you are watching newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. our top stories: china says it is seriously concerned about north korea's nuclear ambitions and calls for calm from both sides. but was this american armada really en route to north korea? american armada really en route to north korea 7 the american armada really en route to north korea? the us 6—2 clear up confusion. i am cash amid the in london. jakarta's first christian governor concedes defeat in a hotly—co ntested governor concedes defeat in a hotly—contested mayoral election. and close encounter: nasa says eight kilometre wide asteroid has streaked past plan at birth. —— a kilometre—wide. —— planet earth. thank you forjoining us.

it's 8am in singapore, 1am in london, and 8am in beijing, where china's foreign ministry has raised new worries about north korea's nuclear programme. the chinese foreign ministry has called for calm, and an end to words or actions that could further raise the tension on the korean peninsula. but at the same time, spokesman lu kang said beijing had serious concerns about pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. translation: china's position on north korea's nuclear issue is clear and consistent. we have repeatedly stressed that the situation on the korean peninsula is highly complicated and sensitive. all parties concerned should exercise restraint and make joint efforts to ease tension in the region, rather than provoking each other and making things worse. we hope the countries which are really committed to regional peace will not stoke the tension there. we must guard against anyone who tries to achieve their own political ends by taking advantage

of the regional situation to play up tension and deepen the difference is there. and that is the view from beijing. as far as the us is concerned, white house spokesman, sean spicer, said china's greater engagement with north korea was a positive step. i think it is encouraging to see china continue to move forward and join us in this effort to control north korea. i think the relationship that the president started with president xijinping at mar—a—lago is showing positive signs. china continues to have both economic and political influence over china and so i think it is important to see them headed in this direction. it is a positive sign to see them play a larger role. it is in everybody‘s interest to contain north korea's actions. sean spicer also faced a barrage of

questions about the confusion over the is aircraft carrier group and its location with regard to north korea. a week ago donald trump said he was sending what he described as an "armada" — the uss carl vinson aircraft carrier group then in singapore — as a warning to pyongyang. —— the us aircraft carrier. but it's emerged that the battle group was even further away at the weekend, moving through indonesia's sunda strait into the indian ocean, after continuing its military drills with australia. here's us defense secretary james mattis addressing the confusion. the bottom line is in our effort to always be open about what we are doing we said that we would change the upcoming schedule. as i said on the record, vinson is operating up and down the western pacific and we are doing exactly what we said, which is that we are shifting it instead of continuing in one direction, as she pulled out of singapore, she will continue part of her cruise down at region. but she was on her way up to korea. earlierjean lee, a global fellow

for the washington think tank the wilson center, told me what she made of china's approach to the problem. beijing does typically call for restraint. you know, it is interesting to see how this is unfolding between the united states and china. because the united states is pudding, washington is putting a lot of pressure on china to act on north korea. and as we heard earlier, the press secretary pointed out that china has considerable economic and political leveraged. but i would argue that while it is true that beijing has an immense potential economic leverage over north korea, beijing also recognises they will lose some of their political leveraged with north korea if they pressed too hard. so it will be interesting to see just how far china goes in terms of working with

the united states in reining in these zero careers. “— the united states in reining in these zero careers. —— leverage. it is interesting. there are shades of interesting statements with beijing referring to the geopolitical issues. it is a complicated issue. what they want to do is to prevent any kind of aggression. this region isa any kind of aggression. this region is a tinderbox. what they don't want is a tinderbox. what they don't want is anybody pushing itjust too far so there is some sort of conflict. indeed. it is a complicated situation. but if you read the words, the statement from beijing has been more aggressive than in the past. so, in yourview, has been more aggressive than in the past. so, in your view, what should be the next move of the chinese, if the north koreans continue to be quite arrogant, continuing their threats? the north koreans have continued to build nuclear weapons

and perfect their plastic missile technology at an unprecedented pace, despite threats from the united states, and despite pressure from beijing. —— leverage. the chinese are trying to calibrate the leverage that they have economically to defuse tensions in the region. i think that is a calibration they are trained to do now. they will try to send an envelope to pyongyang to talk to the north koreans. and perhaps threatens a more economic sanctions on their side. economic sanctions, more of china, but so far it has not really worked with the north koreans. i mean, mike pence and the defence secretary has said military action is out of the equation, but a course, donald trump has said that a range of options... what should be done to solve the problem? sanctions can really only

have teeth if they are enforced. and it is difficult to do. china is the main conduit for materials, notjust a list of materials that might help them build some of these banned nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, but also some of the luxury goods and other kind of creature comforts that some of the sanctions are intended to restrict. what the sanctions are meant to do is not only stop the flow of illicit goods, or goods they can contribute to illicit weapons, but also put the pinch on the north koreans to get them to try to change their behaviour. that will not be effective unless they are enforced. certainly, enforcement, and support for china in enforcing the sanctions, that will be part of the equation. jean lee there from the wilson centre. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. british mps have voted overwhelmingly to hold a snap election in june. in the end it was little more than a formality with 522 votes to 13 backing the prime minister's plans to send britain to the polls

three years early. campaigning hasa campaigning has a ready kicked off. there are only 49 days left. also making use of a: —— also making news to day: the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons says test results on victims of an attack in syria earlier this month confirm that the nerve agent, sarin, ora similar substance was used. —— today. dozens of people were killed in the attack on the rebel—held town of khan sheikhun. nigeria's spy chief has been suspended in connection with the discovery of more than $40 million in cash at a flat in lagos. the head of the national intelligence agency said the money was intended for use in covert security operations. candidates for the french presidency have held their last day of campaigning before the vote. one of the front—runners,

the centrist emmanuel macron, was in the western city of nantes, while one of his chief rivals, marine le pen of the far right national front, spoke in marseille in the south. now, here's an example of why you should always keep a close eye on your guests, especially when they've got something to celebrate. this is president trump hosting the new england patriots american football team — and it's to congratulate them on their victory in the superbowl earlier this year. so far, so good. but the players then appeared to get the run of the white house, and here's what happened during press secretary sean spicer‘s daily briefing. hands out in the negotiation. can i just? do you need some help? i think i have got this. maybe... thank you, man. i was see you in a minute. hold on... laughter. that was new england player

rob gronkowski, crashing the white house press briefing. as you can see, his offer of help was declined. the first christian governor of the indonesian capital, jakarta, has conceded defeat to his rival, a muslim form government minister. it follows a divisive election battle which stoked religious tensions after governor ahok, who's ethnic chinese, was accused of insulting the koran in a campaign speech. from jakarta, rebecca henschke reports. in conceding defeat, governor ahok called for unity. translation: we are all the same. we want jakarta to be good and we wanted to move forward because this is where we all live. celebrations have already begun here at the supporter‘s home. former education minister anies baswedan has been criticised for running a very divisive and divisive election

campaign, capitalising on accusations against the governor and highlighting religious differences. the fact that governor ahok is a christian and not a muslim. but it has been a very successful campaign and these people say that baswedan is a leader that they want to bring jakarta back together after this divisive election. translation: he is a smart leader, with a low profile, and he is close to the people. anies baswedan's campaign heavily capitalised on the blasphemy case against governor ahok to harness the vote and, today, right after the election, governor ahok is back in court. he faces jail time if convicted of blasphemy. very unlikely he is to be acquitted. very unlikely he is

to be found guilty. it will bring a very bad message for indonesia. it means the blasphemy law can be used more and more, can be easily politicised and easily manipulated to send your enemies, anyone you don't like, to prison. the jakarta election was widely seen as a proxy for the next presidential poll in two years. with supporters of anies baswedan crying out that their party will win back the presidency from joko widodo. one of the best—known news presenters in the united states, bill o'reilly, is leaving hisjob following accusations of sexual harassment. 21st century fox said he had agreed not to return to his show. bill o'reilly described the decision as disheartening and said the claims against him were com pletely the claims against him were completely unfounded. our

correspondent, laura bicker, has more. he's been with the network almost since its inception, he's been there for two decades, he draws 4 million viewers a year, so he will be a very big loss to fox news. but they were in a corner. their hand had been forced. not only did it come to light that five women had allegedly settled harassment claims for $13 million, more claims seem to be coming to light. on tuesday night for instance, a woman came forward, a lawyer came forward, alleging that her african—american client had been called hot chocolate by bill o'reilly. he said he had leered at her any time no one was looking. as these allegations began to mount, far more protests were held outside fox news hq and more and more sponsors, more than 50 of them, were withdrawing their advertising revenues. all of this after the chairman of fox news, roger ailes, also had to leave after his own harassment claims came to light. this is all at a time when 21st century fox is trying to negotiate

a deal to buy the remaining 61% of the european broadcaster sky, so there's a sense of timing and it all added up to being enough is enough. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: prince harry says he's amazed at the response to his comments about coping with his mother's death. also on the programme: a massive piece of space rock and a very near miss. the asteroid that came close to planet earth. the stars and stripes at half—mast outside columbine high. the school sealed off, the bodies of the dead still inside. i never thought they would actually go through with it.

some places have already had nearly as much rain as they would normally expect in an entire year. for millions of americans, the death of richard nixon in a new york hospital has meant conflicting emotions. a national day of mourning next wednesday sitting somehow uneasily with the abiding memories of the shame of watergate. and lift—off of the space shuttle discovery with the hubble space telescope, our window on the universe. this is newsday on the bbc. welcome back, everyone.

i'm rico hizon in singapore. and i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories this hour: china says it's seriously concerned about north korea's nuclear ambitions, as tensions continue to rise in the region. the us has sought to clear up confusion over claims this naval armada is en route to north korea. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. we'll start with the china daily and its front page, where it says beijing's urged the us to change its export policies. chinese officials say washington lifting the block on selling high—tech goods to china would help relieve the trade deficit between the countries. the upcoming uk election features on the front page of the daily telegraph. it covers theresa may's refusal to take part in tv debates but says the prime minister hasn't ruled out a televised question and answer session or extended interview. and among the stories on the front

page of the financial times is the announcement from airline emirates that it's cutting the number of flights to the us. it cites lower demand due to increased security measures put on passengers from the middle east. those are the latest headlines from major publications around the world. and one of the world's best tennis players is pregnant. absolutely right, rico. she earlier posted a picture on snapchat with the caption, "20 weeks." it's likely she was pregnant when she won the australian open in january. the tennis star hasn't played in a competition since, saying she was suffering from a knee injury. at least two people have been shot dead in venezuela during the latest demonstrations against the government. tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demand new elections and the release of jailed opposition politicians. more protests have been planned

for thursday as leonardo rocha reports. the demonstrators arrived in their thousands for what they call the mother of all protests. they called for new elections and the release of opposition politicians. the opposition blames president nicolas maduro and his predecessor, the late hugo chavez, for the country's serious economic crisis. many venezuelans say the country is on the verge of collapse. translation: i think we will reach victory with this protest. this is the second independence of venezuela. this is the day we have been waiting for, longing for. the confrontation quickly triggered conflict with security forces. in caracas, police fired teargas and rubber bullets at demonstrators who attempted to converge on the office of the state ombudsman. the violence wasn't restricted to the capital. this was the scene in san cristobal in the west of the country where protesters also clashed with riot police. but the president remained defiant, speaking at a rally of his supporters he accused the opposition of plotting a coup. and the protesters of attacking the police and looting shops. translation: we have captured more than 30 hooded people, violent terrorists. we have caught more than 30 today, fully identified. venezuela, an oil—rich country, seems to be locked in a political stalemate while its economy collapses and violence

flares up again. leonardo rocha, bbc news. it's been heading towards earth and creating lots of excitement among scientists, it's also as big as the rock of gibraltar, the british overseas territory, on the southern tip of spain. it's an asteroid snappily—named 2014—j025. this is it, the largest object to come this close to us since 200a. so, how worried should we be? well nasa is describing it as a "very close approach." but the rock has now passed us at a distance of 1.8 million kilometres. i asked dr paul chodas, from nasa's centre for near—earth object studies, why, given that margin, we're even talking about it. astronomically speaking, really close, 0k. objects of this peak don't come that close very often and when i say this big it is a kilometre in size, so that is before asteroids that approach the earth. so, how difficult is it at this point to spot these asteroids

because we were talking earlier and you said that an asteroid hit earth in 2008. yes, a very little one that was just a in 2008. yes, a very little one that wasjust a a in 2008. yes, a very little one that was just a a few metres across. so now is has programmes that search of the sky every night. we are searching for asteroids and we find maybe five asteroids every night that come close to the earth. so we are looking for then we are searching for them and we want to find them as early as possible, especially the big ones, and is one we found three years ago, so we had three years to prepare for the close approach. we knew that it wouldn't hit but we knew that it would come very close and so it provides an opportunity. ok, so, let's be speculative, what if this rock of gibraltar, which is one kilometre long, would hit earth — what kind of impact will it have? that would be an massive impact, kind of like what you see in the movies. it would change the climate. we would have just thrown into the atmosphere and

that would change the climate, because it would hide the sun for months or maybe even a year. so this would be a very serious event if it should hit the earth. all right, you found this rock, this asteroid, three years ago. looking ahead, would there be another asteroid of this size that could even come close to earth, closer than one million kilometres? yes, we'll have another one next decade that we know about is coming closer. but we know of about 90% of the asteroids of this size and we know that they can't hit the earth over the next century. so we have a little way to go. there are some that we haven't found but we will keep looking. britain's prince harry's admission that he struggled to cope in the years following the death of his mother, princess diana. his words have provoked a huge response. so much so that the prince says he's been simply amazed at what's happening. our royal correspondent peter hunt has the story. his report does contain flashing images from the start. harry and his helper, melissa,

getting the london marathon preparations under way in a race which this year has a special focus ona which this year has a special focus on a princely passion — mental health. prince harry has attracted widespread praise this week for his honesty when he spoke of the anguish and the anxiety he suffered for yea rs and the anxiety he suffered for years after his mother's get. and the anxiety he suffered for years after his mother's getm and the anxiety he suffered for years after his mother's get. it was only right to share my experiences and to hope to encourage others to come forward and reduce or smash that stigma to make it easier for them to talk about our own experiences, so i wasjust doing my bit. was a liberating? scary? no, look, when you have heard so many stories from so many other people, and if you can relate to that, then it is only right that you talk about your own experiences. all of the experts you have that would have told you one of the key issues is finding out that there is not enough

money in some places. what are you going to do about that? that is not, as you probably know, our mission. our mission is to remove the stigma of mental health so that we can provide a platform for people to discuss it. the risk is you could encourage people to seek services that are not there. that is something that we have been aware of for the last year by the fact of the reality is that as i say the appetite is there. once the appetite is there, things were trained, i am confident of that. it is not my position and it is not our commission orjob to do that. we are nonpolitical. we will do everything we can to encourage the conversation, remove the stigma, so everything else then can take place. opening up about the past is a brotherly trade and a bbc documentary prince william has provided an insight into the trauma of his brief and. the shock is the biggest thing and i still feel it 20 yea rs later biggest thing and i still feel it 20 years later about my mother, shock,

you know, 20 years later, and people think it can't last that long but it does. you never get over it. it is such an unbelievably big moment in your life that it never leaves you. you just learn to deal with it. and an upbeat harry believes the campaign is at a tipping point. the uk he hopes will lead the way in the world by removing the taboos surrounding mental health. sorry agave such big scissors. you have been watching newsday. i'm rico hizon in singapore. coming up on asia business report: we'll be looking at india, where several states have banned alcohol, threatening to drain already stretched government finances. we brought you a huge asteroid earlier, we're now leaving you with a massive iceberg. a spectacular natural wonder off the coast of newfoundland in canada. it's a huge iceberg, the first of the year to drift past middle cove beach. its peak is around 46 metres above sea level.

plenty of icebergs are seen in the area, but few this close to shore. it's now expected to drift onwards into the atlantic, where it will gradually melt into the sea. that's all for now. stay with bbc world news. hello. after several days of fairly quiet weather taking us through much of the weekend, next week is looking very different. next week's weather will get us talking, stay with me for a tease of what's to come. this is how thursday begins, with more cloud around than recent mornings, not as chilly as it's been on recent mornings, but that cloud will produce some damp weather in places and a bit of patchy rain for northern and western parts of scotland, perhaps into northern ireland and parts of north—west england to begin the day. low cloud around as well. venture into the hills it could be misty and murky and a similar story into snowdonia. a band of thicker cloud into the midlands, wales and yorkshire producing patchy rain, not amounting to much. to the south of that for some it could be a bright start but quite

a chilly start here. even here cloud is going to increase, just leaving by the afternoon limited sunny spells, southern england, east anglia. a few brighter breaks into south—east scotland, north—east england, east wales, west midlands and eastern parts of northern ireland but on the whole a good deal of cloud around, patchy rain in north and west in scotland, maybe at times into northern ireland and north—west england but many places will stay dry. breaking out in the sunshine it will feel warmer, maybe 15, 16 or 17. going through thursday night we're going to keep a good deal of cloud around, pepping up the rain in northern scotland with a strengthening breeze but for many it looks like a mild start to friday morning. on friday we are going to take this rain southwards across scotland eventually reaching into parts of northern colder air following this, maybe a few wintry showers in shetland during friday. to the south of that for much of england and wales, a good deal of cloud around, some sunny spells and the temperatures peaking into the mid—teens in some spots. friday night we continue taking this weather front southwards across the uk, barely any

rain associated with it, but it is the leading edge of cooler air so it will be turning somewhat chillier by the start of the weekend, a touch of frost in a few spots to begin the day. quite a breeze in the north—east, not as chilly as the rest of the uk into south—west england, maybe south—west wales, a lot of dry weather around with variable cloud and sunny spells. on sunday, england, wales and northern ireland mainly dry but the wind here will pick up. wetter and windier weather will move east across scotland through the day. this area of low pressure across scotland is significant because into next week it will take colder air south across the uk and some of us will see some snow. keep checking the forecast. madera with bbc world news. al top story: china says it is seriously concerned about north korea's nuclear plans after pyongyang told the bbc it would continue its missile test programme. china, which is one of north korea's few allies, has called for the nicula rise as an entire korean peninsula. it asked both pyongyang and washington to

exercise restraint. the us has sought to clear up confusion over claims an aircraft carrier group was en route to north korea. lastly, donald trump said he was sending an armada to the region. since then, the ship set sail further away. and this video is trending on bbc.com. it is about serena williams, who is expecting her first baby. it is about serena williams, who is expecting herfirst baby. the news has been confirmed by her agent. —— ships have sailed. our top ourtop uk our top uk stories: