welcome to newsday, on bbc news. i'm rico hizon, in singapore. the headlines: the most radical tax overhaul in decades is set to pass congress, despite a last minute glitsch. china accuses donald trump of a "cold war mentality" after his key national security speech. i'm babita sharma, in london. also in the programme: the former colleague of hollywood producer harvey weinstein speaks exclusively to the bbc about her experience. hugh accused him of attempted rape? yes. and he denied it? yes, he said nothing at all had happened. and we report on the dozens of new wildlife species found in the mekong delta. 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 7pm in washington, where donald trump can celebrate perhaps the biggest victory of his presidency so far. well, sort of... the house of representatives has passed a major overhaul of the nation's tax laws. it includes steep cuts for the wealthy. the senate is expected to vote shortly. a last minute glitch could mean lawmakers having to vote again — though it's not expected to change the outcome. republicans are celebrating. 227 and the no, 203, it is adopted. it is laid upon the table! today we raise taxes on 86 million

middle—class families. 86 million middle—class families. 86 million middle—class families. 86 million middle—class families. 83% of the tax cuts to the wealthiest 1%. well donald trump has welcomed the house vote on social media. he tweeted his congratulations to what he said were the great republicans who had voted to cut taxes for americans. i asked our correspondent in washington, david willis, to run through what the president's tax changes would mean. cutting taxes, particularly for corporate organisations, businesses and for the middle class who the republicans is a will be better off under this legislation. where it differs as though is the corporate tax cut introduced under this appeal are permanent whereas the cuts for individuals and middle—class families are temporary and expire after ten yea rs families are temporary and expire after ten years and the democrats, who are very solidly against this legislation, argue that this will

balloon to the national deficit and indeed independent reviews suggest they are correct in this assumption and it has been said that up to $1 trillion could be added to the federal deficit because of this tax bill. talk us through what will happen next. it is very close. it is not quite made it through yet? happen next. it is very close. it is not quite made it through yewm has not. there has been a technical glitch. it has the house of representatives of this afternoon, with the lot of celebration that, only to go to the stand at where it was found some of the wording did not confirm with requirements in the senate because of the bills have to be identical, the once approved in the house and in the senate, it has to go back to the house of representatives and that vote will ta ke representatives and that vote will take place tomorrow morning and it is likely to go to the president for

signing perhaps later that same day and president trump will be very, very pleased to get his hands on this piece of legislation. a major legislative victory, assuming all goes well, in his time in office so far. also this hour — china has responded to donald trump's warning that the us is once again in competition with china and russia by accusing the president of returning to a cold war mentality. mr trump used a speech on monday to outline his national security plan and warned against engaging with untrustworthy rivals. china's foreign ministry said that was the wrong approach, and called for win—win co—operation. translation: we urged the us to stop its strategic content to smear china and abandon its cold war mentality and abandon its cold war mentality and abandon its cold war mentality and a zero—sum game 01’ and abandon its cold war mentality and a zero—sum game or else it will be detrimental to both sides. a bus crash in mexico. the brakes

automatically activated at the time of the accident rather than being applied by the engineer in the seattle train crash. because of the accident has not yet been explained. the passenger train came off the rails and crashed into a motorway. the saudi military says it has shot down a missile near the capital, riyadh. houthi rebels in yemen appear to have claimed responsibility, saying they launched a missile deep into saudi arabia. the houthis are currently engaged in fighting in yemen against a saudi—led coalition, which supports the yemeni government. the british and american governments have both, for the first time, accused north korea of being behind the wannacry ransomware attack which hit more than 300,000 computers earlier this year. billions of dollars of damage was caused, with hospitals and banks among those affected across 150 countries.

now — a cafe just round the corner from here in london's oxford street claims to be able to make the world's first selfie beverage, by printing a chocolate powder portrait from a photo on top of your drink. they're calling it, a "selficino". but of course, unlike other selfies this one only lasts until you start drinking it. hundreds of fans of the k—pop star kimjong—hyun have been gathering at the hospital where his dead body is being kept, to pay tribute to their idol. jong—hyun took his own life on monday, apparently unable to cope with the demands of stardom. we should warn you, this report from our correspondent in seoul, sophie long, contains flash photography. singing he found fame as the lead singer of shinee, one of south korea's biggest boy bands. k—pop led the so—called ‘korean wave' — the spread of korean

music and culture across the globe. it now has a massive international following, one that was perhaps too much for 27—year—old jonghyun. in a note to a friend, he said he felt "broken from the inside", and that the life of fame was "never meant for me". his death has triggered an outpouring of grief in seoul and around the world. we're always going to miss you. and i'm sorry that this is what you thought you needed to do. but we'll always love you. well, the hospital here in seoul wherejonghyun‘s body is resting has been open to the public for some hours and, as you can see, hundreds and hundreds of teenage girls have come here to pay their respects. jong—hyun‘s death has reopened the debate in south korea, a country with one of the highest suicide rates in the world, about how mental health is handled.

translation: i think our country has very high expectations towards celebrities. i have family with mental health issues, so it hit home. and it was very personal. hundreds of young people, who queued for hours in subzero temperatures, were sent home today. many more will return tomorrow to pay their respects to their idol. sophie long, bbc news, seoul. a former co—worker of hollywood producer harvey weinstein has told the bbc, how she was warned about his behaviour, and how she went on to warn other women that he could behave in an inappropriate manner. but zelda perkins says, matters escalated after he sexually assaulted a colleague and she accused him of attempted rape. mr weinstein denies all allegations of non—consensual sex. the bbc‘s colin paterson has more. this is 19 98th, harvey weinstein is that the peak of his powers, about

the release shakespeare in love which will win him an oscar the following year. in september, his personal assistance in the uk, zelda perkins who was 2a, quit. the night she has explained why. she enjoyed a number of years of sexual harassment and then came the final straw. number of years of sexual harassment and then came the final strawm came toa and then came the final strawm came to a head to you when he sexually assaulted, attempted rape oi'i sexually assaulted, attempted rape on your colleague? yes, we were at the venice film festival and he tried to rape her. and what did you do? she was extremely distressed. she was shaking, very distressed, it clearly in shock. did not want anybody to know, was absolutely terrified of the consequences, what would happen and... i spoke with her and tried to calm her for about half

and tried to calm her for about half an hourand then and tried to calm her for about half an hour and then i went straight downstairs to wear harvey was having a business meeting on the terrace and told me he needed to come with me right away. the me to have broken into a meeting like that was very unusual and he did not question me and got up and came with me straightaway because he knew why i was so angry straightaway because he knew why i was so angry and serious as i was. you accused him of attempted rape? yes. and he denied it? yes. he said nothing at all had happened and he swore on the life of his wife and children which was his best get out ofjail card. the two women secured legal representations. they were hoping to bring down harvey weinstein by revealing its behaviour to the walt disney co. because they owned miramax which is harvey weinstein‘s company but the lawyer

said this was not a realistic option added that the only option was a damages agreement and it was to agree the creation of procedures at miramax and therapy for mr weinstein. it is not known if these stipulations were carried out. she went on to sign a nondisclosure agreement and received £125,000 in damages. the interview she calls for us damages. the interview she calls for us to follow the changes in the us law. a spokesperson for harvey weinstein says he unequivocally denies any allegations of non— consensual sex. a longer version of the interview will be available on the interview will be available on the bbc website later today. colin paterson. in response to these allegations, a lawyer for harvey weinstein says he categorically denies engaging in any non—consensual or alleged threatening behaviour.

to myanmar now and the army says it has identified a mass grave on the edge of a village in rakhine state. the village is 48 kilometres north of state capital sittwe. the army did not say how many bodies were uncovered. 650,000 rohingya muslims have fled an offensive by the military, which the un accuses of ethnic cleansing. the wife of one of two reuters journalists imprisoned in mynamar has spoken to the bbc, saying she hopes he will be released but that she's worried about his current detention. wa lone along with his colleague, kyaw soe 0o was arrested last week. both men had worked on reuters' news coverage of the crisis in northern rakhine state, wa lone's wife spoke to the bbc about his dedication to his profession. translation: event when we were at

together outside of work time, if they were urgent things to cover that he had to follow, he would ask me to take care of myself and went to cover those stories. he never let his personal life get in the way of his personal life get in the way of his work. hisjob is his first priority. i worried about him sometime and i suggested that he should work at an ngo party does not wa nt to should work at an ngo party does not want to disconnect with their news and said he is a purejournalist, through and through, and does not ta ke through and through, and does not take sides in writing stories and is a lwa ys take sides in writing stories and is always impartial. the wife of a detained journalist in myanmar. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: horseshoe bats, crocodile lizards and this snail—eating turtle — we'll take a look at some of the new species which have been discovered across asia. also on the programme:

we meet the jane austen fan club in lahore and find out why the author's books have taken on a new meaning in modern—day pakistan. after eight months on the run, saddam hussein has been tracked down and captured by american forces. saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes but they brought a formal end to 3.5 years of conflict that has claimed over 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of serbia, bosnia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border was sealed and silent today. romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre in timisoara from leaking out.

from sex at the white house to a trial for his political life. the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed bill clinton his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon, in singapore. i'm babita sharma, in london. our top stories: donald trump's tax reforms look set to gain approval in both houses of congress, despite a last minute glitch over some of the small print. china has called on the us to abandon its cold war mentality, after donald trump's speech on national security accused beijing of trying to erode american security. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the japan times says the government's earthquake research

panel has warned of the possibility of a huge earthquake off the island of hokkaido. it reports the panel saying a magnitude nine earthquake may be "impending" in the area, which would likely trigger a massive tsunami. the new york times has a story from the philippines. the controversy over a vaccine against dengue fever. the picture here is of a creek in manila, where mosquitoes who spread the fever can breed. the government has suspended rollout of the vaccine amid safety fears and public anger over its use on schoolchildren. the gulf news reports on a vote expected at the un general assembly on a resolution rejecting donald trump's decision to recognise jerusalem as the capital of israel. it illustrates the story with a photo of palestinian protestor throwing stones at israeli soldiers dressed in festive attire. now, babita, it seems a celebrity

parenting problem has been sparking discussions online? yes, rico. the mother in question is none other than the women's world number one tennis player, serena williams. serena took to twitter to talk about teething woes of her three and half month old baby alexis 0lympia. serena tweeted about crying so much, she has to hold her until she goes to sleep. she adds that nothing she tries is working, and that it is breaking her heart and asks if anyone can help. that of course has sparked thousands of replies, with tips ranging from using gel, to crushing ice cubes in a cloth, to letting alexis 0lympia chew on a peg. but one mum perhaps spoke for parents everywhere when she told serena that the crisis would soon pass.

i know that you have all of the tips. in fact you are the wisest person! what would you say? gel and crushed ice! i thought you would say singing. why not? # have yourself a merry christmas... actually, someone is crying in the corner. serena, talk to us. we will give you the best advice. just call us! now from babies to animals. more than 100 new species were discovered by scientists in the greater mekong region last year, according to the world wildlife fund. the mekong river which flows from the tibetan plateau to the mouths of the mekong in the south china sea is one of the most ecologically diverse in the world. but it's also vulnerable to human activity, which scientists warn is threatening the habitat

of many species. among the new discoveries is this mountain horseshoe bat, found in the evergreen forests of laos and thailand. it got its name because of its distinct facial features. scientists stumbled across this snail—eating turtle in north—east thailand. shopkeepers had apparently caught it in a nearby canal. and this orange, scaly reptile is a rare vietnamese crocodile lizard. it comes from the country's northern forests. it's taken years to confirm its status as a sub—species of reptile. earlier spoke to the world wildlife fund's researcher and asked how significant these discoveries are. 0ver over the past 20 years there have been more than 2500 new species discovered in the greater mekong region and i think that really shows

you how incredibly rich and diverse this area is and that there are many more to be discovered. what we hope is that they are discovered before they are lost to science. quite curiously this report is called stranger spieces. what is so strange about them ? stranger spieces. what is so strange about them? i think as you can see with the horseshoe bat and several of the species, they have incredible features. the horseshoe bat would be out of place in a star wars movie andi out of place in a star wars movie and i think the crocodile lizard looks like something out ofjurassic park. so these are incredibly spectacular species. view the full species. there is a frog with an incredible green marking on it. they just have remarkable features, so they are beautiful creatures. amazing and colourful species that have been discovered. at this report that documents the work of hundreds of scientists from various institutions around the world, how

difficult is it to collate all of this material? it's incredibly difficult. you have to scour all of the scientific literature that is taking —— taken place during the year. the scientists are the real heroes of the forest here and of nature. they are the ones who spend months and years in nature trying to discover these new species and then once they've discovered it they have to compare it to all of the other species around the world to discover if it's a new species and the genetic analysis and look at all of the characteristics and then do peer research. but the biggest enemy of this wildlife species is the illegal trade. how do you convince governments to conserve these species and protect them?” governments to conserve these species and protect them? i think that we have to appeal to governments first of all for pure national pride. it's really important to protect the species. everything from tigers and elephants to bats and lizards. but i think

it's also important to do it because these species and habitat they live in is very important for the economies and the livelihoods of these countries. it is very important, the natural processes, the ecosystem services provided by these habitats, the rivers, the free—flowing rivers, the clean forests. we need to be preserved so that they can indeed provide services and help drive the economies of these regions as well. the english writerjane austen put pen to paper two hundred years ago with tales of romance and love. her novels continue to find new fans all around the world and for one book club in pakistan they've now devoted themselves entirely to the author's works. here's their story. really? you would marry mr darcy?m a way! i am the founder of the jane

austen society of pakistan. it started off as a facebook page and it was so much fun. hands folded in front is a very regency bows, ladies. we discuss things and analyse things and draw parallels from our own lives. we see mr collins and mr elton, we see mr wickham and willoughby. we don't really see mr darcy very much. we would love to. for lizzie, overcoming prejudice in her life was the biggest hurdle. it's very easy for us. in the commonwealth and with oui’ for us. in the commonwealth and with our postcolonial legacy to sort of draw parallels between the regency era 200 years ago and our society here in south asia right now and it's always very amusing and entertaining, but a darker side as

well, the misogyny and hypocrisy and keeping up appearances. well, the misogyny and hypocrisy and keeping up appearanceslj well, the misogyny and hypocrisy and keeping up appearances. i am also married to mr bennett! sometimes he may become mr collins too. we still have a lot of similarities with 200 yea rs have a lot of similarities with 200 years ago in england and that's basically, especially for women, our sphere is limited, the power we have over our lives is limited, our financial independence is limited. doi financial independence is limited. do i need to go on more? marriage marked. it's the same here. it is over 80 trolley. literally. the bill is expected to pour tea as the in—laws as eating and how she pours the tea and how she hands the cups and all of those things are... she has to be demure, she has to be domestic. that's regency england, isn't it? that's why she is so popular in pakistan. it's a comfort to read austen, i think. that's how

i would describe it. the greatest comfort to lose yourself in her works. one, two, three, four. switch! two, three, four. and stop, two, three, four. jane austen and the influence on pakistan. you have been watching newsday. thank you forjoining us. stay with us. it's been a big year for digital currencies, especially for bitcoin, but will the cryptocurrency craze continue? we'll be looking at what 2018 might have in store. and before we go, winter has truly arrived in the far west of china. a very soft form of frost, known as rime, has formed on branches across the xinjiang. and given the harshness of winters in that region, it's likely to remain in place for some time. stay with bbc world news. 0ur quiet spell of weather continues

across many parts of the british isles at the moment. that's not to say that it's completely dull by any means. a glorious the day captured by many weather watchers. elsewhere, one of those. the cloud sat there, so one of those. the cloud sat there, so did the fault in some locations. the sign of a change of the way. already cloud and rain associated with this weather front moving into the north and western parts of scotland. it will continue its journey further south. during the course of the night. first thing on wednesday a variety to temperatures. wherever cloud pops away, two degrees also in east, towards the west fully exposed to the moist south—westerlies coming in from the atlantic, 9— 11 degrees. first thing on wednesday hill fog to be had if the cloud is broken overnight. the chance of the odd patch of fog. their batting mind. enough about some of the cloud across the western facing hills and coasts for there to be the odd piece of drizzle,

especially near that weather front. to the north of that, the scattering of showers, not many of them at all, with scotland getting away to a dry start. it's here north of the weather front where you get the best chance of seeing meaningful sunshine and eventually that prospect extends into northern ireland. all the while anywhere near the frontal system we've got the prospect of some hill fog and a bit of rain and drizzle. that goes into the north and west of wales. to the south of it we have leaden skies. a bit of brightness perhaps. here we are on thursday. the orientation of the front has changed somewhat. the westerly portion having come southwards is starting to move back north. the best of the brightness away from that where we've got most of the temperatures the best chance of sunshine. in the south a lot of cloud, hill fog. nota sunshine. in the south a lot of cloud, hill fog. not a great deal changes pushing into friday. we've still got the remnants of a weather front, still clouding things up and producing the odd bit of rain,

especially across western and south—western parts. so again get away from the remnants of that front towards the east and up into the north of scotland. at least we get to see a bit of sunshine. here we are into the weekend before christmas and many will still be stuck with that relatively mild flow coming in from the atlantic. you will notice come christmas eve we are not! million miles away from seeing a dramatic change, with cold and brighter weather coming in. seeing a dramatic change, with cold and brighterweather coming in. in the run—up to christmas generally mild and rather cloudy and the chance of some rain, especially in the north. i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story: donald trump's overhaul of the us tax system is set to be approved by both houses of congress. it's been approved by the house of representatives, and only a glitch over the wording is delaying a vote in the senate. the measure lowers corporate tax rates and income tax for wealthier americans. china has called on the us to abandon its cold war mentality, after donald trump's speech on national security accused beijing

of trying to erode american security. and this story is trending on bbc.com... a coffeeshop claiming to be able to make the world's first selvie drink. —— selfies. now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk.