this is newsday on the bbc. i am rico hizon in singapore. the top stories. just over a year after his appointment, rex tillerson is sacked as us secretary of state. president trump says this. we have been talking for a long time. we got along quite well, actually, but we disagreed on things. russia issues defiant statements to britain about the attack on a former spy as the deadline passes to explain the use of one of its nerve agents. i am sharanjit leyl in london. also. gambling losses in australia reached a record high. punters have lost a 10 billion us dollars injust one year. it cost me relationships, my respectability, dignity, my freedom.

and the campaign at the un by residents of the idyllic norfolk island for independence from australia. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. glad you could join us. it is sam glad you could join us. it is 8am in singapore, midnight in london, and a pm in washington, dc, where donald trump has lost another member of his top team. —— 8pm. this time it was secretary of state rex tillerson. he was sacked by tweet. the decision comes in the middle of preparations for the planned meeting between donald trump and north korea's kim jong—un. as the us allied return accuses russia of carrying out a

nerve agent attack. —— ally, britain. after a long trip to africa glad—handing and promoting the us, rex tillerson flew back to washington overnight. but unbeknownst to him, the president had signed his death warrant, and it would be death by tweet. "mike pompeo, director of the cia, will become our new secretary of state. he'll do a fantasticjob. thank you to rex tillerson for his service." but tillerson isn't on twitter, so, excruciatingly, it fell to his chief of staff to inform him of his demise. there was no contact from the white house, only this afterwards from the president. i think rex will be much happier now, but i really appreciate his service. happier? he didn't seem it. in his farewell statement, he never mentioned donald trump by name, didn't thank him or wish him luck. instead, there were these pointed remarks on russia. much work remains to respond to the troubling behaviour and actions on the part of the russian government. russia must assess carefully

as to how its actions are in the best interests of the russian people, and of the world more broadly. i, rex wayne tillerson do solemnly swear... it was all so different when he was sworn in, then seen as one of the grown—ups of the administration. but his fate was probably sealed last october, when it was reported he called donald trump "a moron," an accusation he didn't exactly deny. i'm not going to deal with petty stuff like that. i mean, this is what i don't understand about washington. again, you know, i'm not from this place, but the places i come from, we don't deal with that kind of petty nonsense. and then there was the public undermining of the secretary of state by the president, sending family to do work that would normally be done by america's chief diplomat, and public shaming on twitter, like this. "i told rex tillerson, our wonderful secretary of state, that he's wasting his time trying to negotiate with little rocket man." there's not much love lost between donald trump and rex tillerson, they disagreed on policy and didn't much

like each other personally. mike pompeo will be much more to donald trump's taste and it's vital they do get on, given the importance of subjects like north korea. but will he be the man who says to the president "i think you're wrong" as rex tillerson did? tillerson was isolated, traipsing around the world with little support in washington. in his previous life, the former ceo of exxon was a corporate titan, but he's now political roadkill. surely the place with the lowest life expectancy anywhere in the world, being a member of the trump administration. another senior figure who didn't smell the coffee. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. stay with us for more on the sacking of rex tillerson. donald trump is now in california. we'll hear from our correspondent there in a few minutes and get some analysis from washington. let's ta ke

let's take a look at some of the day's other news. the deadline has just passed for moscow to explain to the british government how a nerve agent made in russia, was used to attack a former spy and his daughter. the kremlin has said it won't co—operate with any investigation until it's given a sample of the substance involved. and it's repeated its denial of any involvement. our correspondent sarah rainsford reports from moscow. accused of a crime many miles from here, under pressure to explain a chemical attack that shocked britain. but today, the kremlin has remained silent. the foreign minister, though, was in full defensive flow. sergey lavrov rejected britain's 24—hour ultimatum to respond to the claim that moscow used a nerve agent. "russia should get 10 days," he said, accusing britain of flouting the chemical weapons convention. and when i asked about the actual charge, the minister called that nonsense.

translation: russia is not guilty. russia is ready to co—operate in accordance with the convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons if the uk finally decides to fulfil its obligations under international law within that document. russia's also demanding a sample of the substance used in the attack to conduct its own tests. it's been identified as novichok, which the bbc believes was once produced here in a secret soviet programme. reports in moscow say any stockpiles were destroyed long ago. so when the british ambassador was called to the foreign ministry, moscow says he came to hear its protest at a sordid attempt to discredit this country. g also making news today:

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lg? mg? m lg? rm “£477_-1 g- on a whole range rump among them the iran nuclear issues, among them the iran nuclear deal, how to deal with north korea, trade tariffs, the paris climate accord, and so on and so on. and then of course rex tillerson was forced to give a press conference a few months ago following reports he called president trump a moron, saying that he supported president trump. with those important negotiations with north korea coming up negotiations with north korea coming up and negotiations with iran over the nuclear deal, president trump as someone the nuclear deal, president trump as someone who basically shed his worldview, someone with a different

mindset. —— shares. worldview, someone with a different mindset. -- shares. what kind of mindset. -- shares. what kind of mindset the cia direct mike pompeo bring to thejob in mindset the cia direct mike pompeo bring to the job in terms of foreign policy? —— director. bring to the job in terms of foreign policy? -- director. mike pompeo is a key party congressman from kansas. it is said he won admiration from donald trump during the briefings. now with the crucial issues like north korea and the iran nuclear deal, mike pompeo is more hawkish than his predecessor, rex tillerson. as far as russia and china is concerned, though, we will have to wait and see. mike pompeo as differences over the assessment russia was to blame for meddling in the 2016 presidential election. what i think this means is that we now

have a secretary of state who is much more likely to echo common foreign policy with the president rather than constantly being undermined by the commander—in—chief as was the case with rex tillerson. well, let's get more now on the implications of rex tillerson‘s sacking for the potential meeting between donald trump and north korea's kimjong—un. i asked jessica lee, director of policy and advocacy at the council of korean americans in washington, for her reaction to the change of personnel in donald trump's foreign policy team. i think it is clear that secretary of state rex tillerson had some unique challenges in leading his agency it was of various dynamics within the trump administration. and i think as things progress quickly, one thing that will be imported from washington is to make sure they are in lockstep with seoul and the blue housein

in lockstep with seoul and the blue house in singling these personnel change does not in any way diminish the result of resident trumpet in getting a diplomatic solution with north korea. —— signalling. that will be on the mind of president trump as he prepares for the summit. mike pompeo has always been seen as a hardliner, though. what will he bring to what will likely be a difficult and fraud negotiations to get north korea to the nuclear rights that his different from rex tillerson? —— denuclearise. rights that his different from rex tillerson? -- denuclearise. because mike pompeo has shown a great deal of affinity and respect, and also clear idealogical alliances with

donald trump, he comes with advantages compared to tillerson. but this is a time with high standards and pressure being piled on due to the negotiations with north korea. donald trump will need to make sure realistic expectations are to make sure realistic expectations a re installed to make sure realistic expectations are installed so they are not seen as failures after talking with the north koreans in may. that is a difficult point right now washington has to contend with, the fact there are terms like denuclearisation and terms like that flaunted for this one talk. what realistic expectations come from this talk? there has to be a focus on low hanging fruit. we know between the united states and north korea, there are many, many decades of history, animosity, propaganda, you name it.

it isa animosity, propaganda, you name it. it is a difficult relationship to untangle. people should not assume this one summit will solve all issues. instead, there should be a phased approach, starting with low hanging fruits, for example, reunions with north korean family members, like myself, hundreds of thousands of people in the us have relations with people in north korea we cannot contact. and the pow mias still in north korea not sent back to the us due to a lack of diplomacy. after that, there will be more space and channels of communication and most importantly, trust, allowing for north korea and the us to really get to a more permanent and peaceful resolution and normalisation, which i think

ultimately we all seek to benefit from. still to come on the programme. as australia's gambling industry recou nts australia's gambling industry recounts record revenues, we report on the furtive world of —— the punters of addiction, debt and family breakdown. also on the programme: is the global community about to have a new member state? the campaign at the un by the idyllic norfolk island for independence from australia. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this, the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 2a hours then, the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. we heard these gunshots in the gym. then he came out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts.

god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an 8—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much, do you think? i don't know, really. i've never been married before. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm sharanjit leyl in london. our top stories. president trump has sacked his top diplomat, rex tillerson, tweeting that the cia director, mike pompeo, will become the new secretary of state.

the midnight deadline has passed. moscow does not respond to a british demand to explain how a nerve agent made in russia was used to attack a former spy and his daughter. the argentine navy has rescued four us scientists and a contractor from an antarctic camp after the us icebreaker due to pick them up got stuck in thick sea—ice. all five are in good health after being airlifted by helicopter onto an argentine ship. that story is popular on bbc.com. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the financial times leads with the sacking of tillerson as secretary of state by trump calling it his ‘latest‘ clash with top aides. the south china morning post puts government reshuffles in china and the us side by side. china's shake—up is one

of the biggest changes to bureaucracy in the country's history aimed to end conflicts between departments. finally the new york times carries the headline "london's kremlin spy nest". it has an interview with a russian opposition figure in exile in london who tells them that "even after you escape from moscow to london, you know they have long hands." now, shara njit, what's caught your eye online? yes, let's looks at what is trending right now. fans of the spanish football team sevilla are rejoicing after they knocked manchester united out of the champions league. the spanish side beat man u 2—1 at old trafford, with two second—half goals from wissam ben yedderjust four minutes apart.

now let's focus on a tiny island in the south pacific, with a population of 1,700. australia decided three years ago to end norfolk island's autonomy. but the islanders — some of whom are descendants of sailors involved in the mutiny on the bounty in 1789 — are having none of it. i asked our sydney correspondent hywel griffith what the islanders‘ claim for independence is based on: essentially, it is based on what they say is a breach of their human rights. although they are an australian territory and under australian territory and under australian law, they claimed they have no real right to vote under the state elections in new south wales so they are disenfranchised, don't have control in the say about their policies about their health, education and the infrastructure on the island. they also say of the

indigenous population, at least those with the links back to the mutiny on the bounty, that they have distinct culture is their road, not australian. there is a norfolk language, they say, which is distinct from english. there are different musical and religious traditions and they say they are not being respected by australia and so their human rights, they claim, are being besmirched. they lost their autonomy three years ago. what is the australian government now have to say about this latest move? tourism declined rapidly on the norfolk island which made life very difficult and they needed to be bailed out by the australian government and is part of that deal, australia took back control of the island. the australian government stresses it is in the middle of spending hundreds of millions of australian dollars on the infrastructure, on health, on education. and it points to the fa ct, education. and it points to the fact, according to pick australian government, at least, this has a lwa ys government, at least, this has always been an integral part of

australia. ok, it is not one of the state, it is external, but they say back to 1914, it has been part of australia. lots of issues that the un human rights commissioner to untangle. gambling losses in australia have reached a record high. figures compiled by the queensland state government show punters frittered away almost 18—billion us dollars in a year. more than half was lost on poker, or slot, machines at pubs and clubs. from sydney, phil mercer reports. these are the machines that that antigambling campaigners say have the addict you force of cocaine that are fuelling the avalanche of debt, divorce and misery. australia has 20% of the world's poker machines. for many punters, they are just a bit of harmless fun but others are drawn into a furtive world of addiction. the biggest being i have learned in life is that gambling

costs you more than money. it costs you to relationships, my respectability, my dignity, my freedom. for les banton who is now a counsellor, the pokies were an escape from reality. it was a fa ntasy escape from reality. it was a fantasy that ruined him financially, costing him his family and make him suicidal. where life outside of the establishment might be boring in mundane, suddenly you are mr so—and—so. he become important. it is all part of this contiguity win. australia has more slot machines per person than almost any other country. winning or losing has nothing to do with skill. the pokies are simply computers sent up to randomly select outcomes and are designed to excite and entice. campaigners argue they are built for addiction. gambling is ingrained into australian society from the sharemarket to horse racing. this is

a country that also bets on frogs and cockroaches. australians would gamble to flies crawling up a wall. going to australia is a big gamble asa migrant. going to australia is a big gamble as a migrant. mainly people who came here were poor and they have this big chance to get rich. whether it be on the ship's back or are punting on horses. we are a nation built on poor people that came and tried their luck. at $18 billion per year, gambling losses in australia are at an all—time high. state governments make millions from gambling taxes. the victorian government says its reforms will help punters stick to their limits and tackle gambling related harm. the industry says it ta kes related harm. the industry says it takes its social responsibility seriously at campaigners insist that rates of addiction are getting worse. we enter this addition of newsday.

—— end. stay with us. employees in one of the most overworked countries in asia are about to get a break. south korea has passed a bill to reduce the typical work week. it's geared towards the gaming industry, which is notorious for not paying overtime. and before we go, let's take a look at these stunning pictures from argentina's patagonia region. they show the perito moreno glacier collapsing — but it's not due to climate change. it grows and collapses on a cycle lasting two to four years. it's a major tourist attraction — if you time it right you can watch the spectacle of huge chunks of ice falling off it. it's one of very few glaciers in the world which is actually growing rather than shrinking. plenty to talk about in the weather

story for the remainder of this week. we closed out yesterday in the south—west with a beautiful sunset. however, u nfortu nately, south—west with a beautiful sunset. however, unfortunately, that's the place today where we will see some of the wettest and windiest weather courtesy of an area of low pressure moving enough the atlantic. it is bringing quite a lot of heavy rain and gale force winds to pass of portugal and spain. —— and gale force winds to pass of portugaland spain. —— parts and gale force winds to pass of portugal and spain. —— parts of. this will sit out in the atlantic and influence the story in the best come. good news, a southerly wind will bring mild air across the country so if you managed to escape the rain and get sunshine, it will feel quite pleasant. quite a west— east divide with our weather today. central and eastern areas of seeing sunshine and further west will see increasing and strengthening winds and rain, some turning heavy as we move through the middle of the day. gale force gusts up into cornwall and affect in south wales as well. eventually, we will see the rain pushing steadily northwards into

lunchtime into northern ireland and western fringes of scotland. there isa western fringes of scotland. there is a level of uncertainty as to how far inland that frontal system will turn as we go through when state but essential and eastern areas it should state drive, bright and study. —— should stay. we should see highs feeling pleasant with the sun. we still keep the winds across the south—west noticeably and a weather front making slow progress north and east. behind it, sunny spells and scattered showers. some could be heavy and possibly thundery. we keep the mild air down to the south and things are starting to change into the north—east. as we move into friday, more of an easterly breeze driving ina friday, more of an easterly breeze driving in a few showers and these will turn wintry to higher ground chiefly but mild air still sits over england and wales for one more day at least. as we move out of friday and into saturday, under the influence of high pressure yet

again, into scandinavia, and circling around that higher, we will continue to see not head into there 5 head into there isi head into there is a 1ead into there is a rlsksinte = the at s a rlsksinte = the at lower hints = the at lower levels = snow showers falling at lower levels across % parts of england across eastern parts of england through the day. it is worth bearing in mind as we head into the weekend, there is a potential to see the return of some snow which could cause some issues. keep watching the weather forecast. we will firm cause some issues. keep watching the weatherforecast. we will firm up cause some issues. keep watching the weather forecast. we will firm up on those details. take care.