i'm kasia madera with bbc news. our top story. the archbishop of mumbai admits that he could've handled allegations of sexual abuse better and faster, after a bbc investigation. this comes ahead of an historic vatican summit on abuse hello, you're watching later on thursday. newsday on bbc news. bangladesh says there is "no question" of shamima begum i'm rico hizon in singapore. being allowed to enter the country, the headlines. after the british government said they intended to revoke her british citizenship. she described the the archbishop of mumbai admits that he could've handled allegations decision as unjust. of sexual abuse better and faster, after a bbc investigation. and this video is this ahead of an historic vatican trending on bbc.com. one of the biggest nights in british music has summit on abuse later on thursday. taken place in london. bangladesh dismisses suggestions winners at the brits that shamema begum might be allowed included ariana grande, and the rock group ‘the 1975‘ to enter the country, who took home awards for best after britain removes her uk citizenship. british group and album of the year. ms begum says she expected more sympathy. i was hoping that britain would understand that i made a mistake, a very big mistake, because i was young and naive. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme... the british prime minister has more

talks in brussels on a day when three of her conservative mps resigned in protest at how she is handling brexit. i think i'm a land—lover! laughter. and taking the rough with the smooth: an exclusive trip on the raf‘s iconic tornado warplane as it retired after 40ears or service. live from our studios in singapore... and london. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. glad you can join glad you canjoin us. it's 7am in singapore, ”pm in london. our top story: one of the catholic church's most senior cardinals has admitted that he could have handled abuse allegations brought to him better and faster. oswald gracias, the archbishop of mumbai, is one of four men

organising a vatican conference on child abuse reform this week. he spoke after a bbc investigation revealed claims that he did not handle allegations of sexual abuse appropriately. priyanka pathak reports. sexual abuse in the church has been called the most urgent challenge of oui’ called the most urgent challenge of ourtime by called the most urgent challenge of our time by pope francis. but a bbc investigation has found claims that one of the church's most senior cardinals, oswald gracias, a key organiser of the summit, did not handle allegations of abuse appropriately. his role raises questions for some about whether the church is really changing. we've been told about a culture of fear and silence, and how religious leaders would not listen to those who said they had suffered abuse at the hands of the priest. four years

ago, a child returned home and told his mother that he had been raped. after two days of calling his office, cardinal oswald gracias agreed to meet them briefly. when we put the family's allegations to the cardinal, he agreed to an interview. that same night you left for rome? yes. without informing the police? no. you had said to the family that now that this matter had been brought to your attention, it was your duty to inform the police? that is true. i don't member the conversations. but i must reflect on that, i admit.

conversations. but i must reflect on that, iadmit. the conversations. but i must reflect on that, i admit. the police must be involved, i'm sure. although the cardinaldid involved, i'm sure. although the cardinal did suspend the priest, by law he was required to inform the police. but he never did, and neither did anyone else from the church. he said he rang from rome the day after the meeting and was told by his bishop that the family had now involve the police. the priest was subsequently arrested. this failure to inform the police means the cardinal could have breached a law. a different priest spoke to us anonymously. he told us that he had reported the accused priest to the cardinal over five yea rs priest to the cardinal over five years ago. i told him that there we re years ago. i told him that there were strong years ago. i told him that there were strong i’uttioui’s years ago. i told him that there were strong rumours about this priest. and then, the cardinal told me that he is unaware of anything. we have realised that when things are reported, nothing seems to be happening. in fact, you are marked. cardinal gracias says he cannot recall the conversation taking

place, but says he was certainly never aware of there being a cloud of suspicion over the man. we were also told of an allegation of sexual assault against women by a different priest where it was claimed the cardinal was slow to act. he said the case was complicated, but admitted he could've moved faster. the challenges of reporting abuse mean it is impossible to know the extent of the problem site below i hope they are not ready to say... i don't know. there is a culture of silence already. this should not prevent us from taking any steps to prevent us from taking any steps to prevent such acts. in the summit, the pope is promising reform and to put the victims at the centre. but with lingering doubts at home, can the cardinal lead the church's effort to deliver change globally with mac priyanka pathak, bbc news, mumbai.

brexit has been dominating the news here in the uk. the british prime minister has had more talks with eu heads in brussels. theresa may has been seeking changes to the northern ireland backstop, which aims to prevent the return of checks on the border. mrs may also expressed her sadness at the departure of three mps from the her party who joined eight former labour mps in a news independent group in parliament. here's one of the mps, anna soubry. brexit is a catalyst, i think. and actually brexit has shown that all the main parties are broken. there's much work to be done in our country about the future, about the causes of brexit, and also feeling the great divides that have come out of it. we'll hearfrom our europe editor, katya adler in just a moment, with more on those talks in brussels. but first, here's our deputy political editor john pienaar at westminster.

it's been a dramatic moment of a kind we won't quickly forget. you couldn't ask for a clear demonstration of the way brexit has torn at the fabric of the big parties from within, just as it's torn at trust between the public and politicians. we can't at this moment call this an historic turning point. we've seen splits in the past, notjust the big labour splits of the 1980s, but other examples. what we are seeing now is the big parties splitting and fraying at the edges. we can expect more mps to walk away from their parties. more on the labour side than the tories side, and we can certainly expect more of a kind of tensions that we've seen in the coming days and weeks, and months. in private, eu officials are tearing their hair out. with only 37 days to go until brexit day, there is still a big political impasse between the two sides over the backstop that guarantees to avoid a hard border between northern ireland and ireland after brexit. the eu points to what it sees

as a mistake and complacency amongst many mps, this assumption that it will all be all right on the night. and as time runs down, the eu will blink over the backstop rather than face and no—deal brexit. but it is important to remember that the eu only blinks when it's in its own interest. and in the backstop, eu leaders see notjust a protection for the northern ireland peace process, but a protection of their lucrative single market. don't forget after brexit, the land border between the eu in the uk will run those more than 300 miles between northern ireland and ireland, and eu leaders want to avoid goods being smuggled smuggled into the single market through the back door. so we legally binding changes that the minister has said she wants to ask for that would fundamentally weaken the backstop, thatis fundamentally weaken the backstop, that is a blink that the eu leaders say they won't make. in fact, they wa nt say they won't make. in fact, they want theresa may to blink and be more realistic in her demands. the

bottom line is that the two sides are still as far apart as ever over the backstop, so those still hoping for a negotiated brexit deal all to be concerned. katya adler there. also making news today. at least three people are thought to have died in a fire in bangladesh's capital, dhaka, with some local reports suggesting the death toll could be much higher. it's not yet known what caused the fire. several other people have been taken to hospital with injuries. a convoy of about 15 trucks has evacuated some of the remaining civilians from baghuz, the last village in syria still held by the islamic state group. despite some reports that all the fighters had surrendered, the us—backed syrian democratic forces said that some civilians and jihadists were still inside baghuz. a former chief of staff

of the chinese military has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of corruption. state—run media said fung—hway had a huge amount of property from unidentified sources. samsung has revealed that it will release a folding smartphone in april that works with the next—generation 5g networks. the fold will go on sale in just over two months‘ time, earlier than many expected. rico will have more on this on asia business report after newsday. australia officially declared a great barrier reef rodent extinct on tuesday. the bramble cay melomys is believed to be the first mammal to have been killed off by human—induced climate change. this bodycam footage shows the terryfing moment an avalanche struck a swiss ski resort on tuesday. tonnes of snow poured down onto a marked slope at the popular resort of cra ns—monta na. swiss police say a frenchman injured in the avalanche has now died.

three others were injured. saudi arabia's crown prince mohammed bin salman has been visiting pakistan and india as part of his asia tour. his trip comes as violence flared up between the two countries last week after a suicide bombing in the indian—administered part of kashmir killed at least a0 pa ra—milita ry police. in a later attack, nine people were killed in indian—administered kashmir during a gun battle. india has long accused pakistan of harbouring militants. now the un is offering to help broker a truce. but what are the chances of any peace deal being reached? anwita basu is from the economist intelligence unit. she began by explaining why kashmir is such a sensitive issue to the two countries.

kashmir has been an issue since 1947 after an independence partition of india. and it was always a bone of contention mostly because kashmir was unsure of what side they were on. there are three minority religious factions in kashmir. one is the buddhist faction in the region that is bordering tibet. the otherfaction, which region that is bordering tibet. the other faction, which arguably is the local majority there, or the hindu faction. and there is the northern muslim faction. so the situation is indeed very complex. but with this recent incident, can india and pakistan resolve their differences? yes, this recent incident has been the bloodiest since the prime minister has been in office. so this

is unprecedented and will lead to escalated tensions. it could even lead to low—level military incursion in the region. partly because india is determined to show that they will ta ke is determined to show that they will take a strong stance against the. take a strong stand, and of course it is an election year. so what are the prime minister's option? so because it is an election year and because it is an election year and because the minister comes from a party that is traditionally hawkish towards pakistan, it is increasingly more likely that there will be at least some low—level military operations that india will undertake against pakistan. the real issue is will this involve kashmir? and it will this involve kashmir? and it will not because it has now become a blame game situation. and of course you have imran khan of pakistan coming out with bold announcements. so we have a lot of political

grandstanding from both countries? absolutely. but ultimately this attack was undertaken by a small terrorist cell which is attributed to being supported by pakistan. but of course there is no real evidence of course there is no real evidence of that, and it really reminds people that it should be a standard reminder that this region is a live wire situation. shamima begum, the 19—year—old who left the uk to join the islamic state group, has told the bbc she expected more sympathy from britain. the uk has stripped her of her british citizenship. but bangladesh authorities have said that, contrary to what british officials believe, she was not a bangladeshi citizen. and there was "no question" of her being allowed into the country. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. in this refugee camp in syria, a clearly—deflated shamima begum. the 19—year—old who left school

tojoin is and hasjust given birth, had appealed for help to return to the uk, but learned today that the government was instead taking away her british nationality, though her baby, who she was carrying under her clothes, will still be british. i thought they would be a bit more sympathetic, because of my situation. i did explain that i didn't know fully what i was getting into, and i made a mistake, and i was hoping that they would have some sympathy and understanding, but clearly not. secretary sajid javid. in parliament, the home secretary explained why the government has deprived so many people who went to join is of their nationality. where they pose any threat to this country, i will do everything in my power to prevent their return. this includes stripping dangerous individuals of their british citizenship. this power is only used in extreme circumstances,

where it is conducive to the public good. it has been suggested that sajid javid made this decision partly for political reasons, which he denies. to look tough and increases leadership ambitions. but he suggests it was an absolutely lawful decision. shamima begum left britain as a 15—year—old schoolgirl. at the time, police said she had been groomed. now, four years later, she is losing her british citizenship and being told to rely on her possible bangladeshi nationality through her mother. they're kind of being unjust, and i don't think they can do that, because like i said, i don't have that citizenship, i only have one citizenship, and if they take that one thing away from me, i don't have anything. i don't think they're allowed to do that. some immigration lawyers question the fairness of the decision, which would not even have been legal if she had been of completely

british heritage. if there is evidence of wrongdoing, she should be prosecuted in a court of law in this country. and if there is insufficient evidence to prosecute her, then how on earth could you inflict the severest penalty upon her, without any recourse through a court of law? shamima begum's appeal is likely to take months to go through the courts. and tonight, the bangladeshi foreign minister said he was deeply concerned she had been wrongly identified as a holder of dual citizenship. he said there was no question of her now being allowed to enter bangladesh. daniel sandford, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. live from singapore and london. still to come on the programme: we meet the artist offering to paint farmers' favourite animals, as hundreds of thousands were killed in flooding in queensland, australia. also on the programme: taking to the skies one last time. the tornado bids the uk farewell as the jet is retired.

nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan, the last soviet troops were finally coming home. the withdrawal completed in good order, but the army defeated in the task it had been sent to perform. malcolm was murdered. that has a terrible effect for the morale of the people. it's terrible for the repercussions on the streets. one wonders who is next? gunfire. as the airlift got under way, there was no let up in the eruption itself. lava streams from a vent low in the crater flowed down to the sea on the east of the island, away from the town for the time being. but it could start flowing again at any time. the russians heralded their new generation space station with a spectacular night launch. they've called it mir,

the russian for "peace". this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories. the archbishop of mumbai admits that he could've handled allegations of sexual abuse better and faster, after a bbc investigation. this ahead of an historic vatican summit on abuse later on thursday. bangladesh says there is "no question" of shameema begum being allowed to enter the country, after the uk government said they intended to revoke her british citizenship. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the japan times leads on the upcoming summit

between donald trump and north korean leader kimjong—un. it looks at what will be on the agenda at the summit, and asks whether the two leaders can find a middle ground on denuclearisation. gulf news has the details on the saudi prince's visit to india, where he met prime minister narendra modi. the two leaders discussed co—operation in fighting terrorism. the visit comes amid escalating tensions between india and pakistan. and the french paper le figaro takes a look back at the career of designer karl largerfeld, who died on tuesday. it's emerged that the french designer left some of his $200 million fortune to his cat, choupette. listen to this, the name of his cat

means "sweetie". those are the papers. and he certainly love his cat. large parts of the outback in queensland, australia have experienced some of the worst floods in recent times with some areas having the equivalent of a year's rainfall in just ten days. at one point, about 20 million hectares, or an area several times the size of tasmania, were under water. farmers and theirfamilies have had to watch their livestock die in flood waters. now a queensland artist hopes to help farmers deal with their losses by offering to paint their much—loved animals. a short time ago i spoke to the artist, laura crane, who described to me what the farmers have been going through. it's so hard after so many years of drought. these people that live on these massive properties, everything that they were responsible for keeping live on their livelihoods, they put their whole lives on hold

to get them through these droughts. and then to be so elated about the rain that begins to fall and be so excited and feel like there's relief, and then itjust doesn't stop, and you realise it's a flood. then there was a cold snap, and to realise that they had stranded so many animals that they couldn't help save. it's been absolutely devastating for them. so how are you helping them? devastating for them. so how are you helping them ? tell us devastating for them. so how are you helping them? tell us a bit about the art that you are offering to these farmers who have lost so much. yes, so i took a bit to think about what i could do best to help. and i'm donating a piece for auction, things like that. but as far as helping the individuals, i put an offer out, i do some commissioned works for people when they have a special event. i normally do that, that's part of what i normally do, but i thought what i could do, once

i heard all the people that work these lands with their horses, they we re these lands with their horses, they were also special, the idea of them perishing in that rain isjust were also special, the idea of them perishing in that rain is just so heartbreaking. so i offered to do a painting for anyone who has lost animals, horses. and the first one that came to me was a little boy and girl. and i've never painted cattle before, but i was happy to do anything. that was laura crane speaking earlier. from the skies over afghanistan, kosovo, and most recently iraq, the tornado has been the rafs front line warplane. now, after a0 years, the iconic aircraft is being retired. to mark the end of an aviation era three tornados have been making a series of farewell fly pasts and our defence correspondent jonathan beale was given exclusive access to one of the flights.

once more to the skies... but not for much longer. there we go — and we are off. the bbc on board one of the last flights of the raf‘s tornado. it's been in service for a0 years, and is now being replaced by more modernjets. there we go, this is cottesmore airfield coming up... the tornado was originally designed to fight the cold war and to carry nuclear weapons. but it first went into combat over the desert in 1991. what is our mission? to attack an iraqi airfield. several were lost in the hail of iraqi anti—aircraft fire. john nichol, among those who lived to tell the tale. the tornado's a5 years of flying, its near 30 years of operation, i think you can absolutely put it up with the spitfire in an iconic status on that level. just a few weeks ago,

pilot wing commanderjames heeps was conducting air strikes on is. now, it's a chance to enjoy the tornado's final goodbye back home. it's been an utter privilege, bestjob anyone could have. but for his passenger, it's been more of a challenge. i think i'm a landlover! laughter. soon, there will be no more rides in one of the raf‘s most iconicjets. this is the end of an era. jonathan beale, bbc news. you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. glad you could join us. and before we go, one of the biggest nights in british music hasjust ended here in london. winners at the brit awards included ariana grande, dua lipa and calvin harris along with beyonce and jay z.

but, rock group ‘the 1975‘ were the big winners, taking home the awards for best british group and album of the year. hello. as advertised for several days, temperatures are now on the up. there will be sunnier days to come. we are not there yet. thursday expect a good deal of cloud around. late in the day it starts to break up. regardless of cloud or sunshine it will be milder. about where the areas coming from. that is a bit of caribbean air coming our way through thursday. by the end of the week and start of the weekend, looking to northwest africa and beacon areas where the source of our mild air. temperatures will be several degrees above normal for the time of year. nowhere particularly cold as thursday begins, but this chart gives you an indication how much cloud there will be. damp and drizzly as well and places to begin the day. could see a bit of patchy rain for western scotland in northwest

england into the first part of the afternoon before it eases away. you can pick out more of the land appearing among the cloud into the afternoon. these are gradually some sunny spells developing. this is a beat of mild air coming from the south. it is fairly breezy. these are average speeds and a few stronger tasks the further west you are, you are closer to low pressure out of the atlantic. temperatures are above normal. one sums the fence on china northeast scotland, maybe 18 degrees is possible, but widely temperatures in the mid teens. clear spells around on thursday night. this weather front edges closer to northern ireland and western scotland with a strengthening win. you can start to see a few spots of rain out of that. this is fog developing across parts of east anglia, the midlands, especially southeast england. it will be patchy in nature, but some of it could well be quite dense if you start the day on friday. there's not much when here because you are closer to this of high pressure. still that's what the point close to northern ireland and western scotland,

still more cloud around at times on friday. maybe a few showers and more breeze in the west as well compared with elsewhere. some of the fog towards the southeast, to the first part of the afternoon in some spots. for many on friday, it is blue sky and sunshine. of course, when you have nothing sunshine it willjust contribute to that very mild field to the weather. some snow affecting parts of southeast europe low pressure close by. elsewhere for many it is dry with high pressure, notjust here but elsewhere in europe. there is your feet of air coming from the canaries from northwest africa into the uk over the weekend. whilst mostly financial, some rain affecting parts of northern ireland and western scotland at times. still some dense fog branches across parts of england to start the day.