i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines. the creeping menace from the hawaii volcano. more homes are swallowed by molten lava. as american allies work to save the iran nuclear deal, president trump says he'll make an announcement on tuesday. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme. across the ethnic divide in malaysia's election, we meet the malay candidate standing for the traditionally chinese party. and the first lady of the united states announces a new initiative. melania trump urges adults and children to ‘be best‘. it's 8am in singapore, 1:00 in london and 2pm in hawaii

where an active volcano is posing an added danger to the residents on big island. 35 buildings have now been destroyed by the wave of molten lava with hundreds more in danger. but officials have told the bbc they're most worried about a plant holding 27,000 litres of a highly flammable liquid, which they're desperately trying to move to safety.. james cook has the latest. fountains of lava, bursting from one of the world's most active volcanoes. kilauea has been erupting constantly for more than 30 years, but not like this. destruction unfolding in slow motion, gobbling up the ground

in a residential area called leilani estates. since thursday, lava has been spewing forth from more than ten fissures in the earth. this community was built on a field of fire, and no—one knows where the next rupture will emerge. hundreds of homes are threatened. hundreds of people have been forced to flee. as you go down the hill, you can see that leilani avenue doesn't exist anymore. there's a black lava thing, and everything's all gone. at one point lava burst more than 200 feet into the air, higher than nelson's column in trafalgar square. at the crater of kilauea, geologists are using time—lapse videos to keep watch. but even the experts say that predicting the behaviour of a magma plumbing system which extends a0 miles beneath the earth is practically impossible. they are particularly concerned about gas stored in this geothermal plant near one of the fissures,

and about sulphur dioxide in the island air, which can prove deadly. this could go on for months, but there is nothing anyone can do about it, except to gaze in awe. james cook, bbc news. more from hawaii in a moment. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. president trump says he will announce his decision on whether to keep the iran nuclear deal on tuesday. earlier, britain's foreign secretary appealed to the trump administration not to abandon the deal. borisjohnson held talks with his american counterpart, mike pompeo and also appeared on president trump's favourite tv show, to warn there was no plan b to prevent iran getting nuclear weapons. i think what european diplomatic efforts have been aimed at is damage limitation, salvaging something that is meaningful. and there are indications

from the white house tonight that that could have achieved a measure of success, an administration official saying that donald trump will announce a partial pullout of the iranian nuclear deal, although not giving an indication of what that might look like. nick bryant on the iran nuclear deal. well iran has received a boost from the result of elections in lebanon. hezbollah, the shia organisation which is backed by iran, has claimed to have won over half the seats. the prime minister saad hariri said his western—backed future movement has lost a third of theirs. several seniorjournalists have left cambodia's phnom penh post, following the sacking of the editor and alleged editorial interference. the paper, seen as the country's last independent daily, was sold at the weekend. the new owners claim the decision was "business restructuring". but staff remain unconvinced. at least four of our senior

staff have walked out. they include our managing editor, our business editor, our web editor, and some of the senior reporters who worked on the damaging article. and so basically today we've seen our editorial — our editors gutted from our newsroom. two teenage girls have been raped and set on fire in separate incidents in india. one girl died on sunday. the other is in a critical condition. india's supreme court is trying a group of men accused of raping and murdering an eight year old girl. the court is moving the trial to a different state, fearing local bias in favour of the accused. the supreme court was hearing a petition filed by the victim's family, who feared that if the trial was conducted here, because of heightened tensions between communities, it may not have been heard properly. the victim's father has spoken to the bbc over the phone and he said he is happy with the court's decision,

because he feels that now the case will be heard without any pressure or without any fear. the family members of the accused, however, are demanding a federal inquiry into the incident. they say that in this state, which is a muslim—majority state, the hindu community is being targeted. the incident has deeply polarised people injammu and kashmir. tourism accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions, about three times more than previously estimated. a new study includes details of the carbon footprint linked to tourists‘ food, shopping and accommodation as well as travel. the united states, china, germany and india are responsible for the biggest overall impact from tourism. and in sport, mark williams has fought off a stunning comeback from john higgins to claim his third world snooker crown. the welshman won a gripping final, 18 frames to 16 to become the oldest winnerfor a0 years.

chinese superstar ding jun—hui crashed out in the quarter—finals. let's get more now on our top story. an erupting volcano on hawaii's big island has destroyed 35 structures, mostly homes, and is threatening hundreds more. but there's an added danger facing the island, with the lava slowly creeping towards a geothermal plant that holds more than 27,000 litres of a highly flammable liquid. on sunday, more fissures opened up in the ground. this is what that looks like — these pictures are from the leilani estate, which has now been evacuated. in total, 18—hundred people have been evacuated from 700 homes, since the volcano began

to rumble on thursday, after a series of earthquakes. earlier i spoke with hawaiian senator mike gabbard, and asked him what the current threat level is regarding that geothermal plant. aloha, rico, and thank you for having me on. the gas, it's called pentane, you mentioned 27,000 litres, it's at the puna geothermal venture, which is close by to the latest fissures where the lava is coming from. it is about a mile away from there, and so the gas is placed at the highest level on the property. but they're trying to get some containers in there, so that they can actually remove the gas. the problem there, of course, is it's going to take a couple of days to do it, so we are all kind of hoping that this not explode. according to the people who run the pgv, they are saying that even if it does explode, it's not going to affect the nearby homes.

what is the current threat level, as we speak, senator? as i said, as ofjust a few minutes ago, but it's the latest report that we have, that they are planning on moving the pentane gas, and they are waiting for containers, but it will take a couple of days to move it. but, according to the company, they are assuring the community that there is no danger — even if it does explode, that it will not blow any of the houses up. what about the threat level of more eruptions, and more lava moving into the communities around the big island? yes, rico, and that of course is the big threat, is the lava and the sulphur dioxide, the gas. unfortunately, this is very unpredictable. the scientists are doing their best, but you cannot predict what's going to happen next. the earthquake that happened

friday was 6.5—magnitude on the richter scale. that was the biggest earthquake since 1975, and that actually knocked out the electricity for 13,000 residents on the big island. power has been restored, but we're just hoping that the worst is over. what more help can be extended to the residents on big island? well, rico, i think people... shelters have been provided, the red cross are providing shelters for people where they can sleep and eat at the community centre, and also at the community college there. that is where residents are going, the ones that you mentioned, the 1,800 residents that have been evacuated. but the authorities are allowing the residents to come back to their homes so they can take out their valuables. but, for example, on the evening news last night, you had people who were lined up in their cars

on the highway for hours and hours and hours, trying to get in to save their valuables. but they are just doing it, and they are allowing people to do that, but at a certain point, at like 6:00pm, when the sun starts to go down, they are asking everybody to get out of there. because again, they do not know, they cannot predict, where the next explosion — where the next fissure of lava is going to explode. this week, we're looking ahead to the malaysia's general election, seen as one of the most hotly contested ca m pa ig ns in the country's history. one of the key issues in the poll is race. prime minister najib razak has warned that a vote for the opposition is a vote for the largest ethnic chinese group. but the dap is pushing back by fielding a number of malay candidates. 0ur correspondentjonathan head has been following one of them. syefura 0thman is on a mission. the young opposition candidate is travelling across rural parts of the constituency she is contesting, trying to break

the racial stereotypes that dominate malaysian politics. very unusually syefura, a malay, is representing a largely chinese party, the dap. hers is a mixed constituency, narrowly won by the governing coalition last time. but she and her party know that the key to this election is winning the votes of malays and other indigenous groups. 0ut here, away from the cities, are where most of the parliamentary seats are. it is, as you can see from the flags, firmly from pro—government territory. most of the malays and indigenous people who live here have for decades relied on government help to survive, so it is all too easy for the prime minister to warn them that a vote for the opposition is a vote for a chinese—dominated coalition that will take malay privileges away.

it is to allay those fears that the dap has deployed syefura to this area. translation: this isjust propaganda, to scare the malay people, especially. because they know, if they play on issues of religious sentiment, racial sentiment, malay people will be scared, and distance themselves from us. by representing the dap, i want to show that this propaganda is false. braving a sea of blue flags, syefura has come to a village — the original indigenous inhabitants of the malay peninsula. her party hopes that her youth and charm can win their support. but, in these remote areas, some of them can't even remember that there is an election on wednesday. reminded that syefura represents change, an end to 60 years of unbroken rule by one party,

they seem a bit confused. translation: i already have a house. there is electricity, water, so everything else is not important. we only met her today, for the first time, so i can't really say whether i like her campaign or not. in malaysia's towns and cities, the hungerfor change is evident. in the countryside, where life is simpler, not so much. the opposition is getting its message and its party colours out here, but it can't be sure if that is enough to change their voting habits. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme — it doesn't look much, but these remains suggest humans have been living in the philippines for 700,000 years. also on the programme — starship troopers.

just how realistic is donald trump's new idea for american security? i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. but the tunnel is still not ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now, the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in underfour minutes. memories of victory, as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future

of peace and freedom. welcome back, everyone. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. and i'm kasia madeira in london. our top stories: molten lava is flowing through a neighbourhood in hawaii. 2000 people have been evacuated. donald trump has said on twitter that he will announce on twitter whether he is abandoning the international nuclear deal on iran. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world.

the japan times is watching out for the mysterious hackers who've been targeting the nation's security cameras. 60 cameras from key waterways to a fish market have been affected. the company behind the cameras urged people to change their passwords. let's now change the page. the new york times reports on the pulitzer finalist who's kept many bookworms guessing. last year hernan diaz — who had no agent — answered an open call for manuscripts. now he's in the running for the prestigious prize forfiction. and would you buy an electric scooter for your toddler? well the china daily features one youngster taking a spin. the picture is from the international bicycle fair underway in shanghai. but hopefully this two—wheeled tot will be sticking to his pushchair from now on. those other papers. and kasia

madera, flotus is trending this morning? shears. trending on twitter for the past couple of hours, first lady of the united states, melania trump, who's launched her signature initiative. it's called "be best" and it aims to promote healthy living and using social media in positive ways. her husband president trump is of course well—known for using social media and has often been in the spotlight for using it to insult opponents or people whose views he disagrees with. this was the first lady's message to the media, to cabinet members and to representatives from the likes of facebook and twitter. as we all know, social media can both positively and negatively affect our children. when children learn positive on—line behaviours early on, social media can be used in productive ways and can affect positive change. i believe children should be both seen and heard. and it is our responsibility as adults to educate and remind them that when they are using their voice, whether verbally or on on—line, they should choose their words wisely and speak with respect and compassion.

the first lady of the united states, melania trump. our next story may sound like a blockbuster set in a galaxy far, far away. but the space force is in fact donald trump's idea to create a new branch of the us military dedicated to fighting in outer space. recently he's been pressing the idea so we've taken this opportunity to see if it could actually become reality. the space force, does that make sense? the space force. we may even have a space force. president trump has mentioned the space force a couple of times, and what he's alluding to is an ongoing debate in congress that is creating a separate military service that focuses on military space capabilities.

space is a war—fighting domain just like the land, air, and sea. the us has become increasingly reliant on space capabilities for military operations across the full spectrum of conflict, from fighting terrorists in iraq and syria and afghanistan... we need to protect the american people, and security is going to be a very big factor with respect to space. in 2001, there is a special commission created by congress, and the final report of that commission recommended eventually transitioning to an independent military service for space. war—fighting in space is not like star wars. and it's not, you know, space marines. there are no military service members in space fighting in these. it's all remote.

all of these are unmanned satellites that the military uses. the space force, the army, the navy. there are many things that president trump has said other presidents have not said before, but the us military is very dependent on its space capabilities, and it's something we have to take seriously. in the future we will say how did we do it without space? it would take several years, even if the decision was made today, first of all for congress to decide what to do. i think it will take at least five years, maybe more, like ten years, to transition to a new military service for space. because we are getting very big in space. a little look there to see if donald trump's space force. to watch that again

visit our website. some stone artefacts recently found in the philippines show humans were living there more than seven hundred thousand years ago, hundreds of thousands of years earlier than previously thought. they were found by an international team of researchers at an excavation at kalinga on loo—zon, the largest and most northerly island in the philippines. this week, their findings were published in the science journal, nature. —— luzon. dr gerrit van den bergh is a senior fellow in the school of earth and environmental sciences at the university of wollongong in australia. he explained what has been discovered. so what we have found is a partial skeleton of a rhino, a rhinoceros, and that is already quite, well, amazing, because they are very rare. so it is an extinct kind of rhino. on top of that, this rhino has clear signs of butchery marks, bones have been smashed with stones to probably get to the marrow.

and the most astonishing is that, as you already mentioned, the very old age of this rhino, dated to 700,000 years ago, and that is the same age as the "hobbit" remains on flores that were announced in 2016. so, what's the thinking here? because, initially, the thought was that ancient humans arrived in that particular region around 70,000 years ago. we are talking about 700,000 years ago! that's a huge difference. that's correct. and this is now the third island where we have indications that pre—modern hominids, so pre—modern species that are closely related to us but not the same as us, inhabited islands in the area named after the famous naturalist, alfred russel wallace, uh, wallasea, so we have flores, sulawesi, and now we have luzon. an archaic type of human

inhabited these islands. and the big question is how did they arrive on these islands, and who were they, actually? because we haven't found any fossils yet of a toolmaker in this zone, but the age, 700,000 excludes that the tools were made by modern humans. the oldest evidence we have for modern humans is dated at 300,000 year in africa. so, it is quite amazing and generates a lot of questions. how did they get to these islands? dr gerrit van den bergh

from the university of wollongong. what a discovery! my ancestors from 700,000 years ago! you have been watching newsday. stay with us. we will be hearing more about that general election in malaysia. may 9. with just one day until malaysians go to the polls, we'll see who is cashing in on major chinese investment in the country. bid is a fascinating discovery, isn't it, rico hizon? —— it is. and we'll leave you with some images of people in the uk enjoying the recent very warm weather here, with some lawnmower racing. i kid you not. yes the lawnmower racing season has got underway. looks fun, if a little dangerous. for obvious safety reasons all the blades are removed. hello there.

what a bank holiday weekend that turned out to be. in fact, a recordbreaker. 29 degrees. the warmest early may bank holiday weekend on record. and for the vast majority, there was a lot of sunshine. there were exceptions too. the western coastal fringe is seeing low cloud and mist and fog. temperatures, no better than 11 degrees. wherever you are, you can expect the temperatures to take a tumble in the next few days. we are swapping out the warm air with cool and fresh conditions from the atlantic. this is how we start off tuesday morning. temperatures in pretty decent shape for many. double digits in most places. and again, we will start off with some sunshine in eastern scotland, east wales, and potentially eastern

portions of england. 0ut west, cloudy skies, still some grey and murky conditions along the coast. and through the day, a band of rain from the west across northern ireland into scotland, north—west england, parts of wales, and the midlands, and ahead of that, just the odd shower and still some warmth. with temperatures up to 28 in the south—east. 0ut west, temperatures beginning to take a tumble. and as we push this weakening rain band further eastwards through tuesday night we will all get into the cooler and fresher air from the west. a little ridge of high pressure just about building its way in to start wednesday. so, not a bad start to the day. some fine weather, some spells of sunshine. 0ut west, things already changing. thickening cloud for northern ireland and scotland. some rain. the further south and east you are, especially in england, staying dry and bright into the afternoon. temperatures even here a good few degrees down on where they have been. 20 degrees in london and maybejust 11 in belfast. we push that system eastwards wednesday night into thursday.

it tries to build its way back in. so, thursday, not a bad looking day. decent spells of sunshine perhaps. a few showers blowing in towards the north—west perhaps. even given the strength of the sun at this time of year, temperatures will not be as impressive as they have been over the weekend. 13 to 17 degrees at best. and a similar story really on friday. a fine start. our next atlantic frontal system then pushing in from the west strengthening the winds and bringing outbreaks of rain. and sticking with that cooler, fresher feel. top temperatures on friday afternoon, 12 degrees in aberdeen, a high of 18 in london. that's all for now. i'm kasia madera with bbc world news. our top story: creeping, molten lava in hawaii has destroyed a total of 35 structures,

mostly homes, and it is threatening hundreds more. new fissures and vents opened in the leilani estates area of hawaii's big island. the lava is coming from one of the world's most active volcanoes, kilauea, which has been in constant eruption for 35 years. donald trump says he will announce on tuesday whether the us will pull out of the 2015 iran nuclear deal. britain, france and germany have urged the president not to abandon the plan. and this story is trending on twitter for the past couple of hours. melania trump has launched a campaign to teach children the importance of social, emotional and physical health. she announced the initiative, called "be best", at the white house. 0ne focus will be efforts to stop online bullying. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk: