this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines — a van ploughs into pedestrians in toronto, killing nine and injuring 16 more. the suspected driver is named as 25—year—old alek minassian. emmanuel macron begins his us state visit, but with three days of talks ahead, will his ties with president trump reap rewards? i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme — from hollywood to bollywood — allegations of sexual harassment span the entertainment world. and the duke and duchess of cambridge introduce the world to their new baby boy. he's fifth in line to the throne. it's wonderful news, it's fantastic news! it's a boy. yeah, i know, it's wonderful! live from our studios in singapore and london. this is bbc world news.

it's newsday. glad you could join us. it's 8am in singapore, 1am in london and 8:00 in the evening in toronto, canada's biggest city, where nine people have been killed by a man apparently deliberately driving a van into a crowded pavement. several other people were injured. police have arrested the suspected driver. he's been named by the canadian broadcasting corporation as 25—year—old man alek minassian. our north america correspondent nick bryant reports. a spring day in the northern suburbs of toronto where pedestrians enjoy the afternoon sunshine and were suddenly confronted by a vehicle careering down the pavement. it mounted the curb and hit at high speed, 70—80mph

according to eyewitnesses. it continued for over half a mile, hitting pedestrian after pedestrian. it looks like this white rental van was used as a weapon. all i seen is this guy, he was going 70, 80 clicks, he's just hitting people one by one, going down. oh, man, it wasa nightmare, man. i got to young and empress and i seen a lady with her leg, and, oh, man, it's a gruesome scene, it's really bad out here. i couldn't believe what i seen. everybody, all these people on the streets getting hit, one by one. the street was scattered with discarded shoes and clothing and the police now say that nine people have been killed and 16 injured. so many people just shouting, "stop the car!" but he didn't, he just kept moving, and hit some people and three people lie down there and they didn't move at all. the driver of the van was arrested

after finally being brought to a halt by police. this does appear to have been a deliberate act, but what's behind it as yet isn't unclear. we're expecting a live press conference from the streets of toronto. let's take you to the image we are watching at the moment. this is live near that intersection where you can see a lot of emergency services, security and police officers there. we are expecting that toronto mayor and toronto police service chief to address us and give us an date on what happened. nine people killed. police sources identifying the man arrested as alek minassian. he is 25 years old, not many details coming through on that, so we are hoping this press

conference we are expecting will bring us a few more details as to exactly what happened earlier on today. as i said, nine people lost their lives on that man attack on a busy intersection in toronto. as that happens, we will bring that to you. let's have a moment to take a look at some of the day but other news stories. —— day's other news stories. france's president, emanuel macron, has arrived at the white house on his 3—day state visit to the united states. he's the first foreign leader to be given the honour since president trump came to power. the french leader said he was looking forward to a very important tour. during the state visit, we will have the opportunity to discuss a lot of bilateral issues and to discuss about our security, about trade and a lot of multilateral issues that are important for our countries and beyond our two countries. the french president out in the united states. also making news today, huge crowds have been celebrating

in the streets of armenia's capital yerevan following the resignation of the country's leader, serzh sargsyan. the prime minister stood down after 11 days of mass protest. a prominent opposition politician has said he'd hold talks with the government to ensure what he called "a transfer of power to the people." mike pompeo, donald trump's choice to be the new secretary of state, narrowly won approval from a senate committee and is expected to be confirmed by the full senate as soon as this week. republican senator rand paul changed his mind and threw his support behind the nominee, saving him the embarrassment of being the first candidate not to win over the foreign relations committee. britain says it will waive citizenship test fees and provide compensation to the families who arrived from the caribbean after the second world war. the government has really been under fire after it emerged that tens of thousands of those known as the windrush generation may not enjoy

full citizenship rights. a team of international scientists has discovered a small, but explosive new discovery. this is a new species of what are being dubbed ‘exploding ants‘. the canopy—dwelling insects, common in south—east asia, are known for their bizarre defensive behaviour. if attacked by another ant, they will attach themselves to it and their muscles will split open. bollywood is known for its popular musicals and dramas. but bbc news has spoken to a number of actors who say it has a serious sexual harassment problem. actresses say they've been asked for sexual favours by men in the industry. others say they've been molested. many fear their careers and lives will be ruined if they go public. from mumbai, rajini vaidya nathan reports. these over—the—top dance routines are a staple of bollywood films.

a scantily clad leading lady takes centre stage as a group of men lust after her. on—screen, women are often seen as objects of desire, but also in real life. behind the glitz and glamour, there's a dark secret. he started telling me that, "for an actress, you should be happy to have sex as and when possible. embrace your sexuality, use it." this aspiring actress asked us to conceal her identity, and we've changed her voice. like so many others, she left a small village for india's film capital, mumbai, to chase her bollywood dream. she told me she's been molested by directors and a casting agent. he touched me wherever he wanted, he kissed me and i was shocked. he put his hand inside my clothes, so i asked him to stop and he said,

"you know what, if you really want to work in this industry, i don't think you've got the right attitude." it's notjust those starting out who face unwanted advances in bollywood. this is an award—winning actress. she says it's common for powerful men in the industry to demand sexual favours. "we are giving you something, you need to give something back to them too." i said, "something as in what? i don't have money." he said, "no, no, no, it's not about money. it's about that you need to sleep with... maybe it can be the producer, it can be the director or it can be both too." i've spoken to many in bollywood who acknowledge the industry has a sexual harassment problem, but few were willing to come out in the open and speak about it. that's notjust because this industry is male—dominated, but also because here in india, the world of bollywood is revered. but some of the bigger names

are starting to speak up now. actress radhika apte recently starred in the blockbusterfilm padman. some people are regarded as gods. they're so powerful that people just don't think that my voice is going to matter, or people don't think that if i speak, probably my career is going to get ruined. when you saw hollywood and that me too moment that happened, what were you thinking here in bollywood 7 the way the women — and the men of course — came together and decided that as a team we're not going to let this happen, i wish that could happen here. we interrupt that report to take you live to that press conference in toronto. right now, we have under arrest alek minassian. .. toronto. right now, we have under arrest alek minassian... 25, not from toronto. i can tell you... we

are working day shift, they are working overlap, they are working later, eating and midnight. —— evening. not compromised in any way. we are only answering deep priority phone calls at this point in time so we have stabilised things right now. nine uniformed officers are told if they have any use of force equivalent to have them on standby in case... inaudible. apologies for the quality of the sound, but you are looking at images ofa sound, but you are looking at images of a live press conference by the toronto police chief, and you can see behind him, the mayor of toronto. from the snippet that we could hear, there was no

confirmation of the name of the suspect, 25—year—old alek minassian. he is in custody following the death of nine people. let'sjust listen in because i believe we have the sound back. there are a multitude of people that may have with the stick and asa people that may have with the stick and as a result, are concerned or haveissues and as a result, are concerned or have issues regarding willis. —— wellness. anybody that wants to contact someone, we have a hotline for anybody to call and that is 1416808 7066, with respect to the crime scene right now we have cordoned off the area from north to south and that is approximately very close to a kilometre. there is a tremendous amount of work going on right now. we are working in conjunction with toronto police and

oui’ conjunction with toronto police and our provincial counterparts as well, and it will take a i of- to see ii 1551“. {see 5 eve e? {1553 e3 77 .. we? .. .. . . we have right now, unfortunately. we: ten we have right now, unfortunately. we ten people that we have right now, unfertenetely. we ten people that have succumbed have ten people that have succumbed to their injuries and we have 15 that are in various hospitals across the city. i want to take thank eve ryo ne the city. i want to take thank everyone here that have given us help with the investigation, from all aspects, our provincial counterparts, all federal cou nterpa rts counterparts, all federal counterparts as well as our mayor and all the members from saint paul. the investigation is ongoing right 110w. the investigation is ongoing right now. i will answer some questions later, but right now i will hand over to the mayor. thank you, cheap, and canl over to the mayor. thank you, cheap, and can i begin by saying that on behalf of all the people of toronto, out behalf of all the people of toronto, our thoughts and prayers are with all the people who have been

victimised by this, families and friends of those who have succumbed to those in hospital. i should say there is a tremendous outpouring of sympathy and concern across the people and it is right across canada andl people and it is right across canada and i think it is evident as well by the fact we have here president primary of ontario. i spoke with the prime minister earlier this evening to express too sincere condolences to express too sincere condolences to the people toronto and to all the families of those affected by this, and offered, as i'm sure the minister will do, as he and offered, as i'm sure the ministerwill do, as he has and offered, as i'm sure the minister will do, as he has done to me personally, complete support in any way they can to address this. the second thing i want to do is once again thank the first responders. there are job is far from over, but in the early chapters of this this afternoon when this came as the chief said, a benign spring afternoon, they responded in ina heroic spring afternoon, they responded in in a heroic fashion, they did their very busy and continue to be a very best and the police work in all this

hasjust begun. best and the police work in all this has just begun. i best and the police work in all this hasjust begun. i reiterate the chief's request really is a plea to the people of toronto that anybody who thinks they know anything, even if it seems very small, please use the telephone line or use crimestoppers to report that information because this will help the police to get to the bottom of this tragic incident. i should say, and the police chief will have further moves on this later this evening, that people should expect in the context of this particular area of the city 's tomorrow that it will still be an active inflammation seen and that we would discourage people who don't have to come here from coming here, because whatever is going on and however the bread of that area that is a fact that, it will not be normal tomorrow. so people can be considerate of that, we will have further news later on the status of the street and the transit and the businesses and indeed the seat of government here at north york civic centre. i should say that it is my expectation because i will move a motion tomorrow morning that the city council bylaw will be required to

convene because the meeting was called, but i will be moving a motion that it should be adjourned for today in respect for those who have lost their lives and the tragic incident that affected our city. finally, i willjust say to people that i hope that they've understand, asi that i hope that they've understand, as i know they do, people who live in the city, who have come from the city around the world, this kind of tragic incident is not representative of how we live, who we are or anything to do with life in the city on a day—to—day basis, andl in the city on a day—to—day basis, and i hope people will reflect on that, will reaffirm that, will go to work tomorrow and perhaps offer are sometimes the case in churches, a sign of peace to each other, in small way to carry on with the life thatis small way to carry on with the life that is admired around the world and we will do that in a way that toronto people do things. i am very hopeful with all the help of everybody so far that has expressed their concern that people will take that people will take it to heart as

well and make sure that we remain in solidarity with our first responders, with those who had to investigate, but most of all, with each other, and on that note, i will ask with thanks for her being here with us today, the premier to say a few words. thank you, and let me just say, as i did earlier today, this is a tragic, tragic situation. and our first thoughts are with the victims and their families. this is a frightening thing that, as the mayor said, is not emblematic of who we are as a city, or as a province, but it isa are as a city, or as a province, but it is a tragedy that will... that we will work through, but there will be a lot of sadness and pain before that happens. i have had a number of hours, the mayor and i have been here with the first responders, and

ijust want here with the first responders, and i just want to here with the first responders, and ijust want to say how professional and comprehensive their response is and comprehensive their response is and has been. and we have, as a province, been working side—by—side with the municipality and with the federal government. there is consta nt federal government. there is constant communication. we have offered constant communication. we have offe re d a ny constant communication. we have offered any support, whether it is in terms of victim support or other security support, we have offered those, and we will continue to work side by side. it is very important ina side by side. it is very important in a situation like this that all of the police services at all levels of government work together, and that is happening, i can assure you. so to all of the first responders, the police services, the fire services, the emergency services, thank you so much for what you have done and what you will continue to do over the coming hours and days. and i also wa nt coming hours and days. and i also want people to know that the outreach from across the country has

been resounding. i have also had a conversation with the prime minister, and he has reconfirmed his support to the city and to the province. i have had a conversation with the premier from quebec, so people across the country are thinking about what is happening here in toronto, and are thinking about the families and the victims. sol about the families and the victims. so ijust about the families and the victims. so i just want about the families and the victims. so ijust want to again thank everyone who has been so ready to support and to encourage anyone who has information, as the mayor and the chief had said, to come forward. i will now ask the minister to make a comment from the federal level. premier, thank you very much. first of all, on behalf of prime minister trudeau and the government of canada, let me extend our deep and sincere condolences to all of those who have been affected by this horrible tragedy in toronto this afternoon. the thoughts and prayers of all canadians are with the people

of all canadians are with the people of toronto tonight. to the families of toronto tonight. to the families of those who have lost loved ones, and to those others who are suffering in hospital, everyone is hoping for the very best recovery for those who have been injured, and certainly our deep condolences to those who have suffered the loss of a loved one. the condolences, in fa ct, a loved one. the condolences, in fact, extend beyond the country. as you may know, there is a g7 meeting of security ministers in toronto at the present time. this incident happened right in the midst of that meeting, and all of the security ministers, the public safety ministers, the public safety ministers from the g7 countries, from the european union and from the representatives from interpol wanted to extend their very sincere wishes to extend their very sincere wishes to the people of toronto for comfort, and sympathy and empathy,

at this very difficult time. the second point i want to make eaves, i have had the opportunity to consult with the senior officials of the security and police agencies of the government of canada. and, on the basis of all available information at the present time, there would appear to be no national security connection to this particular incident. the events that happened on the street behind us are horrendous, but they do not appear to be connected in any way to national security, based on the information available at this time. finally, let me associate myself with the remarks of the mayor and the premier with respect to the first responders, who have reacted to this situation today,

demonstrating once again they are the best in the world. amazing people, who deal with some of the most horrendous circumstances. and once again, from the police, firefighter, paramedic and emergency medical personnel, they have responded magnificently, and we express our deep appreciation to them. and i also want to reiterate them. and i also want to reiterate the point that the collaboration among levels of government, and all of the relevant agencies that are engaged here, is absolutely seamless. the provincial federal and municipal authorities are cooperating and collaborating in a superb way, and we will deal with this situation in a fairly professional manner. and now i believe the police chief has some further comments. no—one thank you, minister, premier, mayor. and i also

echo the sentiments and say thank you to toronto fire services and toronto paramedics for an outstanding job and working collaboratively with us to reach where we are. we do have a situation here right now where we are really aggressively looking for two pieces right now. one is to identify the victims, all of the victims, and the second is, as i stated earlier, there are a tremendous amount of people that saw some of the events that took place. i appreciate that it was almost a kilometre strip, so you will have a piece of the puzzle, but it is important not to dismiss that. we need every single piece of this puzzle that we can, so that we can have a fulsome picture and account as to what took place here so account as to what took place here so that we have an dominic a proper opportunity to bring this to a resolution in the courts —— have a proper opportunity. was this an intentional act? hang on a second. you said this is not something that

is connected to national security. what does that mean? what do we know about what the motive or how have you been able to discount that and are we not calling this an act of terror, is that what we are trying to get away from? if you listen to what the minister said, he did not dismiss it, he said at this point, with respect to what we have right 110w. with respect to what we have right now. you can appreciate this is very early in the investigation. there is no avenue we won't explore, but based on what we have and what we are doing right now, because it is a multiagency approach, we open all the lanes at the start and we follow where the evidence takes us. so at this particular point in time, working collaboratively, not just this particular point in time, working collaboratively, notjust on a local but also provincial and federal level, we are all collaborating and we are all putting a pieces together to see exactly what we have. and at this particular

point in time, there is nothing that does affect the national security area. we are looking very strongly to what the exact motivation and motive was for this particular incident to take place, and at the end of the day we will have a fulsome answer and we will have a fulsome answer and we will have a fulsome account as to what the conclusion of this is. can you confirm, was there in tents, or was this a mistake? well, based on witness accounts we have a vehicle that started north on young street from finch, and drove southbound, at some point in time on sidewalks, at some point in time on sidewalks, at some points driving southbound on northbound lanes, so it is very clear just from a general perspective to say that the actions definitely look deliberate. there is nothing on ourfiles. we have looked right across, and there is nothing that we have on him right now. was ina that we have on him right now. was in a hate crime? have you ruled out terrorism? we don't rule out anything. what we have to do is we have to follow what we have. because it is very early in the investigation right now, you have to appreciate that there have to be frantic investigations, digital and otherwise. they have to be witnesses, not just

otherwise. they have to be witnesses, notjust witnesses otherwise. they have to be witnesses, not just witnesses to what occurred, but witnesses that may have information based on the person that we are alleging has done this right now —— forensics. and as we expand the investigation and explore further through those accou nts explore further through those accounts and through those witness accou nts accounts and through those witness accounts that we gather, we will have a broader picture of what we have a broader picture of what we have and we can be more definitive. but right now please appreciate, it is early. we are not excluding anything. it is early. it is a process to follow what we have and so the statement is accurate at this point in time, based on what we have, that there is nothing that copper misers the national security footprint. not excluding it, but right now that is where we are. can you explain to us how he was arrested without incident after this incident, after everything that happened? how was he arrested without incident? well, i can tell you it is directly related to the high—calibre training which takes place. the officers here are taught to use as little force as possible

in any situation and i believe this was captured on video. ijust came in from new york city, so i am still being briefed on exactly what went on. we will have more phone numbers for people to give out so that we can do this right, but through their training, the officer did a fantastic job with training, the officer did a fantasticjob with respect to utilising his ability to understand the circumstances, the environment, and having a peaceful resolution at the end of the day. so i do applaud the end of the day. so i do applaud the men and women involved in this particular investigation, and for this scenario, and how it came out. was it a hate crime? there is nothing that indicates he has a gun, no. we will know later on, as we investigate. was it a hate crime? was it a white person attacking a predominantly minority population in northern toronto? i have nothing that tells me that specifically right now. can you confirm the name of the suspects, just so we are clear on that? i did give the name.

alek or alex? alex minassian. that is part of the investigation as well. we need to identify whether or not there are more people, if he is working in concert with anyone or if this is his own doing. is the suspect talking to you? is he in discussions with police? it is early in the investigation, and we are still investigating right now. once charges are laid, we will let you know. is there any suggestion on what may have set him off?|j know. is there any suggestion on what may have set him off? i can tell you, i have a lot of resources doing the investigative work with respect to intelligence. we are

working collaboratively with our federal and provincial counterparts. we are doing threat assessments right across the city to make sure the public is reassured that they are safe. this is something that we do take seriously. anything that involves loss of life. it is our responsibility to make sure that people understand that as a police agency and as law enforcement, collaboration is the most important component for success, and we're working very strongly together to make sure that whatever security footprint is do go outwith, going forward , footprint is do go outwith, going forward, they are the right ones and i feel confident that this will take place. have there been more attacks like this? there is nothing to cause us like this? there is nothing to cause us to believe that, but as i stated, we are utilising our intelligence properly and using the resources that are necessary to make sure that we keep our city safe, that is exactly what we will do. with mass casualties in your city, and presumably there appears to be criminal intent, what is a general reaction to this? well, first and

foremost my concern is loss of life. my foremost my concern is loss of life. my heart goes out to the victims, and these are people here that now have families, friends and loved ones who unexpectedly are going to be receiving phone calls. and so first and foremost, is the city safe ? first and foremost, is the city safe? secondly, the men and women from the toronto police service, are they ok? we have a lot of critical incident debriefs taking place right now, not just with incident debriefs taking place right now, notjust with the incident debriefs taking place right now, not just with the frontline, but without call takers, who have to ta ke but without call takers, who have to take these calls and listen to people who are calling in, and it is not sitting right with them. that has an effect on my civilian cou nterpa rts has an effect on my civilian counterparts as well. so the well—being of our community and my officers and civilians are on my mind. is the city safe tonight? yes, the city is safe. what extra have you done to ensure the city is safe? asi you done to ensure the city is safe? as i have said hill stated, we are only doing priority critical calls. the nonemergency calls we are pushing off. we have expanded our footprint with respect to keeping

our day shifts working longer, and the evening shifts we have brought in earlier. nonuniform people who have use of force options are put on standby so that they can be called out if need be right now. we are rid reevaluating a threat assessments to make sure they are in the paddock with keeping the community safe at all times, ensuring that things are going to be kept safe. it is the paramount issue right now, and also making sure the community is kept informed what is going on and what steps we are taking, and making sure people are calling in, that is the most important thing right now. i will have another hotline later the people to call if they have any concerns that their loved ones may bea concerns that their loved ones may be a victim to this. we will be putting that our very shortly, i believe, so that we have three particular