i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines — donald trump sides with vladimir putin over claims russia meddled in american elections, implying his own intelligence services got it wrong. president putin, hejust said it's not russia. i will say this, i don't see any reason why it would be. mr trump says the summit marks a change in the relationship but there's been a scathing reaction in washington. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme — an angry mob slaughters nearly 300 crocodiles at a sanctuary in indonesia. police say they were unable to stop it. and it's party time in paris as hundreds of thousands of people turn out to welcome france's world cup winners home. it's 8am in singapore,

1am in london and 3 in the morning in helsinki where the us president donald trump has held an unprecedented and controversial meeting with the russian president vladimir putin. mr trump appeared to side with russia against his own security services, saying he had no reason to disbelieve mr putin's denial that moscow interfered in the 2016 presidential election. that's prompted alarm in washington, even among republicans. our north america editorjon sopel begins our coverage of the meeting from helsinki. as befitting two self—proclaimed strongmen, there was a power—play from the off. vladimir putin arriving almost rudely late into finland... it was a bit late...

..leaving donald trump kicking his heels for nearly an hour. but then, against the constant whirr of camera shutters, they sat down at the presidential palace in helsinki to start their discussion. i think we have great opportunities together, as two countries that, frankly, we have not been getting along very well for the last number of years. i've been here not too long. and i really think the world wants to see us get along, we are the two great nuclear powers, we have 90% of the nuclear — and that's not a good thing, it's a bad thing. and i think we hopefully can do something about that. translation: the time has come to talk in a substantive way about our bilateral relations, and the many problem areas of the world. with rather fewer cameras present, the two men met for the formal handshake. they then sat alone, just them and their translators, for two hours, before

the working lunch. i think it's a good start. which turned into a media scrum, until the secret service had had enough. excuse me, excuse me! and there was a small fracas before the news conference began — a man sitting next to me was evicted, who'd planned to hold up placards. but then the two leaders appeared, and while not going as far as to claim it was a new dawn, the president was happy to say today had been a turning point. our relationship has never been worse than it is now. however, that changed, as of about four hours ago. i really believe that. of all the people donald trump has picked fights with, vladimir putin isn't one of them. was that because of collusion during the election? nonsense, says vladimir putin. which has led to questions as to

whether there was russian collusion in the 2016 election. nonsense, says vladimir putin. translation: can you name a single fact that would definitely prove the collusion? this is utter nonsense. nonsense, said donald trump. just to say it one time again, and i say it all the time, there was no collusion, i didn't know the president, there was nobody to collude with. and also this uncomfortable question. does the russian government have any compromising material on president trump or his family? translation: yes, i did hear these rumours that we did collect compromising material on mr trump. when president trump was in moscow back then, i didn't even know he was in moscow. i treat president trump with utmost respect. but forget collusion, what about simple russian interference? something, after all, that 12 russian intelligence agents were indicted for last week? would you now, with the world watching, tell president putin that you denounce what happened in 2016 and that you want him to never do it again? all i can do is ask the question.

my people came to me, dan coates came to me, and some others, they said, they think it's russia. i have president putin, he just said it's not russia. i will say this, i don't see any reason why it would be. he ducked and deflected all questions on russian meddling, blaming the fbi, the democrats, refusing to blame the russians. the president has left helsinki and is on his way back to washington. if he hoped the summit would allow him to move on from questions of russian interference, he is in for a nasty surprise when he lands back in dc. well, the two leaders pictured together is dominating the headlines in the world's morning's papers. more on that coming up, but what has the reaction been in washington? 0ur correspondent, david willis is in washington with more. condemnation from both sides of the political aisle, a lot of talk of throwing

the american intelligence agencies under the bus, if you like. we would expect to have condemnation perhaps from democrats and indeed the senate minority leader chuck schumer said this was a shameful performance on the part of president trump, in his words. but more significantly perhaps republicans coming out against it. newt gingrich, a one—time adviser to donald trump, a republican of course, you know, someone of great stature here in washington saying in a tweet a short while ago, president trump must clarify his statements in helsinki on our intelligence system and putin is the most serious mistake of his presidency and must be corrected immediately. now the former director of the cia john brennan said this was not short of treasonous.

and we have seen fellow republicans like paul ryan and mitch mcconnell also seeking to distance themselves from the sentiments expressed by donald trump today. 0ne statement really stands out to me, that is from the director of national intelligence, dan coates, who says we have been clear in our assessments of russia. so he is not backing down in his belief, and it is the belief of many, more less all people in the intelligence services here that russia was to blame for meddling in those elections in 2016. given that level of criticism from both sides, then, david, what might that mean for donald trump when he returns home? well i think he will be confronted with a lot of obviously unfavourable headlines and some fend mencing to be done among members of his own party. that said, they have their plate. —— that said, they have their plates full.

there are domestic issues such as the confirmation of the supreme courtjudge, they have the mid—term elections coming up. so they won't want to betray much in the way of disunity. but once all that is a way, the dust settles on this, it is possible then that these gaps may begin to widen and we will see serious dissent to president trump. also making news today — the british government has narrowly avoided defeat in two key parliamentary votes on the details of brexit. ministers decided to accept amendments demanded by brexit hardliners about future trade with the eu. they would make it more difficult to integrate the uk's trade with the european single market after brexit. pro—europe conservative mps, accused theresa may of bending to pressure. the japanese prime minister is expected to sign a free—trade deal with the european union at a summit in tokyo which will remove almost all tariffs and, for the first time, adopt international car standards. the eu council president donald tusk and commission head jean—claude juncker are in japan to sign the deal on tuesday. a reuters journalist charged with breaching myanmar‘s

0fficial secrets act is due to testify in court in yangon later. a colleague, accused of the same charges, testified that a policeman phoned him the day he was arrested and insisted on a meeting where he was given documents, unsolicited. both men have pleaded not guilty. the men were investigating alleged army massacres of ethnic rohingya in rakhine state when they were arrested last year. now to some extraordinary pictures from thorncomb beacon in dorset in the south of england. a paraglider pilot has been rescued after crashing into a cliff. the pilot, who's in his late 20s, was found on a narrow ledge around 80 metres up the cliff on sunday afternoon. a coastguard team abseiled down the cliff and hauled the man up to the top. a mob of angry villagers has slaughtered almost 300 crocodiles

from a breeding sanctuary in indonesia. they said it was in retaliation for the death of a local man last friday, believed to have been attacked by a crocodile. a warning, andrew plant's report contains some distressing scenes. dozens of people from an indonesian village pulling together the rope, hauling a crocodile over the walls of a sanctuary based here, then dragging it across a field. this is what happened next to every animal inside the farm. almost 300 crocodiles in all. youngsters and adults killed with hammers and knives. even the arrival of local police failed to stop the slaughter. translation: these were spontaneous actions from residents around the area who entered the farm and killed the crocodiles. we tried to stop them but it had already been done. the massacre, 292 crocodiles

in total, happened here, indonesia's far—eastern province of west papua, near sorong. local people broke in after a man was killed by a crocodile here last week. translation: i think what we did was right. it is better that this kind of animal is kept in places far away, in the nearby forest, for instance, so that it is safer for people and those who have livestock and farms. the crocodiles were a protected species. killing them is a crime, though no arrests have been made. the world cup champions have returned home to a hero's welcome. the french squad arrived in paris on monday, where they were greeted by tens—of—thousands of supporters lining the famous champs—elysees. france beat croatia 11—2 in sunday's final, winning their first world cup since the country hosted the tournament in 1998.

the bbc‘s lucy williamson has more. this is the road that turns world champions into national heroes. france's victory parade along the champs—elysees, a moment for the winners to bask in the adulation. this team has sent back an image france can be proud of. young, triumphant, full of hope. notjust an emblem of glory, but also what it means to be french. ifeel very, very proud to be french, and ifeel incredible. i am so excited to be here with everyone else. it is a unique moment. i am proud of this team of france and it is very important for us to see them. the faces of france's young heroes were projected last night onto the war memorial, a rare showcase of multicultural france. in moscow last night,

the team coach, didier deschamps, himself a player in france's world cup win two decades ago, was honoured with a song, and a bath of champagne. back home, they did things differently — a metro station that once began champs—elysees temporarily changed to honour his name. and president macron, who went to congratulate them, has invited them all to the presidential palace. leaving russia this morning, one of the team admitted it was all still sinking in. translation: when we reached the semifinals, we started to think maybe we would bring the cup home. it turned out well. we could feel the excitement and we made it. hard to process in croatia, too. the crowds here less jubilant, but still supportive. a country of 4 million honouring their team placed second in the world. the last time france enjoyed this moment,

some of its new stars weren't even born. now a new generation is out to celebrate a fraternity that represents all of france. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. congratulations to the french national team. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme — to sink or not to sink? we'll hear from one marine expert on his views about sinking old oil rigs rather than bringing them to ground. also on the programme — india's supreme court is set to decide whether to decriminalise homosexuality. we'll look at what that might mean for the country's lgbt community. the flamboyant italian fashion designer, gianni versace, has been shot dead in florida.

the multimillionaire was gunned down outside his home in the exclusive south beach district of miami. emergency services across central europe are stepping up their efforts to contain the worst floods this century. nearly 100 people have been killed. broadway is traditionally called the great white way by americans, but tonight it's completely blacked out. it's a timely reminder to all americans of the problems the energy crisis has brought to them. 200 years ago today, a huge parisian crowd stormed the bastille prison, the first act of the revolution which was to topple the french monarchy. today, hundreds of thousands thronged the champs—elysee for the traditional military parade. finally, fairy penguins have been staggering ashore and collapsing after gorging themselves on huge shoal of their favourite food, pilchards. some had eaten so much they could barely stand. this is newsday on the bbc.

i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: donald trump says he believes vladimir putin's claim that russia never meddled in us elections, putting him at odds with his own intelligence services. mr trump also said relations between moscow and washington had never been worse, but that the helsinki summit had started to change that. and george clooney earned more money than any other actor in a calendar year according to forbes magazine, bringing in $239 million in the last 12 months. and you can find a story online. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. between presidents putin and trump is dominating the headlines.

—— and you won't be surprised to find out that the summit between presidents putin and trump is dominating the headlines. the south china morning post quotes mr trump as saying that the relationship, which has been strained by allegations of election meddling, and the conflict in syria, is back on track. singapore's straits times also focuses on events in helsinki. it shows mr putin handing over a ball from the russian world cup as a gift, and says mr trump hailed a change in the relationship. china daily also carries a picture of the two leaders shaking hands after successful talks. but it gives pride of place to the chinese president, xijinping, and how he used a meeting with eu leaders to call for more to be done to protect free trade. those are the papers. a british cave diver

who helped rescue 12 thai boys earlier this month says he may sue the tech entrepreneur, elon musk. vern unsworth's knowledge of the caves is said to have played a crucial part in the rescue operation. he says he's considering legal action after mr musk tweeted a baseless slur against him. here's david campanale. the divers who helped rescue 12 thai boys and a football coach from deep within the cave have almost universally been acclaimed as heroes, but not by everyone. entrepreneur elon musk played down their achievement, saying they could have simply swum to the cave to get the boys without even using any diving gear. the tech billionaire appeared irritated that the rescue mission rejected an offer of a mini submarine built by mr musk to assist in the effort. the row escalated when he then sent a tweet, apparently making baseless slur against vern unsworth, a british cave diver based in thailand who'd ridiculed the submarine idea, calling it a pr stunt. mr unsworth condemned the tweet.

i don't really understand it. obviously it's a bruised ego. at the end of the day, we were here to rescue 12 young boys. unsworth had travelled into the caves in the first days after the boys went missing and helped bring in top international cave rescue experts for the mission. the british diver says he might now sue the billionaire. hopefully get a copy of the tweet later, and, yeah, not finished. i'll take advice when we get back to london. legal advice? yep. the tweet sent out to elon musk‘s 22 million followers has now been deleted but he still says he's planning to send his submarine to the now—empty cave just to prove it could be done. mr unsworth has previously said the billionaire can stick his submarine where it hurts. for the boys, continuing their recovery in hospital, their priority is returning home.

they're expected to be discharged to their families on thursday. david campanale, bbc news. what happens to oil rigs when they outlive their usefulness? up to now, it's generally been agreed that the seabed should be returned to its previous state, before the rigs were there. but now researchers from the university of technology in sydney say decommissioned oil rigs can benefit the marine environment and could be left in place to establish artificial habitats for sea life. earlier, i asked the report's co—author, professor david booth, from the university of technology in sydney, if the new approach suggested by his study put the sea bed at risk of becoming a dumping ground. what this particular study that i was involved in, was sort of a summary by over 200 experts, looking at what happens if they are there in the first place, what is the next thing to do if they need to be decommissioned? is the best thing to remove it?

that would be commonsense, you'd think, yes, you'd remove them, but there are significant environmental costs sue its a case—by—case thing and we feel either option like keeping it in place in certain circumstances should be considered. so, which particular species can survive with these oil rigs being left in the oceans? well, in fact, they're often put in places where there isn't much hard substrate, not much reef around, so if you put one out, it soon gets encrusted with marine life and that attracts little fish and then big fish and seals and things, and you'll find that after 30 or a0 years, these structures are really almost entities in themselves and often provide a home to many rare species sojust ripping them out at that point can be problematic, not to mention a huge carbon cost in doing that, so all we are saying is, look at the different options and in the north sea, pretty much the default is remove or else. looking at the different options, yes, but you also have a lot of critics who are saying it's also just an opportunity for oil

companies to save money and not natural for sea life to live in hard structures like these. sea life does prosper in these sorts of things and when they're 30 or a0 years old, pretty much all you see is being crusting reef and most of the structure may have disappeared. so i agree with the critics that you need to be very careful in doing this but there is quite a loss in removing structures that are already there. professor david booth. "against the order of nature," is how section 377 of india's penal code describes gay sex. the law, which is a relic of british rule, outlaws homosexuality and puts it on a par with bestiality. now the country's supreme court is poised to repeal it, after india's conservative government signalled it wouldn't stand in the way. joe miller reports from delhi. 0ut, proud, and eager to flaunt it. lawyers and chefs by day, by night,

delhi's drag queens are challenging one of india's strongest social taboos. the whole idea is to be fearless, is to accept yourself, and the more people who come out with an orientation and people who are comfortable in their own skin, the better it is for the whole community. 0n the city streets, being openly gay is still a risk. returning from a wedding late one night, this man, who asked not to be named, says he became a target. translation: a police officer stopped me, took my phone and noted down all my family contacts. he later asked for a bribe of 10,000 rupees or else he'll tell my family that i'm gay. the law has become a tool for them to extort money. the bbc has spoken to three more gay men who claim they too were harassed, extorted or sexually abused by police officers who exploited india's ban on homosexuality.

and it's many harrowing stories like those that activists hope will finally convince india's highest court to once and for all consign this colonial law to history. delhi police did not respond to requests for comment but a member of india's governing party says blackmail does occur, but lays the blame squarely on gay men. police officers come to know these things, if somebody had celebrated it, or made a proposition, but if it was kept absolutely private, a police officer wouldn't know. campaigners say such attitudes are hampering the fight against hiv and fear of arrest leads to an underreporting of crimes witnessed by gay men. for them, a decision from india's top judges can't come soon enough. joe miller, bbc news, new delhi. you have been watching newsday. coming up: netflix shares fall

sharply after its subscriber growth disappointed investors. we ask, how much more the streaming service can grow? and, before we go, the party continues in france tonight. this was paris earlier, where hundreds of thousands of people crammed themselves onto the champs—elysees, to get a glimpse of the world cup champions parading the trophy they won in moscow. but, not to be outdone, luka modric and his croatia team—mates were given a rapturous welcome home after their world cup mission had come upjust short. the squad flew back to zagreb to a red carpet welcome before boarding an open—top bus where thousands of fans had gathered to welcome them home. that's all for now. stay with bbc world news. hello there.

monday was a day of contrast for the weather here in the uk. we had the searing heat in the east and temperatures pushed 32 degrees celsius at gravesend in kent. but for further north and west, for many areas, it was a fresher day. we had a weather front across us. and this is how it looked in north yorkshire through the afternoon. now, that weather front is a cold weather front, it's been pushing its thundery rain eastwards and northwards through the night and because it's called a cold weather front, yes, you guessed it, it is introducing cooler air so we will notice a fresher feel to the weather into tuesday except for the far south and east, but there will still be some thundery rain around north—eastern areas first thing and certainly through shetland. but a much more comfortable night i think will have passed for many of us and the coming few nights should be a bit more comfortable as well, because not are we cooling the air down, we are losing the humidity. a lovely start to the day,

plenty of sunshine which will clear any mist quite quickly. the cloud will tend to bubble up, fair weather cloud and will produce a few showers through the afternoon, particularly across northern england. scotland, there could be some heavy ones, slow—moving ones across the north and east with a light winds and very few showers elsewhere. but in contrast to monday, temperatures will be notably down across england and wales and it won't feel quite so intense, the heat. still lovely and warm, though, in the sunshine. and more of that will follow as we move into wednesday, that high pressure building again, so another comfortable night tuesday into wednesday, and plenty of sunshine first thing, any mist, as we will see this morning, clears quickly and we will see a scattering of showers, mostly in the west, possibly in scotland, one or two heavy ones as well but by and large, the exception rather than the rule. temperatures will start recover a little bit as we see more heat coming in from the sun than we lose. so temperatures are creeping up a degree on wednesday. they'll creep up another degree on thursday, with high pressure with us. very few showers, but later, thursday into friday, we'll watch the approach of this low pressure, giving us a bit of headache all week, but it looks like it

will bring showery rain, mostly to scotland, to northern ireland, possibly northern parts of england and wales but for the bulk of england and wlaes, again, it will be quite hot and dry, temperatures exceeding those of thursday by another degree and a little bit of brightness between the showery rain further north as well. and with high pressure re—establishing itself towards the weekend, it will push the unsettled weather away. and, actually, there will be a lot of dry and fine weather. but you can see the risk of quite a bit of cloud into saturday in the north and west, particularly scotland, but at the moment, the weekend is looking very promising, particularly in central and southern areas. i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story — president trump has met president vladimir putin in helsinki and said he believes putin's claim that moscow has never meddled in american elections. there's been a scathing reaction in the united states, from many republicans and democrats alike who expressed dismay that president trump cast doubt on the reliability of us intelligence agencies. hundreds of thousands

of people have crammed ono the champs elysees in paris, to welcome france's world cup winning team home. and this story is trending on bbc.com. george clooney has set a new record for the highest earnings by an actor in a calendar year according to forbes magazine. he made an estimated $239 million — though much of that was due to the sale of his tequila business. that's all. stay with bbc world news. and the top story in the uk — theresa may, has narrowly won a series of votes in parliament to her brexit policy, after she accepted four amendments