hello, everyone. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: north korea says it's tested a new type of tactical guided weapon — the first missile test since the hanoi summit between kim jong—un and president trump joko widodo heads towards a second term as unofficial results put the indonesian president well ahead in the general election. supporters ofjoko widodo have come here to try to catch a glimpse of the man they have just voted in as this country's next president — for the second time. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: at least 29 tourists have been

killed after their bus overturned on the portuguese island of madeira — all the victims were german. bells ring and church bells ring out across france to mark the exact time notre—dame went up in flames. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. glad you could join us. it's 1am in london, 8am in singapore and 9am in pyongyang where north korea says its leader, kim jong—un, has overseen the test of what it describes as a "new type of tactical guided weapon with a powerful warhead". the test is the first since mr kim's second summit with president trump in february.

laura bickerjoins us from the south korean capital, seoul. laura, how significant is this new missile test from north korea? and's difficult to tell, because the release from state media gives very few details about the weapon, other thanit few details about the weapon, other than it contained a powerful warhead and has weighty significance for the north korean army. that's all we are told. contrast the two 2017, when we had a number of missiles being fired from north korea. they were very specific about those details. this time we're not actually sure what this weapon looks like. it looks similartoa this weapon looks like. it looks similar to a launch in november of last year of a tactical weapon. it doesn't look like a long—range missile and certainly the united states is saying, at the moment, that they do not or certainly

haven't seen north korea via a long—range missile capable of reaching the united states in recent week. however, the significance of it is that north korea and specifically kim jong—un wants the world to know it has these weapons and is continuing to develop them. and how could this impact the denuclearisation negotiations between the us and north korea? well, we have already had two sets of talks with no deal. in the united states is not budging from its position. it wants north korea to give up all its weapons before sanctions relief. that is unacceptable sanctions relief. that is u na cce pta ble to sanctions relief. that is unacceptable to the north koreans. it does seem that kim jong—un, at the moment, is exploring other options. he has warned the united states that his patients will only last until the end of the year for them to change their position. you wa nt them to change their position. you want his new year speech that north korea may seek a new path stop this isa korea may seek a new path stop this is a warning shot saying, look, we

do have other options. there is also, certainly, a lot of reports that kim jong—un might also, certainly, a lot of reports that kimjong—un might be, and they emphasise this, might be heading to russia soon to meet with vladimir putin. this would be a significant summit between russia and north korea as a significant time, because it does show that kim jong—un is looking around, wondering exactly what else he can get and where he can get it from, if he is not to be dealing with the united states. so far no reaction from soul. we are waiting for a reaction from the presidential, the blue house. we're waiting this morning. this weapon system is continuing to be developed, whatever it may be. it is worth pointing out, rico, but when it comes to the moratorium on testing displays not to test weapons, kim jong—un has testing displays not to test weapons, kimjong—un has been very clear and varies pacific that it

only extends to nuclear weapons and long—range ballistic missiles. —— very specific. he will say he has not broken any rules. thank you for the update. laura bicker insole. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. supporters of presidentjoko widodo have been celebrating the news he has likely won another term as leader. unofficial results give him a lead of ten percentage points over his rival, former general prabowo subianto. but president widodo is already facing challenges ahead. from jakarta, karishma vaswani sent this report. a decisive victory for indonesian presidentjoko widodo, according to unofficial quick count results. translation: from these initial exit polls we've seen that we have won, but we must be patient and wait for the official results. supporters ofjoko widodo have gathered here to try to and catch

a glimpse of the man they have just voted in as this country's next president for the second time. the celebrations are just beginning, but already he's facing challenges ahead. his rival and former general, prabowo subianto, says exit polls conducted by his camp show that he is the president. translation: our exit polls show that we have won with 55.4% of the vote. mr prabowo may well lodge a complaint in the coming days and challenge these results. but as simple as it looks, indonesia's quick count system has been shown to work and, by the end of the day, with the sample votes counted, all signs point to a joko widodo victory. voter turnout was 80%, thought to be the highest ever in indonesia's democratic era. behind these numbers, though, issues that matter to indonesians.

translation: the economy and jobs are the most important issues for me. but my religion says a good leader is someone who is close to the clerics. translation: i want a president that cares about all indonesians and doesn't look at our differences. i don't care what religion he is, but he must be honest. now the votes are cast the hard work begins. this campaign has divided indonesians more than ever before and it will be the task of its next president to bring his people together and ensure the unity of this diverse nation. karishma vaswani, bbc news, jakarta. also making news today: former peruvian president alan garcia has died after shooting himself in the head. the incident happened as police prepared to arrest him in connection with bribery allegations that he had long denied. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson explains the reaction in the country.

i think it's one of shock and disbelief. the current president, martin vizcarra, announced on twitter that he was distraught by the news, sending condolences to his family. peru has been at the forefront of these corruption investigations. it actually started here in brazil, 0peration car wash revealing graft allegations, bribes paid to politicians in return for construction deals. and four peruvian former presidents have been investigated in relation to this scandal. so this is something that peru knows a lot about. and, of course, this news that alan garcia has ended his life as he was about to be arrested in connection with the scandal has shocked people in this region.

the indian airlinejet airways has cancelled all international and domestic flights with immediate effect. the company said it was forced to act afterfailing to get emergency funding. it has been struggling with debts of more than a billion dollars. robert mueller‘s long—awaited report on russian meddling in the us election is set to be released in the coming hours. significant portions of the report are expected to be blacked out. attorney general william barr has already caused controversy amongst democrats by saying he will hold a press conference on the reports findings before its publication. at least 29 people have died in a bus crash on the portuguese island of madeira. the vehicle was carrying more than 50 people when it came off the road on a bend east of the island's capital, funchal. all the victims were german. ben ando has more. the coach, which was carrying german holiday—makers,

came to rest on its on its side after apparently coming off the road on a tight curve and rolling down the mountain. exactly how it happened isn't clear. the bus is badly damaged with most of its windows broken. it seems many of the victims were thrown onto the ground in the crash. local people quickly gathered, some assisting the emergency services as they helped injured survivors get clear of the wreckage. 55 people were on board the bus when it crashed in the early evening in in the city of canico, east of the island's capital, funchal. madeira is one of a small group of islands off the coast of north africa that are part of the republic of portugal. it is a popular destination for those seeking early—season sun. tonight, work at the scene goes on. here, the foreign office is it standing by to offer assistance to any britons caught up in the tragedy, but so far those involved appear to be german tourists or locals. ben ando, bbc news. cathedral bells rung out across france at ten to seven

on wednesday evening to mark the exact moment when a huge fire broke out at notre dame cathedral in paris. today some of the firefighters who saved notre dame from collapse described how a hundred of them were tasked with protecting the works of art and treasures from inside the cathedral as the roof went up in flames. lucy williamson reports from paris. notre—dame today is a cathedral divided by the fire. marks of tragedy, surrounded by tranquillity. this video, given exclusively to the bbc, shows stained glass intact under a jagged hole where the roof used to be. polished pews lined up before piles of charred timber. that so much survived is perhaps extraordinary. the local mayor said there was a moment that night when fire crews told president macron they weren't sure if notre—dame could be saved. it's a very difficult site to attack. they couldn't get there, up there, with their scales. the normal scales are not large,

they're not tall enough. so they had to use other devices. they had to get into the building, they had to check the building was safe. they went in there and they did not have 100% certainty that they would be able to get down and get out. this is what firefighters faced that night. today, one of them spoke publicly for the first time. translation: i went up into the towers. it was only when i got to the top that i saw how daunting it was. it was extremely hot and we had to keep moving back, moving back. it was spreading very quickly. at some point, we heard an enormous noise which must have been the spire falling down. investigators have so far interviewed around 30 people. early reports suggest the fire began at the base of the cathedral‘s central spire, where a major restoration project was starting. the main contractor involved in the restoration work told us they were the only ones in the building on monday and had been putting up scaffolding, not doing anything involving

heat or sparks. they left at 5:50pm, he told us, turned off the electricity, and handed the keys to the caretaker. along the banks of the seine today, artists came to record a rare change in the city landscape. the prime minister has announced an international competition for architects to design the cathedral‘s new spire. at churches across france tonight, bells rang out in solidarity with notre—dame. the sound of continuity after a crisis that lets all of paris know they're not alone. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: making sure the message sticks, climate protesters glue themselves to the roof of a train in london's financial district — on a third day of direct action.

also on the programme: we meet the so—called bat lady who's trying to save the flying foxes from australia's extreme heat. 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 newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: north korea says it's tested a new type of tactical guided weapon — the first missile test since the hanoi summit between kim jong—un and president trump. supporters ofjoko widodo celebrate after unofficial results give him a clear lead in indonesia's general election. let's take a look at some front pages from around

the world. first is singapore's straits times. it leads with a story about indonesia's elections. the paper reports that tallies of votes from a sample of polling places have placed jokowi comfortably, though not overwhelmingly, ahead of mr prabowo. on to the new york times, which features an article on british prime minister theresa may. it says that divisions over europe are looking more likely to splinter the party as poll number plunge. and finally the japan times — which says prime minister shinzo abe plans to issue an apology to those who were subjected to forced sterilisation under a now—defunct eugenics law. from 19118 to 1996, the eugenic protection law authorised the sterilisation of people with an intellectual disability, mental illness

or hereditary disorder. scientists have managed to partially revive pig brains, four hours after they were removed from the body. the research at yale university could raise ethical questions about what it means to be alive and conscious. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh explains. the brain is the most complex organ in the body. it was always assumed it gets irreversibly damaged within minutes of blood flow stopping. now, a remarkable study in the journal nature challenges that view. the scientists at yale school of medicine used brains from farm animals bred for pork. in all, 32 brains were collected from an abbatoir. four hours after death, the organs were placed in specially designed tanks and synthetic blood was pumped round at body temperature for six hours.

remarkably, despite being dead for hours, cells within the brain started to function. there was activity in synapses. some brain circuits started to work. the brains began to use energy and oxygen, and blood flow was restored. this video shows some of the blood vessels of the partially revived organs. but there was no whole—brain activity that might signal awareness. what this indicates is individual neurones are viable, but are not capable of forming an organised global activity. this is not a functioning brain, but a cellularly active brain. when the brains were tested, there was no global electrical activity on an eeg. researchers had been ready to anaesthetise and cool the organs if they had showed any signs of consciousness. they didn't, so the brains were not alive — a crucial ethical point. it looks like this technology, even if it could bring individual cells back

to life, it can't bring the person back to life. it can't make the brain function as a whole, in the way that we think is important. what is ethically significant about brain death is that the person who was there, their personality, their thoughts, their memories, is gone forever. so what might this research lead to? first, it gives scientists a new way of studying the brain, where it's been damaged by diseases like alzheimer's or a stroke. in the long—term, it might allow them to revive parts of an injured brain. but it doesn't mean anyone declared brain dead can be restored to life. the idea of a brain kept alive and conscious outside the body remains science fiction. fergus walsh, bbc news. can you imagine feeding 600 bats every day? in australia, rebecca koller rescues and looks after the flying foxes — to protect the species from exteme heat.

numbers were hit badly last year when a heatwave in north queensland wiped out almost a third of their population in two days. experts are especially concerned for the spectactled flying foxes — which are only found in a remote rainforest region of north queensland. for more we are joined by rebecca koller and one of her beloved bats, sparrow, on webcam from kuranda, queensland. thank you forjoining us. and you show us your beloved sparrow. he is so show us your beloved sparrow. he is so cute. she, she is three months old. how she become? she will grow to double the size when she is six months old. then she will be almost full grown. at that point she will be able to go back to the wild. and her wingspan, look at that. just spread her wings. we can see her wings. they are quite large just for

three months old. sparrow is one of 600 that's under your care. how do you manage to look after all of them? it's a lot of hours, very very early mornings and very late nights. early mornings and late nights and why do you love these but so much, rebecca? they are very misunderstood. a lot of people are frightened of them because they don't get the opportunity to get nice and close to them. they play a really important role in the ra i nfo rest really important role in the rainforest and they do what bees do. the polar nature is and they can do that over long distances because they can fly up to 50 kilometres in a single night. without these guys there is no rainforest. yes, indeed. you just said the word misunderstood, and we watch movies and films, they are portrayed as very bad animals. tells about the character and personalities. we call

them sky puppies because they are very much like dogs. they are very very much like dogs. they are very very social and very affectionate. and they are affectionate with us as well as with each other. they are very much like a puppy. well as with each other. they are very much like a puppylj well as with each other. they are very much like a puppy. i hope one of these days i can meet sparrow or one of your other 600 bus. maybe you can name one of them after me. of course they are quite expensive to manage, $1000 worth of fresh fruit every week. how are you coping financially with that? a lot of people donate so i get some people donating fruit and other people help, we've also had the government contribute a small amount of money to help us as well. because in the wild they will eat pollen and nectar from flowers so we can collect that much pollen and nectar so we have to give it to them in fruit. tell us about caring for these bats. vice is

such an important job about caring for these bats. vice is such an importantjob for you? because i have watched this species decline every year and is only half of what is left in the wild when i first started so if we don't start doing something, were going to lose them. because we've also many this year, if that continues each and every year they will be gone in a few years time. so we really have to work hard to try and save these guys. all the best to you, rebecca and continued to do what you do stops a re and continued to do what you do stops are made love and my hugs to sparrow, your beloved three—month old bat. for a third day in a row, climate change activists from extinction rebellion have been protesting in central london. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports. this is normally one of the busiest bridges across the thames.

extinction rebellion, a new direct—action protest group, hoped to take control of this and other key london locations for up to two weeks. but today the police moved in and made more arrests. we have an emergency here, and i don't think we're causing any harm. using powers designed to balance the right to protest with the need to reduce disruption. the police are taking this extremely slowly, not least to keep the temperature under control, but also because they're starting to run out of police cells. we're here because humanity is facing extinction and ecocide. i'm here as a peaceful protester, the government must take action. their demands? the declaration of a climate emergency, radical cuts to carbon emissions. "we're sorry for the disruption," they say. the fact of the matter is that we have tried things that are less disruptive for over 30 years. people have been petitioning, marching, writing letters, and nothing's been done.

but they also brought a busy rail line to a halt, the docklands light railway, using unusual tactics. cue angry commuters and this from london's mayor. i am worried about protesters that are targeting public transport, because i am trying to encourage more and more londoners to use public transport because it is good for the environment. another target was oxford circus, used by 23 bus routes, as well as black cabs. it is getting about, people can protest, but for two weeks, i think it is too long. scotland yard appears intent on making sure that does not happen, but then everyone sitting here has said they are prepared to be arrested. they believe we should all be more worried about this issue and they say their protests will continue.

you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. hello again. wednesday was a perfectly acceptable day for many parts of the british isles, but it may well be put in the shade by what we are expecting to see quite widely across the british isles on saturday. the temperatures could peak around london at 25 degrees. for those of you who have opted for the stay—cation for this particular holiday weekend, well, you are certainly beating those who have decided to head down anywhere really, from iberia right across to the eastern mediterranean. the reason for a settled spell of weather is that the jet stream, as we move through the weekend and into the start of next week, should be well away from the british isles. we're trapped on its warmer side. you'll notice there is a pocket of somewhat cooler air not a million miles to the west of us

as we start the new week. more on that in just a second. thursday starts off rather cloudy across eastern scotland and the eastern side of the pennines, but as the day gets going that cloud dissipates. a little bit of fair weather cloud, not much more than that. 0n the east coast the onshore breeze is around ten, 11, 12. inland is widely in the upper teens, if not in the 20s. for all that we have to thank that big area of high pressure, which i'm sure you're getting used to, it's been there over scandanavia for a wee while. it will certainly dominate many of us as we get on through the weekend. friday, just maybe the odd passing shower to start the day in eastern parts of scotland, but friday is a really glorious day across many parts of the british isles. and those temperatures, notjust a south—east phenomena. widely in the upper teens. and again, many locations could see 20 — 21 or something in that order. a fly in the ointment as we move towards the weekend. the weather front will be pushed closer to the northern and western parts of scotland, maybe northern ireland too,

tempering the feel of the day there certainly. but as i say, widely 22—23, maybe 2a or 25 across the south—east. not much change into easter sunday, we will have the remnants of that weather front trying to work its way down across scotland, thickening the cloud here, the odd spot of rain more, i suspect, towards the far north—west. sunshine rather hazy across northern ireland. but elsewhere, if you've got plans for the outdoors, get out and enjoy it. a word to the wise, the pollen is really quite high at the moment. and if you're out for any length of time, the uv levels are also worthy of consideration. come monday, the jet stream just trying to work an area of low pressure close to the western side of the british isles, but those fronts lingering far out west for many. easter monday too looking like a pretty decent day.

hello. i'm kasia madera, with bbc news. our top story: north korea says it's tested a new type of tactical guided weapon — it's the first test since the hanoi summit between kim jong—un and president trump. officials said that mr kim oversaw the test and he later said it had weighty significance in increasing north korea's military power. supporters of indonesia's presidentjoko widodo have been celebrating the news he has likely won another term as leader. unofficial results give him a lead of ten percentage points. and this video is trending on bbc.com. sadaf khadem, iran's first woman to take part in an official boxing match in france, says she has cancelled her return home after hearing an arrest warrant has been issued because she violated iran's dress code. more on our website. but that is it from me. thanks for watching. and the top story in the uk: