welcome to newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. the headlines: police in the philippines arrest the head of a news website highly critical of president duterte for an alleged cyber offence dating back seven years. the fact that an arrest warrant has been issued, well, really interesting, and i will follow. i'm just shocked that the rule of law has been broken to the point that i can't see it. no regrets aboutjoining the islamic state group, but hoping to return home. a london schoolgirl lifts the lid on her brutal life in syria. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: a valentine's day plea from japan's same—sex community. 13 couples demand the government recognises their relationships as marriage. and declaring war on the boar. hong kong steps up the fight against a plague of wild pigs. good morning.

it's 9am in singapore, 1am in the morning in london, and 9am in manila, where the head of the philippines news website rappler is facing charges which carry a penalty of up to 12 years injail. maria ressa is accused of cyber crimes over a report dating back to 2012. this was the moment maria was led out of the company's headquarters, surrounded by media. she was able to speak to some of them before being taken away. the fact that an arrest warrant has been issued, well, really interesting and i will follow. i'm just shocked that the rule of law has been broken to the point that i can't see it. there's already been widespread condemnation of the arrest,

with some groups seeing it as an attempt by the government to silence the opposition. founded in 2012, it's become known in the philippines for its hard—hitting investigations. it's also one of the few media organisations in the country that is openly critical of president rodrigo duterte. but it has won awards for its reporting, particularly with its investigation into how president duterte has waged his war on drugs. earlier, we spoke to the bbc‘s howard johnson in manila, and asked him just how worrying this arrest is. it's never a good sight to see an award—winning journalist being led away by officers of the law but that's what happened here late last night. what we have heard is that there is this libel case against rappler and maria ressa and a former reporter of the rappler website. they say the charges are baseless and this is a politically motivated attack to clamp down

on the freedom of expression. let's not forget, president duterte has been angered by their coverage of the war on drugs in this country in which thousands have died. human rights groups allege many killings are illegal summary executions. we've also heard from a spokesperson of the president saying this is a private case, nothing to do with expression of the media orfreedom of expression by the media and said that this isjust a libel case brought against rappler and we have to find out what happens in the courts in the days and weeks ahead. howard, do we know much more about ms ressa's condition? was she held overnight? yes, maria ressa was held overnight at the national bureau of investigation‘s headquarters here in manila. rapplerjournalists are questioning the timing of this arrest warrant being served yesterday late, five o'clock, too late to get bail from the local courts here so when she went to the nbi

headquarters, bail was not served and she spent the night in those headquarters. we are expecting today she will seek bail and we will find out whether she will be released a little bit later on this morning. the moment we get any updates, how would we'll bring them to us. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. and the us is potentially facing another government shutdown! donald trump says he hasn't yet decided whether to give his backing to a deal worked out between the republican and democratic parties, which could prevent it. a vote is expected on thursday. if there's no agreement, the current funding runs out at midnight on friday. the agreement only gives a fraction of the money the president wants to build his border wall. here he is. we have not got it yet. it will be sent to us at some point and we will take a very serious

look at it. we have a lot of things happening right now. we are building a lot of wall right now with money we already have, and when people see what we are doing, i think they will be very surprised. we are doing a lot of work. i don't want it see a shutdown. a shutdown would be a terrible thing. i think a point was made with the last shutdown, people realised how bad the border is, how unsafe the border is, and i think a lot of good points were made but i don't want to see another one, there is no reason for it and we are going to look at the legislation when it comes and i will make a determination. mr trump also touched on venezuela during his meeting with the colombian president ivan duque. he said the venezuelan leader nicolas maduro had made a terrible mistake by refusing to allow humanitarian supplies into the country to help people who are starving. mr maduro has accused the us of using the aid operation as a pretext to invade. when asked, mr trump said all options were on the table, to bring the crisis

in venezuela to an end. ajudge in the united states has ruled that president trump's former campaign manager, paul manafort, intentionally lied to the team investigating potential russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. the ruling puts mr manafort in breach of the plea agreement and makes it likely that he will now face a tougher sentence. a suicide bomber has killed at least 27 members of iran's elite revolutionary guards near the border with pakistan. the attacker used a car packed with explosives, to target the soldiers while they were travelling in a bus. the sunni muslim militant group, jaish al—adl, said it was behind the attack. the sister of thailand's king says she's saddened that her attempt to be the country's next prime minister has created what she called "a problem that shouldn't happen in this day and age". princess ubolratana muhidin was disqualified by the country's election commission on monday.

we've all heard of the film, black panther. well, here's the real thing. this extremely rare big cat was filmed in kenya. it's the first time one of the creatures has been documented in africa for around a century. while it's called a panther, it's actually a leopard, with its black colouration spreading across its fur, until it joins up. you have to look really closely to see that. proof that just sometimes a leopard can change its spots. one of the three schoolgirls from north london who travelled to syria to join the islamic state group has been speaking of her experiences. shamima begum told london's times newspaper that she didn't regret joining is, but that she was nine months pregnant and wanted to return to the uk. daniel sandford reports. pictured for the first time

in almost four years in a camp in northern syria, shamima begum, one of the three schoolgirls from bethnal green who left to join the islamic state group, which by then already had a murderous reputation. just 15 when they went, she told the times about their arrival in is territory. she told the times reporter, anthony loyd, her friend kadiza sultana was killed in an airstrike, but she said the third bethnal green girl, amira abase, was still alive two weeks ago. shamima begum doesn't accept they made a mistake injoining the islamic state group.

but she says that while she was with is she lost two children through malnutrition and sickness. she's nine months pregnant with a third child and is now desperate to get back to the uk. though it is far from clear whether the british government will allow anyone who spent so long with the brutal islamic state group to return. daniel sandford, bbc news. you can see more

you can see more on you can see more on daniel's story on our website. it's already valentine's day in some parts of the world, a day for celebrating love in all its forms. but for same—sex couples in japan, their relationships are not legally recognised as marriage. now, 13 same—sex couples are to file lawsuits nationwide against the japanese government demanding that be changed. ai nakajima and kristina baumann are one of the couples taking part in the lawsuit. they explain what happened when they tried to register their marriage in japan. well, the explanation was saying simply that japan does not recognise same—sex couple marriage. tina, how did that make you feel? well, of course, because we are married in germany, so it's kind of sad that they denied our marriage here injapan. were you frustrated, ai,

by having been legally accepted as a married couple in a different country, to come back to japan and have this situation? yes, definitely. we've been married in partnership over the last three years. and nowjapan does not recognise our relationship, so i'm very sad. at the same time i'm very angry about the japanese rule at this moment. so what do you hope, ai, will happen with this lawsuit? at the end of our long journey, by taking this to the court, the japanese government will allow the same—sex couple marriage over injapan. there are some places injapan, ai, that do hand out certificates to gay couples. is that something that you'd consider? yes, definitely. i think that's one little step towards same—sex marriage

here injapan, but it's not strongly reinforced by law, and tina here from germany can't claim for a spousal visa injapan. tina, it's not only the legalities. how does life as a same—sex couple compare to germany? it's still kind of hard injapan, especially to come out to family or friends. a lot of friends of ours still live in the closet. so i think in germany it is much more easier to live, because it'sjust a regular part of life. best of luck to them. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: netflix versus the academy. the streaming giant pulls out the stops to help its most successful movie roma win big on 0scar night. 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.

. —— welcome back. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: police in the philippines have arrested the head of a news website highly critical of president duterte. maria ressa from rappler is accused of a libel offence dating back seven years. a schoolgirl from london, who travelled to syria to join the islamic state group, says she now wants to return to the uk because she's pregnant. let's take a look at some of the front pages from around the world. we begin with the japan times, which reports that two lawyers defending former nissan chief carlos ghosn have resigned. the shock decision is the latest twist in a saga that has gripped the business world, since mr ghosn was arrested for financial misconduct in november.

the philippine star says hospitals have been ordered to open fast lanes for measles to help deal with an outbreak which has so far claimed 87 lives. the department of health predicts that it won't have the disease under control for another two to three months. and the south china morning post leads on a near—total ban on e—cigarettes being introduced in hong kong. under the new law it will still be legal to use e—cigarettes, but anyone who sells them will face up to six months in prison. that brings you up with some of the papers. thank you for that. to india now, where toxic alcohol has claimed the lives of dozens of people in the last few weeks. the product is often cheap, and available even in places where alcohol is outlawed — but as sangita myska reports,

its effects can be deadly. woman crying. this woman is inconsolable after the sudden death of her husband. translation: he vomited twice and said he was losing consciousness. he could not see anything and then he died. the villagers in this part of the border region of uttar pradesh, uttarakhand, are in a state of shock but this is not the only death from toxic illegal alcohol. at this hospital, more people have been admitted for treatment. many have gone blind. translation: i have a lot of difficulty speaking. i can't see anything. i am not able to speak clearly. in just one weekend, dozens of patients were treated here. translation: this toxic alcohol acts immediately after mixing with the blood, and when it has lots of ethanol, it hits the brain, liver,

kidney and the optic nerve and that is what causes blindness. the government says it's ready to offer the families of those killed op to $2000 in compensation. police have seized thousands of litres of bootleg liquor in this area alone, but deaths like these will remain unavoidable as long as those who supply illegal alcohol continue to make it. sangita myska, bbc news, delhi. wild boars are causing a stir in hong kong. the number of reports of them straying into built—up areas has more than doubled in the last five years — and there are worries that the wild animals could attack and injure someone. earlier, i spoke to roni wong from the committee of the hong kong wild boar concern group. not a lot of people think that it is a problem. i would say i would classify it as a conflict between human beings and wild boars.

as you know, hong kong is quite a relatively small place, there is more chance to get in conflict with the animals. apart from that, the urbanization spread into the rural area of the living conditions of the wild boar. the living condition of the animals has been seriously effected. besides the feeding and disposal of waste and poor refuse collection facilities will make the conflicts worse. it is really interesting, we are looking at some footage and they look rather cute and cuddly, i have to admit, and it is the year of the pig as well, in many chinese—speaking cities so they seem someone lucky this year, but tell us, have they been a major problem, in terms of attacks, issues, you say they are coming into conflict with the urban populations? since 2017, our government has

suspended the hunting game because it is not civilised. during the year of the pig, every people respect the animals and it will be having a good luck. at any rate, hong kong never is a leader in the animal rights movement but we are very proud to say that our government has stopped the hunting. are there any examples of them actually being violent to people? nasa has declared that the 0pportunity rover it sent to mars is officially dead, after nearly 15 years on the red planet. the robotic vehicle transformed our understanding of mars by confirming that water once flowed there. kim gittleson has more.

designed to last just designed to lastjust 90 days, 0pportunity landed on mars in 2004 and instead decided it would stay awhile, spending the next decade and awhile, spending the next decade and a half roving over the eerie martian landscape, reliably sending postcards back home. including proof that water, that necessary building block of life, did indeed flow at one point in martian history. but then a summer dust storm covered the rover‘s solar panels and on the 10th ofjune it sent back this image, before falling silent. now, after sending thousands of unreturned m essa 9 es sending thousands of unreturned messages after the past eight months, scientists have come to the inevitable conclusion — 0pportunity is no more. it is therefore that i am standing here with a sense of deep appreciation and gratitude that

i declare the 0pportunity mission as complete. and with it, the mars exploration rover mr —— mission is complete. a new rover will be launched in 2020 and curiosity, which landed in 2012, is still covering ground. like many on social media, it offered its own eltonjohn tribute to its fall and fall robot, saying this. but the death of the rover marks the end of the longest serving space robot, which gave us the first quinces of hope of the possibility of life elsewhere. kim —— kim gittleson, bbc news. —— the first quinces of hope. not long to go now until the oscars — and hollywood's traditional film industry could be excused for feeling a little nervous at the challenge posed by the rise of the streaming services. netflix, for example, has for the first time been nominated for best picture — the black and white autobiographical movie roma.

tom brook reports. roma has been the subject of a massive campaign by netflix to win 0scars. the chief aim to bring a best picture victory to director alfonso cuaron‘s largely autobiographical portrait of his family's housemaid in his childhood home in mexico city in early 1970s. cuaron is taking the big marketing push in his stride. netflix, like any other company behind any of the films, they do a lot of work doing the promotion and the marketing. i am very pleased about it. i'm very pleased because roma is a very unlikely film to have this amazing support that is happening in terms of a marketing campaign. it's been estimated that netflix has spent more than $25 million on its 0scars campaign. it knows winning would definitely generate a return, it would bringing top filmmakers to them. they need high—quality content

providers and 0scars help with that goal. if you can show that you might win an oscar, and will put a lot into helping you get that, i think that helps them retain and attract the very top talent in the film industry and that is important, especially as you have more and more competition. and more competition is coming. disney will be launching a big streaming platform this year as will other media entities. with its 0scar campaigning, netflix is taking on the role occupied by harvey weinstein several years ago, when he was a major force in winning 0scars. netflix is certainly a big player and i think harvey weinstein is a fair comparison in part because netflix has bought the publicity firm that harvey weinstein often used to promote his films for a academy awards consideration. that firm now works exclusively for netflix. they're working on roma and some other movies for them so it's a fair comparison though they have

not won the awards yet. harvey weinstein at the weinstein company and at miramax won a lot of oscars and people would say he had a special touch. so what will happen on the big night? well, there is a very good chance that roma could pick up the trophy for best foreign language film and, if it wins the top coveted, best picture award, that would of course delight netflix executives but make the big hollywood studios shudder over the encroaching competition. tom brook, bbc news. the big night is sunday the 24th of february. we will have all the buildup. we will bring that to you on bbc world news. do not miss it. you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. that is right. you certainly won't. and i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. stay with us. we'll be finding out how one company is challenging japan's rigid office culture through flexible working — as a way to combat the country's

labour crisis. that sounds fascinating. looking forward to that. and before we go, we'd like to leave you with these pictures of the harlem globetrotters basketball team, having some fun at long beach in california. they chose the floating museum ship the queen mary to demonstrate a few trick shots, having brought their own hoop along for target practise. as you can see, there was no shot too tricky, and no position too awkward to give it a try. the globetrotters first played in 1926, and, as ever, are out on tour. these three players, champ, zeus, and too tall, seem to have all the skills needed to keep the tradition going. that's all for now. stay with bbc world news. hello, good morning. the highest temperature ever recorded in february in the uk

is 19.7 celsius, that was back in 1998. on wednesday it was 14. still very mild for this time of year. and the highest temperatures were in the north—east of scotland, around the moray firth. over the next two days or so, we could see temperatures approaching 16 celsius. very mild indeed. and it's so mild because our air coming from a long way south, all the way from the canaries. mild by day but there's still potential for some chilly nights, when we have the clearer skies, and that is what we've got at the moment across england and wales. could be down to —2 or —3 in the chiltons. much milderfor scotland and northern ireland, where there is more cloud. we should see that cloud thinning and breaking, sunshine developing more widely and another very mild day today. one or two mist and fog patches in morning, southern england and east wales. more cloud across north—west england, northern ireland and scotland. it's tending to thin and break. some sunshine developing. a little bit hazy at times.

the bluer skies for england and wales. the wind is probably not quite as strong, especially in the north—west of the uk. those temperatures 12—14, maybe even 15 degrees in the moray firth. still got the high pressure keeping it essentially fine and dry. around that high pressure, we're drawing in those very mild south to south—westerly winds. that weather front though will be approaching the north—west, but not until we get to later on on friday. a lot of sunshine ahead of that. some more mist and fog perhaps for england and wales, early in the morning. clouding over in the north—west. a bit of rain mainly for the north—west of scotland. elsewhere probably dry, with some sunshine. another lovely day for the most part. and temperature 13, 14. possibly 16 in north—east wales and north—east scotland. over the weekend, some slight changes, still going to be mild, still going to be dry for most places. probably a bit more cloud around on saturday. and that's going to be noticeable across more southern parts of england and wales. further north, the clouds going to be a bit thinner. we should see some brightness and a bit of sunshine coming through. one or two spots of drizzle out

towards the far west and north—west. essentially it's a dry day. and we're still in the mild air, still got south to south—westerly winds. so temperatures again hitting 13 or 14 celsius. the high—pressure though gets squeezed away into continental europe where temperatures are continuing to rise here, allowing that weather front to approach into the western side of the uk, increase the cloud and bring a bit of rain and drizzle. further east it's going to be another fine day on sunday, still very mild. less mild perhaps on monday but there's very little rain around at all and most places are going to be fine and dry, still with south—westerly winds. i'm kasia madera with bbc world news. our top story: police in the philippines have arrested the award winning head of a news website that's been critical of president duterte. maria ressa is accused of libel for an article that was written seven years ago. ms ressa and her news organisation, rappler, are already under investigation for tax fraud. mr duterte's government has launched a number of legal actions against the president's critics. a schoolgirl from london, who travelled to syria to join the islamic state group, says she now wants to return

to the uk, so she can care for her unborn child. and this story is trending on bbc.com: indian researchers have discovered a new species of frog in a roadside puddle in the western ghats region. they say the creature is unique and have given it a name meaning "small and mysterious". that's all. stay with bbc world news. and the top story in the uk: a 27—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after three pensioners were found dead in exeter. the victims were all in their 80s.