welcome to newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. the headlines: britain's ambassador to the us resigns, following the leaking of his critical remarks about the trump white house. we travel deep into myanmar‘s rakhine state. some displaced families are offered new homes — but none go to the muslim community. i'm rico hizon in singapore. also in the programme: a bbc investigation hears from women who've accused top afghan government officials of sexual harassment. and — australia pledges to hold a referendum on recognising indigenous people in the nation's constitution. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news.

it's newsday. it's eight in the morning in singapore, one am in london, and eight in the evening in washington where britain's ambassador to the united states, sir kim darroch, has resigned, after a row about leaked memos critical of the trump administration. sir kim said he felt no longer able to do his job after being frozen out and insulted by mr trump whose administation he described as "radiating insecurity" in confidential assessments leaked to a newspaper. our diplomatic correspondent james landale has the story. sir kim darroch, 42 years a loyal public servant, the boy from the council estate who advised prime ministers and, until this morning, her majesty's

ambassador to the united states. he resigned, he said, because his leaked remarks, critical of donald trump, had made it impossible for him to carry out his role. at westminster, there was anger and support in equal measure. sir kim has given a lifetime of service to the united kingdom and we owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. good government depends on public servants being able to give full and frank advice. i think the comments made about him are beyond unfair and wrong. i think he's given honourable and good service and he should be thanked for it. at last month's state visit, mr trump and sir kim were on good terms, but his private description of a dysfunctional white house prompted a wave of presidential insults and a refusal to deal with the man he called, "the wacky ambassador". i will keep him until he's due to retire and i think we'd like to know if you would? 0k, well, i'm not going to be so presumptuous...

but it was these words, the repeated refusal of borisjohnson last night to defend sir kim that prompted the ambassador‘s decision to go. according to whitehall sources, mrjohnson‘s critics were furious. boris johnson, a former foreign secretary, and he hopes to be a future, the future prime minister, has basically thrown our top diplomat under the bus. and there are a lot of people here in the commons who are very, very angry. allies of mrjohnson said this was a shabby attempt to politicise the resignation, and that sir kim's position had become untenable before last night's debate. he was a superb, is a superb diplomat and i worked with him for many years, and i think that whoever leaked his diptels really has done a grave disservice to our civil servants. you said last night you weren't going to back him? no, on the contrary... my view is it's wrong to drag civil servants into the political arena, that's what i think.

that did not assuage the fury of foreign office officials, nor did the fact that mrjohnson chose to phone sir kim this afternoon, to praise him for his dedication and hard work. sir kim's resignation has wrought a heavy blow on british diplomacy. morale here at the foreign office is low and the risk is that it leaves britain looking like a leaky ship, buffeted by a foreign power, with its diplomats fearful in future of speaking truth to politicians who may not defend them if that truth were ever to leak. this afternoon, foreign office staff met to show solidarity with sir kim. earlier, their boss said it was unprecedented for a friendly government not to co—operate with a british ambassador. what's morale like in the foreign office at the moment? erm, i think people are shaken by what has happened. there is a reason why i've asked to see all my colleagues at four o'clock this afternoon. the basis on which we have worked all our careers suddenly feels

as though it is challenged. the question now is who will choose the next resident of the british embassy in washington, theresa may oi’ her successoi’? either way, they'll have a big repairjob to do. james landale, bbc news. our north america correspondent peter bowes has been following this story for us. and i asked what impact sir kim darroch's resignation has had in the united states. for many people around this country, this has not been headline news. some see it as just another day in the trump administration or perhaps the consequences of what happens within the trump administration. it began with critical comments by the ambassador that were leaked and donald trump reacted in the way that only he can. but many americans are used to that and those initial comments criticising the dysfunctional white house, americans have heard those before. analysts have talked

and written books about it and those sentiments are well—known. we have not heard from donald trump since the ambassador‘s resignation. we have heard from the vice president, mike pence who said that, to paraphrase him, said that it was probably the right decision to go because he had become ineffectual in the role. and what about the united states mending fences with the uk? that is the bigger question. a hugely important question because of that special relationship between the two countries and moving forward, of course, there will be a different team from the british side in a couple of weeks time when we have a new prime minister. probably boris johnson. his team, dealing with the president. they are known to be on good terms. are it could quite a quick process with that new team in place

to build and rebuild those fences, repair the fences and get things on an even keel as far as the countries are concerned. also making news today: president trump has accused iran of having secretly enriched uranium for a long time and warned that sanctions would soon be substantially increased. it comes after tehran breached the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal — in response to the us decision to pull out of the agreement. president trump's labour secretary, alexander acosta, has defied calls for his resignation over his role in a case involving the billionaire financierjeffrey epstein. on monday, mr epstein pleaded not guilty to charges he oversaw a network trafficking underage girls for sex. mr acosta has come under scrutiny for negotiating a light sentence for epstein in 2008, when he pleaded guilty to prostitution charges. more than 20 countries at the united nations human rights

council have signed a letter condemning china's treatment of uighur muslims and other minorities in the western xinjiang region. the letter, which has been signed by countries including britain, france and germany — expresses concern at reports of mass detention, widespread surveillance and other restrictions. the confetti has rained down on the streets of new york at a parade celebrating america's women's world cup triumph — with tens of thousands of people lining the streets to pay tribute to their team. the squad's 2—0 win over netherlands in the competition final on sunday earned them their fourth title. just a line on some breaking news coming to us now: five boats believed to belong to iranian revolutionary guards have approached a british

oil tanker in the gulf, asking it to stop in iranian waters but reportedly withdrew after a british warship warned them over radio. the incident occured in the strait of hormuz, a stretch of water between the persian gulf and the gulf of oman, bordered by iran and the united arab emirates. we will keep you updated on any developments in this breaking news. the murder of the washington postjournalist jamal khashoggi in the saudi consulate in istanbul, and the jailing of two reuters correspondents in myanmar shocked the world. in many countries, journalists continue to be denied their freedom for doing theirjob and many news outlets are silenced by governments. a conference is being held in london to discuss the threat to media freedom. jodie ginsberg is chief executive of the index on censorship. she told me about the most concerning cases they've encountered.

the thing about press freedom is the restrictions and threats to journalists are happening close the globe and notjust in places you expected it the usual suspects like russia, turkey we are concerned about, they are the highest tailor of journalists in the about, they are the highest tailor ofjournalists in the world as well as mexico where it is dangerous for journalists to operate africa and eritrea. that the important thing to recognise is that there are threats to journalists happening in supposedly democratic countries. jodi, the reporters without borders application —— organisation advocates for press freedom. they said last year 84 media professionals were killed. things getting worse or are we hearing more about the cases? the situation is getting worse for dayjournalists. last year saw not only arise in the number of journalists killed but last year saw not only arise in the number ofjournalists killed but we

saw four murders in the eu of journalists which is highly unusual. and that is despite a fall in journalists being killed in conflict. so journalists are journalists being killed in conflict. sojournalists are being targeted for their investigations into corruption, collusion, criminality and that is quite concerning. what is the background to this? the polarisation of society, isolationism of different countries, why does this happen? there are a number of reasons. impunity is one. so the killing of journalists and the targeting of journalists and the targeting of journalists not being punished and pursued. another countries are increasingly using national security laws as a way to target their critics. and that happens in places like turkey, a mechanism for the government to shut away those who disagree with them. and one of the problems is that we do not see countries speak out enough in

defence of media freedom. it is a welcome development that the uk, canada and others standing up and saying actually, we need to call out these countries who are restricting press freedom and do something more than just have warm words but also have action and money behind it. in myanmar‘s rakhine state, hundreds of new houses have been handed over to families displaced by the rohingya crisis in 2017. but none of the homes are for the muslim minority group. and there's no sign the 700,000 rohingyas who fled across the border to bangladesh will be returning soon. myanmar continues to deny its troops carried out ethnic cleansing and genocide. our myanmar correspondent nick beake gained rare access to the affected part of rakhine and sent us this report. it takes time to reach myanmar‘s killing fields. a grim journey to where, they say, a genocide was committed.

far from the eyes of the outside world. for the past year, the myanmar government has not allowed us to travel to northern rakhine state. finally we now have permission to go to an event there. how much the authorities will let us see is another matter. this was the highway from hell. two years ago, hundreds of thousands of rohingya muslims escaped along this route. fleeing the burmese army's campaign of rape and murder. but now we are told, some of those displaced in the bloodshed are coming back. under close scrutiny we are invited see 250 new homes and the people who will live in them. they have been paid for by neighbouring india. this family are waiting

to talk to us. although it turns out they will not be sleeping here tonight. they will be going back to their nearby village. because these are not rohingya muslims coming home. like everyone we meet here, they are hindu. how would you feel if your muslim neighbours came back? we would not like it, she tells us. many hindus were killed in muslim villages. many outsiders believe rakhine state is still soaked in religious hatred and it is not safe for different communities to live side—by—side. but ministers claim progress is being made. and today they are celebrating their efforts. they are battling on with this event despite the relentless rain because myanmar‘s government is desperate to show it is doing things in rakhine state to try and improve lives. the reality is none of the houses we see here today are for rohingya people.

they remain in refugee camps across the border in bangladesh and for now, two years on after the terrible violence, there is no home. the families today are hindu families. will you be providing housing for the rohingya families? not only for the hindu people but also for the muslim people and the rakhine people. the project will become more and more. up to half a million rohingya muslims who did not flee the 2017 persecution remain in rakhine state. one united nations investigator said they live in modern day concentration camps, denied many freedoms. and while there is such a bleak outlook there is little chance that friends and family across the border in the refugee camps will be coming home tojoin them.

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the afghanistan government faces allegations of sexual harassment — we hear the stories of women who claim to have been assaulted by top officials. central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. police say there have been many casualties, and there is growing speculation that al-qaeda was responsible. germany will be the hosts of the 2006 football world cup. they pipped the favourites, south africa, by a single vote. in south africa, the possibility of losing hadn't even been contemplated, and celebration parties were cancelled. the man entered the palace through a downstairs window and made his way to the queen's private bedroom. then he asked her for a cigarette, and on the pretext of arranging for some to be brought,

she summoned a footman on duty, who took the man away. one child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. education is the only solution. applause welcome back, everyone. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. thanks for staying with us. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: many british politicians have expressed concern at the resignation of britain's ambassador to washington after his confidential criticism of president trump's administration was leaked. a bbc investigation has found that none of the hundreds of new houses

handed over to families displaced in myanmar‘s rakhine state have been given to muslims. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the japan times leads with the death ofjohnny kitagawa, one of the most influential figures in japan's entertainment industry. the music mogul, who shaped the country's boy band landscape for more than half a century, died at the age of 87. the philippine daily inquirer is running a story about ten pangolins, which are a critically endangered species, that were rescued from wildlife traffickers two weeks ago. the newspaper says only three of them survived. the scaly anteaters are one of the world's most heavily poached and trafficked mammals. and finally, the straits times marks the birthday of the malaysian prime minister mahathir mohamad, who turned 94 on wednesday. after a busy day in parliament, a group ofjournalists sang "happy

birthday" to mr mohamad, who last year became the oldest elected leader in the world. iam sure i am sure they sang it much better than we would. you are now up—to—date with the papers. hgppy up—to—date with the papers. happy birthday to the malaysian leader. afghanistan's government is facing allegations of sexual harassment. in may, a former advisor to the president accused men in positions of power of trading officialjobs for sex. while the government rejects the claims, a bbc investigation has heard from women who allege they were sexually harassed by top officials. to protect the identity of some of the women in yogita limaye's report their words have been voiced by actors. one of the worst countries in the world to be a woman. life might be better than under a repressive taliban regime, but freedom is still limited. equality a distant dream.

and every day here they face the threat of violence, rape, harassment. now there are disturbing allegations that even in government women aren't safe, that some men in positions of power are sexually harassing them. we're in kabul to probe these claims. in a conservative, male—dominated society it is hard for women to speak out, but our investigation has finally let us to a former government employee. we're hiding her identity because she fears backlash. her former boss is a senior minister in the current government.

and did you file a complaint after this incident? she also told us two other women had come forward to tell her the same minister had raped them. claims the bbc has been unable to independently verify. it's notjust one individual, ministry, or department, several women we've spoken to have told us that sexual harassment is widespread in the government. most of them are too afraid to speak out. but now we're going to meet another woman who's willing to share her story with us. in fact, this is the first time she's telling anyone about it.

she had all but secured a government job when she was asked to meet a close aide of president ashraf ghani. do you want some water? shall i get you some? last year she contested parliamentary polls and says election commission officials also harassed her.

the president's office declined the bbc‘s request for an interview. earlier, they'd rejected claims of sexual misconduct in government. the response that the government gave is defensive. i think that the culture of impunity is one of the reasons — the people who commit this don't get trial, so therefore the man or the perpetrators feel protected. democracy here has come at the cost of a deadly war. more women are in parliament and in government now. but if they are not considered safe places to work this progress could come to a halt. yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. the australian government has announced plans to hold a referendum on recognising aboriginal people in the country's constitution. indigenous people were living in australia for more than 65,000 years before british colonisation. from sydney, here's hywel griffith. australia has been home

to aboriginal communities for over 50,000 years. but their rights and their role as the country's first people are not enshrined in law. we seek constitutional reforms to empower our people. two years ago, this meeting of indigenous leaders demanded change, calling for a way to put them the centre of parliamentary decisions. the call went unanswered until now. announcing a referendum is a big step and in many ways that's the easy part. agreeing on what questions to ask and what changes could bring may prove more difficult. what is clear is that change is needed to improve the lives of australia's first people. indigenous australians are still more likely to be living in poverty, still more likely to be imprisoned than the rest of the population. there is, some leaders argue, a disadvantage locked in by the current constitution.

policy has been put on us to stop the voices of aboriginal or torres strait people in this country to have their own destiny through self—determination or even having the right to have a rightful place in our decision—making. the government says it will take three years for the referendum to take shape. it will not be rushed. although many feel it is overdue. it has been coming for a long time. i think it is time for real change to take place and our country will be better off for it. it is pussyfooting, it is too long in coming and there should be no delay in certain things like an indigenous voice to parliament. polls suggest most australian support recognising aboriginal rights. the referendum risks polarising opinion but it is a decision the whole country will need to make.

as we come to the end of today's edition of newsday, time for me to say goodbye. i'm kasia madera in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. well, it's been a very humid couple of days across many parts of the uk. temperatures have got up to 27 degrees. some of that humidity is going to spark off a few thunderstorms. certainly across northern and eastern parts of the country on thursday. not everybody is going to get them though. this is what it looks like through the early hours. so already some showers dotted around across the uk. the south is largely dry early in the morning. and very warm 15—16 degrees after dawn, just in the north—west there, maybe around 12 degrees in stornoway. now, low pressure is crossing the country on thursday. that's going to spark off some thunderstorms. once again across scotland and eastern parts of the uk. further south it is looking dry.

the weather is looking absolutely fine for wimbledon. partly cloudy skies. temperatures around the mid—20s and light winds. but still quite humid. so the forecast for the morning, showers possible almost anywhere across central, northern england, scotland, maybe one or two in northern ireland. it is later on from lincolnshire, the eastern counties, and eastern scotland where we will see the heaviest of the showers brewing. 20 degrees in the north. in the south, around 25 or 26. another warm, humid day. let's zoom into eastern scotland. these showers will continue to move across scotland into the evening hours and, again, thunderstorms possible almost anywhere from yorkshire northwards. thursday night into friday, that low pressure pushes away. this high pressure is trying to build on that will help improve the weather as we head into the weekend. here is friday's weather forecast. there is a shift in the wind direction, coming from the north—west. it will put away some of that humidity.

temperatures will drop a touch as well. on friday, again, further showers are possible in some eastern areas of the uk. temperatures typically around the low 20s, maybe touching 23, 24 degrees in southern parts of the uk. that's friday. let's have a look at saturday. the winds mostly in from the north. so feeling a little bit fresher, i think, across the majority of the uk. it will cloud over at times. there is the chance of one or two showers, but on the whole it is a dry saturday for most of us. not a bad one. quite a bright one. temperatures typically 21—22 degrees. sunday looks fairly similar as well. in cardiff, 24, light winds, really a very pleasant saturday and sunday on the way. bye— bye.

i'm kasia madera with bbc news.

our top story. the british prime minister, theresa may, has said she "deeply regrets" the resignation of the uk's ambassador in washington. sir kim darroch stood down after his criticism of donald trump's administration was leaked, prompting insults from the us president. sir kim said it was impossible for him to carry on. the bbc has gained rare access to myanmar‘s rakhine state, where families displaced by the violence of the rohingya crisis have been getting new houses — but none have been reserved for muslims. and this video is trending on bbc.com: the us women's football team have celebrated their world cup win with a massive victory parade in new york. thousands of people gathered to cheer the champions as they made their way through the skyscraper—lined "canyon of heroes" in lower manhattan. that's all.