this is newsday, on the bbc. i'm rico hizon, in singapore. the headlines: russia rows back on controversial pension reforms. public pressure forces vladimir putin to think again. outrage from australia's aboriginal leaders, after former prime minister, tony abbott, is appointed special envoy on indigenous affairs. the community questions his track—record. i'm ben bland, in london. also in the programme: decades of conflict and thousands disappeared — one woman's search for truth in indian—administered kashmir. and women's wrestling conquers the world. we meet the new generation of wrestlers thrilling sell—out crowds. live from our studios in singapore

and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. good morning. it's 8am in singapore, 1am in london, and 3am in moscow, where earlier, russia's president, vladimir putin, tried to boost his approval ratings by speaking straight to the people. his popularity took a rare dive when his government introduced controversial plans to raise the state pension age. steve rosenberg has this report from moscow. vladimir putin rarely does this. a half—hour television address to the nation. it was an attempt to convince the russian people to accept that pension reform is unavoidable. translation: it is really impossible to postpone any longer. it could lead to serious

consequences for the economy and the social sphere and, most negatively, affect the destinies of millions of people. in recent weeks government proposals to raise the retirement age for men from 60 to 65 and for women from 55 to 63, have sparked protests across russia. and dented the president's popularity. in his tv address putin argued that an ageing population makes change unavoidable. but he's softened some aspect of the reform. but he's softened some aspects of the reform. translation: we have a special caring attitude to women in our country. we understand that they not only work at theirjobs but the whole household is usually reliant on them. the retirement age for women should not be increased more than for men. i believe it necessary to decrease the retirement age for women suggested by the draft law from eight to five years. until today vladimir putin

had distanced himself from pension reform. it was the russian government that announced the reform, it has been the russian parliament that has been debating it. well, after vladimir putin's half hour address to the nation, president putin has become the face of what has been an unpopular reform and it will be interesting to see how that affects his popularity in the weeks ahead. that will depend on whether the kremlin leader in his address to the nation has done enough to persuade russians to accept a painful reform. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. it has not been immediately clear if his intervention had defused anger. most television news presented it in

a positive light. these are some of the reactions from moscow. translation: from the beginning it was clear that the president's approval rating was falling, so this is marketing the raise it again. of course this was how it was supposed to end. translation: i believe that the pension reform is inevitable. the retirement age should increase because the population is aging and someone has to support the state. translation: a woman should not have to work. she should work only for her own pleasure. she brings up children, she is the keeper of her family's home. i would say that, thanks to women, our country is thriving, therefore women should have more privileges. translation: the government deprive people of freedon of choice. i expected that at the age of 60 it would be my right to work further or not. i have been deprived of this choice. that means i have to work for another five years. everybody has their own plan but, with the stroke of a pen, this has all been crossed out. let's take a look at some

of the day's other news: the most senior white house lawyer, don mcgahn, is to step down. president trump made the announcement in a tweet. earlier this month it was reported that mr mcgahn had cooperated extensively with the mueller investigation into possible collusion between the trump campaign team and russia during the presidential election. he has been talking to mueller over about a nine—month period and it is important to realise he did that with the approval of the president. there was a strategy pretty early on that ran something like this, the best way to shut this whole thing down is to be as open as possible, to flood the special counsel with documents, give him as much time with the white house counsel as possible. so he set down, we think, for about 30 hours with robert mueller. now, clearly, that strategy did not work in the end, and the president may have decided that there are other ways to approach this now,

with his new legal team, in the shape of rudy guiliani, the former mayor of new york. but mr mcgahn‘s departure has been trailled for some time. we think he will stay on for another couple of months because, at the moment, of course, there's the process going on of appointing a new supreme courtjustice. he has been intimately involved in drawing up the list for the people and the new nominee, brett kavanaugh, and i think he would want to see that through. certainly that is what the president implied in his tweet this morning. also making news today: the south korean international football star, son heung—min, is just one win away from being excused from military service. if south korea win the final of the asian games on saturday, it is likely the 26 year—old won't have to serve the obligatory two years. that's because south korea offers exemptions for a few prestigious sporting achievements and winning gold at the asian games is one. argentina has asked for the early release of

a $50 billion international bailout as it faces a growing economic crisis. in a televised address, president mauricio macri said quicker access to the imf funds would restore market confidence. the head of the international monetary fund says the organisation will work quickly with argentina to revise the government's plan to lift the country out of economic crisis. the body ofjohn mccain, the former us senator and republican presidential candidate, is lying in state in the arizona state capitol. people were able to view his casket throughout the day. it's the start of five days of memorial tributes in phoenix and washington for mr mccain, who died on saturday. prince harry and megan attended hamilton in support of the charity in london. it supports the mental

health and well—being of children and young people affected by hiv in botswa na. and young people affected by hiv in botswana. they met representatives from the charity as well as the author of hamilton. and finally look at these incredible pictures capturing the moment a fireball, believed to be a meteor, lit up the sky near perth, in western australia on tuesday. this amazing footage of the spectacle was caught by several dashboard cameras and also on cctv. scientists say it was a chunk of asteroid coming through the atmosphere, an event which only occcurs a couple of times a year. aboriginal leaders and opposition politicians in australia say they are outraged and disappointed over a proposal to appoint the former prime minister, tony abbott, as special envoy on indigenous affairs to the federal government. it's not clear how the new role will work and some have also questioned mr abbott's track record in handling indigenous affairs. a spokesman indigenous at this,

historian and at the vest. i started by asking ms huggins why mr abbott is at the wrong fit for the role. mr abbott has a history of paternalism and punishment for aboriginal and torres strait islander people here in australia. he has also caused havoc with the prime minister's leadership over a number of years, and, quite frankly, it remains to be seen if he will do anything, if anything, for us. mr abbott has already said that education will be his priority as the envoy. wouldn't an improvement in education potentially lead to better living standards and of indigenous aspirations in australia? well, certainly.

that is one of the key foundations for success, however, it is a very complex issue here in australia. we have our children not going or attending schools because of a number of instances. there are things around irrelevancy of the class curriculum, of institutional racism, of parents not being invited or willing to go to the school so, you know, education, ithink, whilst it's very important, it does not address the whole litany of our social ills, such as incarceration rates, family violence, disability, and so forth. so he should not only concentrate on education but be given a further brief, a wider brief. indeed, a whole lot of other issues need to be addressed by the former prime minister but, if he's not fit for the role, what sort of person do you need in this position to achieve

these goals? or is it the role of the envoy really need to be there, or should itjust be taken out? we do have a minister for aboriginal affairs, federally and in state and territories as well. really, we do not see the need for this because we are at present attempting to work with government but with a man that has such a poor history behind him, we do not feel confident as aboriginal leaders in this country that anything is going to change. we have the close the gap campaign, trying to bring in targets that will certainly be of benefit to our people. there has been a lot of things under

mr abbott's watch previously in aboriginal affairs that he has not even thought about or attended to and, let's face it, here in australia there has been over $60 million in australia spent on making kids go to school. it is not working. the close the gap is not working. we have the highest incarceration rates in our country, if not the world, and there are so many health issues and other issues that he would need to be across. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: reasons to be cheerful — why goats prefer people with happy faces. also on the programme: women's wrestling on the rise — we meet the star wrestlers performing to sell—out crowds. he's the first african—american

to win the presidential nomination of a major party, and he accepts exactly 45 years ago to the day that martin luther king declared "i have a dream." as darkness falls tonight, an unfamiliar light will appear in the south—eastern sky. an orange glowing disk that is brighter than anything save the moon — our neighbouring planet mars. there is no doubt that this election is an important milestone in the birth of east timor as the world's newest nation. it'll take months and billions of dollars to repair what katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks is the longest the great clock has been off duty in 117 years, so it was with great satisfaction that clock maker,

john vernon, swung the pendulum to set the clock going again. thanks for staying with us. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm ben bland in london. our top stories: president putin has softened unpopular proposals to reform pensions in russia. the partial backdown follows protests earlier this year. australian aboriginal leaders have expressed outrage after the former prime minister tony abbott is given a special envoyjob in indigenous affairs. community leaders have questioned his track—record on the issue in the past. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the front page of the straits times looks at the deadlock in talks

with north korea to abandon its nuclear weapons. the paper says that us defence secretary james mattiss is willing to end the suspension of us military exercises in order to put pressure on north korea. a short time ago president trump tweeted that he sees no reason to restart the military exercises. the japan times reports on a fifth fatality at a hospital in the gifu prefecture. japan is currently experiencing a heatweave and the hospital's air—conditioning units have reportedly broken down, leaving its elderly patients vulnerable. the new york times has a more positive story about the care of the elderly looking at an innovative dutch method of caring for people living with dementia. caregivers in the netherlands are replacing bed rest and medication with relaxation screens, sensory aids and music therapy. and those are the papers.

thursday is the un's international day of the disappeared. in indian—administered kashmir decades of conflict have led to the disappearance of thousands of people there. but some kashmiri women are fighting to bring them back. a group gather in srinigar every month to protest for their missing relatives to be returned. here's their story. women's wwe wrestling has never been more popular. a new generation of wrestlers promoted by the massive entertainment company perform all over the world. there's even a hit netflix comedy drama about women's wrestling; glow has been nominated for 10 emmys. some of the biggest names in the industry are in london this week and my colleague babita sharma went to meet one of them, alexa bliss.

we have got us a new champion! women, you know, have become a big forefront in wwe and to see the fans accept our women's evolution the way they have and push the way that they have, it is amazing. i remember my first time i was with nxt and no—one really knew my name, it is cool to see how things have changed and i don't think it would have been possible if it wasn't for how wwe has been highlighting how our women lately. commentator: bailey may have her here. you have got millions and millions of followers around the world, women's wrestling is very much on the map now. what is it about women in the ring that you think has got people so excited? i think it is the fact that, you know, we changed the way that people look at our female superstars. you know, ten years ago we had this stigma and now wwe has made sure that that has changed. back in the day, our matches were 30 seconds long, we have certain stipulation matches

that you are not going to see any more today, and i think the fact that our fans saw that things needed to change for our women and wwe heard it and have made our women the forefront of wwe and you know, women are at the forefront of sports today. it's just, it's so amazing to see how much it has changed. even outside of wwe, we have glow, which is very popular on netflix. we get opportunity after opportunity and we deliver each time. showing that our women are athletic and capable of doing what the men do just as well, if not better. do you all get on, though? i know you have a rivalry with many of the big stars,

including the riot squad, that is a long stand fued, right? did we hear our names? hello. hi. how you doing? i was asking her if you are all friends? being a champion, you don't need friends. the women are taking off at the moment with glow, i wish you guys all the success, what is going to happen in the next few years for you guys? maybe i will teach some stuff to you! laughter. i am a fan of bad guys, these guys are bad guys, so i get it. have i got what it takes, maybe? maybe, you have got a leather jacket. that's a pretty cool leatherjacket. leather jackets. monday night raw, you will see. wishing you all the best of luck, thank you very much for talking me enjoy the rest of your time in london. thank you. have you ever stood in front of a goat and wondered why

it was staring at you? well, perhaps not, but if you did, maybe the goat was looking at your face, trying to work out your mood. because new research suggests that, in fact, goats are quite perceptive. able to read the emotions on a human face. and invariably they will be drawn to smiley happy faces, rather than gruff, grumpy sullen faces. aren't we all! amanda akass has this report. they may be gruff by name, but it turns out they don't really like those who are gruff by nature. goats at the buttercup sanctuary have been involved in an experiment, showing they much prefer happy human faces. angry people can butt out. founder bob birch is not surprised. goats love people who are happy. i think it rubs off on them if they have got people coming and visiting them and also staff and volunteers that are happy all the time. i think it creates a happy atmosphere for them and that is good.

previous research has shown dogs and horses are very good at differentiating human expressions from photographs. the researchers from queen mary university of london wanted to see if goats could manage it too. so they tested the reaction of 20 goats to photos showing people looking happy and angry. theyjust had to walk across the enclosure and investigate the photographs on the opposite side. we found that the goats were far more likely to walk towards the photographs with the happy face. the overall aim of our research is to raise awareness of how perceptive dog species are. the researchers hope their findings will improve animal welfare standards. people visiting the sanctuary today were generally quite convinced. i would definitely say they can tell whether you are happy or not because when i first came here i seemed a bit worried with the amount of goats and they could tell. they are really friendly because when i came in, as soon as i came in, they all come towards you and they let you stroke them and that.

i haven't noticed them see if i am really happy. but i would say the more you talk to them and the more likely you say hello and stuff, i'd say that they could probably see that you are interested in talking to them. it's just an emotion. you can probably tell how someone is feeling by the way they are acting so i don't see why goats would not be able to tell it. so if something has got your goat, don't try and get down with the kids. iam sure i am sure if we have the coat test right now, the goat would pick you, because you're always happy, you're very positive. me, i am grumpy. you're just the same, rico. very positive. me, i am grumpy. you'rejust the same, rico. i very positive. me, i am grumpy. you're just the same, rico. i was worried that you were going to say that they were going to show me and i was going to be the butt of your jokes again. you have been watching newsday. i'm ben bland in london. yes, we had better stop before this

"goats" completely out of hand. on asia business report, the clock is ticking in canada. they have until friday to come to an agreement with the us on trade. and before we go, we'd like to leave you with these pictures. in croatia, dogs and owners take pa rt in croatia, dogs and owners take part ina in croatia, dogs and owners take part in a combined swimming and running race in the adriatic sea — the competition saw 15 a—legged athletes take part. the race organised by the owners of a beach bar is dedicated to dogs, they are keen to show how important pets are, encourage people to get active and help tourists enjoy it summer holidays with their best ferry friends. on that note, thanks for watching newsday, goodbye. good morning. there is a lot of fine weather to be had across the british isles today. most of us will start the day sunny and although a bit of cloud will develop as the hours go by,

we will remain fine. a few showers possible in the west. one thing to note as you are heading out the door is that it will be a cool start, thanks to the clear skies overnight. some of the scottish glens, you see the green behind me, will be three or four degrees at the day gets under way. the sunshine will get to work weekly and that will help temperatures to recover. a bit of cloud bubbling up through the day, turning the sunshine hazy, giving the odd light shower in the west. eventually, temperatures peaking in the high teens to the north of the uk and the low 20s further south. overnight thursday into friday, again much of the cloud thinning, breaking away, allowing temperatures to four, looking at lows of two or four degrees, temperatures in towns and cities. into friday and straightaway at change in the way the mac looks behind me as we have got a more organised of cloud to the west, bringing rain, less of it will run into the continent, could it up a few showers for the south—west. overall friday, hazy sunshine, a fine day, high teens in the north, low 20s in the south.

there is that weather front come friday night into saturday. it drifts away to the north of the british isles, bringing rain briefly into scotland and northern ireland, quite a weakening fixture by the start of the weekend. this is the way saturday is shaping up. quite cloudy in the north and west, any rain likely to be drizzly and patchy, msot confined to the higher ground. southern and eastern areas getting the best of the sunshine and temperatures creeping further in that sunshine. 23, maybe even 2a degrees possible. on sunday, a similar story. for the north, thicker cloud and perhaps on sunday a greater chance of rain on sunday for northern ireland, but southern and eastern areas, still with the best of the sunshine,

and still getting the top temperatures. if anything, come monday we might just have a last dance with summer, if you like. notice the map behind me, temperatures in the high teens to the north, this spot across east anglia and the south—east may even takes us to the promise of around 27 celsius somewhere across the south—east of england. that high though i think likely to be short lived, temperatures tapering off again as we move further into the week ahead. hello. eye on a blandly bbc news. —— i am ben bland. our top story: president putin softens his pension reforms after an outcry. the partial backdown follows protest earlier this year. in a rare televised address he said the retirement age for women would go up gradually from 55 to 60. but for men it will still jump from 60 to 65. australia's aboriginal leaders have

expressed outrage at the appointment of former prime minister, tony abbott, as special envoy on indigenous affairs. the community questions his track—record. and this story is popular on bbc.com a fish and chip restaurant in yorkshire in the north of england, has translated its menu into mandarin and cantonese, after an increase in chinese tourists. scotts fish and chips, near york, has seen coach loads of visitors wanting to try the traditional dish. and those are the latest headlines on bbc news. here in the uk, our top story.