i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: it's not a witch hunt. the likely next head of the fbi says investigations into president trump are fair. as the future fbi director, do you consider this endeavour as a witch hunt? i do not consider dr mueller to be on a witch hunt. nine and a half years injail for brazil's ex—president lula, but he says he's still running for election again next year. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: our latest stop along the new silk road is kazakhstan. with chinese companies pouring workers into the country, what's in it for the locals? a state visit to london for the king and queen of spain, with brexit and the future of gibraltar lurking in the background. it's 8am in singapore, 1am in london,

and 8pm 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 counsel 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 a million dollars linked to the secret renovation of a beach resort. our correspondent in rio dejaneiro, katy watson, has more details. 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 part of a bigger operation car wash, 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 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 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 i million displaced in the area where fighting erupted after a militia leader was killed last year. the us government has added to calls for china to release the democracy activist liu xiaobo so he can receive appropriate medical care. earlier the hospital where he is receiving treatment said his family had refused artificial ventilation which they say is necessary to maintain his life. 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. and it's notjust a one—off. here's another passenger who did manage to get 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 conflict in myanmar‘s rakhine state is in the international spotlight this week with a visit by the un special rapporteur on human rights. rakhine state is on myanmar‘s western coastline where there have been violent clashes between the muslim community and government security forces. tens of thousands of people known as rohingyas have fled their homes, claiming atrocities have been carried out against them. the un's rapporteur yanghee lee has

arrived in the state capital sittwe and a number of journalists are accompanying her. the burmese authorities have promised they will face no restrictions during their trip. joining from yangon is aung zaw, editor of the irrawaddy news magazine. great to have you with us on newsday. with the united nations rapporteur‘s visit, what kind of pressure is this putting on the government of aung san suu kyi? the government of aung san suu kyi? the government is allowing her a visit to make an assessment on the human rights situation on the ground. she has got a visit and has been meeting — she is going to visit camps and the local communities. she's already had a few meetings with the people there, the rohingya community, as well as the rakhine people, and

there has also been security, very tight, due to her visit. also, because of a group of people holding protests, and also the famous buddhist monk unaware they are to hold protests against her visit. so the government is definitely under pressure to respond. because also they don't allow the un fact—finding mission coming into myanmar to make... bernie 's authorities said they would make no restrictions of they would make no restrictions of the un rapporteur and the media. do you agree with this?” the un rapporteur and the media. do you agree with this? i think so, because i would say that the media access to this area is more difficult. i myself as a journalist

go visiting to the conflict zones, not only in rakhine state itself, but also in northern burma, where fighting and skirmishes have taken place, so there are more and more suspicions, and people have been put in prison because they've been working on stories. so i think our working on stories. so i think our work is getting tough in terms of trying to get a sense... as you say, it's getting tough being a media organisation in burma, because in an editorial you said that the return of the climate, the fear is very disturbing with regards to the media. i would say that our work is under threat, our work is getting difficult, and it is an irony to find that the return of the climate of fear among journalists reporting on issues, and we can criticise a

lot of issues and government, that there is something hanging over our heads, the electronic acts, and a lot of people have been put in detention. how would you compare the state of the media today before the leadership of aung san suu kyi? are you far freer now, all is the clampdown stricter?|j you far freer now, all is the clampdown stricter? i think much more tighter, i would say. that's what i say, it's very ironic to find that we are now under an elected government and the security forces are putting pressure, as well as the government — doesn't want to make a change on the existing laws, including the 6060, infamous electronic ats, as well as the 70/1, which is an unlawful association,

and on that, our reporters, our collea g u es and on that, our reporters, our colleagues could be put in prison. now, one of our colleagues now is in detention without bail, so our work is getting tough. we are on a very tight —| is getting tough. we are on a very tight — i mean, a short leash, working on a lot of stories. i would say that. we will have two leave it there. thank you very much for joining us from yangon. 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 jr. within the last 20 minutes, this happened. the president left washington, leaving the storm behind him as he heads for paris, where he will be celebrating bastille day as emmanuel macron‘s guest of honour, but no doubt the controversies will

continue about the trump family's involvement in those e—mails and russia and the presidential campaign. more on that to come. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: china's plan for a new silk road across asia and europe is supposed to bring benefits for all — so why are people in kazakstan concerned? also on the programme: the king and queen of spain arrived in london ahead of discussions around brexit and gibraltar. the flamboyant designer gianni versacei 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 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. welcome back, everyone. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: the nominated head of the fbi has told senators he doesn't regard the investigation into russian intervention in last year's american elections as a witch hunt,

as president trump has claimed. brazil's former president, lula, has been sentenced to 9.5 years injailfor corruption. but he's said he'll run for president again next year. 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. that is a very interesting study. indonesia is cracking down on extremism. they have cracked down on a group in charge of the wide scale spread last year. 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. 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, 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, 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. with the us distracted by a number of problems at home, china is seizing the moment to

promote an alternative world order. its plans for a new silk road, a rail route across two 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 geopolitical 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. a state banquet has been held at buckingham palace for the visiting king and queen of spain. this afternoon king felipe addressed both houses of parliament. he said he was confident the uk and spain can reach an agreement over the future of gibraltar. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports. a state banquet at buckingham palace, where hospitality is deployed in pursuit of diplomacy. tonight, one of the world's oldest monarchs, elizabeth of the united kingdom, accompanied one of its newest and tallest, felipe of spain, to dinner. a lavish occasion,

but an opportunity for britain to cultivate another important european nation. the queen didn't mention the word brexit in her speech. but she did dwell on the power of the anglo—spanish connection. a relationship like ours, founded on such great strengths and common interests, will ensure that both our nations prosper, now and in the future, whatever challenges arise. the state visit had begun on horse guards parade, with a greeting between two monarchs who are distantly related — they‘ re both descendants of queen victoria. from horse guards to the carriage ride up the mall, one of the highlights for visitors, something donald trump is keen to do if he ever comes. and in this relaxed atmosphere, business can be done and difficult issues touched upon. in the case of britain and spain, that means gibraltar.

last year, king felipe called it a colonial anachronism. today, in a speech at westminster, he was more tactful. but he did call for a negotiated settlement. i am confident that, through the necessary dialogue and effort, our two governments will be able to work out towards arrangements that are acceptable to all involved. to that, the british government said the sovereignty of gibraltar was not up for discussion. a firm response, among the warm words of a state visit. nicholas witchell, bbc news, buckingham palace. relations between cuba and america have been tumultuous to say the least for decades but in a bid to bridge the gap between the two a group of kayakers are making the trip from havana to key west in a slightly different kind of vessel, as tim allman reports. if you are heading to the high seas anytime soon, this could be your

flexible friend. a collapsible kayak that can fit inside a suitcase. four americans setting out on a bold adventure. we want to demonstrate a kayak, a foldable kayak, that can operate in the ocean like this. and this is a sport we love and we want to test aaron the mets. there is little more than 100 miles between the countries. —— our own limits. they would go to havana and then the key west. in the last few years, the situation between the two countries had eased, with barack obama normalising relations in 2015. but that was partly reversed by his predecessor, donald trump, in his first month. the team setting off from havana hope in some small way their trip may make a difference.

there is a long history of doing this crossing in a small craft. we think there is an opportunity to ta ke think there is an opportunity to take that and pay homage to it and then look forward and celebrate what we hope is a safe and legal future of immigration and trade between the us and cuba. so, off they went. next stop, florida. the trip should take about a day and a half to complete. jim allman, bbc news. thank you for watching newsday. i am rico hizon in singapore. and i am babita sharma. before we go, these are pictures of the formula 1 team taking over trafalgar square in preparation for the british grand prix. and they did it in style. thank you forjoining us. see you again soon. goodbye. hello there, good morning.

yesterday was a lovely day across large swathes of the uk. after some early rain in the south—east, that soon 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 for sending in the pictures. we saw the sunshine through the day yesterday. clear skies overnight, and that will take us on into the morning. with those clear skies it will be chilly in some rural spots. major towns and cities starting in double figures for most, up to 111—15 at the very best. in more rural parts, rural scotland, three degrees, england and wales down to about four or five, so a bit on the chilly side for some. high—pressure is in charge of the weather for the most part through the day today. you will notice this weather front in the north and west, more isobars here, so a bit more of a breeze. the weather front will see 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 there will be one or two showers around. but i think east anglia and the south—east, increasing cloud in the afternoon, but it is staying dry. the low 20s quite widely.

there will be a line of showers from the south—west of england into south wales, drifting through the midlands, to the north—east of england. behind that, a lot of dry and bright weather. maybe a shower or two in aberdeenshire. the breeze and rain into western scotland and northern ireland as well. 19 degrees 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 should get into the low 20s. as we go through the evening, our he weather front makes progress southwards and eastwards. that will bring some rain with it, not a great deal. it's mostly overnight rain as well. any lingering rain in the morning in the south—east won't last long, it will clear away quite quickly. then it is a decent day with a lot of dry weather. it's dry for the most part. 18 in aberdeen, 32 in london. friday night, we start to see rain across scotland, into northern ireland as well. outbreaks of rain further south in england and wales. early rain in the south—east on saturday doesn't last too long. it should clear way. then we have scattered showers out to the west, where it is quite breezy, and the showers will be fairly

frequent in western scotland. now, of course, it's the finals weekend, the ladies' finals on saturday looking pretty good. temperatures on the rise, humidity too, for the men's final by saturday. so on the weekend it will be cloudy and muggy with humidity on the rise, but some 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: the man nominated as the next head of the fbi has said he doesn't consider the investigation into russian interference in the 2016 american election to be a witch hunt. president trump has insisted that his son, who has admitted meeting a russian lawyer during the election campaign, had been open and transparent. the former brazilian president, lula da silva, has been sentenced to nine and a half years injailfor corruption. but he's said 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 for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk: the head of the national audit office has said he's worried about failures in government leadership over brexit.