i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore, the headlines: a very special relationship. president trump is full of praise for china. and some surprisingly warm words for the north korean leader kim jong—un. a lot of people i'm sure tried to ta ke a lot of people i'm sure tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. and he was able to do it. so obviously he's a pretty smart cookie. tributes to one of the world's most famous and celebrated climbers, ueli steck, who's died in an accident on mount everest. hello, i'm tom donkin in london. also in the programme: bike—sharing schemes are taking off in china. we explore how they're providing a timely boost for manufacturers. and he's had an impressive run in the world snooker championship, how ding junhui has found success is winning over millions of new chinese fans. live from our studios in singapore

and london. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good morning. it's 7am in singapore, midnight in london and 7pm in the evening in washington, where president donald trump has been singing the praises of china in sharp contrast to his campaign rhetoric. in an interview with the american cbs network, the us president said he was in constant touch with president xijinping, and believed he was putting pressure on north korea to rain in its leader kim jung—un‘s nuclear ambitions. the relationship i've had with china, it's been already acclaimed as being something very special, something very different to what we've already had. on north korea, mr trump warned that a conflict with the country

could kill millions of people. but he had some surprising words of praise for supreme leader kim kim jong—un. dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others, and at a very young age he was able to assume power. a lot of people i'm sure tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. and he was able to do it. so obviously he's a pretty smart cookie. i've been speaking tojohn sopel our north america editor about that interview and the possibility of a new special relationship with china. the one thing you have to accept is with donald trump you can go in and out of favour quite fast. during the campaign president xi was responsible for the terrible trade deals hitting america, he was responsible for manipulating chinese currency to the disadvantage of the americans but now he is seen as a needed ally in the attempts to rain in north korea and their nuclear

programme and so in north korea and their nuclear programme and so you're seeing lavish praise being heaped upon president xi from donald trump. i thought also something else came out of the weekend that i thought was really interesting, he put out a tweet saying kim jong—un had showed disrespect to president xi by trying to hold another missile test and i thought that all spoke to one thing, i want to hold president xi very close because any success in north korea has to go through china. close because any success in north korea has to go through chinam was very interesting that interview on us tv, he even appeared to show a bit of empathy for the north korean leader? i kind of thing that donald trump respects people who are strong, who shown themselves to be resilient. i think he looks at kim jong—un, this young man who came to power when presumably there were an awful lot of generals jockeying for position and, you know what, he's a pretty smart cookie. i think he's also hoping that one day maybe he will be able to negotiate with kim

jong—un. so maybe there was a bit of flattery there, maybe he was offering something kim jong—un flattery there, maybe he was offering something kimjong—un might bite on as a way of the escalating the tensions that are in the korean peninsula at the moment. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. ueli steck, one of the most famous and fastest climbers in the world, has died on mount everest. the 41—year—old is believed to have slipped and fallen from a rock—face. he's best known for his record breaking speed climbs of alpine peaks. the explorer ranulph fiennes has been among those paying tributes today. we spent three days and three nights trying to get to the top, he has done it in two hours and 22 minutes and he sort of runs up like a monkey and he sort of runs up like a monkey and he sort of runs up like a monkey and he doesn't use any form of protection. wii use ropes and tied onto the rock and anything else like

that so when you do fall you obviously get roped up. he doesn't do that at all. many of the people trying to do so low before him had died on various parts of this huge mountain. ueli ec wasjust died on various parts of this huge mountain. ueli ec was just amazing. —— ueli. also making news today: surveillance camera footage from beijing has revealed the horrifying moment when an suv lost control in an underground car park in beijing, killing one security guard and injuring two other workers. the deadly accident occurred last wednesday. the driver of the car had allegedly pushed the accelerator rather than the brake pedal while trying to stop her car. southeast asian leaders took a softer stance on the south china sea dispute during their weekend summit in manila. a statement was released after the summit ended, dropping references to land reclamation and militarization. those references had been included in the text during last year's meeting. china is extremely sensitive to comments about its activities in spratly islands. the former billionaire eike batista, who was once one

of the world's richest men, has left prison in brazil for house arrest ahead of a corruption trial. batista, was worth more than $30 billion five years ago, but has lost much of his empire. he's been accused of bribery and hiding illegalfunds offshore. indonesia's president, joko widodo, has been greeted with a mix of protest and celebration during a visit to hong kong, where thousands of indonesians work as domestic helpers. ahead of the visit, president widodo said he aimed to improve his country's economy and workforce so that one day no—one would need to work abroad. over recent years, there's been concern about the treatment of foreign maids in hong kong. and finally, take a look at this. it's the first passenger vessel to sail through the newly expanded locks of the panama canal. the disney wonder liner is the first of 18 cruise ships destined to make the journey during the 2017 and 2018 season. this journey represents something of a milestone. the old lock system stopped many modern cruisers from fitting through. but the new lock is 21 metres wider and six metres deeper.

ten years after the disappearance of the young british girl madeleine mccann, her parents have told the bbc they will do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to find their daughter. madeleine was three years old when she went missing on holiday in portugal while her parents were eating at a nearby restaurant. speaking to the bbc‘s fiona bruce, kate and gerry mccann have been talking about the pain they continue to face. every day is another day without madeleine... i think it's just that number. that ten—year mark which makes it more significant i think because it's a reminder of how much time has gone by and obviously ten‘s a big number.

i think that the day and the poignancy of it... we don't tend to go back to the time because it's so draining. but inevitably on anniversaries and her birthday, they're by far the hardest. how different is your life now to what you must have imagined all those years ago? it's a hard one, isn't it, because it's such a long time. i think before madeleine was taken we felt we'd managed to achieve a perfect, nuclear family of five. we had that for a short period. you adapt and you have a new normality. unfortunately for us, the new normality at the moment is a family of four. last time we talked, you told me how you were still buying birthday presents and christmas presents for madeleine... with ten years now, are you still doing that? yes, i still do that. you go round the shops and you think, madeleine would be this age, what would she want?

that is it. i obviously have to think about what age she is and something that... you know, whatecer we find her will still be appropriate? a lot of thought goes into it. i couldn't not. she's still our daughter. she'll always be our daughter. one of the police officers in portugal has been a thorn in your side for many years. he wrote a book which implicates you and you fought it through the courts. at the moment, you've lost and he has won. the last judgement i think is terrible. so we will be appealing. we haven't lodged that yet. it will be going through the courts. he was effectively suggesting that you were involved? i think people really need to realise, and assistant commissioner riley has said it again this week and the portuguese have said it in the final report,

there is no evidence that madeleine's dead. and the prosecutor said that there was no evidence that we were involved in any crime. the police have talked about one significant lead that they're still pursuing. can you tell me anything about that? we're very much... the investigation is in the hands of the met police. there clearly are ongoing enquiries. we've come a long way and there is progress, there are some very credible lines of enquiry the police are working on, and while there's no evidence to give us any negative news, that hope is still there. it really is there, in your hearts? that one day you'll be reunited with your daughter? no parent's going to give up on their child unless they know for certain their child is dead. theyjust don't have any evidence. my hope of madeleine being out there is no less than it was ten years ago. apart from those first 48 hours, nothing actually has

changed since then. i mean, i think the difficult thing has always been, how will we find her? you know, because you rely on the police doing everything they can. and you're relying on somebody with information coming forward. let's go back to our top story, and what seems to be an improvement in relations between president donald trump and china. stephen tsang is from london's school of oriental and african studies. earlier, i asked him whether the us and china were really on the same page when it comes to north korea. well, the two countries on the same page in terms of not really wanting the korean peninsular situation to slide into a war. but whether the chinese president will be able to or is willing to deliver in the way that president trump once, i think that president trump once, i think that remains an open question.

anything that china does in relation to north korea, any economic squeeze they might put on pyongyang, that's surely just down to they might put on pyongyang, that's surelyjust down to trade with the us and not down to any personal relationship donald trump may have developed with president xi?|j relationship donald trump may have developed with president xi? i think you put your fingers on it. developed with president xi? i think you put yourfingers on it. i think from the chinese government's perspective, the single most important issue in the relationship between china and the united states is the trade relationship and the so—called 100 days of negotiation to a trade deal. but then in order to get president trump to back off and ease pressure on china with trade, the chinese will have to deliver something of a north korea. what's your take on this, donald trump speaks very flowery about the relationship with president xi, saying it something the us and china hasn't seen before. is that you're reading of the situation? clearly president trump is putting on a

particular gloss for a reason. it would appear that he has been advised by his military advisers that the use of force is really not a good option. and that being the case, he will need china to get north korea to do some kind of deal. and therefore he's being very complimentary to president xi and therefore put pressure on president xi to do something about it. he is also being very complimentary to young mr kim in order to open a door to potentially some kind of diplomatic activity is. how would the chinese leadership react to that kind of complimentary flattery if you like. surely the chinese leadership is more shrewd than that? the chinese leadership absolutely as you say is much more shrewd about that sort of thing. but on the other hand they also want to have a good working relationship with president

trump, so they‘ re working relationship with president trump, so they're not going to say anything to contradict him. what they will try to do is to do what they will try to do is to do what they can, and not necessarily everything they can possibly do, in order to try to ease the tensions over north korea and therefore avoid being sucked into a confrontation that they don't want. professor stephen tsnag talking to tom. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: first day in the newjob, after seeing off dozens of applicants, austria's hermit on a hillside starts work. nothing, it seems, was too big to withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government to build better government housing. internationally, there have already been protests. sweden says it received no warning of the accident. indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. only when radioactivity levels began to increase outside russia were they forced to

admit the accident. for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war for them. they've taken the capital, which they've been fighting for for so long. it was 7am in the morning, the day when power began to pass from the minority to the majority, when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony. this is news on the bbc. i'm

sharanjit leyl in singapore. and i am tom donkin in london. our top stories: president trump has said the north korean leader kimjong—un is a "pretty smart cookie" while also warning that a conflict involving pyongyang could kill millions of people. and tributes have been paid to one of the world's most famous climbers, ueli steck, who's died in an accident on mount everest. well, let's take a look at some front pages from around the world, now. and we start with the south china morning post. and on their front page, they have that story we were hearing about earlier, of indonesia's presidentjoko widodo on a visit to hong kong, apparently getting the "rock star treatment" from those attending his talk. the paper says security, though, at the event was high. the financial times says mexico is urging president trump to reuse parts of the aborted trans—pacific partnership agreement to create a manufacturing powerhouse between the us, mexico and canada, that could rival china. and over in the japan times,

there's this photo — if we look at the japan times — there's a photo of 600 blue carp streamers — put up in memory of the children killed injapan‘s earthquake—triggered tsunami in march 2011. there is a photojust there is a photo just there. there is a photojust there. and that brings you up to date with the papers. now tom, what are people watching online? well, sharanjit, most watched on bbc.com today are pictures of deadly tornadoes in the us state of texas. at least three tornadoes struck the city of canton. they killed four people, and caused huge destruction. winds flipped over cars and snapped trees, they destroyed houses and left power lines and debris all over the roads. he knocked out five—time world champion ronnie o' sullivan in a thrilling quarter—final match, but then succumbed to the might of a three—time world champion in the semi—finals. —— o'sullivan. china's ding junhui maybe out of this year's snooker

world championships, but the sport's popularity continues to grow — snooker is now one of the most watched sports in china with tens of millions of viewers tuning in and even more wanting to play. snookerjournalist david caulfield is in busan in south korea. hejoins us via he joins us via web hejoins us via web cam. now, he didn't quite make it, david, of course he is china's great snooker hope. he did not make the game, but what can you tell us about a? how thrilling was it and what is it actually mean for the hopes of this wonderful young player? actually mean for the hopes of this wonderfulyoung player? yes, well it was very disappointing, beazley, for ding junhui was very disappointing, beazley, for dingjunhui and was very disappointing, beazley, for ding junhui and for china that he lost. he lost to mark selby, at the world's number one. it would be a difficult one for him to win. but dingjunhui, as difficult one for him to win. but ding junhui, as you said, he beat ronnie o'sullivan, the star player of the sport, in the quarter—finals. every body thought this might be

ding junhui's year to break his dock of never having won the world championship. he was involved in an absolutely thrilling mac with mark selby in the semi—final. he led early on, before the world ‘s number one came back and it was nip and tuck until the end. —— absolutely thrilling match. he got through in the end, as he inevitably does. it was disappointing for ding junhui, but another strong performance in the world championship. we were watching some clips of the game now. tell us a little about why snooker is so popular in china. for instance, it is not very popular where you are, in south korea, or other parts of asia. so why china? it is all to do with ding junhui, really. because in 2005, he won the china open as a wildcard when he turned 18. that was one of the first

major tournaments in china at that time. —— open. stephen hendry, he is bisley to record holderfor the most world champions, the world's most world championship titles. so when he turned 18, the boom started in china and exploded. 70 snooker clubs opened around the country, especially in beijing, where there are is reportedly 1000 clubs. —— so many snooker clubs. ding junhui has inspired so many more young players, many on the tour at the moment. so china is still experiencing a huge boom. and we know he is still young. and even though he didn't quite make it this time, there is hopes that he might still be the world's snooker champion. had you assess his chances? very good. he still young. he is only 30. in snooker terms, that means he has plenty of time. at least ten or maybe even 15 years to

go on and win it. but as we have seen go on and win it. but as we have seenin go on and win it. but as we have seen in the past star players like jimmy white or even matthew stevens, who have been highly tipped to win the world championship, but have not been able to do it, so ding junhui, there are some concerns that he spent ten years of his career trying to win the world championship, and failed. but he definitely does have the talent to do so. david caulfield, there are in busan. they you forjoining us. until very recently, bicycle manufacturers in china were struggling for survival amidst the seemingly endless rise of the motor car. but that could be changing, and it's all thanks to the rise of bike share schemes. harvey biggs reports. air pollution is notorious in china's major cities. a problem the country's government is waging a high profile war against. one of the driving factors behind the smog has been cars. but it has not always

been cars. but it has not always been that way. china was once regarded as the kingdom of bicycles, and for decades, two wheels dominated the streets. but as the country began opening up to the world in the 1980s and 1990s, cars began to take over. today, less than 1296 began to take over. today, less than 12% of commuters cycle to work, but the wheels of change are turning, once again. at this factory in tianjing, a new bicycle is produced every 15 seconds. two dozen bikes per day. the first time in decades, china is producing large numbers of bikes of the same model, colour, and size. they will not be bought by individuals, but willjoin the brains of one of a number of drawing by share schemes. the simple concept is not a new one. —— joined the ranks. providing the industry that we re ranks. providing the industry that were struggling for survivaljust muzza go.

translation: just back in 2015, we realise that this new model could have an impact. but the speed of growth has been beyond imagination. —— just months ago. growth has been beyond imagination. -- just months ago. which are intent on reducing abolition levels, it is a welcome change. —— air pollution. a target of 80% of people riding to work should help keep producers like this one on the track to grow. harvey biggs, bbc news. a man chosen from dozens of competitors to take up a job as a hermit in austria has now received the keys to his new home. there was also a mass to welcome the new resident. it's part of a 350 year old tradition, in the town of saalfelden, as bethany bell reports. saalfelden has a new hermit. stan vanuytrecht, a divorced catholic deacon from belgium, has moved into the hermitage, cut into the cliffs.

there's been a hermit here for more than 350 years. but this is the first time a non—austrian has ta ken up residence. the key was handed over at a mass in the neighbouring chapel of st george. they live alone hear from april to november each year. but it is not entirely solitary existence. the home it is also expected to greet hikers and visitors, something the hermit welcomes. translation: i wanted to enter the monastery because i need silence and contemplation to pray. i was planning to enter one, but then i thought here in the hermitage, i can get both. in the mornings and evenings, silence and time to reflect and contemplate, and during the day, i see many

people who i can talk to. it will be a simple life. the hermitage has no electricity or running water. but it does have a spectacular view of the alps. bethany bell, bbc news. what a stunning place for reflection. you've been watching newsday. stay with us because coming up newsday. stay with us because coming up will be looking at new rules in australia. they are tightening up their visa rules for skilled foreign workers in particular, and we will be looking at the reaction from india. and before we go, let's take you to chengdu city in sichuan province, that is where a panda cub, called fushun — there, you can see him — has been caught on camera enjoying taking it very easy indeed. fushun does look quite comfortable on a tree branch, his contentment is plain for all to see. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news.

hello there. good morning. we saw big contrast across the uk on sunday. the southern half of the uk has seen some cloud and some rain. this is the view from one of our weather watchers mid—afternoon on sunday. but at the same time, the northern half of the country was different. dry, bright, a bit breezy. and i think we will keep similar contrast through bank holiday monday, because this area of low pressure is parked across the south of the uk. they will be the focus for some wetter weather of all stop further north, it will be dry, but breezy. the breeze overnight will keep the temperature is up. temperatures probably at the lowest in western scotland. but these will see the highest into the afternoon. one or two early showers in northern england, but these will fade away. northern england and northwards will be dry, bright, and breezy. the southern half of the uk will see cloud up wrecks of rain and showers. heavy at times, with the odd rumble of thunder. but a little sunshine

coming. not overly warm. 12 or 13 degrees. debra to contrast across northern england. coastal areas will see ten or 11 degrees. on the other side, 1a or 15 in carlisle. six in 17 parts of northern ireland. eight degrees in the eastern side of scotland. could go as high as 18 in the sunshine on the western side. through the evening, those showers could be heavy and thundering across that central sway of england. working southwards, eventually clearing away by dawn on tuesday. it will be dry. low cloud coming into that eastern side of the uk. maybe so mr bob as well. temperatures at about seven, eight, or nine degrees in major cities. perhaps lower enrile spots. the low pressure system will drift to the south allowing a low pressure system in scandinavia to become the driving force of our weather. that will be with us for a few days. an easterly wind on tuesday drags in a lot of

low cloud to the eastern side. it will be cool here as well. further west, brighter skies, and we will see some high temperatures, as well. 15, 16, 17 degrees in some places. some rain to go with the cloud perhaps further ease. cloudy in the southern half the uk on wednesday. still that easterly breeze and cool along the eastern coast. further west, critically to the north and west, critically to the north and west, it should be a lovely day with sunshine and temperatures in the other teens. towards the end of the week, a lot of fine and dry weather to be had. a little bit cloudy on the other side. there will be warmer to the upper west. typically the north—west. —— upper teens. i'm sharanjit leyl with bbc world news. the headlines: donald trump has been speaking highly of the north korean leader kimjong—un, calling him a pretty smart cookie. but mr trump said he won't rule out military action against north korea if the country pursues its nuclear programme, and warned that a conflict with the country could kill millions of people. tributes have been

paid to ueli steck, one of the most famous climbers in the world, who's died on mount everest. the 41—year—old is believed to have fallen from a rock face while spending time acclimatising at altitude. and this story is trending on bbc.com. these deadly tornados in the us state of texas. at least three struck the city of canton, killing four people and causing widespread destruction. winds flipped over cars, snapped trees and left fallen power lines on roads. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk.