i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. the headlines: exactly 50 years on, marking the murder of american civil rights leader martin luther king. a huge mistake, says facebook founder mark zuckerberg, admitting data from 87 million people may have been misused. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: china unveils its retaliation in the trade dispute with president trump, but hints that talks are also on the table. 4,000 athletes from 71 teams get ready as the first day good morning. it is 8:00am in singapore, 1:00am in london and 7:00pm in the evening in memphis, tennessee. that is where in the last hour, at the exact moment that martin luther king died, bells were rung 39 times to mark the number of years that the iconic civil rights activist lived for. bells also tolled around the us at the same time. let's speak to our correspondent

nada tawfik, who is in memphis for us now. tell us what the feeling was like there on the ground. well, i have to say, you know, iwould there on the ground. well, i have to say, you know, i would describe it as almost like a pilgrimage of people young and old, from here in memphis and across the country, coming here notjust to honour the legacy of doctor king, are really to recommit themselves to the struggles that he fought against 50 years ago, and so here in memphis you had 10,000 people marching in the name of his legacy, singing songs, rejoicing. and here at the official commemoration in memphis there was a mix of performances, and as i say

again, celebration, storytelling, from icons who were they with him on that night, and also some very passionate speeches from activists and faith leaders, talking about the opportunity gap that still exists here in america, and all the unfinished business left to realise doctor king's dream. that's right, because obviously, as you say, performances, speeches as well, fiery speeches. we know the jackson is speaking, you have —— the reverend jesse jackson is speaking. al sharpton as well. and what have they said exactly in terms of what has changed in the last 50 years in civil rights for many african—americans? civil rights for many african-americans? there is absolutely no doubt that a lot has changed, and those who were here in memphis back then will tell you that. doctor king took america out of thejim that. doctor king took america out of the jim crow that. doctor king took america out of thejim crow era. he made it so that segregation was a thing of the

past, he guaranteed voting rights for all. and that, if you just look at the fact that in kind of a0 years from that point we elected in america the first african—american president, that was such a momentous achievement. and you see the black middle class in this country growing. but people here really did focus on what hasn't really changed since then. doctor martin luther king spent the last part of his life fighting inequality, fighting economic injustice that he saw as really stopping african—americans as being equal with white americans. and so from this podium they spoke about that. they spoke about the wage gaps. there is a debate here in this country about fair wages, for not just fast food workers but labourers in this country. they also called out the other issues america has been grappling with. police brutality and the anti—war stance that doctor king had so long ago. so

it really was interesting to hear from people here how doctor king shaped their lives, but also what they still saw in america that they needed to themselves now confront. that's right, lots of crucial, important messages. and you are therefore this evening. what are we expecting for the rest of the day? well, you know, across the country they have been having commemorations. 0f they have been having commemorations. of course, it here in memphis it was the epicentre. people have been coming to the national civil rights museum, which is higher mac housed now in the lorraine motel where doctor king was assassinated. and it was interesting to see people going on there to learn about his life and death. and 110w learn about his life and death. and now you can see people around me, people are still milling about, still reflecting on the day, taking in what they heard them where to go from here. because here in memphis, we have spoken to activists from the

black lives matter campaign, to others, and they think it is important to heed doctor king's call that silence is the enemy, that they must speak out, that they must call oui’ must speak out, that they must call our injustice, that the time is right to do the right thing. so that is what we have been hearing from activists, going around trying to get people registered to vote, trying to figure out the next steps. and so you have a lot of that in memphis at the moment. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. britain and its allies have blocked moscow's request for a joint inquiry, involving russian experts, into the poisoning of the former spy sergei skripal and his daughter in england a month ago. at an emergency meeting of the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons, russia got only six votes in favour of its proposal, with 15 against. russia's delegation complained the uk investigation won't tell them what they need to know. translation: we're being told that we will be informed

on the results of this investigation only if there is goodwill to do so. however, knowing our british so—called partners, we cannot really count on their goodwill. also making news today: the us president has agreed to keep american troops in syria for a little while longer to help in the fight to defeat isis, according to a senior administration official. president trump had signaled his desire to pull them out. there are about 2,000 us troops in syria. the duke of edinburgh has undergone hip replacement surgery at a private hospital in london. in a statement buckingham palace said the duke, who is 96, was comfortable and in good spirits. saudi arabia will open its first cinema in decades in the next two weeks. it is part of a deal that the saudis have done with amc, the world's largest cinema chain.

the plan is to open up to a0 cinemas in some 15 saudi cities over the next five years. liverpool took a firm grip on their champions league quarter—final, as manchester city were torn apart by a three—goal burst from jurgen klopp‘s side. for all the latest champions league action, head to bbc.com for more. it has been revealed that as many as 87 million users may have had their personal information shared with the data firm cambridge analytica. within the last few hours facebook‘s chief executive, mark zuckerberg, gave a statement saying he had made a huge mistake, and that the company had not done enough to protect people's information. earlier i spoke to dave lee, who had details of that call. well, it was quite an unusual step for mark zuckerberg to be so open in a press conference.

he took many questions from several different organisations, including the bbc. but i think the nub of it, frankly, is that he's defending his position as the head of facebook. he is of course the chief executive and the chairman of the board at facebook, and when asked directly whether he felt he was the right man to continue doing those jobs, he said yes. he admitted there had been mistakes in the past, he said that he had been too idealistic when it came to trusting third parties in terms of using facebook data, but he said going forward it's about accountability and restoring the compa ny‘s reputation. many people think that this press conference, which was done as a conference call rather than in person, many think this is good preparation for some real scrutiny he will get next week when he speaks to congress in washington. but certainly a more open mark zuckerberg than we've been used to seeing recently.

that's right, and 11 april is the date when he speaks to congress. we know the share price has plunged, but is there any sense that users are turning away from it, that they are not using it as much or advertisers are withdrawing ads? well, this is the interesting part, because of course, seeing that stock market value tumble would suggest that it is having a huge and damaging effect on the company. but that's all about perception, of course. now, in reality, the company said today, mr zuckerberg said today, that they're not seeing any noticeable effect since the scandal took hold. and by that he meant users on facebook using the platform and also advertisers. he said quite clearly, they have not seen a noticeable affect in advertisers not wanting to work with facebook any more. and we've had this in the past. quite often there will be a movement to delete facebook, to delete advertising. but there are still 2 billion people

using it regularly around the world, and that will continue to be useful to both the people on the platform and indeed, those who advertise on it. so no, no noticeable effect on the business just yet. however, if there are regulations in the future, that could force regulations that would have a very real impact indeed. all right. well as well, we know that mark zuckerberg is going to congress, he is obviously going to testify next week that he is sending high—ranking officials to other places around the world to answer testimony of this, particularly the uk as well and some of the latest revelations that 1.1 million uk users were also affected. is there a sense that perhaps he is shirking his responsibilities elsewhere? well, yes, i mean, that has been a criticism of mr zuckerberg in the past. he's managed to avoid any hearing of this nature.

he's going to speak to two panels in washington, as you say, but that is going to include his chief of staff, and also the chief technology officer of facebook is going to be going around to different panels around the world to answer questions that people wanted mark zuckerberg to answer, but he's going to palm off that responsibility to two high—ranking members of his team. they certainly know a lot about facebook, but i think those investigators will be angry and disappointed not to hear from mark zuckerberg himself. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: china responds to trump's tariffs on chinese products with its own plans for measures against american exports. also coming up: the commonwealth games kick off on the gold coast in australia. we will hear from our correspondent there. 55 years of hatred and rage, as they

jump up 55 years of hatred and rage, as they jump up on the statue. this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power, the power to influence. todayis black power, the power to influence. today is about the promise of a bright future, a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past. i think that picasso's works we re past. i think that picasso's works were beautiful. they were intelligent, and it is a sad loss to everybody who loves art. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london.

our top stories: african—american leaders have gathered in the us city of memphis to mark the assassination, 50 years ago, of the civil rights leader martin luther king. facebook has admitted that data about 87 million people may have been used inappropriately by british—based political consultants. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the strait times looks at the commonwealth games beginning in australia and reigning commonwealth games air pistol champion teo shun xie lead singapore. the country is represented by 60 athletes in 11 sports. in the japan times, a cute study on macaques monkeys. japanese researchers say the snow monkeys bathe in hot springs

to reduce stress from the winter cold. and finally the new york times leads on a european story in hungary. —— european. in seeking re—election, the prime minister has started a national workfa re program but residents are sceptical and say in winter, there isn't work anyway. now, babita, what stories are sparking discussions online? yes, let's looks at what is trending right now. the philippines is closing one of its most famous tourist islands boracay on the command of president duterte. a government spokesman said there was a need for a major clean—up of what he described as a sewer pool, despite its luxury hotels and lively night scene. now, if anyone thought china would take donald trump's protectionist threats lying down, think again.

beijing has announced huge tariffs against us products, day three of growing trade tensions that are spooking financial markets and wiping billions from people's pension plans and investments. robin brant reports from shanghai. injust 2a hours, in just 2a hours, but the united states and china have laid out plans to hit each other‘s exports. the us has a long list, around 1300 items, including ovens and flamethrowers. the punishment is in response to claims that china has stolen its intellectual property. it's also about the decades—old policy of forcing foreign firms to share their technology when they invest here in china. china though is targeting far fewer products and it looks like it wa nts to fewer products and it looks like it wants to cause more pain. soy beans,

corn, cotton, beef, tobacco are all on the list. soya bean alone is a multibillion—dollar import business to china. these measures would hit specific farming areas of the us ha rd specific farming areas of the us hard but china insists it doesn't wa nt hard but china insists it doesn't want a trade war. translation: frankly speaking the challenges we are facing today are huge for sure because of the scale of the trade volumes as you can see however china's stance has been clear—cut. we don't want a trade war because the result will only be a no—win situation that hurts the interests of china, the united states and the prospect for global economic development. just as significant is the fact that automobiles and aircraft are on the list. ford sells tens of thousands of cars that it ships here from the us and boeing, the aircraft giant, could see its attem pts the aircraft giant, could see its atte m pts to the aircraft giant, could see its attempts to make further inroads into the domestic china market put on hold if its aircraft fall into the specific categories being targeted but all this is yet to be

acted on and there is a possibility ofa acted on and there is a possibility of a deal with the us moving last week to extend its consultation period before acting. whatever happens now, the reality is that none of these tariffs have yet been imposed and it appears that the us administration is anxious to some kind of negotiated settlement. robin brandt, bbc news, shanghai. president trump has tweeted it's not a trade war, but i asked our asia business correspondent karishma vaswani what is it, if not a war? it is a public negotiation over the terms and conditions of how the world's two largest economies are going to do business with one another from now on. if you look at the tariffs that each side has said it wants to place on products from the other side, they have targeted politically sensitive products, with china targeting agricultural products from the united states. that hits american farmers.

and the us targeting products in industries, innovative industries, that china says it was to be a leader and in the next decade. but they have not put these tariffs into place yet. nothing has gone into effect yet, sharanjit. that this is a negotiation tactic on both sides have actually said that they want to keep talking before any of this actually comes into effect. the commonwealth games are getting underway on australia's gold coast. the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall attended the colourful opening ceremony, which featured plenty of aboriginal motifs. more than a,000 athletes from 71 different nations and territories are set to compete. and, for the first time at a major multi—sport event, there will be the same number of men's and women's medal events. let's get the latest. chris mitchell is there for us. the triathlon is under way behind

me. the australian is a minute behind the leader, flora duffy of bermuda. but a really bad on breaking news to the australian team in the gold coast is that sally pearson is expected to pull out of the games within the next couple of hours. she has called a news conference here on the gold coast with the team doctor where she is expected to say that she hasn't recovered well enough from her achilles injury to compete next week at the athletics. i just want to try to put in the context how massive this is in terms of an athletics story, a blow for the commonwealth games in australia. she was the face of the games. i've been living here for 12 months now and you cannot turn ona for 12 months now and you cannot turn on a television set without seeing sally pearson on it in some way. social media, posters, everywhere, on the backs and sides of buses. she was, if you like, what

jessica ennis hill was to the 2012 london games, the face of it, and 110w london games, the face of it, and now she is pulling out. some may question the timing is well of this pulling out. yesterday, she was heavily involved in the opening ceremony. they probably didn't want to say it before to dampen spirits but was she ever ready to compete in the games? these questions will be asked in the next couple of hours. the breaking news here is that sally pearson, who is going for a hat—trick of gold medals, a former 0lympic hat—trick of gold medals, a former olympic champion, the current world champion, is out of these games. she was expected to win gold here had she been fully fit and her story is a tragic one now. in re oh, she had to pull out because of injury. she then dumped her trainer, trained herself to world championship glory last year. she broke her wrist. it's

been a real rollercoaster ride for her and now she is on a very bad down slope, you have to say. the australian team hit hard you. this will sap morale. in terms of australia, not a good start to these commonwealth games at all.l australia, not a good start to these commonwealth games at all. a blow to the host nation. chris mitchell on day one of the commonwealth games. zoos and other places that house animals remain important to the tourist economy in south east asia. but what's less well known is the cruelty inflicted on animals in some institutions. award—winning wildlife photographer aaron gekoski is looking to expose such cruelty through his work. a winner of this year's wildlife photographer of the year competition run by the british museum he recently travelled to thailand taking thousands of photos. i'm delighted to say aaronjoins me now. congratulations on a prestigious

award. he had taken thousands of photos of these animals and specifically in thailand. tell us how prevalent was the treatment and some of the worst cases you saw. the wildlife tourism industry is huge business and every year, around 110 million people visit cool role like attractions around the world 500,000 animals are suffering for wildlife tourism services are huge business and it's something that affects all of us because we have all been to zoos of us because we have all been to zoos or aquariums of us because we have all been to zoos or aquariums at of us because we have all been to zoos or aquariums at some of us because we have all been to zoos or aquariums at some point so i decided to explore this issue with my camera and thailand is seen as the epicentre of the industry so that was the first stop on my tour. it does appear cruel. we are looking at photos of an orangutan caged, some tigers caged as well. it looks like you got pretty good access to these zoos. tell us a bit about the

handlers, the zookeepers you have encountered and did they realise the impact of their treatment and what they are doing? the access i received was just as a tourist. i went in the same way that everyone goesin went in the same way that everyone goes in every single day. money talks. when there is a demand for this, people will keep supplying this. i can't comment on what their views were. why they are still people going to these events, the only way we can stop this, we can stop cool wildlife tourism is by voting with our feet and not going to some of these places. some of those pictures are really disturbing, i should say. what led you to taking up this project in the first place? as an environmental photojournalist i've spent the past decade looking at human animal

conflict around the world and i've a lwa ys conflict around the world and i've always been very interested in wildlife tourism and some of the negative impacts of that because a lot of the time, we are not aware of some of the abuses that are going on in behind closed doors and right in front of our eyes. elephants in thailand. to make elephants com pletely thailand. to make elephants completely submissive to their handlers, they go through something called the crush and this is a form of torture designed to make them com pletely of torture designed to make them completely submissive and i can guarantee that most people when they go to ride on the back of an elephant, they have no idea of some of the abuse that has taken place. what message are you trying to convey? what message are you trying to co nvey ? a re what message are you trying to convey? are you trying to say to people, don't support these industries, they are cruel. i'm not anti— captivity, per se, industries, they are cruel. i'm not anti— captivity, perse, i industries, they are cruel. i'm not anti— captivity, per se, iam industries, they are cruel. i'm not anti— captivity, per se, i am anti— cruelty. i believe there is a part for zoos and four aquariums around the world but they have two get better at what they are doing, some of them. there is a zoo here in

singapore that is fantastic and there are zoos all over the world but are doing great work for conservation but there is also ones that are treating animals extremely badly. in my opinion, that shouldn't be allowed to happen. thank you to coming in and talking to us about that very important issue. wednesday brought a real mix of weather across the country. thursday is looking completely different. it's going to be quite a chilly start. frosty start for some of us, but weather is looking great. a lot of sunshine eventually in the afternoon. that will be right across the country. unsettled weather still in the north, with some snow. in the north, with some snow

in places as well.. that is finally clearing away and as we head through the course of the morning the remnants of the cloud across partsof lincolnshire, east anglia, the midlands, and the south—east but the skies already clearing in many areas. by early thursday morning, it will clear in northern england too, and temperatures will drop away like a stone in the northern half of the uk. some rural spots in scotland could get down to —7 degrees. in the south, around 3—6 degrees celsius. the forecast for tomorrow. that cloud will clear away from the south—east in the morning on thursday, then sun all round. slightly cooler on thursday. maybe 8—12 degrees celsius. that is because the morning will be pretty chilly. that sun will have to work harder to warm things up. the weather front is approaching. that weather front will be in place in western areas across friday. quite a split in the weather towards the end of the week. many western areas will eventually

turn very proudly, cloudy. turn fairly cloudy. outbreaks of rain, particularly in plymouth and the western isles as well. look at that central and eastern area. arrows coming in from the south. the southerly wind will start to making still warmer. temperatures up to 15 in london, with some eastern areas getting up to 13, possibly, as well. friday into saturday, that warm air is still with us. certainly not for everybody. it will mostly hugging south—eastern and eastern areas of the country. by the time we get to saturday, the chances are that it may turn warmer still. but notice that there is a bit of rain drifting out of the south, moving northwards. some of us will get some rain on saturday, with the possibility of temperature is getting up to 17 degrees in east anglia. that is really going to feel like spring. but for most of us on saturday, it will feel cooler, more like 12—1a degrees. on sunday, eventually that blob of rain from from the north. will move northwards into scotland. things should dry out. still decent temperatures,

1a in london, 13 expected in edinburgh and glasgow as well. that is it. have a good night. i'm babita sharma with bbc news. our top story: civil rights leaders have been marking the moment, exactly 50 years ago, when martin luther king was assassinated. he was shot dead in memphis while leading protests against racism and poverty. his life has been celebrated today in cities across the united states. facebook now says that the personal information of up to 87 million users was obtained by the british political consultants cambridge analytica. facebook‘s boss, mark zuckerberg, said the company made a huge mistake and had not adequately protected user information. and a team of maritime police in australia have had a close encounter with a massive great white shark. a colleague in another boat managed to film the shark tailing the patrol boat off the coast of south australia, inching closer,

before losing interest and swimming away. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news.