this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: the diplomatic push is on. britain's ambassador to the us says efforts are ramping up to change president trump's mind about the iran nuclear deal. if it were making progress, we haven't got there yet, we have a few days left. pakistan's interior minister survives an assassination attempt. ahsan iqbal was shot in the arm at a political rally. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: the extraordinary comeback. malaysia's 92—year—old former prime minister returns to contest the country's general election. some of football's biggest names show their support for manchester united's sir alex ferguson, who's recovering from a brain haemorrhage. glad you could join us.

it's 7am in singapore, midnight in london, and seven in the evening in washington where britain's ambassador to the us, sir kim darroch says work is under way on proposals that might ease president trump's concerns about the nuclear deal with iran. mr trump has been scathingly critical of the agreement, and he may announce that he's scrapping it later this week. sir kim said the uk, france and germany had been working for weeks on what has been described as a "plan b". here he is speaking on cbs's face the nation. on those issues we have ideas we think we can find some language, produces some action that meets the

president's concerns of. this week, you are ready to close that side agreement. we have been talking at senior official level with our french and german colleagues for several weeks now. we think we are making progress. we have not got there yet. we have some days you to see if we can make our way through. earlier, iran's president hassan rouhani appeared on state tv with this warning. translation: if the united states leaves the nuclear agreement, you will soon see that they will regret it like never before in history. the british foreign secretary, borisjohnson is in washington to try and persuade donald trump to stay in the nuclear deal. our correspondent is chris buckler. of course he is not the first to go with these concerns about america walking away from this deal. we have seen the french president here, the

german chancellor, now it is the turn of boris johnson, german chancellor, now it is the turn of borisjohnson, the british foreign secretary. he has written a whole opinion piece in the new york times which hasjust whole opinion piece in the new york times which has just been published. that is intended to grab the attention of president trump insult. in it he talks about potentially new scenarios of abandoning this deal. he says it will be like lifting ha ndcuffs he says it will be like lifting handcuffs iran and it will be worse for the world. is that the only country could possibly benefit would be run. you are hearing this argument playing out and he was to ta ke argument playing out and he was to take you directly to the white house. his biggest problem is that at the moment is not speaking directly to donald trump himself. he is speaking to vice president mike pence and a range of other white house senior officials. it is probably why he has arranged an appearance on the box and friends,, that programme, the morning news programme that donald trump regular watchers and tweets about. it might be boris johnson's watchers and tweets about. it might be borisjohnson‘s best chance to speak directly to the president. what can change the mind of donald trump? that is a very good question.

i think if we knew the answer to that we would end up being paid an awful lot of money. the truth is that donald trump has made clear, time and time again, that he regards this as a bad deal. historically, barack obama this as a bad deal. historically, ba rack obama regarded this as a bad deal. historically, barack obama regarded this as being one of the high points of foreign policy in his presidency, managing to get this agreement arranged. but president trump simply feels it is too lenient and there are a range of issues for that. as well, there is sunset clause, for 2025, which basically lists some of the restrictions. also he has concerns about the fact that it does not place restrictions on missiles, and he worries about the inspection regime. what the uk, germany, and friends are trying to do at the moment is to try to come up with an alternative, something that would not see them walk away from this deal, but try to improve the deal. it has to be said, you played that interview of sir kim darroch, the british ambassador to the us, he

also made clear that they were working on a plan b, that is continuing with the deal or trying to continue with the deal, even if america was to walk away. chris buckler speaking to rico hizon earlier. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. pakistan's interior minister has been been shot in a suspected assassination attempt. ahsan iqbal was hit by a bullet in his arm but officials say he is out of danger. this incident comes ahead of general elections expected injuly. here's secunder kermani on a possible motive. the attacker has been taken into custody. he was arrested by police at the scene. he is being questioned by them now. there is even speculation in pakistan that perhaps this attack is linked to a group of hardline islamist this attack is linked to a group of ha rdline islamist protesters this attack is linked to a group of hardline islamist protesters who had been angry at the ruling party, to

whom ahsan iqbal belongs, because they said they were trying to change an electoral oath that was the members of parliament sway when they become elected. they saw these changes is being tantamount to blasphemy. the changes were pretty much immediately reversed, of that anger in this small sector of society has remained. ahsan iqbal did have a shoe thrown at him at another public meeting earlier this year. it is possible that that could be the motive. as of yet there has been no official confirmation of that. secunder kermani reporting. also making news today, north korea said the united states is wrong to suggest that pyongyang has agreed to talks on its nuclear programme because of international sanctions. in a statement, the foreign ministry accused washington of misleading public opinion and said pyongyang's actions should not be seen as a sign of weakness. the us has accused china of "orwellian nonsense" for trying to force international airlines to change the way they refer to taiwan, hong kong and macau.

china has written to dozens of carriers asking them to make it clear that these places are all part of china. hong kong and macau are under chinese administration, but taiwan is a self—governing island that china claims. donald trump's newly appointed personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, has said the president could plead the fifth amendment if he appears before the inquiry into russian election meddling. by doing this he would invoke the constitutional right not to answer questions that would incriminate him. here's mr giuliani speaking on abc television network's this week programme. when i'm facing a situation with the president is all the lawyers are, which every lawyer in america thinks he would be a full to testify, i have a client who wants to testify, he said it yesterday. j and i said to ourselves, my goodness, i hope we get a chance to tell him the risks

he is taking. so he is taking. rudy giuliani there. injapan, thousands of people have marched in the tokyo rainbow pride, one of the city's two annual gay pride parades. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people carried banners and placards with rainbow colours, a symbol of sexual diversity. the organiser says a record 37 organisations, including companies and embassies, supported the seventh annual event. when malaysians go to the polls in their country's 14th general election on wednesday, they will be presented with an extraordinary alternative to the governing coalition that has ruled the country since independence. dr mahathir mohamad, who was prime minister for 22 years in the 1980s and 90s, has come back aged 92, to contest the election as leader of the opposition. and he will be doing so in

an alliance with anwar ibrahim, for years his bitterest rival, and who now languishes injail. our correspondentjonathan head asked dr mahathir what his plan is if his opposition coalition wins against the odds. after me we had decided that he would be the eighth prime minister. he will be released soon. we will get a pardon for him. and then he can be eligible to become prime minister. of course he has to be elected. and we have already decided. this is a man that, when we interviewed you last time, five yea rs interviewed you last time, five years ago, you described as immoral, unfit to be a leader. yes, but you can't punish people for a lifetime. one commits crime when we were

indiscreet, when young, but we can't punish people for his whole life. some of anwar ibrahim's family think you should apologise to him for what has happened. do you think you should? that is an old matter. i don't think that matters now. what matters now is that we work together and the family of anwar ibrahim works would be closely supporting each other. you groomed anwar ibrahim succeed you in the 1990s. you chose acma better way to succeed you in 2003. your approval was crucial in the prime minister succeeding. you have turned against all of them, what is that is a against you? when they were given power they changed. they are not the same. he did not steal money when i was prime minister, he stole money after i stepped down. at least i got

to know after a step down. the system he is now using to hold onto power is the very system that in 22 yea rs of power power is the very system that in 22 years of power that you created is. he is not using the system, he is abusing the system. during my time the system was the same. but i did not abuse. they did not sell money from the government. i gave money to the government. and i didn't have scandals like he has. when you reflect back, you look at the state of malaysia today, do you feel any personal responsibility for the problems your country has now? no, i don't think i had much to worry about during my period of time. i was able to grow the country, change it from an agricultural country to an industrialist country, people havejobs, an industrialist country, people have jobs, people get scholarships to study. all of those things i did during my time. no regrets? why

should i regret? many of those people get to see me. they said i grew up during your time, i got a good education during your time, thank you very much. even now people come up to me and say thank you.- 92 years old, some say you cannot give up politics, that you cannot let go. i cannot give up politics. i wa nt to let go. i cannot give up politics. i want to give up politics, but seeing the way najib razak is destroying the way najib razak is destroying the country, i would be irresponsible if i would think only about resting after retirement. dr mahathir they are speaking to jonathan head. later today india's supreme court will hear a plea to turn the kathua girl rape case into a federal rather than local investigation. following a public outcry demanding death penalty for those accused of gang raping the eight—year—old girl, the government had made the laws stricter, including death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below 12 years of age. yogita limaye travelled to india's jammu and kashmir state

to report on this case. once again, a rape and murder brought people out on the streets in india. this time the victim was nearly eight years old. she belonged to this more islam nomadic tribe. they roam the hills and valleys of the state of jammu and they roam the hills and valleys of the state ofjammu and kashmir. she was captured when she was out grazing horses. police say she was raped, tortured, and murdered by hindus who wanted to be tried to move off their land. herfamily has continue their journey move off their land. herfamily has continue theirjourney into the mountains, waiting forjustice. translation: she was beautiful, smart, and intelligent. the only thing i want is for her attackers to

go through the same pain that she went through. it is in this hindu temple that she was allegedly held for a week. eight men have so far been arrested. because of where the crime is said to have taken place, the alleged motive for it, and the fa ct the alleged motive for it, and the fact that the girl was a more islam, and all of those who have been arrested at hindus, this has gone from being against sexual violence against women and girls in india to being about polarisation between two religious communities —— more islam. not farfrom the religious communities —— more islam. not far from the temple, family members of the accused and villages from the area are sitting in protest. they are demanding a federal investigation. the daughter of one of those arrested says she too wa nts of one of those arrested says she too wants justice for the child. but in the muslim majority state she fears her community is being targeted. translation: the unity of hindus is

being attacked. our voices have been suppressed. all are men have been arrested. who will we go back home for? the prime minister has promised justice for the victim and his cabinet has approved the death sentence for those who break children. but many believe the incident has set a dangerous precedent. the most scary part is the use of the body of that little girlfor the use of the body of that little girl for scaring away an entire community. it has long—term repercussions, both for the safety of women, as well as the safety of the minorities. five years ago these protests following the gang rape of a delhi student also forced the government to pass tougher laws, but ina government to pass tougher laws, but in a deeply patriarchal society, little seems to be changing. yogita limaye, bbc news, in kathua. has

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: afghan interpreters who worked with british troops — fighting now to for their families to be allowed to join them in the uk. also on the programme: football's big names show their support for manchester united's sir alex ferguson, who is covering after brain surgery. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, will hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays,

the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. but the tunnel is still not ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in underfour minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories. britain's ambassador to the us says diplomatic work is under way to ease president trump's concerns about the nuclear deal with iran. pakistan's interior minister has survived an assassination attempt.

ahsan iqbal was shot in the arm at a political rally. a gunman has been arrested. egyptian archaeologists say they've found no evidence of a secret chamber in the walls of the tomb of the ancient egyptian boy king, tutankhamen. initial readings of radar imagery three years ago suggested there was a hidden cavity which caused much excitement. that story is popular on bbc.com let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the china daily has korea on its front page, saying china's foreign minister has been encouraging all parties to keep up momentum towards the ‘dual track‘ of denuclearisation and peace negotiations. yangjiechi is reported to have

spoken with the new us secretary of state, mike pompeo on sunday, urging cooperation on issues of regional diplomacy and trade. the new york times leads with a piece investigating the business dealings of former trump lawyer michael cohen, who is currently being investigated by federal prosecutors. according to the times, cohen worked as a personal injury lawyer before becoming president trump's personal attorney and fixer, and has spent much of his personal and professional life with immigrants from ukraine and russia. the gulf times says houthi rebels

in yemen have suffered a substantial defeat in taiz to yemeni government forces backed by united arab emirates' soldiers. the article also covers uae foreign ministry outrage over reports that criticise the presence of uae soldiers on socotra island, a yemeni territory off the coast of somalia, saying the soldiers are there on a humanitarian mission. afghan interpreters, who worked with british troops fighting the taliban, are appealing to the government for help to bring their families to the uk. on friday the newly—appointed british home secretary, sajid javid, said former translators, who were given permits to live in britain for five years, wouldn't have to pay for the right to stay longer. but many are still waiting to be reunited with their wives and children. the bbc‘s leila nathoo has more. abdul is now bringing up his eldest son alone. it's been more than two years since he came to the uk from afghanistan, where he worked as an interpreter with the british army, but he says it was too expensive for him to bring the rest of his family with him at the same time, and now he and his son are suffering without them.

they told me you can take your family later, but when i come here, and then i found out, i mean it was so tough. when i see my son he was struggling, he was distressed. he told one of his class fellows that he is going to harm himself because he's missing his mum and he is missing his brother. several hundred afghans were employed as translators by british troops during the conflict in their country. their faces here are obscured, as many are under threat from the taliban for their choice. some who are deemed to have faced particular danger in their roles were offered the option of resettlement in the uk. earlier this week, the new home secretary, sajid javid, announced those who had been given five year visas would be able to settle here permanently, without having to pay the required fee of more than £2,000. that has been welcomed by mohammed, who chairs a group representing afg ha n interpreters like him in britain. he says he and his former colleagues

have long felt ignored. when we came over here nobody even welcomed us, "we welcome you, you are representative from the army, you have done a lot, you know, back in afghanistan, we would like to thank you." nobody was there. so we felt kind of alone in here, in the middle of a new country, new culture. mohammed was one of the lucky ones who managed to travel to the uk with his wife. his daughter was born here. he now wants to see more families reunited. sajid javid has promised a fair and humane immigration system. one of his first acts after taking charge was to waive the fees for afghan interpreters wanting to live in the uk permanently. the government says it will look at trying to make it easier for their families to join them. leila nathoo, bbc news, the home office. some of the biggest names in football have been sending messages of support to sir alex ferguson. the former manchester united manager is recovering in intensive care, after suffering a brain haemorrhage. he underwent emergency surgery on saturday. our sports correspondent david ornstein has the latest. last seen in public looking fit and well a week ago, news of sir alex ferguson's illness has rocked the world of football and beyond.

among the many messages of support, david beckham said "keep fighting, boss. sending prayers and love to cathy and the whole family." while another ex—manchester united star cristiano ronaldo wrote, "my thoughts and prayers are with you, my dear friend. be strong, boss." everyone at match of the day sends our best wishes to sir alex ferguson. the flood of good wishes unrelenting. and i would like to wish my fellow manager ferguson well and very quickly. he's the most iconic figure within football, certainly in the last 30 years. if then you add that to the fact he's such an important role model for so many people around the world, he's captured the world and he's a national institution really. he was yesterday admitted to salford royal hospital. the 76—year—old had emergency surgery for a brain haemorrhage. the procedure is said to have gone very well, but a period of intensive care will follow. when he starts to regain consciousness his neurological state will be assessed repeatedly, and he will be only transitioned to an area of care which requires less support when he's starting to regain his independence and he's stable. at old trafford, supporters spoke of their admiration for sir alex. he's a legend, and he has been for the whole club.

even though he isn't running the club now, i think a lot of people will feel this. i'm a leeds supporter, but obviously i respect sir alex and what he's done for football. greatest football manager of all time. well, this is where sir alex ferguson is revered the most. a stand is named after him, and there's a statue in his honour. his status is legendary. he led manchester united to an incredible 38 trophies in 26 years, an all time great of the game at home an abroad, reknowned for his tenacity and fighting spirit, but now sir alex ferguson faces perhaps his biggest challenge of all. david ornstein, bbc news, old trafford.

you have been watching newsday. stay with us. and before we go, let's take a look at these pictures of prince louis‘ first days at home released by his parents. here he's receiving a kiss from his big sister, princess charlotte. the newest member of the royal family was photographed by their mother, kate, duchess of cambridge, at kensington palace when he was just three days old. sunday was a pretty glorious day to much of the country, a 6.3 celsius. -- 26.3. much of the country, a 6.3 celsius. —— 26.3. plenty of blue sky, although a lot of clout in western scotland. we are likely to break records for bank holiday monday, this was the last record set back in 1999. several places will be that today and one or two places could make it to 28 celsius and that could be the north and the west of london this topic we start the morning off

onafairly this topic we start the morning off on a fairly fresh note across eastern areas but lots of sunshine across eastern areas but lots of sunshine a cross m ost eastern areas but lots of sunshine across most areas with northern ireland and southern scotland. always more clout, west of scotland is that weather front getting a bit cooler as well. those two bridges in the mid— 20s celsius. as we had into monday night it looks like wu will be and other dry and clear one, some changes at the west and the figure ground and outbreaks of rain, so here it will be fairly mild and a bit full leganes and a clear skies. the pressure pattern for tuesday, low pressure moving in off the atla ntic low pressure moving in off the atlantic introducing slightly cooler airlike this atlantic introducing slightly cooler air like this weather front. for tuesday itself it will be quite a cloudy, wet and breezy day for northern ireland, pushing into scotla nd northern ireland, pushing into scotland and also western parts of england and into wales as well. could see a few heavy showers, maybe some thunderstorms, here it will be another hot and sunny day. further north and west it will be cooler temperatures returning closer to

seasonal. as he had to wednesday, another area of low pressure moving in off the atlantic on this one more energy off it with more active weather front. it means we are starting off on a fine note for much of the country on wednesday. this weather system starts pushing into northern ireland, scotland and into north—west england and wales and heavy rain. further east, we will do pretty well again, with two bridges reeking 2i pretty well again, with two bridges reeking 21 degrees with sunshine. —— asa reeking 21 degrees with sunshine. —— as a move into thursday, a breach of high—pressure, but it will fill full and fresher and fairly brisk westerly wind, a few showers especially across western hills and western wales as well. some good spells of sunshine. not bad looking day for thursday, temperatures cooler from around 13— day for thursday, temperatures cooler from around i3— 17 celsius. general is that it will cool down, backin general is that it will cool down, back in the air and a normal with

sunshine and showers. i'm kasia madera with bbc world news. our top story: britain's ambassador to the us says efforts are ramping up to change president trump's mind about the iran nuclear deal. sir kim darroch says work is under way on proposals to reassure mr trump about the deal. the us president has been scathingly critical of the agreement, and he may announce that he's scrapping it later this week. pakistan's interior minister ahsan iqbal has been shot and wounded in a suspected assassination attempt. he was hit by a bullet in his arm but officials say he is out of danger. and this story is trending on bbc.com. egyptian archaeologists say they've found no evidence of a secret chamber in the walls of the tomb of the boy king, tutankhamen. a study three years ago suggested there could be such a cavity — triggering rumours that a majorfind was imminent. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. it's been a glorious day

on the weather front,