hello, everyone. i hello, everyone. lam rico hizon hello, everyone. i am rico hizon in singapore. the headlines. to use solemnly swear... donald trump's choice to lead the cia praises the intelligence community in hours after donald trump criticised them. i have seen their morale through tough times and i have seen them walk through fire to do theirjobs in a professional way. a big change in the rules for cubans entering the usa. they will no longer be automatically granted residency. i am kasia madera. 27 days lost at sea. and australian farmer and his daughter turn up safe and well despite going 2000, it is of course. can't money buy happiness? we talk to the filmmaker who is testing the theory for real in an impoverished african community. live from our studios in

singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. glad you could join us. it is sam glad you could join us. it is 8am in singapore, midnight in london, and 7pm in washington, where in eight days, donald trump will become president of the usa. donald trump seems to be at odds with some of his key cabinet nominees. his choice for the new head of the cia strongly endorsed the work of the us intelligence community powers after it was criticised by the president—elect. —— hours. general james mattis, nominated for defence secretary, accused russia of trying to break up nato, in contrast with donald trump's wish for closer ties

with president vladimir putin. we have more from washington. a week before inauguration day, it's usually an air of expectancy that you'll find on capitol hill, where next friday, they'll be playing hail to the chief as donald trump takes centre stage. but the mood now is much more feverish, much more surreal, as front—page allegations swirl that russia has compromising information about the president—elect which would make him susceptible to blackmail. do you solemnly swear to give the committee the truth... today, donald trump's choice as the new cia director was on capitol hill, claiming the new allegations are unsubstantiated, but agreeing the kremlin tried to interfere with the election. it's pretty clear about what took place here, about russian involvement in efforts to hack information and to have an impact on american democracy. i'm very clear about what that intelligence report says and have every expectation, as we continue to develop the facts, i will relay those not only to the president but the team around him and to you all, so that we all can have a robust discussion about how to take

on what is an enormous threat from cyber. as for the latest allegations contained in the unverified dossier... i promise i will pursue the facts wherever they take us. also on capitol hill, the incoming defence secretary, james "mad dog" mattis, taking aim at vladimir putin, putting russia at the top of his list of threats to america. i'm all for engagement, but we also have to recognise reality and what russia is up to, and there is a decreasing number of areas where we can engage co—operatively and an increasing number of areas where we are going to have to confront russia. clapping. from trump tower yesterday, the president—elect rejected the unverified allegations that russia has dirt on him in strong and colourful language. you are fake news. go ahead. and after speaking last night to america's director of national intelligence, james clapper, he was just as vehement on twitter. "james clapper called me yesterday to denounce the false and fictitious report that was illegally circulated, made up, phoney facts, too bad." but intelligence chiefs have made no determination about the credibility

of the claims. "the intelligence community has not made anyjudgement that the information in this document is reliable, and we didn't rely upon it in any way for our conclusions," said james clapper in a statement. "i emphasise this document is not a us intelligence community product and that i don't believe the leaks came from within the intelligence community. " the ongoing rift with the intelligence community and the open disagreement with senior appointees over russia aren't donald trump's only problems. they are defined. james clapper re—emphasised that the intelligence community gave no credibility to the documents. washington is a city used to ethics questions and alleged scandal, but nothing like this on the eve of an inauguration. nick bryant, bbc news, washington. i spoke to my colleague who has been

following everything in washington. what these hearings are feeling is how some of donald trump's picks for key cabinet positions are at odds with president—elect donald trump just over a week before he becomes president. it is notjust the two we had today, but also yesterday i was watching the confirmation hearing for rex tillerson, donald trump's picked to become secretary of state, a huge global role as america's diplomat, and in that hearing as well, there were some people dissenting, and some language being different to russia, with rex tillerson saying that russia was a threat. when he was pushed on whether he thought that russia was behind the hacking of the democratic party during the election, he said yes. even though donald trump

conceded earlier this week, his language towards russia has not been as damning as what we heard in the hearings. what does this mean? we do not know what donald trump's policy on russia might be, because we are getting different messages from different people who will form that government. reporting from washington. lots more, as you would expect, on our website. washington. lots more, as you would expect, on ourwebsite. 0ther washington. lots more, as you would expect, on our website. other news. the first aircraft bought by iran directly from a western manufacturer has landed in tehran. the landing of the plane has been seen as symbolic of listed sanctions. taiwan has been asked to move its office out of the capital of bhuja subpoena comes after china announced plans for further investment in nigeria. they

say they regard the request as more pressure from russia, china to isolated. shinzo abe, prime minister ofjapan, is on a two—day official visit to the philippines, the first visit to the philippines, the first visit since president rodrigo duterte took office last year. the aim is to improve ties between tokyo and manila. shinzo abe said he would help the fight against illegal drugs. shares in the chrysler fell by over 15% after us authorities said it violated the clean air act. it is said they used software allowing extra diesel emissions in over 100,000 vehicles. the boss has denied the allegations, saying they have done nothing illegal. take a look at this. and extreme sports enthusiast has made a basejump look at this. and extreme sports enthusiast has made a base jump from the highest bridge on earth,

standing very high above a river in china. it went ten seconds. the parachute opened 200 metres above the ground. not for me. a man and his six rural daughter from the ground. not for me. a man and his six rural daughterfrom new zealand who were reported missing at sea have been found in australia after 27 days on the water. alan langdon says storm damage left his catamaran without a rudder, which took them more than 2,000km off course. here's our sydney correspondent, hywel griffith. safe harbour at last. alan langdon says he was unaware of the attention his and his daughters group was —— daughter's disappearance had caused. they calmly sailed into a small bay

on the coast of new south wales. their problems began when a storm damaged their boat and they started to drift. when we were in a position with no rudder we had not many options. we waited for fine weather that did not come and we kept getting pushed south. i did not realise that ceiling with one rudder was going to be so interesting. challenging. —— sailing. was going to be so interesting. challenging. -- sailing. they left this harbour on the 17th of december with the aim of reaching the northern bay of the island in time for christmas. instead they drifted all across the tasman sea, finally landing in australia 27 days later. their arrival seemed unremarkable until they came ashore. their arrival seemed unremarkable until they came ashorelj their arrival seemed unremarkable until they came ashore. i could tell they had been at sea for quite a while. they were quite wobbly on the

land. ican while. they were quite wobbly on the land. i can understand that when you have been on a boat for a long time. the catamaran will now need repairs before they can sail north to be processed by australian customs. and alan langdon will need to explain to the authorities in new zealand how and when he intends to bring his daughter back home. bbc news. a miracle indeed. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: meet the indian cricket fan who's as famous as the players he supports. day one of operation desert storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attack on the second world war. this is one of

america's biggest industries, but they are scared it will stop people wanting to smoke cigarettes. no street is unaffected. huge parts of the city were demolished as buildings crashed into each other. this woman so she was given no help and no advice by the authorities. she stood outside the ruins of her business. tens of thousands of black children in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the new multiracial government and have been enrolled in mostly white schools. tonight is the performance of the mousetrap, but when they heard of her death, they were thinking of cancelling the performance, but agatha christie would not have wa nted agatha christie would not have wanted that. welcome back. i am rico hizon in singapore. i am kasia madera in

london. the top stories. donald trump's choice to lead the cia are strongly praised the intelligence communityjust strongly praised the intelligence community just hours after strongly praised the intelligence communityjust hours after donald trump criticised them. the obama administration announced a big change in the rules for cubans entering the usa. they will no longer have the automatic right to remain without a visa. and these spectacular pictures are proving very popular on our website. they we re very popular on our website. they were taking from and aeroplane in australia and shows a wave cloud where the cloud moves up and down in a wave. amazing. that is rooting popular on line. the front pages from around the world. the japan times leads with news about donald trump's choice for secretary of state, rex tillerson. he confirmed washington's commitment to defend japan in the event of china attempting to seize the japan—administered senkaku islands in the east china sea.

the south china morning posts leads with the woman said to be beijing's choice as the new leader of hong kong. carrie lem cheng is promising to diversify the economy and reach out to young people. finally, the strait times focuses on eight indonesians who've been deported for alleged terror links. singapore immigration officers say they found a photo of a shoe bomb on one of the group's mobile phones. now rico a really distressing story has got people talking online. let's have a look at what's getting you talking and clicking on social media. these images have rattled

chinese online users. they show a 92—year—old malnourished woman in a locked pigsty, where, according to the southern morning post, she had been living for years. the video was posted on the popular video service miaopai and many people voiced their outrage at her son and daughter—in—law for keeping her in such conditions. what does it take to make us happy? and can we actually buy happiness? well, those are questions asked by documentary filmmaker mak ck, who raised funds to help nine friends in tanzania turn their lives around. it's part of his project, called buying happiness, which aims to take a hard look at the relationship between poverty and charity. we'll hearfrom mak in a moment, but first let's take a quick look at his work. they've all turned to me and i wasn't sure of how i should help but i'm now raising money for them and finding out if it changes their lives in the long run.

i want to believe that with this help they can turn their lives around. earlier i spoke to mak ck and i asked him how this project began. it began 13 years ago when i was a volunteer at an orphanage in tanzania. i spent about five months there, it was without running water, without electricity. it was a very profound experience for me. i was a much younger person then and for yea rs i always much younger person then and for years i always wondered what happened to the orphans, because we don't really happen dom ikea about what happens to a person in a situation like that. you went back ten yea rs situation like that. you went back ten years later and you found they we re ten years later and you found they were ina ten years later and you found they were in a dire situation crazy about you imagine they go on and lead fulfilling lives and have —— fulfil

their potential and some don't get their potential and some don't get thejob their potential and some don't get the job they want, some have their potential and some don't get thejob they want, some have been removed from the orphanage, some don't get thejob removed from the orphanage, some don't get the job they want and some have been moved from school and some passed away. both depressing stories. how did the project "as yellow i thought it could be a film about what happened to orphans ten yea rs about what happened to orphans ten years on but then when i saw my friends struggling i couldn't go through with making a film like that, i wanted to have them in a way. i thought it might be hard to ask people for money to help, very a bstra ct ask people for money to help, very abstract ideas of african orphans, but what if i used donations and i feel what happens to those donations and get people to help me out. that's why you came up with this documentary called buying happiness, which is a crowd funded film project? yes, that's right. we believe the film has a lot of potential to get the participants and the audience involved to participate in the filmmaking process. it's a film with content

that can really be related all too many people around the world. how are you trying to help these orphans? the job them, we are helping about nine of them, and each of them had to pitch a project that we believe is sustainable for them in the long run and can turn their lives around completely. from education to businesses, we are funding nine different projects. you're not just being funding nine different projects. you're notjust being a charitable group where you give them money, they have to come up with a plan that will not only help them but sustain their lives and help their community? that's right. if they say mak ck, we want money because we wa nt to mak ck, we want money because we want to eat chicken for an nine months isn't going to work because it's not sustainable. you started this a year ago and the whole process for the documentary is four yea rs, process for the documentary is four years, how has it helped them, what is the status of these nine people? the short—term impact is great as expected because they have a flush of cash. i'm going back next month andi of cash. i'm going back next month and i think that's the real test, to

see whether the money managed to keep them on the right path for a few months at least. mak ck speaking to rico earlier about happiness. president barack obama has ended the longstanding policy that allows cubans who arrive in the us without visas to become permanent residents. the repeal of the so—called wet foot, dry foot policy comes as president obama continues to thaw relations with cuba in his final days of office. with more is our correspondent in cuba's capital havana will grant. explained to us this so—called wet foot, dry foot policy —— explain. it's really one of the cornerstones of washington's policy towards cuba, 01’ of washington's policy towards cuba, or certainly has been for the past 20 years or so. under it it's basically the carriage to the stick of the us economic embargo if you like, and that carrot comes in the

form of the guaranteed right of residency in the united states for cu ba ns residency in the united states for cubans who arrive without a visa —— the carrot to. we've all seen the images of cubans arriving on the shores of the united states in very rickety rafts and so on. they have be direct right to remain and within a year apply for citizenship. that isn't offered to any other citizens, certainly not from latin america, and it's a very controversial rule, both in the united states and cuba where the cu ban both in the united states and cuba where the cuban government blame it for the brain where the cuban government blame it forthe brain drain where the cuban government blame it for the brain drain taking place on this island. net finally in the last few days of the obama illustration it has been lifted —— now finally. it's all about the flooring relationships between the united states and cuba —— administration. —— flooring. it was unpopular with the cu ban —— flooring. it was unpopular with the cuban government but lots of ordinary cubans felt it gave them something to strive for, if they ever made it to the us they have the inalienable right to state. it's

been a controversial measure for both countries —— to stay. but it certainly had its days numbered when barack obama made peace with havana. why would you offer to the citizens ofa why would you offer to the citizens of a country you're no longer enemy with the right to find exiled in your country? it always looked like it was going to be phased out once the two countries began to normalise diplomatic ties. of course we don't know what donald trump will do either with this rule change or for that matter on anything to do with his policy with cuba for the time being. explain to us briefly if you will, this idea that those who were intercepted at sea would be sent home. how does that work, the wet foot, dry foot, explain that to us. that's absolutely right. it remains the case that those picked up at sea will be returned to cuba and cuba has said as part of this agreement with the united states that they will accept them back. but under the

rule, wet foot, dry foot, if you make it to the united states as a cuban and put a single dry foot on united states soil you have the right to remain, that is no longer the case. thank you for clarifying that. will grant in havana. sudhir kumar chaudhary is one of indian cricket's most celebrated stars. not for batting or bowling, but for being a fan. with his painted face and body, and total devotion to supporting the indian team, he's achieved the impossible, to become as famous as the players he idolises. india! india! india! india! india! a big fan and a big star as well. you have been watching newsday. i'm rico hizon in singapore.

stay with us. nintendo reveals more details about switch, its new hybrid games system. but can it succeed where the wii u failed? and we'll leave you with these images from washington. a town know for political infighting, but on thursday there was a touching moment at the white house when president obama held a surprise event to honour his vice presidentjoe biden. he awarded him with the presidential medal of freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour. they have served together for eight years and at the end of that time they refer to each other as brothers. 0ne one thing that's released wheat is

barack obama joked one thing that's released wheat is ba rack 0bama joked that one thing that's released wheat is barack obama joked that the surprise ceremony will continue the bromance between these two gentlemen. that's all for now, stay with bbc world news. hello. thursday always did offer up the prospect of more wintry fair more widely across the british isles than we've seen of late. it took a while but eventually these were the sort of scenes many weather watchers recorded in parts of the midlands for example and then down into the south—east parts of east anglia where several centimetres of snow fell on particularly the higher ground, with temperatures that bit lower. it took a while before that combination of rain, sleet and snow gradually pulled its way of back towards the near continent. all the while still put your showers in northern and western parts and that's part of the problem because as the skies cleared, so those wetted surfaces are going to be really quite slippery in the first pa rt really quite slippery in the first part of friday. they're obviously

will be lying snow for some and fresh snow to come if you're exposed to the north, north—westerly breeze. but the strength of the wind is causing us but the strength of the wind is causing us concern. but the strength of the wind is causing us concern. 0n the eastern shores, anywhere from yorkshire down to north norfolk, the waves will pile up and we could have some over topping and a storm surge on the go as well. in that flow we may have another band of rain, sleet and snow s0 another band of rain, sleet and snow so watch out for that, that could be close by for your school run or your commute. 0nce that's away, a decent enough sort of day. look at that, a lot of fine weather around, some sunshine doing nothing for the temperatures, though. ishould sunshine doing nothing for the temperatures, though. i should say straightaway there will be further showers in the western side of scotland, parts of northern ireland and western fringes of england and wales and there you see what i mean about the temperatures struggling and add in the strength of the wind in western parts it will feel really raw. 0nce in western parts it will feel really raw. once we get the sundown and we get into saturday morning, ice could bea get into saturday morning, ice could

be a significant issue. but for the most pa rt be a significant issue. but for the most part a saturday is a decent sort of day. yes, still further showers to be had in northern and western parts of the country but many central and eastern areas, yes, still the wind to content with and a spring clean of wintry showers in some exposed eastern parts but it will be a decent day. so i don't have too many issues with the premier league football matches, the lower leagues may have an issue with frosted pitches. i'm sure many clerk of the course with the race meetings will be keeping a close eye on the conditions. saturday perhaps the last of the cold air dominating. the isobars beginning to crank back as we bring in somewhat milder conditions from the frantic but it does mean we import more cloud and they will be enough about the cloud for there to be rainfall about as well. milder, yes, but not as sunny and quitea well. milder, yes, but not as sunny and quite a dank day for many of us. i'm kasia madera with bbc world news. our top story. donald trump's choice to lead the cia, has praised the intelligence community, hours after mr trump had criticised them.

mike pompeo said he valued the professionalism of staff and their efforts to ensure that truth reached policy—makers. and mr trump's choice for defence secretary stressed he had a "very, very high degree of confidence" in intelligence officials. the united states has ended a long—standing policy that granted residency to cubans entering the united states without a visa. the move is another step towards the full normalisation of relations. and this video is trending on bbc.com. it was taken from an aeroplane above australia, and shows what's thought to be a wave cloud, where the air rises up and down in a wave. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now it's time for hardtalk.