hello, everyone. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: strong winds fan wildfires in new zealand forcing thousands to flee their homes. a deadly measles outbreak takes hold in the philippines where vaccination rates are low — we'll be finding out why. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: pressure is growing in brazil for tougher rules on the construction of dams — after two devastating collapses injust three years. translation: they have learnt nothing. what is happening now is making is really frightening that might frighten. cities are being evacuated. there is the risk of other dams braking. the stars are out on the biggest night for british film — with olivia colman named best actress. this is for all three of us. it's got my name on it but we can scratch in some other names. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. glad you could join us.

it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london, and one in the afternoon in new zealand, where the entire population of a town has been evacuated, as a large forest fire threatens the homes of over 3000 people. a state of emergency has been declared around the south island town of wakefield. helicopters, planes, and more than 150 firefighters have been trying to contain the blaze. katie silver reports. it's now been over a week, firefighters battling a blaze which has forced thousands from their homes. it started near the city of nelson, then with winds of 20km an hour, it has moved south and threatens the town of wakefield. along with efforts on the ground, 26 aircraft have been deployed, making it the largest area firefight

in new zealand's history, firefighters are backburning as a last resort measure with small fires deliberately lit to stop the path of a wildfire. we are doing it in stages. it reduces the heat and the ferocity of the fire. tens have been set up to help thousands of voluntary. and a makeshift animal shelter, erected for livestock and family pets. there's nothing worse i think than being displaced as a family, and for people, these animals are their family so it's huge and we feel for them as well. police have confirmed they're investigating two of the fires and are appealing to speak to three young men, spotted in the area on friday. many came together to pray, and with lower wind speeds predicted on monday, authorities are optimistic. but they stress the situation is far from over. we are continuing to monitor that

situation. more on the website. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. chinese state media have released a video appearing to show a uighur musician previously reported to have died in a detention camp. the video features a man said to be abdurehim heyit stating that he is in "good health". turkey earlier called on china to close the camps following reports of his death. rahima mahmut is a uighur singer and human rights activist — she gave her reaction. imean, i mean, it's a huge relief. but still i don't know whether the news is completely verified, because when i received at the video it was on social media. so we don't know the source of video, where it came from.

it's very clear that he is forced or he was forced to say whatever he said. that was rahima mahmut speaking to us that was rahima mahmut speaking to us earlier. also making news today: the us senator amy klobuchar has announced that she's running for president in 2020, becoming the fifth senator to join the race to defeat president trump. she joins a crowded field seeking the democratic nomination, including cory booker, elizabeth warren, and kamala harris, with several more expected to declare in the coming months. the hungarian prime minister, viktor 0rban, has outlined measures he says will help families and boost the birth rate. the country's population is falling by more than 30,000 a year, and the nationalist government is strongly opposed to immigration. the plans include exempting women who have at least four children from paying income tax for life. the afghan president, ashraf ghani, says he's ready to allow the taliban to open an office in kabul or any other city. mr ghani said he was keen to bring a lasting and honourable peace to afghanistan. his offer came amid increasing frustration in kabul over the militant group's refusal to hold

peace talks with the government. beijing says the number of people going abroad for the chinese new year holiday rose 11% over the same period last year, despite slower economic growth. 400 million people are travelling within china and more than six point three million people left the country during the week—long holiday. travel industry analysts say the slowing economy means that more people are visiting closer destinations, like thailand and malaysia. an air new zealand flight to shanghai was forced to turn back several hours into its journey after discovering it did not have permission to land in china. the plane, carrying around 270 people, left auckland and flew for around five hours before being told it didn't have the correct authority.

the airline has apologised to passengers. the most successful female skier of all time, the american lindsey vonn, has won a bronze medal in the final race of her career, the women's downhill at the world championships in sweden. she was in gold medal position until ilka stuhec of slovenia displaced her. she announced her retirement from skiing earlier this month, saying her "body is broken beyond repair". congratulations to her. health officials in the philippines are going door—to—door to immunise children to try and control a measles outbreak across the country. at least 25 people have died in the last month. the virus is highly contagious and the world health organisation estimates 2.6 million children in the philippines are unvaccinated. the who says it's facing a real challenge in the philippines, where vaccination rates are lower than the asian average. well, earlier i spoke to dr gundo weiler, the who's

representative in the philippines, who explained the epidemic is being made partly worse by parents not valuing the importance of vaccinating their children. we do have a real outbreak situation right here in the philippines. the latest date that we have, as of yesterday, we have seen more than 4000 cases in the country this year alone and they are heading up to 20,000 cases that we saw last year when the outbreak started. the reasons are, as you say, in principle that in the philippines the routine immunisation programme has had weaknesses and we have seen a pool of children building up over the last years who have not received full vaccination coverage for measles. is it because the government is not a lot in enough budget for the immunisation programme or is it because parents

do not have the right information? —— allocating. do not have the right information? -- allocating. it is probably a reason, a major reason. 0n -- allocating. it is probably a reason, a major reason. on one side we have factors related to the health services. there have been problems in the past. at some stage as we have seen stock problems. but the services are not perceived as being easily accessible enough. sometimes people have to travel far or the opening hours are not convenient, so parents are not using them sufficiently. but we do have also an issue on the side of families and parents and we have seen vaccine confidence going down. pa rents seen vaccine confidence going down. parents believe less, nowadays, that vaccines are important, that they are safe and effective to protect their children. dr gundo weilerfrom dr gundo weiler from the who speaking to rico. pressure is growing for tougher rules on the construction of new mines and dams in brazil — after the collapse of one mining dam last month left hundreds dead or missing. but the mayor of the town hit

by brazil's last such disaster — three years ago — says the mining companies have learned nothing. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson reports from mariana, where many of those affected are still living in temporary accommodation. the ghost town still haunts those who live in the shadow of brazil's dams. a once vibrant community abandoned. the mud stained walls left standing show how the village was devoured by the toxic sludge. i met this man in the ruins. he was born and raised here. "this is all the remains of my house," he told me. "our hearts are broken." this is the aftermath of the dam collapsing mariana three years ago. they wave of my back live —— travelled 300

kilometres to the sea. brazil's worst ever environment a disaster. but it came at great human cost, too. this five—year—old was one of the 19 people who died. her mother, pamela, said the family's house was wiped out by the sludge. translation: my husband cries out, daddy loves you, he put his hand out to rescue her and then something came crashing down on them. he never saw her again. pamela now get an allowa nce saw her again. pamela now get an allowance and ran from the mining companies, but does she think there will be just as? translation: no. i think will be just as? translation: no. ithink those will be just as? translation: no. i think those who have money will getjustice. but those who don't will be treated badly. it's all about money. the local mayor says there are so much reliance on the lucrative mining industry the community is powerless. did anybody learn anything from mariana? translation: they've learned nothing. what's happening now makes us nothing. what's happening now makes us really frightened. cities are

being evacuated. there is a risk of other dams braking. the mining companies said they would help us, but they haven't. but the mining companies say they are repairing the damage that was done. this is one of three new villages being built for pamela and all those who lost their homes. it's run by a foundation created to help survivors. it's a long time, but we are taking care, or trying to take care of these families, where they are now. we hope that 250 families, around 250 families, come to this resettlement. you would think after you'd the disaster here mining regulations would have become tougher, nothing of the sort has happened. in fact, just three weeks after the dam broke they passed a law it even easier to build mind and dams. it goes to show how powerful the mining industry is here. the world was idle, but at what cost? katy watson, abc news, in mariana. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: australian doctors treating sick

asylum seekers in detention centres could be allowed to send their patients to the mainland if parliament agrees to a new law. we'll have more on that debate. do stay with us. also on the programme: living up to its name, the film the favourite wins several awards at the baftas, including best actress for 0livia coleman, best british film, and best supporting actress for rachel weisz. there's mr mandela. mr nelson mandela, a free man, taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader ayatollah khomeini has said he's passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks

for the ousting of their former president, 'baby doc' duvalier. because of his considerable value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud farm's central block. shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. there stepped down from the plane a figure in mourning. elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and of all her other realms and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories. an entire town in new zealand has had to be evacuated as a huge forest fire threatens the homes of 3000 people. health officials struggle to contain a deadly measles outbreak

across the philippines where vaccination rates are low. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the philippine star is reporting on a story we covered earlier in the programme — the measles outbreak. they say president duterte will play an active role in trying to improve the public‘s confidence in the government's immunisation programme. the straits times leads on singapore's calls for malaysia to withdraw its vessels from singaporean waters. the singaporean government says malaysian boats threaten the safety of navigation in the area — after greek and malaysian vessels collided in the strait. and finally the china daily newspaper has a story about the release of a chinese sci—fi blockbuster. the wandering earth raked in more than $280 million during the spring festival. the paper says 2019 will go down as the year china learnt how

to make sci—fi. doctors in australia who are treating sick asylum seekers on offshore detention centres, could be allowed to send their patients to the mainland for further medical assistance. that's if an opposition backed bill, which is currently being debated, is passed this week. at the moment, the decision on whether refugees on nauru and manus island can be brought to australia is solely up to the home affairs minister. hywel griffith in sydney, says the government is firecely opposing the bill, and is worried about the outcome. because if they lose this vote, it could be the first time a sitting government in australia has lost a

vote since 1929 and last time around, that triggered an election. we already know an election is coming, immigration is a key issue. this is almost become a proxy to beat about who is tough on immigration versus who is compassion and —— proxy debate. parliament is back this week, not many sitting weeks before the election in may thatis weeks before the election in may that is why we are hearing so much rhetoric really buy so many on this debate. what other figures? how many could be sent if this bill is passed? we know there are around 1000 refugees or asylum seekers either run manus island in png or on nauru. that figure has been slowly coming down however, of those, well, estimates vary depending on which side of the argument you are wrong.

some suggest around 300 potentially could have the medical need to be brought here to australia because the facilities simply aren't there on those islands will stop those who we re on those islands will stop those who were against doctors having the say—so over who comes suggest there could be hundreds more, maybe even 1000. that is why we hit a prime minister described this as a stupid bill because in his argument, it would take away the sovereign control of australia's boarders from the government to the doctor's side. the doctors say no, this is about compassion and nowhere near that number would need to be brought here for attention. how has it worked in the past? who has the authority if someone is sick on one of those offshore detention centres? who has the power to send them to the mainland? at the moment, it is under the australian border force which is the australian border force which is the home office. the doctors argue it is simply not working. they put forward exa m ples it is simply not working. they put forward examples of people they claim have died waiting for medical

ca re claim have died waiting for medical care and attention either ron mannix or nauru. —— either on manus island. they say they are not health body and they don't make decisions on health but under the current legislation, they have the right to decide. the government, as it tries to offer a compromise, maybe they would have an independent medical board but the key thing for the government, they watch their ultimate say—so to stay with home affairs office. some of the most well—known names in the music industry are getting ready to take the stage at the 61st annual grammy awards in los angeles. the event is going ahead despite the absence of three leading nominees — the rappers kendrick lamar, drake and childish gambino. for more on this i am joined now by peter bowes in los angeles. peter, why are these three wrappers attending? —— white ———— why aren't

these three rappers. some of the leading artists like kendrick lamar, and also ariana grande was having a public spat over her choice of song. she wanted to perform her latest single that they wanted a medley of her music. it turned into quite a nasty war of words. she has decided to stay away. another of the artists, 21 savage, he was arrested artists, 21 savage, he was arrested a week ago for overstaying is visa, he is from the uk. who are the front—runners for the major rewards? kendrick lamar, aged nominations will stop even though he didn't have

an album of his own art last year, he is up for producing the music to black panther. he curated it as well. it is also going to be up for an oscar in a few weeks time. there is an interesting synergy for the grammys for music and the oscars for music. a star is born and of course lady gaga hotly tipped to perform her song. there have been some changes made for this year's grammy awards. more diversity among the nominees. that is the idea. they we re nominees. that is the idea. they were criticised last year. there was only one female artist in a solo performance winning in all of the televised categories last year and the head of the music academy made some comments and referred to female

artists, "stepping up" in order to achieve those awards. they have expanded the top two or three categories from five nominees to eight nominees, hopefully to improve the diversity of those people up for awards. and peter, specialtributes for dolly parton and a former us president? yes, dolly parton is the lifetime achievement award winner and she will be performing some of her music as well. then they will be an all—star tribute to dolly parton with some of the other leading female artist performing her music and yes, there is a possibility that jimmy carter could in fact win a grammy will stop he has won twice before, nominated many times. this is for the audio recording, the audio version of his latest book. looking forward to the grammy awards in los angeles. well, that's the view from los angeles —

it's a big night for entertaintment in london too, kasia? the gorgeous alicia keys hosting the grammys later on and one of my favourite singers i have ever interviewed. joanna lumley was hosting the baftas. the historical drama the favourite lived up to its name at the baftas held in london this evening, collecting a string of awards — including best leading actress for 0livia colman as queen anne. rami malek won the leading actor prize for bohemian rhapsody — and the spanish language film ‘roma' was named best film. 0ur entertainment correspondent, lizo mzimba, was there. guests of honour on the red carpet — the duke and duchess of cambridge. and joining them at the ceremony was acting royalty. royal themed film the favourite may have won the most awards but it was the black and white mexican movie roma which took home best director for alfonso cuaron and best film — the first time ever and netflix production has won the night's most prestigious prize.

cuaron, born in mexico, gave perhaps the night's most political speech. retreating back to a world of separation and isolation is not a solution to anything. it's simply an excuse to hide our fear within our basic instincts. whether we like it or not, we are all connected, sharing space and time. and when we finally choose to embrace that connection, to show compassion towards one another, we will rise together. british star rachel weisz won best supporting actress for the favourite which took home seven awards in total, including outstanding british film, best costume design and best actress for 0livia colman. did you just look at me? did you? look at me. look at me! how dare you! close your eyes! and she paid tribute to her two co—stars, rachel weisz and emma stone. emma and rachel. must keep it together.

um, notjust for your performances but for what you did after the cameras stopped rolling, and we've never talked about this and i find it very emotional but you were the best and classiest and coolest honour guard any woman could ever have and i love you. # so you think you can stop me and spit in my eye. the best actor prize went to rami malek for his portrayal of freddie mercury in the queen biopic, bohemian rhapsody. thank you so very much to queen, to brian may, to roger taylor, to the entire queen family. wouldn't be here without you. and to the greatest outsider of them all, thank you freddie mercury again. dear dolores. d-e-a-r. this is an animal. while best supporting actor went to mahershala ali for the film green book. and the rising star awards for emerging talent, won previously by the likes of tom hardy and john boyega, was won by british black panther

star letitia wright. we have full list of winners on our website. you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london and i'm rico hizon in singapore stay with us. we'll be looking at work—life balance and why it's such a sensitive issue injapan. and we're going to leave you with some cheeky chimps. visitors got more than they bargained for at belfast zoo. several chimpanzees were able to escape their enclosure by making an improvised ladder from a large branch, propped up against a wall. the end of last week was stormy.

high pressure is building and the winds will be light for most of us. we have sunshine and frosty mornings on the way as well. monday will be no different. very decent weather runway. this is the big picture. it is starting to build across spain, portugal and france. it will soon engulf the whole of europe. at the moment, it is still pretty chilly because the winds are blowing out of the north— north—west but the mild airyou can see the north— north—west but the mild air you can see here will be reaching out shores by about wednesday. this is what it looks like, early hours of monday morning. a couple of showers affecting northern parts of england and scotla nd northern parts of england and scotland and on the whole, clear. across most of the uk and there will bea across most of the uk and there will be a frost. the coldest of the weather, as you would expect, across scotland. 0utside weather, as you would expect, across scotland. outside of town, colder than that. a touch of frost further

south expected as well. not an awful lot. monday start sunny. many of us will have a sunny day all day long however, western areas of the country will turn more hazy. weather fronts are trying to get in. maybe a few light spots of rain but this is pretty much where they grind to a halt because of that high pressure building across many western parts of europe. here is the high pressure across western parts of europe as it builds further towards the east but notice it displaced further south away from us, it means the weather fronts nibbling into the north—west of the british isles so may be a gainafew of the british isles so may be a gain a few spots of rain, a bit of cloud and some increasing wind. the vast majority of the country, 99% of us, dry weather through the course of true state and the temperatures are starting to rise. we are expecting double figures in belfast, aberdeen and newcastle. by

the time we get to wednesday, the mild air has arrived on our shores. in fact, it is also seeping into parts of kamdyn avia and western as well as eastern parts of europe —— scandinavia. the temperatures will continue to rise. by thursday it could be around 13 or 14 degrees. notjust in the south of the country that even in one of two spots across scotland. whether this week is looking absolutely fine. i'm kasia madera with bbc world news. our top story: the entire population of a town in new zealand is evacuated, as a large forest fire threatens the homes of over three thousand people. health officials in the philippines are going door—to—door to immunise children to try to control a measles outbreak across the country where vaccination rates are low. at least 25 people have died in the last month. this story is trending on bbc

.com. the stars have been out in force at the bafta awards in london. the favourite has dominated this year's event, winning seven awards including outstanding british film. that is all from me. stay with us on bbc news. now an bbc