this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: rescuing the rescuers. more than 100 white helmet volunteers and their families are evacuated from the fighting in syria. gunmen in south africa shoot dead 11 taxi drivers, who were ambushed on their way back from a funeral. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: with just days to go before parliamentary elections in pakistan, many women still aren't registered and may not be allowed to vote. we speak to the female candidate trying to change that. and inside north korea, we'll hear from an american student who gained rare access to the secretive state. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news.

it's newsday. good morning. it's 8:00am in singapore, 1am in london and 3:00am in israel, where the government has intervened to help more than a hundred members of the volunteer syrian civil defence force, known as the white helmets, escape a government offensive. they were evacuated through the occupied golan heights and are now safe injordan, along with 300 members of theirfamiles. britain, france and canada requested israel's help over concerns the volunteers might be detained by the syrian army. here's mark lowen. rescuing the rescuers. syrian civil defence volunteers and their families evacuated intojordan and to safety. these pictures, filmed

by the israeli army, show its troops escorting the white helmets from the syrian border, escaping assad regime and russian forces. israel's prime minister said it was an urgent international operation. translation: the lives of these people who have saved lives were now in danger. i therefore authorised the transfer, via israel to other countries, as an important humanitarian gesture. they'll now be resettled in britain, canada and germany. in the hell of syria's war, the white helmets have often been the first on the scene, pulling victims from the rubble of air strikes, administering first aid when hospitals are bombed. nominated for the nobel peace prize, the volunteers say they've saved over 115,000 lives. 260 white helmets have been killed. some targeted by a second airstrike as they moved in. but president assad calls them jihadists. as syrian government and russian

forces surround opposition areas of south—west syria, civilians and fighters have been bussed to rebel—held idlib in the north. but the regime refused to let the white helmets join them. as assad forces, backed by russian air power, close in on south—west syria, resistance is crumbling, and the medical lifeline of the white helmets has been cut. mark lowen, bbc news. we have much more about the white helmets and also on syria on our website. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. gunmen in south africa have shot dead 11 taxi drivers who were on their way back to johannesburg after attending the funeral of a colleague. the gunmen ambushed them, and using automatic rifles, peppered the vehicle with bullets. south african journalist ayanda mhlongo told us more about the possible reason behind this attack. certainly horrific incidents taking

place here in south africa, and police have said they do not know what the motive of this act is. it is believed to be linked to ongoing turf wars in the city of johannesburg between the ivory park association, they have had quite a long battle between themselves and other rival associations. and that has generally been what has been the reason behind the taxi violence across south africa. and thanks for just and thanks forjust putting that into context for us, ayanda. also making news today: at least 14 people have been killed and more than 60 injured in a blast outside kabul international airport in

afghanistan. the attack coincided with the arrival of afghan vice president abdul rashid dostum from a self—imposed exile in turkey. so—called islamic state says it was behind the attack, in which a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near the airport's main entrance. a witness described the moment of the blast. translation: an ordinary person came along, he looked normal, just like me. he was wearing black clothes. he talked to the police. and i thought he was a suicide bomber. and suddenly an explosion happened. the iranian president, hassan rouhani, has warned president trump not to escalate tensions with his country, saying a confrontation with the islamic republic would lead to the mother of all wars. he added that peace with iran would be the mother of all peace. tehran is facing increased pressure from washington over mr trump's decision to withdraw the us from a 2015 international deal on iran's nuclear programme.

in germany, around 25,000 people have protested against the hardline immigration stance of chancellor angela merkel‘s bavarian allies, the christian social union. 0rganisers said they were demonstrating against the irresponsible, divisive politics of the csu leadership. earlier this month, the party's leader and federal interior minister, horst seehofer, nearly brought down mrs merkel‘s government in a dispute over migration. and the world snail racing championships have been taking place in britain. i kid you not. more than 150 snails slugged it out over the weekend. after hearing the command, "ready, steady, slow!" the first snail to reach the middle rim among three circles on a cloth is declared the winner. and the prize? a silver tankard, stuffed with lettuce leaves for the triumphant snail.

iam assuming i am assuming rather than the gentleman who owns the snail. interesting race. more than 1.5 million people have had their medical records stolen, in the worst cyber attack in singapore's history on friday. hackers stole prescription records from more than 160,000 people, including prime minister lee hsien loong. authorities are now working to track down those responsible, described as a "deliberate, targeted and well—planned cyber attack" by expert hackers. leonard kleinman is chief advisor for cyber security firm rsa. earlier he told me that healthcare data can now be as vaubale as credit card detail to some hackers. card details to some hackers. if you look at the reports that have come out in the industry, it certainly indicates that healthcare in particular is much more valuable than just straight—up credit card information these days, and it really comes down to the composite of data that can be

extracted from healthcare organisations. it spans a spectrum from just financial, personal data, right through to p01 data, you know, mother's maiden name or social security numbers. but, len, singapore has branded and promoted itself as a smart nation, technology savvy, technology sophisticated. how could this happen to the citystate? when it comes to cyber security, and cyber attack, it knows no boundaries. anyone is fair game in this respect. in some ways, you know, singapore, being such an exemplary example, may well have painted a target on itself in that respect. could it now be vulnerable to other cyber attacks, particularly in other technology infrastructures, maybe in transportation, or maybe even air traffic control? potentially so, here. in particular, with the areas you have just cited,

what i find interesting and encouraging is the fact that a lot of governments, including singapore, have programmes now that identify those critical areas of infrastructure and are working to make sure there is stronger and more robust cyber security implemented in them. so, tell us, if you break it down, how should it systems be designed and built to be resilient to cyber attacks? certainly. and that's certainly a big thrust around the cyber security industry these days, building systems that are resilient and resistant to cyber attack. and, really, it starts with the bones, if you want. ensuring that, in the design process, principles and fundamentals in terms of strong cyber security are included in the design that we are building it strong from the start. ok, so, start the building of the security from within, rather than just a defence perimeter? absolutely, yeah. and what about, basically, health organisations and other organisations have a lot

of solutions from different vendors, is this why we don't have a uniform cyber security effectiveness? i think that the ecosystem in terms of cyber security has some commonality across it, which gives organisations opportunities to ensure that whatever they procure is fit for purpose. so, in a lot of cases, it comes back to the organisation. understanding, 0k, what is their mission, what is their critical assets, and things like that, and ensuring the security solutions that they implement are correct and right, that is why i say "fit for purpose". leonard kleinman, chief cyber security specialist from rsa. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: encouraging women to vote in pakistan. we speak to those campaigning for more women to go to the polls in wednesday's elections. also on the programme: have you ever wondered what it's like to live in north korea?

we'll speak to one of the few americans to study inside kim jong—un‘s secretive country. coming down the ladder now. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30 year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia but now, a decade later, it's been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease in sperm quantity and an increase in malfunctioning sperm unable to swim properly. thousands of households

across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime, as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: israel has evacuated hundreds of syria's white helmets civil defence volunteers and their families to jordan. the operation was the result of international cooperation. 11 taxi drivers have been killed in south africa after gunmen ambushed them using automatic rifles. the victims were on their way back to johannesburg after attending the funeral of a colleague. let's take a look at some front

pages from around the world. the gulf news reports on afghan vice president abdul rashid dostum returning home from exile after a year. there was high drama after a suicide attack in kabul airportjust minutes after dostum's motorcade left the premises. japan times looks at a threat from iran that could have global business implications. the country's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei has given fresh warnings that iran will disrupt persian gulf oil exports if it is prevented from exporting its own oil by new us sanctions. the front page of philippines inquirer is dominated by president duterte's state of the nation address coming up later. carrying a colourful image of the president,

the paper asks if duterte's policy announcement will focus on people's desire for change. and those are the papers. now, kasia, what stories are sparking discussions online? well, rico, it is a brilliant story. the tv show supergirl will become the first series to feature a transgender superhero. activist and actor nicole maines, who is herself transgender, will play the role of nia nal in the upcoming fourth season of supergirl. speaking to variety magazine, nicole maines said she wanted fans to take away an understanding of trans people, saying, "we can be anybody we can be superheroes, because in many ways we are." pakistan goes to the polls on wednesday to elect members of parliament. women there were given the right to vote soon after the state was created, but in various parts of the country, men don't let them enter a polling station. for the first time, there's been

a concerted campaign to get women registered and part of the political process. the bbc‘s shumaila jaffery follows women trying to change age—old attitudes. hameeda shahid is making history. she is standing for parliament in upper dir, a tribal area of pakistan. it was once a taliban stronghold, where women had few rights and were not even allowed to vote. translation: untilyou reach out to women, and educate them about the importance of voting, they will never understand its power. now, women indeed understand the value of the ballot box. it also made me think that, if women can vote, why can't they run for election? hameeda shahid had a little help. last year, pakistan's election commission refused to accept council election results in the areas

no women had voted. it said at least 10% of voters must be women in each constituency for an election to be valid. and it's notjust remote and far—flung areas like these where women were barred from voting. here in the heart of punjab, which is the most developed province in the whole country, women were hindered from casting a ballot for over half a century, despite the fact that they had been given the right to vote since the foundation of the state. this young woman wants to vote. men took it away in 1962, after a feud involving women on polling day. it's a sensitive issue, and she doesn't want to reveal her identity. translation: the men of my village don't like to send their women to polling stations. it has almost become a tradition,

and there is not a single man strong enough to take a stand and let women from here cast a ballot, because he has to survive in the society too. not a single woman voted in 17 polling stations in the previous election. a local ngo is trying to mobilise women, but getting access to them is a challenge. translation: women don't have political knowledge, or any knowledge about voting. they have always been kept away from politics, and candidates decide that they don't need women's vote. the election commission has forced change. it has also registered an extra three million women voters. we are trying to sensitise not only women, we're also trying to sensitise men of those areas, and we're very positive that we will not declare the result until we have 10%. the election campaign here remains all about the men. the candidates say they don't support the ban on women voting,

yet they have done nothing to change it. this time, though, they can't ignore women and their vote any longer. shumaila jaffery, bbc news, pakistan. i spoke to moeed yusuf, associate vice president of us institute of peace in washington, dc, and asked him how well the initiative to have more women regisetered to vote is received in pakistan. what i will say in pakistan, it's a bit peculiar, because you've these pockets, various areas in pakistan, where this has been a long—standing problem of tradition, quite frankly, more than laws or implementation of policy. i mean, the state has very much been promoting this, this time and in the previous election more so than in the past. but the report, for instance, talked about parts of punjab. some pockets are notorious for not allowing women to vote. and the usip, the institution that

i represent, we've actually made a concerted effort as well, in this election and the previous one, to empower women to come out and vote. and breaking traditions, as you know, is not easy, but i think these are steps in the right direction. it's going to take a while, but the state seems to be committed on this one, and i think this 10% vote is going to be upheld in the upcoming election next week. if you've got certain areas where women are not allowed to go into polling stations, how on earth do you even begin to change that kind of attitude? i know, it's very difficult. some of us are in the business of peace building, which is behaviour change, which is attitudinal change. it's generational, it's not going to happen overnight. so what you do is you bring in laws, you bring in policies, for instance, you don't have 10% women, you're not going to get a result. so the men are forced to send women to the polls. now, if you allow 10%, other women are going to say they want to go, as well, and that's how you begin the process.

then you work on the grassroots level, convincing men and women at the same time that this is good for them, for their society, for the country. and, over time, you have begun to see changes. because, as i said, many neighbouring areas, much of pakistan doesn't have this problem. so it's relatively easy to point to those areas and say, well, if women can do it there, why not here? again, it's not going to happen overnight, but i think there is movement. at least i working in this area, quite frankly, i'm optimistic that over time this is going to change for the better. well, we can see a change already in that more women are registering to vote. but when it comes to the choices that they have, and engaging them in politics, making them interested in it, how do you go about doing that? pakistan is schizophrenic in this sense. you've got urban areas, you've got elite women who are in politics in numbers. pakistan is unlike middle eastern countries. you've got a workforce full of women in urban areas, especially in, sort of,

the elite circles. the problem is really rural areas. the problem is the disempowered socio—economic class. so it's as much a class problem, quite frankly, as it is one of geography and tradition. you know, the former pakistani prime minister, slain prime minsiter, benazir bhutto made it her mandate, for obvious reasons, to pull women into politics. even from that socio—economic strata, wasn't too successful. but you've got to continue making this happen. and quite frankly sometimes i feel women who are in elite positions who are in politics need to champion his cause, because their voice, i think, carries much more weight in this than many of the men in politics. so are you hopeful that this will be successful in the long run? i think there's no question. i think the trend is absolutely in the right direction. the frustration is it's much slower than it should be. and as you know, the other problem in pakistani elections last time, and unfortunately this time, is security. and whenever you've got security problems, it's an easier argument to make for women not to go to the polling stations,

because of safety reasons. and so it's complicated, but i do think the trend lines are moving in the right directions. what's life really like inside north korea? it's a question few outside the country can answer. well, in 2016 travisjeppesen became the first american ever to study on north korean soil, attending a university in pyongyang. i spoke to him earlier, and i began by asking what was the most surprising thing he experienced. well, i have to say the most surprising thing, as an american, was the warmth and kindness with which i was received by the vast majority of north koreans that i encountered. you know, contrary to the fact that, you know, anti—americanism is of course a central part of the regime's ideology,

one in which all north koreans are well versed in, and are indoctrinated in, one might say, from an early age. so warmth, hospitality, was really a surprising experience for you in north korea. but you had two guides following you during your month—long stay in north korea, so were you really able to interact with the north koreans? were you able to ask them what they felt about living conditions, about maybe even kim jong—un? yes, surprisingly, on this visit. now, i mean, keep in mind i had been to north korea on several occasions prior to this month—long stay there, and on this visit it was much more relaxed than on my previous visits, perhaps because i was studying there, and so i was able to speak a lot. you know, i was in a classroom with my professor, and i was the only beginning—level student in the classroom, so it was just me and my professor in the classroom for much of the time.

so i got to speak with her quite a lot about her daily life experiences. and, you know, in general i tried to avoid the subject... but did you ever get to see the poverty that is being talked about in the western media? yes, certainly, but that's mostly when one leaves pyongyang. in pyongyang itself, surprisingly, there's a huge, burgeoning upper—middle class in pyongyang. it's quite surprising. there are quite ostentatious displays of wealth on the streets, rolex watches and whatnot. so that did sort ofjar with what i'd previously thought north korea would be like, though certainly on my visit... and of course, a zoo filled with bats, cats and dogs, and a university with virtually no tv. yes, yes. the country does have electricity, power problems, and not always now, it's getting certainly much

better than it was before. as with the cats and dogs in the zoo, i mean, there's kind of like a logical explanation for that. until recently it wasn't normal for north koreans to have pets at home. i asked one of my guides why that was, and she said, "well, korean people, they think it's odd to keep a dirty animal at home for the reason of germs and whatnot." so for that reason, they think it's quite odd, the whole concept of having pets. travis jefferson, who travisjefferson, who experienced living in north korea for one month ona living in north korea for one month on a study grant. you've been watching newsday. stay with us. still to come: us gdp numbers will be out later this week. so will the us economy see the growth it wants and what will that mean for asia? that's all for now, stay with bbc world news. temperatures got up to 30 degrees

on sunday, and the heat is going to continue over the next few days. if anything, it'll turn even hotter across parts of southern and south—eastern england. temperatures may actually even get up to 33 celsius. now, on our satellite picture, we have a few weather fronts moving through, but they're very, very weak. they're not bringing an awful lot of rainfall, just about nudging into north—western parts of scotland and northern ireland. to the south of that, this is where the heat is, across spain, portugal, france. in fact, all of that heat through monday will be expanding right across europe, and all the way into scandinavia, where, incidentally, it's been a record—breaking summer, lack of rainfall there, as well, and temperatures into the 30s — very unusual. now, cooler air is trying to tuck into north—western parts of the country, and actually, parts of scotland and northern ireland will be among the coolest places in europe over the next few days. but this is what it looks like first

thing on monday morning. very warm — 20 degrees, that's the overnight low in london. 16, 17 degrees there for the lowlands of scotland and for belfast. so here's our very small, weak weather front here, bringing a few spots of rain. you can see itjust pretty much falls apart, bringing some rainfall to northern ireland and maybe the western isles there during the course of monday, but that's pretty much it. to the south of that, the heat is on. temperatures widely in the high 20s, and in excess of 30 degrees there in the south—east and east anglia. so a very hot day for some of us at least on monday, but not necessarily in the north—west of the country. and you can see through monday evening, it's a very slow—moving weather front. it'll probably stall somewhere around the irish sea as we head into tuesday. so there's a possibility of perhaps a bit more cloud, maybe one or two showers around northern england, possibly wales into tuesday,

but that's pretty much it. it looks like that hot air will continue to pump in from the south and spread across france, germany, into scandinavia and poland as well. so we're just on the edge of the heat here actually. that's why it's only going to be hot across these eastern counties, the midlands and the south—east. many western areas here will be under the influence of that less hot air coming off the atlantic, but still temperatures of 20 in belfast, 2a in plymouth, and easily 30 degrees or more on tuesday. in fact, temperatures this week do get up to about 33 celsius. so a very hot week on the way, but further north it will be just that little bit cooler and more pleasant, with a spell of rain heading into northern ireland, i think, sometime midweek. that's it from me, goodbye. you are watching bbc news. our top story: more than 100 white helmet volunteers and their families are evacuated from the fighting in syria. israel carried out the evacuation, but the operation was the result of international cooperation. the volunteers had been trapped by a government offensive in a southern syrian border area. gunmen have killed 11 taxi drivers after opening fire in a violent

ambush in south africa. the victims had been on their way back from a colleague's funeral. and this story is trending on bbc.com. the tv show supergirl will become the first series to feature a transgender superhero. activist and actor nicole maines, who is herself transgender, will play the role of nia nal in the next season of supergirl. that's all. stay with bbc world news. and the top story in the uk: police have released cctv images of three men they want to question