i'm rico hizon in singapore, the headlines: heading home — the bahraini footballer freed from a thai jail will soon arrive in australia where he has refugee status. a malaysian court postpones the trial of former prime minister najib razak, who's facing multiples charges of corruption. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: president trump heads to texas to rally support for his border wall as the threat of another government shutdown looms. small creatures, big problem — why the threat of insect extinction could have catastrophic results for us all. good morning.

it's 9am in singapore, 1am in london and midday in melbourne where in the next hour, the footballer who fled bahrain to australia, is expected to arrive back home. this is hakeem al—araibi getting on board a flight in bangkok. he's the man on the left in the black shirt. he had been detained in thailand, where he'd flown for his honeymoon from australia, after the bahraini authorities requested his extradition, on charges related to the arab spring protests. but that request was then dropped, and he was freed to return to australia, where he has refugee status. mr al—araibi's plane is expected to touch down in melbourne in a few hours‘ time. our correspondent hywel griffith is there. we want to find out why did bahrain drop the extradition request? all we have heard from the kingdom

of bahrain is that they stand by the judgement they made and they are sentencing him to ten years in prison as they accuse him of vandalising a police station during the arab spring despite there is footage of him playing in a football match around the same time. in the last 2a hours, they have accepted not to extradite him any more so they no longer want the thai authorities to want —— sent him back to bahrain and that's why last night in bangkok he was able to board that plane and within about half—an—hour oi’ plane and within about half—an—hour orso, we plane and within about half—an—hour or so, we expect him to touch down here in melbourne. who is there currently at melbourne airport to welcome him back? well, a throng of journalists and cameras and some of his supporters. there has been a huge community effort in melbourne ona huge community effort in melbourne on a particularfrom his local

football clu b on a particularfrom his local football club but also the wide all football club but also the wide all foot ball —— that wider football fraternity. it took out —— took off through social media to find some players stop people were asking for the world to come together to support him. after ten weeks in detention, things have changed in his favour just detention, things have changed in his favourjust in the last 2a hours. he will get a pretty loud rapturous welcome here in melbourne, iam sure. rapturous welcome here in melbourne, i am sure. we don't know yet whether he wants to speak to the waiting media but we do know that there are plenty of people who would be pleased to see him back. what would be next will hacking other rugby when he returns to australia? —— hakeem al araibi. leno well, he would like to see his wife who he had not seen for the past ten weeks. they were on honeymoon together. —— well, he would like to see. she can't stop crying and she is going to buy flowers and cakes to welcome him home. his football club said he

will be back to play with them and they have saved his shirt to play with them in the upcoming season. he will want to get back to playing for his local team and who knows after that? certainly the football fraternity here said they are other cases they want to highlight. they wa nt to cases they want to highlight. they want to see football may be being a cause for good and they are calling on fifa to reform to step up earlier. there was quite a significant delay before the vika officials became involved in his case and started to assert some more international pressure. —— fifa. over the next couple of weeks, i think we will hear more about how the football fraternity is responding to this. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. a malaysian court has postponed the first trials of former prime minister najib razak, who is facing multiples charges of corruption. the kuala lumpur high court was set to start hearings on tuesday on the seven counts of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering that najib is facing. here's mariko oi to explain why the proceedings have been delayed. he faces 42 charges ranging

from money—laundering, corruption, you name it. he of course denies all the charges but they are all linked to malaysia's sovereign wealth fund called imdb which was set up by mr najib back in 2009, shortly after taking office. the original aim was to turn the capital kuala lumpur into a global financial hub but it's been alleged that some $4.5 billion may have been stolen from the fund and some of the money may have ended up in mr najib's bank account. as i said, mr najib denies all the allegations but if that can be proven during the trial then it becomes the world's biggest financial scam of all time. also making news today, one of brazil's best known political journalists, ricardo boechat, has died in a helicopter crash. the aircraft crashed on top of a lorry in sao paulo's busy ring road.

the pilot has also died. the driver of the lorry was rescued by paramedics and suffered minor injuries. britain's prime minister, theresa may, is set to update mps in parliament on tuesday on brexit negotiations. the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, held what he called constructive talks with the brexit secretary in brussels on monday evening. the un is urging the warring parties in yemen to give it access to a vast store of grain that's desperately needed by millions of people who are threatened by famine. aid workers haven't been able to reach the flour mill in the port of hodeida for five months. the south korean group bts has made history by becoming the first k—pop group to present an award at the grammys. the seven band members, who were also nominated

for an award, presented best r&b album which was won by the singer her. a good night for women performers at the grammys. bts didn't win this time. but they did bring a little taste of home with them, arriving in a hyundai car. human activity could wipe out 40% of insect species within just a few decades. that's the alarming suggestion of a major scientific study by researchers in australia, which claims that pesticides, agriculture and climate change are all drastically affecting the insect world. victoria gill reports. they're the planet's smallest, most essential workers, producing ourfood, cleaning up our waste. but changes we are making to the environment threaten the very existence of earth's insect population. that's according to scientists, who analysed dozen of insect surveys that were carried out all over

the world over the last 13 years. it revealed that many species are now sliding towards extinction at a dramatic rate. overall, 41% of the world's insect species are in decline, and that includes some very familiar creatures. 49% of beetles are declining, 37% of mayflies, and 53% of butterflies and moths. so that is one of the groups that is troubled ? absolutely, moths and bees and beetles are all massively in trouble right now... those losses, scientists say, could jeopardise our way of life. so much of our atmospheric carbon, which is linked to climate change, that's stored in the soil, and that's cycled through the soil by insects. our food is grown in the soil, that's made by insects. and then our food is then pollinated by insects. every single step along that has an insect associated with it, that's doing an importantjob. and without that, we would lose the ability to produce food, wouldn't we? but, as much as we rely on insects, it is primarily our activities and our food production practices that have been driving these declines.

there are three key things that this study highlights as threats to our planet's insect diversity — climate change, invasive species, and critically, how we use our land, the increasing intensification of agriculture. around the world, suitable habitat is being consumed by farming and urbanisation, and the study says widespread use of synthetic pesticides is a major driver of insect loss. bug lovers can help by making gardens more pollinator—friendly. but researchers say food production will have to change to stop our most important pollinators becoming collateral damage in the battle against pests. another beast or is coming up on

newsday. —— another bee story. donald trump is about to take to the stage in the texan border town of el paso, to once again make his case for funding for his wall along the border with mexico. he faces a deadline — because if he can't strike a deal with the democrats before friday, another partial government shutdown will be triggered. our washington correspondent, gary 0' donoghue is at the rally. i asked him if president trump sees el paso as an example of why the wall is necessary. kasia, he's repeatedly said that the wall here that was built in 2008 and 2009, around 78 miles of it, was the sole reason that crime fell here. that el paso went from being an incredibly violent place to one of the safest places in america. the problem with all that is it is not true. el paso was never a particularly violent city for its size. across the border, its twin town if you like, in mexico, juarez, is an incredible violent place. also, after the wall was built, the violent crime levels went up a little bit so he's repeated this

line as he did in the state of the union and elsewhere and i wouldn't be at all surprised if he says it again here tonight. it's part of the wider rhetoric, if you like, to persuade congress and the democrats that they do need this wall and to keep his core support on side because for them, this is a signature issue. and as he is preparing to make this speech, the democrats and republicans back in washington are trying to get some kind of deal through otherwise we are looking at yet another government shutdown. yeah, the deadline is midnight on friday. they will need some days to get some legislation through. really, they need to be heading for a deal today and tomorrow to get that done. at the moment, we understand that the signs are not good. they are disagreeing over things, particular details like the amount

of detention beds that are present in detention centres for migrants around the country. the democrats want to limit that so it prevents the administration from keeping quite so many people in detention. the republicans are against that, as you can imagine. the president will come here tonight to keep the pressure up and he may reissue that threat about issuing a state of emergency and taking the money from elsewhere that he can't get from congress itself. we will see. he will again, i'm sure, try and keep up that pressure, keep up that idea tying illegal immigration, notjust to pressure on public services, notjust to illegality in itself, but to crime. it's been a central part of his message ever since he was a candidate. that illegal immigrants bring in crime. that was gary o'donoghue in l paso

el that was gary o'donoghue in l paso ———— el paso. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: you may have heard of a spelling bee — but how about a counting bee? scientists say they have proof that honeybees can do simple sums. also on the programme: bollywood comes to the berlin film festival with a movie about a man who raps his way out of the slums of mumbai. 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: bahrain drops its request to extradite a footballer who was being held in a thai prison. hakeem al—araibi is now

on his way back to australia, where he has refugee status. he is due to arrive in melbourne shortly. a malaysian court postpones the trial of former prime minister najib razak, who is facing multiples charges of corruption. russia is considering whether to disconnect temporarily from the global internet as part of a test of its cyber—defences. it would mean all information being shared on the web would have to stay within russia, rather than be routed via international servers. the experiment is set to take place before the end of march. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the straits times reports that thai princess ubolratana has been formally de—selected as a candidate for prime minister. the thai raksa chart party came under pressure from the king for nominating his sister, which he described as inappropriate. the philippine star is reporting that the measles outbreak in the country is not yet under control. 70 people have died so far, but the department of health says vaccination rates are improving.

and the south china morning post leads on hong kong's analogue television switch—off. it says 160,000 households will be eligible for a subsidy to buy a digital tv when the signal is turned off next year. now, kasia, the venezuelan president's choice of backdrop for a televised speech has been making waves online. yes, nicolas maduro was rather upstaged during this speech, as the camera angle rather made the images of rolling fields and horse riders behind him seem as if he was really there with them, and if that wasn't distracting enough, he was then speaking over waterfalls and islands. mr maduro wasn't distracted. he clearly felt his message was the most important part of the event.

you may have heard of a spelling bee, but how about a counting bee? scientists claim to have proof that honeybees can do simple sums. the research teams in france and australia set the insects the task of getting through a maze, working out which way to go by using either addition orsubtraction, depending on the colour of a shape. the lead study author and biologist, scarlett howard, spoke to me about the new discovery. we found out, just as you said, that bees can perform simple addition and subtraction, and using that, they can navigate their way to a reward of sugar, which they can then take back to their hive for the rest of their hive mates. and i've also read, scarlet, that

bees might have an understanding about sameness and difference as well? yes, so that was a study done a while ago, and bees are able to either learn to choose something similar to what they've seen before, or something different. so they can do that with colours and with scent. all right, so you have counting bees. what about other animals that can count? one other paper i have read says that monkeys and birds can. yeah, there are actually a number of species that can use numbers in different ways. you'll even see some spiders who can add and subtract, as well as the african grey parrot and pigeons, and quite a lot of animals will use numbers in their natural environment. and what does this discovery, scarlet, mean for science? well, it means a number of things. one of the things we're interested in is looking at insect cognition. in particular, the honeybee shows quite a lot of ability to learn and use the learnt rules to adapt

to different situations. so we're interested in seeing how far that could extend, so this is one stepping stone towards that research. it could also be useful for things such as looking at al, and new ways of processing information in computers. and you mentioned artificial intelligence and creating smarter robots and autonomous vehicles. how can this help going forward? honeybees have quite a small brain, so it's a very different processing system to our own. but we still see very complex behaviours and the ability to learn concepts and rules, so we want to know how their small brain is able to process so much complexity in their natural environment, and also in the experiments that we give them. and maybe this can tell us a little bit more about how perhaps a small processing system, like a computer or biological brain, is able to process so much information in such a small space. if you want to see african art, you are probably better off looking outside the continent.

a new report says 90% of africa's cultural heritage is elsewhere. that includes art seized during the colonial era, which remains on display in museums across europe. the report suggests that the artworks be returned to africa, coinciding with broader efforts already underway. the bbc‘s africa editor fergal keane reports. the past is alive, but to whom does it belong? to the descendants of the empire builders, or the people from whose lands it was taken? in the old imperial capitals, art that was stolen by colonial conquerors is now the focus of a growing campaign for restitution. these are the benin bronzes at the british museum, looted by british forces in nigeria at the close of the 19th century. those pieces, that art, represents the essence of us. i need to be able to explain certain things about my being, certain things as to why i'm who i am, and do things the way

ido, and think the way i do. and that's why art is important. on one level, this is a debate about priceless pieces of art, and where they really belong. but it's part of a much larger movement in africa and the african diaspora to reclaim a stolen cultural heritage. it's about the right of africans to possess their own history. perhaps nowhere is the debate so haunted by past cruelties as here, at the grand museum erected outside brussels by king leopold ii of belgium. it was built on the profits of forced labour in rubber plantations. those who failed to collect their quota had hands chopped off. african art was carted back here in vast quantities. but the museum has undergone a major revamp, to reflect the reality of colonial history. if you look there, you know, there's a hologram of leopold ii about six times here, and in total about 45 times

throughout the building. he wasn't a man for understatement, was he? no, he was really... but, as for restitution, there are reservations about capacity and the dangers of corruption. do you trust the authorities in congo? no. to treat anything that is brought back with the care it deserves? at this moment, no, absolutely not. i wouldn't trust any of the people that are currently in charge. not that they are of bad will, but just they don't have the facilities. there is no security system. a lot of these objects are worth a lot of money. people are paid very badly. what would you do if you were paid, you know, not even $100 a month? but african voices are insistent change must come. in the democratic republic of congo, we visited a fledgling museum in kinshasa that combines old colonial sculpture with this storehouse of congolese art. professor washna acknowledges the worries about corruption

in congo, but a new national museum has been built, with south korean help, a place that could provide a congolese home for looted treasures. translation: during colonisation, belgium, england, and america unfortunately took a lot of the art. this is only a small portion of what can be found in europe, so we should claim them back. it's better that it is here, for the good of the congolese people. now the story of bollywood in berlin, where the indian movie industry's first mainstream film about hip—hop has been premiered at the berlin film festival. gully boy tells the story of a young man who raps his way out of the slums of mumbai. haroon rashid reports. two of india's biggest stars brought bollywood to berlin for the world premiere of a gritty musical drama. gully boy is a rags—to—riches story

about an underdog from the slums who aspires to become a famous rapper. it is india's first hip—hop movie. this film was an irresistible prospect to me. a quintessential mumbai film, you know, so that culture, that language, that texture, those themes, and hip—hop, two things that love. the coming together of these two things, it is was like — it's almost good to be true. the film is inspired by the experiences of two real rappers, dive and naezy, who went from living in asia's largest slum, dharavi, to being signed to global record companies. i have been to the places they lived, met their families, met their girlfriends, where they hang out, who theirfriends are. they consulted on the script, they would be in and say it wouldn't happen like that, it would happen like that, this is authentic, this is not. the dialogue supervision was done by rappers. it was — the music is created

by them, and the rest is obviously filmmaking. gully boy is not the first bollywood film to have its world premiere here at the berlin international film festival. however, because of its unique story and a—list cast, there is an added interest in this film. we've never really had, like, a rap film in bollywood, and it's the first time, and i'm really excited. i'm here because i love this man so much, i swear i love him. critics have praised the film for swapping escapism for real issues affecting india today. when i watch a foreign film and i really like it, itjust makes me so much more aware of the foreign culture. when you take an indian film and you premiere it in somewhere like berlin and, you know, people from berlin can see it, you're just expanding the culture, and you're telling a story that's so close to home. and if they like it, that's unity. you have been watching newsday. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. hello there. we may well be heading towards the final few weeks

of winter now, but actually, the weather is feeling almost springlike, some slightly milder conditions certainly on the cards over the next few days. this was the scene taken near eastbourne by one of our weather watchers on monday. some blue sky, a bit of sunshine around too. now, as we head through the course of the next few days, still quite a lot of dry weather. there'll be a little rain across northern and western parts of the uk. things turning mild by day, but we've still got a few chilly nights to come, could be the odd spot of frost, and perhaps a bit of mistiness around too. but you can see the yellow colours moving in from the south—west gradually over the next couple of days, introducing that milder air. the blue colours, the colder air, kept at bay for now. so, through tuesday morning, then, it will be quite a chilly start across much of england and wales, particularly in the south and the east. we've got more cloud from the word go further north and west. a few spots of rain for parts of northern england, but also for scotland and for northern ireland as well, as a frontal system just moves its way gradually south—eastwards through the day.

it should brighten up for scotland and for northern ireland during the afternoon, as those south—westerly winds help to break up the cloud. a bit of rain lingering for north—west england, but central and southern and eastern england should stay dry through the day. now, temperatures up to between around 10—13 degrees, so a little above—average, really, for this time of year. now, as we move through tuesday night and on into wednesday, high pressure sits towards the south. we've still got this frontal system which is just pushing its way gradually further north—eastwards moving on into wednesday morning. so through the day on wednesday, still quite cloudy across northern and western parts of the uk. a few spots of rain, particularly for parts of scotland, england and wales certainly staying dry through the day, and there'll be a bit more sunshine on wednesday, i think, compared to tuesday. so temperatures will be doing reasonably well once again, around 10—13 degrees or so, could see 14 celsius in the warmest spot. so, we've got that milder air with us into the start of the week, with high pressure sitting across the continent. we're drawing in these south—westerly winds, they stay with us into thursday, as well, as weather fronts clear off towards the north.

so i think thursday not a bad day, should be quite a deal of sunshine, especially across england, northern ireland, wales, one or two showers for scotland, especially in the far north. but a largely dry today, and with those southerly winds, again temperatures will be up again in double figures after a bit of a chilly start, 12 or 13 the warmer spots on thursday afternoon. looking towards the end of the week then, and we keep that mild theme to the weather, but it will turn a little bit more unsettled towards the end of the week as those winds strengthen, with some rain particularly in the north and the west at times. bye for now. i'm kasia madera with bbc news. our top story: a bahraini footballer who was being held behind bars in thailand is now heading to australia, where he has refugee status. hakeem al—araibi had been convicted in his absence of vandalising a police station. he denied the charges, and was fighting extradition in thailand, where he was travelling on his honeymoon. the much—anticipated trial of the former malaysian prime minister najib razak

for alleged money laundering has been postponed. it was due to begin on tuesday. mr najib's lawyers have succeeded in getting the trial delayed on a technicality. and this video is trending on bbc.com. russia is considering whether to disconnect temporarily from the global internet as part of a test of its cyber—defences. that's all. stay with bbc news. and the top story in the uk: horse racing will resume in britain on wednesday,