i'm rico hizon in singapore, the headlines: donald trump says investigations into russia's involvement in the us presidential election is a witch hunt, but the new head of the fbi disagrees... as the future fbi director, do you consider this endeavour as a witch hunt? i do not consider director mueller to be on a witch hunt. a 9.5—yearjail sentence for brazil's former president, lula da silva, but he says he will still run for office next year. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: we're in kazakhstan for our latest stop on the new silk road, but with chinese companies pouring workers into the country, what's in it for the locals? and moving house the hard way, find out what happened when this man got caught transporting a fridge on a train.

live from our studios in singapore and london. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. it's 7am in singapore, midnight in london and 7am in the evening in washington, where donald trump has suffered a blow over the investigation into links between his presidential campaign and russia. the president has long claimed the probe was a witch hunt. but that's been contradicted by the man he wants to be the next fbi director. christopher wray also told a senate committee that he would pull no punches if confirmed. it came as mr trump insisted that his son, at the centre of controversy after meeting a russian lawyer last year, had been transparent and was innocent. our chief correspondent gavin hewitt reports. hannity: tonight, we have donald trump jr. .. donald trump's son out defending himself after revelations

from e—mails that last year he met a russian lawyer who he believed would offer him incriminating information and hillary clinton. in retrospect, i probably would have done things a little differently. again, this is before the russia mania, this is before they were building it up in the press. for me, this was opposition research... in his interview, donald trumer said he hadn't referred the meeting to his father. it was such a nothing, there was nothing to tell. i mean, i wouldn't have even remembered it until you start scouring through this stuff. it was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame. president trump was quick to praise his son's television performance, tweeting. .. so who are the key players involved in the meeting last year? the initial approach to donald trumer about a potential russian meeting came from rob goldstone, a british publicist. he helped schedule the appointment with natalia veselnitskaya,

a russian lawyer. also in the room was paul manafort, trump's campaign manager, and jared kushner, trump's son—in—law — a clear sign they thought the meeting would be significant. the e—mail shows an intent and a desire to have a foreign government interfere in the american election of the president. asking for that kind of assistance, if that was the assumption of the meeting, that in and of itself can be a crime. the white house has been active, pointing out that there has been no illegality, no law broken, no sensitive information exchanged. but that doesn't mean there are no risks in all of this for the trump administration. in this atmosphere of political crisis, focus turned towards capitol hill and the confirmation hearings for the new director of the fbi. he was asked whether he agreed with the president that the investigation by special councel mueller into russian meddling and lasted's election amounted to a witch—hunt. do you believe that,

in light of the doanr e—mail and other allegations, that this whole thing about trump campaigning in russia is a witch—hunt? is that a fair description of what we're all dealing with in america? senator, i can't speak to the basis for those comments. i can tell you that my experience with director mueller... i'm asking you is the future fbi director, do you consider this endeavour a witch—hunt? i do not consider director mueller to be on a witch—hunt. in an interview with the christian broadcasting network today, president trump tried to refocus attention back onto his latest legislative agenda and away from the questions about russia so preoccupying his administration. gavin hewitt, bbc news, washington. our other top story: the former brazilian president lula da silva has been sentenced to nine and a half years in prison after being convicted of corruption. he was found guilty of accepting bribes worth over $1 million

linked to the secret renovation of a beach resort. he will remain free while he appeals the verdict but his campaign to run for the presidency again next year could be affected. the bbc‘s katy watson is in rio. this is a nine and a half year sentence for corruption and money—laundering and it relates to a beachside apartment that he allegedly received and it was in return for bribes of more than $1 million from a construction company in exchange for some contracts, and again it relates to the state owned oil company petrobras. this is all pa rt oil company petrobras. this is all part of a bigger operation carwash, the country's biggest ever corruption investigation that started just over three years ago. it's really spread its tentacles far and wide and a lot of politicians and wide and a lot of politicians and businessmen have been implicated in brazil and it shows how endemic

bribery and corruption is in brazilian politics. also this hour china says it is setting up its first overseas military base in the east african country of djibouti, which borders eritrea, ethiopia and somalia. beijing says it will provide support for peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. the establishment was a result of friendly discussions between the two nations. it will help china better fulfil its obligations in somali waters, like humanitarian missions and aid. the united nations says it has identified an additional 38 probable mass graves from recent violence in the democratic republic of congo. more than 3,000 have been killed and a million displaced in the area where fighting erupted after a militia leader was killed last year. officials in the american state of nevada are considering taking emergency action to cope with a shortage of cannabis.

it comes after recreational use of the drug was legalised at the start of this month. sales are apparently already far exceeding expectations. now, if you're a commuter who's ever been on a crowded train, these pictures might strike a cord with you. they're cctv images of a passenger trying to transport a huge fridge by railway. as you can see, he managed to get the item all the way into the carriage only to be thwarted by staff who ordered him to remove it and issued a fine. he's not the only one. another passenger who got a couch to his destination by train. queensland rail reminded passengers that such large items are not allowed on board and asked anyone who wants to move house to hire a removal company instead. you've been warned!

the health of chinese dissident liu xiaobo is deteriorating according to the hospital treating him. the nobel laureate suffered respiratory failure on wednesday, his family has declined to have him put on artificial ventilation necessary to keep him alive. despite international appeals from rights groups and western governments, china has refused to allow liu and his wife, liu xia, to leave the country so he can be treated abroad. juliana liu joins us from hong kong. the pressure is mounting on china, is this likely to have any effect on them? well, rico, there have been sporadic protests in hong kong in support of liu xiaobo for weeks now, including during the visit of chinese president xi jingping, including during the visit of chinese president xijingping, fact as soon as he got off his plane and touched down in hong kong, a local reporter shouted a question at him

that he ignored and at the moment there are that he ignored and at the moment there a re protests that he ignored and at the moment there are protests in front of the beijing the asia on office in hong kong. these protests are in addition to the over matic efforts by the us and germany for china to allow liu xiaobo to leave the country to seek treatment —— per matic efforts. but china has rebuffed this chinese pressure so far. all of this is reported very much in the hong kong press. let me show you some newspapers, this is the main pro—democracy broadsheet newspaper, the apple daily, there's the iconic photograph of liu xiaobo and his wife, liu xia, and the headline, liu xiaobo in critical condition. 0n the right a series of photos of protests and other demonstrations around the world. here in china and hear it in hong kong and other cities around the world, norway as well as a city

in india. this is the apple daily. let me show you the hong kong standard, the main page, the english—language newspaper, and the headline is liu xiaobo's family rejects the use of a breathing tube. very much in the news in hong kong what's happening with liu xiaobo. very much in the news in hong kong what's happening with liu xiaobom it another issue that divides the city as much as chinese rule? rico, obviously this is being reported in hong kong very freely, which is different from what's happening in mainland china. my colleagues in the bbc beijing bureau said many people they talk too don't know who liu xiaobo is. he's very sympathetic in hong kong for many years in part because in 2008, the document, ma nifesto, because in 2008, the document, manifesto, that he signed, pro—democracy manifesto for china if spouses and a lot of the liberal values hong kong already enjoys, for

example freedom of speech, association and independent judiciary —— espouses. these are simply some of the freedoms hong kong people already enjoy and because of that there's a lot of sympathy for the man who is trying to espouse them for mainland china. juliana liu in hong kong, thank you so much forjoining us. let's return now to the twists and turns in washington over the investigation into the trump administration's contacts with russia, including those by his son donald junior. 0ur correspondent david willis is in washington. good to see you, david. so much to talk about, let's start with the new head of the fbi, chris ray, saying head of the fbi, chris ray, saying he doesn't believe like trump claimed that this is a witch—hunt? that's right, he was asked if he was asked to give a pledge of loyalty to the president as his predecessor, james comey, apparently had been asked for and he replied no. as you mention he was also asked if he

shared the present‘s view that this was a witch—hunt, donald trump taking to twitter, his preferred medium of communication, earlier in the day to describe the russia controversy as the greatest witch—hunt in political history —— president. christopher wray was askedif president. christopher wray was asked if he shared the view and he said he didn't. the questions started at him as part of this senate confirmation hearing, a sign, babita, that politicians on both sides of the political aisle have misgivings about the sort of treatment that the incoming head of the fbi might be exposed to under the fbi might be exposed to under the trump administration. david, tell us more about what the president himself has been saying with regards to his son's involvement with the russian allegations. it's interesting because there's talk of paralysis in the building behind me at the moment. the president said to be

furious and frustrated by the amount of coverage that's been devoted to this rush of controversy and cable news reports have said he has been holed up at the white house since returning from the g20 summit and basically he's been watching this whole controversy unfold, much to his chagrin, on television, while in response to those suggestions, donald trump today tweeted saying the white house is functioning perfectly and he has little time for watching tv. he must have had some time for watching it! but seriously hear the whole thing is taking time away and the president's attention away and the president's attention away from important parts of his domestic agenda, not least of course repealing and replacing 0bamacare and putting new healthcare legislation into place. david, thank you very much for the update. david

willis lives in washington. —— live you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: how a passenger on a flight in australia checked in a can of beer as his only item of luggage. also on the programme: an iceberg four times the size of london breaks away from antarctica. we have the details. central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. the flamboyant design of the saatchi has been shot dead in florida. the multimillionaire was gunned down in his home in the exclusive beach district of miami. emergency services in central europe have stepped up efforts to contain the worst floods this century. nearly 100 people have been killed. broadway is traditionally called the great white way by americans by tonight it is completely blacked out. it is a timely reminder of all americans about the problems the

energy crisis has brought them. 200 yea rs energy crisis has brought them. 200 years ago today a huge parisian crowd stormed the bastille prison, the first act of the revolution which was to topple the french monarchy. today hundreds of thousands thronged the champs—elysees for the traditional military parade. finally, fairy penguins have been staggering ashore and collapsing after gorging themselves on a huge show of their favourite food, pilchards. some had eaten so much they could barely stand. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. good to have you with us. our top stories: president trump's nominee to head the fbi, christopher wray, tells senators he did not regard the investigation into russian meddling in last year's elections as a witch hunt, as mr trump has claimed. the former brazilian president, lula da silva, is sentenced to 9.5 years in jail for corruption,

but he says the conviction won't stop him running for president again next year. and one of the biggest icebergs on record has broken away from antarctica. the huge expanse of ice, which is roughly the size of the indonesian island of bali, had been shearing away for several months. scientists say it's a natural phenomenon, and global warming is not to blame. it's now expected to start breaking up, though experts warn some of the ice could remain in the area for decades. and that story is popular on bbc.com. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. and we start with the new york times, and the boom in north koreans working in russia, mainly as decorators. it says the number's now on a par with the amount employed in china, but carries claims their cheap labour is more like a slave trade. the china daily reports you'll soon be able to have fast food delivered to the seat of your train.

yes, some bullet train passengers will be able to pre—order from certain restaurants depending on which stations they pass through. and we had to check it wasn't april fool's day reading one story on the front on the daily telegraph. dust can make you put on weight. yes, it reports a study which found some dust contains hormone—changing chemicals that make cells accumulate fat. intersting survey. now, an unusual air trip is grabbing some attention online. yes, it's a great story of how a passenger on board a domestic flight in australia checked in a can of beer as his only item of luggage. here it is, complete with the necessary baggage label. dean stinson, who was taking the flight from melbourne to perth, said he wasjust having a laugh, but added that he was happy to be reunited with his beer when he landed. and it was in perfect condition. indonesia is taking its first steps towards clamping down

on hard—line extremism. presidentjoko widodo has signed a law banning groups that oppose its official state ideology. no specific groups were named, but activists believe the move was aimed at hizbut tahrir, a hardline islamist group, and one of the organisations behind the huge protests injakarta last year against the city's ousted christian governor ahok. organisations spreading ideologies such as atheism and communism are also banned under the decree. 0ur correspondent rebecca henschke is in jakarta. just fill us in on the background into this. this comes after months of simmering sectarian tensions in indonesia, as you mentioned. huge street protests by islamic mass organisations against governor ahok,

formerjakarta governor, organisations against governor ahok, former jakarta governor, accused organisations against governor ahok, formerjakarta governor, accused of blasphemy. there was a definite anti—government tone to the demonstrations. people telling me they would overthrow the government of presidentjoko widodo if they didn't achieve their aims. this caused the president to order a review into these mass organisations and asa review into these mass organisations and as a result back in may the government announced that they would ban hizbut tahrir because they say they were going against the country's constitution. but they met a number of roadblocks, legal problems, that means that they can't automatically do that. so this presidential decree that has come out this week is an attempt by the president to get his will and to have that group banned and also potentially other groups as we go along. rebecca, you and i have been speaking much about the protests taking place in jakarta, speaking much about the protests taking place injakarta, and also the fear that many people have raised about freedom of speech being thwarted by the government. what has

been said about that in line with the fact that some of these organisations that are promoting other ideologies will also be banned? well, there is a lot of concern about that. new york—based human rights watch came out with a statement strongly saying this was a breach of international human rights and free speech. indonesia is perhaps one of the most vibrant democracies in this region. and hizbut tahrir it self is also using that as an argument. they say that under indonesia's laws that they should be able to exist, that they area should be able to exist, that they are a peaceful organisation that looks to achieve its aims of creating an islamic state here in indonesia through prayer services, demonstrations and nonviolence. but at the same time many people here would say indonesia does need to find a line between democracy and also keeping this quite fragile nation state of many different ethnic groups, religious groups, together. and there has been

concerned for some time about rising extremism and rising radicalism inside this country that prides itself on being a pluralist, multifaith nation. yes, we will see how that progresses. thank you so much. with the us distracted by a number of problems at home, china is seizing the moment to promote an alternative world order. it's plans for a new silk road — a rail route across three continents — promises almost a trillion dollars in lending to boost world trade. in a series of special reports this week our china editor carrie gracie is travelling the 11,000 kilometre journey from china to the uk. as the silk road reaches central asia, she looks now at china's challenge to russia. bells chime. for two centuries, central asia was russia's backyard. kazakhstan got its independence when the soviet union collapsed. but russian remained the language of business — until now. this is china's new

silk road in action. the economy slowing back home, state construction companies put to work abroad. master builder xu xiwen, delivering a cutting—edge urban railway. translation: china's advanced technology is bringing convenience and more comfort and safety to travellers in kazakhstan. if this project goes well, it will serve as a model for others. china says its plans are for the benefit of all. but mostjobs here will go to chinese workers, and the loan was tied to a chinese design. it's not just building across central asia, china's buying into banks and oil fields too. some locals say they see no benefit. in one village, a kindergarten has become a hostel for chinese workers. ardak kubasheva complains

of pollution, and jobs going to outsiders. translation: the chinese have done nothing. there's a huge oil industry here, but nojobs orfacilities for young people. we want to live decently, so that we won't be ashamed of our village. government intimidation makes many kazakhs cautious on camera. but, privately, several accused chinese companies of using bribes to cut corners. china says its presence abroad is a win—win, a win for china and a win for the people in its path. but that's not the experience here. they say their oil wealth is going elsewhere and that that "win—win" means china wins once, and then china wins again. back at almaty‘s zenkov cathedral, dosym satpaev says the nations

of central asia are like billiard balls in a game between the big players, russia and china. china, i believe it will be like some threat for our independence. why? because for china, kazakhstan is not an equal partner. for china, kazakhstan only is like one of the players, in the big china political game. that game stretches far beyond these mountains. but already it's changing lives, shaping the destiny of young nations in the shadow of the chinese giant. carrie gracie, bbc news, kazakhstan. and tomorrow you can see carrie's report from poland in the next stage of her journey. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. we'll be taking you to india to look at the troubles

facing its start—ups. with job cuts and difficulties getting investment, can the industry survive? and, before we go, formula one teams spent the afternoon taking over trafalgar square, here in london, showing off their cars on a specially designed course, which ran along whitehall towards the houses of parliament. the event was staged to publicise the british grand prix, which takes place this weekend. wednesday's event offered no prizes for speed or finishing first, just a chance to show off a few moves and make some noise. it was very impressive and there was glorious sunshine in london on wednesday. thank you forjoining us, we will be back with headlines next. see you soon. hello there, good morning. yesterday

was a lovely day across large swwathes of the uk. some early rain in the south—east cleared away and the sun came out for the afternoon and it was a fine and sunny day in cumbria, thanks to the weather watchers sending in the beaches. we saw the sunshine through the day yesterday. clear skies overnight and they will take us on into the morning. with the clear skies it will be chilly in rural spots. towns and cities starting in double figures for most, up to 14— 15 at best. in rural parts, scotland, three degrees, england and way is down to about four or five, so on the chilly side for some. high—pressure is in charge of the weather for the most part through the day. this weather front in the north and west, more isobars, so more of a breeze. the weather front will seek another cloud and will bring rain to northern ireland and into western scotland as well. ahead of that a lot of fine and dry

weather but not completely dry because of one or two showers around. is anglia and the south—east has increasing cloud in the afternoon but it is stating dry. the low 20s quite widely. a line of shells from the south—west of england into south wales and drifting through the midlands to the north—east of england. behind that a lot of dry and bright weather. one or two showers in aberdeen. the breeze and ran into western scotland and northern ireland as well. 19 degrees at the top temperature in belfast. wimbledon continues and it looks like it will be a decent day for it. light winds, there will be sunshine, patchy cloud as well and temperatures in the low 20s. as we go through the evening the weather front makes progress southwards and eastwards. it will bring rain with it. not a great deal. it is mostly overnight rain as well. any lingering rain in the morning in the south—east won't last long, it will clear away quickly, then a decent day with dry weather. it is dry for the most part. 18 in aberdeen, 32 in

london. friday night we see rain across scotland into northern ireland. outbreaks of rain further southin ireland. outbreaks of rain further south in england and when. early rain in the south—east on saturday doesn't last long. it should clear way. then we have scattered showers to the west where it is quite breezy and the showers will be fairly frequent in western scotland. now of course it is the finals weekend, the ladies' finals on saturday looking good. temperatures on the rise, humidity too for the men's final on saturday. on the weekend it will be cloudy and 90 with humidity on the rise but showers will crop up in the north and west of the uk. and it will be quite warm further south. i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story: donald trump says investigations into russia's involvement in the us presidential election is a witch hunt, but the new head of the fbi disagrees. it came as mr trump insisted that his son, who is at the centre

of controversy after meeting a russian lawyer last year, had been transparent. the former brazilian president, lula da silva, has been sentenced to nine—and—a—half years injailfor corruption. he says he'll still run for president again next year. and this video is trending on bbc.com. a man in australia has been caught on cctv trying to transport a huge fridge by train. he managed to get the item all the way into the carriage before being ordered off by the staff and fined. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk.