this is bbc news, the headlines: welcome to bbc news, the french president has promised that notre dame, broadcasting to viewers devastated by monday's fire, in north america and around the globe. will be rebuilt within 5 years. my name is mike embley. our top stories: there is relief that president macron promises notre—dame cathedral will be rebuilt so much of the cathedral — within 5 years — donations have and what was inside it — has survived. already reached almost so far almost $1 billion has been pledged $1 billion. towards the reconstruction. voting is underway in ecuador‘s president tells the bbc indonesia's elections. the shocking details that led to him about 193 million people ending julian assange‘s asylum. are eligible to vote. the current president, joko widodo, almost 200 million indonesians is running against former general are heading to the polls, prabowo subianto, seen here voting, in what's being called the world's in a race which has seen both most complicated election. embrace hardline islamic allies. the push for power in afghanistan — how women's roles are changing in the deeply the president of ecuador has renewed his allegations conservative country. about the co—founder of wikileaks, julian assange, during his 7 year stay at the ecuadorean embassy in london. the president has told the bbc julian assange insulted his country and smeared faeces on the embassy walls.

in france, grief is now mixed with defiance and hope. hundreds of millions of dollars are pouring in to rebuild a spiritual and cultural landmark, within 5 years, president macron has promised. there is relief that so much of notre dame cathedral — and what was inside it — has survived. but much has been lost for good. from paris, lucy williamson reports. 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.

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. last night, president macron addressed the nation. translation: we found that 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. 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. we now know there was a crucial time window of barely half an hour that made all the difference to saving so much of the cathedral and its treasures. the firefighters were working to a practised plan, but so many people have been talking of the courage it took to do what those fire crews did. earlier, i spoke with gregg favre — a firefighter of 20 years experience — who watched the blaze unfold on social media. i saw it relatively quick on twitter and even the initial images as a firefighter who works, in an urban area, as a firefighter

who used to work in a district with its own cathedral, i'm not only familiar with the type of building structure, and what i was seeing initially was so deeply concerning, the fire went about as expected. save for the fact that the paris fire brigade did an incrediblejob in the back half of the fire, of managing to wrangle some of the control back and obviously save large portions of that building. it was a monumental effort that they put forth and even among firefighting ranks it is a heroic effort by every measure of the word. from all your experience, can you talk us through that in more detail? what were they up against? you have some really interesting initial concerns. one, where the fire is located. everything indicates right now, the investigation will obviously determine this conclusively, everything indicates that the fire started up near the roof in a loft or heavy timberarea. this building is not designed

for a lot of traffic through, to actually get physical bodies into that space. it's certainly not designed to get equipment like big hoses and things like that into position to fight a fire up there. you also have the issue of smoke and heat dissipating. not being able to find the fire right away is certainly a concern at first 20, 30, even an hour as you try to search for a fire in a cavernous structure like this. the other concern, as a fire captain, as a chief of operations, that you have to be worried about is all the people that are there at the moment, you know you have cathedral staff, you have contractors who are working on the renovations and you have visitors. i read today that mass was going on at the time. as a fire commander, you only have a finite number of initial resources who are going to be on scene, and you have to decide how you are going to divvy up those resources for a fire attack, evacuation, searching for people

who maybe didn't hear the fire alarm or can't find their way out. they were up against an eight ball. the moment that fire came in, and again, i spoke with fire chiefs around the country yesterday as this was unfolding and everybody said this is tremendous. it's amazing too, they were willing to do what they did, the building is a national treasure, but it is a building and those are things they were saving. this was not human life. sure. i was really moved by the story today of the rector who donned fire gear and took firefighters into areas of the cathedral he knew had important artefacts, that's a tremendous thing to do, not only from a firefighting standpoint but from a cultural sacrifice, to be willing to go in and put your life on the line to save things that mean so much to not only the country but to the world. again, it's a heroic

effort by so many. the ecuadorian president, lenin moreno, has defended the decision to allow british police to enter his country's embassy in london to seize the wikileaks founder, julian assange. there have been accusations that the arrest was illegal under international law — but mr moreno said assange's behaviour had become intolerable. 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. and how did he treat staff? well, pretty bad, very bad. in a despotic way, he even attacked some of the guards, something that definitely

can't be tolerated. i say again, he exhausted our patience and pushed our tolerance to the limit. i heard reports that he was spying on your staff, what does that mean? well, honestly, yes. he installed cameras and made his own decisions without consulting in any way the embassy staff. it's important to state that the group he led, tapped and hacked into my phone, my wife's and in a miserable way, they published private pictures of my family, my wife and my daughters. and honestly, the only thing they found is a united and happy family. ok but one of the photos shows you in a hotel room, on a bed, there was some lobster. was that the final straw? some people suggested that it was because you were embarrassed at a time when you were introducing austerity into ecuador, that was the reason that you kicked julian assange out of the embassy. well, i'm going to say something.

that was my birthday, i was watching soccer in bed, it was a great day. my wife gifted me the pajama i was wearing, and the lobster, as a way to celebrate that special day for us. that's it. mr president, a final question: are you relieved that he is gone? i think all ecuadorans are relieved. theyjust did a survey showing 80% of ecuadora ns wanted mr assange to leave. that he did not behave the way an asylee should, with respect for the country that has warmly welcomed him, sheltered him and given him food. let's get some of the day's other news parts of central london including waterloo bridge and parliament square are blocked to traffic for a second day by climate change protestors. extinction rebellion say they want to shut down london until the end of the month. police have arrested nearly 300 people.

president trump has vetoed a bill passed by the united states congress last week that would have ended us support for the saudi—led coalition in the conflict in yemen. in a statement, mr trump described the resolution as "an unnecessary and dangerous" attempt to weaken his constitutional powers and a threat to the lives of american citizens. a reuters news agency team, including two journalists who are injail in myanmar, has won a pulitzer prize for reporting on the murder of rohingya muslims by the burmese military. the prestigious prize is the latest given to wa lone and kyaw soe 0o, who are serving 7 years in prison for their investigation into the killing in 2017 of 10 unarmed men. 193 million indonesians head to the polls today in what may be the world's most complicated election. indonesia's presidential, parliamentary and regional elections are all happening simultaneously, for the first time in its history. karishma vaswani reports 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.

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. karishma vaswani, bbc news, jakarta. i spoke to karishma about the way the candidates are using religion to define themselves. if senate in the choice of the running made for presidentjoko widodo, the incumbent, his got the 76—year—old as his vice presidential candidate. 0n the other side you've got prabowo subianto and some businessmen running after having

courted their critics saying many a summer courted their critics saying many a summer script, you can often see those groups represented with their flags at the rallies that have been held in jakarta flags at the rallies that have been held injakarta and other parts of the country. that's just one of the choices that these residents and press —— people across the archipelago will have to make, voting kicked off about an hour or so voting kicked off about an hour or so ago and on the ballots, on the choice, amongst the choices indonesians are making today, besides the presidential and vice president shall candidates, thousands of seats across the local and national legislative parliaments, it's a really complicated election and the try to do it all in one day. i gather they will be preliminary results within hours of the final result is not until next month. that's right, one of the big concerns in the lead up to this election has been the issue of voter other regularity ——

irregularity on voting list as well as concerns over tempered ballots and overseas boating —— boating births, in malaysia for instance. the election commission has says —— said they may end up asking for that boat to be redone. there are long queues outside other voting boots for overseas vote rs. queues outside other voting boots for overseas voters. some queues outside other voting boots for overseas voters. some complained about not being able to cast their vote at all. in jakarta about not being able to cast their vote at all. injakarta are getting reports in the capital city of those long queues and lack of efficiency at pollen routes across the country. all of this will add to the fact that voter participation may not be as high this time round as we've seenin as high this time round as we've seen in previous elections. it's something the opposition will use to say, when they contest or if they contest the results, if the results don't go their way. stay with us on bbc news,

still to come: what a difference a day makes — the dog found more than 100 miles off the thai coast gets a hero's welcome on dry land. 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 will be chasing her new world best time for years to come.

quite quietly, but quicker and quicker, she seemed just to slide away under the surface and disappear. this is bbc world news, our main story this hour. president macron promises notre—dame cathedral will be rebuilt within 5 years — donations have already reached almost $1 billion. let's stay with that story. constance boucha rd is distinguished professor of medieval history at the university of akron. i spoke to her a short while ago and asked her whether the cathedral can be restored in five years they would have to start by redoing the roof. that is the big thing. it's possible they could redo the roof in five years because they've got

close to $1 billion. there are two examples i can think of in relatively recent times, one is york minster, which was burned in 1984, and they managed to redo the roof in about five years. the other example is gloucester cathedral, a gothic cathedral roughly the same age as notre—dame. in that case it took them close to 20 years, but they were dealing with the great depression and a lot of other issues of france trying to recover from world war i. in a sense, this cathedral has been in a process of restoration for centuries, hasn't it? yes. that's right. probably, local churches that had various adventures over the years. what was carried out in the second half of the 19th century when the cathedral had first been damaged during the french revolution and then had been sort of slowly going downhill. so, actually, a lot of what we think of about the standard

of what notre—dame looks like is late 19th century. the spiral was added in the late 19th century. it's too bad the spiral was added, it was an enormous spire and when it collapsed it took up much of the vaulting in the central crossing where the nave and the transept met. if it hadn't been for the spiral falling, the vaulting might have stood up as it did over the nave which helps protect interior of the church from even worse damage. we should say thanks to the mediaeval architects for how well all that stonework was built. how concerned are you about the stone now? the stone is going to have issues. it's parisian limestone, and the problem with limestone

is when it gets very heated, it tends to degrade. this stone has already been having plenty of adventures. that is almost for almost two centuries it had been degraded by things like acid rain, pollution from burning coal and so they'd pretty much gotten that cleaned up as of a few days ago and now they're having this. after all, limestone is burned in lime kilns to become one of the chief elements that goes into making cement and so it breaks down under extreme heat. so that's certainly something they're going to have to think about. women from afghanistan are calling for more say in talks this weekend between the taliban and an afghan government delegation. afghanistan is still a deeply conservative society, where women have to fight 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. you may have seen the story about the dog rescued from the ocean, more than 200 kilometres — about 135 miles — off the coast of thailand. now he's been brought back to port to be given a health check. he was discovered swimming in the gulf of thailand on monday. tim allman has the story. back on dry land, a miracle on four legs. this little champion has been named boonrod, a thai word that roughly translates as "the saved one." you can say that again.

he looks ok now, a little dehydrated but basically alright. it was a very different story a day earlier. this was boonrod when he was pulled onboard an oil rig in the gulf of thailand. bedraggled and exhausted, the animal had been found swimming in the water. where he came from, how he got there, and how long he was in the sea — no—one knows. there's been some speculation he may have fallen off a fishing trawler. whatever the answer, this was quite a feat of doggie paddling. after his rescue, boonrod was transferred onto a ship and brought to this port in southern thailand. when he has completely recovered and given the all clear, he will then move to a new home in the north—east of the country, about as far away from the sea as you can get. tim allman, bbc news. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team

on twitter — i'm @bbcmikeembley. hello there, good morning. 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. but we could bubble up a bit of cloud from east anglia towards the pennines and maybe squeeze out an isolated late shower. 0n the whole, it's a dry and a warm afternoon, with temperatures getting up to 19 or 20 and the south—east of england. the only downside with this warmth and sunshine — high pollen levels across england and wales in particular. but as we head 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. so a bit misty and murky in the hills and chilly around some rural areas. those are the temperatures in towns and cities. it will, however, 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. there will be some mist and cloud around to begin with on thursday.

that cloud tending to break up. sunshine developing quite widely. south—easterly breezes. still 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 turn more cloudy. maybe seeing some rain, particularly on sunday. 00:28:41,663 --> 2147483051:51:05,547 but the southeast still dry 2147483051:51:05,547 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 with some sunshine.