this is the briefing. i'm samantha simmonds. our top story: north korea accepts south korea's offer of high level talks next tuesday — and, crucially, ahead of next month's winter olympics. publish and be damned. the book which describes a paranoid president and a white house in chaos is being rushed out today, despite attempts by donald trump's lawyers to block it. it's being called a "bomb cyclone" — a powerful blizzard that's battered north america, leaving at least 17 dead and knocking out power for thousands of people. wall street hits new record highs as the us economy powers ahead. but will america's lowest paid finally start to feel the benefit? also coming up in the business briefing — trumping the tower. dubai already has the world's tallest building. so with a slump in real estate prices, why does it want an even taller one? a warm welcome to the programme,

briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business, and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. a group of mps here in the uk wants a 25 pence charge added to every disposable coffee cup sold, with the money raised used to improve recycling facilities. billions of cups are thrown away each year, mostly ending up in landfill sites. goodidea? tell us what you think, just use the hashtag bbcthebriefing. north korea has accepted south korea's offer to hold talks next week. it will be the first time since 2015 that officials from the two sides have met. no coincidence perhaps that the news breaks just hours after south korea

and the united states agreed to postpone theirjoint military exercises, which north korea sees as rehearsals for invasion. they'll be suspended for the duration of the winter olympics. sophie long reports from seoul. north korea accepted the offer of government level talks through a direct fax line between the two countries reactivated two days ago. it was addressed to south korea's reunification minister. translation: north korea accepted our offer for talks on january 9. regarding the agenda, we will discuss the pyeonchang olympics and how to improve ties between south and north korea. they are expected to discuss key issues like pyongyang sending a delegation to the winter olympics which is in south korea next month. do the these are the united states

that it comes hours. agreed to postpone the drills for the duration of the games. the south korean president said he believes the winter games could mark a turning point. they could reduce tensions on the korean peninsula which have reached their highest point in two decades. "here we go. you can buy it tomorrow. thank you, mr president." that was the tweet by michael wolff, author of a controversial book about donald trump's white house. responding to attempts by the president's lawyers to block it's publication, the publishers say it'll be on the book stands today. peter bowes reports. polish. the book at the doorway. the white house dispute its accuracy and deep president has threatened to sue

for libel they say at the altar and the publisher should immediately cease and desist from any publication —— author. instead the release date has been brought forward , release date has been brought forward, much to the apparent delight of mr woolfe. "here you go, you can buy it and read it, thank you can buy it and read it, thank you mr president" he tweets. they say it is false and fraudulent. it portrays mr trump is being surprised at winning the presidency and paints at winning the presidency and paints a picture of his administration as dysfunctional and divided. steve bannon, who was widely quoted in the extracts already published, has not disputed their content. his response ona disputed their content. his response on a radio programme was to declare his unfailing support for the president. the president of the united states is a great man. i support him day in and day out, whether going through the country giving the public miracle speech or on the website. and mr trump's response to that... i don't know, he

called me a great man last night. the taste is due pretty quick. now with the lawyers poised, there is an entire book to read for the next instalment of this extraordinary saga. peter bowes, abc news. and not surprisingly, the president could not resist commenting again on social media. in the last few hours he tweeted: "i authorised zero access to white house for author of phony book. i never spoke to him for book. full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don't exist. look at this guy's past and watch what happens to him and sloppy steve!" more on that to come throughout the day. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. us states that have legalised cannabis have condemned a decision by the attorney general jeff sessions to cancel a policy that prevented prosecutors from enforcing a federal ban on the drug. the lieutenant governor of california, garry newsom, said the decision trampled on the will of california voters. facebook co—founder mark zuckerberg says his goal for 2018 will be to fix what he called important issues on the platform and on social

media in general. on his page he says facebook is at a crossroads and that he'll be looking to protect users from abuse and hate, and defend the platform from government interference. let's take a look at out top business story now. the temperatures in new york may be sub—zero, but on wall street the financial markets are hotter than ever. us shares hit new record highs yet again on thursday. the dow jones industrial average closing above 25,000 points for the first time. it's all being driven by optimism about the state of the world's biggest economy and, despite all the controversy in the white house, the pro—growth policies of president trump. for millions of low—paid americans, though, the issue is wages. this week also marks a rise in the minimum wage across 18 states. iamjoined by broadcaster henry bonsu. welcome to you, and a happy new year. the bbc website is following

this. the dow jones year. the bbc website is following this. the dowjones its 25,000 for the first time. a huge story in the states that has repercussions around the world. kind of a muted response, they were expecting this and they think it will carry on rising further. it will carry on rising because it is part of the trump narrative, i business guy, i cut red tape, i put more dollars in your pocket. but the average person on main street, not wall street, will be wondering when it will benefit them. the minimum weight in many states is very low, about $7 an hour —— wage. those in corporate america are loving this and they are looking at this in anticipation tomorrow. the president is adoring this because he says if barack obama had done this you would be jumping because he says if barack obama had done this you would bejumping up and down in a frenzy. i have done this and it is muted, so how about giving me some credit. he wants the credit, but those on a very low minimum wage, $7.25 per hour... what

can you buy for that? for most people. they feel the impact is well and will they continue voting for trump in the future? the figures are out today and should be up today after yesterday. another quarter of after yesterday. another quarter of a million people have gained employment in december. all of this plays into the same narrative. employment in december. all of this plays into the same narrativem does. i am concerned. plays into the same narrativem does. iam concerned. it plays into the same narrativem does. i am concerned. it is all very well given the tax cuts of the rich and talking about fantasticjob growth, but this sounds and feels like a bubble. we have seen this before. what happens with a bubble in the end is that it bursts, by the laws of its own dynamics. people mourning donald trump not get too excited about talking up the economy —— warning. when america sneezes, much of the rest of the world catches a cold. i am worrying about those who have bet the house on its. henry, for now, thank you very much for stupples see you later for the papers. a severe drop in air pressure has triggered a powerful blizzard that's battered the north—east of the united states

and canada, knocking out power for tens of thousands of people. the week—long cold snap has left at least 17 dead and wrecked travel plans for millions. andrew plant reports. several inches of snow, winds up to 60 miles an hour, blocked roads, black ice, power cuts, and a storm stretching hundreds of miles. new york city like a fairytale for some. the snow, though, a serious hazard to many. we're enjoying it. we're from southern california so it's the first time my kids have been in the snow. it's nice but sometimes it's tough to be a long time outside, you have to get into the shops... just to keep warm. to keep alive. la guardia airport cancelled 95% of its flights. jfk cancelled them all. state parks closed on long island and schools shut up and down the atlantic coast. as a state of emergency was declared, ten deaths already attributed to the freezing conditions.

what is quite clear is that this is a serious, serious storm between, the very low temperatures, the strong winds, the driving snow, everyone should take this very seriously. take precautions. because of the fact that the storm has intensified in the last few hours, i am now declaring a winter weather emergency for new york city. the office of emergency management now standing by with equipment like generators, pumps and sandbags, as well as food and water, blankets and emergency shelters. there have been blizzards in connecticut. atlantic city has seen traffic at a standstill. can you believe this is tallahassee, florida. even in florida, the sunshine state, there were snowflakes falling. for the northern part, the very first year in nearly 30 years. it meant sledging and snowmen for some. in memphis, even a game of ice

hockey under the setting sun. it is being called a ‘bomb cyclone'. from florida to maine, sharp drops in air pressure bringing in low temperatures and the windchill making it feel —40 in places. relief could still be days away, the national weather service predicting more misery through the weekend, as the storm moves towards canada. stay with us on the briefing. also on the programme: and we've an exclusive report from inside the battle for yemen, where war has driven millions to the brink of starvation. the japanese people are in mourning following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged on the imperial palace

to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. good grief! after half a century of delighting fans around the world, charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts his tour of south africa in spite of protest and violence from some black activist groups. they say international artists should continue to boycott south africa until majority rule is established. teams were trying to scoop up lumps of oil as france recognises it faces an ecological crisis. three weeks ago, the authorities confidently assured these areas that oil from the broken tanker erika would head out to sea. it didn't. the world's tallest skyscraper opens later today. the burj dubai has easily taken over its nearest rivals. you're watching the briefing.

our headlines: 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. and our top story — north korea has accepted south korea's offer of high—level talks in the demilitarized zone that separates the two countries. let's stay with that now. sophie long is in seoul. welcome to you. this is a hugely significant move. what can we expect from this phone call? yes, what has happened today is that a fax was sent by north korea to south korea saying they accepted the south korean government's offer of high—level talks. those talks, we 110w high—level talks. those talks, we now know, will take place on tuesday, january nine, it in a village that straddles the border in the demilitarised zone separating the demilitarised zone separating the countries. we know they will discuss the possibility of dejonge

and sell it —— sending a delegation to the winter olympics —— pyeongchang. they will also discuss other key issues affecting the korean peninsula. this comes hours after a telephone call between president trump and the south korean president, moonjae—in, president trump and the south korean president, moon jae—in, they president trump and the south korean president, moonjae—in, they have decided to postpone joint military exercises in south korea during because of the winter olympics and paralympics. those because of the winter olympics and pa ralympics. those military because of the winter olympics and paralympics. those military drills ta ke paralympics. those military drills take place in south korea. they are an opportunity for the united states forces to train alan soady south korean forces. the united states and south korea say they are a deterrent —— train alongside. they are seen as rehearsals for an invasion by north korea. that was a significant development last night. hours after that, we hear that pyeongchang has agreed to these talks at which they will discuss the talks of sending a delegation to the olympics. sophie,

thank you. one of the arab world's poorest countries, yemen, has been devastated by a war which has claimed thousands of lives and seen a deadly outbreak of cholera. last month the former president ali abdullah saleh was killed by the iranian backed houthi forces who had earlier supported him, after suggestions he might do a deal with their enemy, saudi arabia. in the second of her exclusive reports inside yemen, nawal al maghafi has more from the capital sana'a. the balance of power has shifted in yemen's civil war, from the saudi coalition to their bitter rivals, iran. for years, we've watched as this proxy war tore the nation apart, killing thousands and leaving millions homeless and starving. last month, a battle took place in the capital, sana'a, that may have also killed hopes for peace. allies turned into enemies, as houthi rebels fought the forces of former president ali abdullah saleh. civilians were caught in the middle. translation: they were firing

across and into our house with rockets and with their ak—47s. it was the worst day of our lives. we were surrounded from all sides. that fighting eventually ended with the death of the former president. the houthis imposed a complete media blackout. no—one knew exactly what had happened — until now. this exclusive footage, seen for the first time, shows the battle that changed the course of yemen's civil war. houthi soldiers surround saleh‘s complex, fighting barefoot. they blow the walls and enter. the chant goes up. "death to america. "death to israel. "curse the jews." and, "victory to islam."

news of saleh‘s death spreads. translation: that's it, the show is over. saleh is dead. his guards just came out and told me the houthis have killed him. the houthis call saleh a traitor for wanting to negotiate with the saudi coalition. inside his huge complex, the aftermath of the battle. the houthis are in charge now. the former president's men are their prisoners. but not all of saleh‘s men were captured. this man was one of saleh‘s closest aides, by his sidejust minutes before he died. his family are still in houthi territory and so we're protecting his identity. translation: he was defending his home, with his aides and nephews by his side. three orfour tanks surrounded his house. they began firing.

the houthis have captured all of saleh‘s arms, but the former president's allies who fled took something potentially more valuable, their secrets. i ask his aide about iranian support for the houthis — long suspected, but never proven. translation: there are iranians by their side and they tell them exactly what to do. i saw them with my own eyes. they give them weapons, but it's the information they give that is most important. i met the iranian advisers when i was with saleh. they were always beside the houthi leaders. three other well—placed sources confirm the existence of iranian advisers. in our time in sana'a, it was a city gripped with fear. most people were reluctant to speak on camera. translation: there is so much fear, even when you go out on the street and things are ok, but fear has spread. this woman was one of hundreds who took to the streets calling

for saleh‘s body to be buried. the houthis retaliated. they chant translation: they hit us with wires and tear—gas canisters, electric rods. they would run after us and keep beating us. since that protest, hundreds of the former president's supporters have been detained. the death of ali abdullah saleh — the only person the saudis could negotiate with — has undoubtedly swung this proxy war in favour of the iranians, for now. what happens next is unclear. the only certainty for the people of yemen is that their suffering will continue. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. first up in paris, where turkey's president recep

tayyip erdogan will arrive for talks with french counterpart emmanuel macron, seeking to start the new year with improved relations with the european union after a rocky 2017. then we head to the us, where author michael wolff is expected to give his first interview on american television about his bombshell book on donald trump's white house. the book will be released today, four days earlier than planned. and later in germany, the hungarian prime minister will address a gathering of the christian social union party, which is the bavarian sister party to angela merkel‘s cdu. it comes just days before the chancellor begins crucial coalition talks to form a new government. cricket and in the ashes test between australia and england in sydney, england scored 346 in their first innings after some entertaining hitting by the tailenders. in reply, australia have scored 131 for 2. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello. coming up on your

friday sport briefing: we look ahead to a real heavyweight local derby as liverpool and everton face off in the english fa cup, the world's top two test match cricketing nations, india and south africa go head to head and look out for the three year old step son of a seattle seahawks nfl player who's decided his future could be in another sport. there's only one place to start and that's with the fa cup. because the third round of football's oldest competition kicks off in some style on friday night, with a merseyside derby. everton travel the very short distance to face rivals liverpool, who could involve defender virgil van dijk for the first time since his record $100 million move from southampton. it's a cup competition and it is isolated from the season. it's much more opportunity than pressure, especially for the team who people say i'm not the favourites, or whatever. it's not a league game.

there are no points available. there's less pressure than the premier league. now, while the ashes are concluding in australia, attention will turn to south africa, as the world's top two sides go head to head. india have soared to the top of the rankings after winning their last nine series, but they've never won one in south africa before. and the home side have the boost of former captain ab de villiers returning to the squad after time away from the game ahead of friday's first test in cape town. now in case you missed it, two wonderful second half goals in the english premier league saw tottenham and west ham finish 1—1 at wembley stadium. pedro obiang handed the hammers the lead with a stunning strike twenty minutes from time. but son heung—min with an equally good effort drew the sides level in the final ten minutes, as spurs stay fifth and west ham move up a place to 15th. the team was fantastic. the effort.

in football you create, you dominate, you make everything to postpone. i accept that this sometimes happens in football. in spain holders barcelona have been held to a 1—1 draw at celta vigo in the opening leg of their last 16 copa del rey tie. real madrid eased to a 3—0 win at second tier numancia. gareth bale was among the scorers and there were also wins for leganes and levante. egypt's mohammad salah has beaten off competition from his liverpool club mate sadio mane of senegal and borussia dortmund's gabon international pierre emerick aubemyang to win the 2017 caf african footballer of the year award. the 25 year old has scored 2a goals in all competitions since joining the anfield club at the start of the season also notching the goal that took egypt to the world cup finals for the first time since 1990. and andy murray has confirmed that he won't compete at this month's australian open.

the former world number one and three—time grand slam champion has missed the last six months with a hip injury. he'll now return to the uk for possible surgery. here's what's been catching our eye on social media. now take a look at this post from seattle seahawks quarter back russell wilson. he may be a superbowl winner and one of the nfl‘s biggest stars, but not even that can tempt his step—son future into taking up the sport. no, he looks destined for a basketball career. already he can dunk, with a little help from wilson. but even at the age of three he's got a handy—looking shot of his own! one for the future. you can get all the latest sports news at our website, that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, that is your friday sport briefing. don't forget, you can get involved in these conversations, the idea that the government is floating they

should introduce a 25p levy on all disposable toffee cups and to stop people using them so much. 2.5 billion are wasted in the uk every year. stevens billion are wasted in the uk every yea r. stevens is billion are wasted in the uk every year. stevens is disposable cups are very convenient for customers and retailers. how can you take away a real cup? surely we should focus on better ways of disposal and recycling. good point, but a p pa re ntly recycling. good point, but apparently these are very hard to recycle. another comment, saying, this is a tiny part of the outlook which needs to comprehend the whole of the environment, macro and micro. keep your thoughts coming into us. more and little later. stay with us on bbc news. so much more to come. i'll be back shortly. hello, there.

after an after a n u nsettled after an unsettled start to january things will turn quieter over the next few days for full ——. still some strong winds in the south to start the day. they should ease later. to the north, rain and hill snow still lingering in central and eastern parts of scotland and into the north—east of england. it should bea the north—east of england. it should be a brighter start in northern ireland, south—west scotland and north—west england. it should be chilly. frost and missed first thing. some outbreaks of rain in northern england and towards northern england and towards northern england. there should be dry and bright weather for east anglia and southern england through the morning. more showers pushing into the south—west of england and wales. some of them fairly heavy, with squally winds. through the day those showers push from west to east. there should be sunshine developing along the south coast and for parts of north—west england and northern ireland. temperatures

around for— i degrees, but further rain and hill snow in the north—east of england and the central scotland. through friday night we have the northerly breeze developing, so it will be a cold night than recently. frosty for many areas. mist and fog in central and southern parts of england and wales. through the weekend the main theme will be the dipping temperatures. the winds continue to push on from the north 01’ continue to push on from the north or north—east as high pressure builds across the country. through the day on saturday northern ireland, scotland and northern england have the lion's share of the sunshine. further south not quite as cold, but more cloud and outbreaks of rain in central and southern parts of england and wales. saturday night temperatures drop quickly as cold air moves south across the country. the rain should clearfrom the south coast and then we have light winds, so widespread frost. temperatures minus 4— —5 in some northern parts and we are likely to

see icy stretches first thing. sunday is dominated by the high pressure building across all of the countries, so dry and settled weather on the cards. less windy thanit weather on the cards. less windy than it has been after the cold and frosty start. dry, bright, with sunshine, although temperatures only between freezing and seven degrees. goodbye for now. this is business briefing. i'm samantha simmonds. wall street hits new record highs as the us economy powers ahead. but will america's lowest paid finally start to feel the benefit? plus, trumping the tower. dubai already has the world's tallest building, so with a slump in real estate prices, why does it want an even taller one? and on the markets, asian shares are close to record highs, as that rally on us markets continues, with the dow closing above 25,000 for the first time.