welcome to newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. the headlines: president trump refuses to back down over his racist remarks about four democratic congresswomen. you can say what you want, but get a list of all of the statements they've made. and all i'm saying is that if they're not happy here, they can leave. despite the occupant of the white house's attempts to marginalise us and to silence us, please know that we are more than four people. the twins from pakistan born joined at the head. we have exclusive access as surgeons in london start to separate the sisters. i'm rico hizon in singapore. also on the programme: floodwaters force millions from their homes across northern india after days of

heavy monsoon rains. as we count down to the moon landing 50 years ago, we talk live to a former nasa astronaut. what's it really like to be up in space? announcer: live from our studios in london and singapore. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. hello and a warm welcome. it's 1am in the morning here in london, 8am in singapore and 8pm in washington, where the four democratic congress—women told to go back to where from they came from by president trump have accused him of violating his oaths and american values. the four women said mr trump had been openly racist towards them and that his attacks were the agenda

of white nationalists. despite the occupant of the white house's attempts to marginalise us and to silence us, please know that we are more than four people. we ran on a mandate to advocate for and represent those ignored, left out and left behind. our squad is big. our squad includes any person committed to build a more equitable and just world, and that is the world we want to give back to. and given the size of this squad and this great nation, we cannot, we will not be silenced. a few hours ago the president added more fuel to the fire, taking to twitter again, saying, "if you are not happy here, you can leave! it is your choice, and your choice alone. this is about love for america." earlier in the day,

president trump accused the congress—women of hating the united states. if you're happy here, then you can leave. as far as i'm concerned, if you hate our country, if you're happy here, you can leave. muted applause that's what i say all the time. that's what i said in a tweet, which i guess some people think is controversial. a lot of people love it, by the way. a lot of people love it. but if you're happy in the us, if you're complaining all the time, very simply, you can leave. you can leave right now. the bbc‘s david willis is in washington. he's been monitoring reactions to president trump's tweets and remarks. at that press conference, another of the women, ilhan omar, said... she was the only one of the four born outside the us, she was born in somalia. she said, "the agenda of white

nationalism has reached the white house," as she put it, and she called for the impeachment of donald trump. another of the women, alexandria ocassio—cortez, recalled a conversation with her father when she was a small girl, they went to washington, dc and they overlooked the reflecting pool here and he said that this country belongs to everyone. only moments before donald trump doubled down on his comments, basically saying if you're happy here then you can leave. that comment addressed to those four women and he said certain people hate our country, they are anti—israel and pro—al qaeda. the house speaker, nancy pelosi, a democrat, so she will introduce a resolution condemning donald trump for his remarks. it will be very interesting to see how that vote goes. it will be a test i'm sure for some republicans,

who have been fairly muted in their condemnation today. we've heard from senator susan collins, who's a moderate republican, saying she believes donald trump should delete those tweets that he put out yesterday. we've heard from senator tim scott and congressman will hurd. now, they're the only republican african—americans in the senate and house of representatives respectively, and they've both called president donald trump's remarks racist. it's not the first time donald trump's remarks have been called racist, is it? it's not, kasia. this is the man that led the so—called ‘birther movement', questioning the birthplace of his predecessor, barack obama. he's also, of course, described people from haiti, el salvador and african nations as coming from ‘s—hole' countries,

i'll let you fill in the gaps there, and also questioning the impartiality of a hispanicjudge overseeing a lawsuit around the now—defunct trump university. this is a president who hasn't been afraid in the past to weaponise the issue of race to basically appeal to his base if you like. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. more than 100 people have died in heavy rains across south asia, with more than three million people forced out of their homes in parts of india. at least 14 indian soldiers died after a four—storey building collapsed on a hillside in himachal pradesh, trapping people who'd gathered for a party. in neighbouring nepal and low—lying bangladesh, more than 70 people have died in severe weather as officials struggle to reach communities cut off from floods and landslides. the bbc nepali's surendra phuyal in kathmandu reports. the nepali police say at least 30 people are still missing and many more have been injured. several highways and roads have also been damaged, impacting vital supplies.

nearly 1,500 people have been rescued, and over 16,000 are displaced. meteorologists say this week's rainfall exceeded the monthly average for nepal, this due to what they call a monsoon trough, which remains active across the area. while several hill districts suffered landslides and flash floods, parts of the southern terai belt bordering india still remain submerged. south africa's former president jacob zuma has told an inquiry that allegations of corruption against him were a conspiracy aimed at removing him from the political scene. the inquiry is investigating allegations that mr zuma oversaw a web of corruption during his term in office. the former south african president has denied breaking the law. anti—terrorism police

in northern italy have seized an air—to—air missile and other sophisticated weapons during raids on far—right extremist groups. neo—nazi propaganda was also seized, in the raids. three people have been arrested. the raids were part of an investigation into italian far—right help for russian—backed separatist forces in eastern ukraine. and finally, this video of a huge waterspout was captured by a local resident off the coast of the french island of corsica. waterspouts are relatively common near corsica and the island was placed on orange alert for storms and rainfall on monday. the significance of iran's breaches of the international nuclear accord have been played down by the european union's top diplomat. speaking in brussels, federica mogherini says the eu doesn't want to take

steps that might lead to the agreement‘s collapse. last year, the us abandoned the nuclear accord and imposed sweeping sanctions on iran, prompting iran to begin reneging on the agreement. well, iran's foreign minister, mohammad javad zarif, has been speaking to bbc hardtalk‘s zeinab badawi about the tensions in the region. he warns there's a risk his country could stumble into war. of course there is a possibility of accident, but we cannot leave our own neighbourhood. those who have come from outside have to decide why are they in that neighbourhood, and whether their presence in that neighbourhood is helping stability and security in that neighbourhood. how high do you think the possibility is of accidental war? as donald trump has said, we were ten minutes away from war because had they taken measures against iran, donald trump had been told that iran would be taking measures in self defence.

what kind of measures would you have taken? i'm not a military man, so i'll leave that to the military. iran's foreign minister mahaffey javid to —— mohammed javad zarif speaking to hardtalk‘s they know badawi. —— zainab badawi. the philippines has declared its first ever national dengue alert following a 85% increase in new cases this year. health authorities have reported more than 400 dengue—related deaths. the rise comes two years after a government—run vaccination programme was suspended over safety concerns. here's the bbc‘s howard johnson in manila on the extent of the problem. at the moment, five or six regions are suffering from dengue fever. you can see out of the window here, it is rainy season and betweenjune and october, lots of monsson rains come through the region

and that is perfect for the mosquitoes that cause the disease. it causes terrible fever and headaches and pains in thejoints, and what the government is doing is raising awareness to make sure people cover themselves and use spray in these parts to ward off mosquitoes. let's not forget that this is a country that invested heavily in a dengue vaccine dengvaxia but in 2017 the creator came forward and said this is dangerous for people who haven't had dengue before so they cancelled this nationwide programme to vaccinate children. now we're seeing a big debate in this country about the previous administration of benigno aquino was liable for the deaths of children.

that hasn't been scientifically proven that this vaccine caused that issue, and this vaccine has also been approved by the european union for use there, but in this country it's a big debate and a hot topic, was this vaccine safe or not? it rumbles on here, but in the meantime people are taking precautions to make sure this dengue national situation, this alert that's been raised, that people have awareness to cover and protect when they go outside. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we follow doctors in london as they separate twins safa and marwa from northern pakistan who were born joined at the head. also on the programme: the wartime codebreaker once prosecuted for being gay is to become the face of the bank of england's new £50 note. after months of talks and missed deadlines, a deal has been struck to keep greece within the eurozone. the immediate prospect of greece going bust, in the worst crisis to hit

the eurozone, has been averted. emergency services across central europe are stepping up their efforts to contain the worse floods this century. nearly 100 people have been killed. broadway is traditionally called the great white way by americans, but tonight it's completely blacked out. it's a timely reminder to all americans of the problems that the energy crisis has brought to them. leaders meet in paris for a summit on pollution, inflation and third world debt. this morning, theyjoined the revolution celebrations for a show of military might on the champs—elysees. finally, wildlife officials in australia have been coping with a penguin problem. fairy penguins have been staggering ashore and collapsing after gorging themselves on a huge shoal of their favourite food — pilchards. some had eaten so much they could barely stand. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories:

president trump isn't backing down over his racist remarks about four democratic congresswomen, accusing them of being un—american. floodwaters force millions of people from their homes across northern india after days of heavy monsoon rains. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the straits times reports on the latest growth figures from china. the country's economic growth slumped to a 27—year low in the second quarter of this year, amid its trade war with the us. the south china morning post leads with chief executive carrie lam's show of solidarity for the territory's police force. the hong kong based paper shows ms lam visiting a hospital where several officers who were injured in the latest protests are being treated. the paper reports many police

are at breaking point as they try to contain the violence. and finally, the daily telegraph is one of many papers in britain and around the world reporting on england's cricket world cup victory over new zealand on sunday. they've been celebrating their win in london, while cricket fans have been recovering from the nail—biting match that is being described as the best ever played. two years ago, twin sisters safa and marwa were born in pakistan, joined at the head. it is an incredibly rare condition, but now, surgeons at great 0rmond street hospital here in london have successfully separated the girls. the surgery was so complex it was performed over several stages, totalling more than 50 hours, and involving a huge team. in the first of three reports this week on conjoined twins, our medical correspondent fergus walsh has had exclusive access to the family and the surgery.

this report, which includes pictures of the operation on the girls, contains some flashing images. so we have one case for the list today, safa and marwa, two kids. they're in this journey together. in order for one of them to do well, they've both got to do well. joined at the head, safa and marwa have never seen each other. this is the start of an incredible journey aimed at giving them independence. it is october 2018 at great 0rmond street hospital. their mum has been praying for this day for nearly two years. safa and marwa are what is known as craniopagus twins. their skull is one long tube. it is incredibly rare.

they have separate brains, but they are misshapen. the surgery is so complex, it will happen in three stages over several months. the twins won't be physically separate until the final operation. so we can see the artery, but to do anything to it, we'll use the microscope. each twin is supplying the other‘s brain with blood. cutting these connections is dangerous, and will take two operations to complete. so the artery from safa going to supply marwa's brain has been clamped. the twins have been in theatre now for more than seven hours, and there is still seven hours of the operation to go. so far, everything is going to plan, and both girls are doing well. this central segment will be our rigid keel, to hold the head together. a frame is made from pieces of the twins‘ skull,

which can be detached in later operations. being older, they're pretty active, and so whatever we do really has to be strong enough to resist the twisting and bending forces that they'll be putting on their heads. the twins are from pakistan. ideally the surgery should have been done a year earlier, when healing ability is strongest, but there were delays finding a donor to pay the medical costs. despite the risks, the family and doctors believe it is right to go ahead. it is clearly very difficult to go through life when you're joined together like that. attempting the separation, and the family are very clear on that. if we felt there wasn't a high chance we could do it safely, we would be thinking carefully about whether we should do it or not. and i think the whole team feel that

there's an excellent chance of a successful separation here. models of the twins‘ brains and shared skull have been created using a 3d printer. for surgeons, it's massively helpful. so actually being able to touch and hold things makes so much difference to understanding how things are. this hemisphere, which is the right hemispheres of the brain, is standing up, and so this is actually projecting into the other child's skull. what we need to achieve is to untwist the brains, and that's pretty difficult to do, just in your head. and this is surgery without scalpels. .. absolutely incredible — this is exactly what we wanted. ..using virtual reality. it works, it really works. so now we can see a whole lot more information, a level of detail we haven't been able to access previously. i mean, this is clearly the way of the future. a month after the first operation, the twins are back in theatre. surgeons have to finish separating

their shared blood vessels. there's something oozing deep down there that i can't see at the moment. but marwa's heart begins to fail. they fear losing her. we're not stable, but we are less unstable. good enough for me. the crisis passes. because marwa is the weaker twin, the surgeons give her a major blood vessel, to increase her chances of survival. but it disadvantages safa. shortly after the 20—hour operation, she has a stroke. we were very close to losing her. she stayed in that critical state for a8, 72 hours after the surgery. it was a very difficult time for the girls, their families, and the entire team looking after them. but, after a lengthy time in intensive care,

both twins pulled through. the last two months after their last operation on the brain has been a little bit of a stormy time for safa and marwa. but they're hanging in there, and are both reasonably well. the next challenge will be to separate the girls. fergus walsh, bbc news. and you can see the second part of fergus‘s report, as the twins are finally separated, at this time tomorrow. 50 years ago, american astronauts neil armstrong, michael collins and edwin aldrin were spending their last night on earth before blasting off to the moon. it is hard to imagine, half a century on, what the three men were feeling in those final hours. former nasa astronaut nicole stott, who went on two space flights and spent 104 days living in space, told me what it feels like to float above the earth.

it's one of those things, i think, you know, very difficult to describe, of course. you know, floating and flying that way, seeing the earth from space — very liberating, i would say, this freeing kind of feeling, and really great that you're up there doing good work for all of us down here on earth, as well. and how long did it take for you to train to be up in space? well, for my first flight, which is what we call a long—duration mission on the space station, that was about a three—year training flow, where over 50% of my time was spent out of the us, training in russia, and europe, and japan, and canada, at all of our partner facilities. wow, amazing, but it took such a long time to train to get up to space. but tell us — it has been 50 years now since that apollo 11 mission. how did it influence your decision to pursue a career in space?

you know, i think it was in the back of my mind all the time. i have very vivid memory as a child about 6.5 years old, watching the black—and—white tv with my family, eating a grilled cheese sandwich. and at that same time, and throughout my life, i was discovering this love of flying. and while i think for the longest time, until i was quite old, i always thought "astronaut" was one of those jobs that only other, special people get to do. so it took me a little while to decide to even apply to the process, and i had people that i considered to be mentors who were very active during the apollo missions that encouraged me to apply, and very thankful to them. all right, but of course, it has also been 50 years since a man landed and stepped on the moon. should we go back to the moon, or should we discover other places, other planets? i think yes to both of those,

but i think we should go back to the moon because, for one reason, i think it's the place that allows us to discover those other planets, notjust our own, like we did when we went to the moon before. you know, one of the legacies, i think, of the apollo missions is that we went there with this idea that we were going to learn all about the moon, and we rediscovered ourselves as a people, travelling on one planet in space together. indeed, what do you see happening when it comes to space exploration over the next 10—20 years. when it comes to space exploration over the next 10-20 years. well, i see us over the next 10-20 years. well, i see us back on the moon, or in the mood, like you said, where we are establishing a permanent presence there, a settlement, if you like, where we are utilising the resources

on the moon and the environment of the mood to do very good things for life here on earth. but also, as a platform for getting out, this thought of going onto mars, going and exploring and mining asteroids, exploring further off planet, the mood provides us this beautiful built—in space station plat form for us built—in space station plat form for us around the earth. the wartime enigma codebreaker alan turing is to be pictured on the new bank of england £50 note. the mathematican and pioneer of computer science took his own life after his prosecution for a gay affair. benedict cumberbatch became a big admirer of turing after playing him in the film the imitation game. this is what he told us earlier. lest we forget we live in a time where gay men and women are being persecuted. it's not something that's gone away. so yes, for him now, i suppose this is a great moment of validation. and i hope that, by this, we should move towards something which is as enlightened hopefully as this moment is, and recognising that, and moving towards something more tolerant and kind. you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. it looks like meat, it bleeds like meat, but how does it taste?

we put plant—based alternatives to the test, to find out if they really are the future of food. hello again. we'll take a look at the weather picture through tuesday, and i think there's going to be quite a bit of cloud in the sky first thing this morning. because this is what's going on at the moment. we've got a stripe of cloud in the west. this is a weather front that's going to be pushing eastwards. as it does so, it's going to be all the time pushing into an area of high pressure, so the front itself is going to be a weak affair, but it will provide the focus for some showers. now, for northern ireland and also for scotland, expect some showers running in here over the next few hours, so it might be worth taking a waterproof jacket with you or an umbrella if you're heading outside over the next few hours. there's also the chance of some shower developments in north wales and north—west england, but otherwise, across eastern

england, eastern scotland, it's going to be a dry morning. now, through the rest of the day, those showers in northern ireland and scotland will continue on and off through the morning. as the heat of the day builds further southwards, we'll see further shower development across wales, northern england, and perhaps the midlands as well. some of the heaviest showers could be across more eastern portions of england, perhaps across the pennines, somewhere like that. but towards the south—east, it's going to be a fine, sunny afternoon, feeling warm and humid, temperatures up to 27. but more typically, temperatures for most areas low to mid 20s. looking at the low pressure towards the middle part of the week, an area of low pressure is going to be moving across the atlantic, ultimately pushing a band of rain in, with strengthening north—westerlies as well. so turning wet for northern ireland and western scotland through the morning. a dry start for eastern scotland and for england and wales on wednesday, with some morning sunshine. things will tend to cloud over as the day goes by, with the rain getting into western fringes of england and wales, and across into eastern scotland as well.

now, to the east of our weather front, that's where the highest temperatures are going to be. we'll still be reaching temperatures of about 25 for norwich and london, still feeling rather humid, but ultimately that weather front will push through. it's a cold front, and will be bringing that fresher air right the way across the country by the time we get to thursday. so thursday's a day of rain clearing, followed by some dry weather and sunshine for england and wales. showers moving into northern ireland and scotland, and perhaps northern england as well. the showers quite widespread, heavy, and likely to be thundery at times too. temperatures high teens across northern areas, 23, 2a degrees in the warmest spots further south. what about the end of the week? well, another area of low pressure looks set to move in, but there's a lot of uncertainty how far north or south this one's going. some models have it north, some have it right the way across southern parts of england and wales. either way, it looks like it's going to be unsettled for some of us, at least, through friday and on into the weekend, with rain at times. that's your latest weather.

i'm kasia madera with bbc world news. our top story: president trump is refusing to back down over racist comments he made about four democrats. mr trump accused the four congresswomen of being anti—american and said if they weren't happy, they should leave the country. more than 100 people have died after days of heavy rains across south asia, with more than three million people forced out of their homes in parts of india. the state of bihar is worst affected with almost two million people displaced. and many of you are looking at this story on bbc.com. surgeons in london have successfully separated twin girls from pakistan who were born joined at the head. the surgery was so complex it was staged over three major operations lasting nearly 50 hours. the twins are now recovering. that's all. stay with bbc world news. and the top story in the uk: the wartime codebreaker alan turing