welcome to newsday on the bbc. i'm kasia madera, in london. the headlines: president macron promises to rebuild notre—dame within five years, as it's revealed the cathedral was just half an hour away from being completely destroyed. ecuador‘s president tells the bbc the shocking details that led to him ending julian assange‘s asylum. i'm rico hizon, in singapore. also in the programme: the stage is set for indonesia's elections — as 200 million people begin heading to the polls. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. i am outside a polling

booth in jakarta it's newsday. i am outside a polling booth injakarta as a citizens cast their votes today in what has been called the most complicated single day election in the world. and pushing for a bigger voice in afghanistan — we have a special report on the changing role of women in a deeply conservative society. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. it's 1am in london, 8am in singapore and 2am in paris. just 2a hours after notre—dame was burning and the worst was feared, there is this morning a mixture of grief, defiance and hope in paris. hundreds of millions of dollars are pouring in to rebuild the landmark cathedral within the next five years. the french president emmanuel macron

says it will be even "more beautiful" than before. however many art works inside the building have been lost for good. from paris, our correspondent lucy williamson reports. words were hard to find last night to describe this loss, to absorb this scene. what burned with notre—dame, high above the paris skyline, was 800 years of history. for some, the physical anchor of paris, the cultural soul of france. it took 23 minutes to confirm the fire alert and send emergency crews to the scene. the fire was spreading quickly, oak rafters that had held the roof for centuries turning to ash in the evening sky. the central spire holding out against its own destruction until the very last moment,

its bell hanging clear and still in the flames. oh, la la, la la! to tackle the blaze, fire crews scaled the cathedral‘s main towers. this was the first glimpse of what they faced, footage of the building filmed from above, the flames mapping a cross against the night sky. inside, burning embers were still falling when the first crews made their way in. the pews where people had been waiting for mass that afternoon now covered with smouldering rubble. the empty space lit from above by a blaze of fire where the roof had been. translation: we've saved the crown of thorns and st louis' tunic, i think we were able to save some chalices. the fire didn't reach the treasury,

and then inside they tried to save some paintings but, you know, it was impossible to save the big ones. after four hours, firemen confirmed that the structure of the building had been saved — a test of faith for modern—day paris. "notre—dame resisted the nazis," one resident said, "she's not going to leave us now." if last night was all what about had been lost, by morning the focus was on what survived. translation: we now know since this morning that 15 or 30 minutes' delay would have been critical to the cathedral, so we salute the firefighters' courage. tonight president macron addressed the nation. translation: we found what we thought was indestructible can be damaged. everything that makes france is alive and therefore fragile. and yes, we will rebuild the notre—dame cathedral and it will be more beautiful than before and it will be done in five years.

the fire burned through most of the roof, but the stone structure and many of its treasures have been saved, including the crown of thorns, some believe was worn byjesus on the cross, several important paintings, the cathedral‘s medieval organ, and the famous rose windows. these photos were taken by one of the architects invited in to assess the building. so with the vaults on one side, the walls and the flying buttresses around, so normally it should be stable, but i know they are going to investigate to see if there is some risk or not for the building itself. people came again today, as if for reassurance, counting the damage, weighing their relief. translation: it's such a shock, i am discovering it now. it is a symbolic building for us — it still is, it always will be. you don't understand, you don't get it, how can that... ..that kind of thing

can happen right now. it's impossible to accept that, so you just... for the life of all the parisians and even in europe, and in the world, it's... ..it exists as a symbol, and we need it. investigators are working on the basis this was an accident. the fire is thought to have started on the roof. many have questioned whether restoration being carried out on the building might have played a role. that restoration is now a much bigger project, and donations have poured in overnight — hundreds of millions of euros so far. this is where france kept not just its relics but its stories, a place to mark both heroism and loss. those two things were felt here again last night, a new chapter in the tale of notre—dame. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.

a team from the reuters news agency, including two journalists jailed in myanmar, has won the pulitzer prize for their reporting on the murder of rohingya muslims by the burmese military. the prize, seen as the most prestigious injournalism, is the latest given to wa lone and kyaw soe oo, who are serving seven years in prison for their investigation into the 2017 killing of ten unarmed men. egypt's parliament has approved a constitutional change that would lengthen president abdel fattah al—sisi's term in office and give him greater power over the judiciary. the changes, which would make it possible for him to stay in power until 2030, will now be put to a referendum. polls have opened in indonesia for what is being called the world's most complicated election.

193 million voters are casting their ballots in presidential, parliamentary and regional elections. 0ur asia business correspondent karishma vaswani is at a polling staion injakarta. is at a polling station injakarta. what are the key issues as they cast their vote today? in the last few minutes, polls have opened right here in jakarta. you minutes, polls have opened right here injakarta. you can see behind me people are lining up and ballot boxes are being opened by the official representatives of the election here. polls open earlier today in the eastern part of the island. remember this is a vast archipelago and while they have been issues of the economy, job security, at the top of many people ‘s mind theissue at the top of many people ‘s mind the issue of identity politics and

religion has also made its way into the narrative. as we found out in this report from jakarta. a rockstar welcome forjoko widodo and his message of unity and economic growth. joko widodo can definitely pack in the crowds. he is selling the same vision this time round, but in a decidedly different political landscape, and some of the choices he has made have disappointed his supporters. two years ago, hardline protests broke out against his former right—hand man, chinese indonesian christian, basuki tjahaja purnama, or ahok, as he's known. he was accused of blasphemy against islam. and, as the nation watched, ahok went through a highly politicised trial and eventually went to jail. jokowi stayed silent.

today, jokowi's running mate is a hard—line muslim cleric, and one of the leaders of that witch—hunt. a visible attempt to silence those who have questioned his religious credentials. his main opponent, former military general, prabowo subianto, has also tacked into a growing desire for power amongst hardline muslim groups. both sides in the presidential campaign have used religious issues, they have used islam as a tool to get support. after the election is over, will they be able to put this genie back in the bottle and go back to business as usual? i think it will be difficult because they have certainly incited a lot of people and they've increased tensions in society and they've really put religion at the front of politics. much of this has not been felt yet in daily life, except for a growing piety

in indonesian society. translation: i only wear a headscarf to work but there is growing pressure to wear one. but there is growing trend to wear one. if my friends are wearing the hijab in a photo on social media and i'm not, ifeel bad, so the next time i will wear it. for mulyaningsih and millions of other indonesians, this election is about so much more than religion. it is about the economy, jobs and a better future, but religious issues are threatening to overshadow that narrative, putting indonesia's democracy and pluralism at risk. as you can see, the polling both is starting to get quite busy. people are coming up to find out exactly what the procedure is. democracy is very much alive in indonesia. remember, it has been 20 years since

the transition from a dictatorship to democracy. key to this being pulled off safely is there are of observers across the archipelago insurance the sanctity of this divide. we have heard from opposition that there have been irregularities and some overseas voting stations. in malaysia, for instance, concerns that polling booth and ballot were tampered with and that will be a key concern. we should get some idea inaudible. apologies we seem to have lost the sound but covering the indonesian election and we will have much more throughout the week. a huge election. a very big exercise. let's bring your up—to—date to some other stories. the president of ecuador has made renewed allegations about the behaviour of the wikileaks founder, julian assange,

during his seven year stay at the ecuadorean embassy in london. his arrest by british police at the invitation of ecuador‘s governmentended his seven year stay there. assange now faces extradition to the united states on hacking charges. ecuador‘s president lenin moreno sat down with our north america editor jon sopel and explained the reasons inti why ecuador revoked jon sopel and explained the reasons why ecuador revoked assange's asylum. translation: several, from verbal insults against ecuador, when he referred to our country as a completely insignificant country, on one hand. and on the other — excuse me that i have to say this here — but even smearing his faeces on our embassy‘s walls. i think these are sufficient reasons to revoke and terminate his asylum. earlier i spoke tojon sopel, who is in washington.

it was a kind of a shocking claim, as you can imagine, coming from the country's president, which gives it all that additionalforce. i should say thatjulian assange's lawyer has denied any suggestion that he behaved in that way. the president also went on to talk about his bullying of stuff, attacking stuff, even spying on stuff, putting cameras in the embassy. and what you kind of see there is the breakdown of a relationship, that he had been in that embassy for seven years and i felt, from president moreno, speaking to him, there was a kind of huge sense of relief thatjulian assange was now somebody else's problem and not ecuador‘s. did he say anything more about himself, the wikileaks sort of spying on the ecuadorean government itself? did he give more information on that aspect of this? well, there is a very embarrassing photograph that appeared

with president moreno lying on a hotel bed eating lobster on his birthday. now, this was at a time when ecuadorians were being asked to tighten their belts as part of austerity measures that were being introduced in the country. now, it is clear that president moreno holds julian assange responsible for that. but he says all the photo shows was a loving family together, and that had no bearing on the decision. it was the fact he had behaved what he said was intolerably while he was there at the embassy, and also the fact that they had got reassurances from the british side that, werejulian assange to be extradited to a third country, it would not be a country that practiced torture or the death penalty. and i think, once those assurances had been won by the ecuadoreans, i think they felt free to move against him. any notice of a third party working alongside julian assange? well, i asked the president

whether he thought that julian assange was an agent for the russians and he said, well, i can't really comment on that but it is clear that he favours one country over several others, ie russia. he then said, he talked about that and said it is clear that he is working, i do not know by commission or action, but it appears so. in other words, he was in some ways an aid to russia. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: pushing for a place at the negotiating table, and society. how afghanistan's women are working to be heard. pol pot, one of the century's greatest mass murderers, is reported to have died of natural causes.

he and the khmer rouge movement he led were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million cambodians. there have been violent protests in indonesia, where playboy has gone on sale for the first time. traditionalist muslim leaders have expressed disgust. the magazine's offices have been attacked and its editorial staff have gone into hiding. it was clear that paula's only contest was with the clock, and as for her sporting legacy, paula radcliffe's competitors quite quietly, but quicker and quicker, she seemed just to slide away under the surface and disappear.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: as the french government reveals notre dame was just thirty minutes away from being completely destroyed by fire, president macron promises to rebuild the cathedral within five years. the front pages from around the world continue to be dominated by the fire at notre dame. we start with le figaro, which devotes its entire front page to a photo of the notre dame cathedral after the fire. the paper says that emmanuel macron has pledged to restore the cathedral in 5 years after a vast outpouring of generosity from citizens. the south china morning post also carries the fire at notre dame cathedral on its front page. it says that chinese president xijingping expressed his condolences and said

china was deeply saddened in a message to french president emmanuel macron. the troubled indian airline jet airways has extended the cancellation period of its international flights until thursday — that's after it failed to secure emergency funding from its lenders earlier this week. jet airways was india's second—largest airline by market share — until recently. but dozens of its planes have been seized by creditors, leaving the firm with only seven operational aircraft. thousands of passengers have been stranded due to the firm's lack of funds. so what are their options in terms of refunds from an airline that appears to have no money to speak of? to tell us more, we'rejoined via webcam in perth by aviation expert geoffrey thomas — he's editor in chief of the website airlineratings.com. great to have your back on the programme. will passengers who had flights be able to seek some kind of comp sensation? fix my compensation.

it's a very good question. the eu flight it's a very good question. the eu flight delay low is all about a flight flight delay low is all about a flight delay low is all about a flight delay rather than flight cancellations and a company actually succumbing to creditors collapsing. the recourse i would suggest here is going to be through the mass of —— the method they purchased. if they purchased a ticket with a credit ca rd purchased a ticket with a credit card company, typically it will honour it. they will get a refund there if they book airfare, for instance, if someone in helsinki booked on finn air with a code share with jet airways, there booked on finn air with a code share withjet airways, there is recourse through finn air or one of the other characters they —— carriers they booked through. it will be a mixed situation as to what sort of recourse passengers are going to have. will it be the same recourse

the passengers who had flights cancelled or across asia pacific? typically with credit card companies today, you will get a refund but you may get some recourse from jet airways. but the eu laws, my understanding is it's about a delay with weather. it's not going to help too much in this difficult situation. very complicated issues for passengers who booked tickets with jet airways. thank you jeffrey thomas. a second round of peace talks between the taliban and an afghan delegation is set to take place in the gulf state of qatar this weekend. afghan women are calling for a stronger presence at the negotiating table to ensure the fragile gains they've won

since 2001 are not lost. but afghanistan is still a deeply conservative society where women are fighting for their rights. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports from kabul. building a different afghanistan takes time, it takes effort. even body—building has been taboo — for women. hooria kurbani's family used to say this is no place for a woman. now she has her own gym but faces threats in this conservative society to shut it. translation: we have fought for our rights up to now. we will never give up. we will continue to fight. do you worry now, now that there's talks with the taliban, that you could lose some of this? translation: i have spent all my life in a society that's full of fear, we are always in danger — i'm used to it now.

zan tv, women's tv, trying to change a man's world. not just a channel for women, a place to train them to do all thejobs. 0gai wardak was born in 2001, the year the taliban were ousted from power. last year, during a rare three—day ceasefire, she came face to face with taliban fighters. the taliban that we have in this time, it's not like the past. the past taliban that i heard the stories, they are really scary. do think the taliban will let you work here at zan tv? they won't, yeah. so what will you do? so i have to fight with them, because it's my dream, and i have to work for my sisters. a deeply conservative society is changing — slowly.

this is usually men's work. not the best of work, but it feeds a family. this country has undeniably changed since the years when the taliban were in charge here. women of kabul couldn't even go out on the streets then. but the taliban also say they've changed. the question is, have they changed as much as their society has? that question is being asked by women who have broken through the thickest of glass ceilings. nargis nehan is a senior government minister. a growing number of women are now in topjobs. they're anxious to preserve this progress in any taliban talks. they're coming as a political group, there is no fear, and we are fully ready to discuss with them and all the difference is that we have negotiate with them. but if they're coming for a political capture only, that they will come and capture and arrest people and take us backward, it is of a big concern for us.

women insist they must be at the table. former mp fawzia koofi is one of the only women who attended the first round of talks. how did it feel to meet the man who once stopped girls, including her, from going to school? so i felt powerful, and ifelt visible, and ifelt also, i think they listened. yes, they did not agree to my view perhaps, we did not share many things in common, but they listened, and i think that was the moment that i realised, you know, they cannot take us back. afghanistan is called one of the hardest places to be a woman. women have lost so much in war — they are determined to win when there is peace. lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul. an inspiring way to finish the programme. you have been watching newsday. stay with us because it is every child's dream and perhaps every child's dream and perhaps every adult‘s dream as well. a japanese company has created a robot

that can tidy messy bedrooms. more coming up. i need that in my life desperately! as expected, tuesday was a cloudy day for many of us. rain and drizzle around as well. and this was the scene, actually, in the north—west of england where it was quite a bit cooler thanks to that rain and drizzle and low cloud. but we had a taste of things to come in cornwall. the sun was out and it was a good deal warmer as well. and we're going to find more sunshine more widely as we into the easter weekend. and as a result it will be turning warmer everywhere. now, still some cloud on the scene. this cloud is heading towards iberia to bring some cooler, wetter weather. this cloud brought the rain and drizzle earlier on. that it is tending to

peter out all the while. it's a little bit damp across western scotland. further south, clearing skies means some mist and fog forming in wales, the midlands, and parts of southern england. that will take a little while to clear away in the morning. the drizzle won't last long in western scotland. the cloud breaks, the sunshine develops more widely. we could bubble up a bit of cloud from east anglia towards the pennines and squeeze out an isolated late shower. it's a dry and a warm afternoon, with temperatures getting up to 19 or 20 and the south—east of england. only downside with this warmth and sunshine — high pollen levels across england and wales in particular. into the evening and overnight, we've got to watch out towards the east to see some mist and low cloud coming in off the north sea. that will push its way further inland across northern areas. a bit misty and murky in the hills and chilly around some rural areas. those are the temperatures

in towns and cities. it will get warmer as we head towards easter. really warming up, actually, across central europe. and this is where our air is going to be coming from, hence those rising temperatures on that south—easterly breeze. some mist and cloud around to begin with on thursday. that cloud tending to break up. sunshine developing quite widely. south—easterly breezes. a little bit cooler around some of those north sea coasts, eastern scotland, northeast england. but otherwise temperatures are continuing to rise, 20 or 21 is quite likely on thursday. friday, hardly a cloud in the sky. a beautiful day, good friday. we'll see lots of sunshine. this light south to south—easterly breeze putting that warmth northwards. so 21 or 22 through the central belt of scotland. 22 or 23 from london through the midlands to the north—west of england. this is a flavour of what's to come over the easter weekend. the peak of the heat likely to be on saturday. northern areas terminal cloudy. maybe seeing some rain, particularly on sunday. but the southeast still dry with some sunshine.

welcome to bbc news. i'm kasia madera. our top story: france is breathing a collective sigh of relief that notre—dame has largely survived a fire which officials believe was within minutes of totally destroying the cathedral. president macron has promised to rebuild it within five years. in a televised address, mr macron said he shared the pain and hope of the nation after the devastating fire. and he praised the firefighters who had risked their own lives to battle the blaze indonesians have begun voting in what's being called the world's most complicated election — simultaneous votes for the presidency, parliament, and local officials are taking place. and this story is trending on bbc.com. a dog found swimming more than a hundred miles off the coast of thailand has been brought back to dry land. his rescuers have named him boonrod, a thai word that roughly translates