this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: president trump's former lawyer michael cohen pleads guilty to lying to congress over mr trump's business interests in russia. he's a weak person, and what he's trying to do is get a reduced sentence. so he's lying about a project that everybody knew about. as president xijinping arrives for the 620 summit in argentina, can china and the us thrash out their differences over trade? i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: in the philippines, three police officers are jailed over a drug war killing that caused national outrage. and can holidays without homework help students become more confident? we'll speak to the author of a new study. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday.

glad you could join us. it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london and 7pm in washington, which is reeling from another, dramatic, development in the investigation about whether president trump's 2016 election campaign colluded with russia. michael cohen, mr trump's former personal lawyer, has pleaded guilty to misleading a congressional inquiry. he's admitted making false statements about a project to build a trump organization skyscraper in moscow. he said he lied out of loyalty to the president. mr trump has responded by calling michael cohen a very weak man, who was lying to get a reduced sentence. our north america correspondent nick bryant reports. michael cohen was donald trump's mr fix—it — a centralfigure in the billionaire‘s business empire. but the lawyer who used to make mr trump's problems go away now potentially poses a huge problem

himself for the president. mr cohen has cooperated. mr cohen will continue to co—operate. sentencing is set for december 12. but the fast—talking new york attorney remained tight—lipped outside court. those words from his lawyer are a startling new development. it means he's sharing information with the russian collusion investigation. up until now, michael cohen has been prosecuted by investigators based here in new york. but what makes this so significant is that it's the first time he's been charged by and entered into a plea agreement with robert mueller, the special counsel looking into allegations of collusion between the trump presidential campaign and the kremlin. inside court, he pleaded guilty to making false statements to congress about a real estate project that would have altered the skyline of moscow — a proposed trump tower in the russian capital. talks about the project had continued well

into 2016, he admitted, the year of the presidential election. donald trump had been more extensively involved. he'd also been in contact about the project with a key figure in the kremlin — the spokesman for vladimir putin. speaking in court, cohen said he'd made these misstatements out of loyalty to a figure described as "individual 1". "individual 1" is president donald trump, who today trashed his former right—hand man. he's a weak person, and what he's trying to do is get a reduced sentence. so he's lying about a project that everybody knew about. i mean, we were very open with it. last week, donald trump provided a series of written answers to robert mueller. and the president's legal team said tonight his responses about building a trump tower in moscow lined up with what michael cohen said in court. the president has intensified his attacks on robert mueller — "a rogue prosecutor", he says,

"leading a mccarthy—style witch—hunt." but one thing mr trump might ponder on the long—haul flight to the g20 summit in argentina is how today's legal developments have made it much more difficult to fire him. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. will get more and the g20 shortly. —— we will get more on. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. ajapanese pilot has been jailed for being around nine times over the legal alcohol limit when about to fly a passenger jet at heathrow. the court heard that katsutoshi jitsukawa was stopped by security staff last month, in the cockpit of the japan airlines flight to tokyo. he was sentenced to ten months in prison. laura westbrook has more from the court in west london. mrjitsukawa appeared via video link in court today and did not speak when a sentence of ten months was read out loud. last month, he had

been due to co—pilot flights from heathrow to tokyo, when a security manager thought he smelt alcohol on his breath. mrjitsukawa made it into the cockpit before he was removed, and police said that he appeared nervous and his eyes were glazed. he failed a breathalyser test and later, a blood test showed that he was more than nine times over the legal and for a pilot. when judge mathews read out his sentence, he said it was this kind of case that undermined the public‘s confidence. —— limit. also making news today... an imprisoned murderer is being investigated after confessing to 90 killings across four decades in the us. samuel little is currently serving life in prison after being sentenced in 2014 for the murders of three women. the fbi believe that the 78—year—old may be among the most prolific serial killers in us criminal history. south korea's highest court has ruled that a second japanese company must pay compensation

to koreans employed as forced labour during the second world war. mitsubishi heavy industries was ordered to pay more than $70,000 apiece to 28 victims, including five women. the japanese foreign minister called the ruling unacceptable. laura bicker has more from seoul. there were around 150,000 koreans taken from here and brought to japan as part of this war effort. now, the cases were brought forward, the first one came about last month and it was two japanese firms, who argued that actually these cases should not be brought to court because of the 1965 treaty, which normalised ties between seoul and tokyo. however, the court here in seoul ruled that the japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945 was a

legal, and that means that these workers are entitled to compensation. the world health organisation has warned of a global resurgence of measles. an estimated 110,000 deaths last year were linked to the highly contagious disease. it blames a lower uptake of childhood immunisation caused by failing health services in some countries, and unfounded fears of vaccination. this weekend, we can expect one of the showbiz weddings of the year. bollywood actress priyanka chopra and american singer nickjonas have arrived injodhpur, in india. the superstar couple waved and smiled at photographers as they left the airport in the "blue city", where they will tie the knot in a series of lavish ceremonies this weekend. china says it hopes the g20 group maintains its opposition to protectionism at the summit in argentina. there have been reports that initial

drafts of the meetings declaration omit all mention of the need to lower trade barriers. the chinese president, xijinping, is expected to meet president trump on the sidelines of the summit to discuss the trade war between their countries. tim willcox is in buenos aires. many world leaders here wanting to know what is going to happen following that discussion, that meeting between president trump and xijinping. will the trade meeting between president trump and xi jinping. will the trade war, meeting between president trump and xijinping. will the trade war, will there be a truce declared and that all that continue? donald trump, a few hours ago, it said maybe they we re few hours ago, it said maybe they were moving closer towards a deal, but did he really want to do a deal a nyway but did he really want to do a deal anyway because he quite liked things the way they were now? chinese officials we know of wanting to avoid that next raft of tariffs being put on chinese goods, which are due to kick—in onjanuary one. earlier i spoke to andrew reeves thompson, a visiting public policy expert from the national university

of singapore. i asked him on what to be expected from trump—xi meeting. well, the us and chinese had been having meetings in the run—up to this meeting, but so far no details have emerged. it will be up to donald trump and xijinping as have emerged. it will be up to donald trump and xi jinping as to whether or not they can chart a way ahead. does the american president really wa nt ahead. does the american president really want a deal from this meeting? rarely does. the question is can he get a good deal? so the chinese have made offers, they have not been satisfactory yet to the us side, so the question is what does resident xi into the table? surely thatis resident xi into the table? surely that is what everyone is looking up for, particularly businesses, and investors, and of course everyone is looking forward to this bilateral meeting between the two leaders if the deal will indeed go through because it is not only about trade but there are also other issues that

the americans want to basically discuss with the chinese, particularly intellectual theft, and immigration, opioids and north korea. yeah, it is a comprehensive agenda. every time the us and china sit down at the table, they have to talk about the full extent of the relationship and added to that, i am sure xijinping will relationship and added to that, i am sure xi jinping will raise relationship and added to that, i am sure xijinping will raise his concerns about taiwan as well. and what about taiwan? what would xi jinping likely want to discuss with president trump? well, he will likely raise his concerns about us support for taiwan security. this is a ongoing conversation, the meat of this discussion is going to be about trade. during the asean and east asian summits which took place in singapore, a lot of discussion about the south china sea. will this be in

the south china sea. will this be in the crux of the discussions between the crux of the discussions between the two leaders? i do not know how much the south china sea will be involved but certainly maritime issues are part of the bilateral relationship that have to be addressed. the us military is very robust, you have active operations going on that concern the chinese, so going on that concern the chinese, so that is the point of discussion as well, but the us‘s position has very, very clear about its intention to continue the file, sale and operate we ever international law allows. and we have more about the 620 allows. and we have more about the g20 on the bbc news website. —— fly. imagine never having to do any homework. well, it might not be such an unimagineable concept. giving students a homework—free holiday in which they can do their own learning can actually make them more confident in their abilities. that is according to a new study which has been released in hong kong. it found the academic performance of pupils was better if they hadn't been given homework over a long break. professor vicky tam from hong kong baptist university is one of the lead author of this study. we're not asking childrenjust

we're not asking children just to sit back and relax or play mobile games all day during the holidays, but instead we ask them to do something that is meaningful to them. we let them choose what they would like to do and i think that is very important part of how we would like to encourage meaningful activities for the holidays. now, anyone with parents knows that if you give a child a choice, they will go for something that potentially will not be nurturing. so how do you encourage them not to go for the videogames whatever else it is that they like doing and actually choose something that is academically beneficial? rights. ithink many parents may be surprised that when children are given choices, i think play as part of what they want but they can also be aiming for something like playing forfun, something like playing forfun, something that they really like to do, if they get more time to work on it. so i actually work with an ngo and we have social workers go into the school to help the kids start up

a plan about what to do over the holidays. so you would be surprised by the kind of activities that they chose, it is like learning how to play football or learning how to twist balloons, they are very creative and many of them certainly know what they want to do. when it comes to homework, we were speaking with a editor early on and he was saying that some schools actually encourage homework because it encourages pa rents encourage homework because it encourages parents to get and you can keep up—to—date with what your child is doing. is there no, do you not agree that there is some benefit to that formal homework at home? certainly. i think the chinese people, they believe in hard work andi people, they believe in hard work and i think homework really epitomises everything about hard work. so we are still supporting homework and all the functions that it serves, but we are saying wait a minute, do we really want children to do that much homework? can we

have some spare time over the holidays so that they have a break and focus on and academic domains of their development? —— nonacademic. thank goodness, my son loves to do homework. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... three philippine police officers are found guilty of the murder of a teenager — the first such convictions since president duterte's war on drugs began. also on the programme: how these medical students are learning about human anatomy with the help of a 3d printer. it is quite clear the worst vic team is other poor people —— victims. it is quite clear the worst vic team is other poor people -- victims. the children are dying in front of me

andi children are dying in front of me and i cannot do anything. john manson is that mystical leader who killed sharon tate and six other people. at 11 o'clock this morning, half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. a minerfrom calais was shaking hands with robert, his opposite numberfrom dover. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon, in singapore. i'm kasia madera, in london. our top stories: donald trump's former lawyer, michael cohen, has pleaded guilty

to lying to congress about contacts with russia. china's president xijinping has just arrived in argentina for the g20 summit of world leaders. he's due to meet us president trump on the sidelines to try and resolve their trade war. and this in trending online... a british mp has told parliament he is hiv positive. lloyd russell moyle said he wanted to encourage people to get tested ahead of world aids day. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world: the philippine star has a story that we'll be looking at more closely in a moment — three police officers have been found guilty of the murder of 17—year—old kian delos santos in 2017. next, the south china morning post which looks ahead to the meeting of the us and chinese leaders at the g20 in buenos aires.

it calls the encounter "high—stakes" because of the trade war between the two countries, and says that its' unlikely to end with a joint statement. and in thejapan times, south korea's top court has ordered mitsubishi heavy industries limited to compensate koreans it used as forced labour in world war two. it's going to have to pay $133,000. now kasia what stories are sparking discussions online? this is proving very popular online, and bob marley would no doubt approve. reggae music has been declared a global treasure. unesco, the cultural agency of the united nations, made the ruling. and representatives from jamaica,

where this genre of music originated, were visibly thrilled. reggae was born in the poor neighbourhoods of kingston in the 1960s. it reflected hard times and struggle but could also be joyous. it spread across the world with its calls for socialjustice, peace and love. three police officers in the philippines have been found guilty of the murder of a 17—year—old student during an anti—drug operation in manila last year. it's the first conviction for an extra—judicial killing carried out as part of president rodrigo duterte's controversial war on drugs. howard johnson has the details from manila. this was a controversial case because the night when it

17—year—old kian delos santos was killed police officers said he fought back and shot at them during a drug for operation so they shot and killed them in self defence but eyewitnesses and cctv footage set otherwise. he had been dragged across a basketball court, taken in an alleway, given a gun and told to fire it before police killed him. the story caused outrage because a lot of people could relate to him. kian delos sa ntos's lot of people could relate to him. kian delos santos's is an overseas worker, she works in saudi arabia and sense money back. many people here are in similar situations. they have relatives which are overseas workers. rodrigo duterte is supposed to bea workers. rodrigo duterte is supposed to be a figure looking after overseas workers while they are away. just as department secretary

says idlib —— it debunks the myth about the culture in the philippines. but others say the thousands of killings investigated by an independent commissions and they look forward to the international court going through 11 dairy examination of this drug will see if there are crimes against humanity ‘s. —— drug war. earlier i spoke jan carlo punongbayan from the university of the philippines, who has written a column on duterte's war on drugs. i aksed him if the campaign is causing social problems. it isa it is a welcome development, a breath of fresh air amongst president duterte's drug war. we have to remember that the conviction

is for the killing of kian delos sa ntos. is for the killing of kian delos santos. we have to pending cases of people killed shortly after kian delos santos. 0ne people killed shortly after kian delos santos. one group estimates more than 17 miners have been killed... this verdict is monumental but could this decision at least dent the war on drugs politics of president duterte. president duterte is very popular and, in fact, some people have observed that in the past two years such popularity has not been dented but many are hopeful that with the conviction yesterday this might change and, in fact, we are coming into middle elections next year and this could very well be one of the key election issues

which will come up. if you were to advise president right now about his war on drugs policy, what should be his next step? what should he do with this conviction? actually, we have to go back to the basics and ask whether drug wars actually work... does it work? the international evidence has shown that repeatedly that drug was do not work. —— wars. intervention rather than that seems to work. president duterte's drug war is inherently unwinnable and many people are clamouring for it to stop. learning the anatomy of the human body is perhaps one of the most difficult but fundamental parts of medicine. but, with a worldwide shortage of cadavers, getting access to actual human bodies is very difficult. katie silver went along to meet

an anatomy professor in singapore who's come up with a novel way to allow medical students to get hands on with the human body. let's explore the anatomy... medical stu d e nts let's explore the anatomy... medical students attempting what many of us might see as impossible, trying to learn and memorise human anatomy. it really is no mean feat. there are so many structures in the body. some are easy that others more complex because of the intricate structures. traditionally, students have used plastic models to learn about the model but they are rigid and generally not anatomically accurate. the right cadavers, real human bodies injected with plasticine, but

they also have their drawbacks. they could be expensive. and they are ha rd to could be expensive. and they are hard to come by. this professor was searching for a better way. i learnt about 3—d printing technology applied and i thought we could use this technology. others in the field had printed 3—d bodies but the professor took it further. making parts of the body such as babes and body feel different and be different colours. after 15 hours on the printer, we haven't anatomically correct model of the heart. it is painstaking. now this model looks beautiful but to produce this model, there were a lot of hours behind it. for the student it makes it impossible little more possible. for

some structures, you can enlarge the specimens to make it easier for younger students to understand. relatively cheaper and easier to replicate, they can be used in countries that may otherwise, perhaps for religious reasons, not have access to human cadavers, helping to better educate the next generation of doctors. inspirational stuff. you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera, in london. and i'm rico hizon, in singapore. thanks for watching. we're going to end on a poignant but uplifting story. a little boy who wrote a note to the uk postal service, the royal mail, asking them to deliver a birthday letter to his father "in heaven" has had a reply. yesterday was a really dramatic day

of crashing waves and strong gusts of crashing waves and strong gusts of the weeds. the top recorded on the western edge of the isle of wight. 72 in plymouth, and in conway in north—west wales. a number of sites that got into the 60s. heading to the western side of norway, the main parent load still to the north—west of scotland and that is what is continuing to bring strong winds stop we are seeing a number of heavy showers flowing into the western side of scotland and it will stay windy, for northern ireland, north—west india and further south. —— north—west england. not entirely dry but not particularly cold. those strong winds will continue to push

an across scotland, particularly the northern isles. perhaps 50—60 miles per hour. it is followed by plenty of showers. brisk winds continuing to load the showers in the much of the day. the downpours do not last too long. brighter spells interspersed. showers continuing to wales, north—west england. stilla few in the southern counties but becoming rarer in the afternoon. temperatures reaching a high of 12 degrees towards the south. for the important weekend, another bout of rain across england and wales. slow to clear its weight is words. across east anglia, south—east england, it will be raining for most of the day. slow to ease up. further north, some

sunshine around but cooler air. temperatures between six — eight degrees. more rain in the forecast for sunday. clearing away quickly across eastern areas with sunshine following. the next band of rain could push well into scotland as we head into sunday so rain around at times. temperatures on the mild side. that you whether the now. bye for now. —— the weather. i'm kasia madera with bbc news. our top story: president trump's former lawyer, michael cohen, pleads guilty to lying to congress over mr trump's business interests in russia. as president xijinping arrives for the g20 summit in argentina, can china and the us thrash out their differences over trade? and this video is

trending on bbc.com. a british politician reveals he has been hiv positive for 10 years, in an emotional address in parliament. that's it from me. stay with us here on bbc world news. bye— bye. now on bbc news, it's hardtalk‘s stephen sackur in conversation