welcome to newsday. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. the headlines: after a0 days in office, donald trump is preparing to address both houses of congress. so how much detail can we expect about the road ahead? and south korea's corruption crisis widens as the heir to the giant samsung electronics firm is charged with bribery and embezzlement. hello and welcome, and in london: moves to disqualify four legally elected pro—democracy campaigners in hong kong are about to be challenged in the courts, we'll find out how and why. and after the murder of kim kim jong—un‘s half brother at an airport in malaysia, north korea flatly denies having nuclear weapons. live from our studios in singapore and london. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good morning. it's 8am in singapore,

midnight in london and 7pm in washington, where injust two hours donald trump will address a joint session of the us congress for the first time. it's a much anticipated event with ramifications for policy and politics. let's go straight to washington and speak to our correspondent laura trevelya n. speak to our correspondent laura trevelyan. we know this presidential address to both houses of congress is not a state of the union but it sounds and looks like one. what are we expecting? it is in effect a state of the union, we're expecting an optimistic speech from the president. he was widely criticised for the dark apocalyptic tone of his inauguration address when he talked about american college but tonight the white house says he will be

upbeat and lay out a vision for all americans despite interest groups, but this will be a uniting speech, this is what the white house is aiming at. republicans in congress are saying they don't want to hear about the president's twitter account or fake news or the size of inauguration crowds, they want meat on the bones tonight and they want to know how they get their tax cut, the infrastructure bill, what will happen to 0bamacare so this is the president's chance to lay out his vision to the american people and congress for the year ahead. it's going to be a uniting speech, that's the signal anyway, and in his prior speeches the president has always come across as blustering, belligerent, unvarnished and unapologetic. will we see more of the same today or will this be a slightly different donald trump?|j think it will be fascinating to see. certainly this will be a more scripted donald trump, i'm sure he will be reading from an autocue but

will be reading from an autocue but will he stay on prescription or when he gets applause or perhaps silence for some of his lines, because democrats are there, how will he respond? wildey adlib or will he stick to the script? this is a key moment for him especially on 0bamacare moment for him especially on 0bamaca re because republicans moment for him especially on 0bamacare because republicans are concerned that there isn't a clear plan they can unite behind and they've been hearing from their angry constituents when congress was in recess who don't want to lose their coverage. 20 million people, their coverage. 20 million people, the poorest in america, received coverage under 0bamacare, many trump voters, many in the key states of pennsylvania and ohio and people wa nt to pennsylvania and ohio and people want to know what's going to happen. presidentjohn will be under pressure and he's going to talk about rebuilding the military —— president trump. that's a source of concern for some republicans because they don't want big spending without cuts. so far we've only heard about limited cuts in foreign aid. so far

republicans are wanting to know how the sums will add up. the president says economic growth will do it but the devil will be in the detail tonight. we'll be watching that speech very closely. laura trevelyan in washington. let's look and some of the day's other news and russia and china have vetoed a western backed attempt at the un to impose sanctions on the syrian government. the us and others wa nt to syrian government. the us and others want to punish damascus for alleged use of chemical weapons in attacks on rebel held areas. the us ambassador to the un nicky haydon the accused russia and china of putting their friends in the assad regime ahead of global security. russia and china made an outrageous and indefensible choice today, they refused to hold bashar al—assad's regime accountable for the use of chemical weapons. they turned away from defenceless men, women and children who died grasping for breath when assad's forces dropped their poisonous gas.

also making the news: the french president francois hollande was giving a speech in france when this happened. mr hollande looks a bit concerned, brea ks mr hollande looks a bit concerned, breaks off his speech and what happened was his police sharp shooter on the route accidentally fired his weapon. it passed through the five of a waiter and lodged in a colleague's leg. he carried on with his speech. south africa's ports minister said durban may not be able to stage the 2022 commonwealth games because of financial pressure. —— sports minister. south africa have been unable to agree the operational budget. from some stunning pictures to show

you from mount etna in sicily, interrupting for the first time this year. it's one of the most active in the world but it's been largely dormant for two years and it started erupting on tuesday morning. the corruption scandal rocking south korea has widened beyond politics. the future of the country's biggest business, samsung, is in question after prosecutors said its air is to be charged with bribery and embezzlement. the scandal has led to the impeachment of the country's president, macro korean, and in a moment we will hear about the potential impact on samsung but firstjamie potential impact on samsung but first jamie mitchell looks at the background to the charges. leej lee j young, leej young, billionaire vice—chairman of samsung, the world's biggest maker of mobile devices. since his father suffered a heart attack in 201a he has been de fa cto heart attack in 201a he has been de facto boss heart attack in 201a he has been de

fa cto boss of heart attack in 201a he has been de facto boss of not only the electronics giant but also the entire family run samsung group conglomerate. now he is accused of directing some $36 million of donations to organisations controlled by this woman. she herself faces charges including abuse of authority and attempted fraud. she was a confidant of the president, who has been stripped of her powers while the country's constitutional court considers her impeachment. samsun‘s donations are alleged to have been made in exchange for government backing of a restructuring which would cement the family's control of the group. it's the latest blow to samsung as it struggles to recover from last yea r‘s recall struggles to recover from last year's recall crisis over its galaxy note 7 smart phone. mr li now faces trial and up to 20 years in prison if convicted. samsung denies any wrongdoing. but the indictment also

raises broader questions about the future of giant family run groups or chapels in south korea. a country sometimes referred to as the republic of samsung by its citizens. jamie mitchell, bbc news. i asked a reporter from the wall streetjournal how i asked a reporter from the wall street journal how much i asked a reporter from the wall streetjournal how much the case might impact samsung as a business. at the moment samsung faces a leadership vacuum and this is going to put a brake on a lot of samsung's plans. we've already seen some of this unfold. just last week samsung announced it would be delaying its position to nominate an expert board member to the samsung electronics board. the company had cited uncertainty generated by the current circumstances here. if you look at his role as the vice—chairman of samsung electronics, while his responsibilities don't really include a two day management of the

company, he does play a pivotal role in overseeing the company's business areas “— in overseeing the company's business areas —— day to day management. we're going to see daily activities at samsung not affected immediately but we'll see repercussions in the long run for samsung. you say we pick and is in the long one but what will the impact be on the brand, especially when you take into account the problems samsung electronics had with its smart phone, the galaxy note 7, late last year with the exploding batteries. it's hard to tell at this point how this will affect the samsung brand. as you said, this is a daunting development that comes after samsung announced a few months ago that it would be recalling 3 million of its galaxy note 7 smart phones. having

said this, though, this isn't the first time that samsung is going through such a corruption scandal. in 2008 his father was convicted of embezzlement and tax evasion. at the time, although he wasn't detained, this has caused quite a shock wave in south korea and we saw samsung's brand whether through that. times have changed since then and public sentiment has grown stronger against these family run conglomerates. also at the same time, samsung is airing its dirty laundry with more global attention and we will have to see how this plays out in different markets. hong kong's government is moving towards disqualifying for pro—democracy lawmakers from their positions in parliament. the government argues the oafs the four

took wentz warring in were invalid. this comes after two pro—democracy demonstrators were disqualified after they... most of the group were pa rt after they... most of the group were part of a new wave of democracy activists elected in december following the umbrella protest. we can go to juliana following the umbrella protest. we can go tojuliana liu in hong kong. remind us how we got here. the story really goes back to september during the last legislative council election. at this time an unprecedented number of young first—time lawmakers swept into power and many were affiliated with the pro—democracy protests of 201a and it seemed clear voters were looking for fresh faces and in some cases they wanted the pro—democracy lawmakers to take a more confrontational line against the hong kong and chinese governments. the issue started during the oath taking ceremony, the ceremonial wear

lawmakers all read out their oaths before taking office. two pro independence lawmakers in the list their oaths with terms considered widely derogatory to china so they we re widely derogatory to china so they were disqualified, that was controversial but what became more controversial but what became more controversial was in december the government decided they wanted to move to disqualify for other or moderate lawmakers, including nathan law, who has been in parliament for a long time as well as to others. —— for —— four other. their lawyer said this was a case with tremendous public interest implications and they wanted more time to prepare and that's what leads us to today. how do they go about this process of disqualification and what do the lawmakers themselves say about it? that's right. what the government has done is it has filed a judicial review at the hong kong high court so this hearing will get started in

just under two hours. the lawyers for the government will be presenting their case for disqualification for lawmakers and their lawyers will present the case for them to keep their seats. this isa for them to keep their seats. this is a process that is expected to ta ke is a process that is expected to take a few days. juliana liu, thank you very much. juliana liu in hong kong. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: shock in indonesia, as the family of one of the women accused of killing the half brother of north korean find themselves at the centre of a media storm. from george washington to george w bush, we take a look at the us tradition of set piece speeches to congress. first of the plates slip gently of the restaurant tables and then suddenly the chairs, people crashed

sideways downwards and it was a matter of seconds before the ferry lurched onto its side. the hydrogen bomb ona lurched onto its side. the hydrogen bomb on a ramon prison atol. the americans had successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force the ball to that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. —— remote pacific atol. the constitutional rights of these marchers and their rights as citizens of the united states and they should be protected even in the right to test them out so they don't get their heads broken and head to hospital. this religious controversy, i don't know —— no you don't want to say any more about it, but what do you think? welcome back. you're watching new zealand the bbc. i am sharanjit leyl

in singapore. —— newday. our top stories: president trump is preparing to address both houses of congress, in a set—piece speech. the boss of samsung is charged with bribery and embezzlement. he could face a long jail sentence if he's convicted. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the two kim jong—nam suspects dominate the front page of the financial times. but it's the samsung boss being charged with corruption in south korea that's the main story. it says the company's leaderless as the release of the next galaxy phone nears. let's turn to the times newspaper from the uk now. it's looking at the inquests into the 30 britons who died in a terror attack in tunisia. it quotes a former tunisian minister, who's been criticised for saying

tunisia suffered more because tourism in the country's plunged after the attack two years ago. and finally, let's take a look at the front page of the china daily. it showers a mock—up of the spacex rocket that's set to take two paying passengers around the moon next year. now karin what stories are sparking discussions online? this is about the images of kellyanne conway kneeling on the lounge there in the oval office. this is causing a social maybe a storm. this is as donald trump meets with various heads african—american of schools. this will end conway's body language, it has been

suggested, it suggests that she did not take the meeting seriously. north korea has scornfully rejected south korea's suggestion that pyongyang could lose its un seat because of the alleged use of chemical weapons to kill the half—brother of north korea's leader in malaysia. a senior north korean diplomat has called south korea's remarks "despicable, irresponsible, impertinent and illogical". the diplomat who's at a disarmament conference in geneva also denied that north korea had ever produced or stockpiled or used chemical weapons. two women implicated in the assassination of kimjong—nam, who was killed with a nerve agent, could face the death penalty if found guilty. well, 25—year—old siti aisyah from indonesia — she is expected to be formally charged today — but she insists she's innocent. rebecca henschke reports from her village in serang, west java. this village is not used to this kind of attention. but this is

siti's house, one of the best in the village. it is getting a lot of attention from the government and the media. the family inside are refusing to speak. the local government here to provide comfort to her father. they government here to provide comfort to herfather. they have government here to provide comfort to her father. they have offered to pay for him to visit her in jail. translation: he is not strong enough to a nswer translation: he is not strong enough to answer the questions again and again. we need to respect how he's feeling. he is very confused. try to imagine how he is feeling. it is an awful situation he is in. our guides will mount beside his daughter's fate. malaysia police said that she and another woman white kim jong—nam's face with a chemical. —— our gods. she told police that she thought it was a tv prank and the liquid was baby oil. like thousands

of indonesians, siti aisyah was an illegal worker, going in and out of malaysia for years. migrant rights workers said is better vulnerable. translation: we strongly believe she isa translation: we strongly believe she is a victim. it is very similar to what has happened to many other microspheres for her, have been used by drug syndicates. they are caught and viewed as criminals, but they really are victims. she is concerned that siti aisyah will not get a fair trial. indonesian officials were watching the legal process carefully. we expect and we hope that she will be given a fair trial. we understand that the law should be — that she is innocent of —— innocent until proven guilty. like millions of women unable to find work closer to home, she went overseas. now her migrant dream has

turned into a nightmare. let's return now to president trump's first speech to a joint session of the us congress, in a couple of hours' time. barbara plett—usher is at the national statuary hall, where mr trump is due to speak. and barbara, what is donald trump like in the run—up to the event? there is always a lot of buzz around these kinds of speeches, because it is the president —— it is the president addressing nudges the press, but the nation. it is a big event tonight because donald trump has floated an interesting idea in the congress during this kind of speech. a lot of questions around him and what sort of tone he will have. we know he is most comfortable holding camp asos beaches where he appeals to his base. we know that his sought a formal speech at the inauguration was quite bleak. his

message was quite dark, actually. —— he is most comfortable holding campaign style speeches. he would try to reset the presidency, given the two wild and chaos of the last few weeks. the tone will also be, will republicans be reassured? they have republican senator and president, but there are some big—ticket issues at the allen to move forward on. —— republican senator and president. so they want to see what he has to say about policy. and then of course there is a question of the democrats. a lot of them, or a a question of the democrats. a lot of them, ora number of a question of the democrats. a lot of them, or a number of them, boycotted his inauguration speech. how will they respond? we know that some democratic women are going to wear white, the colour of the suffragettes, to send a message on women's rights. they are making a

point to invite guests who have suffered from donald trump's immigration policies, or bettered from barack 0bama's health—care policy. summers said they will not shake his hand as it passes. all those things, we want to see how they turn out tonight. thank you very much without preview, —— preview, barbara plett—usher. returning now to the presidential address which donald trump will be delivering in a few hours before a joint session of congress. historically these speeches have set the themes and tone for the year ahead. the bbc‘s katty kay has been taking a look through the archives at some of the more memorable moments of past speeches. it is the centrepiece of america's political calendar, enshrined in the constitution. since george washington delivered the first annual message to congress in 1790, what has come to be known as the state of the union has evolved reasonable statement on the health of the nation, into a political call to arms. a presidential rallying cry. from 1801, for a century, the

political update was simply delivered in writing, from the white house to the capital. it was woodrow wilson, who in 1913 took to the floor, transforming it into a blueprint for the president's legislative agenda. his successors have used the cheeky to dig as leadership, frame a new direction, or lift the spirit of the times. leadership, frame a new direction, or lift the spirit of the timeslj assert my firm belief that the only thing we had to fear is fear itself. there have been watershed moments. in 1823, president james munro there have been watershed moments. in 1823, presidentjames munro use the address to articulate a new foreign policy doctrine. he wanted it not to meddle in the western hemisphere. during his state of the union in 196a, lyndon bainesjohnson those proposed legislation that would become known as the "war on poverty", paving the way for a range of welfare programme is. and this

administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in america. mr speaker, the president of the united states. one of the most memorable phrases ever uttered in the state of the union came in resident george w bush's 2002 address, which warned a run, iraq, and north korea threaten peace in the world. —— iran. it marked the launch of the "war on terror". states like these positive and axis of evil, threatening the peace of the world. can i's speech, a statement of purpose, is likely to echo donald trump's defiant and uncompromising inaugural address, a promised to put america first, and to tra nsfer promised to put america first, and to transfer power back to the people watching. —— a promise to. we'll

have full coverage of that on the bbc.. you have been watching newsday. and one last story before we go, football is often known for its die—hard fans, who sometimes get a bit carried away and invade the pitch. but one fan has ruffled too many feathers and has now been banned. it's rambo the rooster — his owner supports an israeli premier league side. as you can see, rambo is quick on his feet and can tackle anyone who stands in his way. but he's got the football authorities into a flap — sorry — after allegations that he was repeatedly thrown onto the pitch to become the team's 12th man whenever it looked like they needed some extra help. unfortunately he and his owner have been detained and warned by police not to go anywhere near a football match. stay with us on bbc world news. hello. at brighton a start through

the day across the british isles on tuesday, but it did not last, because we were driving belts of weather down from the western side of scotla nd weather down from the western side of scotland ever further towards the south and east. low pressure very much the dominant feature and there is obviously something waiting in the wings just to the westerners. that does not arrive early enough to affect the chilly start for wednesday. some chilly showers across scotland. agenda by sarah is well. but if you can avoid the showers, there is such that we had crossed the north of britain, whipping is changing quite markedly into the afternoon. across the southern parts of both england and wales, where it is turning increasingly weight, and eventually, very windy indeed. so some detail to the middle part of the afternoon. there is that, nation of sunny spells and showers. and it will wind. unlike tuesday, came from the west, rather than the north. averages around five, six, or seven degrees. an extra showers across the north of being and clouding of

eventually across the southern and western parts of northern ireland. the midland any unders and sunshine. i'm afraid there will not be the case over southern england and wales, where that band of assured you will produce heavy rain, but it is the strength of when that may cause real concerns. some of those gusts at least to gale—force, i would have thought, across exposed parts of southern england and wales. and as it was set southern belt of rain and it moves into high ground, do you know the intensity of the snow might cause a problem across the highest ground and across the high—level routes. so that, nation could cause some disruption to your travel ban, it plans overnight. come thursday, less in the way of rain to speak of, initially, with the weather front is driving its wake a little further to the north. a little further to the north. a little bit of sunshine around until late today. some uncertainty about this feature, but we expect something will run in on that 0zil went into the western side of wales. some rain, and some hill snow, yet again. but a some rain, and some hill snow, yet again. buta half some rain, and some hill snow, yet again. but a half decent date on

thursday. this area of low pressure will throw its weather front ever further towards the north. again, the pace of events open to some conjecture at the moment. we think that will be the major player of the week and am sitting very close to the british isles through saturday and into sunday. and it will be perhaps the northern part of scotla nd perhaps the northern part of scotland and the northern parts of islands that will see the best of the weather. the general theme is a bit of cloud around and a few spells of rain. take care. i'm karin giannone with bbc world news. our top story: after his first forty days in office, donald trump is about to give his first set—piece speech to both houses of congress. he's expected to flesh out his plans for increasing military spending and replacing 0bamacare. the heir to the giant samsung electronics firm is charged with bribery and embezzlement, putting the future of south korea's biggest company into question. the corruption scandal has already

led to the impeachment of the country's president, park geun—hye. and this video is trending on bbc.com it shows the amazing burgeoning friendship between an owl and a husky puppy. how often do you see two animals getting on quite as well as this? that's all from me now, stay with bbc world news. now its time for hardtalk.