welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: on his way home — an american journalist sentenced to 11 years in prison in myanmar is released. the government tells the bbc their reasons in an exclusive interview. translation: our foreign policy is to keep good relations - with other countries. and we also considered humanitarian reasons. on these grounds, we granted amnesty and deported him today. the uk's raises its terror threat level to "severe" meaning an attack�*s highly likely, as police say they believe the man killed in the liverpool explosion made the bomb himself. our inquiries will now seek to understand how the device was built, the motivation for the incident

and to understand if anybody else was involved in it. president xi and president biden prepare for key talks, as tensions grow over trade, taiwan and climate change. and adele tells oprah she had "terrifying anxiety attacks" after her divorce and she was "embarrassed" her eight—year marriage broke down. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 8am in the morning in singapore, midnight in london and 6:30am in myanmar, where the ruling military have been speaking exclusively to bbc world news. they say they released us journalist danny fenster — sentenced last week to 11 years in prison — in an attempt to improve relations

with the united states. the military seized power in a coup on the 1st of february and thousands of people have been detained since then, during violent demonstrations demanding the restoration of democracy. in a wide—ranging interview, myanmar�*s deputy minister of information, major—general zaw min tun, also denied they had carried out systematic torture and war crimes, and insisted that ousted leader aung san suu kyi was in good health. he was speaking to the bbc�*s asia editor, rebecca henschke. after six months in detention, united states journalist danny fenster finally released — the result of lobbying by america, an attempt by the myanmar military to improve broken relations. translation: we carried out an amnesty and waived - the punishment after the court verdict. we already had the intention to release him. what was promised by

the united states in return for his release today? translation: nothing. our foreign policy is to keep good relations with other countries. and we also considered humanitarian reasons. on these grounds, we granted amnesty and deported him today. while danny fenster is now free, some 30 burmese journalists are still behind bars, amongst thousands of political prisoners. those lucky to be released back to their families describe systematic torture in jail — young people detained for months, for daring to take to the streets to demand democracy. i put the testimony of one 24—year—old protester, tortured injail, to general zaw min tun. she was told by her interrogators, "do you know what we do here to women? we rape and then we kill them."

translation: we've released her, so she can accuse us - and say whatever she wants. i don't know why she said that. this kind of fake news comes around. if she was tortured in prison, there's a system to complain. why didn't she complain in the prison? you appear to make no attempt to hide the use of torture. on state tv, you parade those who have been arrested. clearly, theirface is bruised and, in some cases, their face is unrecognisable. translation: it can happen when arrests are made. - they try to escape and we have to capture them. the united nations says the military crackdown points to crimes against humanity, but their envoy has been repeatedly denied access to investigate. and general zaw min tun says that's not going to change.

translation: the reason we don't allow them - in is because, number one, we consider it not the right time, two, we can't agree with their demands and, number three, what they say about myanmar is not constructive. when will you allow them now to enter the country? translation: they need to show steps towards - acknowledging the existence of our government. un envoys have also insisted on seeing detained leader aung san suu kyi. she hasn't been seen in public since february, the military placing a gag order on her lawyers while insisting she is well. translation: we're keeping her well in detention. - i mean, we let her live with her own people in a house, although she's under house arrest. we're trying our best to give her what she wants, whatever she wants to eat. but ten months after the military seized power, the people of myanmar continue to protest, telling the world they want democracy,

not military rule. rebecca henschke, bbc news. four men arrested in relation to the taxi explosion in liverpool in north west england on sunday have been released from custody. the man killed in the blast has been identified as 32—year—old emad al swealmeen. it's being treated by police as a terrorist act. the uk terror threat level has been raised. our special correspondent ed thomas reports. remembrance sunday, as the nation falls silent. david perry's taxi rolls in, before the unthinkable happens. moments after the blast, look at the driver's door. you can see david escape. he runs away. others rush in to help. this is thought to be david with his hands on his head. this evening, his wife rachel said it was a miracle

he survived and he's trying to process what's happened. today, detectives confirmed the passenger who had the explosive device had asked to be taken to the hospital. yesterday, shortly before "am, a local taxi driver picked up a fare in the rutland avenue area of liverpool. the fare, a man, had asked to be taken to liverpool women's hospital, which was about ten minutes away. as the taxi approached the drop—off point at the hospital, an explosion occurred from within the car. tonight, david perry's family said he's lucky to be alive and that he's doing ok. he's also been praised by the prime minister, who urged the public to be alert. it is a stark reminder of the need for us all to remain utterly vigilant. and the independentjoint terrorism analysis centre, jtac, are today raising the uk threat level from substantial to severe, meaning

an attack is highly likely. police have confirmed tonight the identity of the man who died as 32—year—old emad al swealmeen, a syrian refugee befriended by malcolm hitchcott and his wife elizabeth when he arrived in the uk. they supported him and knew him as enzo. how are you coping with all of this? we're just so, so sad. and what do you remember of enzo? well, we just loved him. he was a lovely guy. were you shocked when you saw this today? very. there is a forensic search for evidence on the hospital. it's just horrifying. you can't believe what type of person would do that. ..while david perry's friends and colleagues carry on working, in disbelief at what's happened. i think it's absolutely shocking, how a man can go out to do his normal day's work

and potentially lose his life. he sustained a lot of injuries — i believe burst eardrums, he's got a back fracture. that's just words going in between different drivers, the various injuries and burst eardrums, so obviously it's going to just be a shock for him and his family. i think he's a hero. he's coming all the time in this shop. he's a very nice person as well. but it's here at the hospital where the panic of yesterday was most acute. this was filmed inside the hospital by the father of a newborn baby. we're not using the sound, but he comforts his distraught wife as the fire takes hold. today, parents and expectant mothers told us it was terrifying. just, we feel horrible. but when we see the police is here, we feel safe. it's just really scary, whatever the case was, that they would end up at a women's hospital, when there's loads of babies and things like that. it'sjust awful.

this is now an investigation involving counterterror police and the security services, as they move quickly to find out why this happened and if anyone else knew. ed thomas, bbc news, liverpool. president biden will hold a "virtual meeting" with president xi of china, as the leaders of the world's two largest economies confront tensions over trade, taiwan, human rights, cyberthreats and climate change. it will be the most extensive talks between the two leaders since mr biden took office injanuary. bert hofman leads the east asian institute at the national university of singapore. i asked him what we can expect from this meeting. the meeting itself is very important. it's the first face—to—face meeting between the leaders of the two consequential nations of this century, so it is important by itself. they've had phone calls before, but not yet face—to—face. it's not yet in person, but this is good enough. second, you mentioned already a very large agenda —

political, economic and security issues that are on the table — and it's very important that they're being discussed. in terms of outcomes, i don't expect much concrete outcomes, as in agreements and signed documents, if you want, but i do think that this meeting will set an agenda of more interaction — on the diplomatic level, between the security forces — that will, over time, rebuild some of the trust that was lost under the previous us administration. but, professor, even under this administration, under president biden, there have been key points of tension between the us and china. away from the economy, if we take taiwan, president biden has been very vocal on his support for taiwan, something that beijing absolutely is against. what do you think they will talk about or discuss when it comes to taiwan? indeed, as you mentioned,

joe biden has spoken a couple of times on taiwan. his utterances had to be clarified, because it was unclear whether it was a shift in the us policy with regard to taiwan or not. but at the same time from the chinese side, the chinese are growing quite assertive in incursions into the flight recognition zone of taiwan, lots of activities in the south china sea, so there's nervousness on both side. i think what is important is a simple restatement on both sides of existing taiwan policies, both from china as well the united states. there's 50 years of history in shaping that policy, and most of it was done in the �*70s and early �*80s. joe biden just restating that there has been no change in us policy is, i think, very important and would give some comfort to the chinese. and just briefly, professor,

we have seen the two cooperate to some extent on climate change. do you see that cooperation deepening in the future? well, there's been a complete agreement in glasgow on a more technical issue, methane control. the chinese, unfortunately, they did not commit to a phase—out of coal there, even though it is for them in the plans domestically, but this cooperation is, if you want, important for the world. it will be beneficial, because the us has certain technology that can be useful for the chinese, but the chinese also have certain technology that can be useful for the us and for biden�*s green agenda. so there's good cooperation there for the benefit of the world. i am sure that will deepen, and there may be more areas of global interest, including health, including pandemic control, that are more difficult issues that the us and china can agree on to at least pursue this. again, i don't expect an agreement at this meeting, but a pursuit in the future.

bert hofman there, who leads the east asian institute at the national university of singapore, speaking to us a little earlier. and just to say that meeting between president biden and president xi is expected to take place within the next hour or so. we will keep you updated on that right here on newsday. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. presidentjoe biden has signed into law a trillion—dollar infrastructure bill which has been agreed by both houses of congress. the passing of the bill ends weeks of wrangling between the moderate and progressive wings of the democratic party. steve bannon, the former adviser to donald trump, has appeared in court on criminal charges. he's been indicted for contempt of congress, after refusing to testify in front of an inquiry into the riot at the us capitol building injanuary. mr bannon didn't enter a plea but was ordered to surrender his passport and submit to other conditions

in return for being freed. several cuban opposition activists have been detained or prevented from leaving their homes ahead of planned anti—government protests. dissident groups have reported on social media the arrest of former political prisoners and high—profile dissidents. protesters are calling for freedom of speech and the release of dozens of activists arrested injuly during the biggest anti—government demonstrations since the cuban revolution. the authorities in the indian capital, delhi, says they're ready to impose a complete lockdown to fight worsening air pollution. schools have already been closed for a week and civil servants have been ordered to work from home. if you want to get in touch with me on any of the stories that you have seen so far on newsday — the situation in

delhi, for instance, with the worsening air pollution there — i'm on twitter. @bbckarishma i look forward to hearing from you. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: divorce, weight loss and adele still to come on the programme: divorce, weight loss and adele — the award—winning singer speaks out about her mental health struggles. benezir bhutto has claimed victory in pakistan's general election, and she's asked pakistan's president to name her as prime minister. jackson's been released on bail of $3 million after turning himself in to police in santa barbara. it was the biggest demonstration so far of the fast—growing european antinuclear movement. the south african government i has announced that it's opening the country's remaining whites—only beaches i to people of all races. this will lead to a

black—majority government in this country and the destruction of the white civilisation. part of the centuries—old windsor castle, one of the queen's residences, has been consumed by fire for much of the day. 150 firemen have been battling the blaze, which has caused millions of pounds worth of damage. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines: us journalist danny fenster has been released from prison in myanmar, just days after being sentenced to 11 years injail. four men arrested in relation to the taxi explosion in liverpool on sunday have been released from custody. several hundred migrants have walked from their makeshift camp in belarus to one of the main border crossings into poland. of the main border

belarusian police made no attempt to stop the group, but they were denied entry by polish forces. meanwhile, the eu announced a new round of sanctions against belarus. our correspondent steve rosenberg has travelled to the border and met with the migrants trapped between the two nations. in the migrant camp, word had got out — they'd been told this was the moment to make it into the eu. everyone here wanted to believe it was going to happen and the belarusian soldiers didn't try to stop them. in their thousands, they streamed towards the border crossing that leads from belarus to poland. and the closer they came, the more urgent it got. the last fence on the belarus side swept away. so after a week in the camp,

the migrants are now pouring through, right up to the checkpoint with poland, they're determined to be let through to the european union. attention, attention. but it was no entry. if you don't follow... polish police were out in force and standing firm. always baby crying for the milk, for nappy, we don't have nothing. please come and help these people, all the guys. the eu says belarus is using migrants as a weapon against the west, to pressure europe, a form of hybrid warfare. these people want a better life. they are desperate to get to the european union, which is right here. but the eu says that these migrants are being used, exploited by belarus to spark a humanitarian crisis on the eu's doorstep. back in the camp, we heard stories of how belarusian

soldiers had helped some migrants try to cross illegally into poland. in the night, they told us, "you will go to poland." they cut the fence. the belarusians cut for us and we ran. we run a lot. and then we hide ourselves in the forest. they see us and return back to the site. it is like a football game. we are in the middle. many of these migrants from the middle east say they're escaping conflicts at home. they've paid thousands of dollars each to get here, but they're stuck. they say there's no way back, but for now, there's no way forward. steve rosenberg, bbc news, belarus. the uk government's vaccine advisers say all over 40s should be offered a booster dose of a coronavirus vaccine. thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation says a third jab would top up protection and help

limit the spread of the virus overwinter. they've also advised that 16 and i7—year—olds, who were initially offered only a single dose, should now get a second. jurors in the state of wisconsin are hearing the closing arguments in the homicide trial of kyle rittenhouse. he fatally shot two men and injured a third with an assault rifle during protests in the city of kenosha last year. you may remember these images from last year. mr rittenhouse had travelled to the area, he said, to protect people's property during riots that had erupted after police shot a black man, jacob blake. here's the prosecution laying out their closing arguments. you'll hear a mention ofjoseph rosenbaum — he was the first person mr rittenhouse shot and killed. they have to convince you that joseph rosenbaum was 20 take that gun and use it on the defendant because they know you

can't claim self—defense against an unarmed man like this —— going to take. you lose the right to self—defense when you're the one who brought the gun, when you are the one creating the danger, when you're the one provoking other people. the bbc�*s nomia iqbal has been following the trial from kenosha. she has this report for us. the question for thejury the question for the jury is essentially this — was kyle rittenhouse and armed vigilante or was he acting in self—defense? this is the case that has massively divided people. just outside on the courthouse steps, there are people who are protesting, some calling kyle rittenhouse a hero, other saying that this entire trial is a sham. there are national guard troops all on standby, just in case protest to happen or in case they turn violent. the defence are betraying kyle rittenhouse is a courageous teenager who came to kenosha to try and protect businesses and prevent

theft —— portraying him. the prosecution argued that kyle rittenhouse is an armed vigilante who asserted himself in a situation that was already entirely volatile, he had no business being here, and that he was the one who is to get it the only killings that period of unrest in kenosha. he faces five charges. if he is convicted of the most serious charge, he could face life behind bars. the ddc�*s nomia iqbal —— pvc's nomia bbc�*s nomia iqbal on that story. a different story here. adele has revealed she was "embarrassed" by her divorce. speaking to oprah winfrey ahead of the release of her latest album, the star said she felt like she had "disrespected" the idea of marriage when she separated from her husband in 2018. there are some flashing images in this report from victoria derbyshire. this was adele's first tv interview about the release of her new album. she said because her own dad

left when she was just two, she had promised herself that whatever happened, when she had children, she would always stay with her partner. what do you think the deep wound from the past, from you as a little girl growing up, you are trying to heal as you reach for your relationships as an adult woman? my dad's absolute lack of presence and effort with me. but as i got older, i definitely understood that it was the alcohol, it wasn't a choice that he was necessarily making himself that he didn't want... but when you are little, you don't know. she told oprah she was embarrassed her marriage of eight years crumbled and said it felt like that meant she was disrespecting the institution of marriage. it was just exhausting trying to, like, keep going with it. it's a process, the process of a divorce, the process of being a single parent. the process of not seeing your child every single day wasn't really a plan that i had when i became a mum.

adele also revealed she had suffered paralysing anxiety attacks after her divorce and only started going to the gym mainly to control the stress. it led to her losing over seven stone in two years, but crucially, she said, it helped her mental health. it became my time, me having a plan every day when i had no plans, i had no idea what each day was going to bring for me, but me knowing at 9am, "i'm going to go to the gym, 0k, great, that gives me some discipline. 1pm, i go fora hike." having these pins in my day helped me keep myself together. you weren't starting out trying to lose weight? no, not at all, i wasn't bothered about that at all, but in that process of having lost all that weight, i definitely really contributed towards me getting my mind right and giving me... it sharpened everything. without a shadow of the doubt. it gave me real purpose. that's all the time that we

have for you on newsday at this hour. thanks so much for joining us. from me and the team, do stay with bbc news. hello. well, tuesday promises to be a dry day across most of the uk. it's going to be cloudy and mild once again. and, in fact, not much change expected for the next few days. if anything, the temperatures could rise even further. so why is it so mild? well, on the satellite picture, you'll see this big weather front here. this is very much where the jet stream is. thejet stream is pushing along the weather fronts, but it's also separating the mild air to the south, which has engulfed the uk, indeed much of europe, and is keeping the cold air at bay. so we are to the south of the jet stream in that milder air. but scotland is a little closer to the weather fronts in the north atlantic, so that does mean some of that rain grazing the western isles through the course of the early hours.

elsewhere, it'll be dry. and where the skies will have cleared, perhaps 4—5 celsius at dawn, so a little on the nippy side, but generally mild. now, that weather front does move into scotland, northern ireland, perhaps the lake district and the north of wales, but the rain will be light and fleeting and will complete fizzle away. east and south, it's going to be dry. perhaps a bit of brightness, too. and the same pattern continues into wednesday. so high pressure in the south with that mild air coming in, weather fronts in the north of the atlantic. and again, they are bringing this time some showers to parts of scotland, whereas in the south, central, southern areas of the uk, should be a fine day — in fact, a very bright day, particularly eastern areas and along the south coast. temperatures a little fresher on wednesday, 10—12 celsius, but then they rise again as we head into thursday. now, around this high pressure, we'll run along a current of mild air on thursday. and as it engulfs the uk, the temperatures could a chilly rise even further with a bit of sunshine.

so, yes, a bit of cloud and rain here in the northwest of scotland, but widely i think the mid—teens. and look at that — 16 in aberdeen. wouldn't be surprised if it gets up to 17, 17 this time in november — extraordinarily mild for eastern parts of scotland. shouldn't last for too long, perhaps into friday. again, friday could well be another very mild day, with the mid—teens across the country, but i think as we head into the weekend, it's going to turn a lot, lot cooler. so a very mild week, particularly mild towards the end of the week, and i think the weekend and beyond is going to turn quite a bit colder. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues — straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk from manchester, i'm stephen sackur. of all the football—mad cities in the world, few can compete with this one, home to two of the world's biggest clubs, united and city. for all of football's global appeal it's wrestling with big problems, from financial greed to residual racism. my guest today is former manchester united and