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 chinas president , xijinping, and was sure he would resolve the situation. But now, he has signed. So what difference does this make . Joining me now, ben bland, a Research Fellow and director of South East Asia project at Lowy Institute in sydney. Thank at Lowy Institute in sydney. You so much forjoinin tell thank you so much forjoining us. Tell us how significant that President Trump signed this bill, and what does it really mean for the Pro Democracy Movement in hong kong . This is a really big, symbolic victory for the Democracy Movement in hong kong. Activists have been lobbying the us congress and the Us Government for several years now to bring ina government for several years now to bring in a new law to increase the pressure on the Chinese Government. So they will greet this, but it is important to recognise the act doesnt bring in many new powers. What it does is it will push the Us Government to consider using some of the sanctions it has in its command against hong kong if beijing, the Chinese Communist party, continues to erode the freedoms and autonomy of that underpinned the hong kong system. In your view, is this a law that President Trump really wanted to sign . It is fair to say he seemed somewhat reluctant. He is not known, of course, for being a promoter of human rights. Hes very keen get his trade deal with president xi jinping over the line, and it was clear that the Chinese Government was really spitting the dummy on this one. They we re spitting the dummy on this one. They were really, really upset with the Congress Passing this act, and they really wa nted Congress Passing this act, and they really wanted trump to pull the plug on it somehow, because they see it as interference in their affairs. And i think they are very, very worried about the impact this could eventually have, one day, on hong kongs role as chinas Main International financial centre. Kongs role as chinas Main Internationalfinancial centre. But obviously President Trump was under a lot of pressure from the republicans in congress, and in the end he has conceded, but he seems to have been somewhat reluctant, and as isaid, have been somewhat reluctant, and as i said, still hong kong is and the Democracy Movement will greet this, and beijing is undoubtedly going to be very, very annoyed. Indeed, the Pro Democracy Movement will now have more momentum, especially after winning the District Council elections by a majority, and by a huge margin, over the weekend. Its obviously been a good week for the Democracy Movement in hong kong. As you say, the big election victory, and now this. But i think we have to acknowledge that in the bigger picture, not that much has changed. The councils in hong kong are really powerless, so its a symbolic victory. Much like in this case, this is really a symbolic victory. The Us Government already has many of these powers to sanction china, distinction hong kong, if it wishes to do so. So the symbolism is strong, and that matters when you are fighting a social movement. You need victories to keep people together, to keep people fighting. But im afraid to say, in the bigger picture, not that much has changed. The Hong Kong Government, beijing, still say they are going to continue cracking down on what they view as a law and order issue. Democracy is off the table. An independent enquiry into Police Violence is off the table stops are not that much has changed, and i think we are likely to see conflict continue to deepen until you have a meaningful change. We will see how this will all play out Going Forward in hong kong. Thank you so much for your insights. Lets take a look at some of the days other news the uks 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. Lets hearfrom both leaders. These documents confirm the us is demanding the nhs is on the table in the trade talks. These uncensored documents leave borisjohnsons 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. Not patents . In no way. The nhs is in no way on the table, in no aspect whatever. Also making news today the Scottish National party has launched its general election manifesto, saying a vote for the party is a vote to escape brexit and put scotlands future in scotlands 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. Twitter says it will delay plans to disable inactive accounts following a backlash from subscribers. On monday, twitter had begun contacting users who hadnt 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 se dol is the only human to ever beat the alphago Software Developed by googles Sister Company deepmind. In 2016, he took part in a five match showdown against alphago, losing four times but beating the computer once. The government in malta 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 for justice, including demands for a public inquiry. Damian grammaticas reports from malta. Chanting mafia, they shout. Corruption. The targets of their anger the politicians inside maltas parliament. Why are you here tonight . Because not only they have 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 theyve been protected from high up . In the crowds was her niece. Its disgusting that nothing has been done in these past two years. We need justice. We need answers. What has energised 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 maltas richest men. This week, the minister who gave him a huge energy contract, konrad mizzi, stood down. And so did keith schembri, the prime minsters chief of staff. He is being questioned by police. But this evening, Prime MinisterJoseph Muscat was defiant. Maltas opposition want him to stand aside so he cant interfere in the investigation. When he refused, they walked out. And, outside the Prime Ministers office, daphne Caruana Galizias 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. 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 macys parade, because of high winds. Laura trevelyn has more. Will 0laf fly tomorrow . Thats the burning question here in new york city. Never mind the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, will the giant inflatables which are a feature of the thanksgiving day parade be allowed off the ground, or will that storm system coming in from the midwest ground them . Now, here is why its important. Because actually, back in 1997, felix the cat, one of the big balloons, injured four people when it banged into a street lamp. So there are very, very strict rules governing whether the balloons can fly. If winds are at above 23 mph, and if theyre gusting at above 3a mph, 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 hes going to be dragged along the ground, which is what is going to happen if they cant fly. 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, todays sentences are for those who plotted the raid. From dhaka, Akbar Hossain reports. The accused islamic militants are brought to the court in dhaka under tight security. Hundreds of security personnel are deployed to maintain order. The accused looked defiant, and shouted. While leaving the courtroom, one of the guilty man, wearing a black cap, shouted and claimed himself as a 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 thejudgement. Three years ago, five islamic militants stormed inside the holey artisan cafe, located in dhakas uptown gulshan area. The cafe was a popular destination for foreigners staying in the capital. Nine italians, sevenjapanese, one american, and one Indian National were among those killed. The 12 hour hostage situation came to an end after an Army Commandos operation. Security forces in bangladesh went on to conduct anti terror operations across the country. After the cafe attack, at least 80 suspected militants were allegedly killed by the Security Forces during these operations. The Bangladeshi Government claims that they have successfully dismantled islamist militant groups. But many security analysts believe that the country has a long way to go until it can claim to have seen off the militancy thread for good. Akbar hossain, bbc news, dhaka. You are watching newsday on the bbc. Still to come on the programme remembering the australian writer and broadcaster clive james, who has died at the age of 80. Also on the programme reviving an ancient india art. We will take a look at a modern take on the skill and beauty of cheriyal paintings and crestions. 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, its a funny old world. Angela merkel is germanys 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, its not hot air we need, its 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 19605. 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. Im rico hizon in singapore. And im Lewis Vaughan jones in london. Our top stories defying beijing President Donald Trump signs into law congressional legislation backing protesters in hong kong. Maltas government in crisis an investigation into the murder of a prominentjournalist leads to protests and a string of resignations. Lets take a look at some front pages from around the world. We start with the International Edition of 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 many scientists. Now we have the front page of the japan 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. Singapores 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. Those are the papers. Lewis . Thank you, rico. Australia experienced a synchronised sex event earlier this month, resulting in millions of babies. Im 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 mass spawning event is one of the worlds 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 the one or a few nights each year. And it becomes like an underwater snowstorm, except all the egg sperm bundles are leading up to the surface instead of sinking down. Why is this so important . The mass spawning events generate billions of coral larvae. And those larvae are absolutely essential for the recovery and maintenance of the coral populations, the foundation of the reef. So without healthy coral communities and without replenishment by the larvae and sexual reproduction, you dont 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 were 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 during recent bleaching events and other human impacts. Now what we need to do is try to capture 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. And 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. I appreciate the efforts, but isnt the answer actually to try and protect the corals in the first place . Absolutely. What were trying to do with this restoration technique is to buy time for coral. So were heat tolerant, firmly tolera nt so were heat tolerant, firmly tolerant bird start with the hope that we will be able to provide the next generation with increased thermal tolerance tolerant brood stock. But it only buys a short amount of time. We need Global Action on Climate Change right now otherwise all the restoration effo rts otherwise all the restoration efforts on reefs around the world will be in vain. On the restoration efforts, how long till we know when they worked and what counts as success . They worked and what counts as success . In the philippines, where ive been working with colleagues at the last seven years, we have grown corals do dinner plate size within three years from microscopic larvae was not at that size they are sexually reproductive and start generating their own eggs and creating their own life that drift around and repopulate the reef. We are seeing similar sorts of trends occurring on the Great Barrier reef and so far, fortunately, all of the more than 16 different experiments we have done in the philippines and on the Great Barrier reef have all been successful. And we are generating new corals on damaged reef sections. Ijust want i just want to go back to our breaking news in the last couple of hours if you have been watching out of the us and hong kong. Donald trump has signed into law a piece of legislation that effectively backs the protesters in hong kong. There are the protesters in hong kong. There a re lots of the protesters in hong kong. There are lots of potential ramifications from that. Ageing is unlikely to be happy. In the last few minutes weve got a response from the Hong Kong Government and i just got a response from the Hong Kong Government and ijust bring it you ina government and ijust bring it you in a sentence. It is the Hong Kong Government it strongly opposes and regrets the us president s signing, backing the protesters. A controversial move out of the us with ramifications in beijing and hong kong, and the Hong Kong Government responding there saying it is not happy at all. 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 bbcs 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 youre yet to see a welsh soap opera, then you must catch the bbcs 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 im improvising on tv, like now, im writing it in my head just before i say it. If its any good at all and thats 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 couldnt 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 cant 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 its very important to me, because i wasnt expecting to have it, and itsjust 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. 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. 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 theyre 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. The experiment worked. So younger artists like my brother and i are continuing to make cheriyal art. 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. Cheriyal was once famous for its long scroll paintings. They depicted tales from hindu epics. These scrolls were used in village fairs 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 too. Brilliant to see that revival there. You have been watching newsday. Stay with us. Hello. Yesterday we saw scenes like these across parts of scotland and the north east of england, relentless rain. Today the picture is going to gradually become drier, but that dryness comes with another change. Much colder airflooding in across the uk. This is the low to thank for the wet weather. This front will clear south through the day. Eventually the wet weather moving away, but behind it, the wind turns northerly and the cold arctic air sinks its way south into all parts of the uk, in fact, by the end of the week. Here we start on thursday still with wet weather across North Eastern england, but also extending into northern ireland, parts of wales, eventually reaching southern england come the afternoon. By then the skies start to clear and things will brighten for the north. But those white arrows surging down are the first signs of the cold air trickling in. To the south. Six or seven degrees, but with the effect of the wind it will feel so different. It will look different as well. Thankfully we will see the return of some drier and brighter weather. Still some rain around to the south of the uk through thursday evening. Friday morning, most of it clearing offshore, but the legacy of the cloud will help to hold up the temperatures towards the south west overnight. Meanwhile to the north, its a widespread frost, and in some more rural parts, quite a hard frost at that. The cold air in place, lots of fine weather as that frontal system moves off into the continent, but with northerly winds and some showers possible for the north sea coast and drifting into the north york moors, some of them could be wintry, a few wintry ones for the highlands as well, and a cold one to everybody on friday, temperatures down to single figures and a cutting northerly wind. Saturday, High Pressure still clinging on, but it looks like this system will try to eke into the picture from the atlantic. Just how far north the rain will push is probably the biggest question. Pretty windy and wet weather on the cards for the south west of england and south wales through saturday. Elsewhere it stays fine but it will remain distinct chilly, with temperatures at six or seven degrees, whereas were looking at 11 in plymouth. By sunday, though, that will be sinking south, and we should see some widespread fine weather all parts of the uk to enter the weekend. Come the start of the new week, some frontal systems potentially toppling into scotland, bringing more cloud and outbreaks of rain, and perhaps somejust slightly milder air aswell. But certainly to start the new week, we are looking at fine weather, but a colder outlook than we have been used to. You are watching 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 requires the state department to certify that hong kong retains enough autonomy to justify favourable us trading terms. The islands government says it opposes and regrets his decision. Maltas 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