gone under a period of intense scrutiny and criticism. now, for the first time this year, she has agreed toa first time this year, she has agreed to a face—to—face interview. in terms of change of ordinary people, one of the things that have happened in south africa, for example, a massive sense of disappointment when a liberation movement comes into power. what have you done to make their lives better? you go through a whole list of things they have done, how many bridges and roads and townships. last year, we started by saying at the top of our priorities was a job creation and we discovered over this at one year that if you start constructing roads and provide a electrification, people start creating jobs for themselves. there have been advances in healthcare and critically, more free elections but all of this has been overshadowed by the terror in rakhine state where tens of thousands of row hinge on

muslims have gone through what people call ethnic lines. —— rohingya. what are they condemning? this is what they asked for last month. what is it that they have been condemning over the last year? it many people, including those that are sympathetic to you, they look at the situation and think, "why hasn't she spoken out? she was about human rights. speak out about what? they would ask me questions and i would ask —— answer them and i said nothing, simply because i didn't make the statements that people thought i should make. what we are trying to go for is reconciliation, not condemnation. do you ever worry

that you will be remembered as the champion of human rights that fail to stand up to ethnic cleansing in her own country? no, i think that is too strong and expression to use the what is happening. that's what i think, i have to say. i think there isa think, i have to say. i think there is a lot of hostility there. as i pointed out thatjust now, it is muslims killing muslims as well. it's not just muslims killing muslims as well. it's notjust a matter of ethnic cleansing, as you put it. it is a matter of people on different sites. she remains the most popular politician for a very long way. to negotiate the military art of politics. the people power back and a steely determination. do you think that people in the west misjudged you on —— all this characterised you

—— mischaracterised, expecting it to be an amalgam of mahatma gandhi and mother teresa, for example? actually, maybe you are closer to someone actually, maybe you are closer to someone like margaret thatcher? just a politician. well, no, i'mjusta politician, i'm not quite like margaret thatcher, no. but, on the other hand, i'm no mother teresa either. fergal keane, bbc news. our top story. one of president trump's closest advisers, steve bannon, has been removed from his national security council. senior officials said he had only been given a position to oversee the work of the former national security adviser michael flynn, who was subsequently sacked. more from washington. i think this is the stamp of authority of the new national security adviser, mcmaster. we were talking about michael flynn, the former national security adviser. a

couple of weeks before he had to be sacked over his connections to russia. the new guide took a couple of hits. he wanted to get rid of a couple of people, didn't manage it. now he is reasserting some of his control. having said that, steve bannon giving up his seat on what they call the principles committee of the security council isn't really much of a sacrifice because he is still at the president's right hand and still has his ear and is still central in terms of influence on his administration. he might not have a chair at the table with his name on it at the nsc but he is still absolutely still part of donald trump's thinking and decision—making. a man has been arrested in russia over suspicion of involvement in monday's attack at the retro station in st petersburg. authorities say all those detained had been recruiting for militant islamic group —— groups, but there was no

link to the prime suspect in the bombing which killed 14 people. the south african parliament will debate a notion of no confidence in presidentjacob debate a notion of no confidence in president jacob zuma later this month. several opposition parties are furious that he dismissed his finance minister last week. the no—confidence motion is unlikely to pass because it requires substantial support from mps of the governing party. women's rights activists in india have called for the scrapping of new police squads that the authorities they are meant to stop men harassing women. the so—called anti— romeo patrols have been set up and activists say the squads were acting aggressively and outside of the law. authorities have been making widespread checks on them, sometimes arresting them. the service of hope and reconciliation has been held in westminster abbey, in london, two weeks after the attack at the houses of parliament. the duke and duchess of parliament. the duke and duchess of cambridge and prince harryjoined

others at the multifaith service. president trump has described the gassing of dozens of people during an air raid in northern syria as an affront to humanity. the us and other western powers have blamed president bashar al—assad's government for what they say is a chemical with them is attack on tuesday in the town of khan sheikhoun. our correspondent has more. five—year—old ibrahim went to bed in his spiderman pyjamas and woke up to the latest horror in syria's unending war. his grandmother was at his hospital bedside caring for ibrahim and his sister, tebba, because their father was killed in the attack. lives ended, lives ruined by a toxic cloud that filled victims‘ lungs with poison. translation: my grandchildren were sleeping. everyone woke up to a loud noise. they went outside and that's when they came across the chemical attack. they just fell to

the floor and died. it's all too easy to become desensitised to the suffering of the syrian people, but consider the plight of abdul hamil al—yousf, he lost 20 members of his family, including his twin children, killed in a second explosion. translation: i left them in good health. why did this happen? i went to help other people and thought my children were ok. now they are gone. yesterday, donald trump derided his predecessor barack obama for warning the assad regime that using chemical weapons crossed a red line, but not following through on that threat. but today, in the fragrant setting of the rose garden, he deployed similar language himself and signalled a change in thinking on syria. these heinous actions by the assad regime cannot be tolerated. my attitude towards syria and assad has changed very much. it crossed a lot of lines for me. in an angry emergency session at

the united nations security council, western nations pointed the finger of blame at the assad regime and also its diplomatic protectors here, russia, but moscow claimed that syrian rebels were to blame for the deaths. translation: the syrian air force conducted an air strike on the eastern edge of khan sheikhoun on a large warehouse of ammunition and military equipment. on the territory of that warehouse there was a facility to produce ammunition with the use of toxic weapons. but that prompted this electrifying moment of diplomatic theatre, the us ambassador, nikki haley, getting to herfeet and holding up graphic images of the dead. then, eye—balling her russian counterpart, she blasted moscow. if russia has the influence in syria that it claims to have, we need to see them use it. we need to see them put an end

to these horrific acts. how many more children have to die before russia cares? today, we saw the usual divisions at the security council, the usual deadlock over syria and the usual inability of the international community, even to agree about basic facts on the ground. in the next few hours china's president xijinping in the next few hours china's president xi jinping will travel to the us for his first meeting with president trump. he had some very harsh words for china during his election campaign. countries have their opinions on how the talks should go. our correspondence took to the streets of washington and beijing to find out more. i

, ivory, cooperation, maybe let us offer little bit of our debt to them. shall we go down here? president trump likes to talk tough on china. throughout the election he promised to bring jobs back to the us and put america first. on the other hand, xi jinping us and put america first. on the other hand, xijinping says us and put america first. on the other hand, xi jinping says that free trade is the answer and that this is what will bring jobs to china and the us. what do you think president trump should be saying to his chinese counterpart? i'm sorry. i apologise. i have been perhaps unfair to you. i'm one of those people who thinks we should make more here. they are not a true democracy. that's the worst thing about china. social repression. who do you think gets the most out

of it? definitely the us. whether they like it or not, when xijinping and donald trump are sitting across the table from one another, this is probably the world's most important connection. but it's not just connection. but it's notjust money and trade that drives the relationship. when it comes to climate change or getting north korea to contain its nuclear ambitions, america leads china. we will be watching closely. this is newsday. still to come: himalayan glaziers and the ganges become living entities in an effort to

protect them from pollution. 55 years of hatred and rage as they jump 55 years of hatred and rage as they jump on the statue. this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power, the power to influence. todayis black power, the power to influence. today is about the promise of a bright future. a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past. i think that picasso's works were

beautiful, they were intelligent, and it is a sad loss to everybody who loves art. welcome back. you are watching newsday on the bbc. thank you for joining us. the headlines this hour. in an exclusive bbc interview, myanmar‘s de facto leader has defended her actions over the unrest among rohingya. donald trump has called the gas attack in syria an affront to humanity which changed his view on bashar al—assad. in the front pages around the world, we start with the japan times. they lead with north korea's latest missile test. it is a medium—range missile test. it is a medium—range missile which landed in the sea of

japan. the country's pry minister, shinzo abe, is said to be furious —— prime minister. they also highlight the chemical attack in syria which left d oze ns the chemical attack in syria which left dozens dead. the south china morning post has this image of rugby ca pta i ns morning post has this image of rugby captains taking part in this week's sevens tournament in hong kong, as their main picture story, but also making headlines is the much anticipated meeting between president donald trump and his meeting with his chinese counterpart, talking about applying more pressure on north korea to halt its missile tests and nuclear programme. and finally the us version of the financial times focuses on turkey. president erdogan is trying to win more kurdish support ahead of a referendum on constitutional reforms next week which would see him gain wider reaching powers. that brings you up—to—date with all the papers. tell us what is sparking discussion online. well, ivanka trump has given

her first interview since joining the white house, insisting that she can disagree with her father with total candour. the 35—year—old businesswoman will become an unpaid federal employee with the title of assistant to the president. more on that story at abc .com. as you have been hearing, china's president xi jinping is to meet donald trump in florida. the meeting is of course eagerly awaited. iowa, the poll of the mississippi. it is an old industrial town in the american heartland, a brief stopping point for mark twain and more recently for another famous visitor. xijinping has friends here. he met them during an agricultural research trip as a young man 30 years ago and

returned for a reunion shortly before he became president. this is the house where he stayed. and i think he hadn't home before.|j the house where he stayed. and i think he hadn't home before. i am certain he hadn't homestay before. the chinese leader got a taste of american life by staying with a local family. then the american life by staying with a localfamily. then the bedroom american life by staying with a local family. then the bedroom was filled with star trek toys. now the house has been turned into a museum aimed at promoting us china ties. house has been turned into a museum aimed at promoting us china tieslj think xijinping has great aimed at promoting us china tieslj think xi jinping has great presence and when he comes in the room, shakes his hand, you know, i believe donald trump... i hate to say this, but this is a guy i could make a deal with. we can't continue to allow china to rape our country. donald trump's renders bashing china, particularly on trade. they have ta ken our china, particularly on trade. they have taken our jobs. china, particularly on trade. they have taken ourjobs. could a dose of iowa fix that? may be president trump, ithink iowa fix that? may be president trump, i think maybe needs some time to know more about china. may be

donald trump needs to visit muscatine? yes. he will know the story about muscatine to china. i think he will have good interest. the story is bigger than friendship. it is business. there is no trade deficit in iowa. it exports a lot to china, especially agricultural products. this town and this state voted for donald trump, but that doesn't mean i were buys his approach to china. here they see china as a business opportunity, not a threat. in fact, this state does so much trade with china that it would have a lot to lose if mr trump sta rts would have a lot to lose if mr trump starts a trade war. there is no sense of uncertainty here. a family run business pounding out still stands for more than 100 years. but the new owner has wrenched out to tap new markets, now looking vulnerable to trade disputes. tap new markets, now looking vulnerable to trade disputeslj tap new markets, now looking vulnerable to trade disputes. i am concerned about it. i think the chance of that happening on a large scale is pretty small so i don't

lose a lot of sleep over it. obviously i am exporting a lot of goods to china, and i know the import taxes i pay on products going on, soi import taxes i pay on products going on, so i do think there needs to be some rebalancing. rebalancing a complex relationship will take more than cornfield diplomacy. a court in india has recognised himalayan glaciers, lakes and forests as well as holy rivers as living entities, as part of efforts to try and protect them from environmental degradation. the move effectively gives them legal protection against exploitation. here is the story. pepsi has announced it has discontinued a controversial advert starring the model kendalljenner, and apologised for missing the mark. viewers complained the video undermined the black lives matter

movement. pepsi claimed they were trying to encourage global understanding. it isa it is a global brand that has caused the global backlash. supermodel kendalljenner, handing a can of pepsi to a police officer during a protest. pepsi says the message was about harmony, but it has caused outrage on social media. they basically set this advert in a protest situation. donald trump just got elected, black lives matter is just fresh off the boat, people have a right to be upset because essentially pepsi has come out and said with a can of pepsi we can fix and heal the world, and that is just not true. in america, this is the reality of protest, anger and arrests, not soft drinks and supermodels. in louisiana last year there was widespread unrest from the shooting of a back black man, alton stirling, by police. critics say

pepsi have tried to recreate this iconic image from the protest. pepsi have tried to recreate this iconic image from the protestm was a parody, basically, some serious situations. i'm wondering if they even have an inclusive and diverse order of advisers because of anybody who saw that before it went out, they would know that that was just inappropriate and disrespectful. they say any publicity is good publicity. ad agencies at constantly trying to push the boundaries. but how far is too far? when you trivialise it, or make it seem like, you know, just put everybody in a melting pot, kind of thing, i don't know if they are really about issues, or they are just trivialising the whole thing. probably bigger problems in the world, isn't that? but i think when you say in salt, it is insulting in that when there are serious problems in the world, and pepsi have used the problems to try and give them

some value. bowing to pressure, pepsi has now pulled the advert and apologised. it has cost the company hundreds of thousands of pounds, but it isa hundreds of thousands of pounds, but it is a drinks campaign which has fallen flat, and the cost to pepsi's reputation could be even greater. you are watching newsday. stay with us. coming up we will be reporting from delhi, where efforts to clean up from delhi, where efforts to clean up the construction sector are afoot, so that people can get on the property ladder. and time to tell you that the zoo in virginia has welcomed two this is a cheetah cubs. five were born and another seven came along just a few days later. we will be back with the headlines next. hello there. the weather story is pretty quiet for the next few days.

a lot of dry weather, variable cloud, some sunshine and generally light winds as well, it is all because of high pressure. now, during the course of the night most places will be dry. maybe a little bit of light rain across the north—west of scotland. more of a breeze here. were you have the cloud relatively mild, 79 degrees. where the skies clear, cool and a touch of frost in some rural places. so are quite looking to tuesday. most of us will be seen light winds, but across the north of the high pressure, in the north of the high pressure, in the woods northern and western scotland, more of a strong north—westerly breeze. that will fit in quitea north—westerly breeze. that will fit in quite a lot of cloud to the northern isles, west scotland, some drizzle with the east of scotland potentially seeing some shelter so you could be seeing some breaks in some sunshine. variable cloud, maybe a bit of sunshine for northern england. i think much of wales and england, variable cloud and some sunny spells. i think probably the best of the sunshine in south wales and the south—west of england, where we could make 15 or 16 degrees. on

friday a similar stories. like when thomas, variable cloud and also some sunshine. the high pressure is with us sunshine. the high pressure is with us for thursday and friday, but it moves position as we head towards the weekend. this is pretty crucial because we then start to pull a southerly wind off the near continent. it is dry air and eventually it will be warmer air, particularly as we had on into sunday. notice the blue colours behind me, though. this is an approaching weather front, cool a mass of air which will arrive across the far north—west of the country at the far north—west of the country at the weekend wears on. so i think for saturday probably a greater chance of seeing more sunshine around. temperatures at just that little bit. 15, 16, maybe 17 celsius. more cloud, though, across the north—west of the country. it is looking pretty good for the grand national, as well, aintree, a lot of dry weather, temperatures around the mid teens celsius. on sunday that weather front approaches scotland, strengthening winds and feeling quite cool, outbreaks of rain. but the england and wales is looking much sunnier because we are pulling

down to warmer and drier air off the near continent. it is going to be really warm, temperatures in the low 20s celsius. we could make 23 degrees across the south—east. so the main message for the next few days, because of high pressure, it is going to be largely dry with light winds. there will be some sunshine around. it is going to get warmer this weekend, especially on sunday. like i mentioned, that weather front with the cold air behind it spreads its way south was during monday. so a cloudy, call day generally. temperatures in the north struggling to get much above 89 degrees. still fairly mild in the south—east. —— eight or nine degrees. this is bbc world news. the top story: aung san suu kyi has told the bbc she regrets criticism over her handling of the rohingya muslim crisis. there have been international accusations that she has been standing by as they are ethnically cleansed by the army. president trump has called the

deadly gas attack on syria and affront to humanity and says it changed his view on bashar al—assad. russia says syria is not to blame. the story is treading on bbc .com. pepsi has announced it is discontinuing a controversial as —— advert and apologise for missing the mark. critics said it undermined the black white—matter movement. —— black lives matter movement. now on bbc news,