i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. the headlines: a letterfrom north korea for president trump — to be handed over at the white house on friday. the trade war is back on — the us imposes tariffs on steel and aluminium — and europe, canada, and mexico retaliate. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: after visiting malaysia, the indian prime minister arrives in singapore, it's all about business and the rise of the indo—pacific region. and the paradise location featured in the film the beach is closed to protect coral and marine life from tourists. is call

good morning. allen. or is there anything i good morning. it's 8am in singapore, 1am in london and 8pm in new york where on friday one of president kim jung un‘s closest aides will hand deliver a letter from the north korean leader to president donald trump. it'll be another step in facilitating an historic summit due to take place here in singapore. from new york, the bbc‘s nick bryant has been following developments. the kim summit dominated the new york cabinet this morning, although this one involved a kardashian rather than a korean. two reality tv stars in a made for instagram moment, pop and political culture are becoming harder to tell apart. this dinner in manhattan last night may have lacked the same star power but was far more momentous. a smiling us secretary of state, mike pompeo, meeting a north korean general, kim yong—chol, a one—time spy master and his leader's right—hand man. steak was on the menu and that summit in singapore. the fact that even this meeting

is taking place shows how rapidly and how dramatically relations between america and north korea have changed. less than nine months ago donald trump was just up the road at the united nations, threatening to totally destroy that country. today's meeting felt like diplomatic speed dating. it was over quicker than expected and that was a sign of great progress according to the americans, and also an indication of how much both sides want this summit to take place. our two countries face a pivotal moment in our relationship in which it could be nothing short of tragic to let this opportunity go to waste. i believe they are contemplating a path forward where they can make a strategic shift, one that their country has not been prepared to make before. the north koreans are carrying a personal letter from kim jong—un to donald trump and tomorrow in washington they will make a remarkable journey, walking through the doors of the white house to deliver it. and just a week after cancelling

the summit, the president has now indicated there could be multiple meetings. hopefully we will have a meeting on the 12th, it's going along very well, but i want it to be meaningful. it doesn't mean it gets all done at one meeting, maybe after a second or third, and maybe we'll have none, but it is in good hands, that i can tell you. whether the two sides even agree on what is meant by denuclearisation is still unclear, but it does look increasingly likely that air force one will soon be on a flight path to singapore. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. so an optimistic outlook about the potential us — north korean summit going ahead. but within the last hour north korea's state news agency has said that the country's leader kim jong—un has agreed to hold a summit with russia. the announcement followed a visit to north korea by the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov. earlier i was able to ask our

state department correspondent, barbara plett usher, how the us will react to this announcement. i think probably with wariness because it brings another major power into the picture. the foreign minister of russia sergei lavrov has beenin minister of russia sergei lavrov has been in pyeongchang meeting with the north koreans and offered this invitation to visit moscow and a p pa re ntly invitation to visit moscow and apparently it has been accepted. it's not clear when exactly he will go. it would probably be easier for the prospect of a summit success if he went afterwards but it's something the americans will be keeping an eye on. also the north koreans state news agency quoted him as saying he wanted to solve the issues on a stage by stage basis. which is again something the americans don't want. they want

quite rapid and concrete disarmament before offering any sanctions relief. but the russians, sergei lavrov has offered support for this phased approach the north koreans wa nt to phased approach the north koreans want to take. i think it shows that with any negotiations they will still be quite difficult even at the summit with donald trump does go ahead. we are hopeful about that, quite expectant about what will be in the letter the north korean delegation will hand over to the president. we expect that later on friday? yes, that letter will be delivered so that's a sign that the summit seems to be back on track even though it's not been officially announced yet. but last week to remember when president trump cancelled the summit he did so by writing kim jong—un a letter saying conditions where inappropriate because of the hostile and angry state m e nts because of the hostile and angry statements but if mr kim had a change of heart he should feel to

write or call. it seems that kim jong and has taken him up on that and written a letter and that is what the general will be delivering, againa sign what the general will be delivering, again a sign i think of the success of the talks here in new york trying to get, trying to prepare the groundwork for the summit going ahead. that meeting with north korea is not the only thing preoccupying the us president. president trump has made good on a campaign promise by slapping hefty tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium. we were always expecting that. but the countries the president has targeted with these tariffs have caused quite a stir. allies including the eu, canada and mexico are on the list. and they've been quick to promise retaliatory measures. here's what the canadian prime ministerjustin trudeau had to say. the american administration has made a decision today that we deplore, and obviously is going to lead to retaliatory measures, as it must but we regret that.

we would much rather live together in partnership, with the understanding that no two countries have an agreement as mutually beneficial as canada and the united states. justin trudeau. also making news today: italy looks like it's finally about to get a new government. guiseppe conte say he's accepted an offer, the second, to lead a governing coalition. last week he turned the job down when the president vetoed his choice for economy minister. the announcement ends weeks of political uncertainty that have spooked european financial markets, as our europe editor explains. we now have the 5—star seeing agreement has been reached, they have ministers ready and are ready with the italian president so it's just seen as a matter of hours before the government can be formally announced. and another political crisis

in southern europe is brewing, with spain's prime minister, mariano rajoy fighting for his political life. the opposition socialists are trying to remove him with a motion of no—confidence over corruption allegations. a small basque nationalist party says it will back the move. and their five votes should be enough to topple mr rajoy, as soon as friday. a british man has pleaded guilty to terrorism charges over a plot to attack britain's prince george. 32—year—old husnain rashid posted information online encouraging jihadis to carry out attacks on the four—year—old prince at his school in south—west london. rashid was told to expect a very lengthy prison sentence. the threat from volcanic eruptions on hawaii's big island shows no sign of easing. these pictures show another lava fountain spewing some 60 metres into the air. and this fast moving molten stream from kilauea volcano, is cutting a path through everything in its way. the new eruptions have forced more

people from their homes. defence ministers from across the world are gathering in singapore this weekend for the international institute for strategic studies shangri la dialogue — the region's leading security and defence summit. both the us secretary of defence, james mattis, and india's prime minister, narendra modi, will be speaking at the event. high on the agenda will be the north korean nuclear crisis. our correspondent karishma vaswani caught up with the tim huxley, the executive director of the iiss and asked him what the us‘s priorities in the region are. the first task for an american leader in this region when he's talking about america's security role is to provide reassurance to america's allies, partners and other

countries that would like to see the united states continuing its regional security role on a long—term basis. regional security role on a long-term basis. it does seem that any form of demutualisation would come with some sort of us withdrawal from the region, how do you view that as a scenario? that would be deeply disturbing for south korea andjapan deeply disturbing for south korea and japan because they would be left to defend themselves more than is the case at the moment. i think the united states will need to be very careful to reassure off south korea andjapan careful to reassure off south korea and japan about the nature of any deal with north korea. and japan about the nature of any dealwith north korea. narendra modi is the keynote speech at this dialogue, how much of the counterbalance can india posted china? i think the indication is

that india wants to cooperate as much as possible with china. i don't think india is predisposed to getting into an arms race with china. however china is doing some very disturbing things in india's backyard so i think this predisposes india to collaborate more closely with other partners, japan and australia as well as the united states. but i don't think india is going to be enthusiastic about entering into any sort of arrangement that might look like some effort to contain china. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme:

the new zealand comedian using his act to save the lives of young people with depression. also on the programme: why thailand's authorities are closing a hollywood paradise in order to save it from tourists. tributes have been paid around the world to muhammad ali who has died at the age of 7a. outspoken but rarely outfought he transcended the sport of boxing of which he was three times world champion. he was a good fighter and he fought all the way to the end. yes he did. you waive an indefinite ban on english clu bs waive an indefinite ban on english clubs playing in europe. todayis today is the 20th anniversary of the

release of the beatles lp sergeant pepper '5 lonely hearts club band, a re cord pepper '5 lonely hearts club band, a record described as the album of the century. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories. on friday a letter from north korea's leader will be hand delivered to president donald trump at the white house — it'll be another step facilitating a summit in singapore. the european union, canada and mexico say they will retaliate against the united states for pressing ahead with tariffs on imported steel and aluminium. and "all the good women — have already been snapped up". that's just one of a number of excuses given by top companies in the uk for not appointing women to senior positions. the excuses have been released as part of a report commissioned by the british government into gender balance.

others included "we have one woman already" and "the issues are extremely complex" — that story is popular on bbc.com let's ta ke a look at some front pages from around the world. starting with the financial times, which is leading with the trade war we reported on earlier, with the eu, canada and mexico. it's headline reads "us fires first shots in trade war with allies" and says we'll probably see a tit—for—tat round of tariffs over the new tax on steel and aluminium imports. over to japan, where the japan times is focussing on those high—level talks between the us secretary of state and senior north korean official. there's mike pompeo showing the north koreans the view in new york. and the new york times has a story about a search and rescue mission for a wooden boat carrying rohingya refugees. it's front page is dominated by this photo of the search

in international waters off the andaman sea — the refugees were trying to reach malaysia — but were reportedly intercepted by myanmar authorities. now kasia what stories are sparking discussions online? still causing a shock reaction online, the surprise announcement by zinedene zidan. fans are stunned that the coach of real madrid football team has decided to step down less than a week after leading the spanish club to a third straight champions league triumph. many are saying "gracias" to him on social media, acknowledging his achievements and describing him as a legend. the indian prime minister narendra modi has arrived in singapore on a three—day visit at the invitation of prime minister lee hsien loong. before arriving in singapore he's been in malaysia where he met his newly—elected

counterpart mahathir mohamad and before that indonesia where both countries signed a number of pacts to enhance ties. subramanya jaishanker, the former foreign secretary of india joined me here in the studio earlier. i asked him what prime minister modi hoped to achieve on his visit. i think the important part is that within three, four months of the asian summit in delhi is here in singapore which has been a gateway for india and asia. he was in malaysia are very early to meet the new prime minister, he had a very solid visit to indonesia. so overall i think the fact that you have an indian prime minister here indicates a priority, indicates a degree of commitment which i think welcome is very much. how much of this commitment is a counter to the rise of china in this

region? i would not necessarily see this as countering china, if you look at the economic stakes, the security sta kes, economic stakes, the security stakes, the fact we have a community here, the fact that there is a very strong indian cultural influence here, i think all of that really, india isa here, i think all of that really, india is a player on its own right. we know that india is playing a much more strategic role in the region. the prime minister is due to give a speech on this later today. but how much is india now playing somewhat supportive role to the us to try to counter the rise in china particularly when the us is starting to use language like the indo pacific? work, the us may have started using the language, the language has been around for a number of years. and again, i think

what you are seeing in many ways is the rise of india, an increase in its influence and a willingness to step forward to take on responsibilities. i again would emphasise that rather than see it negatively in terms of countering someone negatively in terms of countering someone there is merit i think, i think there has long been a viewpoint that india should step forward more. they would like to see a greater indian security presence and economic presence. the fact is today that the bulk of india's trade comes from the east of india, so does a lot of its natural resources. if you could tell us a little bit about what he is due to talk about in this strategic speech he is due to deliver? work, you know, my sense is the message would be of india as

a stabilising force. and while we are right now speaking i would draw your attention to the fact that one month ago prime minister had a informal summit and a good meeting and the message out of it was that india and china need to stabilise their relationship and become a factor of stability in what is a very uncertain world. it may come as a surprise to hear that new zealand has the worst teenage suicide rate in the developed world. last year, 155 teenagers killed themselves. stand—up comedian mike king has used comedy all his life to hide his own problems with drugs, alcohol and mental health. now mike is leading a movement to change the way depression is dealt with. i've put up a post on facebook,

suddenly people are liking it and you'd think that feels good, i am being liked. then someone writes expert of mac often associated with some sight of suicide or are thinking. how many people in this room right now are in a great stage of their life and feeling good about themselves, stand up. thank you, sits down. how many people here are struggling right now, please stand up. look around. look around. these are the brave ones. i am a stand-up comedian for over 20 years but my whole life my comedy has been unmasked. most of your parents know me as a brash, overconfident, is wary stand—up comedian. what your parents probably don't know about me is i am a drug direct. iam

don't know about me is i am a drug direct. i am an alcoholic. and i've had self—esteem issues for most of my life. last year 155 young people took their lives in our country. 155. having problems and thoughts won't kill you. but holding onto those problems and holding onto those thoughts, thinking you're the only one that goes through it, that's the killer. a lot of people tell me suicide, depression, mental health is not subject to be joked about. the problem was that is it creates fear. like our kids don't know what suicide is, they know what it is. they know what suicide is. there are friends are doing it. there are two things are kids want,

they want to be loved and more importantly they want to know that there are thoughts and opinions are valued by their significant adults in their life and it's not happening. we just need to love ourselves. i meani we just need to love ourselves. i mean i don't love myself yet but i can tell you what, i'm starting to like myself a little bit. fora time — it was one of the world's most famous beaches. a secluded bay in thailand, featured in the film ‘the beach', has been closed by the authorities to protect it from environmental damage. the thousands of tourists who flock to maya bay are now threatening the coral and marine life around it. steve holden from the bbc‘s newsbeat reports. in the film, leonardo dicaprio's character richard,

stumbles across paradise. in reality, it's now become an extremely busy paradise. thousands of tourists descend here on maya bay on koh phi phi every day are getting that photo to make it look like you are the only one here, well that's tricky. we came here, we didn't think it would be this busy, but it still really good, isn't it? yeah, really good. have you managed to take a photo where you're the only ones in it? no, literally that's what we're trying to do now near the long—tailed boats, it's so difficult. literally. you can see, it's so busy. most tourists only stay for couple of hours before leaving on one of the many boats that dock here. but environmentalists say that is damaging what's under the water. a decision was made earlier this year to shut maya bay

from the beginning ofjune. when it opens four months later, the plan is to cap visitor numbers to around half what they are now and ban speedboats from docking in the bay. i think we just thought we were entering some serene, empty white beaches by ourselves and if you look around, its not so empty, but it's still beautiful. thailand is receiving more tourists year on year and some say that means it's notjust maya bay that needs protecting. when danny boyle made the beach he probably didn't think maya bay would become the draw that it is today. tourism brings huge amounts of money into thailand, but authorities have to make sure that doesn't come at a cost to the environment in the long—term, otherwise the very beauty people come here for could be ruined for ever. steve holden, bbc news, koh phi phi. you have

been watching newsday. stay with us. we'll be taking a more in depth look at those us tariffs on steel and aluminium, as the european union, canada and mexico pledge to hit back. now you'll remember we showed you yesterday some pictures of the world's largest known freshwater pearl. well it fetched more than $370,000 at auction in the netherlands. it was owned by the russian empress, catherine the great, and is believed to have been formed in chinese waters in the eighteenth century. and if you think it looks a little,like an animal, well you're right. it's known as the sleeping lion. yesterday's thunderstorms took a

while to get going but once they did they brought a lot of rain and lightning. the storms initiated around sussex before spreading across central and southern england, the south midlands and wales and the south—west. lots of lightning, torrential downpours, reports of problems around bristol but some of the worst of it in west sussex. it just wasn't cricket here. a lake with a boundary should be. and amber weather warning is in force until six o'clock this morning so we could still have a few more issues. but the liveliest of the showers working across wales. you might still have some heavy downpours here over the next few hours, otherwise a lot of murky weather, low cloud, mist and fog patches not just murky weather, low cloud, mist and fog patches notjust around the coastline but also across some of the hills. a mild and muggy night, quite grey and grew: a. the low

cloud, mist and fog taking a lot of time to burn away and thin out. as we head scotla nd scotland in the firing line, northern ireland, north—west england and parts of wales. could see around 30 millimetres of rainfall and in the space of our buck or two or three hour period if you are unlucky there will be communities which could see flooding problems again where we could get around 50, 60 millimetres of rain, enough to cause the flooding problems we saw on thursday for example. tim butcher wise it will be muggy, low to mid 20s. first of the roundabout continue north the weather will become more settled and dry in the south. here is the weather picture, saturday starting on a gloomy note for many particularly across north—eastern areas, a gloomy start of the day generally in scotland but through the afternoon there will be

thunderstorms breaking out, scotland, northern ireland and parts of northern england seen the worst of northern england seen the worst of those, further south moor in the way of sunshine probably starting to feel a bit warmer given the sunshine will be that bit more strong with less cloud around. the trend continues into sunday, probably the better of the two days weather—wise. showers not far from southwest wendland 12 across scotland but for most of us sunday will be a dry day with the sunshine slowly breaking through during the afternoon. warmer in the south with 25 celsius in london. this is bbc news. our top story. the right hand man of north korea's leader is to hand deliver a letterfrom mr kim to president donald trump at the white house on friday. the american secretary of state said real progress was made during talks in new york — but refused to confirm a summit mr kim and president trump was going ahead. key us allies have said they'll retaliate against washington for its decision to press ahead with steel and aluminium tariffs. the eu, canada and mexico say

they'll impose duties. and this story is trending on bbc.com. fans of real madrid have been stunned by zinedine zidane's decision to step down as team coach, less than a week after leading the spanish club to a third straight champions league football triumph. many fans have been saying "gracias" on social media. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk. torrential rain is lashing large parts of the uk as severe thunderstorms hit, causing flooding and