i'm kasia madera in london. the headlines: after hours of study and difficult debate, britain's cabinet ministers backed their prime minister, and her plan for brexit. i firmly believe with my head and my heart that this is a decision which is in the best interests of our entire united kingdom. the european union's chief negotiator has given his backing, opening the door to the next phase, talks about a trade agreement. i'm rico hizon in singapore. also in the programme: we have a special report from thailand, where the military government is using a crackdown on fake news on social media to target its critics. and prime minister lee hsien loong holds a gala dinnerfor asean heads of state. there's a long day of meetings ahead. we'll be live at the summit. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday.

welcome to the programme. it's 9am in singapore, and 1am here in london, where the british government has held one of the most significant cabinet meetings of modern times. ministers have decided to support the prime minister's plans for leaving the eu. the decisiosn took five hours of intense debate. theresa may warned that this draft withdrawal agreement is the best on offer, but there's no certainty that it will be approved by parliament. here's our uk political editor laura kuenssberg. a warning, there is flash photography in her report. her deal, her call, her gamble. the cabinet has just had a long, detailed and impassioned debate on the draft withdrawal agreement

and the outlined political declaration on our future relationship with the eu. these documents were the result of thousands of hours of hard negotiation by uk officials and many meetings which i and other ministers held with our eu counterparts. i firmly believe that the draft withdrawal agreement was the best that could be negotiated. and it was for the cabinet to decide whether to move on in the talks. the choices before us were difficult, particularly in relation to the northern ireland backstop. but the collective decision of cabinet was that the government should agree the draft withdrawal agreement and the outlined political declaration. this is a decisive step which enables us to move on and finalise the deal in the days ahead. these decisions were not ta ken lightly. but i believe it is a decision that is firmly in the national interest. when you strip away the detail, the choice before us is clear. this deal, which delivers on the vote of the referendum,

which brings back control of our money, laws and borders, ends free movement, protectsjobs, security and our union, or leave with no deal or no brexit at all. i believe that what i owe to this country is to take decisions that are in the national interest. and i firmly believe, with my head and my heart, that this is a decision which is in the best interests of our entire united kingdom. so her deal is on. after five hours of talks, a pact has been sealed that could determine her future, the government's future, and of course all of ours. but it wasn't smooth or unanimous. they might have reached a collective decision... reporter: are you resigning, mr fox? but i'm told about ten cabinet ministers expressed reservations —

fears the agreement keeps us too close to the eu. reporter: a cabinet united? a collective agreement. concerns it will never make it through the commons, and there was no formal vote. i am absolutely part of the cabinet because i am satisfied that the deal that is currently available does meet our demands. why the caution? voila. "voila," brexiteers fear the eu has got too much, tying the uk in too closely, maybe for good. we have been able to find common ground and meet our common objectives. there are big problems back home. the fine print of the deal shows if there isn't a big trade agreement in future, great britain would be in a customs union with the eu, northern ireland effectively in a single market. not something theresa may's dup allies want to accept. it certainly doesn't appear that we will be able to support it,

because it breaches the red line in terms of having differences between northern ireland and the rest of the united kingdom, in terms of regulation. obviously, we would still be in the customs union as well, and we cannot have that. and in far greater number if brexiteers‘ suspicions about the deal are proven once they have read it properly. here it is. 0h, you've got it. i have it here. they might pull the plug on the prime minister altogether. i think this is a major problem for the government because it destroys trust. the prime minister made some very clear promises in her various speeches, but perhaps most importantly in the conservative party manifesto. one of those was, we were leaving the customs union. in this arrangement, we can only leave a customs union with the permission of the european union, which is a worse situation than we are currently in. will you move against the prime minister before she has a chance to bring this to parliament? i shall spend some money on some candles this evening and read carefully what the text says.

strong voices on the right will almost inevitably be joined by resistance from the left. i don't believe that the deal that i have heard of so far is in the national interest. it doesn't meet the needs of all parts of britain, it doesn't give us a security of our trading relationship with europe in the future through a permanent customs union in which we have a say. remember, most ministers did back theresa may tonight, albeit with nought enthusiasm. the cabinet was rewarded with glass of wine for their efforts at the end, but it's far, far too early for theresa may to toast success. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. firefighters say the worst of the wildfires in california are now under control, although it may take until the end of this month before they are extinguished. 50 people have now been confirmed as dead, with dozens of people still unaccounted for. danjohnson is in california and sent us this report.

a week ago, this was the centre of a vibrant town. now, it is drained of colour and devoid of life. it's people like bill who gave this place its character. this is the first time you have seen your house, bill? first time. there's not a lot left. this is the porch, this is the living room. this is my bedroom, that was her bedroom. back there is the kitchen. it is scorched earth, it's flat, it's gone. it's flat, it's cleared. wow, how do you deal with this? yeah... tyres popping, cars are burning. this is what he faced, driving through the firestorm. we're moving, we're moving. go. he was the last from his street to make it out. yes, people, it is

blowing, it is hot. what happens next? what do you do? rebuild, re—start. start life again. i am alive, i have the clothes on my back, i have my family. these are the people who did not make it out. but it is impossible to grasp the scale of loss, notjust individual lives and family homes but the shared experiences of a community — where they prayed, where they shopped, where they settled to retire — all of it smothered, ruined, dead. danjohnson, bbc news, paradise. also making news today: france has said president trumps‘ tweets mocking his french counterpart were inappropriate and showed a lack of common decency. —— trump's. on tuesday, mr trump attacked emmanuel macron over nationalism, plans for a european army and the french leader's ratings. the comments follow mr trump's visit to france for armistce day. israel's right—wing

defence minister avigdor lieberman has resigned and pulled out of the coalition government in protest at the latest gaza ceasefire, which ended two days of fighting with palestinian militants in gaza. his decision leaves the coalition government of prime minister benjamin netanyahu with a one—seat majority in parliament. a preliminary report on the helicopter crash at leicester city's stadium, which killed five people including the club's owner, shows the aircraft did not respond to the pilot's left pedal command. the air accident investigation branch said the helicopter started to turn right when the pilot was trying to make it turn left. it crashed soon after taking off from the pitch last month. final counting has started in fiji's election, with provisional results suggesting former military leader frank bainimarama will remain in power.

torrential rain hampered voting in some areas, with polling stations having to close. it'll be four or five days before the winner is known. on the close of the first day of the asean summit here in singapore, the prime minister has hosted a gala dinner for all the attending heads of state. on a day of bilateral meetings between world leaders, the us vice president mike pence criticised myanmar‘s military for the persecution and displacement of rohingya muslims in myanmar, when he sat down with aung san suu kyi. sharanjit leyl is at the sumit for us. a lot of political issues and the leaders are starting to arrive at the summit venue, sharan. that is right, rico. we have been hearing those motorcades going past. tha nkfully those motorcades going past.

thankfully not right now. yes, these leaders are arriving. as you mentioned, world leaders from the likes of countries like india, japan, south korea. they are all here talking about a range of issues with our south—east asian counterparts. of course a lot of issues involve trade, the demutualisation of the korean peninsular, we've got issues around the south china sea that have dominated a lot of these asean forums, south—east asian forums for a number of years now, with china's claims to many disputed islands. what is unusual about this time round is that the rohingya crisis has dominated to some extent too because aung san suu kyi is alongside many of these other leaders and she has already been publicly rebuked by the likes of members like malaysia, the pm, saying that myanmar‘s treatment of the rohingyas is like defending the indefensible. we also heard from

vice president mike pence who had a press c0 nfe re nce vice president mike pence who had a press conference with aung san suu kyi just yesterday and he talked about his concerns over the rohingya crisis, saying it is a crisis that has touched the hearts of many millions of americans. he also took her to task about the arrest and jailing of two reuters journalists. the bbc has learnt actually it was aung san suu kyi who had asked for that meeting and that it was candid and frank. and of course the south korean leader moon jae—in is and frank. and of course the south korean leader moonjae—in is in singapore. what is the progress of the demutualisation of north korea, sharan? well, we're not sure about the progress, of course, because they continue to talk about it, but thatis they continue to talk about it, but that is something that will be on the agenda today. he is meeting with his us counterpart mike pence and of course many others who are here. they are going to be talking about that, it is one of the chief issues. there are also issues around the south china sea, as i mentioned, and

he is also the unspoken — the fact that you have the us— china trade war that is raging. and all eyes today will be on china's li keqiang who is he with his counterpart mike pence, people will watch to see if there might be some progress around those trade tensions. and once they are done here of course many leaders wrap up and they are all headed to the next summit and that is the apec summit in papuan new guinea where no doubt a lot of these issues will continue to dominate as well. all right, thank you so much, joining us from the asean summit, my colleague, sharanjit leyl. let's go back to the story that has been dominating the press in the uk. it certainly is, rico, it has been all day on the news. the british cabinet backing a draft withdrawal agreement between the uk and the eu. earlier i spoke to ian watson, in westminster. i think there are causes for concern within theresa may's own party. some are worried that current proposals of the withdraw agreement

would treat northern ireland separately from the rest of the uk, including the dup, the party that is effectively propping her up in parliament, because she doesn't have an overall majority. she met their leader tonight and they apparently had full and frank discussions. so she could potentially lose their vote when parliament comes to decide whether they're going to give her their backing, probably next month. in addition to that, the leader of the opposition has made it clear tonight — he's also had a meeting with theresa may, jeremy corbyn. he's made it clear he is unlikely to give his backing to this. they will make their position formally very clear tomorrow but all the signs, all the signals are they will not be backing this deal that has been reached with brussels. and some some members of her own party, as i was saying, very, very nervous as well. we understand at the cabinet meeting, the top table, the top ministerial team, although they reached collective agreement at this stage, nonetheless, there were voices of dissent, there wasn't uninimity. what happens next in this process, of course, is there will have to be a special summit called

by the european council. they will then have to reach a formal deal which is still in draft form at this stage. once that has been reached, it then goes back to the british parliament and that is when, as i was suggesting, some of these are dissenting voices may prove decisive and theresa may could be in trouble trying to get the deal approved here. you're watching newsday on the bbc. live from london and singapore. still to come on the programme: our special report on how thailand's military government is silencing its critics under the banner of a fake news crackdown. also on the programme: former us first lady michelle obama talks about the difficulties of raising a family and how couples therapy helped. benazir bhutto has claimed victory

in pakistan's general election. she has asked pakistan's president to name her as prime minister. jackson's been released on bail of $3 million after turning himself into police in santa barbara. it was the biggest demonstration so far of the fast—growing european antinuclear movement. the south african government has announced that it's opening the country's remaining whites only beaches to people of all races. this will lead to a black majority government in this country and the destruction of the white civilisation. part of the centuries—old windsor castle, one of the queen's residences, has been consumed by fire for much of the day. iso firemen have been battling the blaze, which has caused millions of pounds worth of damage. this is newsday on the bbc.

i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: the british cabinet has backed prime minister theresa may's plan for britain's departure from the european union. singapore's leader has hosted a gala dinner for the association of southeast asian nations. many of the front pages of the british papers are understandably dominated by brexit. the financial times looks towards the future with its headline: "may braces for a backlash after winning ferocious brexit battle." the article details the hurdles the british prime minister still has ahead of her, in order to make her brexit plan a reality. the international papers branch away from brexit. the japan times focuses on the k—pop group that caused controversy when one of it's band members wore

a t—shirt depicting an atomic bomb. the group's talent agency has apologized, saying those involved hadn't done their research on how offensive the shirt would be to japanese fans. and finally, the philippines' daily inquirer is reporting on the fatal shooting of a vice mayor. he was ambushed while heading to a meeting, his car was peppered with bullets. his daughter, who is the vice preisident of the la union province, was wounded. now rico we hear of culture vultures but you have a story doing well online about culture cats! that's right, they love our! —— art. yes let's looks at what is trending right now. over injapan, this is one of two

cats who've been whipping up a storm on social media for their failed attempts to get into a museum in hiroshima. except this hasn't been going on for a few days, weeks, or even months, but two years, ever since the museum held a cat photography exhibition in 2016. as part of the bbc‘s beyond fake news series, today we're looking at thailand. with one of the highest rates of social media use in the world, the ruling militaryjunta is worried about the spread of fake news. it has amended an already draconian law against computer crimes. but as the bbc has discovered, the law is being used against critics of the military. the former american first lady, michelle obama, has begun an international tour to promote her new memoir, "becoming". in the book, mrs obama reveals that she had a miscarriage and used in vitro fertilisation, or ivf, to conceive both her daughters. she describes how she sought couple's therapy with her husband, the former president barack.

speaking to the cbs news channel, mrs obama said there were times when the couple's relationship had struggled. i tell young couples, it's like when you get married you've got that moment, those years, if you're lucky, where it's just the two of you, individuals on your paths. you come together when you need to. it all works until you have kids. yourfirstjoint project where the inequalities are felt. you know, i'm working and managing childcare and sick kids and trying to co—ordinate myjob and he's flittering in. tensions started to arise. and we knew that we needed to have a place where we could really work these feelings out. was he like, great, let's go to counselling? oh no! oh no, no. i can't wait to go! barack is a problem solver.

it's like, i'll buy a book and we will study... on relationships. oh relationships, yeah. we will study chapter 12. you read chapter 13. and we can figure this out. you know, it's just one of those things. we don't need help from anybody. and i was like really? because for me, i was like i need to go to somebody who's gonna tell you... you're wrong. exactly. and i talk about that. it's like well i didn't get that. the period of counselling for me was a turning point. because i learned i was still responsible for my own happiness. it wasn't his job to solely make me happy. i had to figure out my space in this. do you still feel if we need to go back we would do that, even though you're so well known now? absolutely. gosh, yes. i think counselling is one of those tune up times. marriage is hard. all marriages are hard. and even, look, you know us. i love my husband. we have a wonderful marriage. but it takes work. wise words from michelle obama. i

hope you do more than just flit in when it comes to child care. you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. it is about give and take. a 2—way street. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. we'll have the latest on how currency markets are coping after theresa may's brexit statement. more on that on asia business report. lots more on brexit on our website, that historical day that happened earlier on. and we'll leave you with these official photos of the british royal family. they posed for the pictures to mark the prince of wales' 70th birthday. hello there. wednesday brought us another fine autumnal day with plenty of sunshine in the south and the east. we did have some more cloud, rain, and breezy conditions across north—western parts of the uk. this was the picture as the sun set in oxfordshire. some of us got as high as 16 celsius on wednesday.

well above average average for the time of year. through the day on thursday, things will remain mild. mostly cloudy skies. there will be some brighter spells developing later on in the day. through thursday we have got a weather front sitting to the far north—west. it's high pressure across the new continent that will be driving our weather over the next couple of days, keeping it largely settled. a bit of rain affecting western parts of northern ireland and the north—west of scotland. elsewhere a largely dry day. one or two mist and fog patches across parts of england and wales. some low cloud around as well. there will be some sunshine by the afternoon across the north—east of england into eastern scotland as well. those temperatures will be on the mild side, again reaching 13—15 degrees across the country. some rain for northern ireland, into scotland overnight thursday into friday. further south across england and wales you keep the low cloud. we could see some mist and fog patches developing. it will be frost free

across the board with temperatures down to 6—11 degrees for most of us first thing friday. friday, a largely dry day. weather fronts kept out at bay by this big area of high pressure, which is pushing in making its influence felt across the country. as we head through the course of friday and into the weekend many of us that dry theme. there could be quite a lot of low cloud, some mist and fog, particularly for some central, southern, and eastern parts through friday morning. it will brighten through the day. it will stay on the mild side. we have the temperatures reaching the mid teens on friday. a slight change as we head into the weekend. largely dry, settled conditions, but things will feel a little cooler compared to the very mild weather we have had for much of the past week or so. there is the chance of seeing some mist and fog around. i think on saturday, for most places, early—morning mist, fog, and low cloud should clear to leave sunny skies, fairly light winds coming in from the south—east. temperatures not quite as warm as thursday and friday. up to about 10—12 degrees,

it shouldn't feel too bad. a repeat performance on sunday. a south—easterly breeze clears any early morning mist, fog, and cloud. autumnal sunshine by the afternoon. temperatures around 10—11 degrees. goodbye for now. i'm kasia madera with bbc news. our top story: the british cabinet has given its backing to a detailed plan for brexit. the agreement opens the door to the next stage of talks, but theresa may still has to convince the british parliament. leaders from south—east asia will hold their final day of talks at the asean summit later, after being treated to a gala dinner in singapore. and this video is trending on bbc.com: jewellery once belonging to france's marie antoinette has fetched astonishing prices in geneva, massively over the pre—sale estimate. the star of the show, a pear shaped natural pearl pendant, had been expected to sell for up to $2 million, but after fierce bidding went

for more than $36 million. not bad. that is all from me. do stay with us here on bbc news. and the top story in the uk: nhs england has said that nearly 50,000 women didn't receive information about screening for cervical cancer in the first