hello, everyone, and welcome. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: further drops in markets worldwide after donald trump threatens to impose more dour of on chinese imports. talks resume this week. can a trade will be avoided? free at last. at 18 months in prison two reuters journalists in myanmar reunited with their families. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: south africa's president will clean oui’ south africa's president will clean our corruption. will vote is in wednesdays lecture believe him?

and rico's been talking to one of the states‘ biggest music stars, josh groban, about how he wants his music to bring people together. it isa it is a privilege to be able to sing songs and bring people together. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. thanks forjoining us. it's 7am in singapore, midnight in london and 7pm in washington, where china's vice premier is due to arrive for two days of trade talks, despite president trump's threat to double tariffs on $200 billion worth of chinese goods. it had looked like the talks might help resolve the longstanding us—china trade war, until the trump administration accused china of backtracking on commitments.

as a result the dowjones stock market closed 473 points lower on monday, the second—worst trading day in the us this year. earlier, i wasjoined by christine mcdaniel, senior research fellow at the mercatus center, who has also served as a trade economist and advisor in the us trade department, including under the bush administration. she gave me her thoughts on the escalation of these trade tensions. i think that market volatility is, in many ways, just going to be our new normal. you have to remember that it used to be when these trade negotiations were happening, that it was not a 24/7 news cycle. we didn't have a president that tweeted, you know, around—the—clock. so there is often a loss of back and forth and

ups and downs in the background that the public just ups and downs in the background that the publicjust usually doesn't know about. this just makes the publicjust usually doesn't know about. thisjust makes it the publicjust usually doesn't know about. this just makes it really difficult for the negotiators to have a spotlight on them 24/7 and then president trump's tweet, you know, further added fuel to the fla mes know, further added fuel to the fla m es of know, further added fuel to the flames of the volatility. butter donald trump, indeed, wants to be ahead of the chinese, particularly on trade. because it is a symptom of other issues, china is at the top of other issues, china is at the top of other important issues such as security, energy, transportation. yeah, exactly, exactly. in the us trade representative ‘s office is not the only us government agency that has china top of mind, for sure. just happens to be in a struggle and a real learning curve that the world is going through, as china comes up in the world stage,

the trade talks are one small part of it, but it is a big part of what is in the news right now. and even if we do see a deal this week or next week or next month, i don't think the terrors are going away anytime soon. this president does really like tarus, he thinks tarus are good for the economy, and if garry coleman cannot convince him otherwise, i doubt a whole bunch of phd economists can. it is sort of a new world we're living in —— tariffs. christine mcdaniel who served as an advisor in the us trade department speaking to rico. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. the german car—maker porsche has been fined nearly $600 million over the diesel emissions scandal. owned by volkswagen, germany's public prosecutors say porsche had been negligent in making sure nitrogen oxide emissions did not breach regulated limits. damien mcguinness has more from berlin. they have accepted this fine. they have admitted to negligence, effectively. what happened is they

used audi engines, diesel engines, where they were negligent though, they said they didn't produce these engines, they didn't manufacture these engines, but they were negligent, this is what they have admitted to, in not supervising the testing in a rigourous enough manner and that's was allowed the rigging to happen. also making news today: danish authorities have charged the former head of one of scandinavia's largest banks in connection with a vast money laundering scandal. thomas borgen led danske bank at the time it was suspected of having laundered almost a quarter of a trillion dollars. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, has paid a brief, unannounced visit to iraq to reassure its leaders of continued us support. he met the nation's prime minister, adel abdel madi. secretary pompeo told reporters that he made the visit in response to escalating activity in iran.

how about this as a welcome to a newjob? i hope to show you pictures from thailand. there they are. in thailand a flotilla of ten elephants paid tribute to the country's new king by parading in front of the palace. many in thailand consider the animals to be the symbol of the royal household. not sure elephants at london zoo would be up for doing the same for the uk's new royal arrival? two journalists who'd been imprisoned in myanmar have been freed as part of a presidential pardon. wa lone and kyaw soe 0o, who work for the reuters news agency, had been investigating the murders of 10 rohingya muslims by government soldiers. ethnic violence against rohingyas in myanmar have forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. nick beake reports from yangon. they've endured 500 days in prison for exposing a massacre. now — freedom.

the outside world hailed them as heroes, but myanmarjailed them as traitors. the treatment of wa lone and kyaw soe 0o gained global media attention — the journalists imprisoned for doing theirjob. just a word in english, please, today. i'm really happy now, and i also wanted to thank you for everyone who helped us inside in the prison and also around the world, people who wishing to release us. so i wanted to say thank you very much for everything. i'm really happy, excited to see my family and my colleagues, and i can't wait to go to my newsroom now. this was the story they were covering — the rohingya crisis. their investigation forced myanmar‘s army to admit they murdered these ten rohingya men in western state of rakhine, but the journalists were jailed as enemies of the state. this has been a traumatic time

for the friends and family of the two reporters, but it's also had a chilling effect on fellow journalists here in myanmar, and it also has raised big questions about the direction that aung san suu kyi is taking this country. the nobel peace prize winner's government has been accused of targeting otherjournalists, as well as democracy activists. until now, all international pressure to release the reuters pair has been resisted. minister, just a word for the bbc, why have you decided to free wa lone and kyaw soe 0o today? we got no explanation from this government minister. is this an admission that these two reporters committed no crime? this british advisor to aung san suu kyi is being credited with securing the pardon. he believes it could mark a turning point in myanmar‘s relations with the west. what i've learned from all of this is dialogue works here. if we are to help rakhine, we need to engage with the international community, the myanmar government, to really bring peace and prosperity. tonight, thejournalists

who inadvertently became global icons of press freedom finally embraced once again the roles they had been denied — husband and father. nick beake, bbc news, yangon. joining us kuala lumpur is phil robertson, deputy director with human rights watch in asia. many thanks for your time. it is fantastic news that these two journalists are released. but when it comes down to what they were accused of. they have not been pardoned as such, it is not that they did not do anything wrong. from they did not do anything wrong. from the perspective of the myanmar government that is absolutely correct. from the perspective of the international community it is quite clear that these two are heroes and they were simply doing theirjob and they were simply doing theirjob and

they should not have been arrested, much less prosecuted in the first place. the concern is that the myanmar authorities have not acknowledged that. and we are concerned also about possible retaliation going forward against these two. and we are concerned about the many dozens of other journalists who are facing charges orare in journalists who are facing charges or are in prison because the military and on song tsuji's government have been pressing cases against them. we had one of the negotiators say that dialogue with the burmese authorities work. is that the case? what you think has changed their minds in the of these two reuters journalists? international pressure is what works. international pressure on myanmar to do this is the key. that opens the opportunities for dialogue. without the pressure myanmar is not going to listen to anybody. of course, the story that they were working on, the massacre of rohingya muslims, myanmar still denying they had an investigation

into that, by denying any wrongdoing there. what we see is that there was supposedly a number of people involved in the massacre who were prosecuted, but we never actually saw what happened to them. from what we heard, thesejournalists got longer prison sentences than those who did the killing. this is the only human rights atrocity that the myanmar government has admitted in rank state. aung san suu kyi, your thoughts on how she has delivered on this? she has been a disaster, frankly. from basically a human rights perspective and from a basic human perspective. she is not responsive, she doesn't listen to other people, she is frankly, i think, driving some of this crackdown against critical speech in myanmar. and it makes me worried for what is going to happen as the national elections start up for 2020, whether we will see more

journalists imprisoned for simply to cover a campaign of political back and forth between her and other candidates. isn't she in an impossible situation when it comes to the regime that? no. she has an absolute majority, a supermajority in the parliament. we urge to write from the start to get rid these rights abusing laws, so they would be used againstjournalists and they wouldn't be used against others. and she has ignored that advice. she can pass any law she wants. let's be very clear about that. she has a great deal of authority. she just decides not to use it. phil robertson, from human rights watch, thank you for your time in this story. there is much more on our website. you can read more about the case and the journalists' fight forjustice and freedom on our website, bbc.com/news. in the main article, if you scroll down, you'll find a link to the original reuters investigation entitled "massacre

in myanmar" by wa lone and kyaw soe 0o and their team, which won a pulitzer prize. do check it out. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: a smile from the queen, and delight from other members of the family to the news of the new royal baby. also on the programme: we'll be hearing from american music star josh groban about his music and message for humanity. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterand. but the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin.

for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now, the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in the future of peace and freedom. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon, in singapore. i'm kasia madera, in london. our top stories: doubts about us—china trade talks have been sending financial markets sharply downwards again. but chinese vice premier is heading

to the us for talks. two reuters journalists jailed in myanmar after reporting on a massacre of rohingya muslims by the military, have been freed under a presidential amnesty. wa lone and jaw soh 0u say they now want to get back to work. ——wa lone and kyaw soe 0o. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world: lots of papers in asia are focusing on the two reuters journalists who were released from prison in myanmar. the straits times here in singapore has this image of wa lone and kyaw soe 0o celebrating with their daughters. to brexit and the financial times leads on the news that the united kingdom will take part in european elections. the uk wanted to avoid taking part but has failed to agree a brexit deal in time. and the international edition of the new york times reports that china acquired hacking tools from a united states

security agency. it claims chinese agents used them to attack american allies in europe and asia in 2016. now kasia, what stories are sparking discussions online? this video from afghanistan has been capturing hearts on social media. this is 5—year—old ahmad sayed rahman dancing on his new prosthetic leg at a hospital in kabul. tragically, he had his leg amputated after being shot by crossfire between us forces and the taliban when he was just eight months old. a heartwarming story that court people's attention on line. —— caught. polls open in south africa injust 6 hours' time as the country takes part

in its sixth democratic election since nelson mandela became the first black president in 1994. but the party he led — the african national congress — is under pressure because of corruption. its new leader, cyril ramaphosa, has promised dishonest officials will be jailed. 0ur africa editor, fergal keane, reports from the campaign trail in the province of kwazulu—natal. tropical durban, south africa's tourist playground, is a political battle ground, where the party of mandela is fighting a bitter internal struggle in the midst of a presidential election. this man, president cyril ramaphosa, is promising to clean out endemic corruption in the anc. singing of national anthem. first stop of the president's day, a tourism conference, and the national anthem of a people longing for a moral revolution, ramaphosa humorously reminding them whose legacy he's claiming. coming to durban, i thought i should

wear a madiba shirt, the type of shirt that nelson mandela used to wear. and they said, "no, no, no, that wouldn't be appropriate, wear a suit and look presidential". ramaphosa is in a hurry to undo an entire system of official corruption. 0n durban's streets, workers protest over anc misrule. across south africa, there's fury over what's been stolen. billions have been lost in bribes paid to top officials, lucrative tenders, profits from state enterprises, handed to cronies of the former president, jacob zuma. all this with unemployment running at 27%, and deepening disillusionment in the slum—like foreman road, where they wait for jobs and proper homes. this woman is a mother of three

who runs a roadside stall. how long have you lived in this place? 20 years now. 20 years? yeah. 20 years, you've lived here? yeah. will you ever get out of here? she laughs. mqapheli bonono was a long time anc activist here, but quit in disgust over the growing corruption. the worst thing about corruption is when you see the conditions people are living in getting worse. we blame the government because the government are the ones who were supposed to be responsible. the anc can still rally the crowds, this near durban, and is expected to win, but has lost support to more radical alternatives. and when president ramaphosa arrived at the rally, i put to him the question i'd heard from numerous south africans. can you save this country

from the crooks trying to destroy it? well, the anc‘s going to win this election, and as we win the election, we are going to proceed with a process of renewal. we've got to go now because the people have been waiting. for renewal, read purge and prosecutions. but look at who's leading the welcoming party to see mr ramaphosa's challenge. durban's mayor, zandile gumede, denies numerous allegations of corruption against her, and this official was recently forced to deny he'd ordered the killing of a party comrade. cyril ramaphosa is the popular leader of a party that's losing popularity. that's because he has pledged to defeat corruption. but can he do it, given how pervasive the rot is within his own party and almost every level of government? winning the election may be the least of his battles. fergal keane, bbc news, durban.

much more of the election on our website. members of the british royal family have welcomed the arrival of baby sussex, with their first public appearances since his birth. just to warn you that lisa hampele's report has some flash photography. it is congratulations from the band of the royal regiment of scotland at the changing of the guards at windsor castle just as baby sussex is settling in his new home in a private estate at windsor castle. his great—grandfather made a rare public appearance at the queens side. he was clearly delighted, as was achieved. she was squeezed by the former prime minister of canada. congratulations. how many of them have you got now? you beat me by one. the parents of three of those

great—grandchildren say they were thrilled. i am pleased to welcome my brother to the profession of parenting. i hope they settle down and enjoy the new family. these next few weeks are a bit daunting, first time around. thank you very much. on a trip to germany, prince charles was given a teddy bear by the german president. they are there for four days so they could not be modulated. they are looking forward to meeting him on their return. there is still a picture of the baby. it is a happy face of the father the fans are savouring. it was hoped there would bea savouring. it was hoped there would be a homebirth but it is believed she was taken to hospital. royal

fa ns she was taken to hospital. royal fans on now waiting for the first pictures of baby sussex and his name. josh groban is one of america's biggest selling artists. his first four solo albums went multi—platinum and songs, like you raise me up, have almost become american anthems. i've been speaking to him about how he wants to use his music to bring people together. it was one i sang during a time when i was feeling very depressed. it was one i sang during a time when i was feeling very depressedlj wa nted i was feeling very depressed.” wanted to think about something that has always been very important to me which is having the courage to step out and reach out when you need to andi out and reach out when you need to and i hope by writing and singing a song like that other people would reach out. we live now in very

complicated times. is it that a particular song or songs that best describe the situation? absolutely, you see all over the world, it is a privilege to sing songs that bring people together and songs with m essa 9 es people together and songs with messages about the world needs right now. a song a thing every night that has that message is not one of mine but a song a classic of all time, bridge over troubled waters. the flat water. there is a sense of division and fear in my country and around the world and we need songs like that to bring people together. # you raise me up so i can stand on mad left at mountains. # are you planning more collaborations? it is

my favourite thing and it kissed me on my toes and it teaches me about the culture of other places. # bring him home... #. you have done hundreds of performances around the world. i still get nervous. hundreds of performances around the world. istill get nervous. ithink i will always be nervous, as long as icare, i will always be nervous, as long as i care, which is always a good thing. the nerves when i started we re thing. the nerves when i started were more debilitating. they kind of wound me up. the nerves now arejust an excitement. i love his music. # you raise me up to walk on stormy seas... # join me, casher. don't even go there, rico. he has more followers on twitter

than you do. but i will not be singing josh's songs on a duet with you. i think the viewers will thank me. by by. whether the benefit of sunshine yesterday temperatures reached 17 degrees at heathrow. for the most pa rt degrees at heathrow. for the most part it will stay for the rest of the week. some showers and longer spells of rain. you can see how this cloud is sort of killing itself up into a knot. the thinkers of the cloud is producing some rain and thatis cloud is producing some rain and that is can then going to push its way up from the south—west. still quite chilly across northern parts of scotland. a touch of frost possible. rain across scotland. joined by this general wet weather moving up from the south—west heading northwards. following that,

across the midlands and southern england, sunshine but showers developing and they could be heavy and thundery. the wind turning south—west, lifting the temperatures. the rain for eastern scotla nd temperatures. the rain for eastern scotland is going to be a cold day. temperatures six — eight degrees in many places. not quite so chilly for western scotland because of the easterly wind. temperatures may reached double figures in northern island. heavy showers heading towards the south—west of england. low pressure essentially in charge. that was the carlen of the cloud. the centre drifting eastwards across the uk on a thursday. still a weather front end of the north producing rain and drizzle but it should be moving away from scotland. sunshine but cloudy and damp across parts of england. showers across

parts of england. showers across parts of england and wales especially in the south—east of england. temperatures are still disappointing for this time of year. quite chilly again underneath the cloud and rain in northern england. the low pressure taking most of the rain with it. low pressure, low pressure, high pressure, high pressure. when you have that sort of weather pattern you will get some showers. difficult to say where they will be. some of those could be on the heavyside. large parts of the uk will still have a dry day. again, those temperatures on the low side. chilly air to begin the weekend but it will warm up into next week with much more sunshine and temperatures up much more sunshine and temperatures up to 19 or20 much more sunshine and temperatures up to 19 or 20 celsius.

i'm kasia madera with bbc news.

our top story. stock markets around the world have slumped after us president donald trump's unexpected threat to impose new tariffs on chinese exports. but china says its lead trade negotiator, the vice premier liu he, will visit the united states for two days of talks. his presence had been in question after president trump's tweet on sanctions. two reuters journalists who were jailed in myanmar after reporting on a massacre of rohingya muslims by the military, have been freed under a presidential amnesty. wa lone, and jaw soh 0u, say they now want to get back to work. and this video is trending on bbc.com: famous faces gathered in spectacular outfits for the met gala, an annual benefit event in new york. a full compilation of some the best outfits is on our website bbc.com/news. that's all. stay with bbc news.