets have been dug injust the last few weeks. geophysicists use drones to find aquifers deep underground. those are clays and shells. and the reds are aquifers. how important is clean water in a situation like this? it is fundamental to everything you. without that, we will have outbreaks of disease within days or a few weeks or months. but the truth is

this is still basically a giant, open—air prison. soldiers guard the roads out of the camp. refugees are not allowed to leave. and they can't go back to myanmar. despite all the evidence of atrocities, early this week, the myanmar government issued a report that exonerated its army from any blame. justin rowlatt, bbc news, bangladesh. a little earlier, i spoke to an expert from the brookings institute who has also written a book about promoting peace in myanmar. she explained why the timing of the us secretary of state's announcement was important. the first thing to point out is that rex tillerson's call for an investigation is a significant one. particularly because it comes in the wa ke particularly because it comes in the wake of a military reportjust two days ago, where the myanmar military acted asjudge days ago, where the myanmar military acted as judge and jury and

exonerated itself and clear of any blame for the extrajudicial killings, the torture, rape, arson, and losing that has happened in myanmar villages. —— looting that has happened in rohingya villages. i think what he did highlight was the repercussions if the military government continued to, sorry, if the military government continued to ignore calls from the international community to stop human rights abuses. this highlighted the fact that he was open to targeted sanctions against individuals and the military who were found responsible for acts considered unacceptable responsible for acts considered u na cce pta ble by responsible for acts considered unacceptable by the united states government. your watching newsday on

the bbc. still to come on the programme. these grow for the safety of the british explorer benedict allen missing after weeks after venturing into the dangerous a corner of papua new guinea. also in the programme: we follow the journey of these rare blue macaws, travelling to meet a group of experts who may hold the secret to their species' survival. 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. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl, in singapore. i'm babita sharma, in london. our top stories: zimba bwe's army take over the country, and place robert mugabe under house arrest. but the generals claim it's not a coup. and donald trump, declares his tour of asia a success. claiming the united states is "confident again about the future". let's take a look at some front pages from around the world: the front page of china daily is dominated by

the military takeover in zimbabwe. as zimbabwe's close friend, china is its biggest trading partner and the paper says its urged all parties to keep restraint in interests of zimbabwe. the international edition of new york times reports on america's worry about recent strong actions of the saudi's crown prince. mohamed bin salman has detained some of saudi's royals and business elite. the news paper says washington is worried that saudi's impulsive actions could destabilise the region. french daily ‘le figaro' has a picture of hollywood mogul harvey weinstein and his wife. it's carries an in—depth report on how, after the fall of weinstein, cascading new revelations on sexual abuses are tarnishing the image of the mythical dream factory. a search has been launched in papua new guinea for a british

explorer, who'd been trying to make contact with a remote jungle tribe. benedict allen hasn't been heard from for the past three weeks and has missed his flight home. tom donkin reports. benedict allen has made a career survived the wilderness. his is crossed the gobi desert on foot and survived malaria but on his latest exhibition, his family are faring the worst. he was dropped in a remote the worst. he was dropped in a re m ote pa rt the worst. he was dropped in a remote pa rt of the worst. he was dropped in a remote part of papua new guinea last month. was hoping to find a reclusive driver who first met 30 yea rs reclusive driver who first met 30 years ago. back then he was met with hostility but was eventually accepted. that was the entrance. we marched in through here into this arena... while the dangers of obvious, his friend, who made a documentary with him last year, is

staying optimistic. he's going on his own, no mobile phone, he was dropped by helicopter in a depressed place where missionaries have abandoned it. he is a resourceful, tough guy who absolutely loves this kind of thing. he will be in his own paradise. until he makes content, i think a lot of people will be worried. benedict allen has missed all his schedule flights home and it is missing in of the world are few know or understand. the fact he understands. this is a tweet he posted just before leaving... with that in mind, those who know him best are left hoping. my home is on

the other side of the planet with my family. a man who spent his lifetime being lost will soon be found. let's return to our top story: the takeover in zimbabwe. there have been mixed reactions to the intervention: supporters of zimbabwe's long—standing leader, robert mugabe, insist this is not a coup, and that he is still president. a short time ago, a representative of the ruling zanu pf party, who's based here in london, talked about the day's events to my colleague emily maitlis. president mugabe is still in power. he is the president of zimbabwe. even though his locked in his home? even though his locked in his home? even though his home, protected by the army. why does the need to be protected ? the army. why does the need to be protected? he is protected with a full residential guard. are you telling me nothing has happened? that it is not dysfunctional to have the state would cast taken over and

have a president locked in his home? what has not happened is a coup. so is this, or is this not a coup? zanu pf‘s representative says no. i put the same question to fungayi mabhunu an anti—mugabe campaigner here in london. from what the army is saying, they saying it is not a military takeover and they are trying to put things right. they realise that mugabe is surrounded by a lot of bugs and they wa nted surrounded by a lot of bugs and they wanted to leave of the thugs. the announcement they made on tv and what we have heard from friends, the army is in charge. what is your assessment? it is the army taking over and forcing mugabe to step down. we are hearing that may be tomorrow that will make an

announcement but we are all in the dark. all we know is what was said by major general sibusiso moyo and general constantine chiwenga on radio. we have heard from zanu pf and then they said the party is still very much in control. they think they are daydreaming. from what we have seen, the right to factions in zanu pf. one for vice president emmerson mnangagwa and one for grace mugabe and the party was split. on the line of succession, the army salt grace was getting the nod so they decided to act. it is at scramble within zanu pf, it is a

party issue. zanu pf are trying to resolve their problems. we introduced to as an antique mugabe campaigner. you have been campaigning for his removalfor yea rs. at campaigning for his removalfor years. at this point, where we stand today, do you think this is it to him? we are not sure. we do not trust zanu pf. we will only trust when we have an inclusive transition. we want a transition thatis transition. we want a transition that is all—inclusive of opposition parties at... did you think we would get to this stage, unprecedented scenes? are now within not know. this is zanu pf issue and nothing to do with the national crisis so until there is a transition government or free and credible elections that internationally monitored, we can go and celebrate but this now it is

just speculation and we do not know. with their beautiful blue plumage, the spix's macaw is a critically endangered species of brazilian parrot. it's so rare that some experts now believe it may already be extinct in the wild. but six blue macaws — some spix's and some lears — have arrived in singapore for some tlc. we are waiting to the arrival of two very important passengers, to spix's macaw. it is an 18 hour flight and we will greet the plan on arrival. -- air we will greet the plan on arrival. —— air plane. we make sure they are exported from

countries that are free from bird flew they have to comply with conditions and we make sure they are healthy, free from diseases and are they under goat tests to make sure they under goat tests to make sure they are free from bird flew. the first morning in singapore. so far, frieda, the spix's macaw is happy and interacting with staff. they are endangered now. the spix's macaw is possibly extinct in the wild. we are trying to keep them one

step away from extension. extension is forever. if nothing is done to save these birds, they will disappearfrom save these birds, they will disappear from the face of the earth. just such a beautiful birds. you have been watching newsday. stay with us..coming up — the united arab emirates has unveiled. an ambitious space programme. we'll see why dubai plans to grow palm trees and lettuce on mars. and we've leave you with the pope and a lamborghini. it's an unusal pairing but pope francis autographed the special edition white lamborghini huracan in rome. the 230 thousand dollar supercar is being auctioned at the request of the pope with the proceeds going to three of his favoured for many of us it will be another pretty cloudy start to the day on

thursday but significant weather changes because of this cold front is going to be sliding southwards as we go on through the day and behind that we're going to see the skies turning arch brighter with much more in the way of sunshine. before we get there, for the early rises, a few bob patches across south—east england. a lot of cloud. the band of rain affecting northern ireland and scotla nd rain affecting northern ireland and scotland first thing. it will clear southward and scotland first thing. it will clear southwa rd and then scotland first thing. it will clear southward and then write another with sunshine. let's see how things progress through the morning or not moving away from northern line and, more than wales will turn wet. brighter spells at across south—west england and the midlands. the east anglia and south—east england, quite a great start to the day with low cloud or fog first thing in the morning. rain across northern england could we have if a time. behind that, disguise running significantly but not completely dried in scotland with a number of

showers particularly across north—western areas of the country and blustery winds. the rest of thursday, the band of rain pushes southwards with a few breaks in the clouds. as it works towards a south—east england, arriving in londonderry around four o'clock in the afternoon, barely any rain left on it. to the north, as the sunshine comes out, down goes the temperature. during thursday evening, the band of rain clearing with clear skies, it will be a cold night. towns and cities cabbages getting down to three degrees or so. in the countryside, lowest temperatures could get down to —5. widespread frost in the country perhaps not in scotland because barack brisk winds which are there in the friday as well. for most of us, friday at decent and to the week with plenty of such an around and

temperatures are little below par for the time of the year with highs of 7— ten. most of us will see sunshine on the weekend with showers knocking around across northern and western areas and quite chilly wind to boot on saturday and maybe rain arriving later on sunday in the west. sunny spells and just a few showers pushing southward. enjoying the day. —— enjoy. you are watching bbc world news. i am babita sharma. our top stories: zimbabwe's army take over the country, and detain the president. the military‘s takeover of power, and the house arrest of robert mugabe has been likened by many to a coup. but it is a claim denied by the army. president trump has used his first address since returning from asia to list what he considers to be his foreign policy achievements, saying the united states was "confident again about the future". and this story is trending on bbc.com:

a painting of christ by leonardo da vinci is currently being auctioned in new york. this is the live scene from christie ‘sin new york. it's the only one of his works still to be in private hands. the masterpiece could be sold for up to $150 million, a record for a painting by an old master. stay with us, and we will bring you the details when it sells. it is just