welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. singapore says it'll end its ban on sex between men, but has made it a lot more difficult to legalise same—sex marriage. i believe this is the right thing to do, and something that most singaporeans will now accept. russia investigates a blast which killed the daughter of an ideological ally of president putin, saying the attack was pre—meditated. growing concern over a wave of killings targetting hindus in india—administered kashmir. and the bbc gains rare access to the american

and south koreanjoint operations centre designed to fend off any attack from north korea. this attack from north korea. is the only place in korea where this is the only place in korea where us forces and south korean forces sit side by side, and using all this information, they can detect almost immediately if north korea launches a weapon. welcome to the programme. it's 1am in london and eight in the morning here in singapore where the country's prime minister has said the ban on sex between men is to be lifted. prime minister lee hsein loong said singaporean society was becoming more accepting of gay people, and the british colonial—era law, though not enforced, was out of date. the announcement, which was

made during a speech that the prime minister gave at singapore's national day rally, was welcomed by lgbt activists who've long criticised the law. the government will repeal 3707a and de—criminalise sex between men. i believe it's the right thing to do and something most singaporeans will accept. earlier, i spoke to our asia digital reporter tessa wong, who has been following and reporting on this issue for years in singapore, and she explained why this decision is so momentous. when the news broke last night, it was met with immediate joy and one activist i interviewed told me, i'm ecstatic, i am at a loss for words, there are pictures of people celebrating at parties waving the lgbt flag, and at the same time the move has also been met with some caution.

effectively, what the singapore government has done is they have made it a lot harder to legalise gay marriage, they have put in constitutional protections for the definition of marriage as one being between a man and woman, so it means that if you want to legalise gay marriage, you have to go through parliament and not through the courts. one route to legalising gay marriage has been effectively shut off. just talk us through the fact that in the lead—up to this, there has been resistance from some conservative quarters of singaporean society. what's driving that resistance? a lot of the conservative resistance to this repeal has been driven by the churches and also some muslims, and because of this a coalition has formed where some of these people have gathered together,

they have organised themselves and petitioned the government to not repeal it, and this bloc has been very powerful and recent surveys do show that actually a majority of singaporeans do support 377a. but that has been dropping in recent years and as for repealing it, the support has been growing. you could say the writing is on the wall and the singapore government has appeared to acknowledge this. last night in the speech, the prime minister did say that gay singaporeans are better accepted in singaporean society. 15 years ago when they first made the decision to keep the law but also not enforce it, at that time that was to reflect what society felt about the law or rather what the government felt, what singaporean people felt about 377a. now they say times have changed. yes, it takes time of course for these shifting societal mores to be translated into legislation, but what do you think it will mean now, the fact that we have had this

momentous decision by the singaporean government, what will that mean for gay people living in singapore? since this law has not been effectively enforced, singapore has developed a very thriving and visible and vibrant lgbt scene in the last few years. but a lot of lgbt activists have long asked for this law to be struck down, because while it is not actively enforced, it does mean that there is a stigma on gay people in singapore. and a lot of lgbt people i have spoken to, activists or otherwise, they have told me they have experienced personal discrimination in the workplace, from people that they meet on the street, or people who are their friends even or family. a lot of it can be traced to this law because it sends a signal to society that lgbt people are basically second—class citizens. so i would say this is pretty

momentous, it does signal that lgbt singaporeans are part of society as well, at the same time activists are saying that this is the first step to a long journey for what they see as a battle for full equality. a little later we will be speaking to someone from an lgbtq organisation in singapore. the daughter of a prominent russian ultra—nationalist has been killed by a car bomb on the outskirts of moscow. darya dugina was a journalist and vocal supporter of the invasion of ukraine. there is speculation the target may have been herfather, alexander dugin, whose calls for a new russian empire, challenging the west, are said to have influenced president putin. will vernon reports from moscow. a fireball on the streets of moscow. darya dugina, a political commentator, was killed when a bomb exploded in the car she was driving. at the scene, her father,

aleksandr dugin, an ultra nationalist philosopher. russian media said mr dugin was meant to travel in the car with his daughter, but changed his mind at the last minute, and there is speculation he was the intended target. darya dugina, like herfather, was a vocal supporter of russia's invasion of ukraine. she was a regular guest on russian television, calling the war a clash of civilisations. both she and her father have been sanctioned by the west. some analysts say president putin is close to aleksandr dugin, although the nature of their relationship is unclear. but mr dugin�*s radical nationalism has helped shape the kremlin�*s foreign policy, including on ukraine. his political movement, eurasianism, sees russia as the centre of a new empire that will challenge the west. back in 2016, mr dugin spoke to the bbc�*s gabriel

gatehouse about his views. so we have our special russian truth that you need to accept as something that maybe is not your truth. even if it's not true? but if the truth is relative, that doesn't mean that truth doesn't exist. the authorities have not yet said who was behind the attack. but russia's foreign ministry said if a link to ukraine were found, the attack would be state terror by the kyiv regime. an adviser to the ukrainian president denied his country was involved. car bombs and assassinations are rare in moscow. but as the war in ukraine grinds on, instability at home will be a cause for concern in the kremlin. will vernon, bbc news, moscow. emergency workers in central iraq have mounted a rescue operation after a shia shrine there collapsed.

an earth mound adjacent to the shrine in the city of karbala gave way as a result of moisture saturation. four bodies have been found, while six survivors have been pulled from the rubble. emily brown reports. working by floodlight, a rescue operation so delicate emergency workers continue their search for survivors of a deadly landslide by hand. it has been said any mistake at this stage could lead to more collapses. the landslide hit the ceiling of this shi'a shrine in iraq, which then collapsed onto visitors. several bodies have been found in the rubble so far while some survivors, including children, have been pulled free. translation: the reason behind the landslide - is the mountain had been collecting humidity and water, and nobody unfortunately had noticed, and therefore a large amount of rocks fell into the flat

roof, which collapsed onto the visitors. the site of the shrine in iraq's karbala region marks an ancient spring where the first shi'a imam ali and his army are believed to have once stopped to take a drink in the seventh century. much of the mosque is still intact, a sacred site now playing host to a rescue mission. emily brown, bbc news. for the first time in four years, the us and south korea will revive their live—action military drills, sharpening their preparedness as the north korean nuclear threat worsens and china steps up its presence around taiwan. the ii—dayjoint drills start monday. but there is concern that north korea could use the drills as a chance to retaliate. our seoul correspondent jean mackenzie was given rare access to the countries�* joint operation centre, from where the war games are run.

deep underground, an american and a south korean colonel watch north korea. i'm learning but it's difficult to get it right. in this classified bunker outside seoul, the two militaries work together to defend against north korean attack. this is the only place in korea where us forces and south korean forces sit side by side, and using all this information, they can detect almost immediately if north korea launches a weapon. between his great english and my terrible korean we can usually muddle through a lot of different things and get to a decision quickly. the threat from north korea is increasing. its missiles are becoming more dangerous, its rhetoric more fiery. so these war games from five years ago are back as the us and south korea practice how to fight their common enemy using aircraft, warships and tanks. i can't do it in a classroom, i can't do it on a chalkboard, i have to give them the most intense environment

that we can create and this is that environment. fighter pilot captain abby walters will train from the sky. it's really important for us to train together with the south koreans. the communication flow is much better in the air if you've practised it multiple times, so it can go quicker which helps us to get more effects down and just be more efficient and deadly in ourjob. north korea sees these drills as a rehearsalfor an invasion. there is concern it could retaliate. in this recent speech, kimjong—un warned they could end in war. they might have the appearance of war but the us and south korea insist these drills are defensive. in part, a show of strength to convince north korea never to use its weapons, especially as it works to develop ones that can evade missile defences.

lieutenant general scott plius is the deputy head of the us forces korea. i have absolutely no worries whatsoever that north korean missiles have a way of defeating our capabilities here on the peninsula. but they are making progress. and so are we. intelligence suggests north korea is on the cusp of testing its first nuclear weapon in five years. south korea says it shouldn't be blamed if these drills provide its ammunition. since north korea know that this one is a defensive one, and they wanted to utilise this joint military drill for their own political purpose, i think that the joint military drill is one excuse for north korea to do the kind of military provocation. these war games may well provoke north korea but faced with an increasingly formidable enemy, these forces

believe they have no choice but to prepare. jean mackenzie, bbc news, seoul. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. the reaction of an activist to the news that the government is decriminalising sex between men in singapore. he is the first african—american to win the presidential nomination of a major party, and he accepts exactly 45 years ago to the day that martin luther king declared, "i have a dream." as darkness falls tonight, an unfamiliar light will appear in the south—eastern sky — an orange glowing disc that's brighter than anything save the moon, our neighbouring planet, mars. there is no doubt that this election is an important milestone in the birth of east timor as the world's newest nation.

it will take months and billions of dollars to repair what katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks is the longest the great clock has been off duty in 117 years, so it was with great satisfaction that clockmaker john vernon swung the pendulum to set the clock going again. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines. (tx 00v)singapore says it'll decriminalise sex between men — but has made it technically more difficult to legalise same sex marriage. russia investigates a blast which killed the daughter of an ideological ally of president putin — saying the attack was pre—meditated. the former pakistani prime minister imran khan

is being investigated under the anti—terrorism act. the authorities say he has threatened police and justice officials. it follows a speech by mr khan during a rally, accusing the police of torturing a party colleague while in custody. the media regulator then banned live speeches by the cricketer—turned—politician on all satellite television channels because of what it called his hate speech against state institutions. i want to turn to india now, where there's growing concern over a wave of killings targetting hindus in indian—administered kashmir. police say the attacks in the muslim—majority region are being carried out by anti—india militant groups. it comes against the backdrop of a long—running conflict there, and growing anger against the indian government. the bbc�*s yogita limaye reports. a school in trauma. earlier this year, as these students in kashmir gathered for morning prayers, their teacher was

killed, metres away. they heard the gunshot and found her on the ground, bleeding from her head. the spot has been marked with stones. rajni bala was killed by anti—india militants, police say. a mother and wife, a much—loved history teacher. "we're devastated. she was a wonderful person, adored notjust in the school but in our village", her colleague told us. it's believed rajni was targeted because she was a hindu, a minority in the country's only muslim—majority region. teachers told us she feared for her life after a wave of killings of people from her community. translation: there had been a targeted killing of a hindu, . just two kilometres away. she was scared and had applied for a transfer. kashmir�*s long—running

and complex conflict started with the killings of hundreds of hindus 30 years ago. but this minority has rarely been targeted since 2003. now it's facing a resurgent threat that's left hindu families terrified. these men work in government jobs and are demanding they be moved out of kashmir. sanjay kaul is a teacher at a public school. translation: if someone next to me takes their hands - out of their pockets, i feel they are going to pull out a gun to shoot me. we have stopped sending our children to school. and we hardly go out of our compound. insurgent groups say they're attacking minorities because the government is trying to change the religious make—up of kashmir. the accusation stems

from india's actions here three years ago. federal rule was imposed. outsiders allowed to buy land. leading to fears that india's hindu nationalist government wanted to alter the religious demographic of muslim—majority kashmir. distrust against the state soared. since 2019, things have gotten a lot worse. there is no elected government here and large sections of the police and bureaucracy are now officers from outside of the region. which means amongst local people here, there is a strong feeling that their voice is being suppressed and they don't have any say in the decisions that are being made to govern them. there are also allegations of killings of muslim civilians by indian security forces. we travelled to shopian in southern kashmir. this is where 20—year—old shoaib muhammad ganai is buried. a university student

who loved playing cricket, he was killed in the middle of the day in the local market. his parents and eyewitnesses say he was shot dead, point—blank, by a paramilitary soldier. "we want justice for this cruelty that's been inflicted on us. a piece of our hearts has been taken from us", his father, ghulam muhammad, told us. the police and paramilitaries say their son was killed in crossfire. translation: we are being ruled by ruthless people, _ despite what eyewitnesses say, they insist he was shot in crossfire. the indian government denies that there's an atmosphere of fear in kashmir. it says its policies are bringing peace and development. the growing violence contradicts the claims. yogita limaye,

bbc news, kashmir. there is a state of alert in portugal due to wildfires. access to forest has been restricted as well as the use of machinery, even by farmers, to prevent sparks. the british heavyweight boxer, tyson fury, has called for tougher punishments for knife crime, after his cousin was stabbed to death in manchester. 31—year—old rico burton was attacked outside a bar in the early hours of saturday morning. a 17—year—old is also in hospital in a serious condition. police have arrested two men. security is being stepped up outside the home of the former south korean president, moonjae—in. he has been subject to verbal abuse and loud protests since he left office in may. right—wing groups are angry

at his record as the country's president, and have been staging demonstrations day and night. from monday, demonstrators are banned from within 300 metres of his residence in the south—eastern city of yangsan. well, let's get more on our top story now — how singapore has announced plans to decriminalise sex between men, overturning a colonial—era ban on gay sex. but singapore is also introducing measures to defend marriage between men and women. earlier i spoke to bryan choong from oogachaga, a singaporean lgbtq community organisation. he has been involved in the campaign to change singapore's legislation on gay rights for 17 years. he described his sense of relief at the plans. it isa it is a moment of relief, it is the right thing to do. when we hearfrom the prime minister, it's a long overdue decision. perhaps not all of our viewers are familiar with how this law

came about in singapore, why a country in asia is effectively having to deal with a colonial legacy legislation. can you talk us through the history a little? it talk us through the history a little? ., , ., . talk us through the history a little? .,, ., . _ little? it was introduced by the british _ little? it was introduced by the british when _ little? it was introduced by the british when singapore little? it was introduced by - the british when singapore was part of the british empire, the 19305, part of the british empire, the 1930s, so it's been a long time. nearly 90 years. ever since we got independence, we have been looking at ways to address this issue itself. some of the viewers may be familiar that in 2007, politicians subsequently had two rounds of constitutional challenge, in 2010, and the second round in 2019, which i was part of. unfortunately three attempts in various means were unsuccessful. since the rulings by the supreme court, sorry,

the court of appeal in march of this year, it has shifted very quickly, and the various ministries have actually been engaging, including with the lgbt community, and the organisation i am part of it is also part of the conversation. it has been going on for the past few months. leading up to what was announced by the prime minister yesterday.— minister yesterday. even though the announcement _ minister yesterday. even though the announcement has - minister yesterday. even though the announcement has been - the announcement has been heralded by lots of people in the community as a really important step forward, at the same time it has been criticised, because the prime minister effectively drew a red line when it comes to gay marriage. line when it comes to gay marriage-— line when it comes to gay marriaue. . , ., ., marriage. the details are not out et, marriage. the details are not out yet. we _ marriage. the details are not out yet, we don't _ marriage. the details are not out yet, we don't know- marriage. the details are not out yet, we don't know the l out yet, we don't know the details on the methods of safeguarding marriage in singapore, but it is very much in line with what we have been

hearing from the government and the law minister himself since the law minister himself since the engagement in march of this year. we are still hoping for the details, we hope the government will not be going further than the definition of marriage in the constitution itself, but we look forward to a very robust debate in the coming months. is a serious business. for many, spiderman is an entertaining fantasy but for some, climbing buildings in cities is a serious business. young parisian alexis landot has scaled skyscrapers in la defense and mounted the montparnasse tower, but he reckons this 122—metre tower in the suburbs of paris was his toughest challenge yet. he's one of the only climbers in the world to go "free solo", meaning he foregoes ropes and security. alex prepared for this climb for six months. i'm very glad to say he made it safely to the top!

that's all for now, stay with bbc world news. hello there. for many, this weekend shaped up to be a tale of two halves. the north of england on saturday was cloudy, grey and wet with a couple of inches of rain falling. but on sunday, just take a look at leeds, just shy of 13 hours of sunshine here. i suspect there's going to be more rain in the forecast, however, today, with this area of low pressure and the fronts pushing in from the west. now, some of that rain is going to push its way steadily eastwards. so, some heavy rain clearing to showers. the best of the drier weather through monday is likely to be across scotland. so we start off, then, with heavy rain moving out of northern ireland through the irish sea into the north—west of england and parts of wales. but you can see central and southern england is quite showery in nature, so not everywhere will see some wetter weather.

there'll be some heavier bursts. the best of the drier, sunny weather looks likely potentially to be in scotland. not quite as warm here, though, 1a to 20 degrees the high. we mightjust see 25 degrees ahead of that rain before it arrives in parts of lincolnshire and east anglia. now, as we move into tuesday, this area of low pressure will continue to enhance some showers in the far north—west, and down to the south—west, we've got this little weather front which will bring some showery outbreaks of rain across south—west england and wales. just how far north that's going to be, well, we'll need to keep an eye on that, but we start to tap into some pretty warm, humid air with that south—westerly flow and temperatures in east anglia and the south—east likely to peak at 27 celsius. that's 80 fahrenheit. it stays warm and humid in the south and east. at same time, close to that low pressure, we'll see more wetter weather, sharper showers developing out to the west. so first thing on wednesday morning, a very humid feel, 18 degrees. and so, despite it being quite cloudy to begin with,

it will be largely fine and dry with that south—westerly flow. as the rain eases away, the temperatures are likely to peak at highs of 27 celsius by the middle of wednesday afternoon. moving out of wednesday into thursday, that weather front is going to continue to sink south and east. there'll be no significant rain on it, unfortunately. and so, that does mean that thursday on the whole will be largely fine and dry. potential for some thundery rain first thing in the south—east and then into the weekend, drier but noticeably fresher.

this is bbc news, we will have the headlines and all the main stories after this programme.

hello. in march this year, the bbc gave one of its biggest soaps, holby city, a do not resuscitate order after 23 years. injuly, channel 5 decided we no longer needed good neighbours and the sun went down on ramsay street after 37 years. but cast your minds back to christmas day, 1986. anyone remember this? this, my sweet, is a letter from my solicitor telling you that your husband has filed a petition for divorce. happy christmas, ange. that was dirty den handing angie watts divorce papers after she'd lied to him about having six that was dirty den handing angie watts divorce papers after she'd lied to him about having six months left to live. 30 million people tuned in to watch that episode of eastenders, more than half the population.

today, the show averages between 4 and 6 million