i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore, the headlines: facing more questions over russia: two us senate committees say they want to speak to donald trumpjunior — and former campaign manager paul manafort. what now for us healthcare? president trump admits his plans for reform have failed but insists it's a temporary setback. we will lead to the democrats will come to us and ask asked how do we fix it. all, how do we come up with a new plan? i'm babita sharma in london — also in the programme. the madagascan lemur, already "critically endangered", faces a new threat — from illegal sapphire mining. and — putting politics in the picture: a singaporean artist courts controversy with a graphic novel about the city state. good morning.

it's 8am in singapore — one in the morning in london — and 8pm in washington where the trump family's relationship with russia is under renewed focus. two separate us senate panels want to hear testimony from mr trump's eldest son and his former campaign manager. it's also emerged that president trump had a previously undisclosed meeting with president putin at the 620 summit earlier this month. how significant with this testimony be if it does happen and is it

likely to be made public? well, donald trump jr would be likely to be made public? well, donald trumer would be the highest member of mrtrump, donald trumer would be the highest member of mr trump, president trump's inner circle to be questioned as part of this russian investigation of the drum campaign's ties to russia. now there are several questions still remaining as to whether or not this will be in public. when it will take place and, also, if donald trumpjunior decides to invoke the fifth amendment or not which would allow him to not answer questions. the senate intelligence committee also wants to speak to everybody involved in that now controversial meeting between donald trump junior and paul manafort and controversial meeting between donald trumpjunior and paul manafort and a russian lawyer. the top of democrat on the intelligence to midi has closed all of this disturbing and is wondering why it has taken so long for all of the facts to come out. it

seems every day there is some new revelation. quite disturbing indeed. what more do we know now of this previously undisclosed meeting between presidents trump and vladimir putin at the g20? between presidents trump and vladimir putin at the 620? the previously undisclosed meeting between president trump and president vladimir putin first broke. he said the meeting occurred on the sidelines of a state dinner for the heads of state and spouses. it lasted about one hour and only the translator was present. now the white house has pushed back and said it was a brief meeting and the rural reason only the translator was present was because each couple was only allowed one translator and president trump's translator only spoke japanese. they also spoke back and said that the insinuation that the white house has tried to hide a

second meeting is false, malicious and observe to make absurd. it is important to note that this is coming from white house officials on background for now. democrat officials are already up in arms. one has called this a national security breach of protocol because the only person who truly knows what was said in that meeting is mr putin's translator and the nuances of translation and the language can be significant. everyone is scratching their heads and wondering why do the white house is not disclose this sooner, especially in light of the political climate. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. president trump's attempts to repeal healthcare reforms enacted by barack obama look likely to fail after three republican senators said they wouldn't back the latest plans. mr trump said he would simply allow obamaca re to collapse. let obamaca re

let obamacare fail so everyone will have to come together to fix it, a planned that is much better for the people. we have been saying this for a long time. let obamacare fail, it will be a lot easier. i think we are ina will be a lot easier. i think we are in a position, where we will let it failed. we are not going to own it, the republicans will not only. we will let obamaca re the republicans will not only. we will let obamacare fail and then the democrats will come to us asking to fix it all to come up with a new plan. a north korean missile strike would not be able to hit the united states with any degree of accuracy according to a us general. he said that while the missiles have the range to reach the us they do not appear to have the necessary capability to reliably hit their

targets. the final report into decades of abuse of the german catholic choir has found that over 500 boys may have been abused. the enquiry details 67 cases of sexual abuse and 500 other cases of physical violence. many former choirboys have compared the school to prison, hell or a concentration camp. the head of the spanish football federation has been arrested as part of a corruption investigation. angel maria villar and his son were are among five people ta ken into custody. the investigation focuses partly on how international games involving spain's national team were organised. mr villar has headed the federation for nearly 30 years. you may remember a story we brought you yesterday from saudi arabia. you may remember this video of a woman wearing a mini score xcode walking through a historic site. she has now been arrested after the video went

viral. and in a country where an ultraconservative dress code for women is enforced, we have many people debating about this. the course cases now been referred to the public prosecutions office. another scuffle has broken out in taiwanese parliament. they are getting quite stuck in. it may surprise some people but these fights are commonplace in the taiwanese parliament. the opposition used the fighting is the only way to prevent legislation as they do not agree with it. philippine president rodrigo duterte has asked congress to extend martial law in the south of the country until the end of the year. duterte had imposed a military rule for 60 days in the mindanao region to defeat so—called islamic state militants who invaded marawi city on may 23. more than 500 people were killed in the violence that followed. but critics are concerned

the country is sliding into dictatorship. earlier i spoke to carmela fonbuena, a reporterfor the online newspaper rappler, about the support for the extension of martial law in congress. for the court to extend martial law is not unexpected, because of the continuing situation in marawi. it is really the timeframe that surprised us, because he is asking for five more months of martial law. and in mindanao, it is about a third of the entire country, has been under martial law for nearly three months, and the president is asking for five more months of extension. and it seems that he will get that extension, based on statements of his allies in the senate and house of representatives. now, we know that martial law is a very sensitive issue in the philippines. of course, it reminds many people of 1970s rule of the late dictator ferdinand marcos, and many of duterte's top critics have said

this is a whimsical use of power. so how can president duterte justify it? does he think this will actually take care of the problem? he declared martial law after the clashes in marawi, and people were — because, i suppose, people were so afraid, and people didn't know what they would expect from the clashes there, with home—grown terrorist groups linked with isis, so there was not exactly an effective opposition. there were petitions filed before the supreme court, and they discussed whether martial law is necessary in marawi and outside marawi. and the big question in the supreme court is whether the situation outside marawi requires martial law. but president duterte is the first president from mindanao, and it seems that he is going to get the support for this extension of the martial law, based on public pronouncements of his allies, and based on his public approval ratings. just this week, or last week, the survey came out,

and it showed him at 82% — with 82% approval rating. and in mindanao, where there is martial law, he got 95%. south korean intelligence officials are investigating whether a prominent defector from the north has been kidnapped back to pyongyang. this woman — known as lim ji—hyun, fled to south korea in 2014, where she became a popular tv personality. however this propaganda video appeared on sunday with a woman resembling her in the north korean capital. karen allen has more from seoul. a former art student become tv personality was better known by her alias here in south korea. she defected in 2014 and became something of a personality here, engaging in panel discussions but also a reality show which pitted men

and women from north and south korea together in a light—hearted way as a kind of dating competition. nonetheless she has now appeared in what looks like a north korean propaganda site. in it she is seen to be interviewed and she says she was lowered by the fantasy of being able to make money in south korea and she was forced, when she was here, too slandered her leader. it is being taken seriously by the intelligence services here in south korea because of concerns that she may have been kidnapped. for some perspective, since 1998 some 30,000 north koreans have perfected here to the south but over the last five yea rs the south but over the last five years only 25 have returned. a group of afghan teenage girls are breaking down stereotypes. twice denied us visas until late intervention by president trump, they are taking part in a global

competition in washington. they hope to set an example for girls back home in their ultraconservative country. you are watching the news on the bbc. the largest of the unique lemur species in madagascar is under threat from illegal mining. we will have a special report from the island. also on the programme, the duke and duchess of cambridge visit a nazi concentration camp in poland — describing the experience as "shattering". the flamboyant italian fashion designer gianni versace has been shot dead in florida. the multi—millionaire was gunned down outside his home in the exclusive south beach district of miami. emergency services across central europe are stepping up their efforts to contain the worse floods this century. nearly 100 people have been killed. broadway is traditionally called the "great white way" by americans, but tonight it is completely blacked out. it is a timely reminder

to all americans of the problems that the energy crisis has brought to 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 throng the champs—elysees for the traditional military parade. finally, fairy penguins have been staggering ashore and collapsing after gorging themselves on a huge shoal of their favourite food, pilchards. some had eaten so much they could barely stand. welcome back to newsday on the bbc. thank you forjoining us. our top stories: president trump's eldest son could be called to testify in

the us congress over allegations of russian interference in last year's election. and after his latest setback, the us president says the new republican healthca re setback, the us president says the new republican healthcare policy should let obamaca re new republican healthcare policy should let obamacare fail. let's take a look at what is making headlines in newspapers from around the world. new us sanctions against iran feature widely on the front pages, including that of gulf news. it says tehran's parliament retaliated by voting for extra funding for its missile programme, a move described by the speaker, ali larijani, as showing the americans that iran will resist them with all its power. the japan times covers the rise of abandoned babies in south korea. it says it is because of new child protection laws that include stopping adoption agencies taking in undocumented newborns. and the china daily highlights president xi jinping's support for a palestinian sovereign state based on borders dating back to 1967, with jerusalem as its capital. it came as president xi held talks

with the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas, at the great hall of the people in beijing. the duke and duchess of cambridge have described as shattering their visit to a former nazi concentration camp as part of their five—day tour of holland and germany. the royal couple met holocaust survivors, where 65,000 people were murdered during the second world war. our royal correspondent has more. poland, a country with a troubled past, provides presidential style security for visiting royal dignitaries, that leaves little to chance. part of that past is captured here at stutthof, a concentration camp—turned—museum, with evil on display,

the shoes of those murdered. it is an education for all visitors. with two survivors, tens of thousands perished, the duke and the duchess paid their respects at the camp's jewish memorial and reflected. "what the nazis did", william and kate wrote later, "was a terrible reminder of the cost of war." they described their visit as shattering. in what was a friendless, soulless place, as teenagers, manfred and zigi formed a friendship for life. they walked out of these death gates in the ‘40s, alive, against the odds. this was the only camp i thought i was going to die, because it wasn't only from sickness or starvation, but also the weather. in november here, well below zero it was, and we were

wearing stripped pyjamas. that's what we had. it was an extremely emotional event for me. in 70—plus years, since our liberation, i have never set foot either in germany or poland. i put all that behind me. at this brutal camp, and at the others, so many people died, including three million polishjews. the hope is that this royal visit will help to educate the young, and ensure that the horrors of the holocaust are never forgotten. william and kate's introduction to polish history continued when they met lech walesa, the retired shipyard worker and former president. with the solidarity trade union movement, he played a part in the downfall of communism. this has been an enlightening day, that will linger long in royal memories. peter hunt, bbc news, gdansk. lemurs are unique to madagascar,

but illegal sapphire mining on the island is threatening the largest of the species, the indri. since late last year, more than 40,000 miners have gone to a remote area of rainforest in the east of the country, hoping to get rich. but the habitat of the indri, which is already critically endangered, is being destroyed. angus crawford reports from madagascar. in the forests of madagascar, there is a new sound, the sound of men working, poor men who want to get rich. they are here because sapphires. the biggest rush in madagascarfor more than 20 years. tens of thousands of people have moved here to clear the land and dig for gems. once—virgin rainforest felled and burned. now, look. mineshafts and spoil heaps stretch across the valley. meet bruno and his sapphires. he has travelled 1,000 miles, invested all his money, for this. each morning, the work takes him down into the dark. the pits are deep.

very deep. the job is cramped, back—breaking, and dangerous. the mines are illegal, but the work goes on unchecked, eating slowly into the rainforest. see the damage it causes. threatening the habitat of one of the world's rarest animals, the indri lemur. they spend their lives in the trees, eating leaves and fruit, and breeding only once every three years. there may be as few as 2,000 left in the wild. jonah ratsimbazafy is a world authority on the indri, and is horrified by the effects of the mining. thousands of people.

when people buy sapphires, they kill indri. so today i'm telling you, stop buying precious stones from illegal mining from madagascar. but how can buyers know? the gems go from the mine to capital city, are cut and polished in backstreet workshops, before being exported to dealers abroad. illegally mined sapphires are then anonymous, and completely untraceable. so, for now, the miners keep working. great riches lie beneath the soil. unique wildlife in the trees above. but how does madagascar extract one without destroying the other? a singaporean artist's graphic novel has topped the list of nominations

for the eisners, the oscars of the comic book world. sonny liew‘s book, called the art of charlie chan hock chye, is about singapore's turbulent political past. though freely available in singapore, it has been criticised by the government for potentially undermining their authority. mr liew tells the bbc the challenges he faced in making the book. charlie chan hock chye is essentially a history of singapore, told through the lens of a comic book artist. the reason why i wanted to do this

book is because singapore has been essentially ruled by one party since the independence in 1965. because of that, we've had a mainstream narrative of our history that is told through the eyes of the ruling party. well, the book does challenge some of the myths of our mainstream narrative. so, i mean, any challenge to that narrative they don't take lightly. in other countries, you always have competing narratives going on. when the ruling party's dominant, you have to push harder to get people to beware of alternative narratives. putting something that is inaccurate, or libellous, then you can get in trouble. you can get sued in court, for example. i had to make sure that anything i put in the book wasn't potentially libellous. which could be a good thing. you could see that those

constraints push you towards being more accurate. and good luck to him on that big award. you have been watching newsday. and, before we go, the uk has a new £10 note. it features a portrait of jane austen. the bank of england revealed the design on the 200th anniversary of the celebrated author's death. the new polymer note will go into circulation in september. hello, there. i've got the thunderstorm glow behind me, because huge thunderstorms broke out across the south of the uk during the latter part of tuesday. but that was after quite a glorious day on tuesday afternoon. plenty of sunshine up and down the uk. pretty decent temperatures. 26—28 celsius was tuesday afternoon's high. lots of sunshine in the north, a little bit hazier in the south,

and then thunderstorms broke out, initially in the south—west of england and then spreading into southern and south—eastern counties. torrential downpours, flash—floods reported, and also strong, gusty winds and large hail. likely to be further disruption for more showers and thunderstorms overnight and into wednesday morning. keep tuned to your bbc local radio for the latest updates. now, thunderstorms continue to rattle on across england and wales during the overnight period. if you catch one, it could be very severe, and likely to be disruptive as well. we will have another muggy start to wednesday. wednesday morning dose thunderstorms and showers will trundle northwards into scotland. and we'll see further thundery showers pushing into northern ireland and then into wales and north—west england into the afternoon. for england and wales for the majority it will be a fine afternoon. the sunshine will come out, it will feel humid, and temperatures will be 29—30, maybe even 31 celsius across east anglia

and towards the east midlands. further west it will be cooler, cloudier and showers and thunderstorms will make inroads into wales, north—west england eventually getting into northern ireland and western parts of scotland. but even ahead of it, we could see some thundery showers temperatures reaching 17—23 celsius in the south—east. that will be feeling much cooler than the last few days. into friday and saturday we're into that cooler regime. westerly winds bringing sunshine and showers off the atlantic. temperatures ranging from 18—20 celsius. our top story. the trump family's links to russia are back in the spotlight. two separate us senate panels examining alleged meddling in the us election want to hear testimony from mr trump's eldest son and his former campaign manager paul manafort. president donald trump has said the new republican healthcare policy should be to allow the current law to collapse. support for the senate bill fell apart when two more senators said they couldn't back it. and this video is trending on bbc.com. life on the international space station has been photographed

by an impossibly cute drone from japan. the first images from the so—called internal ball camera drone have just been released. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk — every single youth custody centre in england and wales has been described as "unsafe. "