hello, everyone. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: further falls in markets worldwide, after donald trump threatens to impose more tariffs on chinese imports. talks resume this week. can a trade war be avoided? free at last. after 18 months in prison, two reuters journalists in myanmar are re—united with their families. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: south africa's president pledges to clean out corruption in his anc party, but will voters in wednesday's election believe him?

# some days i can't say why i'm feeling lonely... 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's a privilege to be able to sing songs to bring people together and sing songs with messages the world needs right now. 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, one am in london and 8pm 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 as if 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 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 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 lot of back and forth and ups and downs in the background that the public just 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 flames of the volatility. but 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 important issues such as security, energy, transportation. yeah, exactly, exactly. the us trade representative's office is not the only us government agency that has china top of mind, forsure. itjust 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 tariffs are going away anytime soon.

this president does really like tariffs, he thinks tariffs 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. it certainly is. 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 rigorous 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? 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 ten 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. earlier, i spoke to kayleigh long, who used to work with wa lone, at the myanmar times. i asked her is she expected the two journalists‘ release. well, i mean, it has been a case that has had an unparalleled amount of international pressure on it. i think that by this stage, after the appeal with the supreme court was shot down, that was the last ditch legal route. it is the right result. they should never have been jailed in the first place. but it is great they have been released. you worked

out the myanmar times. you worked with wa lone, what was he like? he works long hours. you would go and volunteer and teach english. they would teach children. he wrote a book about a journalist. it was teaching children these moral lessons about the power of journalism. he is a very special, hard—working, tenacious journalism. he is a very special, ha rd—working, tenacious guy. kayleigh long, speaking to us earlier. 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, they were simply doing theirjob, they were simply doing theirjob, they should never have been arrested, much less prosecuted in the first place by the concern is that the myanmar authorities haven't

acknowledged that. and we are concerned also about possible retaliation going forward against these two. and we're also worried about the many of otherjournalists who are facing charges or are imprisoned because the military and aung san suu kyi's government have been pressing cases against them so what we had one of the negotiators say that dialogue with the burmese authorities works, is that the case? what do you think has changed the case with these journalists? international pressure has worked. international pressure has worked. international pressure has worked. international pressure on myanmar to do this was the key. that opens the opportunities for dialogue. without the prezza, myanmar is not going to listen to anybody. and aung san suu kyi, your thoughts on how she has dealt with this, the families of the journalist writing her directly. she has been a disaster, frankly. make human rights perspective and from a human rights perspective and from a 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 in prison for simply trying to cover a campaign of political back and forth between her and other candidates. isn't she in and other candidates. isn't she in an impossible situation when it comes to the regime there? no. she has an absolute majority, a super majority in the parliament. we urged her right from the start to get rid of these rights abusing laws so they would be used againstjournalists or 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 of up she just decides not to use it. 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. live from singapore and london. still to come on the programme: adding another grandchild to the family. the queen shares in the delight at the news of the new royal baby. also on the programme: we'll be hearing from american music starjosh groban about his music and his 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.

and 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. and this story is playing well on bbc.com. liverpool have beaten barcelona 4—0 in the champions league semi—final second leg at anfield — to complete a remarkable comeback. 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 kyaw soe 0o and wa lone 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 five—year—old ahmad sayed rahman dancing on his new prosthetic leg at a hospital in kabul.

he had his leg amputated after being shot by crossfire between us forces and the taliban when he was just eight months old. he is now dancing and this is doing quite well on social media. polls open in south africa in just five 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. they sing. 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 forjobs 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. we will have plenty of coverage across bbc news. members of the british royal family have been welcoming 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. band plays congratulations. it is congratulations from the band of the royal regiment of scotland at the changing of the guards at windsor castle. just within earshot, baby sussex is settling in, to his new home in the private estate of windsor castle.

at a luncheon for members of the order of merit, his great—grandfather made a rare public appearance at the queen's side. he was clearly delighted, as was she. the queen was quizzed about the latest addition to the family by the former prime minister of canada, the right honourablejean chretien. congratulations, another great—grandchild. how many of them have you got now? eight. you beat me by one. the parents of three of those eight great—grandchildren said they were thrilled. i'm very pleased and glad to welcome my brother to the sleep—deprevation society that is parenting. so that'll be...fun. i hope the next few days they can settle down and enjoy having a newborn in the new family and all the joys that come with that. these next few weeks is always a bit daunting, first time around. we wish them all the best. thank you very much. on a trip to germany, prince charles was given a teddy bear for his new grandson by the german president. he and the duchess of cornwall are in the country for four days

so they could not be more delighted and are looking forward to meeting him on their return. there is still no picture of the baby. until tomorrow, it is that happy face of his father the fans are savouring. it was thought that meghan was hoping for a homebirth, in frogmore cottage, where the family moved last month, but it is believed she was taken to hospital to give birth, although there is no officcial confirmation. the media from across the world and royal fans are now waiting for the first pictures of baby sussex... and his name. lisa hampele, bbc news. 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. # some days i can't say why i'm feeling lonely. ..# a song like river was one that i sang during a time when i was feeling very down, very depressed.

and i wanted to sing about something that has always been very important to me which is having the courage to kind of step out and reach out when you need to and i had hoped that by writing and singing a song like that that other people would reach out as well. absolutely and, you know what, josh, we live now in very complicated times. we do indeed. is there a particular song or songs that best describe the situation of today — from conflict to politics? well, absolutely, i mean, you sing all over the world, it is a privilege to be able to sing songs that bring people together and sing songs with messages that the world needs right now. a song that i sing every night, that has that message, is not one of mine, it's one of the great classic songs of all time, bridge 0ver troubled water. i finally recorded it, because of the divide that we're in, because there is a sense of division and otherism and fear in my country and around the world. wnd we need songs like that to bring people together. # you raise me up so i can stand

on mountains...# there's a lot of talent here in asia — are you planning more collaborations with asian artists? it is my favourite part, actually, sharing the stage with local artists, local musicians. it keeps me on my toes adn it teaches me a lot about the culture of that country. # bring him home, bring him home...#. do you still get nervous before you go on stage, because you have done hundreds of performances around the world? i still get nervous. i think that i will always be nervous, as long as i care, which is a good thing. the difference between the nerves now and the nerves when i started was that the nerves then were more debilitating. they were nerves that kind of wound me up. and the nerves now are just an excitement. #...more than i can be.#

thank you for joining us. hello there, good morning. with the benefit of some sunshine yesterday, temperatures reached 17 degrees at heathrow. but for the most part it remains chilly and that's the way it's going to stay through the rest of this week. and htere will be some showers or some longer spells of rain. the weather is changing again. you can see how this cloud is sort of curling itself up into a knot. the thickest of the cloud is producing some rain and that is continuing to push its way up from the south—west. still quite chilly though, ahead of that. across some northern parts of scotland there may be a touch of frost. and we've still got some rain elsewhere across scotland, and that's going to be joined by this general wet weather that we've got moving up from the south—west, heading northwards across england and wales. following that, across wales, midlands and southern england, we should actually get some sunshine but the showers developing could be

heavy and thundery as well. the wind is turning to more of a south—westerly, lifting the temperatures, but with an easterly wind and that rain for eastern scotland and the north—east of england, it really is going to be a cold day. temperatures 6—8 degrees i think degrees in many places. not quite so chilly for western scotland because we've got that easterly wind. temperatures may make double figures in northern ireland, but rain is nver too far away. a cold day with rain on—and—off across northern england, and perhaps north wales. some heavy, thundery showers heading towards norfolk, through the home counties, and towards the south—west of england. low pressure essentially in charge of our weather. that was that curl in the cloud. the low centre itself is just going to drift slowly eastwards across the uk on thursday. still got a weather front end of the north, producing rain and drizzle but that should be moving away from scotland. sunshine following on behind but still cloudy and damp across northern england. some showers for northern ireland. and some showers across parts of england and wales, especially in the south—east of england this time. those temperatures —

there they are — still disappointing for this time of the year, below average and quite chilly again underneath the cloud and rain in northern england. that low pressure though is going to pull away or take away most of that rain with it as well. we've got low pressure, low pressure, high pressure, high pressure — it's what we call a cull, and when we have that sort of weather pattern you're going to get some showers. there's going to be some sunshine. difficult to say exactly where the showers are going to be. that's where they're looking at moment for friday. and some of those could be on the heavy side once again. but large parts of the uk will still have a dry day. but again, those temperatures are below par — 10—15 degrees fairly typically. however, as we head into the weekend, we've still got some chilly air to begin with, but it is going to be warming up as the weekend goes on and into next week. much more sunshine and temperatures probably getting 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 kyaw soe 0o 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. and the top story in the uk: