i'm rico hizon in singapore. american interests first. president trump says he'll stand by saudi arabia despite the killing of the journalist, jamal khashoggi. we also need a counterbalance, and israel needs help also. if we abandon saudi arabia, it would be a terrible mistake. at a meeting of muslim clerics in afghanistan, a suicide bombing kills at least 50 people. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: smiles and deals. leaders of china and the philippines pledge a new era of cooperation. and after a dead whale washes up on an indonesian beach, scientists discover 6kg of plastic waste in its stomach. live from our studios in singapore

and london. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good morning. thanks forjoining us. it's 9am in singapore, 1am in london, and 4am in the morning in riyadh in saudi arabia, where president trump's verdict on the murder ofjamal khashoggi is being closely scrutinised by the kingdom's rulers. president trump said saudi arabia remained a steadfast partner, despite his admission that the crown prince might have been linked to the murder. his remarks have been criticised by both parties in congress. washington correspondent chris buckler has more details. the cia now believes it has a detailed picture of what happened when jamal khashoggi entered the saudi consulate. the names of the so—called saudi execution team who flew into istanbul to carry out the murder and an audio recording of the killing inside the consulate

which president trump says he has refused to listen to because it was, in his words, "so violent, vicious and terrible." it has been claimed that the intelligence agency believes that, despite his denials, the crown prince, mohammed bin salman, ordered the murder. today, in a statement, president trump seemed to dismiss that saying... i'm not going to destroy the world economy, and i'm not going to destroy the economy for our country by being foolish with saudi arabia. what many people will find shocking is that, in this statement, president trump at one stage refers to the fact that some in saudi arabia regarded jamal khashoggi as an enemy of the state. he does go on to say that this was a terrible and indefensible crime. but, nonetheless, it gives you the sense that president trump

intends to put american interests first over global concerns. the united states will continue to have a relationship with the kingdom of saudi arabia. they are an important partner of ours. we will do that with the kingdom of saudi arabia, its people, that is the commitment that the president made today. thank you very much, everybody. today, president trump was taking part in a presidential tradition, pardoning the turkey before thanksgiving. but away from the cameras, critics say he has been making excuses for saudi arabia, granting the country something approaching forgiveness. the washington post, which employed jamal khashoggi as a columnist, said president trump's response was a betrayal of american values and that surrendering to what they called a state—ordered murder only made this world more dangerous. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. our other top story this hour: more than 50 people have been killed by a suicide bomber at a meeting of top clerics in the afghan capital kabul. a spokesman for the health ministry

said 60 others were injured in the blast. the gathering was organised to mark the birthday of the prophet mohammad. from kabul, here's the bbc‘s auyli atrafi. celebrating the birthday of the prophet mohammad, a gathering of religious scholars. and then this — a suicide bomb attack in kabul, the capital of afghanistan. panic, confusion and chaos. this is the latest in a spate of attacks. dozens of people were killed across the country last month as voters cast ballots in the nation's parliamentary elections. but it is unexpected, and it is one of the deadliest in recent times. the fact that a gathering of religious scholars was the target has shocked the nation.

this man witnessed the explosion. translation: right after the blast, security personnel arrived and i saw ambulances carrying away casualties from the blast site. among the casualties, there were civilians and security personnel. this is the bright side of the city, where people come to celebrate weddings and parties and birthdays, to get away from the bombing and the misery elsewhere. the last place and the most unlikeliest place you would think anybody would want to come here and attack. president ashraf ghani of afghanistan has condemned the blast, declaring tomorrow as the day of national mourning. auyli atrafi, bbc news, kabul. also making news today: the french car giant renault has decided to keep carlos ghosn as its ceo, despite his arrest injapan for alleged financial misconduct. the japanese manufacturer nissan, which has a close partnership with renault, is considering

whether or not it will sack him as its boss. the authorities in bangladesh have freed the award—winning photographer shahidul alam after detaining him for more than 100 days and denying him bail several times. he was arrested in august after criticising the official response to student protests in the capital dhaka, sparking an outcry from human rights organisations and nobel laureates. he was held under controversial internet laws, which critics say prime minister sheikh hasina has used to stifle dissent and harass journalists. the head of the un environment programme, erik solheim, has resigned, after months of controversy over his travel expenses. a un audit found he'd claimed almost $500,000 in travel costs in the last two years. for many years, as a norwegian diplomat, mr solheim was the chief peace negotiator between the tamil tigers and the sri lankan government during the civil war. a diplomatic row is brewing over who will replace meng hongwei as the president of interpol.

he went missing during a visit to his native china. the frontrunner to succeed him is alexander prokopchuk from russia, but a group of american senators want russia to be suspended from the organisation. the president of interpol basically guide the strategic direction of the organisation, and if you have a russian directing the organisation, a man putin once, that is a bad sign, something that no rule of law and loving person in the world should want to have happen —— poutine wants. —— poutine wants. now, if you've ever wondered what the inside of mafia don's luxury home looks like, take a look at this. these pictures were filmed by police who raided a mansion belonging to a leader of the casamonica mafia clan. 33 of the alleged gangsters were arrested lastjuly. the mayor of rome says eight of their villas, which were built without permission,

will now be demolished. a federaljudge has blocked donald trump's order stopping migrants from crossing the us mexico border illegally and claiming asylum. mr trump cited national security concerns, but he's faced criticism from civil rights groups. 0ur correspondent, will grant, has been travelling with the groups of central american migrants, and he sent this report from the mexican border town of tijuana. idyllic though the beach at tijuana looks, it is a fortress. only the birds free to come and go as they please. for everyone else, the us border patrol is on hand. but the migrants already knew they were in hostile territory. the main migrant camp lies in the shadow of the border wall, the us almost within their grasp. to reach it, migrant rights groups are helping them register for the tangled asylum process. "president trump is serious about keeping us out,

but all we want to do is work", says isabel, as she waits to add her name to the list. a good work ethic alone won't get them into the us. they may have more chance of success if their lives are in danger. translation: my ex-husband threatened to kill me every time he saw me on the street. he said he'd take our son and that i'd never see him again. as they walked through mexico, battling through the heat, the migrants were aiming to reach here, san isidro, the busiest land border crossing in the world. yet such is the fear over these tired and dusty migrants, the us shut it for one morning this week. after a journey of over 2,500 miles, it's the last 200 miles that may prove the toughest for the migrants to complete. for those who haven't turned back already, they face potentially months of legal limbo trying to gain asylum in the united states.

some may choose to settle here in tijuana for now, others may try to cross the border illegally instead. will grant, bbc news. it's day two of chinese president xijinping's visit to the philippines. he's called his visit a milestone aiming to boost ties with the promise of billions of dollars in backing for mega—projects. he also said that china and the philippines have a shared interest in the south china sea. translation: china and the philippines have a lot of common interests in the south china sea. we'll continue to manage contentious issues and promote maritime cooperation through friendly consultation, and we will work alongside other asean countries towards the conclusion of the code of conduct consulatations based on consensus within three years, and contribute our share to peace, stability and the welfare of this region. president xi's visit gives us new impetus over our mutual efforts

to enhance collaboration and ensuring the well—being of our peoples, and contributing to peace and stability in the region. the two leaders will be meeting at the presidential palace in manila. 0ur correspondent, howard johnson, is there for us. howard, looking ahead to day two, we'll talk about that in a moment, but how has it been going so far? well, last night president rodrigo duterte pulled out all the stops to show his bromance for president xi jingping, it's been getting closer over the last two days as he pivoted the country away from its traditional ally, america, towards china. we saw a redcarpet reception last night, a sumptuous banquet which included a symphony of advertisers and also a macro ruth three and tapioca ice cream dessert,

a traditional favourite in the philippines —— tahoe. what we've seen emerging is the main event, the signing of lots of memorandums of interest and bilateral deals. what we've seen is a particularly interesting one about the south china seed and oil and gas exploration. there's an agreement they will look towards a framework perhaps to see if they can jointly look at the billions of dollars worth of oil that is expected to be out there at sea. there was also discussion joining out there at sea. there was also discussionjoining this out there at sea. there was also discussion joining this belt and road initiative of china's, lots of other initiatives were discussed, including clamping down on the trafficking of drugs and also education and cultural ties. they seem to be getting on very well, howard, much the same to expect today? today, what we will see is members of the senate and the house of representatives meeting the president on the other side of town. we're also expecting members of the

filipino— chinese business community to meet with the chinese president to meet with the chinese president to discuss potential deals. we've seen to discuss potential deals. we've seen a to discuss potential deals. we've seen a lot of money coming in from china in the last few years. they've pledged more than $20 billion to president duterte's big infrastructure drive here, which is killed build, build, build, or or duterenomic. then president xi jingping will go back to china. —— which is called build, build, build oi’ which is called build, build, build or duterenomics. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: how drone technology is being used to help rebuild damaged parts of the great wall of china. 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. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore.

i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: president trump has said he'll stand by saudi arabia, despite acknowledging that its crown prince could have known about the murder of the journalist, jamal khashoggi. a suicide bomb attack on a meeting of muslim religious leaders in the afghan capital kabul has killed more than 50 people. people have had a terrifying experience in chicago, after the elevator floor fell 50 floors. it was only stopped when city officials to cold, but they were stuck inside for three hours before rescuers were able to break through a wall through able to break through a wall through a car park to get them out. no one was hurt, more on that story on our website. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the south china morning post reports on calmer relations between the navies

of the us and china. the paper says a us carrier group is being allowed to dock in hong kong after a visit to the us fleet by a senior chinese commander. the straits times reports on a dispute over wages in papua new guinea which prompted police and soldiers to storm the country's parliament and assault staff. the article says they are demanding unpaid bonuses they say they are owed for working at the apec summit. the chinese president's two—day visit to the philippines has been a busy one according to the philippine daily inquirer. the leaders signed 29 agreements on the first day and have vowed to co—operate for peace in the south china sea. now, an animal story with a happy ending is proving popular online.

yes, a dramatic rescue for this baby bear in california. the animal had become trapped in a dumpster in the town of truckee. police carefully handled the container and the bear soon made its way out. it was last seen returning to its mother, who was apparently waiting at the top of the slope. the great wall of china is one of the wonders of the world, but parts of it are now under serious threat of falling into ruin. it runs for thousands of kilometres, often through remote areas and a chinese team is now trying to bring a high—tec solution to a problem which has been building up over centuries. stephen mcdonell reports. the great wall of china

is a precious connection to the past. for thousands of kilometres, the network of battlements weaves through the mountains. but nature is gradually reclaiming it, threatening the wall‘s very existence in places. we've come to this difficult—to—reach part of the great wall, but as you can see behind me, as you hike up the mountain, this structure, which is hundreds of years old, has collapsed, making it virtually impassible. but now they've found a way to reach an study sections of the wall which had been previously completely cut off. drones are providing the data to make urgent restoration possible. translation: some sections of the great wall are very dangerous. using drone technology, we can measure lands and undulations. here, modern and ancient technologies are combining to preserve the wall. satellite imagery is already being used, but it's not as

precise as that from drones. then, donkeys are still the best way to bring equipment and supplies up and down the steep trails. the workers must walk up the mountain every day. architect zhao peng says they're not making the wall pretty for tourists. it's literally about saving history. translation: it's such a complex structure. we need to study arrow holes, battlements, floor structures and even lime content. and just like in the time of their ancestors, they're quarrying stone for repairs from right beside the wall. up there, we've got one of the old towers on the wall. underneath, these massive foundation stones are clearly in a pretty precarious state. with a bit of rain, they could all come crashing down, threatening the tower. this is a support structure

built by the team. they're clearly hoping that with solutions like this, they can shore up this entire section of the great wall. the weather, wars, people stealing stone and simply getting old have all taken their toll. but with efforts like this, hopefully more of the remarkable structure will still be standing for future generations to see. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, on thejiankou great wall of china. now to a shocking story about a dead sperm whale, which was found washed up on a beach in indonesia. the whales stomach contained nearly six kilogrammes, that's around 13 pounds, of plastics. when a team of researchers itemised the contents, they listed 25 plastic bags, 19 hard plastic cups, and four plastic bottles. they also recovered more than three kilos of string, 115 plastic cups, and two flip flops. you might want to look away

for the next fifteen seconds or so because this is what the dead whale looked like. and this is a picture of what was found in its stomach. experts say they can't be sure the plastic was the cause of death, but it has been pinpointed as killing several other large marine mammals. pine eisfeld—pierantonio is the whale and dolphin conservation's policy officer and lead on plastics. she gave me her reaction to the discovery of the objects inside the whale. it was a shock. it was also surprisingly, though, in a sense, because we've had at least three other whales stranded this summer, in the last couple of months, that all had large amounts of plastic in their stomachs. some of them... at least two of them died because of the plastic ingestion. how much of a problem... this whale was found in indonesia, so how much of a problem is throwaway plastic in southeast asia?

it's a big problem. southeast asia hasn't got a very good waste management, so a lot of their waste ends up directly on landfills that are next to the oceans and are then carried into the ocean. so it's a big problem. this was a shock to many people that have come to terms with this situation, of course, on the beach and the shore, where the public is, what would you like to say to those that might be shocked by this who think there is nothing that can be done because there's so much waste out there? there's. .. a lot of people say, "oh, what can i do as one single people?" if 7 billion people say that, that makes a difference. everyone can do their bit. we at wdc try to use less plastic by carrying reusable water bottles. we're trying not to use plastic cups. we're trying to recycle pens, for example. if you go shopping, you can carry a reusable shopping bag with you. there are lots of ways you can reuse things that you normally would throwaway. you can try to buy plastic—free

shampoo in bars rather than bottles to reduce the amount of plastic bottles that you use. there are lots of different ways that people... every single person can help. the un said at the end of last year marine life was facing irreparable damage from approximately 10 million tons of plastic waste ending up in the oceans every year. with that level of a repairable damage, know you said as individuals we have responsibility and we can do something, but what action can be taken by governments and local authorities to clean up the beaches that they are governing? well, they need to make the funds available for these cleanups, first of all.

but it's notjust the beaches that need cleaning up, because a lot of the waste comes from cities and towns and is carried to the beaches and to the oceans via the rivers. so we need to make sure that our towns are cleaned up, and that we have the right recycling facilities and the right waste management in all towns and cities so that the waste doesn't actually end up in the ocean in the first place. everyone must do their parts. here is the good news animal story. gerrard has found new —— a gujarat has found its new home in early and the zoo. says it is running around

as because of a practice of running away from creditors in the wild. it isa away from creditors in the wild. it is a part of a species which is on the brink of extinction. you have been watching newsday. i'm babita sharma in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. as we've been reporting, renault is not ousting carlos ghosn, despite alleged financial misconduct at nissan. more on that on asia business report. and just before we go, we are a few days away from thanksgiving in the us. that means the traditional presidential pardon of a turkey. this bird is called peas, similar clemency was also granted >>i >> i hereby grant you a -- full —— full pardon. this bird is called peas, similar clemency was also granted to a turkey called carrots. they'll now live their lives free from the threat of ending up on the menu this thursday. that's all for now. stay with bbc world news. hello, good morning.

as expected, tuesday was a really cold day, and it's been cold enoughjust recently to bring some sleet and snow to lower levels, even into the south—east of england. but on wednesday, the coldest air and the strongest winds will push northwards across scotland and northern ireland. so we should see some improvements further south. but we've got a cloudy start on wednesday morning. the wetter weather for northern ireland moving away from northern england, up into scotland. again, some sleet and some snow, particularly over the hills. but then we should see things brightening up, a few showers coming in as well. more detail in the afternoon. you can see the showers in the west country perhaps affecting east wales and the west midlands. for eastern england this time, some welcome sunshine, much drier weather as well. and that sunshine may develop through the afternoon later on into southern parts of scotland. northern ireland still stays quite wet, frequent showers around here, quite wet for central and northern parts of scotland, some more sleet and snow, mainly over the hills. quite windy across scotland, gusts of 40mph around some of those eastern coasts, so if anything, it's going to feel colder than it

did on tuesday for scotland and northern ireland, especially with the strong winds and rain, but it shouldn't feel quite as cold as it did on tuesday for england and wales, especially if you've got some sunshine and the winds are not as strong as well. but the wet weather will tend to clear away for most areas during wednesday evening, and that means clearer skies, that means tumbling temperatures, before we see cloud coming in off the north sea, bringing with it some drizzle, arresting the temperature fall, but further west with clearer skies, frost likely and maybe some icy patches. some early sunshine perhaps across northern ireland, into wales and western scotland. maybe some sunshine developing at times across southern counties of england, but elsewhere, cloudy, a little bit damp with some wetter weather pushing back into eastern scotland, seven degrees if you're lucky here. eight or nine, i think, will be fairly typical elsewhere. another chilly sort of day. the threat of rain coming into the far south—west with this area of low pressure. higher pressure to the north of the uk, hence this east

to south—easterly breeze, not particularly strong on friday. a nothing sort of day on friday. not much sunshine, a fair bit of crowd, most places will be dry, showers more likely in the south—west, and wetter weather again coming into eastern parts of scotland. those temperatures getting up to eight, nine, possibly even the heady heights of 10 degrees, so the temperatures are going the right way. the air is getting a bit less cold as it comes in from the south, but still not particularly warm if you're stuck under the cloud and some pockets of rain. i'm babita sharma with bbc news. our top story: president trump says his support for saudi arabia remains strong, despite acknowledging its crown prince could have known about the murder of the journalist, jamal khashoggi. mr trump said the murder was an unacceptable and horrible crime, but he also said that the us would remain a steadfast partner of saudi arabia, and he intended to put american interests first. more than 50 people have been killed by a suicide bomber at a meeting of top clerics

in the afghan capital, kabul. a spokesman for the health ministry said 60 others were injured in the blast. and this story trending on bbc.com. a dramatic rescue for this baby bear in california. the animal had become trapped in a waste bin. police carefully handled the container and the bear soon made its way out. it was last seen returning to its mother. that's all. stay with bbc world news. and a top story here in the uk: analysis by bbc news shows the nhs routinely failing to meet waiting time targets across the uk. it's the first time this has happened since the measures were introduced over a decade ago.