welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: after a difficult few months, elon musk talks exclusively to the bbc about troubled times at twitter. the pain level of twitter has been extremely high. this hasn't been some sort of party. so it's been really quite a stressful situation. presidentjoe biden arrives in dublin after re—committing us support for the good friday agreement. the pentagon grapples with the fallout of a massive leak of classified documents, many of them linked to the war in ukraine. and this year is expected to be the first ever year the planet has used less coal, oil and gas for energy —

because of the rise of renewables. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 7am here in singapore and 4pm in san francisco, where the bbc�*s technology correspondent sat down in an unexpected interview with elon musk. the billionaire telsa car boss and new owner of twitter said running the social media site has been "painful" and "a roller—coaster". it's one of his first interviews since he bought twitter. james clayton has this exclusive report. it's not every day you find yourself invited by one it's not every day

you get invited by one a sit—down interview, and a few minutes before it was due to take place, the inevitable curveball. we're about to go live, very surprisingly, we onlyjust found this out, on twitter. but that is elon musk. we didn't know about that. but you never know with elon musk. when he sat down, he was in the mood to chat. so, how do you think it's gone? well, it's not been boring. it's been quite a roller—coaster. the pain level of twitter has been extremely high. this hasn't been some sort of party. so it's been really quite a stressful situation. were there many mistakes made along the way? of course. when you put that initial bid in, you then had a wobble. you kind of said, "i actually don't want "to buy twitter any more." then you changed your mind again and decided to buy it.

did you do that because... i kind of had to. right, did you do that because you thought a court would make you do that? yes. right! yes, that is the reason. so you were still trying to get out of it, and you were advised by lawyers, look, you're going to have to buy this? yes. interesting. so you didn't actually want to purchase it even when you said you were going to? almost immediately, you sacked a lot of twitter workers. and i spoke to them, it was very easy to speak to them when it happened, and the way pretty much everyone said is that it felt quite haphazard. it was. and it felt a little bit uncaring. i wouldn't say uncaring. the issue was, the company is either going to go bankrupt, if you do not cut costs immediately. this is not a caring or uncaring situation.

it's like, if the whole ship sinks, then nobody has a job. i know the bbc, for example, is not thrilled about being labelled state—affiliated media. i was going to get to that later. but let's go for it now. it's officially objected to that tag. do you want to respond to it? our goal is simply to be as truthful and accurate as possible, so i think we're adjusting the label to be "publicly funded," which i think is perhaps not too objectionable. we're trying to be accurate. tiktok has also been in the news. there is talk of perhaps the biden administration wanting to potentially ban it or force a sale. what is your view of the situation? ijust don't know enough of what's going on there. i can't say i have a strong opinion on tiktok. you don't have an opinion on whether it should be banned or not? you know, i'm generally

against banning things. so i probably would not be in favour. i mean, it would help twitter, i suppose, if tiktok was banned, because then people would spend more time on twitter and less time on tiktok. but even if it would help twitter, i would be generally against the banning of things. you have said that you were going to stand down. i already have. as chief executive? 0k... i'm not the ceo of twitter. my dog is the ceo of twitter. 0k... after almost an hour of questions, he hung around to answer more questions on twitter. it was an unconventional end to an extraordinary evening. lots more on the bbc website on that story and others, of course. president biden has been welcomed to the irish republic at the start of a three—day visit.

he's expected to address parliament and explore his family links with the country. mr biden�*s stay follows a brief official visit to northern ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the good friday agreement — which brought peace to northern ireland. with more, here's the bbc�*s political editor, chris mason. preparing for a president to pass by. every inch of the route accounted for. a sight worth getting up for. as the clock struck midday, the beast on belfast streets. president biden�*s heavily—armored limo, with no shortage of other cars in tow. here it is, quite a spectacle, the president's motorcade. always something of a rigmarole when a us president is on the move. yes, it's about security. it's also a projection of power. the president was heading for ulster university, to reflect on northern ireland now and northern ireland then — before the good friday agreement.

every person killed in the troubles left an empty chair at their dining room table and a hole in the heart that was never filled for the ones they lost. peace was not inevitable. we can't ever forget that. listening outside, the good friday agreement generation — born in an era of relative peace. but people here have been without devolved government, a key part of the agreement, for over a year. president biden told us what he thought about this. but listen to how carefully he weighted his words. as a friend, i hope it's not too presumptuous for me to say that i believe democratic institutions established through the good friday agreement remain critical to the future of northern ireland. an effective devolved government that reflects the people of northern ireland and is accountable to them. a government that works to

find ways through hard problems together, that's going to draw even greater opportunity in this region. so i hope the assembly and the executive will soon be restored. that's a judgment for you to make, not me, but i hope it happens. and so does the prime minister. but it hasn't happened — at least yet. the president and rishi sunak met for 45 minutes of talks and tea. we spoke in particular about the incredible economic opportunities that are there in store for northern ireland. and we talked about the investment potential that is there, the companies that want to invest in northern ireland. i think that's incredibly exciting, it'll bring growth, jobs and prosperity to northern ireland. and i know he shares my ambition to see the institutions here back up and running. that's what people and businesses in northern ireland deserve. the prospect of this visit has been talked about for months but lasted only hours. there's no such thing as a low—key trip by an american president anywhere, but this feels like it's come pretty close.

but the message was unmistakably clear — restoring devolved government here, absolutely essential to northern ireland's future. by mid—afternoon, president biden�*s much cherished irish heritage had lured him to the republic. he was in dundalk, in county louth this evening, near the border, in a pub and reflecting on his sense of belonging. coming here feels like coming home. it really does. every time i've come, the welcome, the people on the streets, so gracious to us. there was time too for a walkabout in the street. his tour continues for the next few days. chris mason, bbc news in belfast. president biden is the fourth sitting american president to visit northern ireland in almost 30 years. his visit was definitely brief, but despite the huge security, the crowds still came out onto the streets of belfast to welcome him.

our ireland correspondent emma vardy has been speaking to some of them. some statesmanship from stateside. a glimpse of the grandeur of the convoy alone was enough to attract the crowds. the chance to see a president doesn't come often, so... it's just really cool. everyone kind of coming out to see him. even as an american myself, it's not often that you get - to see such a leader. how big is the irish connection for americans? oh, boy. well, i'm from boston. so, quite big. you know, they like to call us plastic paddies back - there, which is fair. it's up to us to keep this going... biden�*s message of hope for northern ireland, for some, was a welcome contrast to the pessimism that set in over a lack of government. there's been such a little political direction, you know, that a world leader is interested in us, i think it's a big endorsement for us. can biden do anything to unlock the current political crisis? that would be amazing. what do you think the parties should do? get back in government and start talking, get money

out to the communities. and those with a seat inside felt the president's enthusiasm first hand. there was a great energy and real great, actually, optimism, i would say. so, what was your sense of biden�*s grasp of the situation in northern ireland? i feel like he certainly got the current context we are in politically. i think he made that very clear and he expressed that very well. do you feel any frustration with northern ireland's situation today? i think there's so much more that could be done, particularly for students. but we're in a bit of a stalemate at the moment and things are very difficult to progress. he only had one engagement — why do you think you chose the university? look where we are in this part of belfast, it has been- regenerated by our new campus that is in that space. _ 22,000 square metres of glass. could you have done that priorl to the good friday agreement? people are certainly soaking up the excitement of a presidential visit. while there's no great hope here he can shift the dial on the political situation, there is a sense of pride that northern ireland is in the spotlight. did you get a wee

picture there? yes, just a little picture, midway through the waves. so i'm quite happy with that. you had a wave from the president? yeah, that's a story. i took my b—reel, while he pointed at it. he's actually pointing out the window? yeah, yeah. that's much more than we got. behind the bullet—proof glass, there may be relief in that limo he's made it swiftly through the politically thorny part of the trip. with family ties and a southern irish welcome ahead, that is likely to be the easier ride. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. buckingham palace says prince harry will attend his father's coronation next month, but meghan, the duchess of sussex, won't be travelling from california. the prince willjoin more than 2,000 guests at westminster abbey on the 6th of may. nicky schiller is in the newsroom with more details. so the royal planners at buckingham palace, particularly those in charge of the seating plan, will probably be breathing a sigh of relief, as we have had confirmation that prince harry will be attending the coronation of his father, king charles, on may 6. however, his wife, meghan, she is staying in california.

there had been speculation that neither of them would travel because it is prince archie's, their son's, fourth birthday on may 6. but we had a statement issued by buckingham palace and the sussexes saying the duke of sussex will attend the coronation service at westminster abbey on may 6. it went on to say that the duchess of sussex will remain in california with prince archie and princess lilibet. now, it will, of course, be the first time that harry has been seen with other members of the royal family since his explosive book spare was published and their netflix documentary. so how will he be received by the family? we know there are still tensions with his brother, william, who he's barely spoken to. and we've heard a lot from harry over the last few months with his book and his netflix documentary, so it's going to be tricky for william and the rest of the family. but i think when all is said and done, the king will be really pleased at the end of the day that his youngest son is going to be there by his side on coronation day. prince harry is one of 2,000

guests who received this invite from king charles and the queen consort. amongst them are a50 members of community groups and charities. the service will, of course, take place in westminster abbey at 11.00 on the morning of the 6th of may. now, the royal couple, they will take this route to the abbey, shorter than the one that was used by queen elizabeth for her coronation. but it will go up the mall, admiralty arch, down whitehall, the palace of westminster, parliament square and into westminster abbey. they will be inside this royal carriage. it is the diamond jubilee stagecoach. now, the reason this one is being used is because it will be more comfortable for the royal couple. it has air conditioning and also electric windows. now, one of the key moments of the ceremony will be when king charles is crowned. and this is the crown that will be used. it is the st edward's crown, and it weighs five pounds or over two kilos. finally, a sign that the coronation has moved into the modern era, as buckingham palace have released an official emoji

to be used on social media with the hashtag #coronation. nicky schiller reporting on that story for us. some news that's just coming in — north korea has reportedly fired an unspecified ballistic missile towards the sea. that's according to the japanese coastguard and the south korean yonhap news agency. we're hearing unconfirmed reports that japanese authorities have ordered residents in hokkaido to take shelter. the agency said the south's joint chiefs of staff reported the missile was fired toward the east sea, also known as the sea of japan. it's being seen as the latest act of defiance from pyongyang amid acute tensions with seoul and washington. we will try and get you more details on that story as and when we get it, so do stay tuned to bbc news for that.

for now, let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. in england, doctors�* leaders have asked the government to enter talks to end their dispute over pay. thousands of nhs junior doctors are halfway through a four—day strike. prime minister rishi sunak said he wanted to find a reasonable compromise, and the right outcome, for patients and taxpayers. scotland's devolved government is to mount a legal challenge to the british government's decision to block its controversial gender recognition reforms. holyrood's proposed law simplifies and speeds up the process for trans people to legally change their gender. the uk government says the reforms could affect the equality act and protection of women. a 74—year—old man has been extradited from pakistan and charged with the murder of pc sharon beshenivsky, who was shot dead in bradford in 2005. piran ditta khan was arrested in pakistan in 2020. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

when you think of world heritage sites, you might think of stonehenge or the taj mahal or the great barrier reef or hadrian's wall, but the east atlantic flyway is something a bit different. this is a motorway in the sky, if you like, a passage for millions of migrating birds. and this, here at rspb frampton, is one of the stopping off points that is bidding for that unesco status. well, we're absolutely thrilled because it's a recognition that this landscape is world class. it's absolutely amazing. this is the most important site for water birds in the uk. what we don't realise, i think, and this is helping us to see this, is that these are an amazing, world—class spectacle. a decision on that special status could be many years away, but conservationists are hoping that, if granted, it could secure precious habitats like this one forfuture generations.

you're live with bbc news. the us department of defence is continuing to deal with the consequences of one of the largest leaks of classified material in recent years. while the bulk of the leaked documents concern, in one way or another, the war in ukraine, there are others that touch on a huge range of other issues. many of them shed light on some of washington's global preoccupations, including the spread of chinese technology. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams has more. the embarrassment for allies around the world is considerable. i mean, there's a set of documents that deal with jordan's highly commercially sensitive discussions about whether or not to keep huawei, the chinese—owned company, out of their own 5g network. now, obviously, that's a bit of an american obsession. it's been an issue here in britain, too, and elsewhere. and there are references

to a jordanian undertaking to washington to keep huawei out, but then the jordanians are anxious because the rival bids are much more expensive. so that's the kind of thing that... again, thejordanians will not be happy that this is being aired in public. and one can only imagine that the ukrainians, for whom the americans are their most important military backer, must be incandescent that some of this highly sensitive material is out there. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams reporting on that story for us. a bbc investigation has discovered that 40% of current premier league clubs have been sponsored by financialfirms that have subsequently been banned by the british financial conduct authority, fined or are under investigation. most of the companies were offering complex financial tools to ordinary people. but — as the world service investigation unit discovered — many were not playing by the rules.

joe inwood has this report. a glossy promo for leeds united. the video was sponsored by an online financial firm called fxvc. for more than a year, their branding was seen around elland road. it was an endorsement that gave people like phil and joyce the confidence to hand over tens of thousands of pounds. the fact that they sponsored leeds football club, i just took them as being a proper investment platform. the problem was that fxvc was running a scam. using pressure tactics and false promises to get clients to make trades they were always likely to lose. phil and joyce were soon told their money was frozen and they needed to put in more to unlock it. i was watching it go down, down, down. we had lost £341,000 within seven days. so fxvc, as far as i'm concerned, werejust a platform to con people into investment.

there was no real investment there. within weeks, fxvc had been banned by the british financial conduct authority, but the money was gone. and this is just one example of a wider problem. a bbc investigation has found that 40% of premier league clubs have taken sponsorship money from firms like this that have subsequently been banned, fined or are being investigated. clarke carlisle is a former premier league footballer and chair of the footballers�* union. he now campaigns on issues around mental health following his own well—publicised troubles. there is an unavoidable link between a supporter and their club and the companies that are affiliated with them. for an organisation to take advantage of that with mistruths, they have to be stopped. in a statement, fxvc denied any wrongdoing. now, in fairness to

leeds united, when they had a relationship with fxvc, they were a regulated company, but in cyprus. and leeds told us that as soon as they were banned by the fca, they cut all ties, which is basically the same thing that all the premier league clubs said. the truth is that this is bigger than leeds united. it is bigger even than football. it is about dodgy companies ripping off customers for millions, maybe even billions of pounds and using the beautiful game to legitimise an ugly industry. joe inwood, bbc news, leeds. let's take a look at some other stories we're following. a usjudge has sanctioned fox news as part of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought against the tv news network. judge eric davis says he may also investigate whether the broadcaster withheld evidence in the case brought by dominion voting systems. the firm accuses fox of harming its reputation by broadcasting unfounded allegations about

its voting machines. meanwhile, bloomberg news is reporting rupert murdoch — the boss of the company that owns fox — would be forced to testify at the trial as early as next week. scientists who have completed an unprecedented study of cancer say they don't think a cure will be found any time soon. the researchers who tracked lung cancers for nine years said they were surprised at the "almost infinite" ability of tumours to evolve and survive. cancer research uk said the study showed the importance of prevention and early detection. researchers say that globally, fewer fossil fuels will be used this year to produce electricity, in what's being described as a "turning point" in the battle against climate change. last year, there was more carbon emitted than ever to generate electricity. but this year, those emissions are expected to fall slightly. the reason is mainly down to the boom in renewable energy, led predominantly by china. here's the bbc�*s environment correspondent, matt mcgrath.

from lighting to heating, cooling and transport, electricity has become the world's most important energy source. but the benefits of global electrification have come at a cost to the planet. making power is the single biggest contributor to global warming, responsible for over a third of energy related carbon emissions in 2021. even with the cost of living crisis, demand for electricity is growing rapidly all over the world. most of that growth to date has been met by burning fossilfuels. but cleaner sources, including wind, solar and nuclear and hydro, are rapidly catching up, producing almost 40% in 2022. and this year will likely see the first fall in emissions from the use of coal, oil and gas to make electricity outside of pandemic or global recession. we're doing all the right things. we just need to be doing them quicker. so we know that our route to decarbonising notjust the power sector but the whole of the energy economy is through clean power.

what's making a big difference is china. despite being the world's biggest users of coal, china is also responsible for half the extra wind power. one in five solar panels added last year were on chinese rooftops. even countries with little sun such as the netherlands, produce 15% of their electricity from solar. while britain has lagged behind the rest of the world when it comes to solar, where the uk has really made strides is in wind energy, like here in the blowy south wales valleys, once famed for their production of coal. last year, electricity production from wind across the uk was up by 23%, thanks in part to turbines like these. extreme weather events — like these floods in new zealand — are increasingly being linked to rising temperatures. climate change will also bring more heat waves, like the one the uk suffered last summer. to avoid the worst, scientists emphasize fossil fuel use must peak now and drop rapidly over

the next seven years. today's news is a critical first step on that path. matt mcgrath, bbc news. that's it from us. thanks for watching. do stay with bbc news for the latest global headlines and analysis. hello there. storm noa has been bringing problems to transport, with road, rail, ferries and airports affected. meanwhile, out to sea, some wild weather in cornwall, with these large, mountainous waves pummeling the coastline. some of the waves were thought to be about eight metres high. that's the same height as two double decker buses stacked on top of each other. storm noa, then, has certainly been making its impact felt. it's this swirl of cloud you can see here on the satellite picture. and the top wind speed was recorded, as it often is in such storms, at the needles on the isle of wight — a very exposed site —

at 96 miles an hour. elsewhere, well into the 70s. even across inland parts of southern england, we had gusts into the 60s of miles an hour and that was strong enough to blow over a few trees. now, over the next few hours, those very strong winds are starting to calm down. it's still quite windy, though, for wales and south—west england. temperatures coming down to between 3 and 6 celsius, very similar to what we've seen over recent nights. now, heading into thursday, it should be a fine start to the day for many for england and wales. there'll be showers across northern england, showers for scotland and northern ireland. and i think through the day, there is a chance that some of these showers, particularly for southern and eastern scotland, into eastern areas of england, well, they could merge together to give some longer spells of rain. and some of the rain heavy with some hail and thunder mixed in and temperatures still below par. but where the sunshine comes out, out of the breeze, probably not feeling too bad. probably not feeling too good on friday across southern parts of england and wales, with another area of low pressure moving in, bringing outbreaks of rain widely. some of that's going to be quite heavy as well,

whereas the further north you are, you will see showers and thunderstorms, some of them, again, merging together to give some longer spells of rain, so staying very unsettled and pretty cool again for april. highs only reaching around 12 or 13 degrees at best. however, as we get into the weekend, things start to cheer up. the south—westerly winds start to blow away some of that cooler air and the high pressure starts to flex its muscles. now, on saturday, there'll still be a few showers around, maybe a few morning mist and fog patches to clear, but there'll be some bright or sunny spells and, overall, it's a better kind of day weather—wise. temperatures climbing. we're looking at highs of 15 in glasgow, 15 in norwich and for london as well. and that's just the start of things, because through sunday and into next week, it gets even warmer. indeed, next week, for the first time this year, we should see highs hit 20.

signs of inflation slowing in the worlds largest economy but fears of recession in the us are growing. plus the world bank has set a leadership change at a time where it's unprofessionalfor change at a time where it's unprofessional for world leaders for the analysis of what's next for the institution. hello and welcome to asia business report i karishma vaswani. we start this morning and the worlds largest economy, the united states where inflation is dropped to

its lowest level for nearly two