hello, everyone, and welcome. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: malta's government in crisis. an investigation into the murder of a prominentjournalist leads to protests and a string of resignations. heavy snow and hurricane—force winds cause havoc on both coasts of the us, as the country gears up for the thanksgiving holiday. i'm lewis vaughanjones in london. also in the programme: search and recovery in east africa. the un says landslides and floodwaters have claimed more than 120 lives in kenya. clive james — one of australia's most celebrated broadcasters and writers, admired around the world for his wit and humour — has died at the age of 80.

live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. glad you could join us. it's 8:00am in singapore, midnight in london, and 1:00am in malta, where the government is under intense pressure as protests continue over the murder of a prominentjournalist. daphne caruana galizia was killed two years ago by a car bomb. she was investigating corruption on the island. her death shocked maltese society and her family have led the calls forjustice — including demands for a public inquiry. three senior figures in malta's government stood down yesterday. all have denied wrongdoing including any involvement in ms galizia's death. prime ministerjoseph muscat is facing calls to resign. damian grammaticas reports from malta.

chanting "mafia", they shout. "corruption". the targets of their anger — the politicians inside malta's parliament. why are you here tonight? because not only have they killed a journalist, just for money and power, but they have also brought the country to its knees. that journalist and mother of three sons was daphne caruana galizia. two years ago, three men were arrested for planting the bomb that blew up her car. but who ordered the killing? and have investigations been slow because they've been protected from high up? in the crowds was her niece. it's disgusting that nothing has been done these past two years. we need justice. we need answers. what's energized the protests here is the sense that corruption

might finally be being tackled in malta. impunity might be coming to an end, as investigators focus on some of the richest and most powerful people on the island. inside the eu, malta has acquired wealth, but what daphne caruana galizia wrote about were the murky connections of its rich elites. last week, police investigating her murder arrested yorgen fenech, one of malta's richest men. this week, the minister who gave him a huge energy contract, knorad mizzi, stood down. and so did keith schembri, the prime minster‘s chief of staff, he's being questioned by police. but this evening, prime minister joseph muscat was defiant. malta's opposition want him to stand aside so he can't interfere in the investigation. he refused, they walked out. and outside the prime minister's office, daphne caruana galizia's sister told me corruption that malta has enabled is an issue all of europe should worry about.

very importantly, for the sake of the security of everybody in europe, investigators in malta, who are trying to follow a dirty money trail, need all the support they can get from external agencies, to make sure they can follow that trail wherever the evidence leads, and make sure that everybody implicated faces justice. justice, meaning all the crooked and the shady her sister wrote about are pursued, notjust the killers. damian grammaticas, bbc news, malta. let's bring you some breaking news from the us. president donald trump has signed into law congressional legislation backing protesters in hong kong — despite objections from beijing. the new legislation, which was approved by congress last week, requires the state department to certify that hong kong retains enough autonomy to justify favourable us trading terms that have helped to maintain its position as a world financial centre. the law also threatens sanctions

for human rights violations. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. the uk's two biggest political parties have clashed about whether documents show the national health service would be up for sale to american companies after brexit. the opposition labour leader jeremy corbyn produced a 450—page report at a news conference, saying it showed initial talks had taken place between officials. prime minister borisjohnson says the claims are nonsense. let's hearfrom both leaders. these documents confirm the us is demanding the nhs is on the table in the trade talks. these uncensored documents leave borisjohnson‘s

denials in absolute tatters. we are absolutely resolved that there will be no sale of the nhs, no privatisation. the nhs is not on the table in any way. in no way. the nhs is in no way on the table. in no aspect whatever. sticking with uk politics. the scottish national party has launched its general election manifesto, saying a vote for the party is a vote to escape brexit and "put scotland's future in scotland's hands". leader nicola sturgeon said the party would never help the conservatives into power and set out the terms under which the party might work with a labour government. also making news today, twitter says it will delay plans to disable inactive accounts following a backlash from subscribers. on monday, twitter had begun contacting users who hadn't logged in for six months, warning them they would have their accounts deleted unless they signed in. the company has now admitted it had not considered the potential upset that would be caused by the removal of accounts belonging to users who had died.

a master player of the chinese strategy game go has decided to retire, due to the rise of artificial intelligence that he says "cannot be defeated". lee sedol is the only human to ever beat the alphago software developed by google's sister company deepmind. in 2016, he took part in a five—match showdown against alphago, losing four times but beating the computer once. americans are braving snow, rain, and wind as they make the great thanksgiving holiday getaway. the us national weather service is advising millions of people to delay their travel plans due to the weather and hundreds of flights have been grounded. meanwhile, in new york a major concern is whether the famous balloons will fly in the annual macy's parade, because of high winds.

laura trevelyn has more. will all fly tomorrow? that is the burning question here in new york city. never mind the impeachment enquiry into presidentjonathan, the giant inflatable that are a feature of the sieving parade, will that storm system coming in from the midwest ground them ? storm system coming in from the midwest ground them? here's why it's important. because actually back in 1997 felix the cat, one of the big balloons, injured four people when it banged into a street lap. so there are very, very strict rules governing whether the balloons can fly. if wins are at above 23 mph and if they are gusting at above 3a mph the balloons are grounded. now that isa the balloons are grounded. now that is a decision that will be made by parade officials early on thursday morning when they look at the forecast, then we will know whether the nutcracker will be allowed to leave the ground and fly or if he will be dragged along the ground, which is what is going to happen if they can't fly.

the writer, broadcaster and critic clive james has died. he was 80, and had been diagnosed with leukaemia and kidney failure a decade ago. he was known for his sharp humour in both his writings and his television programmes. 0ur correspondent david sillito looks back at his life and career. # hello, clive... welcome once again to the bbc's first deregulated, lead—free, self—financing, fully—sponsored tv programme. for your protection, the entire show has been pre—boiled for one minute. clive james, the tv critic who became a tv star talking about... tv. if you're yet to see a welsh soap opera, then you must catch the bbc's pobol y cwm. the action in pobol y cwm is nonstop. british broadcasting corps, night training, sunday... but there was so much to him. he was a comic performer, a journalist, essayist, poet, and a lyricist. i would classify me as a writer, because everything i do is based on writing, even when i'm improvising on tv, like now,

i'm writing it in my head just before i say it. if it's any good at all! and that's what i do. his tv shows jumped between prime—time entertainment... hi, girls! ..and highbrow brain food. born in sydney, his childhood became a bestselling memoir. when sydney was all there was to see, i couldn't see it. but now i can. he arrived in britain in the ‘60s and, as a student, joined the cambridge footlights. the giant toad having joined the water—dwelling worms aboard the plastic pants, coffin number three is uncovered. in the ‘80s, we laughed with him at shows that british television would then go on to copy. in our time, fame is everywhere — you can't get away from it... by the end of the ‘90s, his tv career was coming to an end, but the words kept flowing. he rekindled his songwriting partnership with pete atkin. # touch has a memory... and then he was diagnosed with leukaemia.

in 2010, and again a year later, he thought he was about to die. he was saved by a new drug. i was in serious medical trouble, and i got saved, and so this is spare time. and it's very important to me, because i wasn't expecting to have it, and it'sjust good manners to try and use it well. clive james could write about anything — from commentaries on proust to an appreciation of eddie waring to this, his words on facing the end, hoping that he would live long enough to see the leaves emerge on a newly planted maple tree. filling the double doors to bathe my eyes, a final flood of colours will live on. as my mind dies, burned by my vision of a world that shone so brightly at the last, and then was gone. the writer and broadcaster clive james, who's died at the age of 80.

seven members of an islamist group have been sentenced to death in bangladesh, for their part in a 2016 attack on a cafe in the capital. 22 people were killed when gunmen opened fire. while all of the assailants were killed, today's sentences are for those who plotted the raid. from dhaka, akbar hossain reports. the accused islamic militants are brought to the court under tight security. hundreds of security personnel are deployed to maintain order. the accused look defiant and shouted. believing the courtroom, one of the guilty man, wearing a black, shouted and called himself a follower of the so—called islamic state. thejudge said follower of the so—called islamic state. the judge said that seven of the eight men accused were involved with the planning of the cafe attack and the charges are proved beyond any doubt. translation: we are happy with the verdict. regarding the acquitted

person, we will decide whether or not to appeal after reviewing the judgement so by three years ago five islamic militants stormed inside the holy artisan cafe in the uptown area. the cafe was a popular destination for borrowers —— bonus staying in the capital. -- foreigners. the 12 hour hostage situation came to an end after an army commander's operation —— mcmanus. security forces in bangladesh went on to conduct anti— terror operations across the country. after the catheter, at least 80 suspected militants were killed by the security forces during these operations. the bangladeshi government claims that they have successfully dismantled islamist militant groups. many security a nalysts militant groups. many security analysts believe that the country has a long way to go until it can claim to have seen of the militancy thread for good. akbar hossain, bbc news.

i want to remind our viewers of this breaking news this hour to do with the us and hong kong. donald trump has signed into law a piece of legislation. this legislation was agreed by congress a few days ago. now the president has signed it. it basically backs the protesters in hong kong. the crucial line is this that it requires the state department to certify that hong kong retains enough autonomy to justify favourable us trading terms. they have been so vital to hong kong's position as a financial centre was up position as a financial centre was up and, crucially, says the law also threatens sanctions for human rights violations. that news breaking out of the united states this hour. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme:

reviving an ancient india art — we'll take a look at a modern take on the skill and beauty of cheriyal paintings and creations. president kennedy was shot down and died almost immediately. the murder ofjohn kennedy is a disaster for the whole free world. he caught the imagination of the world, the first of a new generation of leaders. margaret thatcher is resigning as leader of the conservative party and prime minister. before leaving number 10 to see the queen, she told her cabinet, "it's a funny old world." angela merkel is germany's first woman chancellor, easily securing the majority she needed. attempts to fly a hot—air balloon had to be abandoned after a few minutes, but nobody seemed to mind very much. as one local comic put it, "it's not hot air we need, it's hard cash." cuba has declared nine days of mourning following the death of fidel castro at the age of 90. castro developed close ties with the soviet union in the 1960s. it was an alliance that brought

the world to the brink of nuclear war with the cuban missile crisis. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm in rico hizon in singapore. i'm lewis vaughan—jones in london. our top stories: defying beijing: president donald trump signs into law congressional legislation backing protesters in hong kong. malta's government in crisis: an investigation into the murder of a prominentjournalist leads to protests, and a string of resignations. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. we start with the new york times, which reminds readers that world leaders are gathering in madrid over how to avert a climate catastrophe after the united nations said that greenhouse gas emissions are still rising dangerously. the paper says that countries have failed to halt the rise of emissions

despite repeated warnings from scientists. china and the united states, the world's two biggest polluters, further increased their emissions last year. on to thejapan times, which carries a story about the restarting of a nuclear power plant in the country. as you will remember, nuclear power plants were damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011. the paper says that a unit of tohoku electric power company in miyagi was given the green light to restart , after the addition of disaster prevention measures. singapore's straits times says that hong kong police will enter the polytechnic university this morning that had been blockaded by pro—democracy protesters. the paper says that this will be to ensure that no hazardous items are left behind. the team is aiming to secure and open the campus.

bear with me for a moment. australia experienced a synchronised sex event earlier this month, resulting in millions of babies. i'm talking, of course, about the phenomenon of mass coral spawning on the great barrier reef. just once a year, always at night and after a full moon, the coral releases huge amounts of eggs and sperm into the water. a group of researchers is taking some of that spawn and raising it in special nurseries in a bid to restore badly damaged parts of the reef. well, professor peter harrison is one of those researchers and has just returned from 12 days on the reef. the a sporting event is one of the world's greatest spectacles. you have literally dozens of different types of corals and hundreds of thousands of different colonies of those different species, all spawning together on just a fiona knight each year. and it becomes

like an underwater snowstorm, except all the bundles —— egg—sperm bundles of leading up to the service instead of leading up to the service instead of sinking down. why is this so important? there must spawning events generate billions of coral larvae. —— mass spawning. those are absolutely essential for the recovery and maintenance of the coral populations, the foundation of the reef. without healthy coral communities and without replenishment by the larvae and sexual reproduction, you do not have functioning reef systems. and the idea is to harness a bit of that and give it a bit of a helping hand? exactly. what we're doing is trying a nurturing process. we now know that many corals on the great barrier reef and most reefs around the world have died recent bleaching events and other human impacts. now what we need to do is try to capture spawn from the remaining heat tolera nt spawn from the remaining heat tolerant corals which are still present on these reefs and maximise fertilisation and produce tens of millions, or in our case, recently,

more than 100 million coral larvae. we put them into floating pools on the reef system and allow their development on the reef rather than have these microscopic larvae drift away out into the currents. hundreds of people are thought to have died in east africa after heavy rains and flash flooding hit several countries. in the congolese capital kinshasa, dozens have been killed by the relentless downpours. the un says more than 120 people have died in kenya, where landslides and floodwaters swept away homes. 0ur africa correspondent merchuma has been to meet some of the survivors, and she sent this report. iam in iamina i am in a school that has just been converted into a rescue camp. hundreds of people have gathered here, most of them women and children, and they say they have walked for days to get to this —— this facility. their homes and farms we re this facility. their homes and farms were completely destroyed by the floods and landslides. translation:

i was running away when the waters we re i was running away when the waters were coming down. ifell and broke my leg and i have been in pain since then. my children carried me to displace. it is now that i have been attended to. a team of medical personnel have come here to help these people, and the doctors say most of the injuries they are receiving a soft tissue injuries, but there are a couple of people who are coming in with fractured limbs. the most affected are children, and the doctors say they are developing just complications because of the cold and they don't have a place to stay, and they are being forced to refer to some of them that in hospitals and facilities away from this place. another big thing is that these dock is cannot go beyond where we are now, because the roads are impossible. they have been cut off, but there are people on the other side you still need help. all the bridges have been swept away. the mudslides have also covered the roads. and that is where we think

there is a bigger number of patients that need to be attended. and the only means to reach there is through. more people are expected to flow into this camp and others in various parts of the affected region, and the death toll is expected to rise because officials say there are people who are still missing. in some places, we are retrieving somebody‘s, some hounds, some legs, we need some forensic testing so that we can know who they are. the weatherman predicts more rains will be experienced in this region and other areas across the country and an appeal has been made to people who are living in landslide prone areas to move to safer ground. we will return to our breaking news out of hong kong, it

is actually quite busy. two separate developments to sour. we have already told you about donald trump signing that law that effectively backs the protesters in hong kong. separately, hong kong police have been giving a press conference outside polytechnic university, where it is thought some protesters are still holed up. most of them left last week after several days of violent clashes with police, as you may have seen. let's take a listen. the campus has been maliciously occupied and damaged over the past two weeks and the university, many of the facilities are in ruins. the university management has notified the police of this severe damage and also the campus has been filled with also the campus has been filled with a lot of dangerous items such as corrosives or petrol—bombs, et cetera. and other than the university, i think most of the public would like to see the police and other government departments to solve the crisis as soon as possible. that is the latest from hong kong. the bright colours of cheriyal

scroll paintings have been bringing indian folk tales and religious texts to life for centuries. but the 500—year—old art form, unique to the southern indian state of telangana, has struggled to remain relevant until now. a group of traditional artists have been reviving the tradition by creating contemporary products with cheriyal paintings. shivaani kohok reports. the 500 year old cheriyal style of painting is unique to the southern indian state of telangana. but its popularity has waned over the years. there are only 16 cheriyal artists left today. but they are determined to revive the art form. translation: i never thought i would paint for a living because the market for this art was so bad. but then we decided to explore new ideas. in the experiment worked. so younger artists like my brother and i are continuing to make cheriyal. but

they have not altered the technique. they use natural colours and organic materials like tamarind seeds and powdered wood. translation: storytellers used to wear these masks and narrate myths to entertain people. now we make smaller masks as wall decor. —— wall decor. people. now we make smaller masks as wall decor. -- wall decor. cheriyal was once famous for its long scroll paintings. they depicted tales from hindu epics. these scrolls were used in village fares to tell stories. as oral storytelling started to disappear, cheriyal paintings became an endangered art form, but that is starting to change. the market for cheriyal art is great right now. apart from those who are buying, there are those who are learning about it. we are getting lots of orders online and the government and other organisations are supporting us other organisations are supporting

us to. a brilliant revival. that is it for now. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. hello. yesterday relentless rain, we saw scenes like these across parts of scotland and the north—east of england. today we are anticipating things becoming drier here is the rain sinks southwards. this is the low pressure system you can think for the wet weather. this frontal sink south through the day, eventually the wet weather moving away, but behind it, the wind turns northerly and the cold arctic our sinks its way south into all parts of the uk, in fact, sinks its way south into all parts of the uk, infact, by sinks its way south into all parts of the uk, in fact, by the end of the week. here we start our thursday, still with wet weather across the north—east of england but also extending into northern ireland, parts of wales, eventually reaching southern england by the

afternoon. by then the sky starts a clear and things will brighten for the north, but those white arrows surging down are the first signs of the cold air trickling into the south. further north, six or seven, but add to the effect of the window and it will just feel so, but add to the effect of the window and it willjust feel so, so different. but it will look different. but it will look different as well. thankfully we will see the return of drier and brighter weather. some rain around to the south of the uk by thursday evening. friday morning, most of it clearing offshore but the legacy of the cloud will help to hold the temperatures up towards the south—west overnight on thursday. to the north, meanwhile, a widespread frost and in more rural parts, quite a hard frost and in more rural parts, quite a ha rd frost frost and in more rural parts, quite a hard frost at that. the cold air in place, a lot of fine weather as but frontal system goes off into the continent, but with a northerly wind, some showers possible for the north sea coast, and drifting into the north york moors, some of them could be wintry, if you wintry ones in the highlands as well. temperatures down on friday with a cutting northerly wind. saturday, the high pressure still clinging on,

and that global try to eat into the picture from the atlantic, just how far north the rain will push is probably the biggest question. pretty windy in the wet weather, in south england and south wales through saturday. elsewhere, it stays fine, but it will remain distinctly chillier. six or seven degrees, while we're looking at 11 implement. by sunday butler will be sinking away south, and then we should see some fairly widespread fine weather in all parts of the uk to end the weekend. come the start of the new week, some frontal systems potentially toppling into scotland, bringing more crowded outbreaks of rain, but perhaps some slightly milder errors well. to begin our new weeks, we are looking at lots of fine weather, but a colder outlook than we have been used to.

i'm lewis vaughan jones

with bbc world news. 0ur breaking story this hour: president trump has signed into law congressional legislation backing protesters in hong kong despite objections from beijing. the new legislation, which was approved by congress last week, requires the state department to certify that hong kong retains enough autonomy to justify favourable us trading terms. malta's government is in crisis. an investigation into the murder of a prominentjournalist has led to protests outside parliament — and a string of resignations. and this video is trending on bbc.com. cows at a farm in russia are reportedly being given virtual reality headsets to reduce their anxiety levels. the headsets apparently show a "unique summer field simulation program". that's all. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news — hardtalk.