welcome to newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: president trump declares a national emergency to stop us companies using any telecoms equipment from foreign companies seen as a threat. a call to action from new zealand and france to stamp out violence and extremism online. global tech giants promise to act. it is pleasing to see the statement from five major tech companies committing all of them to a set of individual actions and collaborative actions as well. i'm samantha simmonds in london. also in the programme: the un says houthi rebels in yemen have stuck

to a deal to pull out of three ports — a lifeline for the war—torn nation. as campaigning draws to a close in india, we meet one young female first—time voter and find out what matters to her. 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 7:00 in the evening in washington, dc where president trump has declared a national emergency to protect us computer networks from what he called "foreign adversaries." the executive order will ban us companies from using foreign telecoms that might pose a security risk. it's believed the move is mainly directed at the chinese telecoms giant huawei.

for more on this i am joined now by our north american correspondent peter bowes. what more can you tell us about this telecommunications emergency signed by president trump? well, there is still clearly a lot of detail to be added to this and we understand the us commerce department will be spending the next 150 days looking at the rules, seeing how they will be tweaked and looking at any upcoming contrast to see how they will be affected but as to the statement being announced in the last few hours, it is quite specifically this is designed to protect america from foreign adversaries. it doesn't define exactly what it means by that, the white house is saying this is an agnostic statement, specifically not naming any countries or indeed any companies but it says those foreign adversaries who are actively and

increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities and information and communications technology infrastructure and services and a lot of people are saying this must be directed at huawei because of the concern expressed clearly in the united states but elsewhere as well. huawei has denied it's a security risk and the chairman came out with a statement earlier this week that it was even willing to sign no— spy agreements with governments. yes, that was a very firm announcement but it may not be enough to allay the fears of several countries who are concerned that the products of this company could be used in surveillance and especially of those product are involved in future technologies, and sg product are involved in future technologies, and 56 was a huge issue in the united states, the uk and elsewhere. they are looking at

the minutia in terms of the involvement of this or other chinese companies and whether that could pose a security risk for other companies bringing in 56. we will be watching this closely. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. security forces in the sudanese capital, khartoum, have fired on pro—democracy protestors near the military headquarters. there are reports of one death and several injuries, but the thousands of demonstrators have not moved away. these pictures of the unrest are reportedly from an eyewitness. the latest violence follows an initial agreement between the transitional military council and the opposition on how to install civilian rule but protest leaders now say the military has indefinitely suspended the talks. pro—democracy leaders in the sudanese capital, khartoum say the country's military rulers have indefinitely suspended talks on installing a civilian government. the us orders the departure of "non—emergency employees" from iraq, after the us military said the threat level in the middle east had been raised in response to intelligence about iran—backed forces in the region. the german and dutch armies have

suspended training iraqi soldiers. but a british general has said there is no increased threat. officials in mexico city have declared an environmental emergency after air pollution in the capital reached levels potentially dangerous to human health. smoke from nearby forest fires combined with stagnant weather conditions has cloaked the city in a grey smog. residents are being urged to stay indoors. mainland china. wikimedia says all language versions appear to have been inaccessible there since late april. china's president xijinping recently gave a speech pledging that china would move to embrace the world with a more open attitude. these are two very lucky window cleaners in the us city of oklahoma. they were working 50 storeys up — that's over 250 metres — at the top of the city's tallest building, the devon tower, when their basket started

swinging violently. the window cleaners acted with amazing composure, grabbing a rope thrown to them by fire—fighters to secure the basket. the crane smashed several windows before it was brought back under control. the un says a pullout of houthi forces from three key ports on the west coast of yemen has been carried out. but there's still a lot more work to be done on implementing the rest of the peace deal reached last december between the yemeni government — backed by the saudi—led coalition — and houthis aligned to iran. the united nations special envoy for yemen has hailed the progress, saying "change is now a reality." but he warned the country's future remains on a knife edge. here's the bbc‘s lyse doucet, with more on the withdrawl process.

the houthis say they have left. 0ur fighters filmed as they piled into pickups and ports on yemen's west coast. it's taken four days for houthi fighters to go, the coastguard to take over. now they will run this lifeline. most of yemen's aid and imports come through here, vitalfor a nation on the brink of famine. the un's role is critical. they will also manage these crucial ports. first, a confirmation the houthis kept their word. we have together seen the redeployment and we have also agreed that there are a few outstanding issues. there is caution too. this area must still be d mind. the houthis security barriers and

trenches moved. and there is scepticism. yemen's government accuses their houthi rivals of changing clothes, posing now as coastguards. but there is pressure to move forward. today marks a six—month six—month —— six months since a landmark deal was achieved in cost ——'s .com, lauded as the greatest achievement in years. there isa greatest achievement in years. there is a catastrophe unfolding in yemen and we have to stop it. so many more steps a re and we have to stop it. so many more steps are needed. four years of fighting have left yemen in ruin, a people on the run from violence and hunger. what yemen needs now is peace. world leaders and heads of global technology companies have pledged at a paris summit to tackle terrorist and extremist violence online in what they called an "unprecedented agreement". the measures by amazon, google, microsoft, twitter and facebook were prompted in part by revulsion at the live streaming of the new zealand mosque attacks.

prime ministerjacinda ardern welcomed the plans. never before have countries and tech companies come together in the way ofan companies come together in the way of an horrific attack to commit to an action plan that will deliver collaboratively work and new technology built to make our communities ultimately safer. the us have refused to take part. earlier we spoke to drew harwell, technology reporter from the washington post, who explained the us's refusal to support the initiative. the first amendment and free speech are always the things the white house turns back to and when we get into these debates, the european authorities and the us authorities often tangle over what is the right dividing line between how much leeway we give the tech companies to regulate themselves and how much responsibility do we want the companies to assume when we're looking at violent and objectionable content on line so you see here,

many nations across the world are teaming up to say enough is enough, we need stronger regulations here to prevent something like christchurch from happening again and the american authorities are not really giving any leeway and saying that they want to stick to their defences, the first amendment, protect these social media companies based on the us. the document drawn up based on the us. the document drawn up today is largely symbolic. do you think it will have any impact? do you think it will work? that remains to be seen. it is symbolic, it's non—binding. it's a pledge. it's governments and big companies, tech companies coming together to say, this has gone too far. hate speech and extremism on line are real tangible problems and we need to do something to fix it. i think that does say something, it shows these tech companies are putting their money into the game and saying that

it's not enough to just let these bad things keep happening but it does show some symbolic victory but i think the us not signing on is also undercutting that effort and it's undermining it by saying, this isa it's undermining it by saying, this is a tech giant in the world, america is a tech giant, by force of silicon valley and the towns and the money that is spent here so for them to not sign on, i think it takes some of the wind out of the sails. damaging that agreement in the long—term. technology reporter from the washington post drew hart well speaking to us before. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: mapping our oceans — as new guidlines on protecting marine areas are released — we'll be hearing from an expert diver. also on the programme. seeing the wood for the trees — the hidden network

that allows them to feed and protect each other. the pope was shot, the pope will live. that was the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon, that, as an italian television commentator put it, terrorism has come to the vatican. the man they called the butcher of lyon, klaus barbie, went on trial today in the french town where he was the gestapo chief in the second world war. winnie mandela never looked like a woman just sentenced to six years injail. the judge told mrs mandela there was no indication she felt even the slightest remorse. the chinese government has called for an all—out effort to help the victims of a powerful earthquake, the worst to hit the country for 30 years. the computer deep blue has tonight triumphed over the world chess champion, garry kasparov. it is the first time a machine has

defeated a reigning world champion in a classical chess match. america's first legal same—sex marriages have been taking place in massachusetts. god bless america! this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. and i'm samantha simmonds in london. our top stories: president trump declares a national emergency to stop us companies using any telecoms equipment from foreign companies seen as a threat. a call to action from new zealand and france to stamp out violence and extremism online — following the christchurch shootings. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. hong kong's south china morning post is looking at chinese president xi jinping's speech at the conference on dialogue of asian civilisations in beijing.

in his first public address since the us—china trade dispute escalated, xi called for openness between countries. to the japan times now. you might be aware that the world health organization has launched its first ever guidelines on the management and prevention of dementia. well, japan's government has a plan to reduce dementia cases in elderly patients by 6% over the next six years. and finally, the new york times' international edition reports on newly discovered syrian government memos. the memos detail a secret system of arrests and torture prisons used to stifle regime dissent. president bashar al—assad's has denied that systematic abuse exists. muhannad ghabbash — on the left in this picture — survived 19 months

in syrian detention. now in trending a pop icon is making a stand against social media. yes, let's looks at what is trending right now. pop star selena gomez is speaking out against social media. with over 150 million followers on instagram — the singer and actress has one of the biggest online followings in the world. but whilst publicising her new film the dead don't die at the cannes film festival — she took a moment to talk about the damaging impact she thought social media was having on young people. social media has really been terrible for my generation. i understand it is amazing to use the platform but it scares me how exposed these young girls and boys are and they are not really aware of the news or anything going on. it is an election like no other. in india over 900 million voters have been heading to the polls over

the last month. it's the largest democratic excercise in the world. for many young people it will be their first time voting. the bbc met one young woman to find out what issues are affecting her vote.

the youth vote in india. shifting oui’ the youth vote in india. shifting our attention now to marine life. a quarter of all shark and ray species are threatened with extinction and overfishing is the biggest risk to their survival. but conservation group wwf and a group of australian researchers are hoping

to turn that around. earlier this week they launched the first ever guide to the world's marine protected areas specifically aimed at sharks and rays. the areas are a bit like a park in the ocean and while they do help to protect marine life, tens of millions of sharks are still being killed every year. i've been speaking to one of our presenters on the travel show, mike corey, who's an expert diver and has worked in marine conservation. he explained why sharks and rays are important to protect. in these ecosystems, sharks and rays, sharks specifically are apex predators, the top of the food chain for to cut off the top of the chain the system can unravel all the way down to the seagrass the seafloor. so why is it a threat to these species? sharks have an international pr problem and that comes from movies, and tv shows but

the perception is that they are dangerous. especially the movie jaws. dangerous. especially the movie jaws. exactly. but saying sharks is dangerous is like saying cats are dangerous. some cats out there you do not want them in your house that we still do. they are predators. saying a shark is dangerous is saying that all sharks, about 500 species of them, are dangerous. 0nly three of them give humans a problem. many of them are quite cute. what do you make of these new guidelines from the wwf or marine protected areas? you called them parks in the water and that is true. you don't go hunting or build a house and apart so hunting or build a house and apart so these areas, some of the same rules apply. the differences that if you have a protected terrestrial area animals generally stay in one area. and that works might well stop how do you protect these sharks and rays ? how do you protect these sharks and rays? right! you have to get these

marine protected areas with those things in consideration. it is an open ecosystem and animals flow back and forth. sharks have to move to force water down the gills and they are always moving back and forth. you can say this area is protected but who will keep them how large are the areas? knowing that these animals will probably stay inside is important so you need to make them larger. so you also need people to be able to protect these areas? exactly. so what these guidelines are putting into account oui’ guidelines are putting into account our spatial and economic considerations. people still need to be able to live and support themselves within them. now to the hidden world that exists below the ground in woods and forests. it's being called the "wood wide

web" where the roots of trees and other plants are joined by a network of fungi — enabling them to help feed and protect each other. for the first time, a major international study has mapped this underground network. the bbc‘s claire marshall reports on how this could help tackle climate change. walk into a wood and you enter a peaceful familiar world. but what if you look down? beneath every forest and wood, there is a kind of mysterious underground social network. let's peel back the earth to take a look. there are the tree roots, and then mingling among them along with bacteria are thousands of superfine threads of fungi, known as hyphae. research has shown they are all interconnected. they can help each other by sharing nutrients and they can even warn of approaching threats. scientists have described this as if the trees are talking to one another. now, dr thomas crowther and his team have mapped this subterranean

social network of fungi on an epic global scale. he likens it to producing an mri scan of the world's forests. we've relied heavily on satellites for a very long time to understand ecosystems, but now we are in the age of big data and machine learning, so by taking data from thousands of people all around the world, we are starting to characterise these incredibly important ecosystems for the very first time. there are two main types of fungal network. they both suck up the greenhouse gas carbon, a key factor in climate change. systems in woods like here in the uk absorbe more than ones in tropical climates, but they're more vulnerable to rising temperatures. we went to see an ecologist at work, taking samples in kew gardens. they can now use dna testing to tell what's there. all of this is filled with fungi? filled with fungi. the fungi are really good because they are three—dimensional. they make a network. if this network is broken, it's bad news notjust for the trees, but

the planet as a whole. if we create conditions through changing the types of fungi that are interacting with plants in the soil, in which then those soils start to stop accumulating carbon, or they start releasing it, then the rate at which we are seeing change will accelerate even more. there's an effective way to help fight climate change, and that's by planting trees. the new map of the wood wide web can be used to guide planters. know the right network to plug the tree into, and it will flourish. claire marshall, bbc news. you have been watching newsday. i'm samantha simmonds in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. 0n asia business report we will to be taking a look at the latest

telecommunications emergency that has been implemented i donald trump. and we will also be talking about a pig coal in china. —— pig cull. and before we go, we'd like to leave you with these pictures. and forget money, money, money — for the art auction world — it's all about bunny, bunny, bunny. jeff koons — the artist famous for his kitsch — is to sell one of his most iconic pieces. his 1986 rabbit is going under the hammer in new york — but before you hop over with your cheque book, best make sure you've some spare cash. it's expected to go for up to $70 million — making it one of the most expensive contemporary art works ever sold. that's just small change for you, isn't it? i do love his art but i could not afford it. it would take a lifetime for me to purchase even a

small figurine. never mind. we can dream. hello there. the temperature pig just shy of 26 celsius yesterday in highland scotland. it was warm for all but the 26 will be the highest in this current warm spell because temperatures and the heat are gradually going to ever way. it will still be warm through the day ahead and feel pleasant enough but the high pressure that has been ruling is drifting a little further north across scandinavia allowing more of an easterly breeze to pick up and it will drag on more cloud as well. the combination lower our temperature. still through the night under the starry skies it has been chilly in some areas, getting into early morning mist and fog clear and see higher in the north and a few showers potentially for the western

side of scotland but perhaps later for northern ireland. for most, a dry bright warm day with hazy sunshine. we pick up a little more cloud filtering west across england and wales and a bit more of a breeze and wales and a bit more of a breeze and those two together will not the temperature down a little but still looking to reach 20 degrees in the north and west but we will notice the breeze of the north sea coast. the sun is just as strong be at 1a or 20 degrees. thursday and friday we started to pick up some rain. through the evening and overnight. initially light and patchy but through the day on friday it could turn heavy and it will blanket falling temperatures in the central and eastern areas. chilly weather further north under clear skies. friday looks like a cloudy day as you can see. there will be rain, thick clouds in give showery rain. making its way westwards and eventually to the eastern side of scotla nd eventually to the eastern side of scotland so we will hold onto some sunshine in the western northern ireland but temperatures again down

another two or three degrees because not only were we have rain but the wind will be stronger still on friday full of quite keen for the north sea coast. we lose the wind in the south as we go into the weekend but we do keep a cloud by then and with showers around and light winds they will be slow—moving. the devil is in the detail this weekend. the weather will bring more persistent rain to the northern half of the country, particularly scotland and northern england, perhaps not reaching ireland, and then further south we lose the wind but we pick up south we lose the wind but we pick up slow—moving heavy showers. by sunday that is almost gone and we arejust into this sunday that is almost gone and we are just into this very slack wind regime that means we will not see much whether generally slow—moving heavy showers moving out mostly in the north as temperatures start to bounce back in the south. as always, more regional detail on our website.

i'm samantha simmonds with bbc news.

our top story: president trump signs an executive order declaring a national emergency. it addresses what his administration says are threats to communication networks from some foreign companies. the us commerce department said it's adding huawei technologies to its so—called "entity list", which will make it much more difficult for the telecom giant to buy parts and components from us companies. the leaders of france and new zealand have launched an initiative to curb extremism and violence online following the christchurch killings. five of the world's biggest tech companies have already agreed to implement new measures. and this story is getting a lot of attention on bbc.com... two window cleaners have been rescued from a metal basket which was swinging out of control near the top of a 50—storey building in oklahoma. reports said the crane at the devon tower was unstable and the incident took place in high winds. that's all for now. stay with bbc news. now on bbc news, as part of mental

health awareness week,