this is the newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: north korea promises to close a key missile test site. the us says it hopes for complete denuclearisation, within the next three years. the us senate gives the woman who accuses supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh of sexual assault until friday to decide if she will testify. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: a mental health crisis among refugee children on nauru island, with reports of self—harm and suicide attempts. and election time injapan. we look shinzo abe's chances of becoming japan's longest—serving prime minister. 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 nine in the morning in pyongyang, where south korea's president moon is beginning the third day of his visit to the north — a visit that has already delivered a promise from kim jong—un to shut one of the country's main missile testing and launch sites. a short while ago, president moon's motorcade took him to visit mount paekdu, where he'll be joined by kim jong—un. perhaps fittingly, north and south koreans both consider the active volcano to be their countries‘ spiritual home. from seoul, laura bicker has the latest. pyongyang's mass games are meant to awe and inspire. usually it's because of their elaborate routines. but tonight, a special guest from the south earned the applause. president moonjae—in, the son of north korean refugees, has spent decades dreaming of this moment. translation: we have lived together

for 5,000 years and been separated for 70 years. i propose that we should completely end the past 70 years of hostility and take a big stride of peace, to become one again. cheering and applause the visit has brought a bit of a breakthrough. north korea has agreed to let experts watch a missile launch site being dismantled. mr kim said he would do more if the us also made concessions. translation: we have agreed to make the korean peninsula a land of peace that is free from nuclear weapons and nuclear threats. applause but the deal doesn't go

as far as the us had hoped. it doesn't mention the north's current nuclear arsenal, or if they'll even stop building weapons. but he may have done enough to persuade president trump to offer this peninsula a peace deal. "we'll meet again", sing the north koreans to this leader from the south. kim jong—un has said he'll visit seoul later this year, another first. this careful choreography has been designed to dazzle their visitor. he can only hope this show of warmth is not a smoke screen to hide the north's nuclear ambitions. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. there is plenty more on the bbc news

website, with a special section on the korean peninsula and coverage from our team on the ground. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. the woman who's accused donald trump's supreme court nominee of sexual assault, has been given a deadline of 10am on friday to say whether she will give evidence to the senatejudiciary committee next monday. christine blasey ford says she was attacked by brett kavanaugh at a party in the 1980s. mr kavanaugh denies the claim. katty kay has more. christine blasey ford says she has received death threats and has had to move house since the allegation against brett kavanaugh was made public on sunday. mr trump's sympathies today seemed to be more with the accused than the accuser. as you know, justice kavanagh has been treated very tough and his family, i think it is a very unfair thing what is going on. dr ford's lawyers have written to the senate judiciary committee sang she does not want to appear with the judge

and wantan not want to appear with the judge and want an fbi investigation. that refusal to testify has angered even sympathetic republicans like senator bob corker, who now says there should be a vote to confirm the judge on monday, if doctor ford doesn't appear. but one other important voice is recommending a pause. anita hill went through similar hearings in 1991 and was widely seen to be treated badly. my advice is to push the pause button on this hearing, get the information together, bring in the experts, and put together a hearing that is fair, that is impartial, that is not biased by politics or by men. the memory of that hearing looms large. and there is clearly frustration among some women in the senate. i want to say to the men of this country, just shut up and step up. do the right thing. there is political peril on both sides. and no goodwill between democrats and republicans, which means that truth and fairness

will be hard to find. katty kay, bbc news, washington. us president trump has been to visit north and south carolina, to show his support for the victims of hurricane florence. he spent some time with volunteers handing out meals to residents of new bern, a town particularly badly affected by the storm. 36 people were killed by the hurricane, and 15,000 people are still unable to return to their homes. the number of people who died during typhoon mangkhut in the philippines has risen to 81. it's feared that figure could increase as search teams dig through a landslide where dozens of people are missing. the typhoon swamped farm fields in the nation's agricultural north when it tore through with violent winds and heavy rains at the weekend. the former pakistani prime minister, nawaz sharif has been released from prison in rawalpindi along with his daughter and son—in—law. the decision was greeted with cheers from his supporters at the high court in islamabad. the suspended prison sentences were imposed on members of the sharif family for corruption convictions linked to their ownership of luxury flats in london.

now take a close look at this person. it's actuallyjustin bieber! trust me — have a listen. music plays he surprised fans by serenading partner hailey baldwin outside buckingham palace in london. baldwin watched alongside star struck fans and did what most fans would do and filmed it on her phone. malaysian officials have confirmed that the former prime minister najib razak has been arrested in connection with alleged embezzlement after more than $600 million linked to the state investment fund imdb were allegedly found in his bank accounts. he's expected to appear in court on thursday afternoon. joining me from bangkok is our south east asia

correspondent, jonathan head. a dramatic fall from grace for the former prime minister. it is dramatic. although the investigators are taking theirtime, dramatic. although the investigators are taking their time, to the frustration of some of those who had hoped that the stunning election victory of the then opposition would bring a very quick investigation into imdb, actually it is proceeding ata into imdb, actually it is proceeding at a fairly steady pace. this is the third time mr najib has faced charges. he has already had seven charges. he has already had seven charges against him on two previous occasions. the previous ones were in relation to an alleged siphoning off of $10 million, relative to the amount involved, quite small, involving a subsidiary of 1mdb. this is the first and he is facing charges relating to be very well reported appearance of some $630

million in his own personal bank account. it has always insisted that that money was a gift from saudi royalty. and in recent daisy has posted documents on his facebook page, a letterfrom the posted documents on his facebook page, a letter from the late former saudi king offering him a very substantial sum as a gift —— in recent days. going back a long way, about $100 million. he is still insisting all of this is legitimate. but this amount of money they are relating charges to today is a very large amount, it is also very central, they believe, at least other investigators who had been working previously on 1mdb, it is central to the entire scandal. this case has been put together bit by bit, a third round of charges for mr najib. yuri has a trial scheduled for next february —— yuri has. the investigators have stressed that they need to build a watertight —— watertight case. they have a very big job tracking down that money. it is alleged at least $4 billion is

missing from this fund. malaysia has financial pressures at this moment. it isa financial pressures at this moment. it is a big job for them. will charges also be laid against other family members? the big focus will be on his wife, many people believe she played a key role in venice. also, of course, she did leave a —— lead a very extravagant lifestyle, we saw handbags and jordie been confiscated right after the election. no indication yet that she will be charged. people expect that. there are many other officials. this isa there are many other officials. this is a complex alleged fraud. the key figure in all of this is the colourful young tycoon. it has not been seen in public since the stunning electoral victory. there is a warrant out for his arrest. it is not clear where he is. getting all the figures in this scandal is going to bea the figures in this scandal is going to be a very difficultjob. the figures in this scandal is going to be a very difficult job. jonathan head in bangkok, thank you for joining us.

britain's prime minister theresa may has asked her fellow european leaders to drop what she said were unacceptable demands to get a brexit deal done. speaking at an informal summit dinner in austria, mrs may again rejected the proposal that northern ireland should remain temporarily in the eu's customs union. with just six months to go, time is running out to get a deal in place. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg is at the summit. stuck, looking for a way out. the prime minister and other leaders have eight weeks to agree what happens to northern ireland after we leave. her plan says... it is the only credible and negotiable plan on the table that delivers no hard border in northern ireland and also delivers on the vote of the british people. but what we cannot accept is seeing northern ireland carved away from the united kingdom customs territory. but the eu club's plan is very different. they say northern ireland might have to follow eu rules if the big brexit

deal can't be done. i don't think we are any closer to the withdrawal agreements than we were in march. so i can't report any progress at this stage unfortunately, but we'll keep on working on it. what if the eu doesn't budge on brexit border issue in ireland? well then united kingdom shall have to. leaders landed to hear the prime minister explained as proposals for how we leave. the so—called chequers deal. they don't like how parts of our economy would stay closely tied to the eu to disrupt against disruption and avoid going back to an old—fashioned border in ireland, like those of years ago. these talks were always going to be complicated, but at summit, after summit, the biggest obstacle always becomes what happens 1000 miles away or so from here. when we leave the european union, the border between northern ireland and the rest of the island will become the line between europe's huge trading club

and another country, the uk, on the outside. the two sides in the talks have very different ideas over how to handle that change. and despite lots of chatter about tweaks from the eu negotiator, or tucks at home, there's no question, the tussle over the irish border is a very real block on progress. some of prime minister may's proposals from chequers indicate a positive evolution in the uk's approach, as well as a will to minimise the negative effects of brexit. on other issues, the uk's proposals will need to be reworked and further negotiated. today, there is perhaps more hope, but there is surely less and less time. the prime minister hopes by asking her peers directly,

they will budge. they believe, in time, she will realise she has to move, but with a time set for deal day, something, or someone, will have to give. laura kuennsburg, bbc news, salzburg. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: could shinzo abe become japan's longest—serving prime minister? also on the programme: what's wrong with this picture? the airline cathay pacific has owned up to making a big mistake. 30 hours after the earthquake that devastated mexico city, rescue teams still have no idea just how many people have died. well, there is people alive and there is people not alive. we just can help and give them whatever we've got.

it looked as though they had come to fight a war, but their mission is to bring peace to east timor, and nowhere on earth needs it more badly. the government's case is being forcefully presented by monsieur badinter, the justice minister. he's campaigned vigorously for abolition, having once witnessed one of his clients being executed. elizabeth seton spent much of her time at this grotto, and every year, hundreds of pilgrimages are made here. now that she's become a saint, it's expected that this area will be inundated with tourists. the mayor and local businessmen regard the anticipated boom as yet another blessing of st elizabeth. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore.

i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: the us says it is ready to restart negotiations of completely denuclearising north korea, after the country promised to close a key nuclear test site. the us senate gives the woman who accuses supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh of sexual assault until friday to decide if she will testify. and the hunt for the final resting place of captainjames cook's hms endeavour may soon be over, in time for the 250th anniversary of her voyage to new zealand and australia. following a 25—year archaeological study of the area, the search has been narrowed to just "one or two" sites. more on that story on our website. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the straits times leads

with the koreas summit in pyongyang. it reports president moonjae—in offering the north to permanently dismantle its main nuclear test site if the us takes "corresponding measures". the philippine star once again has typhoon mangkhut on its front page. it says the presidential palace wants the mayors who were "missing in action" when the typhoon ravaged their towns to be fired. the government is investigating the absent mayors. the international edition of the new york times carries a story about low—paid home workers in italy who make luxury garments forfashion brands. the reports says thousands of workers have no contract of insurance and quotes a lawyer saying "part of the problem is employees agreeing to forgo their rights in order to work". those publications around the world.

—— those are the top publications around the world. australia's off—shore refugee processing centre on the island of nauru has been a controversial issue for many years and has brought much criticism towards the australian government. but now, groups working with migrant families on nauru say about 15 children have either made repeated suicide attempts or are regularly self—harming. the latest figures supplied by australian authorities say from the end ofjuly 189 people were living in the nauru processing centre. the australian government denies children are being mistreated. doctor barri phata rfod, president of doctors four refugees has not been allowed to visit nauru but receives referrals from advocates for assessment and advice. she told me more about the mental health of the refugee children. we get regular reports of children

who have used a variety of means to harm themselves. so, in the latest case, we saw a young girl who was 12 years old who actually tried to set fire to herself. now, this isn't the first person on nauru who's tried to set fire to herself. two or three adults have beforehand. and, as you know, young children copy adults‘ behaviours. and this particular girl, this is the fourth or fifth time she's tried to take her own life. in the past she's swallowed items, drunk bleach, swallowed razor blades. it's quite a hideous situation that's happening in nauru, especially with the young children. what are the conditions like for them that you're hearing on nauru island? well, the conditions are horrific. first of all, they've been trapped there for five years. they're trapped there without any sense of hope. they see no future. now, with young children, what sets young children apart is their sense of the future. children have dreams and hopes, they have curiosity, they ask questions, none of that happens on nauru. there's an indefinite detention. they don't see any way off the island, especially if they've been rejected...

0r their family have been rejected for the usa deal, which has only taken some 370 people of the promised 1250 from both nauru and manus island. they live in overcrowded, mouldy tents. now these tents have a toxic level of mould, so much so that even the staffers, who don't live in those tents, have experienced what's known as nauru lung. virtually all the children, and most of the adults, will have chronic respiratory conditions. the sexual abuse and sexual assault on the island is rife. we see children as young as three years old display inappropriate sexualised behaviour, and that's manifested in their behaviour towards adults. i wonder if i can read you this statement if i can, doctor, that we as the bbc approached the australian government for comment on this story and in a statement a few weeks ago. they said, "it takes

seriously its role in supporting the government of nauru to ensure that children are protected from abuse, neglect or exploitation." they went on to say, "a range of care, welfare and support arrangements are in place to provide for the needs of children and young people. " what's your reaction? well, they're not doing a very good job. they may well try. and the other thing i should point out is a lot of the reports we've received from the doctors who've been contracted, and the social workers, and the nursing staff, have all been perfectly in line with what we would consider appropriate recommendations, but the australian border force overrides recommendations made by any of the health professionals. so while they may be getting appropriate levels of management there and then at times, and the staff who are contracted do provide the very best services they can, but when those services are overridden by non—medical departmental officials to essentially satisfy a political agenda, then the end results of that care just cannot be assessed. japan's prime minister shinzo abe

faces an election today, but it's not the country he needs to win over. rather, it's the membership of his own liberal democratic party, who are voting in the three—yearly contest to choose their leader. mariko 0i explains. japan used to be known for having a bit of a revolving door when it came to prime ministers. now, shinzo abe has managed to hang on for a good—for—japan six years, but it's time for his party, the liberal democratic party, to hold its once—every—three years leadership election, and that could see mr abe being given the boot. his popularity among voters fell after his wife was linked to this guy, yasunori kagoike,

who wanted to build a nationalist primary school, and he and his wife were sold a plot of government land way below market price. mr abe denies any involvement, but he's being challenged by a former minister of defence and agriculture, shigeru ishiba, and mr ishiba's calling abe's political style into question by campaigning on a platform of honesty and fairness, and promising to regain public trust in politics. mr abe is widely expected to win the ruling party leadership vote, and if he completes his third term, he will become the country's longest ever serving prime minister, and one of the things he really wants to do is to revise the post—war pacifist constitution to allow the country's self—defence force to be armed. it's a controversial move at home and among asian neighbours. now have a look at this tweet from cathay pacific and see

if you can spot what's wrong. a new plane has had to go back to the paint shop for obivous reasons, after the compa ny‘s name was misspelt on it. eagle—eyed travellers spotted the mistake at hong kong international airport and contacted the airline, but it's sparked many a joke on social media, with many others finding it an inexplicable mistake. what did you make of it? it is an honest mistake. it is good promotion for the airline. an honest mistake, i don't know how many people have got that wrong before. it has got a

lot of people talking about it on social media. there is always a first—time. there be delays in the flight first—time. there be delays in the flight that is being changed. we wouldn't want to call it, would we? anti—semite forjoining it —— thank you so much forjoining us. you have been watching newsday. i'm babita sharma in london. and i'm rico izon in singapore — without the h! the alibaba the aliba ba founder jack the alibaba founderjack ma has backed down and wants to create jobs in the us. we will have that later. stay with us. that's all for now. hello there.

storm ali brought damaging winds across parts of the uk on wednesday. wind gusts of more than 90mph for parts of northern ireland. you can see this hook of cloud on the satellite picture, that's the storm pushing off towards scandinavia, but that doesn't mean things will be quiet over the next couple of days, far from it. and that means what we have on thursday is this wriggling frontal system bringing pulses of moisture from the atlantic, so through the day ahead we are going to see heavy rain at times and still the potential for some strong winds. a windy start certainly across northern scotland, some heavy showers here, and some rain across wales, the midlands, parts of eastern england, which will fizzle for a time before returning with a vengeance from the west as we get on into the afternoon. now, as the day wears on, the winds will ease a little bit

across northern scotland, but still hefty showers blowing in on the breeze. some sunshine as well, 15 degrees for aberdeen. for northern ireland, calmer than it was on wednesday, but still breezy with a fair amount of cloud, but look at the afternoon in north—west england, the midlands and into wales, very, very heavy bursts of rain with the risk of disruption and localised flooding. windy to the south of that but warm as well, 21 or 22 degrees in the south—east, where we may well stick with some sunshine. and then we go through thursday evening into the night, we take this wet weather across northern england, wales, the south—west. we push it eastwards, and with that, the winds strengthening across the southern and particularly south—eastern areas with gusts of 40, 50 or maybe 60mph, or even a touch more in some places. the strongest of the winds during the night into the early part of friday will always be in these southern areas. so, if you have travel plans, really over the next 24 hours or so, through thursday, on into friday, some heavy rain, gales at times. there is the potential for disruption. your bbc local radio station will keep you up to date. friday starting windy in southern and eastern areas too. but this area of low pressure responsible will be sliding awau to the east, and in its wake,

it will leave us all with some much cooler air, which will be coming from a long way north. a messy start to the day, outbreaks of rain windy down the east coast as we go on through friday. the worst of the rain will ease, the winds will tend to ease as well. then we'll be left with sunshine and heavy showers, and a cool feel. 11 degrees in aberdeen, perhaps 18 or maybe 19 in parts of the south—east. then the weekend, very mixed. some sunshine, yes, but rain at times, most especially in the south. i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story: the us says it's ready to resume negotiations on the denuclearisation with north korea. this follows north leader kim jong—un‘s promise to close a missile launch facility at the summit with his south korean counterpart in pyongyang. the us senate has given the woman who accused supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh of sexual assault until friday to decide if she will testify at a senate hearing. christine blasey ford says she wants the fbi to investigate the alleged assault.

and this story is on bbc.com. the hunt for the final resting place of captainjames cook's ship hms endeavour may soon be over, in time for the 250th anniversary of her voyage to australia. the search has been narrowed down to just one or two sites. that's all. stay with bbc world news. and the top story in the uk: at the eu summit in salzburg, prime minister theresa may has again rejected the european commission's proposal that