i'm rico hizon.'s start off with the hong kong protests, because us president donald trump has signed into law congressional legislation backing the pro—democracy protesters. the move comes despite angry objections from beijing, the us and china had been close to reaching a phase i deal to end their bitter trade war. michael mccarthy joins end their bitter trade war. michael mccarthyjoins me now end their bitter trade war. michael mccarthy joins me now from end their bitter trade war. michael mccarthyjoins me now from sydney. could this impact the ongoing trade negotiations, michael? because a few days ago trump said it was close to fruition. good morning, rico. that is the key issue for markets at the moment, how beijing will respond to what is clearly a provocative move from the president in signing this bill. on the positive side, this is largely a symbolic girl. it merely enables action in the future if the us congress is moved to do so. so if the response from beijing is also symbolic, things mi

i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: claiming it's a "conjob": president trump denies that he asked his attorney general to say he'd done nothing wrong in his call with ukraine's president. from friends to rivals: why the relationship between america and china has become a battle that the us can't afford to lose. i'm nuala mcgovern in london. also in the programme: a corridor allowing sikhs to cross from india into pakistan to visit one of the religion‘s holiest sites is due to open on saturday. and in the ring with the female amateur sumo champion who's fighting to change the rules of one of the world's oldest sports.

i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: claiming it's a "conjob": president trump denies that he asked his attorney general to say he'd done nothing wrong in his call with ukraine's president. from friends to rivals: why the relationship between america and china has become a battle that the us can't afford to lose. i'm nuala mcgovern in london. also in the programme: a corridor allowing sikhs to cross from india into pakistan to visit one of the religion‘s holiest sites is due to open on saturday. and in the ring with the female amateur sumo champion who's fighting to change the rules of one of the world's oldest sports. good morning. it's 9am in singapore, 1am in london, and 8pm in washington dc, where the impeachment inquiry continued to unfold on thursday and president trump went on the attack. he's furious about reports that he asked attorney general william barr to hold a press conference clearing him of any wrongdoing in that phone call with ukraine's leader, in which mr trump asked for an investigatio

i'm rico hizon.et's start off with the unfolding developments in hong kong, because the us house of representatives have passed legislation intended to support protesters in the territory and sent a warning to china about human right. it was unanimously approved by the senate on tuesday and that triggered a threat from beijing of retaliation. for more details, i'm joined now by my colleague mariko oi. whatare joined now by my colleague mariko oi. what are some of the features of this bill? there are actually two of them that will now go to president trump to sign or veto. one is to ban the export of items like teargas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets that hong kong police forces, who have been accused by protesters of excessive use of force stopping the other bill is called hong kong human rights and democracy act. let me explain. we all know that the city enjoys its status as a world financial centre stopping many multinational companies operate out of hong kong. instead of china, the city has what

and i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. g the world's biggest brands connect to social media. rico, we look forward to that. and to finish we have an update on the robbery at a museum in dresden in germany. we now have pictures of some of the priceless items taken, including this stolen ‘sword of the diamond rose', encrusted with several large diamonds and dozens of smaller ones. also taken was a breast star of the polish order of the white eagle. it was taken, absolutely priceless. hello, once again. i don't know about you but i'm struggling to remember the last time i saw any meaningful sunshine and there's not a great deal of difference as we lose tuesday and move into wednesday, with that low pressure very much the dominant feature, a number of attendant fronts. so really quite wet conditions right from the word go across parts of eastern england, gradually migrating towards the borders. north of it, this ribbon of cloud and rain stretching from the northern to the western isles, fringing into the north of the great glen

rico hizon is following the story. this rico hizon. good to see you. markets are wobbling again. because what happened overnight in washington, dc could really hurt the ongoing trade negotiation process with china. raising has not made any reference so far to the talks, but it has accused the united states, sally, of sinister intentions. president trump signed to bills as he tries to reach a phase one trade arrangement with beijing. earlier this week he was bragging that a deal was indeed imminent. to give you background about this new legislation which was approved by the us congress last week. it requires the state department to certify that hong kong retains enough autonomy to justify favourable us trading terms that have helped them maintain their position as a global financial hub. the law also threatens sanctions for human rights violations. at this point, donald trump is hoping to secure a major trade deal with china this year, but the talks have faulted multiple times. he is now trying to secure a mini trade agreement which would agree —— include farm products with beijin

i am rico hizon. sport todayis time with us. i am rico hizon. sport today is coming up next.er of our top stories. thousands of scientists from around the world have joined forces to declare a global climate emergency. they called for policies that limit population growth, meat production, and end the use of fossil fuels. a key witness in donald trump's impeachment inquiry has said ukraine was told to investigate his democratic rivaljoe biden to get us military aid — directly contradicting claims by the president. scientists say a home test kit could revolutionise screening for cervical cancer. women could be able to carry out a urine or swab test at home and send the sample by post for analysis. 0ur health reporter michelle roberts has the details. smear tests can be lifesaving but millions of women are not going for them. women aged 25—64 in the uk are invited for checks, but the number taking up the offer has been falling. you can suggest one in four women do not attend for a smear test when invited. experts say low uptake rates could be down to embarrassment, a lack of aw

thanks very much indeed, rico hizon in singapore for us.rd to emerge from the ongoing us—china trade war: splinternet. as united states walls off more of its technologies from chinese companies, it is also dividing the world wide web. as our asia business correspondent karishma vaswani reports, this is adding yet another challenge for companies trying to do business in both countries. 0ne product for china and another for the rest of the world. welcome to the splinternet, two digital ecosystems running side—by—side. and nothing illustrates it more than tiktok. 0wned nothing illustrates it more than tiktok. owned by a chinese company, tiktok. owned by a chinese company, tiktok now has more than half a billion users with a big chunk of its market in the us and india. the way we use tiktok outside of china is completely separate to how it's used inside the country. same at, but different networks, different censorship policies, kind of like a digital twin. but that wasn't a love for us lawmakers dominated the chinese social media company is us

i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: hong kong's chief executive, carrie lam, promises to reflect after pro—democracy parties win a landslide in local elections. the message is that the hong kong opposition is now the most powerful political group in hong kong. it is no longer a protest movement. it now has a proper democratic mandate and that means that the chief executive cannot longer ignore their demands. a us court rules that a former white house counsel must testify before congress, rejecting the trump administration's argument that white house officials cannot be compelled to do so. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: australian intelligence officials investigate allegations of a plot to get a chinese spy elected to parliament. and we meet the malaysian punk rocker who's leading the straight edge movement by promoting a totally sober lifestyle. live from our studios in singapore and london... this is bbc world news. it is newsday. glad you could join us. good morning. it's 8am in sing

i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: at the victoria falls, a dramatic change in water levels. we report from zimbabwe on drought, rising temperatures and a new warning from the united nations. with just over two weeks until the uk general election, both main political parties are forced to defend themselves against allegations of racism. iam i am determined that our society be safe for people of all faiths. i don't want anyone to be feeling insecure in our society and our government will protect every community. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: what hong kong's minorities think about the protests and what they mean for the city's diversity. and we talk to the people trying to save australia's koalas from the devastating bushfires. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it is newsday. glad you could join us. it's 8am in singapore and midnight in london. time is running out to stop climate disaster and temperatures rising says a new report from the un. the u

i'm rico hizon. let's begin with us gaming company activision blizzard, which reports its latest numbers later today. you might remember the firm for suspending the accounts of four players after they openly supported the hong kong protests. almost immediately, the hashtag # boycottblizza rd immediately, the hashtag #boycottblizza rd started trending immediately, the hashtag #boycottblizzard started trending on twitter, prompting some players to stop playing. the firm's leader says they will stick with their band, but they will stick with their band, but the company may soon face other problems beyond profits. well, actually, i think the big problem will be regulation. because interest is growing in regulating video games. imagine this. imagine if a large network or large magazine got bought in part by china. you would have a lot of oversight. tencent has bought into activision, yet that has gone unnoticed. so with that protest and that interest you will see regulators clamping down on investment in

i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london.s formally underway with prime minister borisjohnson calling on voters to give him the majority to deliver brexit. us congressional democrats announce they will begin public hearings on impeaching president trump next wednesday. now let's see what's making the front pages of thursday's newspapers. the philippine star's front page says president duterte's vice—president and rival leni robredo has accepted the challenge of leading the war on drugs, even though her supporters warn it could be a trap. ms robredo says despite the suspicion she's being set up to fail, if it means she can save just one innocent life, then she should try it. the arab news reports on the stabbing of eight people, including four tourists, at the ancient roman heritage site ofjerash in jordan. a palestinian man from a nearby refugee camp was arrested for questioning. a spokesperson for the camp said residents there denounced the attack. and singapore's straits times tells the story of two brothers, lin hanwei and

i'm rico hizon, let's kickoff the programme with japan because this morning we had that exports flipped9.2% in the month of october compared to a year ago levels. and this comes on the same day that shinzo abe passes the milestone of becoming the country's longest serving prime minister. his time in office has been marked by his centrepiece economic programme called abenomics. for more on this economic revival initiative from the prime minister, i'mjoined now economic revival initiative from the prime minister, i'm joined now by my collea g u es prime minister, i'm joined now by my colleagues and business reporter mariko 0i. what has it achieved? there are pros and cons, but can you believe that his landmark abenomics policy was introduced seven years ago, and they were of course, three arrows if you remember. bold monetary easing, fiscal spending, and structural reforms, and part of that structural reform was to increase the number of female managers. it has not met the target but at least it is encouraging japanese companies to change. so, how have investors reacted to abenomics? chec

i'm rico hizon in singapore. you are watching newsday on the bbc. the headlines: a six—point plan to save the planet — thousands of scientists demand deep and lasting changes to curb catastrophic climate change. the smog crisis engulfing india's capital. how the youngest and poorest residents are most at risk. it's killing our children. it's making their iq development lower. it's causing cancers. breathing kills. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: pressure builds on president trump as a key witness in the impeachment inquiry says ukraine was told to investigate his democratic rival joe biden to get us military aid. cheering and applause. and a heroes‘ welcome for the springboks in south africa after winning the rugby world cup in style. voiceover: live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good morning. it's 9am in singapore, one in the morning in london and 8pm in washington, dc, where a climate study endorsed by 11,000 scientists warns that there will be "untold human suffering" without de

i'm rico hizon.art the programme with the ongoing us— china trade conflict, because wall street shares have edged up to more record highs overnight, as investors look past some weak economic data to focus on president trump saying that the world's two biggest economies are close to an agreement on the first phase of a deal. the bbc‘s vivian nunis has more from new york. donald trump said on tuesday the united states was in the final throes of its push to reach a trade deal with china. the president said he had a very good relationship with china's president, xijinping, very good relationship with china's president, xi jinping, and very good relationship with china's president, xijinping, and the trade negotiations between washington and beijing are going very well. that seems to have been enough to keep wall street happy. for the second day ina wall street happy. for the second day in a row, the major us indices closed at a record high. investor optimism echoed that of the chair of the us federal res

, packed edition of asia business report, iam rico hizon, starting off with the trade war because the economic superpowers appear to be inching towards a endgame and on wall street, investors are pleased with the latest signs of progress with the latest signs of progress with all of the major benchmarks surging to record highs. asia is in positive territory as well. as you can see right now on your screens, the neck a 225 gained 0.6%. the trade war has gone on for nearly two yea rs trade war has gone on for nearly two years but dating announced on thursday that both sides have agreed to cancel "some" of the tariffs imposed in phases along a timetable both can agree on. translation: the trade was started with tariffs and should end with the cancellation of tariffs. regarding how much of the ta riffs tariffs. regarding how much of the tariffs should cancel at the first phase, we can come to an agreement based on the content of the phase i agreement. our business reporter in new york's america hussein says it is probably too soon to celebrate as yet. we have to be clear here though, they

i'm rico hizon.ith hong kong, because of huge week is starting for the city both politically and in the financial markets. this is the territory's pro—democracy movement has made huge gains in district council elections, a major challenge to the embattled chief executive, carrie lam. the latest, let's cross over to hong kong and i am joined by my colleague, sharanjit leyl. sharanjit, the hong kong stock market has opened for business. what sort of reaction are we seeing? that's right, the hang seng is open and it is rising this morning. it was up i% at the opening bell, just a few minutes ago. really a response from many investors to this election result. it is a landslide victory, it appears. of course, all the full results are not officially on just yet. we are expecting them in the next few hours, but already indications show that over 70% of hong kongers overwhelmingly supported the pro—democracy camp and the pro—democracy candidates. they swept up the pro establishment beijing candidates, essent

i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london.off enters its fourth day, just a few dozen protestors are believed to be still inside the campus. us congress has been hearing testimony from several witnesses as part of the latest hearings in the impeachment inquiry into donald trump. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the straits times is on the lookout for the singaporean of the year. the nominees must have given up a successful career to help those in need. four people have been named as contenders so far. india's business standard features a tough message for whatsapp from the government in new dehli. it comes after the discovery of a potential vulnerability on older versions of the messaging app. and gulf news reports on a very big edition of the bible. a family in dubai have completed what might be the world's largest handwritten edition. it took 153 days to make and weighs over 150 kg. certainly not one for the pocket. let's return to the ongoing unrest in hong kong. i'm joined by vicky wong, the pol

and i'm rico hizon in singapore.lso in the programme: growing tensions between the uk and china, as a british consular worker tells the bbc he was tortured by chinese secret police. and we talk to the star of a hotly tipped film at this week's singapore film festival. hello, and welcome to the programme. it's 9:00am in singapore and 1:00 in the morning here in london, where prince andrew has decided to step back from his royal duties for the foreseeable future. it follows controversy surrounding his friendship with the convicted paedophile, jeffrey epstein and his disastrous interview at the weekend with the bbc. the prince has denied having sex with a 17—year—old girl procured for him by epstein, but a number of organisations linked to his work have begun to distance themselves. nicholas witchell reports. driving himself into buckingham palace yesterday, the only sighting of prince andrew since the newsnight interview was broadcast. hostility towards him has shown no sign of lessening. "poison prince" and "pariah pr

and i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. trade war winners.rlic. for the time being, from all of us here, thank you for watching. most m ost pla ces most places a frost free at the moment because there is too much cloud around although over the next few days it will continue to get milder, day and night, but in the forecast. most of the rain today will be towards the south. and getting blown away i those brisk winds. great through the midlands through the south—east of england, brighter skies further north, a few showers towards the north—east of scotland. the highest temperature is where it turns wetter later in the day towards the south—west of england, may be double figures here. jumping into friday. more showers and a lot of cloud around on friday but the potential for some wet weather to develop towards the west country, south—west of england and then into the west midlands and wales, though showers merging two long spells of rain that could be quite heavy. 7—9d in the north, double figures likely further south. i'm kasia madera with bbc

i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: defying beijing, president donald trump signs 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. i'm lewis vaughanjones in london. also in the programme: one of nature's amazing wonders, a mass coral spawning. we will be talking to researchers who are trying to restore the damaged parts of the great barrier reef. 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. good morning. it is 9:00am in singapore, 1:00am in the morning in london and 8:00pm in washington, where president trump has signed into law legislation backing protesters in hong kong. the law has been passed by both houses of congress, but until late on wednesday, the president had no shown huge enthusiasm for the bill. he said he had respect for china's president, xijin

i‘m rico hizon in singapore. i‘m kasia madera in london.asting changes to curb catastrophic climate change. a key witness in donald trump‘s impeachment inquiry has said ukraine was told to investigate his democratic rivaljoe biden to get us military aid, directly contradicting claims by the president. let‘s take a look at some front pages from around the world. the south china morning post is covering american concerns over reports that the families of uighur activists are being harrassed by china. it says secretary of state mike pompeo sent his condolences to activists who suffered reprisals after meeting with us officials. the gulf news reports that yemen‘s government has agreed a power—sharing deal with separatists in the country‘s south. the deal with the southern transitional council is meant to allow both sides to focus on fighting the iranian backed houthi militia which has taken over large parts of yemen. and the french newspaper le figaro leads with a story on plans to simplify france‘s immigration system. but further down the fron

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 h

let's go to our asia business hub where rico hizon is following the story. , tell us more about this story. westpac, samantha, is indeed ina very story. westpac, samantha, is indeed in a very tough situation after being accused by the country's financial crime—fighting agency of violating anti— money—laundering laws on more than 23 million occasions. regulators say westpac ignored red flags and enabled payments from convicted sex offenders and high—risk companies like iraq, zimbabwe, lebanon and the congo. banking analysts say each breach is liable for a civil penalty of 11-15,000,000 breach is liable for a civil penalty of ii—is,000,000 dollars, which leaves west westpac open to crippling fines if they approved in court. in 2017, samantha, the commonwealth bank of australia was accused of 50,000 breaches of monty laura laundering and antiterrorism laws, a case later settled by $500 million, the largest civil settlement. this comes at a time of heightened global regulatory scrutiny following high—profile scandals involving several global banks and this has se

let's go to our asia business hub where rico hizon is following the story.he market moves. these bills are complicating matters. these two bills will now be going to president trump. items like teargas. it's legislation includes a requirement with reports are certified by the secretary of state. that distinction protects hong kong from the punitive tariffs that washington has opposed on the bill also because for sanctions against officials responsible for human rights violations in the territory. beijing as we know. president trump would veto the legislation is during ongoing negotiations but the unanimous vote in the senate could make a veto difficult for the president and this is indeed having an impact on the global financial markets. would you fake being ill to avoid going to work? over half of young adults here in britain would, according to a survey of moral attitudes by the bbc. many also feel under pressure from a ‘long hours' culture to be at work longer than they need to be. let's show you some details. the bbc found 40% of people would take a sick

let's go to our asia business hub where rico hizon is following the story.r is posting better than expected process, that's due to global growth and depends, the automakers as its profits are in the first of there, they edged up to 0.6% compared to the previous year, sales in north america which is toyota ‘s biggest market, they rose 56% is accompanied with —— produce more trucks and suvs. the decrees some of the discount they have been giving which has been helping the bottom line. as for sales in asia include china, they come 3.4% and has been expanding its sales in china which is the world ‘s biggest auto market where demand has been really strong recently for some of its sedans and some of its new models, there is some concern that go—ahead, there trade tension with the united states, and the administration had threatened to post tariffs on these cars service ofa post tariffs on these cars service of a see what happens next quarter, --. that's talking through some of the business stories. —— let's talk you through the business stories. two former employe

let's cross to rico hizon in our asia business hub in singapore.e mind of macron, do you think? trade, trade, trade! that is high on his agenda. he has brought within a large delegation of french business representing 30 companies who want to increase imports of their goods into the mainland. this, sally, is all in an effort to get beijing to agree on the terms of an eu—china trade agreement. france currently has a trade deficit with china, that is almost 33 billion us dollars, in fa ct almost 33 billion us dollars, in fact that is the largest deficit france has with any of its trading partners followed by germany. as for china, they buy french dairy products and pork as the country grapples with this one fever outbreak causing a rapid rise in pork prices. the european union and its members are trying to secure an agreement with china before tariffs are slept on airbus planes, wine, and cheese. we shall watch this space. we thank you very much indeed. how much time are your kids spending glued to their screens? we're all being encouraged to limit t

let's go to our asia business hub, where rico hizon has been following the story.t is the wework and uber investments that have really drained the deep pockets of softbank‘s vision fund, which has raised nearly 100 alien us dollars. —— billion. its second fund is coming very soon but apparently softbank is struggling to raise money for it. apart from the japanese conglomerate, the fund also has two major backers. saudi arabia, which invested $45 billion in abu dhabi, but now saudi arabia says it might only invest whatever profit it gets from the first vision fund, while abu dhabi might reduce the offer to less than $10 billion. here's also one of the main issues. as of now, you mentioned 70 companies in their portfolio. 35% of the fund's holdings are in transportation, logistics and real estate, including uber and wework, and the only sector currently reporting decent gains is the consumer sector, but that only accou nts consumer sector, but that only accounts for 15% of the portfolio. it's interesting to note the majority of the recipients are in the us and asia,

rico hizon is following the story. hello. read us the numbers. a little more optimism, we think? of damir dzumhur despite the numbers are not as bad as everyone expected. china's exports and imports contracted yet again in october. it fell by 0.9% from one year ago levels for a third straight month. the existing tariffs, including the latest levies by the us on chinese imports from september one have hit the country's outbound shipment along with stubbornly weak local demand. and of course there are talk of the endgame and some experts believe that even if the first phase is signed soon it is unlikely to boost exports and manufacturing for some time and could still mean more stimulus is needed from beijing's two avert a sharper downturn. the latest data also showed china's imports shrinking by 6.4% from year ago levels for the sixth consecutive month. the weak figures are due to shrinking activity amply producer prices. slowdown points to lingering wea kness prices. slowdown points to lingering weakness in domestic demand in the limited impact of policy stimulus so far. many econ

i'm rico hizon in singapore. you are watching newsday on the bbc.thousands of scientists demand deep and lasting changes to curb catastrophic climate change. the smog crisis engulfing india's capital. how the youngest and poorest residents are most at risk. it's killing our children. it's making their iq development lower. it's causing cancers. breathing kills. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: pressure builds on president trump as a key witness in the impeachment

i'm rico hizon in singapore. city of permanent protest? we investigate a city polarised by five months of unrest. and levelling the playing field. australia's female football team strike a landmark deal to earn equal

i'm rico hizon in singapore.ide in local elections. the message is that the hong kong opposition is now the most powerful political group in hong kong. it is no longer a protest movement. it now has a proper democratic mandate and that means that the chief executive can no longer ignore their demands. a us court rules that a former white house counsel must testify before congress, rejecting the trump administration's argument that white house officials cannot be compelled to do so. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme.

i'm rico hizon in singapore.arties win a landslide in local elections. the message is that the hong kong opposition is now the most powerful political group in hong kong. it is no longer a protest movement. it now has a proper democratic mandate and that means that the chief executive cannot longer ignore their demands. a us court rules that a former white house counsel must testify before congress, rejecting the trump administration's argument that white house officials cannot be compelled to do so. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme:

i'm rico hizon in singapore. drought, rising temperatures, and a new warning from the united nations. with just over two weeks until the uk general election, both main political parties are forced to defend themselves against allegations of racism. i am determined that our society be safe for people of all faiths. i don't want anyone to be feeling insecure in our society, and our government will protect every community. i'm kasia madera in london.

i'm rico hizon in singapore.rs in hong kong. malta's government in crisis. an investigation into the murder of a prominentjournalist leads to protests and a string of resignations. i'm lewis vaughanjones in london. also in the programme: one of nature's amazing wonders, a mass coral spawning. we will be talking to researchers who are trying to restore the damaged parts of the great barrier reef. clive james, one of australia's most celebrated broadcasters and writers,

and i'm rico hizon in singapore.ish consular worker tells the bbc he was tortured by chinese secret police.

i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: malta's government in crisis.ts 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 —

i'm rico hizon in singapore.t he asked his attorney general to say he'd done nothing wrong in his call with ukraine's president. from friends to rivals: why the relationship between america and china has become a battle that the us can't afford to lose. i'm nuala mcgovern in london. also in the programme: a corridor allowing sikhs to cross from india into pakistan to visit one of the religion's holiest sites is due to open on saturday. and in the ring with the female amateur sumo champion who's fighting to change the rules of one of the world's oldest sports.

i'm rico hizon in singapore.mperatures and a new warning from the united nations. with just over two weeks until the uk general election, both main political parties are forced to defend themselves against allegations of racism. iam i am determined that our society be safe for people of all faiths. i don't want anyone to be feeling insecure in our society and our government will protect every community. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: what hong kong's minorities think about the protests and what they mean for the city's diversity.

i'm rico hizon in singapore, also on the programme: has hong kong become a city of permanent protest?ield. australia's female footballer team strike a landmark deal to earn pay

i'm rico hizon in singapore, the headlines claiming it's a ‘conjob'.— why the relationship between america and china has become a battle that the us can't afford to lose i'm nuala mcgovern in london. also in the programme: a corridor allowing sikhs to cross from india into pakistan to visit one of the religion's holiest sites is due to open on saturday. and in the ring with the female amateur sumo champion who's fighting

i'm rico hizon in singapore, the headlines: is hong kong's university stand—off in its final hours?lice. there are very few protesters left in here. may bejust as there are very few protesters left in here. may be just as few as 50 or so in here. may be just as few as 50 or so still remaining near the hard core. four more witnesses testify in washington, as the impeachment inquiry ramps up pressure on president trump. it is improper for the it is improperfor the president of the united states to demand a foreign government investigate a us citizen and a political opponent. i'm kasia madera in london.

i'm rico hizon in singapore.lso on the programme: has hong kong become a city of permanent protest? we investigate a city polarised by five months of unrest. and levelling the playing field. australia's female football team strike a landmark deal to earn equal pay to their male counterparts. it is 9:00am in singapore and 1:00am here in the uk, where the election campaign is officially under way. borisjohnson is calling on voters to deliver a majority for the conservative party so that he can get brexit done by the end of januray. the opposition labour party leader, jeremy corbyn, is promising to sort out brexit in six months, in part through a second referendum. our political editor laura kuenssberg has all the details. he has been one of the best—known politicians in the country for a decade, but fame and having faith are not the same thing. he may be the tory party's darling, but he wants you to trust him, and to stay in number ten. i didn't want an election. and no prime minister, frankly — i love myjob, and n

i'm rico hizon in singapore, the headlines: is hong kong's university stand—off in its final hours?nly a few protestors remain, ringed by police. there are very few protesters left in here. many may bejust there are very few protesters left in here. many may be just as few as 50 also remaining here, the hardcore. four more witnesses testify in washington as the impeachment inquiry ramps up pressure on president trump. it is improper for the it is improperfor the president of the united states to ask the foreign government investigate a political input —— opponent. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: amnesty international says more than 100 people have been killed across iran during days of protests. iranian security forces are accused of firing directly on protestors. the leaders of britain's two biggest parties trade blows ahead of next month's election while the conservatives are accused of misleading voters. good morning. it's midnight in london, 8am in singapore and in hong kong, where the siege by police at the polytechnic university is now in its fourth day. the