welcome to newsday. i'm babita sharma in london. the headlines: his final big speech as president. barack obama arising chicago for his farewell address. jeff sessions, the man picked to be the nexus attorney general, has told a congressional hearing that he is no racist and has never supported the ku klux klan. —— nexus attorney general. fifa approves plans for a massive expansion of football's world cup 248 teams. and the woman who sat in the front row of history. britain's war correspondent claire hollingworth has died at the age of 145 -- to 48 hollingworth has died at the age of 145 —— to 48 teams. —— the age of 105. live from our studios in london and singapore. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good morning. it's 7am in singapore,

midnight in london and 6pm in chicago where barack obama will deliver the final big speech of his presidency. it's expected to be a parting plea to americans not to lose faith in their future no matter what they think about their next president. it's also his last chance to try to define his legacy. the president landed in chicago a short time ago. a fitting book into what began eight years ago in a city where the nation's first black president claimed his victory. our correspondent laura trevelyan is in chicago. laura, it's getting busy over there? it certainly years, babita. so many people are coming here to here in person barack obama's farewell speech and amongst those here isjoel griffis, who joins me now. thanks for being with us. joins me now. thanks for being with us. no problem. what brings you here tonight? it's important to be here

for me, i heard his inauguration when i was in college and it was such a life changing experience, i thought i would come here to see his farewell speech to hear the direction he feels we should move in after this past election. i thought it was a good reason to be here. you work in his campaign in 2012 and you knocked on doors in ohio, what are you hoping to hearfrom him tonight? i worked with him in ohio, it was a great experience. i'm hoping he will give usa great experience. i'm hoping he will give us a feeling of hope again as he did in his inauguration in 2008 when he first declared he would be president. especially with the results of the last election, it is important for us as democrats to have a sense of hope again and direction going forward. is this a dispiriting moment for you

personally after eight years of barack obama, you worked in ohio, a state donald trump won by nine point square is blue it is, it was a surprise on election day, i was in chicago and i worked in ohio —— nine points? it is. howl ohio goes is where the country goes and i thought that it was a big shock. but nonetheless i thought the president has a way of rallying the troops. —— how i ohio goes. has a way of rallying the troops. —— howl ohio goes. what has it meant personally for you to have him in the white house over the last eight yea rs ? the white house over the last eight years? for me as an african-american and someone who had a chance to watch his career, i have worked in various areas of government myself, so various areas of government myself, so it meant a lot to see him and knowing this guy was knocking down barriers and to see anything was possible, i was a graduate at the time and it was mind blowing so it meant a lot. you got the chance to

meet meet the president, you are going to meet him? there will be a special event afterwards and if he makes a special appearance it would be awesome. thanks forjoining us. thank you. one of many loyal barack obama supporters eager to hear what he has to say after this very divisive and brutal election, next week president—elect donald trump is sworn in, a bit moment and they are looking for barack obama to point the way forward. more from you later throughout the coming hours, laura trevelya n throughout the coming hours, laura trevelyan in chicago. stay with us because later in the programme we will look at barack obama's foreign policy legacy. and you can watch live coverage of barack obama's and you can watch live coverage of ba rack obama's farewell speech and you can watch live coverage of barack obama's farewell speech on bbc world news at zero 200 gmt. republicans and democrats in the us senate have clashed over the nomination of donald trump's nominee

for attorney general. republican senators described jeff sessions as a distinguished legislator but democrats said they were troubled by what they called his extremely conservative agenda. several times he rejected allegations of racism. barbara plett—usher has more from washington. this was always going to be a hard sell. a senator dogged by years for allegations of racism now set to become the country's top law enforcement official. jeff sessions is the first of donald trump's cabinet nominees to be questioned by congress and the most controversial. iam nota congress and the most controversial. i am not a racist, congress and the most controversial. iam not a racist, i congress and the most controversial. iam nota racist, iam congress and the most controversial. iam not a racist, iam not insensitive to blacks... 30 years ago he was accused of racist comments in front of this same committee, it rejected him from a position as federaljudge. other charges of civil rights violations followed and he has been defending his record ever since. a fellow senator from the south gave him a chance to humanise the debate. when icame up

chance to humanise the debate. when i came up as a us attorney i had no support group, i didn't prepare myself well in 1986 and there was an organised effort to caricature me as something that wasn't true. sessions strongly denied allegations he supported the ku klux klan and said he had no doubt about systemic discrimination. i know that was wrong and i know we need to do better. we can never go back. the civil rights concerns tapped into widerfears of civil rights concerns tapped into wider fears of what a trump administration will bring, especially from a strong front supporter like sessions. communities across this country are concerned about whether they will be able to rely on the department ofjustice to protect their rights and freedoms. democratic senators quizzed sessions about his hard—line views on immigration and social issues, could he enforce laws he voted against? yes, he said, including same—sex marriage and abortion. it is the law of the land, it has been so established and settled for quite a long time and it deserves respect

andi long time and it deserves respect and i will respect it and follow it. he also sought to ease fears he supported from's initial ban on muslims entering the country but reassuring testimony has little impact in this climate. a number of black lawmakers even planned to testify against their fellow congressmen, something almost unheard of. please understand i think these are extraordinary times and a call for extraordinary measures. barbara plett-usher, bbc news, washington. doesn't have been killed in a succession of militant attacks in pakistan. the taliban said it was responsible for the twin bomb attacks on an intelligence agency vehicle in the centre of couple when the car was responding to a last minute is earlier —— afghanistan. a jury minute is earlier —— afghanistan. a jury inside carolina has confirmed dillon roof will get the death penalty for killing nine black women and women in a church in 2015. the 22—year—old white supremacist was convicted of the crime is last year.

—— men and women. asi as i sat in the court room, i thought this is a very hollow victory because my sister is still gone. i wish that this verdict could have brought her back but it can't. what it can do is send a message to those who feel the way he feels, that this community will not tolerate it. when my sister was killed, this community pulled together in a way that i had never seen together in a way that i had never seen before and ijust wish that that feeling, that that love that we showed for each other in the city of charleston and the state of south carolina, and around the nation, the warm words, the prayers that came in

and that continue, ijust want warm words, the prayers that came in and that continue, i just want this to stop, i really do. i'm tired. everytime i hear about a shooting, i cry. we have to stop this. and now take a look at this. amazing work by doctors at a hospital in china. they used lights from smart phones to deliver a baby in the dark. the woman went into labour in the back of a car outside a hospital in brand row and the doctors said by the time they got to the car half of the time they got to the car half of the body was in view so they had to deliver the baby there. —— hangzhou. congratulations. several days of torrential rain in thailand has left at least 30 people dead. the heaviest january thailand has left at least 30 people dead. the heaviestjanuary rains thailand has left at least 30 people dead. the heaviest january rains for three decades have been lashing the country's south for more than a week, affecting more than1 million

across 12 provinces. let's get more from chris fawkes at the bbc weather centre. looking at the severe flooding affecting southern thailand, i'm going to go through a whole week of satellite pictures and you can see storm after storm battering the prevention of thailand, especially in the south. it's been caused by low pressure that hasn't budged, why? the atmosphere has been in perfect balance, the brisk north—east monsoon winds being balanced by the winds from the south—west, that's why the low pressure hasn't moved away. better news in the forecast because the north—east monsoon winds in the south china sea will ease down over the next few days and northerly winds come down from the bay of bengal, this skills off the storm system and by the time we get to the weekend it will be completely dry in thailand. chris fawkes at the bbc weather centre. football's governing body has approved plans to expand the world cup to 48 teams. it will open up world cup to 48 teams. it will open up the tournament to nations who

have previously found it difficult to qualify and is set to boost the number of african and asian countries taking part. the move will also generate millions more from advertising and television rights. let's eat to bob, who played for canada nearly 50 times, including the 1986 football world cup in mexico and he is currently the president of the mls team the vancouverite is. thanks forjoining us, bob. what do you make of this expansion from 32 teams to 48 teams? —— vancouver whiteca ps. expansion from 32 teams to 48 teams? — — vancouver whitecapslj expansion from 32 teams to 48 teams? -- vancouver whitecaps. i love it. i know the purists aren't overly excited about it because they are suggesting there will be a dilation of the tournament but in my opinion i think the powerful countries, the ones that are established, as long as they don't have to play more than the current seven games to actually get to the final, and then in another light they get the

opportunity to have the lesser established countries in their group, so it is good for them and good for the country is like ourselves, canada, looking to get back to the world cup, there are more spots available now. i know some people are suggesting that perhaps it is a money grab by fifa, i don't see it that way. i think it is good for the game in the long run. additional 16 teams in the 2026 world cup, and a lot of people are saying that europe gets a lot of slots. who do you think will be getting these additional slots, will it be from asia—pacific or africa? bob, can you hear me? bob, can you hear me?

it looks like we lost our webcam connection to bob, let's try to have him back later in the programme to talk about this expansion by fifa of the world cup in 2026 from 32 to 48 teams. let's move on and it is not often that malaysia gets to celebrate a world —class that malaysia gets to celebrate a world—class victory in football, but on monday mohammed beat some of the finest players in the world to be named winner of the fifa plus cass award for scoring the best goal of 2016. a massive triumph for the young player but he has caught the worlds attention in his rather chubby attempts to get his accepts a speech notes out of his phone. —— puskas award. as you can see it took him a minute or two. the clip went viral and upstaged everyone else at the ceremony. do you need any help? maybe? bless him, he got there eventually.

claire hollingworth, thejournalist that broke the news of the start of the second world war, has died at the second world war, has died at the age of 105. she was just 27 when she delivered the scoop of the century of the buildup of the german troops on the polish border. she then covered many of the big events in the 20th—century. we look back on her and career. —— in the 20th—century. we look back on herand career. —— her in the 20th—century. we look back on her and career. —— her life and career. archive: this is a national programme from london. germany has invaded poland and has bombed many towns. it was clare hollingworth‘s first story. three days earlier, she'd spotted the build up of german armour ready for the invasion. aged 27 and a journalist for less than a week, a woman in a man's world had beaten the lot of them. 19391 world had beaten the lot of them. 1939i went out to poland to become number two to hugh carleton greene of bbc fame and i got to warsaw and

he said one of us has got to go to the frontier and i was on the german polish frontier when the german ports, tanks, moved in. and macro a two hollingworth's scoops kept coming, in1963 two hollingworth's scoops kept coming, in 1963 she covered philby's escape to russia. the guardian didn't publish for fear of libel action. across the middle east and notably in vietnam she was a war correspondent, revealing secret talks between hanoi and washington. iam talks between hanoi and washington. i am passionately interested in war and if one is then one can't help but be in it. happy birthday dear clare. last year in hong kong, fellow journalists clare. last year in hong kong, fellowjournalists celebrated clare's 105th fellowjournalists celebrated clare's105th birthday, as even more extraordinary story is a measure of her role before world war two, helping refugees escape the nazis. engage in herself so many times,

macro a two hollingworth was witness to great events across more than a century. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: with just two hours to go before his farewell speech as president, we look at the impact of barak obama's foreign policy. the japanese people are in mourning following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. good grief. after half a century of delighting fans around the world, charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts his tour of south africa tomorrow, in spite of protests and violence from some black activist groups. they say international artists should continue to boycott south africa until majority rule is established. teams were trying to scoop up lumps of oil as france recognises it faces an ecological crisis.

three weeks ago, the authorities confidently assured these areas that oil from the broken tanker erika would head out to sea. it didn't. the world's tallest skyscraper opens today. the burj dubai has easily overtaken its nearest rivals. this is newsday on the bbc. i am rico hizon in singapore. i am babita sharma in london. our top stories: barack obama lands in chicago where he is going to be making his farewell speech as president injust under two hours. it'll be live on bbc news. donald trump's controversial nomination for the post of attorney general, senatorjeff sessions, has been defending his record as he testifies at a confirmation hearing. let's take a look at some front

pages from around the world. china daily talks about alibaba's ambitious plans for the us. the e—commerce giant is going to add american companies to its vast network creating one million newjobs in us. the philippine star reports on the latest pirate atrocity in the country. eight fishermen have been killed in an attack off the southern coast of mindanao. the south china morning post carries a picture ofjiajia, the chinese robot. the most human looking robot is on her way to a presentation about the digital economy in shanghai. what stories are sparking discussions online? japanese scientists think they've discovered the identity

of the"missing" element within the earth's core. as well as iron and nickel, researchers now think that silicon is also present, making up about 5% of the core's weight. as president obama makes his farewell address in chicago, he's expected to highlight his achievements abroad, the nuclear deal with iran and the capture of osama bin laden. but he may be less forthcoming about the conflict in syria, the rise of so—called islamic state, and deteriorating relations with russia. so, what is the obama foreign policy legacy? here's our north america editor, jon sopel. there was always something upside down about barack obama receiving the nobel peace prize before he'd really done anything as president. when he came to office, one of the greatest strategic threats was iran, a resurgent power in the region, but more important than that was securing a multi—national deal to curb tehran's nuclear ambitions. an agreement struck, despite fierce opposition

from israel's prime minister. when benjamin netanyahu came to address the congress, nearly two years ago, there was fury in the white house. they were angry that an invitation had been extended by republican leaders and accepted without the president knowing. but very soon someone much more to the israeli prime minister's liking will be occupying the white house and the question the world is asking — will the iran nuclear deal survive the change of power? for over a year, we've been told that no deal is better than a bad deal. well, this is a bad deal. it's a very bad deal. his relationship with netanyahu was one of the lows, culminating in the us refusing to veto a un resolution critical of israel's policy of settlement building. the chemistry with the russian leader, vladimir putin, was no better.

crimea, cyber espionage and syria left them barely speaking. the pledge at the start of his presidency was all about disengaging from costly conflicts and bringing the troops back home. in 2011, president obama achieved something the bush administration did not, the successful tracking down and raid to kill public enemy number one. the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden, the leader of al-anda. the raid and promise of the arab spring would soon be replaced by a middle east in flames and the rise of so—called islamic state, the fight against which remains unfinished business. arguably, the low point for president obama in the middle east has been syria, which has been a humanitarian catastrophe sparking the worst refugee crisis since world war two. and the president's failure to act against president assad, despite much huffing and puffing, has come back to to haunt him. a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons

moving around or being utilised. that would change my calculous. but nothing happened, no action. i think it was a mistake not to enforce the red line. when the united states says, very clearly, that there will be costs and consequences for a certain action, i think it's important to follow up on that action. but i also wouldn't confuse that, enforcing the chemical weapons red line, with the notion that there was some interventionist fix to the syria problem. barack obama's policy towards syria is very much like the country's embassy here in washington dc, an empty shell, newspapers piling up on the doorstep, the windows barred. in the talks to bring peace to the country, america isn't at the table. barack obama has flipped—flopped over whether to take military action, too slow to react to the dangers of so—called islamic state. it's been a period in which american influence has waned and russian has increased. from one empty embassy to another

that has had new life breathed into it. this is the cuban embassy in north—west washington. for over 50 years it had lain derelict, a last legacy, if you like, of the cold war. in the warmth of a caribbean island, barack obama consigned the last piece of icy cold war legacy to history. cuba had brought the world to the edge of nuclear war, now diplomatic relations are restored, an extraordinary transformation. he leaves office largely admired and popular around the world, not least for his role in the global climate change deal. he'd tried to carve out a foreign policy that he saw as right for the times, but as the commander—in—chief was given the traditional send—off, in his own way was he as destructive to us power and influence

as his predecessor, george w bush, and what would the nobel committee make of him eight years on? jon sopel, bbc news, washington. fever has decided to increase the number of world cup teams from 32 up to 48. let's speak to bob lenarduzzi who played for canada nearly 50 times, including in the 1986 football world cup in mexico. he's the current president of the vancouver whiteca ps. it is great to have you back. you mentioned earlier you like the idea. a lot of critics say that it is a money grab. why don't you think so? well, they are going to make substantially more money, but is that an issue if it helps to grow the sport around the world? i think it will. the powerful countries, the

minnows, will all benefit, so the question of how much money is being made is redundant. right now there isa made is redundant. right now there is a lot of resentment that europe gets a lot of slots. will asia get more slots with the additional teams in the roster? no question, so will concacaf and other confederations. when people want to question the amount of spots that europe gets. that is ludicrous to me. europe is obviously a powerful confederation and they deserve the sports they have got. with the jump to 48 from 32, they will benefit as well. thank you forjoining us. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. hello. before our weather turns

wintry it turns wild and windy. a particularly lively day across the northern half of the uk. some travel disruption is possible with wind gusts in excess of 60 mph. strongest wind through northern scotland as these were the feature pushes east introducing cold wind across the country and keeping the wind lively and gusty for the morning rush—hour, gus in excess of 60 mph. frequent showers turning frequently to sleet and snow not just showers turning frequently to sleet and snow notjust over the hills —— gusts. rangel is for northern ireland accompany the strong to gale force winds, gales is not severe gales for northern and western england as well as western wales. not a great morning rush hour across the pennines. the winds particularly lively. further south and east wind isn't as wrong but picking up through the day, introducing some sunshine by dropping the temperature. feeling called for all in the afternoon. showers most frequent in the north of england and ireland, and they turn increasingly to for scotland with afternoon temperatures at three or four degrees at best —— cold. we continue

with those winds, strong, gusty and icy through the night and into thursday. the showers get increasingly wintry too. scotland, northern ireland and northern england have a covering of snow, certainly icy conditions around. further south, even hear a cold start to thursday. here is the set up start to thursday. here is the set upfor start to thursday. here is the set up for thursday with the north—westerly winds bringing increasingly cold and arctic air our way. notice the weather feature pushing south, this could comfort a things, the forecast for the south for sure. uncertainty at the moment but it looks like for southern areas outbreaks of rain with the wind coming from the south—west, the rain turning to snow for a time across the world mountains, the moors, the south—west and the other high ground to the other parts of southern england as we go through the afternoon given a covering here and there, maybe some flakes to low levels, certainly one to watch. further north we go, it is a case of some avoiding the showers altogether, others frequent snow showers. a good covering over the high ground in scotland, 10— 20 centimetres if not more for the

highlands and grampians. bridging loa n highlands and grampians. bridging loan levels at times. even if you miss the showers, some of you will completely, all of you will notice the wind, it is going to be a day where the wind chill makes it feel much more like subzero for almost all. and the icy winds continue through thursday night and into friday. strengthening in fact across southern areas. showers for a time dying back to the coast through friday itself but the rain, sleet and snow flurries across eastern pa rt and snow flurries across eastern part of england are only part of the story. here we will see severe gales on friday, some rough seas and the risk of some minor kirsty will —— minor coastal flooding. stay tuned to the forecast. welcome back, you're watching bbc news. i'm babita sharma. ourtop story: barack news. i'm babita sharma. ourtop story: ba rack obama news. i'm babita sharma. ourtop story: barack obama has arrived in chicago for his farewell address. he touched down on air force one within the last hour and that's where he made his inauguration speech eight yea rs made his inauguration speech eight years ago. he's expected to make a parting plea to americans not to lose faith in their future.

donald trump's controversial nomination for the post of attorney general, senatorjeff sessions, has defended his record as he testifies ata defended his record as he testifies at a congressional hearing to say he's not a racist and never supported the ku klux klan. this video is trending@bbc.com, a clip that has gone viral of this malaysian footballer fumbling on clip that has gone viral of this malaysian footballerfumbling on his phone to look for his acceptance beach after being named winner of the fifa puskas award for scoring the fifa puskas award for scoring the best goal of 2016. —— speech. he did get there, though. stay with us, plenty still to come. more from me in halfan plenty still to come. more from me in half an hour but first on