i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore, the headlines: freed from prison and in hiding, now the lawyer for the pakistani christian woman acquitted of blasphemy tells the bbc she's free to leave the country too. asia can still move anywhere she likes, and she's not detained in pakistan because of that review petition. the united states authorities say they will block asylum claims by people who illegally enter the country. i'm ben bland in london. also in the programme: a former us marine with suspected mental health problems is named as the gunman who shot and killed 12 people in a bar in california. and none of us are getting any younger, orare we? we meet the dutchman fighting a legal battle to take 20 years off his official age. live from our studios in singapore

and london. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good morning. it's 9am in singapore, 1am in london and 6am in the morning in islamabad, where christian woman asia bibi is currently in hiding after being acquitted of blasphemy charges. her release from prison has triggered angry outbursts from hardline islamist groups, who have filed a petition calling for the decision to be reversed. until her case is settled, asia bibi's life is at grave risk. her family and supporters from around the world, are calling on countries like the uk or us to accept her asylum. chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports. released in secret in the dead of night from this prison to a secret location. asia bibi, free after eight

years on death row. but, still, the most wanted person in pakistan. wanted dead by crowds like this, who surged into the streets of the capital of islamabad when they heard the news. "hang her," they shout. hardline islamists defying supreme courtjudges who overturned her conviction, a death sentence for blasphemy. let me state clearly that asia bibi remains at a safe place in pakistan. asia bibi is now a free citizen, says thejustice ministry. she is a free woman now. but islamists have mounted a legal challenge to stop her from leaving pakistan. her torment began almost a decade ago in her tiny village. an argument with muslim women over a cup of water

turned into accusations. she was arrested and convicted for blasphemy. her husband and five children spoke to the bbc then of their world turned upside down. translation: we miss her so much. christmas is coming. we wish we could celebrate it with her. and those days of anguish lasted a decade. "we've been waiting ten years," her daughter cries, on a visit to london this month, organised by a christian charity. her mother's plight has galvanised campaigns in pakistan and far beyond, including in britain. it is a major test for pakistan's new prime minister, imran khan.

no—one has been hanged for blasphemy, but dozens have been killed by people taking the law into their own hands. asia bibi and herfamily are expected to take up offers of asylum, escaping a place where no—one accused of this crime is safe. lyse doucet, bbc news. let's bring you some breaking news from the united states. a new regulation to restrict asylum claims by migrants has been published by the us department of homeland security. our correspondent in washington, chris buckler, says questions are already being raised about the legality of the move. what this means now is those entering the us are crossed that border with mexico illegally, not going through a four mile border

crossing, they're not any longer able to apply for asylum according to the us, but if they go through a formal border crossing they will be allowed to do it. as you say, there are people raising concerns about that. according to the department of homeland security, they say the president has the broad authority to suspend or restrict the entry of aliens into the us if he determines it in the national interest. it's no surprise that many groups disagree with that. they say people have the right to apply for asylum under us law no matter how they do so as long as they do so in under one year, and we're set for a difficult call battle about this. chris, it could be said, this should come as no surprise given immigration was mentioned throughout the mid—term election campaign, particularly in light of the caravan of thousands of people making their way through

central america, through mexico, towards the border. you're right, ben. we saw in rally after rally donald trump show his anger and frustration at immigration policies, the feeling it was not tough enough. he still continues to talk about building a wall. what is two this is an attempt to do is try to put in place a system that discourages people from illegally entering into the country. of course we've had the family separation policy, which the trump administration really moved themselves back at. what they're trying to find is a new system which tries to ensure the borders are more secure. they believe this is a policy that could work, but it is going to end up in the courts. chris buckler in washington. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. the us secretary of state says american sanctions on iran are not designed to hurt the iranian people. mike pompeo has been defending america's decision to re—impose the penalties. in an interview with bbc persian‘s hadi nili in washington, mr pompeo also insisted that iran, and not saudi arabia, is fueling the war in yemen. the purpose is to stop iran's

destabilising influence in the region, assassination campaigns in europe, work to support lebanese hezbollah, that threatens americans and israelis, and using iranian people's wealth ferment this terror and to destabilise the world. this is not what the iranian people want. the aim is not to punish the iranian people, but the opposite. you say that you are not punishing the people, you say that the sanctions are not targeting the people, but what if... no they are not. but what of the sanctions hurt ordinary iranian people? the people harming the iranian are the ayatollah and the iranian leadership. mike pompeo there. also making news today: toshiba is going to close its nuclear subsidiary business nugen. it's after the japanese engineering giant failed to find a buyer for it. that means it won't now be building

a new nuclear power plant in the uk. toshiba says it will also cut 7,000 jobs around the world over the next five years. it's trying to revive its finances after it lost billions of dollars when it bought us nuclearfirm westinghouse which later filed for bankruptcy protection. us supeme court judge ruth bader ginsburg was taken to hospital on thursday after fracturing three ribs in a fall at her office on wednesday night. she is the most senior liberal justice on the court and, at 85, is also the oldest. she has been admitted for observation and treatment. the court is not back in session until november 26th. at least 47 people have died in the east of zimbabwe after a crash involving two buses. two children were killed and 70 people were injured. an eyewitness has told local media one of the buses was trying to overtake a truck outside the small town of rusape. a norwegian navy warship has

collided with an oil tanker of the coast of norway. eight people were slightly injured and the warship has been evacuated. the frigate was returning from nato military exercises when it clashed with the maltese—flagged tanker which was slightly damaged. no oil appears to have been spilled. it was not immediately clear what caused the collision. in southern california, 13 people including a police officer and a gunman have died in a shooting incident. it happened late last night in thousand oaks, a city some a0 miles west of los angeles. the gunman has been identified as a 28—year—old former us marine who took his own life. he'd had run—ins with the law and a history of mental health problems. james cook reports. 0fficer down. for the united states, this is the nightmare

that never ends. it could be las vegas, 0rlando, virginia tech or sandy hook. but, this time, it is thousand oaks at the borderline bar and grill. it was college night and the place was packed with young people enjoying country music and dancing, when the shooting started. i saw the gunman with his gun drawn at the front where you pay. as soon as we heard a shot, we dropped to the floor. like, i saw the shots go off as well as hearing them. he shot the front desk cashier. and ourfriends got the bar stools and they started to bang them against the window so we could get out. we stayed behind the stage, got out, went through the kitchen, went through the back door. i watched an officer get shot in front of me and i had to help drag him to throw him in the back of the cop car. that officer was sergeant ron helus.

he'd been outside on the phone to his wife when the shooting started. he told her he loved her and ran into the building. the sergeant passed away at the hospital about an hour ago. sergeant helus was on the force for 29 years. he was looking to retire in the next year or so. speaking to people here, you get a sense of shock and a sense of despair, but what's really striking is the absence of surprise. america has come to expect mass shootings. the gunman was a local man, ian david long, a 28—year—old former marine. he'd had run—ins with police before and they had concerns about his mental health. but although his handgun‘s extended magazine is illegal in california, he'd bought the weapon itself lawfully. why do you think this keeps happening in the united states of america? i don't know. if i knew the answer to that,

i'd do something to stop it. this city is ranked as one of the safest communities in the nation. but no corner of this country is immune from the american plague of gun violence. i just saw the news, he was one of the ii that were killed last night. his name was cody coffman. my first—born son. james cook, bbc news, thousand oaks in california. fresh from their election victory in the house, us democrats are demanding emergency hearings into the firing of attorney generaljeff sessions and are warning of a constitutional crisis. donald trump has put the country's top legal department in control of a man who has already expressed a lot of scepticism about the special counsel investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election. the bbc‘s north america editor, jon sopel, reports. jeff sessions, until last night,

donald trump's attorney general and punchbag. after months of public abuse, the president finally moved from ridiculing his senior law officer to firing him. and it was a glassy—eyed jeff sessions who bade farewell to staff. sessions‘ crime in the president's eyes had been to step aside from overseeing the russia investigation into whether there was collusion between the trump campaign and moscow. no—one can be surprised thatjeff sessions was made to walk the plank. he was living on borrowed time. what's raised eyebrows and caused concern is the man who's now the acting attorney general. he's been openly hostile to the mueller investigation, and that leaves a burning question — is donald trump planning to axe the inquiry altogether? in the short term, the man now running the justice department is matthew whitaker, a trump loyalist.

so i can see a scenario wherejeff sessions is replaced with a recess appointment, and that attorney general does not fire bob mueller but he just reduces his budget so low that his investigation grinds almost to a halt. to dwindle his resources. and he wrote this: democrats are suspicious. protecting mueller and his investigation is paramount. it would create a constitutional crisis if this were a prelude to ending or greatly limiting the mueller investigation. but what's the fuss about, says the white house. the mueller investigation has gone

forward using your tax dollars. we have not impeded it at all. we had an attorney general who was recused from it. we now don't have an acting attorney general who's recused from it. nobody wants to prolong it. we've done everything that we've been asked to do. a breaking point where donald trump goes nuclear and fires robert mueller has long been anticipated. it hasn't happened yet. it doesn't mean it won't happen. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: this sunday marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war, and in a moment, i'll be talking to the author of world war one in southeast asia about how it shaped the region's political, economic and social development. also on the programme: age no object. we'll be hearing about the dutchman fighting a legal battle to become 20 years younger. their bombastic establishment

outside a donald trump has defied the pollsters to take the keys to the pollsters to take the keys to the oval office. i feel great about the oval office. i feel great about the election. i voted for him because a genuine legally be cares about the country. it is giving the canada's name always in the public eye that counts. success or failure depends not only on public display for the local campaign headquarters and the heavy routine work of their women volunteers. and the heavy routine work of their women volunteers. their leaders from both east and west linked hands and dancer round their liberated territory. —— berliners. it was not long before the first attempts were made to destroy the structure itself. yassir arafat, who dominated the palestinian cause for so long, has died. the palestinian authority has died. the palestinian authority has declared a state of mourning. after 17 years of discussions, the result was greeted with an outburst ofjoy, women ministers who had felt

only grudgingly accepted during the ra nks only grudgingly accepted during the ra n ks of only grudgingly accepted during the ranks of clergy suddenly felt welcomed. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. i'm ben bland in london. our top stories: freed from prison, now the lawyerfor asia bibi, the pakistani christian woman acquitted of blasphemy, has told the bbc she's free to leave the country too. the united states authorities say they will prevent people who illegally enter the country from claiming asylum. and china's state news agency has unveiled a virtual newsreader. xinhua news claims the presenter "can read texts as naturally as a professional news anchor", though not everyone may agree. you can see more on bbc.com. i don't think we would agree. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world.

the front page of the straits times has a story on singapore's desire for a smooth political transition as the country moves to its fourth—generation leadership. prime minister lee hsien loong said the current leaders are doing everything they can for a "sure—footed" change of the guard. the new york times features an article about italy's loosening gun laws. according to the report, the politician behind the push is matteo salvini — the most powerful figure in italy's populist government. and dominating the front page of the japan times is a terrific photo from the trampoline gymnastics world championships — held in russia. the young japanese athlete — hikaru mori — seen here mid—air is competing in a qualification round. that brings you up—to—date with some

of the papers. now, what stories are sparking discussions online? sport at a slightly different kind. ed 0'donoghue any good with eight rubiks cube. —— of a slightly different kind. a 13—year—old boy from china has broken a world record for the fastest time to complete three rubik's cubes at the same time with his hands and feet. quejianyu broke the record in a time of 1.36.39. this weekend there'll be commemorations around the world, marking the end of the first world war. millions of people died during the conflict — and it had ever—lasting effects for all countries involved. while the war largely was fought in europe, conflicts raged in asia as well. heather streets—salter, the author of world war one in southeast asia, explained how the region suffered, from the impact of the great war. even though southeast asia did not

really significantly shaped the course or the outcome of the war, especially in europe, the war really shaped southeast asia, and also east asia in really multiple and also profound ways, depending on where you look. and what are some of these ways ? you look. and what are some of these ways? so, one of the things that i write a lot about in the book is that representatives of the central powers, like from germany and austria, also from the ottoman empire, often working in concert with anticolonial indian and vietnamese revolutionaries, they worked actively in the region to try to undermine allied authority where ever it was manifested, especially in british player and french indochina, and they were also trying to get to india as well. —— malay. the neutral country surrounding the areas were crucial. the germans were

able to work with anticolonial revolutionaries in siam, the dutch east indies, and china as bases to co—ordinate and safer internet day british organisations. -- anti—french an anti— british. there are still scars from world war two and the japanese occupation, but tell us a little bit about how world wari tell us a little bit about how world war i actually affected the relationship between japan war i actually affected the relationship betweenjapan and china, because we know there are reverberations that are still being felt today. yeah. world war i was actually very important forjapanese influence in east and southeast asia. the british and the french had to divert most of their naval resources from the area so they relied on the japanese to patrol the waters, and also the british asked the japanese to take german territory in china on me shandong peninsula. and the british actually helped the japanese take control of

the peninsular by november seven 1914, that is 104 years ago today. you write a lot, as you said earlier, about the intelligence collaboration that was going on at that time and how they formed the backdrop of that war. tell us about the relationships of these countries, for instance written working quite closely with the french. yeah. so in order to try to control the anti— revolutionary networks that were happening throughout the war, the british actually developed a new agency called the far eastern intelligence agency that was specifically designed to monitor indian revolutionaries in particular. the french already have the secret experience —— exterior police in indochina, but that organisation became much more sophisticated in the war and then the french agency and the british agency began sharing information during the war. and this

had become really important after the war to fight communism. that was heather streets—salter speaking to sharanjit leyl earlier. age is just a number — so they say. well, a 69—year—old dutchman is going to court to try and legally lower his age to 49. emile ratelband thinks it might improve his chances with women on the dating app tinder. the positivity trainer says, with his face, and a younger age — he'll be in a "luxurious position." anna holligan reports. well, emile ratelband is a positivity speaker and a motivational guru. and in this case, there are people here who are saying he is having a laugh but actually the 69—year—old is entirely serious. so he has gone to court to try to get he judges to officially amend his age from 69 to 49, because he believes that would improve his life chances and also he says that he has been discriminated against on the basis of his age. he believes it would be easier for him to find work, to get a new house,

a new car, and women, if he was 20 years younger. he also points out that here in the netherlands, people can go to court to change their names, to even change their gender so why should he not be able to change his age? he talked about the doctors who he said the doctors have said he has the body of a 45—year—old and described himself as a young gun. this would be the first case of its kind here in the netherlands if he wins. the judges though have been pretty sceptical, asking what happens to the first 20 years of his life, should thatjust be erased? he says that he is a pioneer in many fields so why not this one. he has also promisesd to revoke his dutch state pension saying it is more about the women and the life chances than the money. the judges are expected to rule in about four weeks' time. of his age. he believes it would be easier for him to find work, to get a new house, a new car, and women, if he was 20 years younger. he also points out that

here in the netherlands, people can go to court to change their names, to even change their gender so why should he not be able to change his age? he talked about the doctors who he said the doctors have said he has the body of a 45—year—old and described himself as a young gun. this would be the first case of its kind here in the netherlands if he wins. the judges though have been pretty sceptical, asking what happens to the first 20 years of his life, should thatjust be erased? he says that he is a pioneer in many fields so why not this one. about the women and the life chances than the money. the judges are expected to rule in about four weeks' time. you have been watching newsday. i'm ben bland in london. and i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore stay with us. the world's biggest shopping day of the year is almost here. i'm talking about singles day on 11 november. we'll see how it began life as a celebration for single young adults in china and turned into a global extravaganza, drawing in hundreds of millions of shoppers and before we go, we'd like to leave you with these pictures. models have been gracing the catwalk in beirut. nothing really out of the ordinary you'd say, but look closer — these dresses are made with chocolate. they are the creations of 13 lebanese designers and 13 pastry chefs who joined forces at the fifth salon du chocolat,

batten down the hatches, rain and gales on the way. initially, western parts of the uk. we already have had some rain and some stronger winds across some western areas. this was the weather front that went through during the course of thursday. this next whether system is rushing in and that really is going to bring some very poor weather to northern ireland, scotland the irish sea coast, wales and down into south—western england as well. through the early hours we still have the rain across some western areas, that's the left over from what we had on thursday, actually. this next weather system here — that's piling in. some very strong winds with this weather front. before that arrives, actually a bit of a calm for some of us. in fact, starting off fairly bright across many central and eastern areas of the uk. here's friday morning, as this weather system approaches, a lot of isobars here, these white lines, pressure lines, that indicates strong winds and those winds can be quite destructive. heavy rain and gales are expected across western and south—western parts of the country. also central and southern england will be feeling the effects of this weather system.

so let's get the forecast then for friday morning onwards, initially the weather is actually not too bad across central and eastern areas, even the south coast will have some sunshine. in fact, it could be a bright, if not sunny, start but then very quickly the weather will go downhill by the time we get to the middle part of the afternoon. the south—west of england, wales, northern ireland, the irish sea here, gale force winds and some very heavy rain. let's zoom into this area. this is what it looks like at three o'clock. the dark blues obviously indicate the very heavy rain. within this band of rain some very strong gusts of winds, could be in excess of 60 miles per hour in some coasts. that's also strong enough to cause some disruption and damage to trees potentially. and very windy a little bit further towards the east as well. so even if you do not get the rain, those winds really will be picking up. friday night into saturday, that band of wind and rain sweeps right across the country. the worst will be in the west. as that band of rain moves towards the east it

will tend to ease. by the time we get to saturday morning, it is out of the way and we are left with a day of sunshine and showers. still quite a breezy day but nowhere near as windy but relatively mild. mild south—westerly winds so highs up to around 14 degrees or so. here's remembrance day, sunday. we have sunshine and showers on the cards. some of the showers will be heavy but many of us should have a decent day too. that's it from me. bye— bye. i'm ben bland with bbc world news. our top story: the pakisani christian woman asia bibi is in hiding after being acquitted of blasphemy charges. her release from prison has triggered angry outbursts from hardline islamist groups, who have filed a petition calling for the decision to be reversed. but her lawyer has told the bbc she is free to leave the country. the trump administration says it will restrict the ability of illegal migrants

to seek asylum on the southern us border in a move previewed by the president last week. and this video is trending on bbc.com. models have been gracing the catwalk in beirut. nothing really out of the ordinary you'd say, but look closer, these dresses are made with chocolate. they are the creations of thirteen lebanese designers and thirteen pastry chefs. that's all. stay with bbc world news. and the top story in the uk: official figures show diabetes prescriptions are costing the nhs in england more than £1 billion each year.