this is newsday. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the top stories: the special relationship under strain. britain's theresa may criticises donald trump for sharing tweets from a far right group. i'm very clear that retweeting from britain first was the wrong thing to do. is he out of the job? both the white house and the state department deny reports of plans to replace rex tillerson. i'm kasia madera, in london. also in the programme: pope francis urges the international community to take "decisive measures" to address the myanmar refugee crisis, but again avoids using the word rohingya. and the best news programme at the asian television awards goes to...newsday. live from studios in singapore and

london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. it's 8am in singapore and midnight in london and 7pm in washington, as the transatlantic rift between britain and the us over president trump's sharing of anti—muslim tweets has deepened. speaking on a visit tojordan, the prime minister theresa may said donald trump was wrong to share the images from a british far—right organisation. mr trump responded with a tweet, effectively telling her to mind her her own business. she insists the special relationship continues, but britain's ambassador to the us has visited the white house to raise concerns about the president's tweets. our correspondent alex forsyth reports. this was a trip focused on building relationships around the world. but while theresa may was meeting kings and ministers injordan, a major diplomatic row

was brewing elsewhere. president trump had been personally rebuked by downing street for sharing far—right videos online. his response to theresa may, on twitter, of course: madame prime minister... her tour of the middle east suddenly required diplomacy of a different kind. the fact that we work together does not mean we are afraid to say when we think the united states have got it wrong and be very clear with them. i am very clear that retweeting from britain first was the wrong thing to do. he tweeted effectively telling you to stay out of his business. is that acceptable behaviour from a supposed ally? it is an enduring relationship that is there because it is in both our national interests. so, what of the much anticipated

state visit by president trump? an invitation for a state visit has been extended and accepted. we have yet to set a date. thank you. in her speech here, theresa may had little choice but to respond to this tweet. it was aimed directly at her. this, another test of her leadership, how she maintains authority yet de—escalate a potential row with a friend. the us president, forging friendships of his own... you have been a great friend and we appreciate it very much. has so far shown little regret. you've taken over?! not for long! he shared videos posted by this woman, jayda fra nsen, the deputy leader of the anti—muslim group britain first. today, at the white house, donald trump's spokeswoman was asked if he'd known who she was at the time. no, i don't believe so, but again, i think he knew what the issues are and that is that we have a real threat of extreme violence

and terrorism, not just in this country, but across the globe, particularly in europe and that was the point he was making. but in westminster, plenty disagree with president trump and question theresa may's approach. she should never have invited him within a few weeks of being elected. every other american president has had to wait a few years. they had to settle down and we have to be sure about who it is we are inviting. it's very difficult to see how you can continue to rely on the goodwill of somebody who is fundamentally evil, racist, completely contrary to our own set of values. so, while the prime minister practiced diplomacy in the middle east, relations elsewhere were tested. theresa may once again under scrutiny, notjust at home but around the globe. we saw the white house press secretary in that report. she has

certainly been busy because sarah huckabee sanders has refused to confirm whether president trump still has confidence in his secretary of state, rex tillerson. a flurry of earlier media reports suggested the white house was considering a plan to remove mr tillotson in favour of the cia director. but sarah huckabee sanders said the men met twice at the white house on thursday and the secretary of state continued to influence the agenda. we've said many times before, as many of you like to write these stories, when the president loses confidence in someone they will no longer serving the capacity that they are in. the president was here today with the secretary of state. they engaged in a foreign leader visit and are continuing to work together to close out what we have seen as together to close out what we have seen as an together to close out what we have seen as an incredible year. can we deduce from that that the president has confidence in the secretary of state? i think i addressed that

pretty clearly just now. state? i think i addressed that pretty clearlyjust now. as i've just said and as we've said many times before, when it comes to questions like this senior staff and cabinet secretaries when the president loses confidence in somebody they will no longer be here. as the president said on the record and several of you were in the room in the oval today. also making news today: the north korean leader's half—brother, who was killed in malaysia in february, was carrying an antidote to the nerve agent that caused his death. it was in his backpack. a prosecution witness revealed this at the trial of the two women accused of kimjong—nam's murder, suggesting mr kim knew he was a target, and the method of possible attack. the argentine navy has abandoned efforts to rescue the crew of a submarine that disappeared two weeks ago with 44 people onboard. a navy spokesman said a big search operation in the south atlantic was now officially closed. a number of vessels, including submarines, will continue searching for the wreck of the sanjuan. disney has picked chinese actor

liu yifei to play mulan in an upcoming film, following accusations against hollywood of whitewashing. the live—action adaptation of the 1998 animated movie will tell the tale of the famed chinese heroine hua mulan. several hollywood films have faced criticism in recent months for featuring white actors in asian roles. this is the first time i've heard of a chinese woman playing the lead role, so i am very much looking forward to this. translation: i think now china is growing stronger and stronger in various fields. just like, who was it, the us president's granddaughter who was singing chinese songs. this is something great for china. the pakistan cricket board is seeking seventy—million dollars in compensation from its indian counterpart for not honouring an agreement to play test matches. the two countries have not played

on a bilateral basis since the mumbai attacks nine years ago, which india and the us blame on militants based in pakistan. the chinese commuter who was fed up with his delays on his commute has taken matters with his delays on his commute has ta ken matters into with his delays on his commute has taken matters into his own hands and has painted his own road signs. he told the police that the straight ahead lane was packed, while the left—turn lane has a lot of space, and so he decided to change signs. whatever his intentions though, his creativity has come at a price. he was fined $150. on a visit to bangladesh, pope francis has urged the international community to take "decisive measures" to address the myanmar refugee crisis, although the pontiff again avoided using the word rohingya, as he also did during his visit to myanmar. he did, however, refer to the hundreds and thousands of refugees who've fled myanmar‘s rakhine state to seek refuge in bangladesh.

yogita limaye reports from dhaka. here's the third pope to visit bangladesh and the first in more than 30 years. pope francis was greeted at the airport by the president and given a grand welcome ina president and given a grand welcome in a country that has a tiny catholic population. he flew in from myanmar on a visit that has been overshadowed by the rohingya crisis. all eyes were on whether he would talk about the issue more openly than he did in myanmar. during this speech at the home of bangladesh's president, he didn't use the term rohingya but talked about the influx of refugees from myanmar‘s rakhine state that this country has been dealing with. translation: the international community must take decisive measures to deal with this grave crisis. not just

decisive measures to deal with this grave crisis. notjust working to resolve the political issues which have led to this large migration of people i'd also offering immediate material assistance to bangladesh in its effort to respond to the urgent human need. some will be disappointed that he hasn't sent out a stronger message. pope francis is in bangladesh for two more days but he isn't expected to make any more speeches, so many wonder if this is the last we've heard from him on the working the issue during this visit. on friday he will hold a big mass here in this public park, and this is what the man behind me are preparing for. it will be the first time that many ordinary people in this country will have the time to see him. at this park it will be mostly catholics he will address, but pope francis will also meet people from other religions later in the day. particularly those from the muslim community. and even some rohingya refugees. a short time ago i spoke to syed munir khasru, the chairman of the international

think tank the institute for policy, advocacy, and governance, and i asked him whether he was disappointed that the pope didn't explicitly mention the rohingyas. yes, i'm sure i'm not the only one. many human rights bodies expect more because he does... he is the embodiment of peace and harmony and tolerance around the world. there is a broad global consensus that this has been a case of ethnic cleansing. so we expected more than the general, broad statements that came out. there you think that pope francis was influenced by roman catholic leaders in myanmar and in bangladesh, not explicitly mentioning the rohingya and trying to keep to around a diplomatic minefield? that is the impression we also got, from both catholic leaders

in myanmarand also got, from both catholic leaders in myanmar and bangladesh. also got, from both catholic leaders in myanmarand bangladesh. in myanmar he has been told that mentioning the rohingya might upset the government and military. if you look at some of the reports in myanmar, including the us commission on religious freedom, which brought out a report this year, it points out a report this year, it points out the problem the rohingya is our facing. but there are also instances where the pope has spoken out, even injune he made a clear statement that he was protesting persecution against the rohingya brothers and sisters. that was a professor speaking to as —— as earlier. more than 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate the area around mount agung in bali and thousands of tourists were stranded. flights have resumed, but the airport might have to close again if the wind changed direction.

rebecca henschke has this update. it is another day of watching and waiting. this has continued now for almost three months. there are tens of thousands of people living in temporary shelters not far from where i am now. they are living in bamboo and plastic rooms and with heavy rain. life is uncomfortable. mount agung does remain on high alert, so people are being told not to return to their homes. and for the people remaining in their village they are told to leave. there is dramatically less smoke and ash clouds coming out of the crater now, as you can see behind me, compared to a few days ago. that ash is now travelling west to lombok island and the airport there is closed. that will be reviewed in a few hours and the bali main international airport is still open

today, but all experts who are monitoring this closely say this is a natural pattern for a volcano, a natural downturn in, and this definitely doesn't mean it is over and things could change very quickly. an unpredictable situation. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the residents who are no longer welcome. we take a look at how entire beijing neighbourhoods are being torn down in the name of modernisation. also on the programme: at risk of blowing our own trumpet, the winner of the best news programme at the asian television awards was... ..well, us! it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i am feeling so helpless, that the childrens are dying in front of me and i

can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippy cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at 11:00am this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands with and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite number from dover. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london.

our top stories. the british prime minister theresa may said president trump was wrong to retweet posts from a british far—right organisation. but she insists the special relationship between the two countries continues. on a visit to bangladesh, pope francis has urged the international community to take "decisive measures" to address the myanmar refugee crisis — although the pontiff again avoided using the word rohingya, as he also did during his visit to myanmar. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. starting with gulf news focuses on our top story — the twitter row between us president donald trump and british prime minister theresa may. it says that mr trump sparked outrage when he rebuked the prime minister, who had criticised him for retweeting british far—right anti—islam videos. the irish times headlines that

irish ministers and diplomats have embarked on high—level talks with the british and the eu to secure a breakthrough on the issue of the post—brexit border. irish times says that ireland is seeking a commitment from the british that there will be no change to the border arrangements. and japan times re—visits a story from wednesday — the missile test by north korea. it says that this missile is bigger and more advanced. the paper quotes experts as saying that the missile comes with a domestically made mobile launcher that will make it harder than ever to pre—emptively destroy. in trending, a math genius is sparking discussions online? yes, let's looks at what is trending right now. now, off the top of your head, what is 453 multiplied by 356?

i know you just gave me the answer, but i know you are cheating because you cannot work that out! it's a tough question for most of us but not for 13—year—old mohammad al—mir. the lebanese teenager has won three world junior titles, beating competitors from a0 countries. he says that he trains his mind using a japanese abacus. that video is on the bbc website. and the answer to my earlier question is 161,268 by the way. rico did not do that off the top of this head! we both got it correct... china's capital beijing is in the midst of a massive social upheaval. entire neighbourhoods are being levelled and some areas seen as too ramshackle are being modernised. many thousands of poorer residents have been told they're no longer welcome, prompting accusations of heavy—handed population control. stephen mcdonell has been to one beijing suburb that's

being torn down. the demolition teams are on the move in beijing. it is changing the make—up of who lives in the chinese capital. we enter an area that was days ago bustling with life. fire in a nearby building has been used as a pretext to level the entire block. there was home and work —based too many low income itinerant labourers —— labourers. somebody in government decided they must leave. every shop in this community has been forced to close. this is going on across beijing. perhaps a clothes shop, a general store, a

hairdresser. they are given notice one day and the next day the shutters are down. those still living here now they are living on borrowed time. for an idea of the speed of it at these buildings are standing but over here... word comes out you need to move and then the machines come in and destroy buildings. beijing is going through a mass gentrification programme. it is not only structures being altered. official local government documents have called for the need to clean up the messy city and to move on the so—called low—end population. some believe that for overcrowding to be controlled, pour out ciders must go. —— horse —— low income outsiders must go. is really

use the coalface of new beijing. out with the old and in with the new. in china, these transitions are made rapidly. and there is a lot of social dislocation that comes with it. and then, their possessions piled high, it is back to the provinces and an unknown future. one of the so—called chennai six — who was released from an indian prison on monday — has spoken of his delight at regaining his freedom after four years. nick dunn, a former soldier, was among six britons acquitted of weapons charges by an indian court. he's been speaking to our correspondent, sanjoy majumder.

taking an innocent man's freedom away is the worst crime i believe that can be committed. former paratrooper nick dunn has just been released from an indian prison, one of six britons arrested four years ago and charged with smuggling weapons. you have got to do a proper investigation. you've got to know that person is guilty. this wasn't like that. it was, "we don't care — you're guilty." he's now traded his cramped, squalid prison cell for a plush hotel room. his sister, lisa, has come out to india to take him back home. and he just can't wait. it's going to be like four christmases that i've missed rolled in one. it's going to be the best christmas my family could ever wish for. it's been a long, desperate wait forjustice inside this chennai prison.

nick and his mates were working as security guards on an american anti—piracy ship, seized off the indian coast. the police accused them of illegally carrying the weapons and ammunition board. on monday, an indian court threw out all the charges. i was out training, one of the guys shouted me over. i could hear it in his voice, it was excitement. and he went, "full acquittal". and i... ..stopped in my tracks and it was like someone just slapped me, because it was a shock, you know, and it was an amazing feeling. while they were in prison waiting to learn their fate, the men's families led a massive campaign back home to press for their release, petitioning the government, including the prime minister. they're delighted and the men overcome with gratitude. knowing there are lovely people out there, lovely, amazing, supportive people, and i'll never be able to thank them as much as what i'm trying to do now. his nightmare finally over, it's now time to go home. sanjoy majumder, bbc news, chennai.

rico, you me, babita and sharanjit have been working on newsday for a long time. and you have some exciting news. yes — last night newsday won best news programme at the asian tv awards. we were all there to pick up ouraward. i would have loved to have been there with you but someone needs to present the show from london. it is not just a programme present the show from london. it is notjust a programme that god special recognition? notjust newsday, sharanjit too. sharanjit leyl was also highly commended in the best news presenter category in the best presenter category. and our south east asia

correspondentjonathan and our south east asia correspondent jonathan head. and our south east asia correspondent jonathan headm and our south east asia correspondent jonathan head. it says something about the extent of the drug problem here in the philippines that the police have had to come here and read one of the biggest prisons around manila. there are concerns about real drug trouble is here that the focus at the moment, as with so much of this campaign, is people at the bottom of the trade, not the people running it. congratulations to jonathan not the people running it. congratulations tojonathan and all the winners. this is going to london very soon. stay with us for asia business report and we focus on a major global challenge. look forward to getting back reward here in london, promise me you will not break it. some of us will have seen more snow

showers overnight and into friday morning. i see in places as well but the worst of the wintry were weather will fade quickly during friday morning. the showers will pepper eastern parts of england and returned to rain. is gathering through the day elsewhere, fine and sunny weather after a frosty start. this is how things look at three o'clock in the afternoon. no more showers and cornwall in pembrokeshire, good sunny spells there. feeling less cold. feel quite breezy through eastern areas of england, mostly rain showers around time. north—west england fine, increasing cloud and northern ireland, patchy cloud and showers found here and thick clouds spreading across scotland did it all the while, less cold air beginning to feed in especially in the western isle through friday night, the cloud will increase elsewhere. where you are will increase elsewhere. where you a re clear to will increase elsewhere. where you are clear to start the night there may be a touch of frost but that is left widespread than it has been. rain showers around and going into saturday morning the temperatures will rise as we go through the night

after some others habitually starts at the weekend. as we start off on saturday, looking at the big picture, high pressure still close by but it is now southwards allowing airto come in by but it is now southwards allowing air to come in from the atlantic rather than the arctic. a change in how the weather feels over the weekend. less cold, milderair starting to move in. all that does is returned temperatures close to average so is returned temperatures close to average so this time of year. slow process in the south—east and anglia but even by sunday temperatures would have recovered. this is how sunday shaping up. with this mild air there is sunday shaping up. with this mild airthere isa sunday shaping up. with this mild air there is a lot of cloud around. sunshine is hard to find and many of us sunshine is hard to find and many of us have had loads of sunshine but that changes for saturday. i shower and patchy light rain and through the day we will see our great of rain pushing south across scotland and into parts of northern ireland to pa rt and into parts of northern ireland to part two of the weekend on sunday gets a lot of cloud around, maybe a few hazy sunnies dolls across east burwood cloud is thick enough you could see rain. temperatures are

recovering and some spots will reach double figures. that is the main change for the weekend. less cold are moving in, a lot of cloud with that and while generally there is dry revlon around, there will be patchy light rain at times. this is bbc world news. i'm kasia madera. our top story: the uk prime minister has said president trump was "wrong" to retweet posts from a british far—right group. but she has rejected calls to cancel president trump's state visit, stressing the importance in continuing the two countries' special relationship. both the white house and the us state department have insisted that secretary of state rex tillerson remains in his post, despite reports of a plan to replace him. and this video is trending on bbc.com. one man's attempt

to beat the traffic. a chinese man has been fined after he was captured on surveillance footage painting new road signs. he told police it was the result of frustrations over the long delays on his daily bus journey to work. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.