i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: donald trump tries to block the publication of a book containing explosive quotes by his former strategist steve bannon, but now the publisher says it will come out friday. the us promises seoul there'll be no military exercises during the winter olympics in south korea. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme. as severe weather continues to hit around the globe, we'll have the latest on the big freeze in the us and the snow which is causing havoc in china. china's first crew to compete in one of the world's toughest ocean races from sydney to hobart sails into a prominent position. live from our studios in singapore

and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. thanks forjoining us. it's 8am in singapore. midnight in london and seven pm in washington where the row between donald trump and his former strategist steve bannon shows no sign of abating. lawyers for the president are trying to prevent the publication of a new book, which has mr bannon making explosive allegations about the trump presidency. and they're suing him over it. but the book is currently being rushed to stores, ready for sale on friday, four days earlier than planned. jon sopel reports from washington. hell hath no fury like a bannon scorned, it would seem. steve bannon, who was described as the brains behind donald trump, is now out in the washington cold after his extraordinary attack,

the warm words of last summer, but a distant memory. i like him, he's a good man. he is not a racist, i can tell you that. he's a good person. he actually gets a very unfair press in that regard. but we will see what happens with mr bannon, but he's a good person, and i think the press treats him, frankly, very unfairly. but bannon was fired soon afterwards and has now had his revenge, rounding on the president's son and son—in—law over a meeting they had with a kremlin—linked lawyer at trump tower during the campaign, saying this. and that's provoked rage and fury in the white house, the president, issuing this unprecedented statement about a close colleague. today, at the white house, they‘ re lawyering up. about a close colleague. today, at the white house, they‘ re lawyering up.

orders to stephen bannon to cease and desist, threats to the publisher, too. and the response from mr bannon last night? why, to declare his unfailing support for the president. and that brought this response from mr trump today. has steve bannon betrayed you, mr president? thank you very much. i don't know, he called me a great man last night, so, you know, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. all right, thank you all very much. the white house is pushing back hard on the contents of this book, describing the author, michael wolff, as an unreliable witness and a fantasist. that, despite him being given unprecedented access to the workings

of the west wing and recording hours and hours of conversations. and even if only 50% of the book is accurate, it still paints a damning portrait of a white house that's dysfunctional and a president who's paranoid. no wonder donald trump is so angry. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. later on newsday, we'll be speaking to someone who worked closely with steve bannon and is still in touch. first let's take a look at some of the day's other news. south korea says the united states has promised there will be no military drills during the winter olympics in south korea which start next month. but us defence secretary, jim mattis, says they will resume after the conclusion of the paralympic winter games in march. the bbc‘s richard galpin reports. these ramped up military exercises staged shortly by the us and south korean armed forces were designed specifically to intimidate the

leadership in pyongyang. tensions are mounting over the nuclear weapons programme. now, all of this is to stop at least until mid—march. that decision comesjust is to stop at least until mid—march. that decision comes just days after the north korean leader, kim jong—un, announced he was willing to send a team to the olympics in south korea, and said he was open to the idea of high—level talks with the south, which have now been scheduled for next week. it seems the winter games which start on the ninth of february are creating a window during which tensions between all sides involved in this crisis could be lowered. it is also important for the games themselves not to be overshadowed by the fear of conflict on the korean peninsula. in another development this week designed to de—escalate the crisis, the two

koreas have now reopened a hotline between them. at the united nations headquarters in new york, a sense of some relief at these moves. it is a lwa ys some relief at these moves. it is always a positive development to have dialogue between the two koreas. in that context, the secretary general welcomes the reopening of the channel. we remain committed to the denuclearisation of the korean peninsula and hopes this helps to achieve that goal. but, already, there has in word from the united states these military exercises will resume after the olympics and paralympics are over. and many are cautious about the chances of any real breakthrough in this crisis anytime soon. translation: last year, north korea

once sidedly increased provocations through nuclear weapons. it is not an exaggeration to say that the security environment around our country is at its worst since world war two. and that situation will continue as long as the north koreans push ahead with the development of nuclear weapons. but at least now there is a chance of dialogue beginning with south korea. richard galpin, bbc news. also making news today: there's been an explosion in the afghan capital, kabul, killing at least fifteen people. the interior ministry said a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device, but the target was unclear. the islamic state group has said it carried out the attack. the united states says it is suspending almost all security assistance to pakistan because it isn't doing enough to combat

islamist militants groups. the state department said the payment freeze would remain in place until islamabad took action against the haqqani network and the afghan taliban. at least 14 people have died and more than 200 were injured after a train caught fire in south africa, following a collision with a truck. officials fear the death toll could rise. the accident happened near kroonstad city in free state province. the train had been travelling from port elizabeth tojohannesburg. in a moment, we'll be seeing the bad weather affecting parts of the us. first it's been very snowy in eastern canada as this moose discovered. he got stuck in deep snow in newfinland. luckily for the moose, rescuers with shovels were on hand. after around 15 minutes and some hard work they were able to dig the moose out. luckily it seemed unharmed and was able to wander off. the eastern united states and canada have been hit it with freezing

weather and a massive storm. it's caused traffic chaos and thousands of flights have been cancelled. you know it's bad when it even snows in southern state of florida. the bbc‘s katty kay has more. gusty, snowy, and bitterly cold. winter has hit america in a big way. a massive storm, which goes by the ominous name of a bomb cyclone, is rolling up the eastern seaboard. millions of americans could lose power, thousands of flights have already been cancelled. the truth is, i have no idea what a bomb cyclone is. i had never heard of one before. all i know is we've been freezing for a week, and i don't like it.

and the bad news is, it's about to get worse. that's because we're about to be hit by the evil weather twins, the bomb cyclone will usher in a polar vortex, which makes you wonder, are these tourists on washington's mall, hardy or crazy? it's pretty cold out. freezing! my nose is numb, and so is my right hand. my fingers are frozen. i'm cold. we're from florida, so it's cold for us. yeah, we're not used to this. i think i'm wearing four layers. actually, things haven't been much better in the sunshine state, it snowed there for the first time in nearly three decades. but at least these students know it will get hot again soon in florida, while we in the north east still have months of bitter winter to get through. and there's also lots of snow on this side of the pacific. snow is covering towers, roads and buildings in eastern china's jiangsu province. it has brought shipping services on one part of the canal running between the cities of beijing

and hangzhou to a standstill. about 100 cargo ships have been stranded since thursday morning. but locals will have to enjoy the picturesque coatings on their parks and local buildings while they can, as the snow is forecast to stop on friday. over in europe, storm eleanor continues to cause problems, cutting power has from tens of thousands of homes. the winds have been good for some surfers and windsurfers in marseille but bad for skiiers in the french alps, where a maximum avalanche alert is in place. let's return to our top story now, the publication of a new book which contains explosive allegations about donald trump's presidency. i spoke to andre walker, a founding member of breitbart uk and now a columnist for the new york observer. on the one hand, steve bannon is very, very tuned in with the voters that support donald trump. on the other hand, what people forget is he initially supported senator ted cruz and the primary. if you take the view that hillary clinton was a week candidate, whoever got the nomination was going to win the presidential election against hillary clinton, that is the context

in which steve bannon arrives so be on the other hand, as his chief strategist, donald trump wanted him to be the chief of staff, but the republican establishment were not happy. he is significant. someone has to say it has to be said he was dogged by allegations of leaking when he was at the white house, something he always denied. what is happening with his support? he has breitbart news. he has a massive possibility to speak against donald trump. since these revelations in this book have been suggested, he has gone supportive again of donald trump. what is going on? the former white house press secretary, sean spicer, said what we did not hear from steve bannon was a denial he said these things. staff at breitbart news said it was taken out of context. the truth of the matter is, a hunch, they spend so long together, donald trump and steve

bannon, steve and donald trump do not know exactly what is coming forward in the book. everyone is waiting for the book. so, steve bannon is not scared that he has an enormous enemy in the shape of the president of the united states, and he is losing money because the biggest investor in breitbart news is pulling money out of. we spent a huge amount of time with wolff. some say he exaggerates. there is far more say he exaggerates. there is far m o re a ccess say he exaggerates. there is far more access for him than is normally given. he has to have something. it only stands to reason. but this statement from rebecca mercer, her father sold the shares in breitbart news to her, and distance himself. rebecca mercer says she has not

spoken to steve bannon in months. there are talks about him being removed from breitbart news. i have not worked for them for some time so ido not worked for them for some time so i do not have inside knowledge. but it is hard to see how you can be in this situation when it has such a poor relationship with the president. not even kim jong—un was attacked as badly as donald trump attacked as badly as donald trump attacked steve bannon. what happens to the voters then? who has the hearts and minds of the voters? steve bannon? donald trump people? the man? the election, it is important the base of donald trump supporters stay together. this has gone some way to fracturing it. we don't know to what extent and whether it will still exist at three election time. but there is no way you can say this is helpful. —— the election. but equally, what is the issue with breitbart news? will the

donald trump supporters stop listening to steve bannon's show and reading his article is? the problem cuts both ways. he used to work with steve bannon. speaking to me earlier. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. chinese sailors finish in the top 20 in one of the world's toughest ocean races, the sydney to hobart. the japanese people are mourning following the death of the emperor. 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 singapore simon starts is to south africa in spite of protest and violence from some black activist groups —— the singer. they say

international artists should continue to boycott south africa until majority rule is established. teams are trying to scoop up lumps of oil as france realises it faces an ecological crisis. three weeks ago the authorities confidently assured that the tanker would head out to sea. it wouldn't. the world's tallest skyscraper opens today. it has easily taken over its nearest rivals. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon, in singapore. our top stories: the publication of a book donald trump's lawyers are trying to block has been brought forward to friday. it contains damaging allegations attributed to former presidential strategist steve bannon. in what's being seen as a goodwill gesture to pyongyang, washington and seoul have agreed not to hold planned military exercises

during the winter olympics in south korea. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the weather bomb in north america is front and centre on the financial times. the storm has led to the cancellation of thousands of flights across the us and canada. the japan times shows a celebration to open a new year of trading on the nikkei, where the market surged to a 26 year high. and the china daily reports president xi jinping wants a high tech upgrade to the countries military ca pabilites. those other top stories of key publications around the world. in trending, a sumo wrestler‘s troubles are sparking discussions online? indeed, they are. it's the news of a fine for former

sumo grand champion, harumafuji, has been much discussed. it's not so much the amount, he's just been fined 500,000 yen, that's $4,400, he was found guilty of assault. the wrestlerfrom mongolia had apparently hit a junior colleague over the head during a night out injapan. it was a serious injury. the younger man had a fractured skull. but his weapons of choice was a karaoke machine remote control. the australian government says it will legalise exports of the drug cannabis for medicinal purposes. it would join canada and the netherlands in doing so, while uruguay and israel have announced similar plans. but australia says it wants to become the world's leading exporter of medicinal cannabis. joining me from melbourne to talk more on this is dr tony bartone, the vice president of the australian medical association.

what are the benefits of medicinal cannabis and what sorts of things will it be used for? some of the studies around the world have shown that there may be a role for m essa g es that there may be a role for messages and —— for medicinal cannabis to some forms of resistant epilepsy, especially paediatric forms, it may have a role in multiple sclerosis, in the management of the weight loss and loss of appetite that follows chemotherapy and the nausea that follows chemotherapy and also in the management of some of the forms of non—malignant chronic pain. so that's where the studies from around the world have shown there may be a role. we are currently doing our trials in australia at the moment to further evaluate and review up—to—date evidence in light of past

trials, to establish clinical guidelines for the exact indications... it was legalised for medicinal use in 2016 in australia. how have patients responded to it so far? it has been legalised and it has been very much on a restrict the basis, so it is what we call a special access scheme. so the extent or usage is still very small in comparison to where it might end up and sell at this earlyjuncture the reports are very much sporadic, but it would seem to be still proceeding along as expected. it's about being sure about those really robust clinical guidelines, to give us the indications of when we need and how we should use it. so the numbers are

still small. australia says it wants to become the leading exporter of medicinal cannabis. was this expected or unexpected, in your view? this is obviously the decision that's been taken by the australian government and its for the australian government to make and it on associations of the regulatory authorities around the world. it does make sense in that because of our highly regulated nature, because of our highly specific controls that we've instituted in the establishment of these industries, which have been... begun from struck, —— from scratch, the rest of the world can have the confidence in the world can have the confidence in the quality and in the supply chain of any australian product that's grown and exported. so from that point of view it does offer a unique opportunity, but that is a matter for the australian government and the companies that are seeking to deliver under that export licence.

thank you so much for your insights on medicinal cannabis. it may surprise you to know that china has won six olympic medals in sailing, making it the 18th most successful nation in history. well, now they could be making their mark outside the olympic regattas. the first crew from mainland china has just completed the prestigous sydney to hobart race. from sydney, phil mercer reports. on sydney's west in harbour, the chinese are on a mission to conquer the world of sailing. with an average age ofjust 2a, the crew onboard this yacht includes professional athletes and former members of china's special forces. they've been here both training and competing for weeks. back home, sailing continues to ride a wave of popularity. sailing club from shanghai has been

flying the flag for china during the summer racing season in australia. they've been up against some of the most formidable ocean racing crews in the world. and that's a sign of china's ambition, they are notjust here to make up the numbers, ultimately they want to win. britain, the netherlands and australia dominated sailing at the rio olympics, but china, which won a silver medal, has lofty ambitions in a sport that requires money and motivation. you could probably draw some comparisons with maybe some other sports that they've taken on and there's always a timeline and sailing is a complex sport, so it

will take a while, but if they are committed to it they will win medals eventually, that's for sure. it's crucial to the sport. it's not that big a sport, really, and to have a population of china starting to get interested in the sport is fantastic. the crew from shanghai was the first team from mainland china to compete in the famous syd ney to china to compete in the famous sydney to hobart race. it will also ta ke sydney to hobart race. it will also take its place in the australian yachting championships in melbourne. after a dog in pursuit of success, it will there be time to head home in time for chinese new year. —— dogged pursuit. love sailing! you have been watching newsday. i'm rico hizonk in singapore. stay with us. we will be having a look at bubblewrap and its history and the

millions people make out of it. we will have aaron hessel first talking about the history and business of bubblewrap! so much to learn from shakespeare! before we leave you, we will leave you with these pictures because we have been hearing so much about the bad weather in the us and canada. this was just outside our offices, right here in london. this giant balloon is all part of a festival of light across oxford street and across bits of central london. it is pa rt across bits of central london. it is part of a festival of light. this huge balloon became untethered, possibly due to the high winds. one of my colleagues who saw it become untethered says it was quite scary because this balloon was huge. it then ended up getting caught up with then ended up getting caught up with the christmas lights that are long oxford circus. a bit of chaosjust outside our studio! the wet and windy weather we seem to

start 2018 will bring in quieter weather towards the weekend. this is how we ended the day on thursday in steve na g e. how we ended the day on thursday in stevenage. clear spells, a bit of cloud and fairly heavy showers have been moving west to east overnight. they will tend to ease from the south—east on friday. still windy in south—western parts of the country. further north we have lingering rain and hill snow in many eastern parts of scotland. snow accumulating here. not a bad start in northern ireland. chilly, with frost and fog patches. similar in the south—west scotland and parts of england. in the england and parts of england. in the england and wales there will be cloud with outbreaks of rain through the midlands and towards the south—east on friday it should be fairly dry and fine. further spells of showery rain into the south—west of england and wales. still strong and gusty winds, but not as strong as the

winds, but not as strong as the winds we've had on thursday. further north, less windy and more sunshine into the midlands, north wales. temperatures between 4— nine degrees. that cooling trend continues through into the weekend. we've got this north—east wind, bringing further snow showers in scotla nd bringing further snow showers in scotland and northern england, over higher ground. temperatures dropping too close to freezing in towns and cities. colder than that in the countryside. slightly milder, with frost and fog further south. so the weekend is dominated the fact that we've got high pressure building and the wind coming in from the north—east. through saturday the cold northerly wind will bring more sunshine in scotland, northern england and northern ireland. further south across central, southern england and wales, still cloudy, with a few spots of rain. temperatures are dipping. on saturday night we have some cold conditions developing a with clear sky satellite winds. perhaps the odd

wintry showers around exposed coasts. for most of it —— for most of us it will be a cold and frosty start on saturday. freezing across many northern and western parts in particular. high pressure keeps hold of the weather through the second pa rt of the weather through the second part of the weekend, so for many of us part of the weekend, so for many of us sunday should be a fine day. lighter winds and we've had after the cold and frosty start. plenty of sunshine developing. top temperatures between freezing and about seven degrees. wintry scene continues into monday, but most of us continues into monday, but most of us should see plenty of sunshine to convert it. —— to compensate. i'm kasia madera with bbc world news. our top story: the publisher of a controversial book about donald trump's white house has brought forward its publication date after attempts by the president's lawyers to block its release. michael wolff's fire and fury is said to contain damaging remarks attributed to former trump strategist, steve bannon. it'll now be published on friday, four days early. south korea says president trump has

promised not to hold military drills during the winter olympics. mr trump has said he hopes possible north—south talks would go well. and this story is trending on bbc.com. former sumo grand champion, harumafuji, has just been fined. the mongolian wrestler had apparently fractured a junior colleague's skull after hitting him over the head a with karaoke machine's remote control. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.