hello. i'm ben bland with bbc world news. our top story: the uk prime minister theresa may says she and eu officials have agreed "legally—binding changes" to the brexit deal. the alterations are over the backstop — the guarantee of no hard border in northern ireland — and the most controversial and unpopular part of her agreement. british mp's will vote hello, this is newsday on the revised deal on tuesday. and i'm rico hizon in singapore, the headlines: investigators have recovered theresa may and eu officials agree the voice and data recorders legally—binding changes from the ethiopian air crash. to the brexit deal more airlines have grounded ahead of a crucial vote the type of plane involved, in the british parliament. but us aviation officials say they believe it is airworthy. and this story is today we have secured legal changes. now is the time to come together trending on bbc.com. to back this improved brexit deal and to deliver on the instruction zinedine zidane is set to return of the british people. as real madrid managerjust ten months after leaving the post. european commission president madrid of course have been jean—claude juncker warns if the deal is voted down in a terrible run of form — last week they crashed out of the champions league. that's all. stay with bbc world news. there will be no "third chance". now on bbc news, stephen sackur is in the bbc radio theatre i'm ben bland in london. also in the programme. investigators recover

the voice and data recorders from the ethiopian air crash. but as more airlines ground the type of plane involved, us aviation officials say they believe it is airworthy. and it's been ruled a socially harmful cult. why the new south wales supreme court has made a ruling on the group universal medicine. live from our studios in singapore and london. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good morning. it's 7am in singapore, midnight in london — and 1:00 in the morning in the french city of strasbourg, where the british prime minister has secured legally binding changes to her brexit deal, just hours before the house of commons was due to vote on it. theresa may was holding last—ditch talks with eu officials to try to seek additional assurances about the irish backstop —

the measure to prevent the return of border controls between northern ireland and the republic. there is a clear concern in parliament over one issue in particular, the northern ireland backstop. having an insurance policy to guarantee that there will never be a hard border in northern ireland is absolutely right. it honours the uk's solid commitment in the belfast good friday agreement but if we ever had to use that insurance policy, it cannot become a permanent arrangement and it is not the template for our future relationship. the deal that mps voted on injanuary was not strong enough in making that clear and legally binding changes were needed to set that right. today, we have agreed them. first, a joint instrument with comparable legal weight to the withdrawal agreement

will guarantee that the eu can't act with the intent of applying the backstop indefinitely. if they do, it can be challenged through arbitration but if found to be in breach, the uk can suspend the backstop. the joint instrument also gives a legal commitment that whatever replaces the backstop does not need to replicate it. and it entrenches in legally binding form the commitments made in the exchange of letters with presidents tusk and juncker in january. the head of the european commission, jean—claude juncker said that the eu had made every effort to be clear about the withdrawal agreement and insisted that the backstop would never be used ‘as a trap‘. you have spent no time, energy or commitment to clarify or explain what the withdrawal agreement is and what it is not. we left no stone unturned. our mind has always been open, our work always creative and our hand has always

been outstretched. it is in this spirit that today the prime minister and i have agreed on a joint legally binding instrument for the withdrawal agreement. this instrument provides meaningful clarifications and legal guarantees on the nature of the backstop. the backstop is an insurance policy, nothing more, nothing less. the intention is not for it to be used like in every insurance policy and if it were ever to be used, it would never be a threat. if either side were to act in bad faith, there would be a legal way for the other party to accept. the instrument which sets out this details has legal force while fully respecting the guidelines of the european court's guidelines, the european courts has unanimously agreed,

it complements the withdrawal agreement without reopening it. earlier i spoke to our correspondent in strasbourg, adam fleming. he talked us through the details of what was agreed. in terms of what's been agreed, there is a word soup of documents, 23 pages in total, talking about the irish backstop, so protracted negotiations that will take place in the transition period to look at alternatives for the backstop so it will never come into force, aspirations about getting a trade deal so you don't need the irish backstop and clarification if there isa backstop and clarification if there is a dispute between the two sides about the irish backstop, how that will be handled. the uk government's objective was to reassure mps that if that backstop ever comes into force, that's set of arrangements force, that's set of arrangements for awarding a high border in northern ireland, which includes a customs union between the uk and the

eu, will not be permanent against the uk's wheel. the objective for the uk's wheel. the objective for the eu was to provide reassurance to british parliamentarians to allow more of them to vote for the deal while not contradicting the contents of the deal themselves. on first glance, it looks like they have managed to walk the tightrope of getting both those things. the question is, has theresa may gone are the to win over enough of her own mps when they vote in the deal in westminster on tuesday?” own mps when they vote in the deal in westminster on tuesday? i suppose to underline the difficulties in the challenge she faces, the leader of the opposition here in the uk, in the opposition here in the uk, in the last few moments, has said parliament must reject theresa may's deal, even after these further discussions and the dup is still saying, we will consider the detail of what has emerged. it is far from a situation presumably where she can sit back and relax and think, i've done what's needed to be done and it

will be fine tomorrow when the boat happens. you are at these big moments in the european parliament and it feels incredibly climactic and it feels incredibly climactic and importantand and it feels incredibly climactic and important and at the end of the story and it runs worked through the week ended overnight and they fought over every word and finally, there it is rolling off the printer. you remind yourself, this isjust it is rolling off the printer. you remind yourself, this is just the start, the next big thing is in parliament tomorrow. the first thing that will happen is the uk's government chief lawyer, attorney general geoffrey cox, will issue legal advice and is a different legal advice and is a different legal advice and is a different legal advice from that issued in december when he was quite lukewarm about the backstop and was worried the uk could be held in the permanently. does he go from thumbs down to thumbs up? the question is, how many mps are one over by that and is it enough to get the deal over the line it kickstart a whole series of other boats that are due to ta ke series of other boats that are due to take place in parliament? your point about the dup, theresa may

really wa nts point about the dup, theresa may really wants to make sure they are on side. the strategy she's been pursuing has been to keep them onboard and by doing that, win back loads of conservative mps from our own party to support the deal. when it comes to the labor party, downing street have known labour will not support this deal wholesale but they are hoping there are enough labour mps who are in favour of brexit a nyway mps who are in favour of brexit anyway and enough labour mps who support areas of the country who voted heavily for brexit, that they can be convinced to come over and support the deal. that's why in the small print, you will see stuff about the uk sticking to eu standards on alert —— work on the environment because that is something that was appealing to those mps. us aviation regulators said the boeing jet involved in two deadly crashes is safe to fly but ordered urgent design improvements. a number of countries grounded the jet after all one hundred and 57 people passengers were killed in an ethiopian airlines crash yesterday. the boeing 737 max eight was flying to the kenyan capital,

nairobi when it went down shortly after taking off from addis ababa. our correspondent emmanuel igunza sent this report from the scene. it's a slow, delicate process of recovering pieces of the plane that might offer clues on why flight et302 came down. more remains of those who died have been recovered from the rubble, as rescue efforts enter the second day. the main focus for the investigators has been that huge crater that was made when the plane hit the ground. now, throughout the day, we've seen them pull out debris, including this mangled wreck, here, of what remains of that aircraft. we've also seen them retrieve the black boxes, which will help with the investigations on finding out exactly what happened. the passengers on board were from 35 different countries.

nine were british. as the united nations conference began in nairobi, people remember those academics who died in the crash. the un secretary—general spoke about the tragedy. our collea g u es spoke about the tragedy. our colleagues were women and men, professionals and seasoned officials hailing from all corners of the globe and with a wide array of expertise. they all had one thing in common, the spirit to serve the people of the world and to make it a better place for us all. it's the second time one of these types of plane has crashed. in indonesia, a plane has crashed. in indonesia, a plane came down killing all people onboard. today china and indonesia along with ethiopian airlines grounded their fleets of the 737

max8. recovery efforts are coming to an end but an investigation into what happened will continue to many months. algeria's ailing president bouteflika has given in to weeks of mass protests. he won't now run for a fifth term in office. he says he will give way for, in his words, a new generation. the 82—year—old also postponed elections due next month, saying they would be organised after a national conference and referendum on a new constitution, though he gave no dates. people were out on the streets of the capital, algiers, celebrating his announcement. tens of thousands of protesters from all parts of society have been demonstrating for more than two weeks against his decision to run. donald trump's special representative for north korea has signalled a hardening of the us line towards pyongyang. stephen biegun was speaking in washington. he insisted on complete

de—nuclearisation of north korea in return for a deal. a united nations envoy to myanmar says more than 10,000 civilians have fled the country's turbulent rakhine state since november due to violence. yanghee lee told the human rights council in geneva that the security council should refer myanmar‘s treatment of minorities — including rohingya muslims — to the international criminal court. the government has rejected the statement. it's a war that's claimed 500,000 lives and made refugees of nearly 6 million people. this week it's eight years since bassar al—assad's syria collapsed into conflict. many of those fleeing the fighting have taken refuge in neighbouring lebanon. many want to return but fear both for their safety and for what they might find when they do as mishal husain has been finding out.

many seasons have passed since the beginning of the brutal war that brought more than one million syrians here. it is former years since i first met nura, who fled the fighting in 2012. she is still living in the most basic of shelters, her old life destroyed. are you thinking about going back to syria? when i last met the family, her teenage daughter, dalal, was already working in the fields. now, her younger sister, suriya, has joined her.

they've been robbed of their education and the life they hoped for. with the conflict now in a new phase, syrian refugees face difficult choices about when and if they can go home. in lebanon, most live below the poverty line. how many of you think you will go back to syria? all of you? but as i ask them when that might happen, doubts and fears emerge. what i've heard from syrians here is that returning now is not possible.

some come from areas where there is still fighting. others don't know if there's any work available in syria. they fear being picked up by the security forces or being sent into the army. all say that the syria they knew is gone. it's not only the bricks and mortar of the country that have been torn apart, but families and the very fabric of society. tonight, nura has managed to get through to relatives back home. she asks how the situation is. there is no stability, she is told, in the whole of syria. it's an answer that will keep her in lebanon for now. and in the camps here, many other families are caught between the hardships of refugee life and the risks of returning.

mishal husain, bbc news, in the beqaa valley. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: it has been ruled a socially harmful cult by the new south wales supreme court. we track down the group known as universal medicine. also on the programme: it is the pineapple pull—apart, and it has gone viral — 18 million at the last count. we will be finding out why it is so popular. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief, this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 2a hours, then, the soviet union lost an elderly, sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years hisjunior. we heard these gunshots in the gym. then he came out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts, and, god, we were all petrified.

james earl ray, aged 41, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much, do you think? i don't know, really. i've never been married before. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm ben bland in london. our top stories: the uk government says theresa may and eu officials have agreed legally binding changes to the brexit deal. investigators have recovered the voice and data recorders from the ethiopian air crash.

as more airlines ground the type of plane involved, us aviation officials say they believe it is airworthy. more now on our top story, that theresa may says she has secured the changes to her brexit deal that mps demanded after late—night talks in strasbourg. our correspondent adam fleming was at the joint news conference with theresa may and the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker. adam fleming from the bbc. prime minister, have you secured a time limit to the backstop or a unilateral exit mechanism from the

backstop, and presidentjuncker, does any of this change the contents of the deal at all? what we have secured, as i said, is legally binding changes, which is exactly what parliament asked us to secure. and what we have secured very clearly that the backstop cannot be indefinite, cannot become permanent. it is only temporary. if it is the case that we were ever to get into the backstop. but what we have also secured, and what parliament was very clear that it wanted, was that alternative arrangements could replace the backstop. and as i have said here, there is a timetable for that, such that alternative arrangements would be in place at the end but —— end of december 2020, so the end but —— end of december 2020, so that if it was necessary to use the insurance policy, it would not be necessary to use the backstop. they would be alternative arrangements that could replace the backstop as parliament requested. families have been talking to the bbc about how they have lost loved ones to a bizarre cult. universal medicine was found to be a socially harmful cult by the new south wales supreme court. its main centre and leader, serge benhayon, is based in australia, but its european headquarters are based in a village in rural somerset. rachel stonehouse from bbc inside out west has been investigating.

mrs m rs clifford mrs clifford was 12 when she says her mum moved to somerset to follow universal medicine. one of the main things i can remember was turning everything anticlockwise, because if you didn't, then you would let entities in. so it was like cooking food had to be done anticlockwise, things like that, turning doorknobs and handles. iwas things like that, turning doorknobs and handles. i was sitting here, things like that, turning doorknobs and handles. iwas sitting here, my dad was over there, my mum came u psta i rs dad was over there, my mum came upstairs and she started burping ridiculously, and he was like, what are you doing? and she said i am burping out bad spirits. universal medicine was founded in australia in 1999 by bankrupt tennis coach serge benhayon. in october, an australian civil court found the association to bea civil court found the association to be a harmful cult and serge benhayon a charlatan. among other things, he claims that people have been sexually abused because of what they

did in their past life. if you have been sexually abused then you have been sexually abused then you have been an abuser. he said that those with autism were former dictators. down syndrome, or us plastic or any other disabled child. he teaches that alien creatures seek out vulnerabilities by smelling us. fa ct, vulnerabilities by smelling us. fact, and that happens everywhere. and that happens everywhere. you can be on and that happens everywhere. you can beona and that happens everywhere. you can be on a trainer of us, you can be smelt all the time. twice a he holds classes for followers in the lighthouse. in hetherington they are free, where universal medicine is based. nina foy has lived in the village for 30 years. she says it

has changed since serge benhayon brought universal medicine here. has changed since serge benhayon brought universal medicine harem does concern me, because i think they prey on vulnerable women. because it mainly seems to be women. you see people walking through the village like zombies. follower simon williams is the managing director of the lighthouse. he is also the president of froome chamber of commerce. he didn't want to be interviewed on camera, but we had a 20 minute conversation. he did admit that he is a follower of universal medicine, that serge benhayon is a great friend of his, who he loves very much, and that the court ruling in australia is totally untrue, none of it is true, and when i started to question him on some of serge ‘s beliefs around disabled children and victims of sexual assault, he refused to answer that, and at that point he asked me to leave and said the conversation was finished. serge benhayon has always denied running a cult, and any wrongdoing. and more on that story on the bbc news website. now to a story that is leaving pineapple purists in a pickle. a video has gone viral showing the fruit being eaten in a rather unorthodox way, and it is dividing fans the world over. the short video comes from east asia and was posted to the media—sharing site tiktok, before spreading to twitter. as you can see, there is no slicing or dicing. it is simply eaten in pieces. the pineapple pull—apart is a popular watch. in just a few days, the video has been viewed over 18 million times,

and so others have tried to do the same, with varying levels of success. there is even a hashtag — #pineapplehack. we wonder how many of you in asia are trying this around the breakfast table right now. i asked alice zaslavsky, culinary correspondent for the abc in australia, if she has tried the pineapple hack. i have one. here is one i prepared earlier, and i thought i would bring it in, because i did try it out, and

i tried it out with a pineapple just like this. it is nice and right. you can tell that a pineapple is ripe by the smell as well as whether you can twist the top of quite easily, which as you can see you can twist that top off, and then it is a matter of just slicing off the top and easing out the segments. so i tried the hack, and i thought that is a really cool little tip. popped it on twitter and i had thousands upon thousands of people saying i tried it out, it didn't work for me, i think this is fake news. you know, i have one pineapple with me, myself, and it is from malaysia, but it is a bit spiky, and i am not quite sure ifi bit spiky, and i am not quite sure if i can do bit spiky, and i am not quite sure ifican doa bit spiky, and i am not quite sure if i can do a pineapple hack with this one. but of course, the pineapple hack that was done that has gone viral is from okinawa. has it been grown, do you think, to be eaten in this way? absolutely, so these pineapples are specially grown in the ichigo—byo region, and they are specifically known as the archean hour snacking pineapple. these ones take about 20 months, because the fibres grow slowly, and they grow quite separately. which is why you can twist them off. so for those who feel a bit dejected that there pineapple doesn't work the same way, it is probably because it is the wrong variety of pineapple to use. i am having a difficult time

hacking this pineapple. i can't even twist it open. put some effort in, come on. we can have a competition across the time zones. i was reading across the time zones. i was reading a bit of research, a tip for you, a p pa re ntly a bit of research, a tip for you, apparently it has to be quite right, and you should roll it across the worktop first to loosen the fibres, so worktop first to loosen the fibres, so try it again later. it sounds so scientific. pleasure, you are welcome. i am scientific. pleasure, you are welcome. iam ben scientific. pleasure, you are welcome. i am ben bland scientific. pleasure, you are welcome. iam ben bland in scientific. pleasure, you are welcome. i am ben bland in london, without a pineapple. and i am rico hizon in singapore with a pineapple. stay with us. urban farming in the big city. we take a look at what tokyo is doing to feed its residents. and, before we go, we would like to leave you with these pictures. scientists have identified a new dinosaur in south—eastern australia. it is thought that the galleonosaurus was alive 125 million years ago, and would have been roughly the same height as a wallaby.

it was given its name because its jaw resembles an upturned galleon ship. that's all for now. stay with bbc world news. hello there. although it was quite windy out there on monday, it was probably the quietest day of this week. through the next few days, the rest of the week, we are going to see some outbreaks of rain which will be heavy at times, and accompanied by some very windy conditions. in fact, we've got a storm on the way. the latest storm

is being named storm gareth, and it's around that curl of cloud there, already pushing ahead this thickening cloud to bring some outbreaks of rain, and on ahead of those weather fronts we've got some strong and gusty winds as well. but it is really as the storm, the low centre, approaches later on tuesday and into tuesday night that the wind really start to pick up. so this is what we look like early on in the morning. those are the sort of temperatures. pretty mild out there. that's not the main story, mind you. you can see we got that band of rain around from the cloud and these are the sort of gas we're looking at early in the day, so gales i think in many places. and it could be particularly squally briefly in that rain bent, as it sweeps its way across northern england, wales and the south—west of england in the morning. into the south—east of england through the afternoon. we may well find some sunshine and showers following on, and the winds easing just a little. but then they really start to get noisy again around that swell of rain, around oui’ around that swell of rain, around our storm that approaches the north—west later on in the day. and we are drawing down some chilly air as the day goes on, so temperatures will be dropping a bit. the winds, though, really picking up through the afternoon, into the evening and

overnight in northern ireland, western parts of scotland. 70, may be 80 miles an hour around some coasts, and we got that ran around as well which will push its way into england and wales, 50 or 60 mile—per—hour gas quite widely. very slowly the winds easing down just a little bit on wednesday, but still a very windy day, and there will be some sunshine and showers, before we get some more persistent rain coming back into northern ireland. those temperatures should be a little bit higher, typically in double figures. now, our storm is heading across the uk and out into the north sea, so the winds have eased down a little bit. but then we've got that next weather system coming in rapidly from the atlantic, which you can see overnight it brings rain in many areas, that weather front then sinking its way southwards on thursday. some of the heaviest rain likely to be over the high ground in north—west england. you can see we got some strong to gale force winds, and then friday sunshine and some showers. the strongest of the winds, though, arriving with storm gareth later on on tuesday, through tuesday night into wednesday, there is likely to be some travel disruption and some damage. you can keep up—to—date with the forecast here and all the details on bbc local

radio.