glad it's newsday. you could join us. it's 8:00am in singapore, 1:00am in london, and 8:00pm in washington, where the white house has published a letter to senior democrats, confirming that it will not co—operate with impeachment proceedings against donald trump. the letter calls the process "constitutionally illegitimate", and claims democrats are seeking to deprive the american people of their president. hello, everyone, and welcome. you're earlier, the trump administration blocked a key figure from testifying at an impeachment hearing. watching you stay on the bbc. —— gordon sondland, the us ambassador to the eu, was going to be asked whether he urged ukraine to investigate the former vice—presidentjoe biden newsday. i'm rico hizon in singapore. and his son. he released a statement saying he'd the headlines: the white house now says it will not been directed to stay away. participate in the trump impeachment laura trevelyan has inquiry after ordering a key witness not to appear. as britain's prime minister boris johnson prepares for crucial talks more from washington. with his irish counterpart this week, a warning that finding any agreement won't be easy. here's the man house democrats i think it's going to be very difficult to secure an agreement wanted to hear from today. gordon sondland, a wealthy hotel by next week, quite frankly. executive and downer we very much want there to be a deal and i'll certainly work to the trump campaign. until the very last moment to secure that. but not at any cost. i'm kasia madera in london. now america's chief diplomat in brussels. but at the last minute also in the programme: the administration said no. turkey bolsters its military president trump tweeted. .. presence on the border with syria, a day after the us withdraws its forces from the region.

meet afghanistan's robotic team — winning prizes and acclaim across the world, against the odds. sometimes when i've heard some bad news or bad things that had happened outside, ijust, here and do democrats‘ response was swift. some mechanical things. live from our studios the failure to produce this witness, in singapore and london, 00:01:11,005 --> 2147483051:37:20,217 this is bbc world news — 2147483051:37:20,217 --> 00:00:02,764 it's newsday. the failure to produce these documents, um, we consider yet additional strong evidence of obstruction of the constitutional functions of congress — a coequal branch of government. democrats were keen to question gordon sondland because he'd been dealing with ukraine in the run—up to the phone call between president trump and that country's leader, in which mr trump asked volodymyr zelensky to do him a favour and investigate the bidens. us military to ukraine had been suspended days before. in text messages given to congress, veteran us diplomat bill taylor wrote... the ambassador sondland replied... republicans say the white house was quite right to stop mr sondland testifying.

you think about what the democrats are trying to do — impeach the president of the united states, 13 months prior to an election, based on an anonymous whistleblower no first—hand knowledge who has a bias against the president. now house democrats leading the impeachment enquiry are going to issue a subpoena for mr sondland's testimony and documents. the stand off between the president has democrats is intensifying into a constitutional clash. and i spoke with laura about the scathing eight—page letter which is calling the impeachment process constitutionally illegitimate. it is an absolutely blistering letter in which the white house makes it clear that it's not going to co—operate with the impeachment enquiry, it's not going to provide any witnesses or any documents unless and until the house of representatives holds a vote to actually formally began that impeachment enquiry, something the democrats avoided doing because they didn't really want to expose the splits in their own ranks.

so it is an absolutely epic constitutional stand off between the white house and between congress. and it's very unclear how it's going to be resolved. but it's going to probably involve more legal action, i would guess. so in that case, i hate the question what are the next steps, but where are we now with all of this, because if we have the white house absolutely adamantly not wanting to get involved or help out with the process, how does the next step go forward? well, democrats will now have to do answer and decide whether or not they want to hold an investigation on an impeachment enquiry. if they do, they could potentially then force the white house to co—operate. because it seems to have held open the door in this letter to this idea of cooperating. but also you have a parallel procedure going on in the senate,

where there is a senate judiciary committee. and we heard from a leading voice from the senate that he is going to call then rudy giuliani, the president's personal attorney. so you can see republicans trying to turn the tables, muddy the waters and get the conversation off the topic of the president asking a foreign leader to interfere in the 2020 election. meanwhile, though, opinion polls show that support for an impeachment enquiry is increasing and that is troubling republicans behind closed doors. also making news today, the us has imposed visa restrictions on chinese officials it believes have been involved in abuses against ethnic uighur muslims. it says the measure complements monday's move to blacklist 28 chinese organisations, saying they were involved in a campaign of repression and surveillance against the minority groups. china accuses washington of interfering in its internal affairs. three scientists have been awarded the nobel prize in physics for their "ground—breaking" discoveries about the universe. james peebles was honoured for his work on the evolution of the universe. while michael mayor and didier queloz won for their discovery of a planet

around a sun—like star. thousands of indigenous demonstrators have clashed with police in the ecuadoran capital, quito. they are demanding an end to austerity measures and the return of fuel subsidies. petrol prices have increased by more than 100% since the subsidies were removed last week. the ongoing protests have prompted the president to move his government out of the capital. simone biles has broken the record for the number of world gymnastics championship medals won by a woman. she scored her 21st medal in stuttgart, germany — and in the meantime took home her 15th world title. she also helped the usa win their fifth straight team title. talks between the uk and the eu are under pressure, as the battle for a brexit deal

turned into a war of words. a downing street source says german chancellor angela merkel told borisjohnson that a deal is "overwhelmingly unlikely". but brussels sources say it's unlikely that she used such language. now the british government is being accused of playing a blame game. a short time ago the irish prime minister leo varadkar spoke to the irish broadcaster rte. we very much want there to be a deal. and i'll certainly work until the very last moment to secure that. but not at any cost. there are some fundamental objectives that haven't changed for the past three years and we need them guaranteed. and what's your sense of it now? i think it's going to be very difficult to secure an agreement by next week, quite frankly. essentially what the united kingdom has done is repudiated the deal that we negotiated in good faith with prime minister may's government over two years. and have sort of put half of that now back on the table and are saying that's a concession. and of course it isn't, it isn't really.

that was irish prime minister leo varadkar. here's the bbc‘s europe editor, katya adler. but this isn't the end of the road for the eu, because they're looking more long—term. they think a new brexit extension is the most likely outcome here, giving more time for talks. but no—one here is starry eyed that i've talked to about the idea of more time. of course you still need to find an accord between the eu and the uk acceptable to the european parliament and the uk parliament as well. and of course no—one knows exactly what that accord will look like, neither now nor in two or three months‘ time. 0ur our thanks to katya adler there. the head of america's national basketball association, adam silver, says the organistation will not compromise on freedom of speech. it comes after a backlash in china against houston rockets manager, daryl morey, who tweeted an image supporting pro—democracy protests in hong kong. although mr moary later said he didn't mean to cause offence, chinese state media anounced it would block the broadcast of two nba basketball preseason games. james robinson is a senior director with the global crisis

communications firm apco worldwide. i asked him how he would have advised the nba to respond? i mean i think the nba and the houston rockets, specifically, find themselves in a really difficult position. we're working with clients all the time as they navigate the changing demands and expectations in china. 0n the one hand, they're having to consider what their values are. and on the other hand they're having to consider the commercial value of the china market. so i think it starts with a list of questions, the extent to which the nba and specifically the houston rockets are willing to forgo their china business. ithink, then, secondly, there is a list of protocols that the nba and their members should go through that can help

sensitise their people to the geopolitics and cultural issues that they may be facing, particularly in china. and then, thirdly, the advice i'd give is to stand with your natural allies. so at the moment the houston rockets have been sort of picked off, they've had support from their league, the nba, but the nba, think, an opportunity to stand with other sports leagues, the premier league, the nfl, and come up with some common response to the kind of pressure that they're finding themselves in in china. the nba has very much this attitude and has been very supportive to various different issues, like players‘ mental health, the black lives matter movement, with the houston rockets, they are one of the most popular nba teams in china, how do you square that circle then? yeah, you‘re right. the houston rockets famously had yao ming on their team for a decade,

the nba itself has invested heavily and is really one of the leading foreign sports organisations in china. they clearly have identified the commercial viability and future for them in china. having said that, their business in china is worth a couple of billion dollars, whereas in the us they‘re worth $8 billion in revenue a year. the teams themselves are worth close to $60 billion. so there is this commercial value question... in a sentence then, sorry to interrupt, we‘re running out of time. is it all about the money then? absolutely not. i think each organisation needs to question its values and the extent to which it is willing to optimise its values in order to do business in china.

james robinson, a global crisis communications expert speaking earlier to kasia madera. you‘re watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: turkish forces on the move — heading towards the border with syria, one day after president trump ordered the withdrawal of us troops from the region. also on the programme: asia‘s full of stunning beaches and areas of outstanding beauty — but some hotspots are finding drastic ways to keep mass—tourism at bay. this was a celebration by people who were relishing their freedom. they believe everything‘s going to be different from now on. they think their country will be respected in the world once more as it used to be before slobodan milosevic took power. the dalai lama, the exiled spiritual leader of tibet, has won this year's nobel peace prize. as the parade was reaching its climax, two grenades exploded

and a group of soldiers jumped from a military truck taking part in the parade, and ran towards the president, firing kalashnikov automatic rifles. after 437 years, the skeleton ribs of henry viii‘s tragic warship emerged. but, even as divers worked to buoy her up, the mary rose went through another heart—stopping drama. i want to be the people's governor. i want to represent everybody. i believe in the people of california. this is newsday on the bbc. i‘m rico hizon, in singapore. i‘m kasia madera, in london. our top stories: the white house says it won‘t co—operate with the impeachment

inquiry launched by democrats, calling it partisan and unconstitutional. earlier, the trump administration blocked a witness from giving evidence. the irish prime minister leo varadkar say he‘ll work until the very last moment to try to secure a brexit deal by next week, but not at any cost. let‘s take a look at some front pages and websites from around the world. the international edition of the financial times is covering the brexit turmoil with borisjohnson urging the irish prime minister to keep faith with talks on a possible brexit deal. this is despite the fears on both sides that the chances of an agreement before the october 31 deadline are diminishing. the japan times has a story about the reopening

of a controversial art exhibition featuring a statue symbolising "comfort women". the exhibition was shut down in august with organisers citing security reasons. but critics say the closure was an act of censorship, rather than one of safety. the washington post website has a heartbreaking story about ii elephants that died trying to save a calf from drowning in a thai national park. the baby elephant drowned after falling into a waterfall near bangkok. the adult elephants are thought to have jumped after the calf in an attempt to save him. desperately sad images. turkey has stepped up its military presence on its border with syria, saying forces are ready to advance after the us began pulling troops out of the area, sparking fears of conflict with the kurds. the north east of syria is controlled by the kurdish—led syrian democratic forces, who played a leading role in the fight against islamic state, but are regarded as terrorists by turkey. (map turkey says it wants to set up a 30km deep "safe zone"

along its border with syria, to resettle up to two million syrian refugees living in turkey. from the border, our international correspondent, 0rla guerin, reports. a noisy reception for turkish forces on the move. ambulances and armored personnel carriers close to the syrian border. we filmed this convoy tonight, heading to a military base. the first evidence, perhaps, of the build up to a turkish invasion of syria. and earlier, being bussed to the border, syrian rebel fighters backed by turkey. they could be extra manpower for the planned offensive, which is causing havoc internationally, even before it begins. in washington, president trump has been meeting his top brass,

and trying some damage control. he has denied abandoning kurdish forces, america‘s key allies in syria. but after their epic battles against is, they now feel mighty alone. and what now for that battle? there‘s growing concern internationally about what an offensive across this border might do to the global fight against islamic state. small wonder, there are thousands of is fighters being held in kurdish—run detention centers. in kurdish—run detention centres. the kurds have said, if the turks attack, they‘ll have to focus on that fight. so defeated is fighters, like these, may have fewer guards, raising fears some could escape. president trump says if turkey invades, they are ankara‘s problem. and there may be less security at kurdish camps, holding huge numbers

of is supporters and family members. but at the border today, a little gathering of turks who back the offensive, who believe kurdish forces are a security threat. an invasion appeals to president erdogan‘s base. he has been losing support, and critics say, a war is a great distraction. tonight, more movement by turkish allies, rebel fighters from the free syrian army. they say they‘ll rain fire on kurdish forces. a powerful nato army now appears to be on the road to battle, and there are real concerns about the possible cost for hundreds of thousands of innocent syrian civilians. 0rla guerin, bbc news, at the turkish syria border. we all like a holidayand last year there were more than one billion international trips taken by tourists eager to experience something new.

but a surge in visitors and lack of management has meant some popular sites in asia are being loved to death. last year thailand‘s maya beach and boracay island in the philippines were closed due to over—tourism concerns. now, indonesian authorities have announced a huge increase in the price to visit komodo island, from $10 to $1,000. so where are the crowds coming from and how can asia better protect its tourism gems? randy durband is the ceo of the global sustainable tourism council. he says many countries are experiencing over—tourism. the asian middle—class growth, the disposable income of hundreds of millions of people in the past 10—15 years is a key driver. along with that, discount air carriers, airasia grew up, i mean, it‘s not that old but look at how enormous it is. just in the past two years vietjet. so there is this exponential growth of the ability

and quantity of people travelling. another factor is that technology has changed things. this little device makes all of us as travellers connected to travel products, for information and booking, so the past 10—15 years we have seen enormous change and i would summarise all these as kind of two really key factors, as that, on the population side, we have 7.6 billion people on the planet. in 1970 we had 4 billion. with so many more people and so many more of them able to travel, that we have all these pressures. but the other factor is that, i heard the word "lack of management" and that is so utterly true. i think we have seen throughout the world that society does not understand how complex travel and tourism is so therefore government doesn‘t and governments at all levels, municipal and national, need to manage better. i wouldn‘t say they‘re managing poorly, in most cases, they are not managing at all. they put money into promotion but not to planning and development so that is really a key factor,

just a lack of proactive planning, we react, we do not plan and put management practices into place. a lack of proactive planning, particularly for many asian governments, which, of course, has led to the shutdown of some key tourism sites, such as maya beach, in thailand, and boracay island, in the philippines. is it the right thing to do to shut down these tourism gems, for them to regenerate, for the mto breathe again? yeah, well, i think you have to look case by case. i mean, closure should be absolutely the last resort. my heart goes out to the thousadns of filipino workers, low—wage service people who lost theirjobs for several months. many come from different parts of the country. so there is a social issue, there‘s disruption of business, so that should be absolutely last resort. what were the causes?

why were there hundreds of businesses allowed not to hook up properly to sewerage treatment? why did local trade associations and local government not push for enforcement laws and keep their destination managed better? this is a key issue. closure should not happen. and it can be prevented and should be prevented. the bbc has been to the western province of herat in afganistan, to give us a perspective we rarely hear from the country. we‘ve met some young women who‘ve succeeded against all the odds — the all—women afghan robotics team who‘ve been winning prizes and praise everywhere from dubai to washington dc. members of a new, educated generation determined to forge a different future. i am a member of the robotics team. i am 15 years old and i used to love robotics when i was a child. mostly boys in afghanistan do the robotics during junior and teens. that is something unusual

for the girls to do robotics and to have their dreams in robotics field, but we are just here show the people of our country that we can do that as well. i'm a member of the robotics team. i'm doing some mechanical things in our team, and i'm 16. sometimes my mum says that you cannot go out of our country or other cities of afghanistan because the security is not good but what i am saying is ijust want to show my skills, my dreams to other people, to other girls. it shows that all the girls can do anything that they want. i am 15 years old. a member of the afghan robotics team. in afghanistan there are a lot of people that have a good talent and abilities but there is no opportunity to show that to other people and share it with other people. if i could change one thing that would be the insecurity in afghanistan,

because insecurity is something that makes all of us feel a little bit angry and feel a little bit unrelaxed. the only thing we want here is to have a secure country. sometimes when i heard bad news or bad things that have happened outside, ijust come here and then do some mechanical things and build some robots and i will have forgot that bad news that has happened. i always have the dream to have a bright future for afghanistan. surely we will have a bright future here. i look at successful people like bill gates, steve jobs, elon musk — they are successful because they use their time right, they are successful because they are lifetime learners, they commit to learn new things every single day. never stop believing in yourself because it is ones who believe in skills the dream is built. always have a big idea because idea can lead to knowledge and knowledge can lead the world.

triumph over adversity. an inspiring story. thanks for watching. i am going to leave you with this thought, imagine you are sitting co mforta bly thought, imagine you are sitting comfortably at the hairdressers and that happens. yes, that is an idea smashing through a hairdressing salon window in new york. it managed to get out safely and unhurt but it did swipe some straightness! hello there. it was a fairly unsettled day on tuesday. we saw plenty of showers across northern and western areas. and a few got across into the east that were pretty heavy and thundering in one or two spots. but there was plenty of sunshine too. the next two days, similar story, staying rather unsettled, with low pressure nearby, and it is going to be windy for most. on wednesday, low pressure against the north of the uk. fairly strong winds, plenty of showers blowing from west to east. and then for thursday and friday, looks like we could see

more organised weather fronts pushing in to bring more persistent rain for some areas. if you were watching yesterday, like i mentioned, it is not going to be particularly cold the next few days, as our air source will be coming in off the atlantic from the west or the south—west. the night should be too cold either. for wednesday then, it starts off bright, some sunshine across eastern areas. we“l have a scattering of heavy, perhaps thundery showers affecting south wales, southern counties of england through the day, and lots of showers will be piling into western scotland. and the wind strong, particularly across the west and, when the showers come along, gusting 30, maybe a0 miles per hour, in exposed spots. temperature wise, a few degrees down on what we had on tuesday. that is the low teens across scotland, northern ireland, maybe 111—15 across the south and the east. through wednesday night, it stays blustery. lots of showers again across northern and western areas. some of them merging together to produce longer spells of rain here. but we could see some dry interludes or long clear spells across central and eastern part of the country. those temperatures dipping down from seven to 10 degrees. so on into thursday, we‘ve got low pressure to the north—east of the uk.

next system pushing in with more active weather fronts, could bring more persistent rain to parts of the country, like i mentioned. so i think we‘ll start off fairly cool, bright, plenty of sunshine around. to the west, thicker cloud and this front will bring more persistent rain to northern ireland and into scotland through the day but again, further south, will be sunshine and showers, mainly across wales and the south—west of england. but a few spots will see some hazy sunshine. those temperatures but up again. 17 degrees will be the high. lots of weather fronts on the chart. you‘ll see on friday, some uncertainty to where these fronts will actually be. it could be that parts of the north—west of scotland will see outbreaks of rain. another one may move south—east, across england and wales, to bring a spell of persistent rain. some sunshine in between. those temperatures up a notch again, 17 or 18 degrees across the south and the east of the country. it remains unsettled with low pressure always nearby into the weekend. showers or longer spells of rain,

also a little bit of sunshine, but it will stay on the breezy side.

i‘m kasia madera with bbc world news. our top story: the white house has officially refused to co—operate with the impeachment inquiry against president donald trump. a letter sent to democratic leaders rejected the inquiry as "baseless" and "constitutionally invalid". three democratic—led house committees are investigating mr trump. ahead of talks with britain‘s borisjohnson, the ireland‘s prime minister leo varadkar says he‘ll work until the very last moment to try to secure a brexit deal by next week , but not at any cost. and this story is trending on bbc.com. the head of america‘s basketball association says it won‘t compromise on freedom of speech. it follows a backlash in china after the manager of the houston rockets expressed

support for protesters in hong kong that‘s all. stay with bbc world news.