i'm rico hizon in singapore. this is newsday on the bbc. the headlines: after north korea's latest missile test, the us ambassador to the un issues another blunt warning to kim jong—un. if war comes, make no mistake, the north korean regime will be utterly destroyed. britain rebukes donald trump for sharing inflammatory anti—muslim videos posted on line by the far—right group, britain first. i'm ben bland in london. also in the programme: a convicted bosnian war criminal kills himself by drinking poison in court after his sentence is upheld. who are you? and we'll be speaking

to the director of the oscar—winning film, "elizabeth," shekhar kapoor, ahead of the 28th singapore international film festival. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. glad you could join us. it's 9am in singapore, 1am in london, and 8pm in the evening in new york, where an emergency meeting of the united nations security council is taking place. it follows the latest launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by north korea. experts believe this icbm could bring the us mainland within range, although north korea is yet to prove it has reached its aim of miniaturising a nuclear warhead. the us ambassador to the un warned the leadership in pyongyang that it would be "utterly destroyed" if war broke out. the dictator of north korea made a

choice yesterday to bring the world closer to war, not further from it. we have never sought war with north korea, and still today, we do not seek it. if war does come, it will be because of continued acts of aggression like we witnessed yesterday to be and if war comes, make no mistake, the north korean regime will be utterly destroyed. —— yesterday. let's speak to our correspondent, laura bicker, in washington. more tough talk from the us government. harsh words, yes, at that emergency meeting of the un security council. also, the us is demanding, urging, china to stop crude oil supplies to north korea. now, we are hearing that president trump called xi jinping now, we are hearing that president trump called xijinping earlier today from washington, from the

white house, and he asked him to stop those supplies. the us believes that one of the ways north korea is managing to keep their war machine going is through oriel. now, already this year, china have restricted oil and gas supplies to its neighbour. -- oil. and gas supplies to its neighbour. —— oil. but that does not include crude oil. and that is now what the us is asking them to do. china, for its part, has said to the un security meeting that it did not wa nt to security meeting that it did not want to cripple the economy of north korea or hurt the north korean people, and it urged both the un and north korea to make steps towards one another to find a peaceful resolution. and, laura bicker, apart from the stiff sanctions, you have the rhetoric, and donald trump calling north korea a terrorist state. what are the other options of

the un security council?” state. what are the other options of the un security council? i mean, it is just the un security council? i mean, it isjust one week the un security council? i mean, it is just one week since donald trump designated north korea as a state sponsor designated north korea as a state sponsor of terror, and it is two weeks since he was congratulating the leaders in asia for getting on board his policy of what he calls maximum pressure on north korea. what they want to do, and what nikki haley called for at this security council meeting, is to isolate kim jong—un‘s regime. he wants all countries to cut trade and diplomatic ties with north korea. the hope is that they will send a message to kim jong—un that he is not part of the world stage as long as he continues to develop nuclear weapons. however, that message does not, at the moment, seem to be getting through. the official position for the state department here in the us is to keep that pressure applied. but this is an unpredictable president, and it

still means all options are on the table according to the us. laura bicker in washington, thank you so much for the update. let's ta ke let's take a look at some of the day's other news. in the last few minutes, president trump tweeted the british pro minister. in that tweety said theresa may should not focus on him, adding he was doing just fine. —— prime minister. britain has rebuked president trump after he re—tweeted three inflammatory anti—muslim videos posted by a british far—right group. the videos purport to show muslims destroying a christian statue, killing a boy, and attacking a disabled man. but the white house insisted mr trump was keen to highlight genuine threats, regardless of whether the footage was real, as our correspondent, nick bryant, reports. britain first! fighting back! britain first is a far—right, anti—muslim group with a small membership, that often engages in publicity stunts to try to raise its profile. and early this morning it received a huge propaganda gift from donald trump, the "america first" president. on his twitter feed, he retweeted three inflammatory videos from the group's deputy

leader, jayda fransen, the first claiming incorrectly to show a muslim migrant attacking a man on crutches. you think you can take over towns, and tell us that it's your country? this is jayda fransen in action. earlier this month, she was charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour during speeches she made in belfast. for her, these presidential retweets are manna from heaven. "god bless you, trump," she tweeted. "god bless america." from the family of the murdered mp jo cox, there has been a despairing response. she was killed by a right—wing extremist who shouted "britain first." i have to say, i thought it was a horrendous thing to do. britain first is a well—known hate group. it drives hatred against muslims. and donald trump is the president of our nearest ally, and the fact that he didn't check first, or didn't even think about the content of those tweets before doing it, i think suggests his judgement is hugely lacking. merry christmas, said the president, as he ignored questions

about his tweeting. but downing street has spoken out, saying it was wrong for the president to have done this. it added that his invitation to make a state visit to britain next year still stands. as for the president's spokeswoman, she was unapologetic. the threat is real, the threat needs to be addressed, the threat has to be talked about, and that's what the president is doing in bringing that up. previous us administrations have liked to think of themselves as beacons of democratic values, but that has not been a high priority for the trump white house. many people around the world will be saddened and sickened to see the president of the united states appearing to validate tweets from a far—right group. ten months into this unorthodox and provocative presidency, donald trump still has the capacity to shock. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. one more thing. president trump

actually tweeted the wrong account, not the account of the british prime minister, and has now corrected the mistake. this is also making news today. pope francis has called on senior buddhist clerics in myanmar to overcome intolerance, prejudice, and hatred. he was speaking to the supreme council of buddhist monks after celebrating an open—air mass in front of tens of thousands of people. the pope is due to travel to neighbouring bangladesh on thursday to meet rohingya muslim refugees. translation: i would like my visit to embrace the entire population of myanmar, and to offer a word of encouragement towards building an inclusive and just social order. a 96—year—old former nazi ss guard has been told he must serve a four—year prison sentence despite his old age. oskar groening was known as the "bookkeeper of auschwitz." he was found guilty in 2015 of being an accessory to the murders of 300,000 people at the death camp in occupied poland. another big tv star in the us,

matt lauer, the morning anchor for nbc news, has been fired for sexual misconduct. he was sacked after a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behaviour. it comes just a week after cbs news fired its morning anchor, charlie rose, for similar reasons. apple has released an update of the latest operating system running on its mac computers to fix a serious security problem. the flaw in macos high sierra made it possible to access a computer without a password and change its settings. apple apologised to mac users for releasing the flawed software and for the concern it has caused. usually, people jump out of planes to get their kicks, but two french daredevils have gone one better! in a breathtaking stunt, the pair dived off a mountain in the alps, before gliding to jump into a plane in mid—air. it took them over 100 practice flights to perfect the dangerous feat.

you can see them lining up with the door... and there goes the first one. and the second one as well. i am glad to see the stunt finish safely! one of the most prominent figures in the bosnian civil war has killed himself in court after he was convicted of crimes against humanity. moments afterjudges had upheld his conviction at the international criminal tribunal in the hague, slobodan praljak said he rejected the verdict and drank what he said was poison. our middle east editor, jeremy bowen, who testified at the tribunal about his experiences reporting the conflict, has the story. his report contains some distressing images. slobodan praljak and his co—defendants were being told their appeals against long jail

sentences had failed, when praljak kept standing, to insist one last time that he was innocent. slobodan praljak is not a war criminal. i am rejecting the court ruling. he drank from a vial of liquid. i have taken poison. the court, dealing with its final case after 25 years, was stunned. don't take away the glass that he used when he drank something. the emergency services arrived. praljak died later in hospital. in 2007, i was a prosecution witness in the trial of praljak and his co—defendants in the hague. he cross—examined me, outraged that he was being prosecuted for, as he saw it, doing his duty. i testified because in 1993, in the depths of the bosnian war, i had seen what they had done in mostar, in the south of the country. this was the 400—year—old ottoman bridge, then under fire from praljak‘s forces. it was a symbol of the old bosnia that they wanted to dismantle. the destruction of the old bridge wasjust one item on a long list

of war crimes. in 1993, bosnian soldiers who were besieged on the east side of mostar, along with thousands of civilians, were fighting back against bosnian croat forces led by slobodan praljak. he was convicted of the murder of civilians, men like frano pavlovic. with his wife and his neighbours, i tried to help him, but he was already dead. civilians were dying because praljak and his co—defendants were trying to establish an ethnically uniform state for bosnian croats, which the court decided was a joint criminal enterprise. their war crimes included

the persecution of civilians, mainly muslims, they wanted to kill or expelled. at night, i saw civilians under fire being forced over the front line into east mostar. these pictures were evidence in praljak‘s trial. i heard many first—hand accounts of murder, rape and ethnic cleansing at the hands of bosnian croat forces from the traumatised people arriving in east mostar. after the war, the old bridge was rebuilt, but mostar and all of bosnia herzegovina is still divided on ethnic lines. at least the victims, thousands of whom appeared in the hague, have had somejustice from the international criminal tribunal for the former yugoslavia. its work to convict the worst war criminals europe has seen since the nazis should not be overshadowed by the suicide of slobodan praljak. you're watching newsday on the bbc.

still to come on the programme: we'll hear from the director of this oscar—winning film, "elizabeth," shekhar kapoor, ahead of the 28th singapore international film festival. also on the programme: this policeman in pakistan is going beyond the call of duty in a bid to improve perceptions of the police force. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i am feeling so helpless, that the childrens are dying in front of me and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippy cult suspected

of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at 11:00am this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands with and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite number from dover. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm ben bland in london. our top stories. following north korea's latest missile test — the us ambassador to the united nations has warned the north korean leadership that it

would be "utterly destroyed" if war broke out. politicians across the board have condemned president trump for re—tweeting anti—muslim videos posted by the far right group, britain first. but the white house says it's standing by the message. north korea's missile test is making the front pages of most asia—based newspapers on wednesday morning, including the japan times it leads with a picture of residents in pyongyang reacting to the news of the successful launch of the long—range ballistic missile. the straits times focuses on donald trump's promise of major sanctions against north korea. it talks about how the south korean president and japanese prime minister have also agreed to ramp up pressure against north korea. and the south china morning post has

a front page story about a us probe on chinese trade. washington is launching an anti—dumping investigation into imports of chinese sheet aluminium and says it is the first "self—initiated" probe by washington since 1991. now what stories are sparking discussions online? yes let's looks at what is trending right now. two us citizens are being held in thailand after they posted an online picture of themselves posing with their buttocks exposed at bangkok's famous wat arun temple. immigration authorities say the pair would be fined and deported. the country has very strict laws on behaviour considered disrespectful and offensive to its buddhist religion. planes are flying once again from the international airport in bali after being disrupted for three days. that was caused by an eruption of mount agung. up to 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate the area

close to the volcano. thousands of tourists have been stranded. our correspondent hywel griffiths is in bali. does this suggest that the area, but the danger is over? absolutely not. although these guys have opened over the airport, the condition of the volcano has not changed. there have been more earthquakes registered this morning. there is still a mass evacuation plan. the opening of the airport is significant for tourists and the balinese economy. flights are taking off but there is much confusion and delays. the flights resuming does not mean everyone can go home, there is a back log of tens of thousands of people who have been unable to lie. to try to relieve

that's situation are some airlines are promising extra flights. but that depends on the wind blowing the ash away from 100,000 people have something like 100,000 people have been told to evacuate and moved to a safer place. presumably some are relu cta nt to move ? safer place. presumably some are reluctant to move? we understand so far around reluctant to move? we understand so fararound 43,000 reluctant to move? we understand so far around 43,000 people have been evacuated from their homes which suggest around half are staying put. we were speaking to some people within the evacuation zone and they tell as they can not afford to leave. it is their livelihood that keeps them there, met it may be crops or livestock. they are reticent to leave. some say they will wait until they see lava flow from the volcano. the message from authorities is that they should leave although we have been in this state of imminent eruption and dangerfor a few

state of imminent eruption and danger for a few days now, it does not mean that the risk of gone away. more tremors registered this morning and that suggest that the volcano is still very dangerous. the singapore international film festival is back with its 28th edition and a host of international movies and talks for every kind of cinema—fan's taste. one of the heated discussion topics will no doubt be the stream of allegations against film mogul harvey weinstein that has rocked hollywood. one of the master classes featured at this year's singapore film festival is by shekhar kapur, the renowned indian director known for his biopics ‘bandit queen', the oscar—winning ‘elizabeth‘ and its sequel ‘elizabeth: the golden age'. earlier i asked him about the latest trends in asian cinema. something we have been saying for a long time but it's showing up now, asia is a new way of storytelling. our storytelling here comes from centuries and centuries of traditions of storytelling and in the west sometimes they call it melodramatic. i'm saying it's not

melodramatic, it is mythic. because life is mythic, being born is mythic, falling in love is mythic. it's also a sense of the culture. asia is dying to tell stories so the films coming out of asia have a lot more substance than the films coming out of the west. why? because we are new to it, because we have so many stories, it is like a jack—in—the—box effect. everybody is dying to tell a story. also because western cultures have kind of plateaued and asian cultures are rising and rediscovering themselves. that shows in our story telling. in the west, there is kind of a plateau. that's why they have so many franchises, they don't know what else to do. but of course, everyone still looks at hollywood as the benchmark. there is also the issue about diversity. there are many complaints by actors that hollywood that it is not inclusive to asian actors and actresses. for a long time, it starts in the script.

i remember, honestly, at one time, i was attached to telling the story of nelson mandela. that film with me never happened but i remember a hollywood producer telling me at that time, "who is interested in a story of a black man, internationally?" it starts at the script stage, not casting stage. people did not believe people would see films about coloured people and now we know how wrong they are. in the international market they believed nobody wants to see a film except for a caucasian man. now, everybody wants to see it. the major issue right now apart from diversity are the sexual harassment issues that have been born out of film mogul harvey weinstein. we have heard a lot about the hashtag me too and influential men taking advantage of young, aspiring actors. is this a big secret that is now rocking the film industry worldwide? it was never a secret. everybody knew. i can remember being there and people saying, ha ha ha, harvey is up to it again.

it's almost like in hollywood, they never grow up, it's like being a bad boy is like having a badge of honour. it actually doesn't start there. it starts from the way women are perceived to be objectified in film. every second film, the woman is objectified. that is the attitude. it was never a secret. a pakistani policeman has found fame on the internet after videos of him singing ‘naats' or religious songs were uploaded and widely shared. assistant superintendent shahbaz sami from the punjabi city of vehari hopes he can help improve the image of the police in pakistan who are often accused of being corrupt or inefficient. a talented policeman. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. thank you for watching, wherever you are. hello.

milder, well, less cold air will be with us for the weekend but with that, lots of cloud around. many of us in the day ahead will have sunshine and arctic air around high pressure to the west and low pressure to the east. arctic air, of course, it is very cold. widespread frost to start thursday. icy patches where we have had showers overnight and these are town and city temperatures. of course, it is colder in rural spots. the coldest parts of northern england and scotland will be down to about minus six or seven as the day begins. as many of us will start with some sunshine, we have sleet and snow showers affecting north—northeast scotland. down eastern coastal parts of england — as far south as norfolk. rain showers mainly for northern ireland. a bit of sleet to the hills. a scattering of these sleet and snow showers north—north—east scotland, but along the east coast, some of the showers will have pushed a little bit further inland so some accumulations in places like the hills to start the day. mainly rain showers western parts of wales, cornwall,

west devon, sleet and snow to the highest ground. cold, frosty, clear start to the day for most of us. sleet and snow showers along the coast and just inland across eastern parts of england. driven in by a strong — gale force wind here, showers continue for west wales, the far south—west of england. showers dotted about northern ireland and northern scotland. across much of southern england, the midlands, wales, north—west england, south—west scotland, will have sunshine, but another cold day. colder still when you factor in the wind. especially where it is strongest across the north sea coast. a subtle change of wind direction thursday evening and night, more of these sleet and snow showers pushed further inland, again, giving accumulations in place is especially on hills. out west, we stay mainly dry. a lot of clear, cold weather. quite a hard frost particularly across parts of scotland as we start off on friday morning. some sleet and snow showers, some accumulations to parts of eastern england on friday.

a lot of the showers turning to rain or sleet as we go on through the day. a lot fade to allow some sunshine to come through. a change for scotland and northern ireland as it clouds over from the north—west and a bit of patchy rain and hill snow starting to move in here. that is a sign of the change coming in for the weekend as this weather front moves through. we change the wind direction back to more from the atlantic rather than the arctic. that will be a change in the feel of the weather. less cold, milder air, moves in for weekend. as i mentioned earlier, it will come with plenty of cloud. i'm ben bland with bbc news. our top story: the north korean regime "will be utterly destroyed" if war breaks out. that is what the us ambassador, nicky hailey, told an emergency meeting of the un security council. it comes after north korea tested another ballistic missile with intercontinental range.

donald trump has told the uk to "focus on the destructive radical islamic terrorism," rather than him, after downing street said it was wrong for the president to share anti—muslim videos posted on line by the deputy leader of the far—right group britain first. and this video is trending on bbc.com. in a breathtaking stunt, a pair of french daredevils dived off a mountain in the alps, before gliding to jump into a plane in mid—air! it took them over 100 practice flights to perfect the dangerous feat. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk: the uk has