i'm rico hizon in singapore, the headlines: an ebola outbreak in the democratic republic of congo — the world health organisation declares an internationl emergency. boeing offers $50 million to the families of those killed in two 737 max crashes, but relatives say the company is yet to apologise. if boeing's wrongful conduct continues, another plane will dive to the ground, killing me, you, or your children. i'm samantha simmonds in london. also on the programme: myanmar‘s military accused

of violating human rights — the un's top expert will deliver her verdict later. the dream came true, i am a very proud dad now. the conjoined twins who now live full and separate lives. we meet the surgeons who made it all possible, the latest in our special series. it's 7am in singapore, midnight in london and one in the morning in geneva where the outbreak of ebola in the democratic republic of congo has been declared a public health emergency of international concern. things escalated this week after the first case was detected in the city of goma, which is home to around

1 million people. gareth barlow has the latest. in the democratic republic of the congo, ebola has wrought death and devastation. now, the world health organization has declared an international emergency. to prevent further spread, the committee recommended that i declare an emergency of international concern. i have accepted that advice. the warning is the most severe the who can make. it is only the fourth occasion it has done so. it is time for the world to take notice, with the stark message for those who care to listen. once again, the democratic republic of the congo needs help to tackle the ebola

virus. tragically, the drc is no stranger to the disease, which was first identified there in 1976. since august, more than 1600 people have been killed, with about 12 new cases reported every day. between 2014 and 2016, more than 11,000 people were killed in an epidemic that killed people and swathes of africa. tackling the disease has proved difficult. the region is blighted by conflict, health workers often a re blighted by conflict, health workers often are not trusted, and some people just don't believe the disease exists. on top of that, the shortage of highly effective vaccine is causing concern. who says it lacks the funds to properly tackle the crisis. the hope will be that the crisis. the hope will be that the new warning prompts donors to offer more support to help stop the deadly disease. we'll have more on that later in the programme. first, let's take a look at some

of the day's other news. boeing says it will allocate $50 million to the families of those killed in two crashes involving its 737 max planes. the news came just before the start of a congressional hearing. our washington correspondent, aleem maqbool has the latest developments. the focus for the most part today was about the impact this would have on families. we heard from one man who was originally from kenya but 110w who was originally from kenya but now lives in canada, who lost his three children, his wife and his mother—in—law, and he said he was there to be the voice of his wife and children, but also to be the voice of the families of all the others who had died. what we learn from him quite plainly was that he was very unhappy with the way in which boeing had responded to this tragedy. he said he had yet to receive a letter, a phone call from

boeing, so he has heard about these compensation packages but not directly. he looks at the way he feels he has been treated and he doesn't believe it. he also focused a lot on his dissatisfaction, his anger at the way in which the company and the federal aviation administration in his eyes, and some people here in washington, had been trying to say or imply that the fault was not with boeing but with foreign pilots and foreign mechanics. also making news today: memorial events have been held in the netherlands and malaysia to honour the passengers who died on malaysia airlines flight 17 from amsterdam to kuala lumpur five years ago. ukraine has revealed that it's holding a driver accused of involvement in the shooting down of the airliner. a russian made missile brought down flight mh17 over rebel held eastern ukraine, killing all 200 and 98 people on board. the mexican drug baron known as el chapo has been sentenced

to life in prison plus 30 years. joaquin guzman is the most important drug—related figure to be brought to trial in the united states. prosecutors estimate he accumulated nearly $14 billion from trafficking drugs. prosecutors in massachusetts have dropped a criminal case alleging that the actor kevin spacey sexually assaulted a man in a bar over three years ago. that's because spacey‘s alleged victim has refused to testify due to fear of self—incrimination after it was revealed that his cell phone may have been compromised. kevin spacey has always denied the assault allegation. google's plan to launch a censored search engine in china has been terminated, a company executive told the us senatejudiciary committee. it is the first time google has officialy acknowledged that the controversial plan known as project dragonfly has been scrapped. a large crowd of retired,

middle—aged and elderly hong kong residents has marched for political reform in hong kong, following calls for the city's "grey—haired" citizens to give moral support to young protesters. carrying banners reading: "support youngsters, defend hong kong" and "stop police tyranny", the group marched to the territory's central government quarters while shouting pro—democracy slogans. the top un expert on human rights in myanmar is set to deliver her verdict on the situation in rhakine state, where the military are accused of committing human rights violations against rohingya muslims. the comments from special rapporteur yanghee lee come after the us announced sanctions on myanmar‘s top general and three senior officers. nick beake has more. the us is trying to send the message that it the us is trying to send the message thatitis the us is trying to send the message that it is leading the way in taking tough action on myanmar, but the military has dismissed this move and says it won't have any impact whatsoever. we had one army

spokesman saying none of the generals intended to travel to the us, although he did say the travel ban insulted the dignity of the military. of course, this is a military. of course, this is a military that continues to play a key role in the life of this country. just yesterday, hundreds of people were on the streets of yangon in support of the move, which if it went through would loosen the grip on power of the generals. because even though aung san suu kyi leads a civilian government, key aspects of the government and the security forces are with the military. that said, other people were also on the street yesterday supporting the army. it is a complicated picture, because over the last few years some parts of the population have increased their support for the army, because frankly they do not support the rohingya people, and they are willing to listen to the army when they say they have been carrying out an antiterrorism drive, trying to make the country a safer

place. many people in the community don't buy that argument. among them is special rapporteur yanghee lee, a top human rights expert, and later today she will be giving her assessment of the situation on the ground in rakhine state, even though she is not allowed to travel there. she believes that there is continued targeting of civilians, and she believes some of that may constitute war crimes. this week we've been hearing the remarkable story of twins born joined at the head and how they were separated at great ormond street hospital in london. such cases are incredibly rare, but the surgeons performed a similar separation eight years ago. fergus walsh has been to meet that family. hi! salaam alaikum. quite a moment. i'm good. the twins ritaj and rital meeting the surgeons who separated them eight years ago. how are you?

born in sudan, they now live in ireland, where their father's a doctor. it's hard to imagine they were once joined at the head. doctors feared the girls might die unless separated, so — like safa and marwa — the division was performed over several stages. and this was rital and ritaj just one month after surgery, each parent able to hold a child in their arms. i hope that they will get a normal life and be treated as normal human beings. which one are you? you get it right every time! so what do they think now? we are sitting here with two healthy twins, just like what i hoped at that time, so it's a great moment in my life. your dream came true? exactly. i'm a very proud dad now. laughter. that was very hard time. and at the same time, it was happy time because of the conclusion. we just get our girls,

everyone is separated and can live her own life. and now, enas is pregnant again. one child this time? yeah. laughter. i think it's just amazing to see, yeah, how they've come on and grown into happy children. it's just wonderful, really. rital has some learning difficulties, but the long—term outcome of the twins‘ separation has been hailed as a major success. the surgeons believe it's because it was done in the first year of life, when the brain and body have the strongest ability to heal. what we put the two kids through, and the brains through, is a lot. and the younger brains and their younger circulations are better adapted and have better regeneration potential, so to do the surgery early does make a difference, we feel. everything is easier. a one—year—old's regenerative capacity is so much better.

the skin heals better, it stretches better, the bone grows in better. ready, steady, go! they've set up a charity so that funds are available to allow early intervention in future cases, and to further research. safa and marwa were two when they were separated. the delay was due to problems finding a charitable donor. the surgeons say the girls would have done better if they'd operated earlier. they're clearly going to face some challenges, but i think overall, it's a positive outcome for them. they're going to need support, but they have a chance of leading a happy life. no one can be sure what the long—term outcome will be for safa and marwa, but the experience of rital and ritaj shows just what is possible. sisters bornjoined at the head, now able to lead independent lives. fergus walsh, bbc news.

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: saving the dragon — the measures the indonesian government is considering how to protect the home of the world's largest lizard, from mass tourism. also on the programme: disney's mulan — the tale of a legendary female warrior is getting a live action makeover. 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 is completely blacked out. it is 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 samantha simmonds in london. our top stories: the world health organization has

declared the ebola crisis in eastern congo a public health emergency of international concern. a man who lost his whole family in a boeing plane crash in ethiopia has given evidence to the us congress. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the international edition of the japan times is covering president trump's ‘go back‘ comments to four democratic lawmakers — saying his hardline and racist comments are a tactic to appeal to his base as he eyes re—election in 2020. the south china morning post looks at the protests in hong kong, reporting a 5% fall in flight bookings from asian countries as the unrest impacts tourism. and in the frankfurter allgemeine they are leading with a picture of germany's three

most powerful women. annegret kramp—karrenbauer, germany's new defence minister, the new eu commissioner ursula von der leyen and chancellor angela merkel. more on our top story now. the world health organization has declared the outbreak of ebola in the democratic republic of congo a ‘public health emergency of international concern‘. i‘ve been speaking to our global health correspondent, tulip mazumda. this is an outbreak that has been going on for almost a year now. what has changed, really, and the last week or so has been this case that was found in goma, a commercial and cultural hub on the border with rwanda that has at international airport. the fact the case was able

to travel 200 kilometres from further north down to goma has been a concern. it has been described as a concern. it has been described as a potential game changer. just a couple of days ago that was announced, this emergency meeting with the who was convened. the fourth time it has been convened but this time they felt it crossed the threshold. not only the fact that it is in goma, that it has been going on for the year and it is now covering a geographical spread of around 500 kilometres and, also, the health workers working on this have been badly affected. 200 attacks since the start of the year and two health workers were killed at the weekend. all those things combined made the who decide to call this an international global health emergency. they call it an issue of international concern. you told us how wide the area in which people are affected is. how concerned are they that it could spread further?

they have been specific and said that this is a high risk of spread in the drc itself, within the country. a high risk of spread in the region as well in the neighbouring countries. but in terms of internationally, the risk of spread is still extremely low. places like here in the uk, we do not expect cases. as we saw with the last outbreak, previous outbreaks, they want the international response to come. they need money and people. ebola is expensive to deal with and labour intensive. what they need from the international community as we heard is that countries do not turn their back and close borders. do not interrupt trade. what they need to do is give money, give expertise and make sure that the outbreak can be limited and eventually stopped in those

countries and that it does not spread elsewhere. the indonesia government is considering closing the island of komodo, home to the world‘s largest lizards due to mass tourism. an increasing number of visitors are coming to the island to see the unique species. the regional governor says it‘s becoming unsustainable. as rebecca henschke reports, he wants to make the island home only to dragons. there is just one village here on komodo island and despite the dragons a poisonous venom that can kill the person within hours of a bite, the community here say they do not live in fear. they believe they have a spiritual connection with the dragons and tell a story of a dragon princess who gave birth to twins. a baby boy and a baby dragon. princess who gave birth to twins. a baby boy and a baby dragonm princess who gave birth to twins. a baby boy and a baby dragon. if you area baby boy and a baby dragon. if you are a true komodo ancestor, then there is nothing to worry about. they will not disturb you. the

dragons also provide an income for this community. most villages now working in the tourist trade is an increasing number of visitors are flocking to see this unique species. the central government is now heavily promoting the area and the gateway to the national park, mac three, is a city undergoing significant change. is used to be a sleepy fishing village when i visited ten years ago. —— labuan bajo. now it is a hive of building activity. the number of tourists visiting has doubled in five years, the numbers are still relatively low compared to bali. there is an atmosphere here of this place being on the edge of a tourism boom. this man, the local governor, says it is unsustainable. he wants to close komodo island to mass tourism.

translation: now the komodo dragon is not getting the level protection and attention they deserve. many people are coming into the island and paying next to nothing. we need to close the island for one year to return the habitat to a healthy state for the dragons. after that, only a small number of visitors willing to pay up to $1000 us will be allowed in. and the villagers who live with the dragons will be evicted. but komodos are listed as vulnerable to extinction, researchers say their numbers are sta ble researchers say their numbers are stable and there is no need for alarm. and the villagers insist that they do not harm the dragons. translation: we don't want to move. where would we go? we don‘t disturb the at one mac habitat. the governor has a right to evict us but we don‘t go and we can‘t help protect the

dragons. the final decision lies with the central government who are now reviewing the parks management. they say the fate of dragon land will be decided soon. mulan is making her return to the big screen. last week disney released a teaser trailer for the live—action remake of its 1998 classic, a story based on a legendary female warrior who disguises herself as a man to fight in china‘s imperial army. itjoins a string of disney hits from the 90s being revived for the 21st century, including cinderella, beauty and the beast and aladdin. let‘s take a look. composed. graceful. discipline. these are the qualities we see in a

good wife. . these are the qualities we see in mulan. becky davis from variety in beijing explained that why trailer went viral. china is now the world ‘s second—largest box office and if a movie can be a hit in china it has it made. so you can‘t ignore the enormity of the chinese market these days. with chinese lead stories it will be important it is a hit here as well. what is the reaction so far from the trailer? it has been very positive overall. the trailer has gone super positive overall. the trailer has gone super viral in china as it has elsewhere in the world. viewed over 1.5 william times and the hashtag has been viewed more than there are people in china so it has gone quite

viral. at the same time, something stands out to chinese viewers. the house that she lives in is a house thatis house that she lives in is a house that is unique to a coastal province and mulan are supposed to be from the north, a thousand years before these structures were popular. so chinese audiences have some historical and geographical inaccuracies. so maybe not quite perfect detail wise. what about accusations previously in the past based on a lot of hollywood films with an ethnic minority cast of whitewashing. that is not quite the case here. what has the response been to that? for this film? people we re been to that? for this film? people were thrilled when they saw who was cast. the actresses known as the fairy sister in china because of her delicate looks and she has been in many period dramas here. for them, for the chinese aesthetic, this is what they see as a classical looking

beauty so people are happy with that. whether we see what her english is like when it comes out, i think there has been a lot of enthusiasm to see what they call china‘s first disney princess and are identifying with the character after being inundated with hollywood films that don‘t speak directly to them. this is a story that chinese children grew up within their school books, it is familiar people, and to see a chinese face from mainland china in that role is exciting to people. it seems that you are appropriately dressed today. i am wearing my mulan tie. butler unlike aladdin and beauty and the beast, there will be no singing parts in mulan. i will miss that. perhaps you could offer your services. you have been watching newsday. i‘m samantha simmonds in london. and i‘m rico hizon in singapore. stay with us.

we will see you again next hour. parts of eastern england had temperatures close to 27 degrees. during wednesday. i don‘t think we will see temperatures as high as that again, not for a little while a nyway that again, not for a little while anyway because things have been changing from the west. this type of cloud brought out breaks of rain eastwards during wednesday. hide me here, a lump of cloud bringing rain on friday. in between, a clear zone of weather so through the day ahead we will see sunshine and showers as well. and it will be quite breezy. are still some rain to clear away from the south—east corner through the first part of the morning. that rain is mostly light and patchy and behind that we see some spells of sunshine but also some showers. is most plentiful across the northern

half of the uk. could be a couple of showers across parts of suffolk and essex down into kent as we go through the afternoon but for the majority of england and wales it is dry with spells of sunshine. cooler thanit dry with spells of sunshine. cooler than it has been an breezy as well. perhaps a couple of showers slipping into north—west england and north wales that for northern ireland and scotla nd wales that for northern ireland and scotland we will see a scattering of showers, some of them some thundery, blowing through quickly on that brisk west, south—westerly breeze. that could make for a somewhat tricky opening day at the open. some showers moving through, some of which could be heavy and possibly thundery and it could be quite breezy. as we go through thursday night into the early hours of friday, the showers continue for a time in the north. further south with clear skies it will be a call and fresher night than we have been used to across parts of eastern england and behind me across the south—west of the uk, cloud gathers by the first part of friday morning with some outbreak of rain ahead of our next weather make it. this frontal system developing and pushing in from the south—west. it

has been very dry lately across the far south of the uk but even here we will get a dollop of rain during friday. this wet weather pushing north—eastward and friday. this wet weather pushing north—eastwa rd and heading friday. this wet weather pushing north—eastward and heading into southern and central portions of scotland. northern scotland perhaps staying driest and brightest of all. with this wet weather that could be the old flash of lightning and rumble of thunder but also be quite breezy. and temperatures at between 18 and 21 degrees. rain on friday clears away as we enter saturday and then we are back to a day of sunshine and showers a hefty downpour at times with an odd flash of lightning and rumble of thunder. signs of things turning a little warmer again down towards the south. a drier day for most of us on sunday and the next week, split fortunes. northern areas see some wind and rain at times. further south dry weather and some heat with temperatures climbing once again.

i‘m samantha simmonds with bbc world news. our top story: the world health organisation says the ebola outbreak in the democratic republic of congo is a public health emergency. so far it has killed more than 1,600 people. the who says regional borders will not be closed off to avoid damaging economies in the area, and that the risk of ebola spreading outside the region was low. a man who lost his whole family in a boeing air crash in ethiopia has given evidence to the us congress. paul njoroge questioned boeing‘s decision not to ground the 737 max after a similar crash five months earlier. and this video is trending on bbc.com: the story of the twin girls joined at the head at birth, and the pioneering operation which saved them eight years ago. that‘s all. stay with bbc world news.