this is newsday, on the bbc. i'm rico hizon, in singapore. the headlines: one of the world's most prominent business leaders, nissan's carlos ghosn, is arrested injapan over claims of financial misconduct. hopes fade in yemen that the warring sides were nearing a truce, as the saudis renew attacks on the port city of hodeida. it is often called the forgotten or but everyone i have spoken to hear is crying for help, pleading for the world to finally take notice. i'm babita sharma, in london. also in the programme: a building bromance between the leaders of china and the philippines. president duterte prepares to welcome xijinping for his first state visit. and in our ‘ioo women‘ season, we hear from australia's first female prime minister, julia gillard, on the pressures of being a woman at the top. the fact that much of the imagery that was woven around me in the parliament and the media gendered

and its centre, all of that was more than i was expecting. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. good morning. it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london and 9:00 in the morning in tokyo where ca rlose ghosn, one of the world's most prominent businessmen and the chairman of nissan, has been arrested on suspicion of financial misconduct. he is alleged to have underreported his salary by m5 million over 5 years. he's expected to be sacked later this week. rupert wingfield—hayes‘ report contains some flashing images. so, it has been sold, but what's important is... for 20 years, carlos ghosn has been one of the titans of the car industry,

charming everyone from journalists to presidents. but tonight, he is in police custody, accused of serious financial misdeeds. at nissan's headquarters, chief executive hiroto saikawa made the dramatic announcement. the company found mr ghosn had hugely underreported his pay in nissan's annual report to the tokyo stock exchange. translation: for us, the company, this is of course completely unacceptable, and we've been advised by experts that this misconduct is serious enough to dismiss them. the news has sent shockwaves through the car industry, especially in france, where mr ghosn is also boss of renault. it seems to have come out of nowhere. you know, the accusations are crazy, and as an industry, we're incredibly shocked that someone so well respected — he turned around nissan in the early 20005 from near bankruptcy — could have potentially done something like this.

it has been a day of high drama here in tokyo, but it is important to note that carlos ghosn is not being accused of tax evasion. he's accused of misreporting financial data to the tokyo stock exchange. that's something that other bosses of japanese corporations have been found doing, and have not ended up in police custody. whether he is formally charged or not, mr ghosn will now be sacked by the company he helped rescue from the brink of bankruptcy. it is an astonishing fall from grace for a man once known here injapan as mr fixit. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. let's speak to our business correspondent, mariko 0i. why have we not heard from carlos ghosn yet? that is the big question.

we have not heard from carlos ghosn himself and we will continue to monitor whether he makes a mistake it is today. many people are starting to wonder why here and another executive greg kelly could get away with it so long without anybody at the sun realising something was wrong. —— nissan. the whistle glowing programme started a few months ago. it was very choreographed, announcement. from the scoop from the newspaper to an english statement by nissan motor which is unusual injapan, followed by the statement by the chief executive order. he was asked whether any plea bargain deals were made and he said he could not comment and many people saying that nissan's books really need to be looked at and notjust

nissan's books really need to be looked at and not just for these nissan's books really need to be looked at and notjust for these two individuals. what has been the reaction from the rockstar? —— from the japanese, he is like a rock star. he was really the saviour for nissan. he was known as mr fix it. there was a comic about it. he was a very popular. the shock and surprise. mr bean was trending on twitter because of his resemblance. there was a lot of surprise, and if it was really true. thank you so much for the update. our other top stories this hour: saudi arabia's king salman has promised to ensure that no crimes go unpunished. in his annual address to parliament he said he trusted the saudi judiciary to ensure justice. but the king made no mention of the murder of the saudi journalist, jamal khashoggi. 0ur chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, is in riyadh following developments.

they did speak to someone senior saudi officials are about this and said wasn't this moment for king salman and an absolute monarchy to address the possibly one of the greatest crisis the kingdom has ever faced and i was told that was not the king's style, that saudi arabia did not want to hear about the jamal khashoggi affair again. one admitted to me that this crisis has set saudi arabia back for years, this cloud hanging over the kingdom, the question of who was responsible for it would continue to plague saudi arabia. with the king setting out the agenda for the year, she said it was not the right place. also making news today: the british prime minister, theresa may, has told a conference of business leaders that her draft deal on britain's withdrawal from the european union

was the best option for protecting jobs. it comes as a mooted leadership challenge from within her own party has yet to materialise. leaders from the other 27 eu countries will meet on sunday to decide whether to approve the draft deal. three men have been arrested in melbourne for allegedly planning a mass shooting in a public place. the suspects, who are australian nationals of turkish background, have been under investigation since march. officers say their preparations had recently escalated. they also say the men had been inspired by the islamic state group and another knife attack in the city earlier this month. police in the us city of chicago say a gunman has opened fire outside a hospital. four people are in critical conditions. one of the victims is a police officer and another an employee of mercy hospital. the government was killed by police —— it is not clear if the government was killed by police committed suicide. nine key figures from

hong kong's 2014 protests for political reform have pleaded not guilty to public nuisance charges at the start of their trial. the defendants, who include the three founders of the 0ccupy movement, were accompanied by dozens of supporters brandishing their trademark yellow umbrellas. the value of bitcoin has fallen below $5,000 for the first time since october 2017. the fall in value is being blamed by some on a split in bitcoin cash — an offshoot of bitcoin — into two different crypto—currencies. at its peak a year ago bitcoin‘s value reached just below $20,000. there've been reports of renewed fighting in yemen after efforts to halt the war ended. both the rebels and saudi led coalition had earlier said they intended to halt their offensives. the uk has circulated a draft resolution at the united nations calling for a ceasefire. fighting has ravaged the country since 2015 as a government coalition, led by the saudis and supported

by the uk, us and france, has clashed with houthi rebels backed by iran. international pressure has been mounting on both sides to end the conflict, which has pushed the country to the verge of starvation. in recent weeks, the fighting has focused on the port city of hudaydah. 0ur correspondent nawal al—maghaf reports from yemen. it contains distressing images. enjoying a brief moment of normality in this long war. children and families gathered together to celebrate a pause in the fighting. they pray it continues, but no—one here knows how long it will last. in the port city of hudaydah, the front lines are not far away. just a few hours later, a coalition air strike has ripped through this family home. six sisters were home alone at the time. the survivors are rushed to hospital. the father arrives, thankful

to find his daughter malika alive. translation: we were sitting at home. i was about to start the afternoon prayer when a rocket hit the house. but four of malika's sisters did not survive the attack. for the past six months, saudi and emirati coalition forces have been closing in on hudaydah. they say the port is being used to smuggle in arms and supplies for the iranian—backed houthi rebels. this battle could be a turning point in the war, but at what cost? it's notjust the bombs and the bullets that civilians here have fled from. this war has shattered everything that kept people afloat. the price of food, fuel, water has at least doubled across the country. it's often called the forgotten war, but everyone i've spoken to here is crying out for help,

pleading with the world to finally take notice. the current offensive has left over half a million yemenis homeless. this school in the government—controlled southern city of aden has become a makeshift camp. samira and her six children are sheltering under the stairwell. caught between two warring sides, she felt she had no choice but to flee hudaydah three days ago. translation: above was shrapnel and rockets, explosions. they scared us on the roads. they scattered us and left us at god's mercy. we go to sleep scared and get up scared. starvation and poverty provoked by the war is so desperate that the country's poorest are sifting through the rubbish just to survive. hopes are mounting here for upcoming peace talks. with aid agencies warning that yemen is on the brink of the worst famine in living history,

time is running out. nawal al—maghafi, bbc news, aden. china's president xijinping is expected in manila shortly for the start of a two—day visit to the philippines. the two countries will sign a number of bilateral deals to highlight their growing economic and security co—operation. the visit comes two years after president rodrigo duterte announced what he called a divorce with his country's old ally, the united states, in return for closer ties with beijing. let's go to our correspondent in manila, howard johnson. the first visit by the chinese president for over a decade. what are we expecting to see over the next two days? this is a big deal for the philippines. we can see the chinese flags of lining the streets, government workers stopped, the traffic is quieter than normal. what

we are looking to see is a joint framework sign of exploration in the south china sea. this is a very controversial topic. if a deal is inked for thisjoint controversial topic. if a deal is inked for this joint framework to explore oil and potentially lots of oil and gas reserves off the islands, it would set a precedent and china lays claim to areas far away from the mainland. what we are seeing is that president duterte says that this country needs oil. 6.7% inflation and he says oil is the biggest issue and that philippines do not have enough of it. they need for oil has been the talk for the past few months. president xi cheng peng is to arrive around midday. he will tour the city and have meetings later in the

afternoon. we understand the two leaders have grown closer, as we have read in the introduction, as an allied, unlike the us in the past. what has brought about this event towards china? quite simply, for president duterte this is about his mega project, his build, build, build project. he was given or pledged $23 million by china in 2016 in financial assistance and loans to help with his projects, subway systems, bridges, roads. at the moment, it has been two years since being in power and not many of these projects have come to fruition but there is still time. a reuter study shows only three projects have received funding from china, $25

million, compared to the 2a billion—dollar pledge, there is still a lot to pledge. some expressing concern about the speed with which the money is being released. china has tried to broker this deal about the south china sea which would change the dynamic as far as that debate. members of the acm have always discussed code of conduct. —— asean. we have seen a buildup of islands. the philippines tried to get more diplomacy as far as they lay in their claims to islands further away from the mainland. thank you so much for that. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: a political pioneer who paid a price. we have an exclusive interview with former australian prime minister, julia gillard.

also ahead on the programme... are we poisoning platypuses? scientists warn the species could be in danger from drugs washed down the drain. benazir bhutto has claimed victory in pakistan's general election, and she's asked pakistan's president to name her as prime minister. jackson's been released on bail of $3 million after turning himself in to 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. 150 firemen have been battling the blaze, which has caused millions of pounds‘ worth of damage. welcome back. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. thanks forjoining us. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: one of the world's most prominent business leaders, nissan's carlos ghosn, is arrested over claims of financial misconduct. hopes of a ceasefire fade in yemen, after renewed attacks on the port city of hodeida. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. we start off with the gulf news,

and it reports on a new rule affecting indians going to the united arab emirates and elsewhere to work. the paper says from january, they will have to register online at least 2a hours before leaving, even if they have employment visas. the south china morning post says china's president, xi jinping, faces tough talks with donald trump at the upcoming g20 summit. the paper blames the tension on the open hostility shown between president xi and us vice president mike pence, who lashed out at each other over trade at the apec summit at the weekend. and finally the international edition of the japan times carries this picture, showing the main control room for crippled reactors at the fukushima nuclearfacility. the photograph marks the first time the plant has been open

to the media since 2011. those are the papers. julia gillard made history when she became australia's first female prime minister in 2010, but her three years in office were overshadowed by misogynistic attacks from her opponents and dysfunction within her party. as part of the bbc 100 women series, ms gillard has been speaking to yalda hakim about the kind of personal attacks she faced on becoming the country's leader. you were australia's first female prime minister, and then since leaving office, it had said to a lot of women who want to go into politics, go for it but you have also repeatedly said there is this other bit, the misogyny bits, the sexism bit, do not pretend that it is not there. we are prepared for the kind of attacks that you came under? no, i was the kind of attacks that you came under? no, iwas not in the kind of attacks that you came under? no, i was not in a have into parliament not having really felt in a personal way sexism or misogyny.

of course i knew it existed i was an active feminist at university, i thought the rate of change would be pretty fast and if you would ask me back then all of this be fixed by the time you in your 40s or 50s, i said yes absolutely, it will all be fixed by then. —— entered. but i did go intoa fixed by then. —— entered. but i did go into a law firm, which was overwhelmingly male at leadership level but even without, i did not really feel directly sexism, so by the time i was prime minister and the time i was prime minister and the sort of gendered abuse was flying, it did take me back that it could get as bad as that and that there was still so much sexism lying under the surface of our society, andi under the surface of our society, and i think many other societies around the world, and when it came toa around the world, and when it came to a woman leader, it sort of broke through. why we are surprised? i mean australia is quite a patriarchal society, as advanced as it is, that is just a fact. patriarchal society, as advanced as it is, that isjust a fact. well, i have to go all defence of my country at this point. i think australia is

very similar to many countries had a similar stage of development and democracies, which is that we still do not have anywhere near 50% women in parliament, women are not well represented and corporate wards, as ceos, increasingly well represented in the law but not in the news media, still not represented equally and technology. i think we should all of those factors with the world. yes, it is a blokey culture and many of our turns of phrase are sort of mail, mateship, masculine turns of phrase, and never felt mail, mateship, masculine turns of phrase, and neverfelt alienated by any of that and i don't feel alien netted by that now. what took me by surprise was something much more pointed and much sharper. what was that? well, really it was the kind of go to gendered insults, besides outside parliament house saying ditch the witch, meaning me, referring to me as a pitch, the way

in which they were pornographic cartoons circulated about me. incredibly violent things circulated to our social media. —— pitch. the media was when you look at it gendered, it was more than what i was expecting. that was julia gillard speaking to the bbc‘s yalda hakim. a platypus‘ diet consists of worms, insects and some freshwater shellfish. but if these animals live near people, it seems they might be served up drugs as well as bugs. that is according to ecologists, who found nearly 70 different types of antidepressant, painkillers, and antibiotics in water—dwelling animals in streams near melbourne. earlier, i spoke to doctor erin richman and asked how she found these drugs are present. well, essentially, we have known now,

scientists almost the last two decades, that our present where waste water is present. so to examine that, we studied its extremes in melbourne, victoria, australia, and studied the animals that live underwater in all of these streams. what we also set up to test for what these insects which undergo a life — cycle for what these insects which undergo a life—cycle change, which is where they emerge out of the stream channel as adults, they will pass the pharmaceuticals through to predators, some spiders for example that live on the stream bank. what we re that live on the stream bank. what were able to test for was up to 100 different pharmaceutical compounds, we actually detected 69 different compounds in these insects, living downstream. so with the platypuses ingesting so many pharmaceutical drugs, could the species be in danger? it is important to remember we did not specifically set out and test platypus, we tested their diets

and what they eat, so we do not know whether these pharmaceuticals in the insects that the use platypus eat at what we cool bioavailable, so we do not know if they have a biological effect on a platypus, but certainly i know that if you or i were to go toa i know that if you or i were to go to a doctor and say that we were taking nearly 70 different pharmaceutical drugs, they would say that there would be adverse effects. that they are potentially exposed to almost 70 different pharmaceutical drugs is quite alarming. did you also examined the possible health impacts for human health? no, we did not get that far too extreme, but thatis not get that far too extreme, but that is certainly something we want to look at in a neck studies. and is this localised to melbourne? absolutely not, we're finding we are finding where the waste water is present, so essentially wherever people are consuming drugs, these drugs are being excreted who are you own an ending up in the lakes and rivers globally. —— and. you have been watching newsday.

i'm babita sharma in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. we will be continuing to look at the fallout from the arrest of nissan chairman carlos ghosn on asia business report. and before we go, rico and i would like to leave you with the idea of christmas. it's fast approaching, i love christmas. it does not feel that christmassy, does it? president trump and his wife welcomed the arrival of their tree at the white house. it will be set up and decorated in the blue room, along with several other trees throughout the presidential household. rico hizon‘s tree is soon arriving, the elves are dropping in for you, i think. # merry christmas to you. i have not heard that tune before. anyway, see you soon. hello. if you thought was called yesterday,

todayis if you thought was called yesterday, today is going to feel even colder. all the milder air that we had over the weekend has been pushed away by these easterly winds and with stronger winds it will feel colder today and we are also drawing in cold and cold air is the day goes on. i will be not a great deal of frosty start that they, too much wind for that and maybe some early sunshine. i think fairly quickly the cloud will build an all these showers in the east will get one that bit further westwards, some of them heavy and maybe a touch wintry over higher ground as well. a close look at the showers in the afternoon, frequent showers coming through the english channel and into the south—east of england. those are the south—east of england. those are the mean winds but around the coast of england, there could be gusting 40 of england, there could be gusting a0 miles an hour or more. some frequent showers, longer spells of rain coming into northern england, perhaps some wintriness over higher ground. north—west scotland seeing some sunshine and fewer showers and thatis some sunshine and fewer showers and that is a similar story really across northern ireland as well.

let's focus on those temperatures though. disappointing reading if you add on the strength of the winds because the wind is strong, it will feel colder, there will be a significant windchill especially for the eastern side of england. and there will be some more wet weather around during the evening and perhaps a little bit more sleet and snow over the high ground overnight, especially across wales, northern england and later into scotland. as the crowd begins to break later and drop into the midlands and southern england, even here there is the risk of some icy patches the temperature not far from freezing. —— cloud. of some icy patches the temperature not farfrom freezing. —— cloud. 0n wednesday, more of a south—westerly breeze will tend to push the weather further north into northern ireland, scotland, against an wintriness over higher ground. a few showers coming into the south—west and the whole, england and wales will be dry. it is still cold, temperatures number not changing. it probably will not feel as cold because it will not be as windy, there should be sent sunshine around too. we have still got low

pressure to the south—west of the uk, high pressure to the north. the breeze is continuing to ease down but we are going to die down what looks like being much more cloud on thursday. still some showers and that, likely to be rain. a dry day for scotland and northern ireland in this western areas likely to season sunshine. temperature is beginning to creep up as well, eight or nine, maybe double figures in the west. it is the right way forward, if you like, those at south—easterly winds coming in towards the end of the week. it should not feel quite as cold. i'm babita sharma, with bbc world news. our top story: carlos ghosn, a man described as a "titan" of nissan cars, is under arrest in japan. the chairman of the japanese car giant, as well as mistubishi and renault, is being investigated over claims he under—reported his own earnings. unconfirmed reports say he failed to declare $aa million over five years — half his actual earnings. fighting has broken out once more in yemen, striking a blow to efforts to end 3.5 years of devastating conflict. saudi—led coalition warplanes

have bombed houthi rebel in the port of hodeidah. and this video is trending on bbc.com... it shows huge waves crashing into an apartment block on the seafront in the canary island of tenerife. much of the island has been affected by severe flooding. stay with bbc world news. now on bb news yalda hakim talks to the former australian prime minister, julia gillard, for the 100 women interviews.