welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. the speaker of the us house of representatives meets taiwan's president in california, despite threats of retaliation from china. i believe our bond is stronger now than at any time or point in my lifetime. and of course, president tsai is a great champion of that bond. western leaders are on a state visit to china as they try to get beijing to play a bigger role in ending the war in ukraine. ukraine's president gets the red—carpet treatment in poland and a pledge of fighterjets.

one of the world's biggest online, crime websites online crime websites is shut down by police in seventeen countries. is shut down by police in 17 countries. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 7 in the morning in singapore and 4 o'clock in the afternoon in simi valley in california, where us house speaker kevin mccarthy greeted taiwan president tsai ing—wen at the start of a meeting that has already infuriated china. in the last hour, beijing has promised a "resolute" response. mr mccarthy is the most senior american politician to meet a taiwanese leader on us soil since 1979. the meeting took place at

the ronald reagan presidential library during a stopover on president tsai'sjourney home from latin america. china claims taiwan is part of its own territory and discourages the island's leaders from meeting foreign officials. the two leaders held a press conference earlier. here's what they said. the friendship between the people of taiwan and america is a matter of profound importance to the free will, and it is critical to maintain economic freedom, peace and regional stability. we will honour our obligations and reiterate our commitment to our shared values behind which all americans are united. i want to thank speaker mccarthy for his warm hospitality and for his invitation to bipartisan congressional leaders to take time out of their busy schedules to join us today. their presence and unwavering support reassures the people of taiwan that we are not

isolated and we are not alone. i was joined earlier by our north america correspondent, david willis. i began by asking him to give us the highlights of the meeting. well, karishma, the backdrop could hardly have been more american, could it? the ronald reagan presidential library in simi valley, california, and the two speaking there against the backdrop of the blue—and—white boeing aeroplane that ronald reagan used to fly on when he was president back in the 1980s. as far as president tsai is concerned, well, i would have thought she would've been very pleased with the mood music, with the pleasantries that were exchanged between these two

leaders, basically saying leaders, she basically saying that this was proof that taiwan was not isolated, it was not alone. kevin mccarthy telling reporters that the two nations held a shared belief, as he put it, in democracy and freedom, and that their friendship was "a matter of profound importance to the free world." china, of course, will not be relishing that sort of exchange of pleasantries. it had warned earlier that the us was "playing with fire," as it put it, by welcoming president tsai in this way. yeah, david, in the last few minutes, there have been some comments coming through from beijing according to the reuters and asp news, so tell us. china says it will take resolute and effective measures. we for this sort of

things before in the lead up to this visit. beijing was very unhappy that it was taking place. i imagine even more unhappy that it's gone ahead. yes, i think so, karishma vaswani. although i think this was less provocative than nancy pelosi's visit was perceived by the chinese last year. that was met with a flurry of indignation by the chinese leadership, and of course, the white house is doing its best to try to play down what's happened with it. making the point that president tsai is in transit on our way back from a visit to latin america in these meetings are private and unofficial, but as far as china is concerned, of course, there should be no dealings between the united states and taiwan directly because it believes that taiwan is a part of china.

david willis there, speaking me earlier. well, as taiwan's president sweeps through the us, western leaders have been making their way to china. french president emmanuel macron is on a state visit there in a bid to get beijing to play a bigger role the french president says china could use its close links with russia to stop the war in ukraine. translation: china has proposed a peace plan i and we have welcomed it, but do we agree with it in its entirety? no, but it is interesting. it shows willingness to commit to resolving the conflict. and so, if it is not a peace plan, it is a desire to have responsibility to try to build a path towards peace, and i hope to be able to participate in initiatives that are useful to the ukrainian population. let's talk more about the taiwanese president's visit to the us. james lee is an assistant research fellow at academia sinica and

joins me from taipei. great to get you on the programme. just in terms of what the sentiment is on the ground in taiwan, polling suggests that unification is absolutely not something that taiwanese people want, but does that mean everybody�*s happy with this visit? the that mean everybody's happy with this visit?— with this visit? the public in aeneral with this visit? the public in general supports _ with this visit? the public in general supports these - with this visit? the public in | general supports these kinds with this visit? the public in - general supports these kinds of visits, and our public opinion research that we can have carried out shows these reactions are a reassuring signal of us support for taiwan. but there does tend to be a partisan breakdown is that the opposition worries about the opposition worries about the impact of these visits on relations with china. in the current administration is more supportive of these kinds of interactions and visits. the public generally support these visits, but we do see a partisan difference. how do

--eole partisan difference. how do peeple in — partisan difference. how do people in taiwan _ partisan difference. how do people in taiwan feel- partisan difference. how do people in taiwan feel about partisan difference. how do - people in taiwan feel about the united states? is it as simple as a feeling that china, bad, the us good, or are they looking for closer ties with washington? it’s looking for closer ties with washington?— looking for closer ties with washinuton? �* , ., ., washington? it's not quite that simle. washington? it's not quite that simple- in _ washington? it's not quite that simple. in our— washington? it's not quite that simple. in our survey, - washington? it's not quite that simple. in our survey, we - washington? it's not quite that| simple. in our survey, we found if you pull taiwanese respondents on how much relations with the united states should develop on a 1—10 scale, most people �*s at five. there is a mixed feeling about closer ties. we also asked the question, do you find the united states to be a credible country? only about 30% said yes. country? only about 3096 said es. , ., , ., �* country? only about 3096 said es. , . ., ~ yes. given what you've talked about there, _ yes. given what you've talked about there, that _ yes. given what you've talked about there, that division - yes. given what you've talked about there, that division in l about there, that division in taiwanese society, i just want to get your thoughts on the upcoming elections as well. which way do you think public sentiment is lying in terms of candidates like president tsai, who are looking for closer ties

with the us, and others who perhaps are not? i with the us, and others who perhaps are not?— perhaps are not? i think it's difficult to _ perhaps are not? i think it's difficult to say _ perhaps are not? i think it's difficult to say at _ perhaps are not? i think it's difficult to say at this - perhaps are not? i think it's difficult to say at this point | difficult to say at this point and there's unease about both sides of the political spectrum. looking at president tsai's party, if the candidate for the presidency is elected, there is concern about whether or not he will take a stronger ally on sovereignty. it's been said he's quoted a political worker for taiwan said he's quoted a political workerfor taiwan independence, and that has raise some concern. forthe and that has raise some concern. for the opposition who are also concerned about relations with china may be too close to beijing, and those and by certain distance with china. , , by certain distance with china. , ., ., ., ., china. just going forward, do ou see china. just going forward, do you see more _ china. just going forward, do you see more of _ china. just going forward, do you see more of these - china. just going forward, do you see more of these sorts| china. just going forward, do i you see more of these sorts of visits happening? to see the relationship between the us and taiwan getting even closer based on what we've seen today?

yes, i think relationships will grow closer, especially as china applies diplomatic pressure on taiwan. i think if there is a further loss of recognition by taiwan's few remaining partners, those would be offset by relations with the united states. generally speaking, the united states is taiwan's most important international partner in the united states is willing to deepen relations with taiwan. james lee, thank you so much forjoining us on the programme with your thoughts.— to the us, now and donald trump has called on his fellow republicans in congress to slash funding for the justice department and the fbi. it's in response to his court appearance on tuesday accused of falsifying business records. the case relates to money paid to the former porn actress stormy daniels. our north america editor, sarah smith, has the story. trump supporters lined

the streets to welcome him back to florida, and you can see he is clearly loving it after what must have felt like a humiliating courtroom ordeal in new york. the former president used a prime—time speech from his mar—a—lago residence to attack a prosecutor who has charged him with 3a felony crimes. and i never thought anything like this could happen in america. never thought it could happen. the only crime that i have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it. donald trump looked much less combative when he appeared in court earlier. but now that his lawyers have seen the detailed charges, they are more confident mr trump can win this case. this is not a game. you're charging the president of the united states with crimes, crimes that will never be sustained in a court of law because they don't exist.

donald trump believes this prosecution could help his election prospects. he is now centre stage again, and his party, including his rivals, support his claim that he has been targeted unfairly for political reasons. we are a nation in decline, and now these radical left lunatics want to interfere with our elections by using law enforcement. we can't let that happen. things have certainly calmed down outside manhattan's criminal court today, and donald trump will not be back here again before december, when the next hearing is scheduled. but remember, he is facing several other legal investigations over the january 6th riots, over declassified documents found at his home in florida, and over alleged election interference in the state of georgia. next year, donald trump may be having to defend himself in several different legal cases at the same time is running his third presidential election campaign. sarah smith, bbc news, new york.

let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. four young children have been killed in an attack on a preschool in southern brazil. police say a 25—year—old man entered the nursery and attacked the children before turning himself in. a tornado struck missouri in the early morning, killing at least five people. local authorities report widespread damage to the area. this storm is one of many to devastate the us south and midwest. when commenting on the storm, an officer called it "heartbreaking" to see. the un chief has strongly condemned the taliban for barring afghan women from working for the organisation in the country. secretary general antonio guterres says female staff are essential and that this move will harm afghans. afghan employees — men and women — have been told to not report to work for the next 48 hours until there's more clarity on the situation.

still to come a bit later in the programme: one of the world's biggest criminal marketplaces used by online fraudsters to buy passwords has been shut down —— after a global police investigation. but first. . .. in other news for you, ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky says poland will help form a coalition of western countries to supply warplanes to ukraine. he made those comments while on a trip to poland, where he delivered a speech on a main square in the capital, warsaw. zelensky said russia would not win a war against europe when ukraine and poland stand shoulder to shoulder. translation: | would like to | say and convey to our partners who are constantly looking for compromises from ukraine on our session to nato that ukraine will be uncompromising on this question as well, and i am grateful that poland will be with us on this path. an important point in our relations is the reconstruction of ukraine.

it will bring closer our businesses and our nations. it is important for us. poland will be one of the main partners in the reconstruction of ukraine. around the world and across the uk — this is bbc news. there are people both young and old who simply do not know that people of colour fought and died alongside their british counterparts in both world wars. a large crowd gathered to remember a generation who crossed oceans to help britain during world war ii. nothing short of a disgrace that the service of these brave men who came all those thousands of miles from the caribbean to help this country in its hour of need has been pretty much erased

from the history books. glenn's uncles came from the caribbean to train with the raf in nearby hunmanby. he wanted a memorial for them and thousands of others who volunteered to serve. i hope people do take notice. i'm proud, my god, lam proud for my comrades. | some are missing, obviously. you're live with bbc news. one of the world's biggest criminal marketplaces, used by online fraudsters to buy passwords, has been shut down after a global police investigation. known as genesis market, the site sold login details and other personal data, allowing criminals to log into people's bank accounts and other services. 2 million people may have fallen victim to the fraudsters around the world —

tens of thousands of them in the uk. daniel sandford has the story. come to the door! police! come to the door! a dawn raid in grimsby at the home of a suspected fraudster. the start of an international operation against alleged hackers who steal from online bank accounts and shopping sites. here, officers from the national crime agency and the police arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of fraud and computer misuse — one of 2a people arrested in the uk. the target of the raids was the genesis market website, a one—stop shop for hackers who could log in and buy stolen passwords for bank accounts, paypal accounts and accounts for services like amazon, uber and netflix. what was particularly dangerous about the data being sold on the genesis market website was that it wasn't just log—in details. the hackers could purchase all of what's known as your digital fingerprints,

your browser information, your ip address and your physical location, so that when the hackers logged in to a bank account or shopping website, it really did look as if they were the original user. hackers trying to use genesis market today didn't get the usual login page. rather, they got this message from the fbi saying the website had been seized as part of operation cookie monster — a reference to the fact that one of the things that genesis market was selling was computer cookies to help hackers impersonate genuine users. for too long, criminals have stolen credentials from innocent members of the public. we now want criminals to be afraid that we have their credentials, and they should be. and people today are getting a knock on their door, very early in the morning. the national crime agency advised members of the public that, to avoid fraud, they should always take software updates on their phones and computers, they should use strong passwords and, where possible, use two factor authentication.

that's when a text message with a one use password is sent as part of the login process. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the national crime agency. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. the home office has confirmed it's leased a barge to house asylum seekers in dorset. the uk government says it costs more than £6 million per day to house migrants in hotels and says the barge is a "significantly cheaper" solution. around 500 migrants will be accommodated on the vessel in portland in the south of england. 21 people have been found guilty of involvement in the biggest child sex abuse case ever investigated by west midlands police. seven children were abused over almost a decade in walsall and wolverhampton. the oldest was 12. police in scotland say the former chief executive of the snp, peter murrell, has been released without charge following his arrest earlier today.

he was being questioned as part of an inquiry into the party's finances. his wife — the former first minister, nicola sturgeon — has said she will "fully co—operate" with the police if asked. a new bbc investigation exposes a uk life—coaching organisation that is accused of being a cult. the group says it offers self—development, but people who have left say it's taken over their lives. people say they've been encouraged to hand over tens of thousands of pounds, separate from their families and have suffered extreme harassment. one charity which helps people break free from abusive groups says it receives more calls about the organisation than any other in the uk. catrin nye reports. it's been 18 months since jeffrey leejones left lighthouse international group, a life coaching company accused of being a cult. the sailor initially signed up

for business coaching, but soon, he was on the phone to his mentor at all hours of the day. at first, i was motivated, i was inspired, and i started working hard. these calls then became more frequent, longer, more intense, more about deeper parts of your life. in time, i began to share traumatic things, things i found deeply painful. jeff became part of lighthouse full—time. that meant being on group phone calls with their leader, paul waugh. many people who don't know me very well think i'm a mystic. all these calls were recorded, then painstakingly transcribed. they began to take overjeff�*s life. they got longer and longer as we went, so within six months, they were five to six hours. i would listen in at times. the topics were getting more sinister. - narcissists, you know, toxic parents. - and then that's when i started worrying cos i thought he's- literally being brainwashed all day, every day. - what did they say

about your family? my mother and sister are narcissistic, my father is weak. my partner, dawn, well, she just got endless flak. people in lighthouse have become isolated from family. some move into shared houses, and there's a financial cost, too. in total, jeff paid £131,000 to the organisation. he sold his house to fund some of it. lighthouse says that any money paid is a self—investment. i consider lighthouse a very classic example of a cult. firstly, cults are started and led by a charismatic and authoritarian leader. but they're also bullies. the structure is steeply hierarchical. then you have this process of what i call brainwashing, or we could also call coercive control. if you do this to people, you can then exploit them. some people who've spoken out against the group have been reported to the police. others have had letters

sent to their employers. one week ago, lighthouse international group was shut down as a business by a court, over a lack of financial transparency. we put our allegations to their leader. how do you feel, paul, about the fact so many people feel you're running a cult? we're not running a cult because they don't know what a cult is. they don't know, if you ask them what's the difference with a cult and a community that supports people, they wouldn't be able to tell you. why do you think so many people say it? because they're slurring us. they're smearing us. that's exactly what they do. are you going to carry on? yes, we are carrying on. thank you. we've had enough. no comment. catrin nye, bbc news. fascinating report there and want more on the bbc website, as always. the former new zealand prime minister, jacinda ardern, has bowed out of parliament with a standing ovation following her farewell speech earlier. the 42—year—old spoke about the honour she has felt representing her country and steering its people

through some of the hardest times, including natural disasters, the covid—19 pandemic and the 2019 she shocked the country earlier christchurch mosque attack. she shocked the country earlier this year when she announced she was stepping down as prime minister and retiring from politics, saying she no longer had "enough in the tank". i do hope i have demonstrated something else entirely. that you can be anxious, sensitive, kind, and wear your heart on your sleeve. you can be a mother or not. you can be an ex—mormon or not. you can be a nerd, a crier, a hugger, you can be all of these things. and not only can you be here, you can lead just like me. tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou.

a visibly emotionaljust send our there in parliament. let's turn to pakistan now, where i want to tell you about how an elephant in karachi zoo, suffering from multiple issues including arthritis, has received further treatment. —— just send 17—year—old noorjehan had been barely able to walk around her enclosure due to a huge growth between her back legs, sparking concern from keepers and visitors. but that changed when a team of veterinarians and wildlife experts from a foreign animal welfare group intervened after images of the ailing african elephant were shared across social media. she's much better as we understand it, and that's very good news for her. china's foreign ministry has condemned a meeting. but between kevin mccarthy and president tsai ing—wen, saying that actions have broken the

commitment made by the us to china and the question of taiwan. lots more for you coming up on bbc news. thanks for watching. hello there. the easter weekend just around the corner, a heads—up for what to expect coming shortly, but first of all, let's take a look at wednesday's weather. best of the sunshine was certainly across eastern england. yes, it clouded over into the afternoon, but most of us had skies like this — fairly grey with outbreaks of rain at times. now, that rain is pushing its way east and it will clear over the next few hours and allow this ridge of high pressure to build and quieten things down. so, first thing thursday, it's a rather grey, damp, dreary start across the east, but it's a mild one with the cloud around, temperatures holding up above freezing, so that early rain will ease away. mist and fog patches lift to sunny spells and scattered showers into the afternoon. maybe some of those showers filtering down

through the cheshire gap could be quite heavy, maybe with the odd rumble of thunder mixed in there as well. so, by the middle part of the afternoon, it's sunny spells and scattered showers. highs of 11—14 degrees, slightly drier, brighter skies into northern ireland and western scotland as that ridge of high pressure takes over. but there will be some showers across the northeast of england and eastern scotland here, highs of 9—12 celsius. so, by the end of thursday, the high pressure is building and quieting things down quite nicely. a spell of really wet weatherfor a time, moving away through east anglia and southeast england. but under those clearer skies out to the west, once again, those temperatures fall away low enough for a touch

so, on the whole, we could just see a little more in the way

china condemns the meeting between taiwanese president and the us house speaker kevin mccarthy in california. find the us house speaker kevin mccarthy in california. and we sit down with _ mccarthy in california. and we sit down with the _ mccarthy in california. and we sit down with the head - mccarthy in california. and we sit down with the head of - mccarthy in california. and we sit down with the head of the l sit down with the head of the sri lankan airlines as the state carrier looks to privatise the burden on the economy. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm karishma vaswani. our top story is 90. china has a resolute response between a high—level meeting between the taiwanese president and house speaker

kevin mccarthy. a sports person