welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm monica miller. the headlines... official documents about the assassination ofjohn f. kennedy are finally released — but will they silence the conspiracy theorists? tens of thousands of nurses in england, wales and northern ireland take strike action over pay and conditions. covid restrictions are relaxed in hong kong — we'll get all the details from an infectious disease epidemiologist later in the show the heir to the throne in thailand is hospitalised with a heart condition — the royal palace says she's "stable to a certain extent". live from our studio in singapore —

the monarchy according to harry and megan, the latest revelations from their netflix series. live from our studio in singapore — this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to the programme. it's now almost 60 years since presidentjohn f kennedy was assasinated. in that time countless words have been written claiming to have the real story behind what happened that day. now though thee majority of over 16 thousand official documents about the events that day have been released for the first time. the white house said that the release of 70% of the documents would provide the public with greater insight and understanding of the government's investigation into a tragic event in american history. our north america correspondent peter bowes has more on how

significant the release of these documents is. thank you forjoining us on the programme. i knowa thank you forjoining us on the programme. i know a lot to digest and go through right now, but what are some of the major revelation so far?- major revelation so far? well, it's interesting, _ major revelation so far? well, it's interesting, there - major revelation so far? well, it's interesting, there is - major revelation so far? well, it's interesting, there is a - it's interesting, there is a lot of information, clearly, more than 13,000 pages, these documents that so many people in this country have wanted to see for a very long time. and it is my new shi'ite. the detail, things like the movements of lee harvey oswald in the weeks before the assassination and there is an account of him going to mexico city, how a phone call he made to the soviet embassy was intercepted by the cia and how he had been speaking in that call and broken russian. there is a lot of detail like that but no doubt historians will be looking at now, analysing, trying to determine its significance. i think perhaps

more generally, the headline is that there is no bombshell. there is no smoking gun in any of these documents that would suggest, perhaps, that there was another person involved, that there was another assassin, the authorities have always said that lee harvey oswald was the only person 0swald was the only person responsible for the death of president kennedy. it is not the full story, and that is what so many have been clamouring for. it is not the full story because president biden believes there are national security implications if every single document where to be released unredacted. peter, it's been a really long time that these documents have been under wraps. some are saying for security reasons. the cia just came out with the statement. what did they have to say? statement. what did they have to sa ? �* ., , . statement. what did they have tosa? ., to say? along statement from the cia. to say? along statement from the cia- they _ to say? along statement from the cia. they are _ to say? along statement from the cia. they are saying - to say? along statement from the cia. they are saying that l the cia. they are saying that as far as they are concerned, all of the information that they had relating to the

assassination directly relating to the assassination has been released to the public now. and they defend the fact that there are still some of these documents that are redacted that we still cannot see that are redacted because if they were to be made public, they would cause harm to intelligence operations. that has long been the argument for perhaps some of the individuals, some of the personalities involved are the methods involved in the investigation 59 years ago. those still have to be protected for the safety and security of those involved. peter, thank you very much for that update. larry sabato is director of the university of virginia centre for politics and author of "the kennedy half—century" and has already begun combing through the files. well, we are not looking for the name of another assassin, that's the first thing i'm always asked.

if there was a conspiracy, and i am not a conspiracy believer, but if there was one, you are not going to find it in these documents. we just got 13,252 documents that in whole or in part have not been released before. this is north of a half a million pages, and anybody who tells you that they have got the answers from this new piece of the puzzle, as your correspondent put it, is not being truthful, it is going to take a long time to go through it. look, there are bits and pieces that are fascinating. we've just come across one a few minutes ago that shows us something we've never seen before, lee harvey oswald went to mexico cityjust a few weeks before he assassinated president kennedy, and it wasn't a travel visit. he was seeing the cuban embassy and the russian embassy and he was trying to get a visa to cuba and/or russia. but we had wondered exactly

how we had obtained — the united states had obtained — a transcript of the call from lee harvey oswald to the russian embassy, in broken russian, i should add. we've just discovered it is because there was a secret telephone tapping centre that the us ranjointly with the president of mexico, and the president of mexico never told his own secret service industry and the government. no one who was in a position of authority knew about this except for the president of mexico. so i can see how there are little bits like this that could still cause controversy, and that may explain some of the remaining redactions, but that 3% left to be released, i guarantee has more sensitive information but it will not contain

the name of another assassin. larry, you're talking about mexico, russia, the cuban missile crisis was on the minds of people. you were a teenager when the president was assassinated. can you describe exactly what that was like to be in america during those years? yes, actually, i was 11, please don't make me older than i am. pardon. laughter. i'm just kidding. makes little difference at the age of 70. look, like everyone living through this in america, regardless of your political affiliation, we were totally we were totally shocked, overwhelmed with grief. we are more use to disasters today than we were back in a more innocent time. we couldn't believe that anyone had been able to assassinate the president, the first question people asked was not only who did it but how could he possibly do it? how could this be arranged? and that was the origin of much of the conspiracy theories we have heard since then, that and the fact that the government, especially

the cia and to a lesser the fbi, did not want to reveal what they knew. they didn't even tell the warren commission which officially investigated the assassination of president kennedy. so when you look back, you can understand why this stuck with us so long. it was part of our psyche. it changed our approach to life and to politics and not in constructive way. larry, just briefly before we go, do you think that little inkling that is left hidden at the national archives is going to cause more questions than answers, more conspiracies than transparency? 0h, inevitably. look, wejust found a letter an hour ago, it hasn't been released, december 8th of this year, noting that the national archives, which is supplying these documents, has been unable to find 28 documents that in 2018 it certified as pending

approval to be released. right there is another conspiracy theory. i guarantee you. that is a book. just want to bring you a bit of breaking news because rescue teams in malaysia say as many as 100 people may have been trapped following a landslide at a campsite. it happened about forty miles from kuala lumpur, at batang kali. officials say more than 30 people have been rescued so far. it's being reported that landslip about an acre in size fell onto the campers. rescue efforts are still ongoing, and we'll bring you more details when we have them. it's been called the new "winter of discontent" in the uk. workers have been going on strike across multiple industries in the run up to christmas and the new year. in recent weeks, rail workers, airport staff and postal employees — have all walked off the job. they're angry about pay and working conditions. that's meant fewer trains,

long waits at airports, and delayed deliveries. and on thursday — tens of thousands of nurses took part in the biggest strike in the history of britain's public health service. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports. cheering. a moment of history. nurses on a picket line in liverpool. part of the biggest strike ever staged by the royal college of nursing. what we want? fair pay! and in leeds, nurses made plain their anger at the pay settlement they've been given. in sub—zero temperatures, they gathered early in reading. nurses here argued that the strike was about stressful working conditions, as well as pay. nothing changes. thingsjust get tighter and tighter. and we're expected to just keep putting up with things, keep finding... i'm getting emotional now. ..keep finding reserves. and enough is enough.

we have to make a stand to get the government to at least enter into some discussion. because, at the moment, they are not even entertaining that. and it is for the future of nursing. and the future of the nhs. it's notjust nurses. there aren't enough doctors, there aren't enough physios. and it's for patient safety. it'sjust after ten in the morning, and the head of the royal college of nursing has just arrived at royal berkshire hospital, as part of a tour of different hospitals in england and wales, to encourage and show support for striking nurses. nurses in emergency care continued working. the union responded to accusations it was putting some other urgent treatment at risk. these nurses will do nothing reckless. they will make sure that patients are looked after. and, indeed, if there were any emergencies to arrive today in relation to cancer services or any other services, the clinicians that are working with us at local level will make sure that we work with them to ensure that those patients are looked after, and their care is delivered.

average nurses' pay is around £35,000. the rcn say wages have fallen after taking account of inflation. ministers said they recognised the contribution of nurses, but there were other factors to consider. we've got to balance that against what is affordable to the wider economy. and asking for a 19% pay rise, way above what most viewers themselves are receiving, is not affordable, given the many other economic pressures that we face. nonurgent nhs work was postponed because of the strikes. ruth has a lung condition and her appointment today didn't go ahead. i knew as soon as i heard about the nurses' strike, i was surprised not to receive a cancellation. i did then get a text message saying my appointment has, understandably, been cancelled. because without the nurses the nhs just doesn't work. oi, oi, oi! striking nurses were making their voices heard in cardiff,

and in belfast too, picket lines were busy. in england, there were strikes at about a quarter of trusts. but several more voted in favour and the union says the walk—outs could be extended in the new year if the dispute isn't resolved. hugh pym, bbc news, reading. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... more revelations on their rift with the royals in the latest instalment of harry and meghan�*s netflix series. saddam hussein is finished, because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes but they brought a formal end to three and a half years of conflict, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives.

before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border- was sealed and silent today. romania has cut itself off from the outside world i to prevent the details - of the presumed massacre in timisoara from leaking out. from sex at the white house to a trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair means bill clinton is guaranteed a place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm monica miller in singapore. 0ur headlines... official documents about the assassination ofjohn f. kennedy have been released — but will they silence the conspiracy theorists? tens of thousands of nurses in england, wales

and northern ireland have taken strike action over pay and conditions. earlier this week, hong kong scrapped a number of covid measures it had imposed on travellers. most international arrivals will still have to undergo a series of covid tests but travellers arriving in the city would no longer be issued an "amber code" barring them from entering restaurants and bars during their first three days. let's speak to dr hsiang—yu yuan, infectious disease epidemiologist & modeller at city university of hong kong. thank you so much forjoining us on the programme. we were seeing a couple of weeks ago protests on mainland china in terms of some belief that led to the lifting of some of these restrictions. so how is this playing out in hong kong? for

most of the — playing out in hong kong? fr?" most of the hong kong people, we are very... we pay attention about what is going on right now in mainland china. i think we are also very worried about the current situation that the number of cases is increasing, but overall, the number right now is not reported. so it's very difficult for us to understand how serious the outbreak is right now in mainland china. of course, we hope that the partner can be opened as soon as possible. now, what are the things that china is trying to do, it is a race rank now to get people vaccinated. how has hong kong donein vaccinated. how has hong kong done in terms of their vaccination records? about vaccination _ vaccination records? about vaccination in _ vaccination records? about vaccination in hong - vaccination records? about vaccination in hong kong, | vaccination records? about - vaccination in hong kong, early this year during the early fifth wave, not so many elderly

have been vaccinated. not reaching about 50%, but after the early fifth wave, most of them have been vaccinated, so even for the booster, vaccine coverage has reached more than 80% right now, so right now, i will say that the majority of hong kong areas have been vaccinated with the booster now, so it's much safer and we use two vaccines based on mra technology, so hong kong, they can pick what kind of brand they want to use.— can pick what kind of brand they want to use. one thing that hong — they want to use. one thing that hong kong _ they want to use. one thing that hong kong officials - they want to use. one thing l that hong kong officials have said is that they may be finally getting back to big crowds, especially around the lunar new year. what kind of precautions would you suggest as a doctor that people take if they do want to participate in

these activities?— these activities? right. right now it's a _ these activities? right. right now it's a little _ these activities? right. right now it's a little bit... - now it's a little bit... difficult to say because of the easing of the restrictions. we don't need to have the yellow coat to lets travellers monitor themselves. so i guess for the holiday season, there will be more travellers from the world and maybe also from the mainland, and definitely will increase the risk, even for a few days we already see the number of cases is increasing a little bit right now.— little bit right now. doctor, thank you _ little bit right now. doctor, thank you so _ little bit right now. doctor, thank you so much - little bit right now. doctor, thank you so much for- little bit right now. doctor, i thank you so much forjoining us on the programme. thank you so much for “oining us on the programmeh us on the programme. you're welcome- — the royal palace in thailand has confirmed that the king's eldest daughter has collapsed with what it described as a "heart condition". the princess is 44 and is being treated in hospital in bangkok. the palace has given few details about her health.

0ur correspondentjonathan head has more from bangkok. the only bulletin issued by the royal palace in thailand is not telling us very much about the state of health of princess bajrakitiyabha, only stating that she collapsed from a heart condition, that at the time of her collapse her condition was described by the statement as stable to a certain extent, and no description of her state of health right now, where she is being treated in hospital here in the capital, bangkok. we can assume that her situation is very serious, because they are putting new positive news on this official statement. there is no suggestion that she is doing well or recovering. there is a great deal of concern here in thailand because princess bajrakitiyabha is seen as the most plausible heir to the throne to princess bajrakitiyabha, herfather who he is now 70.

it is the prerogative of the king to name an heir in thailand and he has not gone bad, but his other children just don't match our levels of accomplishment, which stand out in a sometimes dysfunctional royal family. she is a qualified lawyer, she has two postgraduate law degrees from the united states. she worked as thailand's ambassador to austria for two or three years a decade ago. she has worked quite a lot with un agencies and campaigned openly in thailand for penal reform, particularly for better treatment of women prisoners. by royal standard she is a bit of a standout, known to be smart, articulate, strong willed and i think many people saw her as the best choice as an heir to the throne. a lot for the future of the monarchy hangs on the outcome of whatever medical emergency it is that princess bajrakitiyabha has suffered from and we will simply have to waitand see.

those questions always hang over it. he's had quite a number of children, but some he is estranged from, they live in the us. his youngest son appears to have some kind of developmental challenges, and many people think he probably would not be able to do the job of king, so this news about the kings eldest daughter, part of his inner circle is very bad news for thailand's monarchy. staying with royal news — the first espisodes of prince harry and meghan�*s — netflix series — gained worldwide attention, after claims about the royal family and the british media. now, in the second batch of episodes — the prince and his wife, have made some new and eye—catching revelations. among them, that prince william

screamed and shouted at prince harry while the queen looked on. harry also accused royal officials of playing a "dirty game" with the leaking of stories. 0ur royal correspondent nicolas witchell�*s report does contain flashing images from the start. westminster abbey, ten days to christmas, the king and queen consort arriving for a festive celebration with community groups. also there, the prince and princess of wales with george and charlotte. the british royal family doing what it does, on a day of further family turbulence. from netflix, the latest episodes of the harry and meghan story, their account of why they left royal life. a tale of rivalry and intrigue which came to a head at sandringham injanuary 2020, when harry tried to discuss his and meghan�*s exit with his father and brother. it was terrifying to have my

brother scream and shout at me, and my father say things we simply weren't true. and my grandmother quietly sit there and take it all in. but you have to understand that, from the family's perspective, especially from hers, there are ways of doing things and her ultimate mission, goal slash responsibility, is institution. according to harry, protecting the institution meant doing down him and his wife. an example, as he left the sandringham meeting, the palace issued a statement in william and harry's name to deny a story that william had bullied the sussexes to leave. i couldn't believe it. no—one had asked me. nobody had asked my permission to put a name to a statement like that. within four hours, they were happy to lie to protect my brother. and yet for three years, they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us. according to harry

and meghan, the root of the problem was jealousy. the issue is when someone who is marrying in and should be a supporting act, is then stealing the limelight or doing thejob better than the person who is born to do this, that upsets people. it shifts the balance. in their version of events, meghan had become too popular so stories were planted in the media to damage her. meghan felt completely overwhelmed. it's like, all of this if i'm not here. and that was the scariest thing about it. it was such clear thinking. i remember hertelling me that she had wanted - to take her own life. and that really broke my heart. the programmes present troubling insights

into what the couple, and meghan in particular, went through, though without any attempt to examine whether their own behaviour may, on occasions, have anticipated matters. at one point, harry says, it never needed to be this way. that may be one of the few points on which all members of the family can agree. nicholas witchell, bbc news. the german former tennis star, boris becker, has been deported from britain following his release from prison earlier in the day. the three—times wimbledon champion, was jailed for hiding over three million dollars of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts after he was declared bankrupt. he had served eight months of a two— and —a —half year sentence. actor henry cavill has been dropped as superman. the news comes less than two months after he said he would be coming back to play the role. but in october, just after the first announcement — new bosses took over the film studio in charge, dc studios. they had other plans and decided cavill won't be returning after all. he first played superman back in 2013 and made two further

appearances as the super hero that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. goodbye for now. i monica miller. hello. an end to this cold spell is on the horizon, but notjust yet. friday morning once again getting off to a very cold start with a widespread frost and more snow in the forecast forsome, particularly, in scotland with this weather system working in from the west. some rain and sleet around the coasts and at low levels at times, but snow over the hills. and some of that snow will come down to low levels at times, particularly where it turns heavier. across high ground, say in the grampians, could see 20 cm of snow. but even at lower levels, maybe through the central lowlands, we could be looking at 5—10 cm of snow with some ice as well.

that could cause some real disruption. some rain, sleet and snow showers getting into parts of northern ireland, particularly in the north. elsewhere, some spells of sunshine once any early freezing fog is cleared from the southeast corner. but it will be in another cold day. just —2 degrees there in aberdeen for the afternoon high. 6 degrees in plymouth, something a bit less cold into the far southwest. now, through friday night we will see this band of patchy rain, sleet and hill snow continuing to push southwards, getting into northern england, parts of north wales. some wintery showers elsewhere. while it will be another frosty night, it's not going to be quite as cold as the nights we have become used to lately. and as we go through saturday, it will feel just a little less cold. this band of rain still with some hill snow across parts of northern england, north wales, some wintery showers elsewhere. we start to develop south or south—westerly wind and that will bring something a little less chilly. temperatures certainly should get above freezing in the vast majority of locations. maybe 9 degrees in the southwest of england. into sunday, a bigger change, this frontal system pushing in from the atlantic.

that will bring some wind, and some rain and some milder air. but it's not going to be a clean transition, because things have been just so cold lately that as this wet and mild weather bumps into the cold air, we are likely to see some snow, at least for a time. some places could see quite a lot before it turns back to rain. ice will also be a concern with this wet and wintery weather falling on very cold surfaces. but by the end of the day on sunday, we'll be looking at highs into double digits for south wales and southwest england. those temperatures could rise further on monday. see what the temperatures are going to do where you are on the bbc weather app.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. the uk isn't quite in the grip of a general strike, but it's not far off. vital public services like health, railand mail are being disrupted by industrial action. workers want to protect themselves from spiralling inflation. the government is desperate to keep a lid on wage rises and public spending. as the economic gloom deepens, does the opposition

labour party have a plan for public service reform and prosperity?