hello, everyone, i'm rico hizon in singapore with the headlines. donald trump takes aim over the controversial travel ban. trump takes aim over the controversial travel bani trump takes aim over the controversial travel ban. i don't wa nt to controversial travel ban. i don't want to call it biased, so i won't call it biased, and we haven't had a decision yet, but courts seem to be so decision yet, but courts seem to be so political. british mps have voted to authorise the government two yea rs of to authorise the government two years of negotiations on leaving the european union. iam european union. i am kasia madera in london. a huge fire sweeps through a crowded shanty town in manila, leaving 15,000 people homeless. and just want our feng shui consultants predicting for world leaders in the year of the rooster? glad you can join

glad you canjoin us. it is sam here in singapore, midnight in london and 7pm in washington, where president trump has criticised his country's justice system ahead of a ruling from a federal appeals court on his travel ban. that court is still considering whether or not to reinstate the ban on people from seven muslim majority countries. it said there would not be a ruling on wednesday. the president had a speech with police chiefs in the capital to defend his policy and offer advice to thejudges capital to defend his policy and offer advice to the judges who will help decide its future. i don't ever want to call a court biased, so i won't call it biased, and we haven't had a decision yet, but courts seem to be so political,

and it would be so great for a high justice system —— ourjustice system if they were able to read a statement and do what is right, and that has to do with the security of oui’ that has to do with the security of our country, which is so important. earlier, spoke with the bbc‘s richard lister in washington about what president trump had to say. he has made no secret of his view of thejudge, james he has made no secret of his view of the judge, james robarts, who he has made no secret of his view of thejudge, james robarts, who put that blocking order in place, he described him fairly quickly in a tweet as a so—called judge, and later he said that if there was some kind ofan later he said that if there was some kind of an attack on the us as a result, then people should blame him and the court system. and in his speech today he said in the appeal court hearing, which happened about 24 court hearing, which happened about 2a hours ago, was disgraceful. he is piling on the rhetoric. he has attracted a lot of criticism on that. he is after all criticising a separate but equal branch of the us

government and president really don't do that. president 0bama described himself has frustrated at previous rulings when he was president. it really isn't done to attack a judge. and in the last hour, we heard from president trump's nominee for the supreme court, judge neil gorsuch, who described that comment about the so—called judge as being to moralising and disheartening. and there has also been quite a reaction, richard, to another of the president's tweets, this time complaining that his daughter ivanka has been badly treated by the retail chain norstrum? yes, and again quite a surprise, the tweets that my daughter ivanka has been treated so u nfa i rly daughter ivanka has been treated so unfairly by norstrum. this was a p pa re ntly unfairly by norstrum. this was apparently in response to nordtrum decision to drop ivanka trump's

product line, they say it was a business decision because the brand was performing as well as they hoped, but it had a huge impact of the president's tweet, almost immediately nordtrum's share price fell, it rose again later, but it has a chilling effect on any other retailer who might be considering whether or not they should continue with the ivanka trump line because they don't want to be in the president's bad books, and this goes to the heart of the issue many raised in a campaign about whether 01’ raised in a campaign about whether or not the president would be successful in separating the affairs of state from the business affairs of state from the business affairs of his country. the white house spokesman, sean spicer, said today president trump was simply sticking up president trump was simply sticking upfor president trump was simply sticking up for his family. look, when it cotties up for his family. look, when it comes to his family i think he has been very clear how proud he is what they do and what they have accomplished, and for someone to ta ke accomplished, and for someone to take out their concern with his policies on a family member of his, isjust not policies on a family member of his, is just not acceptable and the president has every right as a father to stand up for them. sean spicer, finishing that report

by richard lister, speaking to rico earlier. and let's have a look at the other big story, the uk's next step in the brexit from the eu with mps voting for the government to begin proceedings to leave the eu by a huge majority. now, if the legislation is approved by the house of lords, it will mean that the british prime minister, theresa may, can begin the renegotiation process for brexit. bob watson explains. we still don't know exactly how that's going to be resolved. what will happen to the 3—.2 million or so will happen to the 3—.2 million or so eu nationals living here, and the 1 million uk nationals living through the eu. and you can add all sorts of other things. how is trade going to work, how is banking going to work, how is movement, immigration of people? rather than getting bogged down in the parliamentary process here in the uk what was really instructive about all of that and some of the debate over the last two or three days is

just how complex this process of britain's leaving the eu is likely to be. well, also in the news today, it is of course afghanistan, at aid work carried out by the international committee of the red cross has been temporarily put on hold. now, this follows the death of six staff members in an attack on one of its convoys. two employees are missing. they were attacked by taking —— while taking supplies to a northern province which was hit recently by avalanches. police officers believe the attack was carried out by so—called islamic state militants. un officials in bangladesh say that more than 1000 rohingya muslims may have been killed over the last few in an operation by the army in myanmar rachlin state. the estimate is far greater than previously reported —— rakhine state. the chief india of india's southern state of tamil nadu has refused to

give way to his successor, threatening political chaos. mr silvan took over after the death of the influential politician who preceded him. on sunday he announced his resignation and said days later that he would not stand down, insisting he had grassroots support. now, this is a clock in south korea, which shows the countdown to the 2018 winter olympics, and it is now marking just one year to go until the pyonchang games on the night of february this year, in the centre of seoul, designed by 0mega, it isjust overfour seoul, designed by 0mega, it isjust over four metres tall and it will be displayed until around 20 march. and this absolutely terrifying climb

is what residents, including children, of an isolated mountain village in west china have to go to simply to get to their homes. now, they live in a hamlet on the top of this cliff, and it was reached by residents climbing more than 800 metres. and until now they have used very old bamboo ladders. as you can see, local authorities have since replaced them with steel ladders, hopefully much, much safer, forced to do this after photos of children making this treacherous climb went viral online. thousands of filipinos have spent another night out on the street and in temporary shelters after a fire ripped through a shanty town in the capital of manila on tuesday. well, the fire service is coming under criticism for not responding fast enough. 0ur correspondent has the details. ina single

in a single night, 15,000 people became homeless. this is what is left of perola compound, a shanty town in the filipino capital manila. as residents peek through the charred remains of their belongings investigators continue investigating what caused the blaze, which lasted eight hours. initial reports point to faulty wiring or an unattended gas stove, the residents also blamed the fire service. translation: there was an explosion and the fire started. when the firefighters arrive they didn't enter the compound, they looked around, they didn't want to enter, that is why the fire lasted until the morning. they didn't try to extinguish it early enough. officials say 95 trucks were deployed to the area but with the narrow, sprawling alley ways it was hard to reach the blaze and with the homes packed tightly together the fire quickly spread,

destroying everything. despite the ferocity, no one died, though dozens we re ferocity, no one died, though dozens were injured in the stampede to escape. nearly a quarter of manila's residents live in densely populated slums and fires break out frequently, though few have been this widespread. hundreds of people have now been moved to makeshift evacuation centres and aid agencies are at work. but thousands still remain in the surrounding streets, guarding what little they have managed to salvage during the chaos. you are watching newsday on the bbc, live from singapore and london. still to come on the programme:: japan's prime minister shinzo abe heads to washington, but will president trump accept his offer of japanese investment for american jobs? also coming up on the programme: just what do feng shui and world leaders have in common? you will be finding out what this all means in

the year of the rooster. there is nelson mandela. mr nelson mandela, a free man, taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader ayatollah khomeini has said he's passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british this author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president, 'baby doc' duvalier. british mps have voted by majority of 372 to authorise the government to begin two years of negotiations on leaving the european union. and these pictures from the south—west of china, a family of four had to be rescued from a truck which was hanging over the edge of a a0 metre high cliff. this story is popular on bbc .com. extraordinary pictures. well, let's have a look at the front pages of the international newspapers, we start with the philippine star,

which has a striking image of one of the stories we've covered, of course, this devastating fire in the capital of manila, and, as you can see, absolute destruction as a fire tore through a shanty town, much damage has been done with more than 1000 homes destroyed. 0nto the south china morning post, which leads with relations between the us and china, of course, and china specialists are asking and urging donald trump to ensure that beijing respects hong kong and that it works under the one country kong and that it works under the one cou ntry two kong and that it works under the one country two systems will. you can see donald trump urging hong kong to respected. that is the principle underpins hong kong's autonomy. and, finally, the uk's daily telegraph marks the historic day in which mps overwhelmingly voted for britain to start the process of leaving the european union. now, this still has to be approved by the house of lords. so, those are the papers. now, rico, itell you

now, rico, i tell you what, birthdays must be an expensive occasion, if you are a member of this family? so many birthdays to celebrate, kasia, and take a look, kasia, of this photograph of this huge, huge family, this is 500 members ofjust one chinese family, kasia. the pictures were taken using a drone at a family reunion during the lunar new year period in a village in china's eastern province. village elders tracked down the least 2000 living descendants spanning seven generations, that is an extension of an extended family! remarkable, isn't it? the un has appealed for more than one point to $5 billion to provide assistance to millions of people in yemen who it says faces the threat offamine —— yemen who it says faces the threat of famine —— $1.25 billion. almost 3.3 people are suffering from acute

malnutrition, but aid supplies cannot be unloaded after warplanes from a saudi—led coalition hit yemen's red sea port, and our correspondent, one of few western journalists to have travelled into yemen in recent months, picks up the story. fatima is the face of hunger in yemen. in the six months since we met her, every day has been a struggle to get food. her mother says they are barely surviving. fatima is not alone. there are over two million children like her. 90% of yemen's food is imported and most of it arrives here, at what was once its busiest port. but all the cranes needed to off—load the ships have been bombed by the saudi—led coalition. and the port is barely functioning. the saudis have imposed an aerial and naval blockade, controlling all imports to the country. they say they are stopping arms from getting to the houthis

and their allies. but that means that very little food is getting through. the world food programme has bought new cranes for hodeda's port but we have been told the saudi coalition has refused to allow them in for at least two months. these delays in bringing foodstuffs onshore, either commercially or humanitarian, means there's less available and therefore, the prices will go up. from what i've heard, the saudi argument is that firstly, the port is in control of the houthis, so they are handing over cranes to a port that is in control of the rebels. they also say that these cranes could be used to off—load arms for the rebels and therefore, fuel the fight. what would you say to that? those cranes are for wfp. those cranes are brought in and funded for wfp, who are the logistics cluster, to bring those food goods off ships that are coming in. the port is controlled by the same people who have always controlled the port, the same as the sea offshore is controlled

by the saudi—led coalition. so we just want these cranes in so we can do our work, to make sure the humanitarian pipeline is a strong as it can possibly be. the fighting for control of the port has been going on for over six months, with neither side winning. and it's the most vulnerable that are left suffering. nawal al—maghafi, bbc news. japan's prime minister shinto abhi is heading to washington to meet president trump at the white house. he has moved quickly since the election in an attempt to win over the us president. he was the only world leader to meet him before the inauguration and the second to do so since trump took office, after prime minister theresa may. their meeting

and the asian view i enjoy is by enchantment of the institute of foreign affairs in china. what will be the focus of his trip — will it be the focus of his trip — will it be on security or business and investment? it is all on the table. the dealmaker, president trump, really wa nts the dealmaker, president trump, really wants to move. not onlyjust for the japan and american alliance but a broader signal, how much does america really want to engage in asia? is it asia alone or the asia—pacific? asia? is it asia alone or the asia-pacific? in your view, how much? forjapan and asia, the signals from the election campaign, where candidate trump said very thing about security lines in china, there has been a lot of concern. president trump has sent the defence

secretary to japan to ensure asked. this meeting is critical to see what he means to do as president. mr ahmed wants to jump the gun on other leaders... abe. toyota investing millions of dollars. japan always wa nts to millions of dollars. japan always wants to call the president of the us by theirfirst name. it is critical. the tpp which donald trump has abandoned, there recent bilateral relationship betweenjapan and america which is aboutjob and trade. is the concern right now of shinto are that creating the bilateral agreement or could he still tell mr trump to consider tpp? i shop abe will put in some good

word for it but i think he realises that trump having said publicly he is not going to go for it, he will not do a quick u—turn, it is too destabilising. the two leaders will be talking about how to do things between the two and leave some of the others out. in terms of security issues, how will they handle china? japan is doing its share is what abe will be saying. trump, if she had a deputy sheriff banned to japan, it might become a very tense. could they isolate china with their discussions? he has spoken negatively about europe, he has talked positively to japan.

challenging dynamics. great to have you with us. let's keep the focus on donald trump with breaking news out of capitol hill in washington. jeff sessions, the right—wing senator from alabama has been confirmed as president trump's attorney general. there have been real clashes between republicans and democrats over this nomination. democrat making fierce effo rts nomination. democrat making fierce efforts to prevent the confirmation of the president's nominee. it has been dogged by norman allegations of racism. these are allegations that he has always denied. that breaking news that the senate has confirmed jeff sessions as the next attorney

general. a prediction between a showdown between east and west with china and the us taking centre stage according to a feng shui expert. how will this affect relationships with other world leaders in the year of the rooster? donald trump was born in 19a6, year of the fire dog. the year of the fai have rooster, 2007 ten, donald trump goes through the transformation which means damage in reputation. however the fire brewster is

beneficial to mr trump so expect positive change. —— fire rooster. the president of china was born in the year of the water snake, in 2017, they do not have any positive stars. he will face the price in a decade public conference. for him to flex his economic muscle to mr trump will not be so advisable in 2017. vladimir putin is born in the year of the water dragon. dragons have a unique and powerful status. there is a unique relationship between putin and the trump charts. everybody is talking about the romance however there will be a rise in competition

in terms of political powers so it would be wise for mr putin to easily flex is economic muscle and not strain if the relationship. theresa may, the british prime minister, now, she is born in the year of the fire monkey. an element in her chart is compatible with donald trump. 0f all the leaders, we have seen on the list, she is the one that could possibly get along with donald trump. however she is also going through a transition in the current luck cycle, she is going through the element of betrayal so this indicates possibility of party struggles. very interesting feng shui forecast. you have the watching news day on the bbc. stay with us, we will be

taking a look at india's airline industry and why they are soaring and how one domestic airline has had quite a change in forecast. we will leave you with chile pictures of a church built in russia, in a village in siberia which is never had a permanent place of worship so anand spent nearly two months building this church entirely out of snow said the most difficult part were the altar and the frost on the roof. absolutely stunning. thank you for watching newsday. 0ver over the next few days it will feel like we have been plunged into the deep freeze and do not expect crisp, cold weather and blue skies in fact it will be mostly grey skies and a

lot of cloud. 0n it will be mostly grey skies and a lot of cloud. on wednesday we sell a lot of cloud. on wednesday we sell a lot of cloud creeping in western areas. we captured some sunshine here. the highest temperatures were here. the highest temperatures were here as well. under the cloud, we we re here as well. under the cloud, we were pegged well down single digits. because of all the cloud and also because of this increasingly cold airfeeding in on easterly because of this increasingly cold air feeding in on easterly winds. they provided wintry showers down the east coast. a mixture of rain, sleet and snow. wherever you are, a cold start to thursday morning. through thursday, some brightness and sunshine around, again, the best in the west. a lot of cloud, and nagging easterly winds providing some wintry showers. particularly close to the east coast. hefty showers across the northern isles. showers down the east coast of scotland. a mixture of rain and

sleet but inland more snow falling over the grampians and down the east coast of england a similar story. the increasing chances of some snow showers. temperatures 3— four degrees and that is the story right across the country but remember, in the western fringes, a better chance of seeing sunshine. during thursday night and on the friday, more of the same with easterly wind delivering showers, falling more frequently as snow. during not snow. during friday, we will not rule out a wintry flurry really anywhere across the country stop probably nothing too destructive but some small accumulations in places and cold feeling day. then we head into the weekend and we still have high pressure and could up over scandinavia bringing easterly winds and steal the wintry showers,

increasing chance they will be falling as snow particularly in eastern areas. in the north—west, quite a lot of sunshine on saturday. by quite a lot of sunshine on saturday. by sunday temperatures in the south beginning to lift up a little bit and that takes us into next week with more of a southerly wind.