of sunshine, it will be warm. plenty of sunshine, it will be warm. temperatures in the high 20s that there is the continued risk of some thunderstorms. that's all from me for now, good night. in singapore, the headlines. new claims about michael cohen — president trump's personal lawyer. the bbc has learned he received a secret payment to fix talks between the ukrainian president and mrtrump. mr cohen denies receiving the payment and president poroshenko's office calls the claim a flagrant lie. with doubt still surrounding president trump's summit with kimjong un, china tells the us that "now is the time" to make a peace deal with north korea. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: yulia skripal, who along with her father, was poisoned by a nerve agent in england, has made her first televised

statement since the attack. translation: we are so lucky to have both survived this attempted assassination. i don't want to describe the details, but the clinical treatment was invasive, painful and depressing. piano music plays piano is definitely his forte — meet the ia year—old indonesian musician who's already been nominated for a grammy three times. good morning. it's 7:00am in singapore, midnight in london and 7:00pm in washington. donald trump's personal lawyer, michael cohen, received a secret payment of at least $a00,000 to arrange talks between the ukrainian president and president trump. that is the claim made

by those with direct knowledge of the process, who've spoken to the bbc. they say the money was sent to mr cohen by intermediaries acting for the ukrainian leader, petro poroshenko. the ukrainian government has denied the claims. mr cohen, his partner felix sater and the two intermediaries also deny involvement —— as our correspondent paul wood reports. donald trump's run for the us presidency was watched with alarm by ukraine's government, dismayed by his apparently pro—russian rhetoric. then trump had a setback. his campaign manager, paul manafort, was forced to resign, accused of getting millions of dollars from russian interests in the ukraine. the leak that brought manafort down came from the very top of the ukrainian government, according to sources here and outside the ukraine. if that's true, the ukrainians badly miscalculated backing the losing side in the us election.

so, in early 2017, president poroshenko was desperate to get talks with donald trump. he was being offered little more than a white house photo opp. according to a senior official here, who has direct knowledge of what happened, poroshenko instructed two close associates to open a back channel. that back channel, our source says, was president trump's personal lawyer and trusted fixer, michael cohen. the senior official says cohen was paid $400,000. a second source says it was more. there is no suggestion that trump knew of this. we are told that cohen got help from felix sater, a convicted former mobster once in business with trump. cohen is under investigation for paying hush money to porn actress stormy daniels on trump's behalf. her lawyers says cohen's bank records show he took money from us

companies for access to the president. i think it's pretty obvious at this point that michael cohen took substantial amounts of money, and was selling access to the highest office in the land, namely to the us president. we have every reason to believe there are additional payments that have not been reported yet from those with ukrainian interests. poroshenko could not hide his delight at meeting trump, and before russia's vladimir putin. how many minutes he would get was still being negotiated as he flew from kiev. but this was more than just a photo opp. after poroshenko went home, ukraine's enquiry into trump's former campaign manager, paul manafort, was steadily wound down. "there was never a direct order to stop the manafort enquiry," a special prosecutor in kiev tells me. "but," he says, "from the way

the investigation progressed, it was clear that our superiors were trying to create obstacles." did president trump's lawyer ask the ukrainians to stall their enquiry? perhaps he didn't need to. poroshenko knew that to do otherwise, said one source, would be like spitting in trump's face. the us is continuing its own investigation into paul manafort and russian influence in the american election. but without help from ukraine. paul wood reporting. well lets keep the focus on the us president, because a new yorkjudge has ruled that donald trump may not "block" twitter users because of their political beliefs because it would be a violation of the right to free speech. users who are blocked cannot see or respond to tweets from the accounts that have blocked them. 0ur north america technology reporter dave lee has more.

this is the case that has big implications i think, i think, for not only how president trump conducts himself on twitter, but also public officials across the us. they're all being guided now by new recommendation by the judge in new york. what she said was that blocking people on twitter would impinge their rights to have a free and open discussion with those accounts. so for example if someone disagreed with president trump but was blocked by president trump, they wouldn't be able to reply to his tweets and nor would they be able to quote his tweets and therefore the judge ruled that was in violation of the first amendment. what the president and other officials can still do is mute people. so while the first amendment protects people's right to speak at the president, that same amendment doesn't force the president or other public officials to listen to what is being said.

right now, president trump follows only around 50 people on twitter, made up mostly of his family, staff and several fox news presenters, so the accusation he is living in an echo chamber on the social network is still something he will face from here. but what this does mean is he will no longer be able to completely block other users from seeing what's being said by the president and other elected officials on twitter from now on. also making news today, the united states has withdrawn an invitation to china to participate in a major international military exercise in the pacific ocean next month because of its activities in the south china sea. a pentagon spokesman said beijing's continued militarisation of disputed islands in the south china sea was destabilising the region and inconsistent with the purpose of thejoint drill. the chinese foreign minister said most of the building in the south china sea was for civilian use and on chinese territory. the us secretary of state says

medical teams are on their way to the southern chinese city of guangzhou after an american government employee there suffered a mild brain injury after reporting hearing strange sounds. mike pompeo said the employee's symptoms were similar to those experienced by us diplomats in cuba last year, which were blamed on mysterious "sonic attacks". the italian president sergio mattarella has asked a little known law professor, giuseppe conte, to form a government, ending a stalemate since inconclusive elections in march. giuseppe conte will lead a coalition of the populist five star movement and the right wing populist league party. he said italy's place was in the european union, where he would defend the interests of its people. translation: i am also aware of the

need to confirm italy's international and european role. the government will be put to the test from the very beginning from the current negotiations on the european budget. the reform of the asylum law and the completion of the banking union. spanish football star andres iniesta will play in japan next season after ending his career—long association with boyhood club barcelona. iniesta, who scored the winning goal in the world cup final in 2010, has enjoyed a glittering 22—year career in catalonia. but the 34—year—old has now confirmed he will be starting a new life in japan. china has told the united states that "now is the time" to make history by reaching a peace deal with north korea. the chinese foreign minister, wang yi, who is in washington, told his american counterpart, mike pompeo, that he hoped the summit between the us and north korean leaders would go ahead as planned. translation: we look forward to

seeing the meeting taking place and being successful. we believe president trump and kim jong—un are able and they have the wisdom to make the right decision and bring peace to the korean peninsula and bring good news to the world. for more on this i've been speaking to our correspondent in seoul, rupert wingfield—hayes. i began by asking him why the us—north korea summit is so important to china. fundamentally, because china's main interest when it comes to north korea is stability, stability on its border. china's nightmare is renewed conflict on the korean peninsula or the implosion of the north korean regime and the falling apart of north korea. sol regime and the falling apart of north korea. so i think the chinese government was deeply concerned as things got really bad last year. very upset with north korea for testing missiles provocatively

across japan and threatening the united states. but concerned about us threats of military action against north korea. what they want to see is a rationing down of the tensions, which we are seeing, but also in the medium to long—term, coming to some sort of political solution to this conflict which will maintain north korea as an entity and maintain stability on china's border. but this summit in is hanging in the balance because of theissue hanging in the balance because of the issue of denuclearisation, what is the sentiment in south korea, will it happen or not? everything appears to be slightly up in the air after president trump's comments when he met with president moon jae—in yesterday, suggesting he might not go. but the comments from the secretary of state to me thinks it will go ahead. he said a bad deal was not an option and the american

people are counting on us to get it right. if the right deal is not on the table, we will respectfully walk away. that suggests to me that my pompey is expecting the president to go to singapore and negotiate but walk away if he doesn't get what he wa nts walk away if he doesn't get what he wants from kim jong—un. yulia skripal, one of the two russians targeted in the salisbury chemical attack, has said she is "lucky to be alive". she and her father, sergei, were exposed to a nerve agent in early march. in her first filmed public statement ms skripal said she wanted to return to russia "in the longer term" but rejected an offer of help from the russian embassy. now the embassy has demanded direct access to ms skripal, to make sure she was not being held against her will. daniel sandford has more detail. after weeks of being at the centre of a huge diplomatic crisis, suddenly there she was. yulia skripal was poisoned with a nerve agent in salisbury on march the fourth. but today, she was well enough

to beat a prepared statement. translation: i still find it difficult to come to terms with the fact that both of us were attacked in such a way. the fact that a nerve agent was used to do this is shocking. we are so lucky we both survived this attempted assassination. the clinical treatment was invasive, painful and depressing. police believe she and her father were poisoned by a russian designed novichok nerve agent smeared on the door handle of his home. it led to surreal scenes in salisbury as the police and the army tried to control contamination. today it was clear that yulia skripal has been left with a scar on her neck from a tracheotomy. translation: my life has been turned upside down as i try to come to terms with the devastating changes both physically and emotionally.

i want to help care for my father until his full recovery. in the longer term i hope to return home to my country. yulia skripal prepared signed handwritten copies of her statement in russian and english, wanting to show there were her words. the russian ambassador has repeatedly suggested she might be being held against her will, and demanded access to her. translation: i'm grateful for the offers of assistance from the russian embassy but at the moment i do not wish to avail myself of their services. also, i want to reiterate what i said in my earlier statement, that no one speaks for me or my father but ourselves. while yulia skripal was in a coma, dozens of diplomats were expelled from the united states, russia and europe. she is a russian citizen who lived in russia where herfather is regarded as a traitor. and tonight, it is still not clear where they will live next. you're watching newsday on the bbc.

still to come on the programme... as ireland prepares to vote in a referendum on abortion, women in south korea are challenging the ban on abortions in the country's supreme court. also on the programme... we meet the young indonesian pianist who taught himself to play jazz at the age of six by listening to his father's classic albums. this morning and indian airforce plane landed in delhi carrying mr gandhi's body. the president of india walked to the playing too solemnly witness said mr

gandhi's return from the political battlefield. ireland has voted overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage. it is the first country in the world to approve the change in a national referendum. it was a remarkable climax to what was the most extraordinary funeral ever given to was the most extraordinary funeral evergiven toa was the most extraordinary funeral evergiventoa pop was the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer.fl was the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. it has been a peaceful funeral demonstration so far but the police are tear gassing the crowd and we don't know why. the prelaunch ritual is well—established and helen was said to be in good spirits, but a little apprehensive. in the last hour, east timor has become the newest nation. the challenges ahead are daunting, but for now at least it is time to celebrate. this is newsday on the bbc. lam in i am in singapore.

and i am in london. our top stories. ukraine's president poroshenko has denounced as "a flagrant lie" claims that his meeting last year with president trump was arranged after a big payment to donald trump's personal lawyer. china tells the us "now is the time" to reach a peace deal with north korea, as president trump continues to express doubts whether his meeting with kimjong un will take place. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. let's start with the straits times, which takes a look at the first meeting held by malaysia's new cabinet. it features a photo from that meeting, alongside the news that each minister will take a 10% salary cut, and nine government agencies will shut down, in a move to curb government spending. the south china morning post reports on how bosses in hong kong won't have to pay their workers overtime wages. in a bid to find a consensus on standardising working hours the government has settled

on guidelines, which means bosses won't be legally required to compensate low—income workers for the extra hours they do. and finally, the japan times has an eye—capturing image of fire—flies performing a synchronised mating ritual. they created a spectacular display lighting up senri ryokuchi park in osaka. the image was captured by super—imposing photographs taken at is—second intervals. now, what stories are sparking discussions online? if you live in the hotel of mum and dad then here's a tale of caution, a new york couple have won their bid to have their 30—year—old son evicted from their home. michael rotondo has been living with his parents for eight years after he lost his job

but they say he had not contributed to household expenses or with doing the chores. they took him to court after he ignored multiple written notices to leave, starting in february, they even gave him $1100 to leave. but mr rotondo said he needed more time before he could move out and is planning to appeal the decision. there are just a handful of industrialised countries in the world where abortion is still illegal. south korea is one of them along with ireland. on friday ireland votes in a historic referendum on the issue while on thursday the ban on abortions for south korean women will be challenged in the country's supreme court. earlier i got more details from hyosin kim, who is doing her doctorate on south korean abortion law at brandise university in waltham, massachusetts. this abortion is not entirely new,

but it is getting more attention because there was an interesting online petition recently which requested the legalisation of the abortion pill. this drew so much support from a lot of korean citizens in a short amount of time and this makes the government publicly respond to those needs and express their willingness to make changes to the abortion policy. also the korean ministry of gender equality and family recently submitted an official statement to the constitutional court, that the current criminal penalties are unconstitutional and therefore should be removed. for those who are

surprised that abortion is illegal in korea, it dates back to the korean war, can you give us some history on this? since 1953 abortion has been prohibited by criminal act. the creation of this restriction is in part, due to a need to increase the korean population after the korean war. around 1973, as the population is growing so fast, they also, in part, as population control, they created additional laws that legalise only certain exceptional cases of abortion, involving medical reasons. you spoke of this challenge due to changing

social needs, how many abortions are taking place even though it is illegal in south korea? it is a problem we don't have an actual measure of the size of this issue. but based on the national data, about 160,000 abortions took place in 2010 and given the fact that physicians don't report the abortion practices, it is not representing the actual incidents, i would say. 0ne the actual incidents, i would say. one of the recent studies estimated it is about 500,000 abortions that took place in 2017. many musicians dream of being nominated for a grammy. but one indonesian jazz pianist has been up for the award three times and he's only 1a years old. the musical prodigy‘s fourth album

was released earlier this month. we caught up with him while he was on tour in southeast asia. i never really dreams of being a physician. i love music. there wasn't that much jazz in bali. i didn't really have any formal training, that is why i am mostly self—taught. but my dad helped me grow my music ability, even though

he was also self—taught. for me, the records i listen to are my teachers, louis armstrong, of course miles davis. i believe it is music, so there is no age, it is not how young you are 01’ no age, it is not how young you are or where you no age, it is not how young you are 01’ where you come no age, it is not how young you are or where you come from. it is my goal to make people happy, to see how they enjoy my music, me and my

friends, when we play. amazing young talent from indonesia. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. german chancellor angela merkel is in china — looking to boost trade and relations between the two countries. we'll have all the analysis next. i was asked by my music teacher to stop playing after i barely passed my grades one news get exam. and before we go, let's take a look at these pictures. this is quite a special moment for a couple of one—year—old armenian bear cubs. they're being released into the wild after being rescued when their mother was killed a year ago. it's the work of an international animal rescue charity

based here in britain. they've been fitted with gps collars, so the charity can track their movements. there is plenty more spring sunshine in the forecast for the next few days. but in southern areas there is the risk of thundery showers and we shall see those on thursday, courtesy of this weather front that has been sneaking in from the near continent. it doesn't look like much but it produces the extra kick and moisture in needs. police in scotla nd moisture in needs. police in scotland and north east england, low cloud and fog to start but it will burn back towards the coast and things brightening up as the day goes on. this is how it looks on our high—resolution model across wales, pa rt high—resolution model across wales, part of england as well. can see the

showers and thunderstorms drifting west. should brighten up the east anglia, the southeast and much of the midlands. northern ireland and northern scotland seeing long spells and sunshine but the mist and murk and sunshine but the mist and murk and low cloud lapping onto the north sea coastlines. as a consequence, temperatures in aberdeen and newcastle will be pegged back to 1a, 15 degrees. elsewhere, warmed to be had, especially in the sunshine. during thursday night, we are expecting further showers and perhaps thunderstorms to drift up from the near continent. moving further north at this stage. north—eastern scotland holding on to the coastal mist and fog and low cloud, rolling further inland as the night wears on. we started friday on a muggy notes. 0n night wears on. we started friday on a muggy notes. on friday we will see further pulses of wet weather, thunderstorms drifting further north getting into northern england at

this stage. to the north of that, northern england and northern scotla nd northern england and northern scotland seeing further spells and sunshine. cloudy for much of the time and quite muggy, 19 degrees in plymouth and 20 in belfast. but those temperatures look set to climb as we move through the weekend. we will tap into this warm air sitting in place across the near continent. it will waft up in our direction. what we will bring up from the south is further areas of heavy, perhaps thundery rain. we suspect drifting towards the south—west of the uk. high pressure has more of an influence further north. northern areas mostly dry but some sunshine and wet weather further south. the risk of thunderstorms. this is bbc world news. our top story: there are claims that michael cohen, donald trump's personal lawyer, received a secret payment to fix talks between the ukrainian and us presidents. but ukraine's president poroshenko's office has called the claims a flagrant lie, adding

that they are part of a campaign to discredit relations between the two countries. with doubt still surrounding president trump's summit with kimjong un, china tells the us that "now is the time" to make a peace deal with north korea. and this story is trending on bbc.com... a new york couple have won their bid to have their 30—year—old son evicted from their home. michael rotondo has been living with his parents for eight years after he lost his job but they say he had not contributed to household expenses or with doing the chores. that is a warning there. stay with us on that is a warning there. stay with us on bbc news. now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk.