breaking news from around the world, 24 breaking news from around the world, 2a hours a day, this is bbc news. fix, 24 hours a day, this is bbc news. certain degree and also support against what they see as pressure from the prc so this would be japan, south korea, singapore is a bit of a mixed position. singapore i think is not a us ally. it like this with with the us i think it appreciates bite and's more stable as opposed to trump's. so there is some concern about perhaps the mounting intensity of competition between the us and china, i think for singapore who was in the middle man position, they are wary of a bite in the ministration pushing further on competition and of course they are just as concerned with the prc in kern —— in case any

mistakes as would venture to say. interesting you mention tensions between washington and beijing. under the obama administration when mr biden was the vp that was very much a policy of pivot to asia. how do you rate mr biden policy toward asia in his first term? i do you rate mr biden policy toward asia in his first term?— asia in his first term? i think his policy nature — asia in his first term? i think his policy nature has _ asia in his first term? i think his policy nature has been - asia in his first term? i think his l policy nature has been consistent. he has had people show up, has been trying to put a strong phase of the us and asia and show as a resident actor in asia so i think that part is appreciated, but i think that is also a degree of may be frustration, to be of circumcision of what to do about us china competition and this would be less among us allies or mutual partners who feel that they don't have as much at stake. so i guess it is a bit of a mixed picture, but it is a lot more

appreciated that the us is present and active then when it does not. so in the sense, to have the consistency of biden, to have a relationship that people are the constant that the us is here is something that is appreciated. thank ou so something that is appreciated. thank you so much — something that is appreciated. thank you so much associate _ something that is appreciated. thank you so much associate professor for joining us on the programme. it would have been the first private venture to land a rover on the moon, but the misson, by a japanese company, appears to have failed at the last moment. ispace says it lost contact with the unmanned spacecraftjust before it was due to touch down. the company says it will keep trying to communicate with the craft, which was launched towards the moon back in december. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk.... the former first minister of scotland nicola sturgeon says the past few weeks have been beyond her worst nightmares. she was speaking at the scottish

parliament for the first time since her husband peter murrell, the former chief executive of the snp, along with the party's treasurer were both questioned by police. i understand the view that some people might have that i knew that all of this is going to unfold and that is why walked away — nothing could be further from the truth. i could not have anticipated in my worst nightmares what would have unfolded over the past few weeks. the high court in london has heard that buckingham palace and the publisher of the sun newspaper struck a secret deal to delay or prevent princes william and harry from making phone—hacking claims. in newly released documents, harry says his brother privately settled his case but he still wants to sue. news group newspapers denies a deal ever took place. a bank of england economist has warned prices in the uk will continue to rise unless people understand that they are poorer.

huw pill told a podcast there was a "reluctance to accept" that people were worse off. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. it's been described as a buzzer or, asjeff calls it, a natty little gadget. but for something so small, its impact is huge. if i turn it off... ..then i turn it back on again. jeff is one of the first people to use the 01 which is now being trialled at addenbrooke's hospital in cambridge, where staff admit patients have been surprised by the results.

i think it was a surprise to me as well, which is why we're trying it in in—patients because it has such a quick effect. and a lot of the drugs that people need to take to treat the condition have a lot of side effects. over 13,000 people are on the waiting list for the 01. sojeff is one of the lucky ones. operating a scooter would have been unthinkable without one. training a new puppy now a walk in the park. you're live with bbc news. one of the world's largest tobacco companies, british american tobacco, has agreed to pay more than $600 million after being accused of selling cigarette materials to north korea. it's the most severe action ever taken by us authorities against a company for breaking north korea sanctions. my colleague simijolaoso has more. this fine relates to british

american tobacco's activities in north korea between the years 2007 and 2017. it is after subsidiary admitted to selling cigarettes there where they made approximately $428 million. the issue is this was in violation of sanctions that the us put on the country. particularly over its nuclear and ballistic missile activities. last year the us even attempted to get the un security council to be an export of tobacco product to north korea, however it russia and china vetoed this. the usjustice department has said this sentiment is the single largest north korean sanctions penalty in the history of the department —— sanction. in the head of the british american tobacco has apologised for the company's apologised for the compa ny�*s misconduct. apologised for the company's misconduct. foryears apologised for the company's misconduct. for years north korea has faced tough sanctions over its nuclear ballistic missiles programmes and launches and tests and while the leader kim jong who himself is a heavy smoker, it is not

certain this sentiment nor an sanctions will determine from continuing with the countries weapons programme. take a look at some other stories in the headlines.... russian foreign minister sergei lavrov says sudan has the right to use the russian private military company wagner. last week wagner group denied it was operating in sudan. western diplomats in khartoum had previously accused the group of being involved in illicit gold mining in the country, alongside military activities. translation: well concerning wagner it is a private military company. - central african republic, mali, sudan and another of other countries whose governments whose legitimate authorities turn to these kinds of services have the right to do so. the south african president cyril ramaphosa has told reporters his governing party, the african national congress, has decided the country should leave the international criminal court. the decision comes after the icc issued an arrest warrant against president vladimir putin.

as a member of the icc, south africa would be obliged to arrest putin if he arrived in the country. south africa is set to host the russian president later this year. american singer, actor and human rights activist, harry belafonte, has died at the age of 96. his success with calypso—inspired pop music helped to break down racial barriers, at a time when segregation was widespread in the united states. our arts correspondent david silitto looks back on his life. # day—o, day—o # daylight come and me want go home... harry belafonte — the king of calypso. # me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day—o # daylight come and me want go home... and now it says here

tonight that we're going to have the fabulous harry belafonte. here he comes! he was born in new york, but his sound was caribbean. from the calypso of trinidad to the folk songs of his childhood home, jamaica. # but i'm sad to say i'm on my way... it was a career that took him from the clubs of new york to recording the first ever album to sell one million copies. the first performer to sell over a million copies of a single album, ladies and gentlemen... # when your lover decides to fly... he also landed major roles in movies such as carmenjones. but there should have been more. # shake, shake, shake, senora, shake your body line... this was the era of the battle for civil rights. inspired by his hero paul robeson, he was there at the heart of it, shoulder to shoulder with martin luther king, and he paid a price. i wound up on mccarthy's blacklist, i was being called a communist. for a long time,

i couldn't work or get employed. looking back, he described himself essentially as an activist who just happened to become a singer. but what a singer he was. # and man will live forever more because of christmas day. # i'm joined now byjoan walsh, producer of the documentary "the sit in: harry belafonte hosts the tonight show." thank you forjoining us. for viewers who've not watched it, tell us about your documentary — why was it important for harry belafonte to host the tonight show in 1968? it was 1968 as you know, our country was just ramped by riots and the

anti—war movement was turning people apart and even the civil rights movement was coming apart between a younger generation that was ready for black power and an older generation that was still pushing for non—violence, integration. harry straddled the two factions in a crucial way that kept people talking to each other. people would go talk to each other. people would go talk to each other at his upper west side apartment in new york here. hejust did... he was the glue for so much that mattered in that period. and also when i found out about that week, i was like, how do people not know about that? so i think those two things, knowing that he was such, he was a civil rights hero to me more than an entertainer. but

also that he really bridged all of these gaps, it was a story that we had to tell. these gaps, it was a story that we had to tell-— had to tell. what was he like in erson? is there anything you think will surprise viewers to know about harry delafonte? i don't know what your viewers know, but i feel surprised by myself, not surprised because it was my experience. what i am finding today is all of people who ran into him in an elevator, you know he's a dirty worker, i'm sorry, he got dirty he is not dirty, he is doing manual labour and he's in this fancy elevator and harry is the only one who shakes his hand. other people who shakes his hand. other people who were like we ran into him in a pharmacy or at a party and he talked to my 14—year—old son. there's the

sense humility about him, that was my experience, quite honestly. i met him at the msnbc greenroom, i guess you guys probably have those as well. and he was like, thank you so much for what you've done civil rights and i almost cried. my dad loved him. and i have done nothing, thank you. he was always reaching out like that and making people feel really good about themselves, their contributions but also just their daily lives. he was a citizen of new york who just made an impression on so many people because he stayed openin so many people because he stayed open in his daily life. and i really think that is something that i did not know until today, to be honest. the producer of the documentary, thank you so much forjoining us on newsday and of course opera was one of the first to pay tribute and of

course many more did check out more on our website thank you forjoining us for now. hello there. here in the uk, spring warmth is in short supply at the moment. another rather chilly day lies ahead, but it's a very different story in spain and portugal. in fact, a concerning early season heat wave building here, temperatures over the next couple of days could well climb to 38, maybe 39 celsius. that heat has been building to the south of the jet stream. we find ourselves to the north of the jet stream, and so we remain in this rather chilly air mass, at least for the time being. and a really cold start to the day, particularly in the north of scotland, not as cold further south, because here, there is more cloud in the mix. and for many of us, it is going to be a rather cloudy day, particularly across the south of england, into southern wales

and also northern ireland. extensive cloud producing some bits and pieces of rain at times. now, through north wales, the north midlands, northern england, southern scotland, it's a mix of patchy cloud, some sunny spells and the odd shower. the best of the sunshine will be found in northern scotland. but, again, the odd shower here, temperatures of 7—13 celsius, so a little disappointing for the time of year. now, through wednesday night, we'll tend to keep large amounts of cloud. we'll see some rain getting close to northern ireland, into the western side of scotland, some pushing towards the south west of england as well. another rather chilly night, particularly in the north of the uk, not as cold further south. but as we head into thursday, well, this is a rather messy weather chart. there are a couple of different weather systems, one here, one here, likely to bring some outbreaks of rain. this first band of rain is likely to be pushing northwards across scotland. could be some snow over the highest ground for a time, and then outbreaks of rain pushing northwards across parts of england and wales. there may be a drier slot in between those two rain bands.

temperatures, if anything, starting to climb a little. a sign of things to come, because as we head towards the end of the week, we will start to pull in some slightly warmer air. now, we're not talking about spanish or portuguese heat wave here, but we are talking about something a little bit less chilly. and, actually, on friday, while there will be some showers around and perhaps some more persistent rain in northern scotland, we should actually start to see a little bit more in the way of sunshine for many of us. and those temperatures climbing just a touch, and into the weekend, it is going to feeljust a little bit warmer. there will be some dry spells, a bit of sunshine around, but still some showers. there wasn't much on. what a break this has been! certainly one of the best breaks of this match. the same start to this mini—session

as

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the many news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. there — i've just used seven words and communicated quite a lot. words can bind us together or push us apart. in a sense, we are all wordsmiths, but many of us shy away from the art form that best harnesses the power of words — poetry. but not my guest today.

john cooper clarke was once dubbed "the punk poet".