i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. the headlines: the scandal that donald trump can't shake. his attorney general won't resign over contact with russians during the election campaign but will sit out any investigation. i have recused myself from any investigations on any matter that deals with the president of the us. curbing popular criticism and a free press — china fights to control the narrative ahead of the national people's congress. i'm kasia madera in london. the king and i — indonesia's president video logs the visit of the saudi king. even their lunch is on camera. and jackie's life afterjfk — the lost letters which reveal a love affair with a senior british diplomat. good morning.

it's 9am in singapore, 1am in london, and 8pm in washington where the us attorney general, jeff sessions, says he won't be involved in any investigation into whether russia interfered in last year's presidential election. he's been accused of lying about contacts he had with russian officials during the campaign and senior democrats have called on him to resign, accusing him of lying on oath to congress. mr sessions has denied doing anything wrong. this is what he told reporters a little earlier. we talked a little bit about terrorism, as i recall and somehow the subject of the ukraine came up. i have the ukrainian ambassador in

my office the day before and... to listen to him. nothing that russia... russia had done nothing that was wrong in any area and everybody else was wrong with regard to the ukraine. it got too bit of a testy conversation at that point. our north america editorjon sopel has this on the day's events. i thought it was telling last night that as soon as the story broke there were republicans saying he needs to withdraw, he cannot oversee an investigation into links with russia when he is a sort of actor in a drama. and so, he has taken the decision that he is going to recuse himself. i don't think it answers the questions from democrats, which is, why were you not straightforward when you are asked questions at the committee hearing? what he said was, iam committee hearing? what he said was, i am answering a question about what you asked me, did i as a trump

surrogate had meetings with russians? no, ididn‘t, i met surrogate had meetings with russians? no, i didn't, i met him as a senator, who was a member of the armed services committee. i think with hindsight you would say that was not the smartest answer to have given. why not say, yes, as member of the armed services committee i'm at the russian ambassador but in connection with the campaign, never. that would have been the end of it. they are hoping in the white house that, yes, this may have been a self—inflicted wound but they may have stopped the bleeding. earlier our correspondent tulip mazumdar gave me this update from washington. the attorney generaljeff sessions hastily arranged that press conference hastily arranged that press c0 nfe re nce very hastily arranged that press conference very quickly. conference very quickly and he came out and he tried to reiterate some of what was said last night by his spokesperson as all of this was breaking.

he said that he did meet with russians, with the russian ambassador, i should say — it was just the russian ambassador he met with twice — but it was not anything to do with the campaign and he said during his hearing, when he was being sworn in, he was asked about it and he said he did not have any contact with russians about the election campaign but he did, he says, subsequently, as a senator, have meeting with the russian ambassador about other things. so he said that his position has not changed. he was not trying to mislead anybody, that he answered the question he was asked in an honest way, but of course they are many particularly senior democrats who are not convinced by that argument. we are seeing at the moment whether they will be appeased slightly by the fact that he has agreed to step aside from the fbi investigation into links with russia, into how, when, if russia meddled with the election campaign but it remains to be seen at this stage whether they will be ok with leaving it at that, now that he has stepped aside or whether they will continue to call for his resignation. he also said in that press briefing that in retrospect he would have mentioned that he met

with the russian ambassador so clearly had he done that that time it really would not be looking so bad now. and in the last moments we have had a statement from donald trump in which he describesjeff sessions as an honest man, so he is continuing to support him, mr trump said he didn't say anything wrong, he could have been more accurate but he was clearly not doing it intentionally, and he adds that the democrats are overplaying their hand and it is, in his words, a total witch—hunt, so that statement just coming his words, a total witch—hunt, so that statementjust coming in in the last few moments from donald trump. of course, any other reaction coming through and we will bring that to you. also making news today: police in france have searched the home of the embattled presidential candidate, francois fillon. he's being investigated about allegations that his wife and children were paid salaries from public funds for jobs they didn't do. a number of staff have resigned

from his campaign team but mr fillon has vowed to continue his presidential campaign, despite growing pressure for him to step down. scientists in britain have created artificial embryos using two types of stem cells from mice, in what they say is a world first. the researchers at cambridge university say their artificial embryo is unlikely to develop into a healthy foetus as it would likely need the third form of stem cell. they are now working on using the same technique to develop artificial human embryos. egypt's highest appeal court has found the former president, hosni mubarak, not guilty of involvement in the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that forced him from power. since his arrest six years ago, the former president has spent most of his time in a military hospital. it is unclear whether he will return home. pakistan will see its semi—autonomous tribal areas merged with the rest of the country, after the cabinet approved landmark reforms.

the move‘s been welcomed with celebrations. the new plans mean the region will eventually participate in general elections and be governed by pakistan's laws. shares in the owner of the picture—messaging service, snapchat, have risen sharply after it floated on the stock market in new york. snap had been offered at 17 dollars per share but they quickly leapt in value to over 2a dollars each. the service has 158 million users but has yet to make a profit. here's our technology correspondent dave lee. there is going to be a problem, that is partly because instagram, which is partly because instagram, which is owned by facebook, provides a real threat to snapchat‘s model in the sense that it is basically emulated, pinched, you could say, some of snapchat‘s popular features,

and when snap was preparing for the ipo they highlighted it as a risk, that others could emulate what they do, so it is important for snapchat to make sure that users stay with them rather than going to a site like instagram instead. us first lady melania trump has visited a new york city hospital to read to sick children for world book day. she brought a copy of, "oh, the places you'll go," by dr seuss, which she said was one of her favourite books. the first ladyjoined the children at the city's presbyterian hospital. this weekend, china will open its annual parliamentary session, the national people's congress. as usual, the weeks leading up to the congress have been marked by a nationwide effort to stop some of the most marginalised members of society from reaching beijing. our correspondentjohn sudworth has had first—hand experience of the tactics

deployed against them. there are some violent images in his report. give us the camera. our interview is not going to plan. we are stopped from meeting the family we've come to see. this woman and her sister claim their father was beaten to death by a policeman in a land dispute. they're among the many thousands of people who travel regularly to beijing seeking justice — known as petitioners. so the petitioners hope to use china's annual parliamentary gathering to make their case. but here's the reality, china's communist party doesn't want the pomp and pageantry spoilt by... by this country's dispossessed and marginalised. the thugs force us out and smash our cameras. before the start of the national people's congress this weekend,

a major security operation is under way. while local officials work to stop petitioners reaching beijing, at the petitions‘ office, where, in theory, their complaints and grievances can be lodged, hundreds of plain clothed security guards now lie in wait to catch people and send them home. we meet two women who show us their petitions. one, claiming that a well—connected company boss stole money from her. the other, trying to overturn an alleged miscarriage ofjustice. "we come here during the congress because there is a chance for to us meet upright officials", this woman says, "but instead we're treated as troublemakers and threatened." the interview is abruptly stopped, although for now, at least, the women are free to leave. few petitioners ever

succeed in getting justice. along with the persecution, it makes their faith in the system all the more remarkable. we are just a few blocks away from the people's congress but the reality they play here is very different indeed. for those who need political representation the most, this is a system marked by suspicion, surveillance and control. jon sudworth, bbc news, beijing. the syrian army says it has seized back control of the city of palmyra from militants of so—called islamic state. is has twice held palmyra, which is famous for its ancient ruins, during the six year syrian conflict. during that time they've destroyed some of the city's greatest monuments. sarah corker reports. across the ancient sands of palmyra, syrian troops backed by russian jets enter the city's western districts.

for weeks they've battled through the desert to reach the unesco world heritage site. this video released by the syrian government shows heavy shelling across an almost deserted city. is fighters have now fled. until the last of our territory is liberated from the hands of these foreign terrorist organisations which are wreaking havoc in our country. but the syrian opposition, in switzerland for peace talks, declined to congratulate president assad on retaking the city. translation: this is the second time that we have seen this handover and this is obviously being used for political reasons. if we want to follow the game of assad and palmyra, it will be like watching tom and jerry. the historic city of palmyra has changed hands several times

during syria's six—year civil war. is held the ruins for ten months after seizing them for the first time in may 2015. it blew up temples and destroyed burial towers. the militants were forced out in march 2016 — russia celebrated by bringing an orchestra to the amphitheatre where the militants once staged beheadings. but by december, is had retaken control as pro—government forces were focused on the battle for aleppo. these were once anow those syrian troops are back inside the city. these were once amongst the best—preserved classical monuments in the middle east. the destruction here now a symbol perhaps of the civil war that continues to consume syria. sarah corker, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: a new informal diplomacy? indonesia's president video logs the visit of the saudi king. first the plates slipped gently off

the restaurant tables. then suddenly the tables, the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards and it was a matter of seconds before the ferry lurched onto her side. the hydrogen bomb on a remote pacific atoll. the americans had successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i had heard the news earlier and so my heart went bang and bang. the constitutional rights of these marchers have their rights as citizens of the united states and they should be protected even in the right to test them out so they don't get their heads broken and are sent to hospital. this religious controversy, i know you don't want to say too much about it, but does it worry you it's going to boil up when you get to the stage?

well, it worries me, yeah. but everything will be all right in the end of the day. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm in singapore. i'm in london. our top stories. the us attorney general, jeff sessions, has denied lying over his contact with russians in last year's election campaign, but said he'll sit out any investigation. thousands of ordinary chinese people are being blocked from seeking justice ahead of the annual national people's congress in beijing. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the news of snapchat‘s amazing first day on the stock market captured le figaro's main business page in france. snapchat, the new star of wall street, says the headline of the picture—messaging service, after its shares jumped nearly 50%.

the annual session of china's top political advisory group is covered in the south china morning post. and this journalist at the press conference has caught everyone's eye, as he shows off his very fancy reporting gear. what we journalists have to carry with us nowadays! the hurdles of president duterte's controversial proposal to reinstate the death penalty is the main story in the philippine star, but it also reports the good news of him becoming a grandfather for the 10th time. his daughter, who is also mayor of davao city, gave birth to a boy, whom the parents have nicknamed "stonefish." and that is bringing you up—to—date with the papers. thank you. the king of saudi arabia, salman bin abdul aziz al saud, is on a visit to indonesia for the first time in more

than a0 years. the indonesian president has taken the unusual step of video—logging parts of their lunch meeting on line. video blogging is quite easy. you just hold your phone like this, and record your daily life. it is popular among young people, especially on youtube. not many leaders try this kind of approach, but indonesia'sjoko widodo is a big fan. and new line coming out of malaysia regarding the death of kim jong—nam, the estranged brother of kim jong—un, the leader of north. the malaysian government is saying they strongly condemned the use of a chemical by anyone, referring to chemical by anyone, referring to chemical vx, the toxic nerve agent they believe was used to kill kim jong—nam. they say they would never see it used in any circumstances.

the use of it in a public place could have endangered the general public. that death took place in kuala lumpur airport. that is coming from the malaysian foreign ministry. any more on that we will bring to you. a series of lost love letters detailing the blossoming relationship betweenjackie kennedy and a british aristocrat and ambassador to the us are to be auctioned this month. the letters were written after the assassination ofjfk, but ended whenjackie kennedy married the greek tycoon aristotle onassis. david sillito has seen them. "dear david, your last letter was such a cri de coeur of loneliness. i would do anything to take that anguish from you." "it doesn't seem that we can ever help the people we would wish to help."

david is the man here in the middle. david ormsby gore, britain's ambassador in washington. the person writing to him was a woman he wanted to marry, jacqueline kennedy. this is a love story in letters that was, for the last 30 years, locked in this box. a few weeks ago, the lock was forced, and it all came spilling out. as her majesty's ambassador at washington, he was an incredibly close adviser to kennedy. he was his confidant. david ormsby gore had known jack kennedy for many years. he was more than just an ambassador, he was a friend. the story of this glamorous golden couple and the tragedy of the assassination shook the world. these letters reveals the private story. but his heart was broken, and jackie left him for aristotle onassis. one letter from 1968 says it all. he writes about their plans for a marriage, a possible secret marriage. all that, he says, has become irrelevant trash. as for your photograph, he says, i weep when i look at it.

why do such agonising things have to happen? we also have jackie kennedy's response to that letter. she writes back to him, painfully, one aristotle onassis's own stationery from his yacht, and with a greek stamp on the envelope, and says, no, it's not that bad, really, i'll always love you and we'll always have something special together. but i don't know how much that placated him. david ormsby gore died 32 years ago. no one knew what was in the box, there wasn't even a key. these letters are a fascinating glimpse into the world of the white house, the kennedys, and a romance bound by grief. ...have shared so many lives and deaths and hopes and pain. we will share them forever, and be forever bound together by them. david sillito, bbc news. an extraordinary discovery.

although most of the world will mainly remember last week's oscar ceremony for the disastrous announcement of the wrong winner for best picture, for many others, a highlight was a young man who took to the red carpet for the first time. sunny puwar was the co—star in lion, the story of a little boy who goes missing in india. sunny is back home in mumbai now, and we spoke to him there. are you ok? i had another family. what happened ? i was lost. guddu! what on

—— an inspiring story. you have been watching newsday. stay with us for chinese super league, which kicks off on friday. we'll be looking at money, which appears to be no object, as some of football's biggest names are lured to clubs previously unheard of outside of china. and if you're setting off to work, here's a very different commute in washington. here's ryan zinke, the trump administration's new interior secretary, reporting for his first day of work... ..on horseback. mr zinke is an avid outdoorsman from montana, and his department oversees the country's 500 million acres of public land, including dozens of national parks. in case you're wondering, the horse's name is tonto. and in other goings—on—about. the white house press corps will remain alerted and caffeinated thanks to one of the biggest names in hollywood. tom hanks sent an espresso maker for the working press of the white house.

it's the third time the forrest gump star has done so. this time he sent a note, that read: "keep up the good fight for truth, justice, and the american way. especially for the truth part." that's all for now. stay with bbc world news. hello. the winter months were quite dry. the first week of march is trying to turn that around. and certainly, during friday, many of us will see some wet weather at some stage of the day, and all the way through the weekend it is looking very unsettled. we'll get to that. this is how early friday is looking. and we're dragging in some rainfall from the south, some already across a large part of southern england, south wales, edging through the midlands, into east anglia as the day begins. the little area of wet weather producing some hill snow for parts of the far north of england and southern scotland. let's take a look around things today, at 8:00am in the morning. so a wet start across southern england, but you can see that rain advancing through north wales, the midlands, east anglia, at this stage. it is only going to

move further north. eventually it will get into northern england. but, as you can see, some of us in northern england and into southern scotland seeing some rain and some snow as well. some of us, even modest elevations, could be waking up to a covering of snow here. further north, in scotland, it is a frosty start. still a few showers in the far north. so, as we go on through friday, we are taking rain northwards through england and wales. eventually, by late afternoon, and into the evening, it should be across much of northern england. we will get an area of rain, starting on the eastern side of northern ireland, through northern ireland by the end of the afternoon. the best of the sunshine, without a doubt, will be in northern scotland. turning a bit dry, though, in the afternoon in south—east england, and it actually could feel a bit mild, given any brightness. one or two spots mayjust reach 13 or even 1a celsius. a few heavy showers reaching

through parts of south—west england and wales as we go through friday night. the rain marching further north, across into southern scotland, eventually into the central belt, staying with us into northern ireland. frost—free for most as saturday begins. will be frost, though, across northern parts of scotland. so that takes us on to the weekend, and friday. well, the theme of the wet weather continues into the weekend. we will see more rain at times. some of that could be quite heavy and persistent, and particularly on saturday, with this area of low pressure just stalling its rainfall from northern ireland and into parts of scotland, whereas further south there will be still some areas of rainfall or showers, but it is not going to be a washout all day long. but we will see rain for much of the day, we think, into northern ireland and southern and eastern parts of scotland. and, particularly through eastern scotland, it will be quite cold with that rainfall, and there will be quite a lot of snow developing into the grampians. further south, it is showers. and then, on sunday, it looks at it and a little bit better. this is bbc world news. the us attorney general has removed himself from any investigation into alleged russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

but speaking in washington, jeff sessions denied he'd done anything wrong by not disclosing that he met the russian ambassador twice last year. donald trump says the controversy is a, "total witch hunt". as china's leaders gather in beijing, thousands of ordinary chinese have been blocked from seeking justice ahead of the annual national people's congress, which starts this weekend. and this video is trending on bbc.com: the indonesia president has taken the unusual step of video—logging his lunch meeting with the saudi king and posting it online. it's the arab monarchs first visit to the country for 47 years. —— it's the arab monarch's first visit to the country for 47 years. how times change! that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. and the top story here in the uk: policing in england and wales is in a potentially perilous state, with some forces putting the public at risk, according to the police watchdog,