welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: the president of south korea says he wants a lasting peace with the north after the two countries agreed to hold military talks. flash floods and mudslides in southern california leave at least 13 dead. a search is underway for survivors. we dug down and found a little baby. we got it out, got the mud out of its mouth. i hope it's ok. it was taken right to the hospital. the murder of a lawyer prompts outrage and claims of corruption in ukraine. we start with breaking news: there are reports of a major

earthquake in the caribbean sea. the us geological survey is reporting the earthquake‘s initial strength as 7.6. is in army warnings have been issued for puerto rico and the us virgin islands. —— tsunami warnings. jamaica is also at risk. people have been warned to move away from beaches and harbours. eyewitnesses report windows have been rattled in the honduran capital, tegucigalpa. authorities say there is no tsunami threat to the us east coast or the gulf of mexico. more details as we have them. after months of rising tensions on the korean peninsula, the north and south are to hold a new military dialogue — and appear together at the winter olympics. the south korean president,

moonjae—in, has been holding a news conference and said denuclearising the korean peninsula was an aim that cannot be abandoned. but he also said that he did not want the immediate reunification of north and south korea. the bbc‘s laura bicker was at the news conference and asked this question: you have pursued this policy of engagement. the us policy is one of maximum pressure. is there not potential for a flashpoint between those two ways, and how will you deal with it? thank you. translation: it is a practical concern. it is the actual concern we have, because we have close bonds with the us and we have been working closely together against north korea's nuclear programme. as much as international bodies, organisations, put great pressure on north korea to resolve this nuclear issue, we, south korea, is trying to bring north korea to the table to open a dialogue. however, when the pressure from international community goes up so high, obviously in consequence, the tension between south and north can only be increased. this needs to be dealt with extremely carefully.

we need to give very deep thinking. at the moment they came out to talk with this. this is talk, north korea. they came out to improve the inter—korean relationship, the tension that north korea input for this talk. so i think this is a good start. they came out to improve the inter—korean relationship, the tension that north korea input for this talk. so i think this is a good start. that was the south korean president moonjae—in, at that was the south korean president moon jae—in, at his that was the south korean president moonjae—in, at his press conference. the american academicjohn delury, who's an associate professor at yonsei university, joins us from seoul. professor, good to talk to you. at eight of such tension, any talks, any contact, are grounds for hope. —— at any contact, are grounds for hope. ——ata any contact, are grounds for hope. —— at a time of such. how hopeful can we be? never get your hopes up

too much with north korea, they are sure to be crushed. but this is a significant breakthrough. this is the first moon government has opened channels are kim jong—un at a level. moon and his people have been working hard at this, both publicly and behind—the—scenes for many months. so this isn't something that came about easily. it isn't something kim jong—un pulled came about easily. it isn't something kimjong—un pulled out of a hat. this is part of a deliberate and cautious approach, but one which seems to be getting traction on south korea's part, so it is a significant development. so we know that for the period of the olympics there will be no nuclear or missile tests. how much further do you think rapprochement is will go? how genuine do you think north korea is about this? yeah, the winter olympics and the timing of that, it creates a window of opportunity. it lowers the temperature and opens up some space. as your question implies, there has to be pretty active steps taken and it has two, i

think, include the americans, really, before the olympics ends, so that we're notjust back really, before the olympics ends, so that we're not just back at square one wants the games are over. denuclearisation is something the us stresses, president and stressed it in his press conference today, the international community has affirmed its through the un security council, but realistically, that is a long—term goal. you need to be able to walk and chew gum. you need to have a short—term diplomatic approach that again is with this kind of dialogue we are seeing, as we work towards the long—term goal of getting the north korean is to halt the progress of their programme and start rolling it back and ultimately give it up. —— north koreans. and you don't feel the north korean leadership is crazy or necessarily aggressive? you feel that it necessarily aggressive? you feel thatitis necessarily aggressive? you feel that it is worried about its own destruction, and will only focus on its own prosperity and perhaps less on oppressing its own people if it is not so worried about the

existential threat, as it sees it? yes, that's right. i mean, there is a debate among analysts. is this a defensive regime and state, reserve and aggressive one? to me, the evidence points consistently to the fa ct evidence points consistently to the fact north korea is fundamentally defensive in its orientation. we get so defensive in its orientation. we get so focused on the threats, and it does have very serious asymmetrical threats, primarily the nuclear missiles and also some cyber threats, but step back and take a look at some of the basic facts and figures. south korea, annually, spends on its defence the entire size of the north korean economy. north korea press —— north korea's problem is that it is stuck so far behind the rest of the region and so far behind south korea. paradoxically, the way that we need to get out of this security dilemma we are stuck with with the north korean sister help them move along, give them or competence, let kim jong—un focus more on economic

element and move away from the nuclear deterrent. john, thank you to talking to us. —— thank you for talking. donald trump's former chief strategist steve bannon has stepped down as head of the far right website breitbart. he's been heavily criticised by mr trump and faced a backlash from supporters since the book "fire and fury" quoted him accusing the president's son and son—in—law of treason. detectives in italy and germany have arrested 169 people on suspicion of activities related to the mafia. tens of millions of dollars worth of property was seized in the operation against the ‘ndrangheta, a crime syndicate accused of infiltrating businesses across both countries. the us secretary of state has ordered a new inquiry into the health problems suffered by diplomats stationed in cuba. president trump has blamed the cuban government for symptoms ranging from fatigue to hearing loss, and washington has pulled most of its diplomatic staff out of havana. cuba has denied any involvement.

the south african president jacob zuma says he is setting up a judicial inquiry into alleged influence—peddling in his government. he said the deputy chiefjustice raymond zondo would head the inquiry as recommended by the chief justice mogoeng mogoeng. the move follows a court ruling last month that gave mr zuma 30 days to set up the investigation. devastating flash floods and mudslides have killed at least 13 people in southern california. rescue workers say the bodies were found in debris brought down in a ferocious storm. among those saved was a 14—year—old girl who'd been trapped for hours in the ruins of her house. sarah corker reports. a deadly torrent of mud swept through communities across southern california, knocking entire homes from their foundations and trapping some people inside. in the thick brown sludge, waist—deep in parts, more than 50 people have been rescued so far. i looked over at the river and the trees were coming down. and we ran into the house and right then, the boulders busted through our house and we got upstairs and it got up

to about eight feet, nine feet up the stairs. after devastating wildfires along this pacific coast, now, a powerful storm has triggered flash floods. one of the worst—hit areas is montecito, an exclusive neighbourhood north of la, home to stars like oprah winfrey. mansions now completely surrounded by mud. these dramatic pictures show a wave of mud moving at a speed and later breaking through this dam barrier. —— moving at speed. we had a very difficult time assessing the area and responding to many of those areas to assist those people.

the only words i can really think of to describe what looked like was it looked like a world war i battlefield. tens of thousands of homes were evacuated as wildfires in december have left this area vulnerable, burning the vegetation that helped prevent flooding and landslides. all those houses that had already burned down, that is all toxic as well. so there is stuff that is washing into my house. —— there is burnt stuff. helicopters have been trying to reach some of those trapped. and with people still missing and unaccounted for, police say the death toll is likely to rise. sarah corker, bbc news. the syrian military has accused israel of a series of air strikes on targets close to the capital damascus. it says both israeli planes and missiles were deployed and claims it brought down one plane. israel has refused to confirm any military action. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in damascus. they‘ re now happening

every few months, israel striking its neighbour, syria. but it comes at a time when israel grows ever more worried about the growing threat along its northern border with syria. and that is because that border has been largely controlled by syrian rebel forces, and they‘ re losing ground. and for israel, that means notjust that the syrian military is coming closer to its border, it's that two of syria's most important allies are also approaching israel, and they happen to be israel's against enemies in this region. so i think it's fair to say that the real target of these strikes is not syria, the syrian military. it is iran and hezbollah. and what we know of the strike — it hit arms depots north—east of damascus, which are used both by the syrian military and by lebanese hezbollah forces. now, israel never comments on these strikes, either to confirm or deny, but today, the israeli prime minister happened to be speaking to nato ambassadors and he emphasised that israel has a long—standing policy, and we've seen it, month after month, the strikes it's carried out here,

is it will not allow the transfer of any game—changing weaponry, as the prime minister put it, from syrian territory across the border into lebanon. that was leased to set in damascus. —— lyce doucet. the funeral has been held in ukraine, for a young lawyer whose murder is becoming a test case for efforts to reform what many see as a corrupt and biased judiciary. irina nozdrovska's body was discovered five days after she appeared in court to testify against the nephew of a localjudge. in a small town outside kiev, hundreds of people came to say goodbye to a woman whose life and death has reminded the ukraine of how far it still has to go. this is irina nozdrovska two

years ago in full flow. she was leading a public campaign to make sure the drink driver responsible for killing her sister was prosecuted. it was an uphill struggle. the man was well—connected, the nephew of a localjudge. but against the odds, two weeks ago, he had a jail sentence of seven years confirmed. but her activism made her powerful enemies and five days after the court hearing, her battered body was discovered, stabbed and dumped. "they murdered you for telling the truth," says her father as he weeps over her coffin. "they removed you because you were standing in their way." her mother cries for her first daughter to welcome irina into heaven. ukraine has a pitiful record in solving murder cases like this one.

the justice system is widely seen as being rotten to the core, at the service of the rich and well—connected. under pressure, the ukraine police service has arrested a man. at the funeral there was deep scepticism about whether justice would eventually be done. people understand that the judicial system is not about people. we understand it is about corruption, firstly, because all of these judges, for 25 years, have been corrupt. the whole system is corrupt. having fought, and it seems died to getjustice for her sister, the murder of this woman is now a public test case as to whether the ukraine is really changing. making a case of a change. smart

luggage meets smiling robots at the world's biggest tech show in las vegas. 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 tomorrow, in spite of protests and violence from some black activist groups. they say international artists should continue to boycott south africa until majority rule is established. the 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 overtaken its nearest rivals. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: as north and south korea stage their first talks for more than two years, south korea's president says denuclearisation is the path to peace. flash floods and mudslides in southern california have left at least thirteen people dead. a search is underway for survivors. we are getting results of a major earthquake in the caribbean sea north of honduras. us virgin islands has a tsunami

warning. other areas might be at risk. waves up to one metre are possible. people are being advised to move away from beaches and harbours. the initial strength has been reported as 7.6. no tsunami warning for the us east coast or the gulf of mexico. a judge in warning for the us east coast or the gulf of mexico. ajudge in san francisco has blocked president trump from ending a programme locking children being sent home. donald trump is insisting on tying all this into funding for his promised wall on the mexican border. democrats are strongly opposed. promised wall on the mexican border. democrats are strongly opposedlj feel having the democrats in with us is absolutely vital because there should be a bipartisan bill. this should be a bipartisan bill. this should be a bill of love and we can do that. but it also has to be a bill where we are able to secure the

border. drugs are pouring into our country at a record place —— pace. a lot of people are coming in who we can't have. we've greatly stiffened, as you know, and fewer people are trying to come in, but we have tremendous numbers of people and drugs pouring into our country. so in order to secure it, we need a wall. heavy snow aross the alps has cut off towns and villages, and raised the avalanche risk level to maximum in some areas. tourists are being airlifted out of zermatt, one of switzerland's most popular ski resorts. around 13,000 people are stranded there due to the conditions. imogen foukes reports from geneva. so much snow, literally tonnes of it. its sheer weight forces it down to the valleys. this was the scene in switzerland. no one was hurt here, but the avalanche risk is the highest it's been for almost a decade. over a metre of snow fell in parts of the alps on monday alone. in the italian resort of sestriere, residents were evacuated when snow poured down into their homes.

villages are cut off, many schools are closed. this is les houches in france. translation: we heard a big noise at first. no tremor, but a very big noise, a huge growl. then i saw the cloud coming down, so we ran back and into the basement. it's always a shock, always. it's not nice to see. we thought the house would explode. when you see that, your heart sinks. in the shadow of the famous matterhorn, over 13,000 tourists in the swiss resort of zermatt cannot leave. snow has blocked road and rail links. skiing isn't possible, slopes are closed because of the avalanche danger. residents and holiday—makers alike are being warned to avoid high alpine roads and to follow all safety advice.

those stranded in cut—off villages may have to be patient. another metre of snow is forecast in the next 2a hours. imogen foulkes, bbc news, geneva. more than 170,000 people are expected to visit this year's consumer electronics show in las vegas. the tech companies' latest developments include driverless taxis and new advances in artificial intelligence, including some uncannily human robots. our technology correspondent rory cellan—jones is there. a powerful and largely invisible technology is on the march. it's learning how to drive. it can recognise individualfaces, and it knows an awful lot about our personal preferences. that technology is artificial intelligence and, in las vegas this week, tech firms are showing off how hey, sophia, can we shake hands? in a las vegas university lab, i'm meeting sophia, a humanoid robot. how sophisticated do you think you are as a robot? i want people to perceive

me as the robot i am. however, i wouldn't want to trick people into thinking i'm a human. i just want to communicate with humans in the best possible ways, which includes looking like one. sophia, who's had advance notice of my questions, our has few practical uses right now, but her creators believe voice to she represents a big step on the road to artificial intelligence. our aspiration is to bring the machines to life, to create living, intelligent systems and there you'll see the greatest revolution in artificial intelligence. as this giant tech show gets under way, china's spending on al and robotics is much in evidence. this suitcase recognises and follows its owner. here's china's biggest force in al, the search giant baidu,

laying on a lavish las vegas event with the slogan "ai is changing the world at china's speed". it calls itself china's google. it's already a leader in technologies like facial recognition, and baidu is confident china can challenge america's ai dominance. china is quickly catching up and the gap is closing, but china has a lot more people, much larger scale. it's a big market. so i think that's a foundation for china to prevail in the ai age. out in downtown las vegas, i've booked a ride in an autonomous taxi — no steering wheel, no pedals, no driver. it's made by a french transport company. it's notjust america and china racing to get ahead in al. rory cellan—jones, bbc news, las vegas. prince harry and his fiancee meghan markle have visited a radio station in london where they met presenters and staff from reprezent fm, which trains hundreds of young people every year in media and employment skills. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell was there — his report contains some flash photography. you are they travel with all the paraphernalia of royalty, but harry and meghan are the new royal couple determined to do things just a little differently.

so this was a visit to a radio station, housed in old shipping containers. believe it or not everyone is listening and i'm in the same room as the royal couple right now. this is reprezent fm in brixton, south london, set up 10 years ago to help tackle inner city issues, like knife crime. it gives young people a purpose and trains them to be broadcasters. i can see why your show‘s so popular because you're so thoughtful in the approach, but also so engaging to listen to. thank you. inside the station, harry and meghan were getting to know the broadcasting class of 2018. outside it was apparent that royalty‘s newest recruit is reaching new audiences herself. the support from brixton, it was just a lot of people of colour that were just cheering her on. obviously you could tell that she was quite surprised the reception she got. she looked shocked, didn't she? i thought that, yeah.

we want to see meghan! "we want to see meghan", demanded the crowds in south london. expect to hear a lot of that between now and the wedding in may, and beyond. nicholas witchell, bbc news. one young dj gave the prince his business card with the hope of being able to dj at the prince ‘s wedding. a town on the edge of the sahara desert has been hit by icy weather — and even snow. snowfall is very rare in the sahara, despite the fact that it can be cold at night — because there's rarely enough water around for any kind of precipitation. it didn't last long though — the snow melted not long after these pictures were taken. the president of south korea said reading the peninsula of weapons will guarantee peace. speaking after talks, the first in two years. north korean representatives said the

nuclear arsenal was not up for discussion. much more on the bbc website. thank you for watching. tuesday was a disappointing day up and down the country, cold, damp and grey with the exception of western scotland which saw a little sunshine. into wednesday we start to see a bit of change to the weather. a band of rain slowly moves eastward across the country. first thing on wednesday, across central and western areas, clear skies and quite chilly with a touch of frost, a little fog. wednesday for many of us looks brighter. we should see some sunshine, particularly in the afternoon because it begins cold with ice in northern ireland. central, northern and east areas has a weather front slowly moving out into the north sea, leaving a little cloud hanging back.

in fact, for a good portion of scotland it could stay damp all day. there will be a little mist and murk and hill fog. most of the rain across north—east of scotland and into the northern isles so i think some western fringes and south—western parts of scotland should see sunshine in the afternoon. that veil of cloud with the weather front is draped across the eastern counties of england down towards the south—east. the further west you are, the brighter the afternoon. it will feel a little warmer in the sunshine. ten, 11 degrees maybe and a couple of showers across the south—west. as we head towards wednesday evening and overnight a few heavy showers will clear away from the south—west of england. the weather front will eventually clear from the eastern side of england but is confined to the northern isles there. elsewhere under clear skies with light wind it will be quite chilly and a touch of frost here and there. some mist, ice and fog — that is a sign of things to come towards the end of the week with morning frost and fog. it could cause a little bit of a problem. for thursday it is a cold start with a little mist and fog around. frost as well but it

should generally lift. there is a little that could be stubborn in a few places but there should be sunshine breaking through for many although for the northern isles will remain damp. a bit more cloud across the coastal and eastern counties. as we head into friday, high pressure holds on with a change across the west. tightly packed isoba rs and more breeze. clouds and rain arriving in northern ireland late in the day but for much of the country should be dry, chilly with an early fog but a few sunny spells in the afternoon. on saturday the weather front across the west will very slowly move eastwards during the course of the day. it won't reach the east until later on where it will stay dry and on the cool side. the latest headlines: president moonjae—in of south korea

has reiterated his commitment to a nuclearfree korean peninsula. speaking after landmark talks with north korea, mr moon said the removal of nuclear weapons was an objective that could never be abandoned. but pyongyang says the issue isn't up for discussion. at least 13 people have died in floods and mudslides in southern california, which was hit only recently by a huge wildfire. rescue workers in santa barbara county near la say the bodies were discovered in debris brought down by a ferocious storm. floodwater washed away cars and telephone poles. donald trump's former chief strategist steve bannon has stepped down as head of the far right website breitbart. he's been heavily criticised by mr trump and faced a backlash from supporters since the book ‘fire and fury‘ quoted him accusing the president's son and son—in—law of treason.