this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: so he's travelled to beijing, but what does kim's visit mean for that planned rendezvous with donald trump? we are going to be cautiously optimistic but we feel like things are moving in the right direction. poisoned at home — uk police reveal a deadly nerve agent was on the former spy‘s front door. i'm sharanjit leyl in london. also in the programme: facebook overhauls its privacy settings but is it enough to address data concerns? and we find out why lent for pakistani christians is a very local tradition. it's 7am in singapore, midnight in london and 7pm

in washington where the white house has said it's cautiously optimistic‘ about the planned meeting between kim jong—un and president trump. it follows confirmation that the north korean leader did visit beijing by train, the first time he's ventured beyond the country's borders while in office. beijing said there was a commitment to denuclearisation by the north. and despite only being told about the meeting after it happened, the white house says things are moving in the right direction. we are going to be cautiously optimistic but we feel like things are moving in the right direction and that the meeting yesterday was a good indication that the maximum pressure campaign has been working.

you saw him leave for the first time since becoming the leader of north korea, leaving his country for the first time for that meeting and we consider that to be a positive sign that the maximum pressure campaign is continuing to work and we are going to continue moving forward in this process in the hopes for a meeting down the road. we're getting reports that the north korean government is now considering the possibility of summits with japan, russia, and other governments. let's cross live now to seoul and our correspondent laura bicker. how significant is the latest support that north korea could potentially be opening its doors to more diplomacy? here you have kim jong—un stepping outside the hermit kingdom and onto the global stage. but there are a number of cautious tones coming out of analysts because although he may be giving this impression that she is willing to

talk, what is the actually willing to talk about? what is he mean when he says both to the chinese and the south koreans that is willing to de— nuclear right. by aligning himself with china, it is clear that the two countries want the same thing. they wa nt countries want the same thing. they want us troops out of south korea and out of japan want us troops out of south korea and out ofjapan offer this peninsula but that's something that south korea and japan and the us don't want at this stage. what these allies need to think about is, what are they prepared to offer, if anything, the him to give up its nuclear weapons? meanwhile, the south koreans are on their way to the demilitarised zone to meet with their counterparts. this will all lay the framework for this summit planned between both leaders. we lea ks planned between both leaders. we leaks away but still nothing to speak on the agenda. but still, no

agenda and no date. we know the talks between president moon and kim jong—un will take place but we are waiting for a date. when the delegates meet, that is one thing they will talk about, as well is setting the agenda. what are these two litres going to discuss? when kim jong—un meets president moon, two litres going to discuss? when kimjong—un meets president moon, he will do so on south korean soil, making him the first north korean leader ever to set foot in south korea so there are a number of firsts happening, especially this young north korean leader. what the international community is waiting to see, there is cautious optimism. what he wants for denuclearisation. if what he wants for denuclearisation. hindeed what he wants for denuclearisation. if indeed he is serious about that commitment. thank you very much for updating us. more on korea in a moment. now, some of the day's other news —

and the social media giant facebook has announced a major overhaul of the way users can keep their accounts private. the revamp comes after it emerged that data on around 50 million users had been harvested and passed on to a political consultancy. facebook says it was already planning to make the changes. here's our technology correspondent chris foxx. what will that mean? is facebook going to stop gobbling up our data and selling advertisements to us? of course not. but it will make it simpler to see your privacy settings in one place. on the mobile app, you have to go up —— go to up to 20 different screens to find all the privacy settings, location privacy and so on and they will have it all in one long list on one screen sea can scroll through and see every thing at a glance and turn things on or off. also making news today: the lawyer representing stormy daniels has asked a federal judge to order president trump to be forced to answer questions

about his relationship with the adult film actress, one that mr trump denies ever took place. at issue is what mr trump knew about a payment stormy daniels received less than 2 weeks before his presidential election victory. here's ms daniels‘ lawyer, michael avenatti. what we want is we want the truth. the wanton and the truth about what the president knew, when he knew it and what he did about it. as it relates to this agreement, we are going to test the veracity or truthfulness of mr cullen's, his attorney's statements and we are confident gale when we get to the bottom of this we will prove to the american people that they have been told a bucket of lives. —— lies. two people who worked at the shopping mall in siberia where at least 64 people died in a fire on sunday have appeared in court. the mall's director has been charged with negligence, and a security guard is accused of failing to activate the fire alarm systems. ecuador says it has cut off

julian assange's ability to communicate with the outside world from its embassy in london. the wikileaks founder took refuge in the building in 2012, to avoid extradition procedures which he feared could see eventually him sent to the us. the ecuadorian government says it wants to stop him from interfering in the affairs of other countries. and now a story with a happy ending for a cat with a bit of a problem. this is gipsy, a pet from phoenix in arizona, who was stuck on top of this power line for three days. eventually some rescue attempts were put into motion, but as you can see, gipsy refused tojump into the bucket and be brought back down to earth. so this brave rescuer climbed all the way up to pick up the cat and return it safely to earth. gipsy was eventually reunited with his owners, apparently safe and well despite the ordeal. more now on our main news this hour —

america's cautious welcome of the talks between the chinese president xi jinping and north korea's leader kim jong—un. later on thursday, a chinese special envoy will travel to seoul to update the south korean president moonjae—in. earlier i wasjoined from beijing by miha hribernik is a senior asia analyst at global risk consultancy verisk maplecroft and i asked him if this shuttle diplomacy was paving the way to iron out the details for the kim—trump meeting in may. absolutely. this is all part of that process. you mentioned a visit by the envoy, another thing to highlight today, it is already the first day here in beijing, the north and south korean —— north and south korea holding a high—level meeting to discuss the meeting between

president moon and kim jong—un and that will give us an indication of what might happen for the upcoming kim—trump summit. this will be a process. the time is quite compressed compared to what we would usually expect in terms of preparation for high—level meetings so we are preparation for high—level meetings so we are keeping a close eye on what happens later today. apart from denuclearisation, what you think also be on the agenda for the kim—trump meeting? also be on the agenda for the kim-trump meeting? of course, ideally, we would like to see a deal of pragmatism from both sides. was saying earlier, our consistent assessment of denuclearisation as the us sees it is off the table. it is not plausible that north korea would give up its nuclear deterrent after having spent a0 years in vast amounts of money to build it up. it simply won't happen, not least in

terms that our international community is hoping for. what we would expect and ideally what we would expect and ideally what we would like to see, that is by no means guaranteed, is a deal going on, seeing if both sides can put forward some goodwill gestures, the resumption of high—level dialogue, maybe more long—term freezers in nuclear and ballistic missile testing on the part of north korea in exchange for a freeze in military exercises by south korea and the us however with the current stands in the white house especially following the white house especially following the appointment ofjohn bolton is national security adviser, the likelihood of that pragmatism prevailing in talks is very slim as it looks right now. police in the uk have announced what could be a major development in the investigation into the poisoning of the russian double agent, sergei skripal, and his daughter in the english town of salisbury. in a statement released just a few hours ago, they say they've identified

the highest concentration of the deadly substance found so far on sergei's front door. they add that they now believe it was at the home address that the two victims were first poisoned. our reporter caroline rigby gave me the latest. this involved 250 counterterrorism officers. the former spy on his daughter fell officers. the former spy on his daughterfell ill on officers. the former spy on his daughter fell ill on a park bench and were found unconscious and they we re and were found unconscious and they were found to be suffering, they remain critically ill, they were suffering from the effects of novichok, a russian—made nerve agents. fashion legend. traces were found around salisbury from various locations where they visited. crucially tonight, police have said that the highest concentration of that the highest concentration of that nerve agent was found on the front door of their house. that changes the investigation because it

could suggest that is the first place they were poisoned and as they went into town, they left traces on various other locations. we saw the bench that the skripals were discovered off discovered on court and off and now this front door holds the highest concentration of this agent. how a police reassuring folks in the neighbourhood, postal workers, deliveryman. it could be a very frightening time for people living now that the police say the risk to them remains extremely low. they said cautionary searches will continue for several months to come, potentially, but they are now focusing their investigation around this house where the highest concentration was found in the forensic investigations are starting to wind down now. we are hearing from the british foreign secretary. the british foreign secretary boris johnson has been talking tonight and there has been a massive, as well is

there has been a massive, as well is the police investigation, a huge political response to this attack on the spy and his daughter. this has led to the expulsion of numerous russian diplomats from around 20 countries around the world because britain says russia is behind the attack, something russia denies and britain's foreign secretary says that he underestimated the international response to this and i quote him, he says these expulsions represent a moment when appealing has suddenly crystallise and across the world, countries are willing to say, another is enough. as i say, russia denied that they are behind the attack and they have threatened retaliation to those expulsions but to what extent, we don't yet know. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we'll reveal why christians in pakistan are adopting the slightly unusual tradition of fasting during lent. also on the programme: we'll explain how this protestor took his campaign against gun violence in america right to the heart of californian democracy.

the accident that happened here was the sort that cannot worse produce a meltdown. in this case, the proportions work but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about safety pictures of these stations resurfacing. the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. on today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, clubs or restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel where he had

been addressing a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his statement. it has become a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many brazilians wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthdate is being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm sharanjit leyl in london. our top stories. the white house has said the meeting between kimjong un and china‘s president xijinping ‘feels like things are moving in the right direction‘ with regard to north korea. british police say they‘ve found a high concentration of a nerve agent on the front door of the former russian spy sergei skripal, and they now think he may have been poisoned at home. and these pictures of the disgraced former australian cricket captain steve smith leaving south africa after being sent home from his side‘s tour are trending on our website. he lost his job as captain, and has been suspended for a year,

for his part in a ball—tampering scheme. let‘s take a look at some front pages from around the world. the international edition of the financial times reports on the tech—companies whose stocks fell even further on wednesday. it features facebook, twitter and google saying regulatory scrutiny has left them out of favour. amazon‘s shares are believed to have dropped after reports that the us president wants to halt its growth. and in the china daily, kim jong—un‘s visit to beijing. the paper says the chinese president held a welcome banquet for mr kim and his wife, ri sol—ju before they all watched an art performance together. and the international new york times reports on cosmetic surgery for pet fish. the paper has interviewed a surgeon from singapore who performs eyelifts on asian arowanas.

it‘s one of the world‘s most expensive aquarium fish, but apparently suffers from droopy eyes! now, what stories are sparking discussions online? yes, let‘s look at what is trending right now. and this protest at a council meeting in the californian city of sacramento has created headlines across the us. the brother of stephon clark, who was shot dead by police earlier this month, walked into the chamber, shouting his brother‘s name. stephon clark died after police opened fire on him as he was entering the back yard of his grandparents‘ house. it‘s emerged he was unarmed. thursday is the end

of the christian festival of lent, which for many means giving up something — often chocolate, or meat. but christians in pakistan take their devotion a step further — by copying the muslim practice of fasting. it‘s something which they feel helps them build links with their islamic neighbours — as secunder kermani reports from rawalpindi. fridays and sundays at st mary ‘s church are always busy during lent. there were over 3 million christians in pakistan, around half of whom are catholic, half of whom are protesta nt. ma ny catholic, half of whom are protestant. many from both groups fast throughout lent, eating just once a day. fasting is referred to in the bible but this is a particularly local practice. it is

the local speciality because of the influence of islam and hinduism but the spirituality we draw from the holy bible and from the life of jesus christ. it is not compulsory. it is not a sin not to fast. if you do fast, you will be devoted. at the david household, they are preparing to break their fast. david household, they are preparing to break theirfast. translation: that we start eating at six but the thing we really craves is a cup of tea. you do not cook anything special, just what would normally eat. be fast and at sunset with a prayer. muslims break theirfast during the holy month of ramadan at around the same time and the shared tradition can at times bring the communities closer together. translation: when my muslim friends star fasting in ramadan translation: when my muslim friends starfasting in ramadan i eat at the

same time as they do. i even fast like them sometimes because i spend most of my time with them. when it comes to lent, they arrange food for me. the christian community in pakistan has faced violent attacks by militants. but the way they commemorate lent is a reminder of how rooted in local culture there. —— they are. the united nations has often faced public scrutiny for its failure to prevent and investigate horrific cases of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers. but what has gotten less attention is the problem of sexual harassment and abuse against women working in the organization. so what is being done? from the united nations headquarters in new york the bbc‘s nada tawfik reports. the united nations is a place of lofty ideals. for many it is a privilege and ambition to serve the organisation. but with the rise of

the #metoo movement, a different side has come into view. an assault on the left or the attempt to kiss. all of the women i have spoken to, it is exactly the same thing. this woman worked at the un for a decade. she has come forward to beat our claims of sexual harassment and abuse by her firm claims of sexual harassment and abuse by herfirm lost claims of sexual harassment and abuse by her firm lost because she believes this is as the zomig —— former boss because she believes it isa former boss because she believes it is a systemic problem. another woman has accused the un aid said a proper investigation was conducted which cleared him of any wrong doing. investigation was conducted which cleared him of any wrong doingm angers me because it is precisely why women did not come out to report? the women that i knew, who tried to report, every single one of them was sidelined and, in some cases, whether it be this man or bullying and intimidation, they were

systematically victimised and forced out of the system. how can you expect staff to report sexual harassment if they are not, in reality, protected from retaliation? this woman represents thousands of un staff and has herself experienced sexual harassment in a previous posting. she said a recent survey conducted by the staff union showed what many already knew, but most have little faith in the complaints process. overwhelmingly what came back, what we got out of that survey, was the people did not say anything or they did not report because they felt that nothing would because they felt that nothing would be done. they had no face that their complaints would be addressed. campaigners say there is a culture of impunity. one proposal is for an external oversight body to monitor the un‘s internal justice external oversight body to monitor the un‘s internaljustice process and make recommendations. here the organisation is supposed to be defending the institution. the accused and the accusers somewhat tony eastley. there is a completely

unworkable conflict of interest that would not be allowed to persist anywhere else in the world. the secretary general says there is a zero tolerance policy and has set up a task force to address the problem. particularly now we are looking at investigators with experience in handling sexual harassment cases. i feel we need to give time to all the measures that we are taking. the secretary general believes that this is fundamentally an issue of power and at achieving gender parity will help. still, his biggest challenge will be convincing some staff that the organisation is on their side. now, if you‘ve been watching this week, you‘ll have noticed that sharanjit has been presenting from london — though you may be more used to seeing her here in singapore. she‘s catching a flight

back to us on friday — so sharanjit — what did you think of the uk at the start of spring? and look at the protests outside the building. people asking you to come back to singapore! don't you miss us? ido. i back to singapore! don't you miss us? i do. i miss you, guess what? i have loved the two months i have spent here in london working with an amazing team here at newsday. also enjoying the cold weather. it has been wonderful. it snowed a lot while i was here and as a creature of the tropics it is so nice to have some cool and temperate weather. i will come back to the humidity in singapore and i will be really hot. comeback soon because i am taking my holiday next week. i will be back bright and early presenting from singapore. we are so excited to have you back. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. coming up, we‘ll be looking at how a high—tech approach to matching customers with crops is revolutionising farming in india.

and before we go, let‘s take a look at these pictures. it‘s the team of nasa scientists doing some checks on the parker solar probe — which is due to launch injuly on a mission to investigate the sun. it will start orbiting our star in 2023, and will be exposed to temperatures in excess of 2,500 fahrenheit — that‘s over 1000 degrees celsius. it‘s hoped it will help us understand more about the solar storms which can affect communications back here on earth. if all goes to plan, it will go round the sun 2a times — reporting back each time with the call sign, ‘i am parker solar probe and i am doing great‘. hello again good morning. the easter

weekend will not be a washout but quite mixed weather on the way as we saw yesterday the rain in england and wales eventually clearing the way to give a little more sunshine to go these weekend we will see some spells of sunshine around. however, there will also be some spells of rain that could be heavy at times and cold enough for snow over the now dominant northern hill. temperate she is —— temperatures are disappointing for this time of year. temperatures starting to come in from the south—west where the pressure is lower in this area will remain dry. an all—weather front is sitting to the north—east of scotla nd sitting to the north—east of scotland between a frosty start and clear skies it will be a bright and sunny start of this weather is pushing up and moving north and east across england and wales. a few showers ahead of that that sunshine as well. still cool and damp in the north—east of scotland. some snow over the high ground. heavy rain further south will work its way northwards during the evening and overnight. in the service stops,

really, around the borders of northern england into northern ireland. the rain tending to peter our. not as cold on friday morning but there is more rain arriving perhaps into the far south—west right at the end of the night. in a move to the north more slowly but we are looking at some wet weather again to dry up across inward and wales. bright skies further north and once in the earlier rain or drizzle and hills now tends to peter out, that lets the sunshine in because the wind is coming in from the east. never a good direction as you saw, 7— nine degrees, nothing good at all. weather front will move northwards and peter out. this area moves away. on saturday it should be a dry day for wales, the midlands and southern england. there will still be rain and drizzle and hills now in scotland. mainly for eastern areas. she turned to peter out ever more through the day but there will bea more through the day but there will be a lot of cloud around and again, temperatures struggling in northern scotla nd temperatures struggling in northern scotland and southern parts of

england. not regular sunshine as we head into easter sunday. we are between the weather so this is probably the quietest day of the next few and there will not be much rain around. it will still probably bea rain around. it will still probably be a lot of cloud, mind you. north—west scotland see some sunshine across southern counties but generally dry and cloudy and generally disappointing temperatures again so we can‘t even make double figures through the central belt of scotland. as we head into monday where we have some strengthening wind, rain coming in from the south—west followed by showers on tuesday. i‘m sharanjit leyl with bbc world news. our top story: the us has said it is cautiously optimistic about north korea, after the meeting between kimjong un and the chinese president xijinping. the white house says it feels like things are moving in the right direction following the meeting in beijing — and that its maximum pressure campaign on pyongyang

is continuing to work. british police say they‘ve found a high concentration of a nerve agent on the front door of the former russian spy sergei skripal and they now think he and his daughter may have been poisoned at home. and this video is trending on bbc.com. it‘s the tale of gipsy the cat — who spent three days stuck on top of a power cable in phoenix in arizona. the pet resisted all attempts to entice it back down to earth — before, eventually, a volunteer climbed up the pole to rescue it. gipsy was then reunited with its family, safe and sound. that‘s all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news, stephen sackur is in geneva