this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: president trump backtracks on his comments about russia. just a slip of the tongue, he now says. the sentence should have been "i don't see any reason why it wouldn't be russia", sort of a double negative. with the boys from the thai cave about to be released from hospital, a mural thanking their rescuers is revealed. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: shocking footage of another aboriginal death in custody. a court sees video of the victim pinned down and unable to breathe. and from the track to the field. usain bolt is offered the chance to try out for an australian football team. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday.

thanks forjoining us. it's 8am in singapore, 1am in london and 8pm in washington dc, where president trump has backtracked in spectacularfashion after his meeting with president vladimir putin. mr trump said he now had no reason not to believe russia meddled in the 2016 election, after suggesting otherwise at a press conference in helsinki on monday. and he expressed faith in the verdict of us intelligence on the matter — another apparent reversal. it all follows heavy criticism in washington for his initial comments. chris buckler reports. with president trump, nothing comes without a little drama. even what some might regard as an apology. i have a full faith in our intelligence agencies. oops, theyjust turned off the light. that must be the intelligence agencies. after so much outrage,

he had little choice but to shed some new light on what he said in helsinki, as he appeared to support vladimir putin's claim that russia didn't meddle in america's presidential election. i would like to clarify just in case it wasn't. in a key sentence in my remarks, i said the word ‘would' instead of ‘wouldn‘t‘. the sentence should have been, ‘i don't see any reason why i wouldn't', or ‘why it wouldn't be russia'. but what mr trump did yesterday was to betray the women and men of the fbi, the cia, nsa and others, and to betray the american public, and that is why i use the term that this is nothing short of treasonous. former intelligence chiefs, political opponents and even several senior members of his own republican party had lined up to criticise the president, and question his claim that it's better to forget the past when there are real,

present—day concerns about russian activities. i understand the desire and the need to have good relations, that — that's perfectly reasonable, but russia is a menacing government that does not share our interests or our values. so should president trump be rebuked? i just... that was a question he didn't answer. germany is a captive of russia... but republicans were embarrassed by the stark contrast of the combative trump who angrily challenged old allies at the nato summit, compared to the president who appeared all too cosy with the old enemy and sided with president putin over his own intelligence agencies. hit with a shower of heavy criticism, president trump appears to have taken cover under the simple claim he misspoke. but voters in virginia seemed more than a little unsure of what exactly america's foreign policy is. it's look like we're being friendly with people we shouldn't be, and being not as friendly with people probably we should be. i think president trump

could have done a betterjob. but also, i realise he is not, you know, he is not a politician. i feel like we're in the dark on things, and we've been given twists from the president as far as this is true, this is not true. and with investigations still ongoing into allegations of interference and collusion, it's notjust the white house looking to shed light on what russia might have been responsible for. so how is president trump's explanation going down in washington? a short time ago, i spoke to our correspondent david willis in washington dc. it is a seismic u—turn, there is no other way to describe it. he said whoops, a slip of the tongue, i said one thing, and i meant to say another. he was reading from notes. he was clearly constructing this very carefully managed damage limitation

exercise in the face of the opprobrium that was raining down on him in the light of those remarks in helsinki on monday, and it was notjust the misspeaking if you like that has incensed people here and around the world, but also the fact that he referred to president putin as strong and also powerful. president trump also went on to say that he had full faith in his intelligence agencies and that his administration would be safeguarding the outcome of elections here, but senior republicans are still very much smarting from all this, they've wanted to make it clear that they want to be tough on russia. indeed, the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said today "a lot of us know what happened in 2016", referring to the russian meddling in the election there, "and it had better not happen again." as for the democrats, the senate majority —— minority leader chuck schumer called

president trump's reversal 2a hours too late. yeah, i mean the damage limitation exercise is what we saw today from donald trump. do you think now that he is going to be able to ride over this and put this behind him? you know what, i think that remains to be seen. republicans certainly now turning their attention more and more on russia, was democrats are focusing their attention on the president himself. where this plays with the base, i think really remains to be seen. there's a lot coming up that will, if you like, corral the republicans into a sense of unity if they did have misgivings is with president

trump's remarks and of course, many of them did. i'm talking about a new election to the supreme court, the elections are just around the corner, but after that we could see some real fractures in support for president trump, depending on what goes down between now and then. also this hour — south africa is marking 100 years since the birth of nelson mandela and the centrepiece of the celebrations has been a powerful speech by former us president, barack 0bama. mr 0bama was greeted by a crowd of 15,000 in johannesburg. he's made few public appearances since leaving the white house last year, but has often credited mandela for being one of the great inspirations in his life. the two men met briefly in 2005. let me tell you what i believe, i believe in nelson mandela's vision, i believe in a vision shared by gandhi and king and abraham lincoln, i believe in a vision of equality and justice and freedom and multiracial democracy, called on the promise that all people are created equal and our endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. --

and they are. the uk prime minister has won another crucial brexit vote against mps in her own party. theresa may's government fought off a challenge from a dozen pro—european conservative mps, who demanded the uk stays in a customs union in the event of no deal with the european union. but the government did lose a separate vote, that will force it to cooperate with the eu on the regulation of medicines after brexit. one of the most expensive films china has ever made has been pulled from cinemas after a dismal opening weekend. the fantasy epic, asura, cost more than $100 million, but tookjust $7 million in its first few days. it's thought the producers are planning to rework the movie, which took six years to make, and release it again. we've probably shown you lots of pictures of kim jong—un looking happy and pointing at things. but these images, released by north korean media, show a very different story.

kim jong—un is seen publicly berating officials during visits to project sites across the country. state media says kimjong—un was angry a power plant hadn't been finished after 17 years under construction, and that he was "appalled" bathtubs were "dirtier than fish tanks". you can almost feel the fear of the people standing next to him. analysts say kim wants to be seen as an economic reformer and not the one to blame for these delays. the 12 thai boys and their coach, who endured 17 days stranded in the darkness of a flooded cave in northern thailand, are to be exposed to the media glare of the outside world later, when they are expected to be discharged from hospital. obviously, there is eager anticipation in thailand to see the boys out of hospital after spending so long underground and to hear their story. howard johnson is in chiang rai, where he's been speaking to artists who are working on a mural telling the story of the legendary rescue operation. what we can see behind me are local artists putting the finishing touches to this mural of the heroes

of the rescue operation which saw the 12 boys and their coach freed from the cave. we can see behind us here, featured prominently is saman gunan, the former thai navy seal diver who tragically lost his life during this operation. now, earlier, we spoke to some locals who came along to look at the artwork. we spoke to one lady and she told us she was really pleased the boys were being discharged from hospital later, she said it was better than winning the lottery. what we've heard is that later on, the boys will leave around 1800 local time, we will see a press meeting held at a local office, and we will see some of the boys,

not all of them, speak to the media for the first time since this ordeal began. they have been vetted, questions have been vetted to make sure that none of them trigger any sort of ordeal or unhappy memories of what happened while they were in the cave. now after that, they will be able to return home to their friends and family for the first time in nearly a month since this ordeal began. we're joined now by the bbc‘s devina gupta in chiang rai, in northern thailand. is outside the hospital, where the boys will be discharged from. thank you very much forjoining us. everyone is indeed very excited with the release of the boys later today from the hospital in chiang rai, but a lot of psychologists are saying that aside from family support, they will need continued psychological support once outside again. absolutely because it has been nearly a month long ordealfor all these boys and their coach. right now, they on the eighth floor of this chiang rai regional hospital and they will be discharged today, evening. now, not all of them will be going to a news conference, they will be sharing their experience for the very first time of what happened

inside the cave. media outlets here have been asked to submit questions, so have been asked to submit questions, so these questions are being vetted bya so these questions are being vetted by a psychologist to ensure that they do not undergo the same mental trauma because that is the biggest challenge. we had been given to understand that their recovery has been faster than anticipated and thatis been faster than anticipated and that is why they are being released and discharged, pardon me, from the hospital a day earlier. but as the psychologist vets these questions, the main motive is to see that they are not troubled by the same memory. and interestingly, the family is also going to walk out with them from this hospital and at home in their home town, there is a lot of celebrations being planned. 0ne their home town, there is a lot of celebrations being planned. one of the boys turned a year older in the cave. his father spoke to the bbc and he said that they are keenly awaiting celebrations when they are back home, and there will be a competition between family members as to who gets too hold him first.

so one thing is for sure, that these boys and their coach, the world that greets them will be very different from the world they left when they walked inside the cave and they have to bea walked inside the cave and they have to be a support for each other, they way they were inside the cave, to ensure that they are able to cope with the real—life because it is not going to be an ordinary life than many more. and it is notjust about the boys, the coach also went to a lot physically and psychologically. absolutely, in fact, the coach has been appreciated by the members, the family members of the boys as well, for taking care of them. earlier, there was speculation that he could be held responsible for taking these boys inside the cave, but he has proven to be a mental for them, boys inside the cave, but he has proven to be a mentalfor them, he has taught them how to meditate inside the cave, he has even shared his food with them and when the rescue divers found the entire

group, the coach was the one who was the wea kest group, the coach was the one who was the weakest at that point in time and he was the last one to come out of the cave. he also sent a letter outside to the families, apologising to the family members, and the family members have been very encouraging, saying that we forgive you and thank you to taking care of oui’ you and thank you to taking care of our boys. so for this coach, 25 yea rs of our boys. so for this coach, 25 years of age or older, trained as a monk as well, it is going to be difficult journey monk as well, it is going to be difficultjourney ahead. monk as well, it is going to be difficult journey ahead. we monk as well, it is going to be difficultjourney ahead. we also know from media reports that he could meet his grandmother late in the coming week but he has been a mentalfor the coming week but he has been a mental for these boys and for him to come to terms to what exactly has happened in these three weeks will bea happened in these three weeks will be a challenging road to recovery. indeed, challenging days ahead for the boys and for the coach. thank you so much for updating us in chiang rai. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: an australian court investigates the death of an aboriginal man in custody, a case that has shocked the country. also on the programme:

the world's fastest man, usain bolt, has a new goal — to win a place on an australian football team. 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: president trump has said he accepts that russia tried to interfere in the 2016 us elections, directly contradicting what he said after meeting vladimir putin in helsinki. the 12 boys who were trapped in a cave complex in northern thailand are expected to be released from hospital later on wednesday. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the gulf news is dominated by american presidents

past and present. the picture shows barack 0bama on stage in south africa at an event to honour the memory of nelson mandela. but the lead story covers the backlash caused by president trump, as the newspaper puts it, aligning himself with vladimir putin. the philippine daily inquirer covers a plan to change the constitution, limiting presidenial terms in office. its main picture splash is mr putin and mr trump, with the headline that us lawmakers have ‘blasted' their summit. for the japan times, the lead story is a bit closer to home. it descibes the massive trade deal between japan and the european union. an inquest is being held into the death of an indigenous

australian man who died in custody after being pinned down by guards. as part of the case, shocking video footage has been shown in court of five officers restraining david dungayjunior. prison officers have denied their actions were excessive. the death of the 26—year—old has reignited long—simmering anger about the deaths of other indigenous australians in custody. indigenous adults are now 13 times more likely to be incarcerated than non—indigenous australians. the bbc‘s phil mercer is in sydney. he told me more about the background of the case. this is a coroner's hearing in sydney into the death of david dungay — he died at sydney's long bayjail in december 2015 and that video you refer to is pretty graphic in its content — showing prison guards rushing in to a cell at long bay jail and restraining david dungay. he is later transferred to another cell, where he is injected

with a sedative and throughout this he says on about a dozen occasions that he couldn't breathe and within minutes of being given that sedative he stopped breathing and died and that is the focus of this two—week inquest here in australia's biggest city. and also during that video, we heard him say he couldn't breathe and the prison officers said if you can talk, you can breathe. they said that they were not using excessive force. we said in the introduction that this is reigniting a debate about the treatment of indigenous australians in custody. just give us an idea of how serious that is a problem for australia. the prison guards who have been questioned at this inquest said that it wasn't excessive to ask a specialist squad to go into the cell. there were concerns that the inmate was eating biscuits that would elevate his blood sugar levels. he was mentally ill and a diabetic

and apparently he was becoming aggressive before the squad went in. as you say, this is highlighting the plight of indigenous australians in the criminaljustice system here in australia. aboriginal australians make up over a quarter of australia's prison population. generally speaking, indigenous australians make up about 3% of the national population, so clearly they are overrepresented in the criminaljustice system and this comes 25 years after a royal commission that investigated aboriginal deaths in custody and indigenous leaders in this country say that in that 25, 26 years or so since that landmark report, not enough has changed. just very briefly, when are we likely to get an outcome of this inquest? this is a two—week hearing before the inquest here in sydney. we are expecting to hear more evidence from prison guards, as well as other experts too.

the whole purpose of this is to try to shed some light on a terrible death in australia's — one of australia's biggest prisons. phil mercer in sydney speaking earlier to babita. eight—time olympic champion usain bolt is in talks for a trial to play football in australia. the jamaican former sprinter is negotiating a six—week stint with the central coast mariners, a deal could see him play for a season in australian football's a—league. the world's fastest man says right now his concerns are on how well he plays and not whom he plays for. earlier i spoke to shaun mielekamp, chief executive of the central coast mariners. i asked him if it was a done deal. it is extremely close.

we are very confident. we know we may not be the only club in the world looking at this with usain, but at the moment we have every confidence that this has every merit and likely to happen. usain bolt is not a traditional foot wall, he is a sprint king winning so many gold medals on the olympics stage, so why have him on the football team when there are much better players than him? that is why we are looking to do a trial to actually see what level he is at. he has trained at some of the biggest teams in the world, so when he comes out here we have also appointed mike phelan — a former assistant coach from manchester united to come over as a sporting director and oversee this programme — and if he is up for it, fantastic and if he is not, we will give him a lot of feedback about how he needs to improve. that's the most important thing, let's give him a chance to see how good he is. you have done your scouting reports, what have you read and seen so far? how skilled is usain bolt

as a football player? every report shows that when he starts training and over the course a period of time he dramatically improves. the feedback has been strong in that aspect. he has got a very good left foot which we are excited to see — and with some good coaching and some help, who knows? he could be absolutely fantastic. the deal is basically a six—week trial, so will boltjust be training with the mariners club or will he be given a chance to play an a—league professional game? we'll put him in into some preseason games, so he can deal with the rigours of football. if he can pass that test — everybody can see how good he is — he will either pass the trial or we will need to put some or work in. in the first place, how was he able to get into the picture of the a—league when borussia

dortmund is part of one of the best leagues in the world? look, all i can say is that i give full credit to the agent involved, a gentleman who has done an unbelievable effort here working with usain‘s management and understanding this — this has been going on for a good four or five months and hopefully it all plays out the way we want. everyone is excited to see sprint king bolt playing in germany or australia. that was the football's club's chief executive. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. facebook, google and twitter face accusations of bias and self—censorship on capitol hill. the latest session of the leaders of

the social media giant are facing questions from the housejudiciary committee about how they filter content and whether there is political bias in those decisions, something the companies have all denied. i am something the companies have all denied. iam babita something the companies have all denied. i am babita sharma something the companies have all denied. iam babita sharma here something the companies have all denied. i am babita sharma here in london. let's go back to our main story, the controversy of president trump's remarks in helsinki protesters have gathered in lafayette park outside the white house in washington to denounce the remarks of the president during his joint news conference with the russian president, vladimir putin, in helsinki on monday. that is what has got a lot of people up that is what has got a lot of people up in arms. but of course he has now backtracked spectacularly. we have got more on that to come here on bbc news. stay with us. hello there. well, depending on how you look at it, some lucky gardens have received some rainfall

during monday and tuesday, but the vast majority of the country on tuesday was dry with plenty of sunshine around, some glorious sunset scenes up and down the country. there were a few heavy showers around across northern scotland, this is a weather watchers view looking out off the coast of peterhead, with some downpours there across the water. these showers will continue to fizzle out during the early part of wednesday and then, generally speaking, most places will end up being dry first thing. variable amounts of cloud, some clear spells. quite a warm one across southern areas, but across scotland and northern england, a few chilly spots. certainly out to towns and cities. to wednesday, starting off on a larger dry note. again, for most places, it will be a dry afternoon as well. shower clouds will bubble up across northern and western areas, and like tuesday some of the heaviest ones could be across parts of scotland. maybe in the north and the south, a risk of seeing a thundery

downpour. maybe a few showers for northern ireland and a few as well across western england into wales, but the vast majority will be dry. plenty of sunny spells with light winds. it's going to feel a little bit warmer than it did on tuesday. across england and wales, generally around 23 to 26 celsius in the south—east, closer to 18—21 celsius for scotland and northern ireland. 0n into thursday, another largely dry day, good spells of sunshine and it is going to feel a bit warmer, but more of a breeze and cloud picking up across scotland and northern ireland ahead of this weather front, which will be slowly moving south eastwards. notice the deep orange colours building there across england and wales, temperatures will be significantly higher than at the start of the week, with perhaps one or two places in the south—east totalling 29 or 30 celcius. this is the weather system i was talking about. a tangle of weather fronts mixed in with it, it will bring more cloud, outbreaks of rain to the north—west of the uk, slowly sinking its way south eastwards, but it will be a weakening feature. more cloud across the northern half of the country with outbreaks of patchy rain into northern england and wales, weakening as it does so,

but then we could see maybe a few heavy showers moving to the south—east from the near continent. some of these could be thundery, so you have to keep tuned into the forecast. still a bit of uncertainty about this. quite warm in the south, fresher across the north, 18—20 degrees. that weather front, a weakening feature continues to move southwards, generally speaking for the weekend it's high—pressure that will be exerting its influence again. most places dry with a few patches of rain around and there should be plenty of sunshine around once again. i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story — donald trump has blamed a slip of the tongue for saying moscow did not meddle in american elections. his statement at the helsinki summit triggered outcry among american politicians.

but he has now said he has full faith in the us intelligence services' claim of russian interference. the families of the boys trapped in the thai cave are preparing for their homecoming. the boys are expected to be discharged from hospital later on wednesday. and the world's fastest man, usain bolt has set himself a new goal — to become a professionalfootballer. he's now been offered a trial by the central coast mariners in australia — and hopes to swap the track for the field permanently. that's all. stay with bbc world news. and the top story in the uk. theresa may has narrowly survived a commons vote on a key plank of her brexit proposals.