i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. you're watching newsday on the bbc. the headlines: fake news and the philippines, how social media's being used as a platform to re—write the country's history and confuse its citizens. there are so many biases when it comes to the government. some people say, this is the hero, so who really is the one telling the truth? the united nations warns of catastrophic consequences for millions, as the war in yemen intensifies. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: and stan lee, the creative mastermind behind marvel comics, dies at the age of 95. and china reverses a decision to relax a 25—year—old ban on trade in rhino horns and tiger bones, which was only made last month. live from our studios in singapore and london. this is bbc world news.

it's newsday. it's 1am in london, and 9am in singapore and the philippines, where we continue our special season exposing and exploring fake news. supporters of the late dictator, ferdinand marcos, are accused of posting stories on social media that revise events which happened when the country was under martial law. during that period, democracy was suspended and tens of thousands of people were killed, tortured or detained. this is all happening as the marcos family attempt a political comeback in next year's mid—term elections. howard johnson reports. the tardis is an archipelago of

islands in the far north of the philippines. it's one of the most peaceful parts of the country. yet even in this secluded idyll, fake news abounds. 24—year—old annalisa teaches on the island, it by at. she doesn't have a tv or radio, so uses facebook to catch up with events on the mainland. she says fake news is ubiquitous and confusing. there are so many biases when it comes to the government. some people say, "this is the hero, the other is the liar," so who really is the one telling the truth? to add to the confusion, social media is now being used to revise the country's most contentious history. back in the 1960s and ‘80s,

ferdinand marcos imposed martial law. there was an interview with his father's former defence secretary in which his son denied there were arrests during the martial law era. there are some people in this country who'll have you believe that it's simply product of fake news. recently, president duterte‘s former assistant in occasions secretary asked her nearly 6 million followers if the people power revolution was the product of fake news. then in september, ferdinand marcos‘s song, bong, posted this interview with his father's defence secretary in which he denied there were political events during the martial law era. he denied there were political events during the martial law erai

was electrocuted. that was horrible. eight—year—old eto'o resile as is the living proof of the dark side of martial law. in 1976 she was arrested, detained and tortured for being an activist against marcos‘s 1—man rule —— 80—year—old. being an activist against marcos‘s 1-man rule -- 80-year-old. he shouldn't say that because he knew he was the architect of martial law. of course, it is never exclusive policy, that it is our policy to torture, our policy to arrest illegally, but it's been going on. i'm testimony to that, because i'm a torture victim. to understand the motives behind his recent statement in the bongbong video, i met him at his home in manila. you made a video with bongbong marcos, ferdinand marcosjunior, with bongbong marcos, ferdinand marcos junior, talking about with bongbong marcos, ferdinand marcosjunior, talking about the history and you said during martial law there were no political arrests, do you stand by that?”

law there were no political arrests, do you stand by that? i never said that. no political arrests? i said that. no political arrests? i said that because i signed the warrants of arrest. are we living in a post- r—truth world where lies can be told and people can get away with that? my and people can get away with that? my reading of history tells me that has always been the case. historians decades later can objectively assess what really happened during that period. in the past, leaders used to divide and rule as a way of subduing their subjects. now in the philippines, it appears fake news is a new weapon to confuse and control. howard johnson, bbc news, manila. throughout this week, there'll be much more on this on bbc world news in our beyond fake news season. you can also follow the debate and research by visiting our website, that's at bbc.com/fakenews, orjoin the conversation using #beyondfakenews. let's take a look at some

of the day's other news. at least 31 people are dead and 200 are missing in northern california because of the most destructive wildfire in the state's history. at least 29 people have died in the town of paradise, where close to 7,000 buildings were burnt down. danjohnson sent us this update from malibu. there are people here who've lost absolutely everything. this was a wall of flame that taught through this community, driven by the hot, dry winds that blow over these hills. the ferocity of this fire was so hills. the ferocity of this fire was so intense that many people just had to run for their lives, but some decided to stay and fight. they used their garden hose to fight back the flames. they've managed to save some properties, so there are some homes

here that are safe, others com pletely here that are safe, others completely destroyed that will have to be rebuilt. a few hundred miles further north around paradise, it's a scene of total destruction there, absolute wipe—out and the death toll continues to rise. there's been a i’ow continues to rise. there's been a row about the president's first response to this, blaming poor forestry management. people here say it's a much worse issue connected to climate change and drab conditions they've enjoyed for many months. president trump has tweeted support for firefighters and local responders but the winds are picking up, and there are thousands of homeowners across this state who are going to have to rebuild now —— end jawdat. also making news today: human rights group amnesty international is stripping myanmar‘s de facto leader, aung san suu kyi, of its highest honour, the ambassador of conscience award. the politician and nobel peace prize winner received the honour in 2009, when she was living under house arrest. amnesty says it's because of what it called her failure to speak out for the rohingya minority.

endured the israeli military has attacked dozens of targets in gaza, including the television station run by the hamas militant group. israel said the strikes were in response to about 300 rockets fired from gaza. three palestinians have been killed, and at least ten israelis injured. there's been a major escalation in violence over the past 2a hours, following an israeli special forces operation that was intercepted in gaza. us vice president mike pence is in tokyo, where he's expected to hold talks with japanese prime minister, shinzo abe. north korea and other regional issues will be on the agenda. pence is stopping over injapan during a visit to asia for an asia—pacific economic cooperation forum being held in papua new guinea. the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, says his country's intelligence officers have listened to recordings of the killing of the journalist jamal khashoggi. mr trudeau is the first western leader to confirm his country has

listened to the tape of the murder at the saudi consulate in istanbul. turkey's president said on saturday he'd given copies to the us, uk, germany, france and saudi arabia. ajudge in the united states has asked amazon to hand over audio recordings from one of its echo voice assistants, which was in a house where two women died. the tech giant has refused, saying it hasn't been served a legally binding instruction. a 101—year—old french woman was understandably excited to meet president macron at the weekend. but there was a slight case of mistaken identity, the woman was convinced angela merkel was mr macron‘s wife. mrs merkel tried to explain that she was not in fact brigitte macron, but the chancellor of germany. it was to no avail. and at the end of their meeting, the woman told president macron

she will be at the armistice commemorations next year to see him again. the un is warning of catastrophic consequences for yemen if its port hudaydah is destroyed. reports suggest more than 100 people have been killed in the past 2a hours in the city. with much of the fighting taking place in residential neighbourhoods, it's feared many of the victims are civilians. government forces supported by the saudi—led coalition have been advancing into the rebel—held city, but houthi rebels are said to have pushed back the offensive. 0ur correspondent nawal al—maghafi sent this report from the city of sana. —— sana'a. pushing towards the city. coalition troops, led by the saudi and emirati forces, are attempting

to take the strategic port of hudaydah, which they claim houthi rebels are using to import arms. for three years, the conflict in yemen has been stuck in a painful stalemate. this offensive, which the coalition has called 0peration golden victory, could change the course of the war, but it comes at a heavy cost. a father in despair. he clutches the lifeless body of his three—year—old daughter. "what do i do now?", he cries. grief has become routine for the people of yemen. this time, a family killed in a coalition air strike as they sheltered in their home. the un has warned this current offensive could cost up to 250,000 lives. dawn, and the family begins to remove the bodies. the fighting around the city has

intensified since the us and uk called for a ceasefire. the houthi rebel leadership say the coalition couldn't maintain this offensive without the support of their main allies in the west. translation: the coalition command room isjoined between the saudis, the americans and the british. britain is directly involved in the aggression against the yemeni people. the british and americans deny they are involved in any targeting in yemen, but over 0.5 million people have fled since this offensive started. schools like this are no longer places of learning, they're now homes for dozens of families. children's classrooms now turned into makeshift bedrooms. they fear the winter months. the people here rely on the charity of others living nearby to survive. this woman has seven children. along with everyone else here,

they face violence and hunger. translation: we are victims here, we face the threat of death at any second. it can be a missile or a warplane. we never know if we will make it until tomorrow. we are only alive because of god's mercy. the battle for hudaydah is having a catastrophic effect on an already—dire humanitarian situation. the saudi—led coalition‘s aim is to strike a strategic, symbolic and financial blow to the houthis, but this advantage comes at a heavy cost, and will no doubt leave yemen hungrier, poorer, and still at war. this is one of the last functioning hospitals inside hudaydah. children lie weak, fighting hunger. these pictures were shot three weeks ago. yesterday, the fighting reached the hospital. those who were strong enough fled for safety. for months, aid agencies have been warning that yemen is on the brink

of the worst famine in 100 years. every day this offensive continues, that threat looms ever closer. nawal al—maghafi, bbc news, sanaa, yemen. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: to ban or not to ban. china does a u—turn on the trading of rhino horns and tiger bones. also on the programme: saying farewell to the king of comics. stan lee dies at the age of 95. the bombastic establishment outsider donald trump has defied the pollsters to take the keys to the oval office. i feel great about the election results. i voted for him because i genuinely believe that he cares about the country. it's keeping the candidate's name always in the public

eye that counts. success or failure depends not only on public display, but on the local campaign headquarters, and the heavy, routine work of their women volunteers. berliners from both east and west linked hands and danced round their liberated territory. and with nobody to stop them, it wasn't long before the first attempts were made to destroy the structure itself. yasser arafat, who dominated the palestinian cause for so long, has died. the palestinian authority has declared a state of mourning. after 17 years of discussion, the result was greeted with an outburst ofjoy. women ministers, who'd long felt only grudgingly accepted among the ranks of clergy, suddenly felt welcomed. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories:

social media in the philippines is being used as a platform to rewrite the country's history and confuse its citizens. we have special coverage. the united nations warns of catastrophic consequences for millions as the war in yemen intensifies. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. starting in japan, where the international edition of the japan times is leading with a story about us president donald trump's absence at several international summits in asia this week. vice president mike pence, who has just arrived in tokyo, has told reporters it wasn't a snub. mr pence will also travel to singapore and papua new guinea. the gulf news business section has this strong headline — "apple shares bleed". they have sank by 5%, dragging down us markets and wiping

more than $40 billion off apple's market value. and look at this photo on the front page of the new york times. it is a house swallowed by sand in a fishing village in russia. more than 20 homes have been buried under dunes. the man who co—created the universe of marvel comics, stan lee, has died at the age of 95. he dreamed up heroes like spider—man, hulk, the x—men, the fantastic four and iron man, giving them super—powers, but also humanity. the bbc‘s lizo mizimba has more. # spider—man, spider—man. .. in comics... # does whatever a spider can... in cartoons... in cinema...

stan lee's creations have captivated fans for decades. he started in publishing in the 1930s, at the company that would eventually evolve into marvel, and where he helped create characters ranging from ironman and the x—men to black panther, and so many more. i would be writing these stories, along with the artists we'd be working with, and we would all be hoping that somebody would buy the comic books, so that we could keep ourjobs, and pay the rent, and not be thrown out in the streets. but we neverfor a minute could have envisioned anything like what happened to these characters. mr mcgee, don't make me angry.

you wouldn't like me when i'm angry. it was inevitable that first tv, then hollywood, would come calling. and stan lee's frequent cameos — a constant on—screen reminder that he was consulted about the direction of the stories, and their often imperfect stars. big man in a suit of armour. take that off, who are you? genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. echoing their comic book origins, they had frequent conflicts, superheroes who fought together as often as they fought each other. stan lee, one of entertainment‘s most important ever figures, was a trailblazer. that is hilarious. he was the first comic book writer to understand that the human behind the mask was much more interesting, much more important, than the mask itself. you know, i guess one person can make a difference. we spoke earlier about how fake news is a huge concern

in the philippines, with social media at the heart of the issue. now one online media company, rappler, has joined forces with facebook to tackle the problem. together they are aiming to debunk the false stories we mentioned earlier about revising the events of martial law. earlier i wasjoined by marites vitug, who is the editor—at—large of the social news network rappler. i asked her how rappler sorts the real news from the fake news. rappler is a very active fact checker. in fact, even before we partnered with facebook, rappler has already been doing its own fact checking, together with other news organisations. so we get comments, we get alerts from readers and listeners, and we also do our own search on what's false and what's hoax.

so if you go to our website, you can find stories which are labelled hoax, false and misleading. so it's a very active fact checking campaign. it was interesting, we were hearing a report at the start of the programme talking about how widespread a lot of this fake news is, and how it is attempting some kind of historical revisionism, trying to change the facts of the past. so tell us, how difficult is it to weed out fake news like that, and how have you teamed up with facebook, whom you've received a grant from, to try to do this? it's actually like fighting fire. if you put out one fire, and another one bursts out. so it should be a concerted effort, notjust from media organisations like rappler. there should also be

civil society groups, universities, and that's what is slowly happening now in the philippines. it is an environment in which universities need to invite other groups to talk to young students about fake news, and how to spot it and to report it to the platforms on where they're found. so it's an awareness building, and it's really heartening to see that facebook has also taken down over 100 pages and accounts, and a number of these are really propaganda machines. a few weeks ago, china announced it would be easing its 25—year ban on trading rhino horns and tiger bones, saying that the animal parts could be bought and sold for use in traditional chinese medicine. well, now it has reversed the decision, and says the ban will in fact stay in place, for now at least. heather sohl is head of the tigers alive initiative at wwf, the world

wide fund for nature. i asked her whether she thinks the chinese move is positive. yes, wwf welcomes the news from china that they have postponed the implementation of this regulation, which would have allowed the trade in rhino horn and tiger bone, for example in use by hospitals for traditional chinese medicines, and also in the trade in antiques, and any kind of trade opening up like that could have had devastating impact on wild tigers and rhinos. given that china just made the decision weeks ago, what is the thinking here? what's the timing? we understand that they heard from other governments and from organisations and are taking that into consideration. they have said that they are going to postpone the implementation, which is a good signal.

it's a positive sign that china wants to maintain its leadership in tackling illegal wildlife trade. for example, back in 2017, they closed their domestic ivory markets, and that's still going through implementation, but we have seen an impact of that, in terms of a reduction in the amount of ivory markets. but in this case, they could change their mind again, couldn't they? this is a temporary reversal. we would prefer to see an unequivocal permanent ban in place. however, this is showing that the ban that was put place in1993, that stopped the trade in rhino horn and in tiger bone, is in place still, and that's a significant move when we have so few tigers and rhinos relatively in the wild, we just can't gamble and risk them facing extinction. there is obviously a lot of demand for this, i'll otherwise there wouldn't be this kind of trade. is

there any use for this product in care? what we saw after the ban was put in place in 1993 was that those products were removed from the official pharmacopoeia for traditional chinese medicines, but also in 2010 the world 0rganisation of chinese medicine society has released a statement which said that they encourage their users, they protect practitioners, do not use tiger bone and other endangered species products within their medicines because it didn't fit within the cultures of those medicines working in harmony with nature. you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. and i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. stay with us. and, before we go, we would like to leave you with these gorgeous pictures from canada. do you remember the first time you saw snow? well, these two eritrean refugee children have just experienced it for the very first time. the family of five fled the war—torn african country, through sudan, and arrived in their new home in wintry canada last week. the video, which shows the siblings dancing in light snowfall,

was filmed by a refugee group in toronto. hello. many of us started the new week with frequent and heavy showers and that brought some impressive cloud formations. an excellent example of mammatus cloud here in somerset. we also saw some sunshine, and when you put sunshine and showers together, well, it's a perfect recipe for rainbows. more showers through the early hours of tuesday that will fade away from any southern and eastern areas and generally become confined to northern england and parts of scotland. a fairly chilly end to the night across the highlands of scotland. and through tuesday morning, there'll still be some showers, particularly for western scotland, north—west england. these will start to fade, and for most it's a mainly dry day. spells of sunshine in the cloud that will build across northern ireland, the western islands of scotland ahead of some rain through the evening. it's a breeze if not windy day. these are average wind strengths through the afternoon, but still quite gusty, particularly for western coasts.

temperature—wise, 10—14 celsius through tuesday afternoon, still on the mild side for the time of year. through the evening, the rain already in the west will slowly start to push eastwards and that is likely to become heavy for a time across parts of northern ireland, north wales, north—west england and western scotland. some patchy rain for the midlands, but otherwise for central, southern and eastern england it should stay mainly dry, clear spells, and temperatures building up to nine or 10 celsius. forall, it's a mild night for scotland and northern ireland. all tied in with this front which is still with us on wednesday. notice that squeeze in the isobars so it becomes windy, particularly for the irish sea coast. continuing across northern ireland is the rain clearing through the day, and it continues across western parts of scotland. further east, spells of sunshine with help from the foehn effect. it could well be quite mild here, and eventually that rain will pull

away from northern england. further south, much of england and wales stays mainly dry and it is a mild day for all. 13, 16 celsius. in fact, 16 celsius we could find across parts of murray and aberdeenshire. and we're all in this warm air as we go through wednesday, pulling up from the south. the front is still fringing northern and western parts of the uk so we could still see a little patchy rain at times but for most it becomes dry and there will be spells of sunshine. temperatures above average for this time of year, 14,15 celsius but bear in mind towards the end of the week where it looks settled we could well see some mist and fog, and that could be slow to clear. it will change for the weekend to mainly dry mild, light wind, still clearing some mist and fog. i'm kasia madera with bbc news. as part of the bbc‘s week—long series on fake news, we've been looking at the philippines. a special report shows how fake news on social media is being used as a platform to re—write the country's history and confuse its citizens. the un is warning of catastrophic consequences for yemen if its port hudaydah is destroyed.

reports suggest more than 100 people have been killed in the past 2a hours, with much of the fighting taking place in residential neighbourhoods. and this sad news is being read on bbc.com. stan lee, the co—creator of spider man, the hulk, iron man and the x—men has died in los angeles. he was 95. he was one of the key creators responsible for the success of marvel comics. that's all. stay with bbc news. and the top story in the uk: theresa may has defended her handling of the brexit negotiations amid growing criticism among her own backbenchers and cabinet colleagues.