i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: a desperate search for survivors after mudslides in california. at least 15 have died, but rescuers find some survivors, including a baby. we dug down and found a little baby. i don't know where it came from. we got it out, got the mud out of its mouth. i'm hoping it's ok, they took it right to the hospital. the search for malaysia airlines flight mh370 is back on, one year after it was officially suspended. we will speak to someone whose mother was on board. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: the moment authorities demolish an outlawed church in china. we have exclusive pictures, and we will speak to an expert on what this means for religious freedom in the country. and brushing loneliness away. we will tell you the story of how painting helped this woman cope with depression.

good morning. it is 8:00am in singapore, midnight in london, and ii:00pm in southern california, which is the scene of horrific mudslides. at least 15 people are known to have died, and another 20 are still unaccounted for. airlifts have been called in to rescue those trapped in their homes, and emergency crews are digging through waist—deep mud. the bbc‘s james cook reports from the town of montecito. on california's pacific coast, ordeal by the elements continues.

first, they endured the largest fire in the state's history. next came torrential rain, more intense than anyone here could remember. and then, within minutes, destruction, caused by an unstoppable wall of mud and debris. 14—year—old lauren cantin survived, but even she does not know how. firefighters using rescue dogs heard her screams, and worked for hours to pull her from the wreckage of her home. her family's fate is unknown. everyone here, it seems, has their own incredible story of a struggle to survive. we heard a little baby crying. we dug down and found a little baby. i don't know where it came from. we got it out, got the mud out of its mouth. i'm hoping it's ok, they took it right to the hospital. but it was just a baby,

four feet down in the mud, in nowhere, under the rocks. i'm glad we got it. coast village road, montecito — montecito. so why did this happen? the downpour soaked an area which had been scorched by wildfire, burning grass and shrubs which hold the soil in place, and baking the earth, leaving it slick and hard. the water had nowhere to go but down, fast, into the town of montecito, with deadly, devastating effect. and the destruction wasn't confined to the coast. further inland in burbank, a suburb of los angeles, the cameras captured another mudslide in action. well, the power of this mudslide is graphically demonstrated here. for the people in these homes, and there were some people who stayed in this area, it must have been terrifying, as boulders like this and other

debris swept down from the hills. firefighters insist there is still some hope of finding survivors, but it is fading. the financial cost from this disaster will be immense, the human toll much higher. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. donald trump has told south korea's leader, moonjae—in, that america is open to talks with north korea, at the appropriate time and under the right circumstances. the white house said moon thanked president trump for his leadership in making the talks possible. nick bryant is at the white house. only last week, donald trump was boasting that his nuclear button was bigger than kim jong—un‘s nuclear button. only a few months ago he was

trashing his secretary of state, rex tillerson, saying he was wasting his time pursuing diplomacy with pyongyang. so this really is a ship. it is the most conciliatory language we have had from donald trump on north korea since he took the oath of office, almost 12 months ago. and it follows that meeting the twin north and south korea, donald trump describing that as a great, great meeting. there was a lot of good energy, he said at the white house, just an hour ago. and he is claiming credit for that, for his hardline sta nce credit for that, for his hardline stance on north korea. the tough economic sanctions, the pressure he has put on china, the fire and fury rhetoric. the digitised sabre rattling on twitter. and i suspect we will see a continuation of much of that. don't be surprised if donald trump continues to mock kim jong—un as little rocket man, the white house saying it will continue to assert maximum pressure. the question, really, is how will north korea respond? question, really, is how will north korea respond 7 will question, really, is how will north korea respond? will it lead to a pause in nuclear and missile

testing? because, if it doesn't, it is hard to see any direct talks taking place between washington and pyongyang. also making news today: rescue crews tackling the blaze on the stricken iranian oil tanker in the east china sea were forced to retreat, following an explosion on the ship. the tanker is in its fourth day of being ablaze, after a dramatic collision. the cause and damage to the tanker from the incident are not clear. a prominentjournalist in pakistan has told the bbc he managed to escape an attempted abduction byjumping out of a moving vehicle, as he was travelling to the airport in islamabad. taha siddiqui says he was attacked and beaten by armed men, but managed to escape. more than 100 women in france, including the actress catherine deneuve, have signed an open letter defending the right of men to hit on women. they have complained of a new puritanism, sparked by recent sexual harassment scandals. ethiopia has banned foreigners from adopting children,

because of concerns that they could face abuse or neglect abroad. under new legislation passed by parliament, orphans and other vulnerable children have to be cared for under locally available support mechanisms. and take a look at these pictures. a marine biologist says a massive humpback whale protected her from a 15—foot tiger shark during a recent dive. marine biologist nan hauser believes it could be the first case on record of a humpback protecting a human the malaysian government has signed off on a deal to let an american exploration firm continue hunting for missing flight mh370, a year after the search ended. the malaysia airlines plane vanished en route from kuala lumpur to beijing in march 2014, with 239 passengers and crew on board. the us firm ocean infinity will only be paid if it finds the aircraft.

the new search area will cover 25,000 square kilometres of sea floor, using eight unmanned mini—submarines, and isjust a few degrees north of the earlier search zone in the southern indian ocean. earlier i spoke to grace subathirai nathan, who is the main spokesperson for the mh370 families and the #search0n campaign. here, she explains her thoughts and feelings on the renewed search. we are definitely very grateful the malaysian government for signing this contract, and we are very relieved that the search is finally back on again, after nearly a year in suspension. and how optimistic are you, grace, that this technology being offered by ocean infinity and this new ship will work? well, i

wa nt to this new ship will work? well, i want to say that i want to be very hopeful, very optimistic, but in the past we have been disappointed so many times, and it is very, very hard. so any hope and optimism i haveis hard. so any hope and optimism i have is guarded, to some extent. and you know what, grace, this disappearance of mh370 remains one of modern aviation‘s biggest mysteries. your mother was on board the flight. what do you hope will come out of this? a sense of closure, if it is finally found, and knowing what happened? yes, we definitely want the plane found, because i think it will bring us closure. but also, more importantly, and in the bigger picture, that it will bring answers and it will improve aviation safety. and how united are you, together with the otherfamilies, regarding united are you, together with the other families, regarding this latest technology that will be used for the search? we are aware that this technology has never been used before. but the technology seems

very advanced, very capable. so we hope that this ship and all the technology they have, we really hope they can find the plane. indeed, thatis they can find the plane. indeed, that is the hope, that the plane will be found eventually, four years after its disappearance. but what has been the relationship between you and the other families in this search? well, we constantly keep in touch with each other. we speak with each other almost daily. we keep each other almost daily. we keep each other almost daily. we keep each other breast. we are constantly planning what we can do next to ensure that the search continues, that the search is not abandoned until the plane is found. that the search is not abandoned untilthe plane is found. what that the search is not abandoned until the plane is found. what was the initial feeling when the search was abandoned last year? and finally, it has been renewed once ain? finally, it has been renewed once again? well, we were devastated when they called off the search last year, because we felt it was absolutely premature. especially because the report produced by the australians suggested a new search area, are very highly probable search area, which is quite small.

25,000 square kilometres. so we were really u pset 25,000 square kilometres. so we were really upset that all the three governments didn't want to pursue the search. and we are very grateful now the ocean infinity for proposing ano now the ocean infinity for proposing a no find no fee search. i think this is the biggest motivation for the search being resumed, that there is no find no fee search. in syria, at least 85 people have been killed in the past ten days in a besieged suburb of damascus under rebel control. the united nations has condemned the recent upsurge in attacks on eastern ghouta by government forces, calling the situation a human catastrophe. the area has been under siege for more than 11.5 years, as our chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports from damascus. the bombs fall every day now in eastern ghouta. rescue teams rush in to bring survivors out. frightened children, trapped inside, not knowing where to run or hide. this footage, filmed by the western

backed white helmets, in the neighbourhood of hamoria. they are digging in the rubble with whatever tools they find. often it is just bare hands. the attacks by syrian and russian warplanes on this last rebel—held enclave of damascus intensified weeks ago, scarring entire streets. the attackings don't go only one way. rebel groups controlling this area, including hardline islamist groups linked to al-anda, fired more than a dozen rockets into the heart of damascus yesterday. this is the face of a war now approaching its eighth year. this is its sound. crying. these children in eastern ghouta have known no other life. they survived the latest air

strikes, blood being wiped away, not the pain, nor the fear. and it stalks the old, too, already broken by years of a punishing siege. the history of syria is written here, amongst these stones. three—year—old samer was buried yesterday by his uncle, his father is badly injured. many now say syria's war is over, but it is not — not yet. lyse doucet, bbc news, damascus. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: two journalists in myanmar have been charged under the country's official secrets act. they could face up to 1a years in prison. also on the programme: from taking up painting to cope with depression, to having your murals displayed across singapore, we will have one woman's artistic journey.

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. 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 newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: at least 15 people have died in floods and mudslides in southern california, which was hit only recently by a huge wildfire. the search for missing malaysia airlines flight mh370 resumes, a year after it was officially suspended. the plane vanished en route from kuala lumpur to beijing in 2014. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. there's an interesting story from here in singapore from the straits times. a committee of mps will formed to examine the threat of fake news,

but some critics worry about heavy handed legislation. the japan times is leading with new figures about demographics. one in eight young adults turning 20 isn't japanese. the paper says those figures show the foreign community is younger overall than the native population. and below the fold in the financial times, china is moving to wipe out its bitcoin mining industry. what the crackdown means for crypto currency in that country. state prosecutors in myanmar have charged two journalists from the reuters news agency under the country's official secrets act, a charge which carries a maximum 1a—year prison sentence. wa lone and kyaw soe oo were detained last month while they were investigating

reports of mass killings in rakhine state. soe win than reports. security is tight at the court where the two journalists are two appiah. wa lone and kyaw soe oo smile when they are greeted and eagerly await family members and fellowjournalist —— appears. the journalists were detained on december 12 in yangon at a resta u ra nt detained on december 12 in yangon at a restaurant after meeting with policeman who reportedly gave them documents in relation to the rohingya crisis in mackay and state. outside the court wa lone tells journalists why they think they were arrested. translation: they are charging are stronglyjust to prevent us finding and reporting the right information. we are being treated like this because we are seeking the truth. please protect journalism, fourth pillar of the country, there is truth behind the

case. kyaw soe oo's family members have come from western recurrent state and they look shattered. the journalists are facing 1a years in prison if they are found guilty —— rakhine state. their lawyer lodged a request to the court for their release on bail. translation: the reporters are charged with very serious offences. this could damage freedom of expression in myanmar. there has been growing condemnation and criticism about this case, from not only the media circle in the country, by the international community. the european union has called for the journalists' immediate release. we have exclusive access to images from central china at the moment the authorities in linfen in shanxi province blew up a dissenting judge.

—— church. an eyewitness who spoke to the bbc said he was passing the scene when he saw the destruction of the golden lamp—stand baptist church. he observed several hundred police officers supervising the demolition of the church, which is one of china's numerous, unregistered congregations. the size of a cathedral, the building served 50,000 its leadership refused to register with the authorities, or with the officially recognised three self patriotic movement. under regulations coming into effect next month, all religious bodies must register their buildings. dr bob fu from the china aid association spoke to us more in depth about why this happened. this church, the latest forced demolition, is another example showing this barbaric action toward these peaceful, innocent believers and the churches. it shows the increasingly deteriorating situation of religious freedom and rule of law

in china under the president xi's ruling. really, many suggest it is the worst since the end of the cultural revolution. i mean, all the time, leaders of this church were arrested since this church was built in 2009. and they were sentenced from one to seven years imprisonment for building this church. and many of them were even tortured. and china is now really imprisoning more prisoners of conscience than the number combined by the rest of the world. now, sorry to interrupt, doctor fu, they were arrested and the church was demolished because the church was demolished because the congregation, the leadership, refused to sign the three self patriotic movement, so can you explain what would have happened to this congregation had they signed this congregation had they signed this three star —3 self patriotic

movement. what would it mean to the christians there? if the independent christians there? if the independent christian house church signed the patriotic movement, that means they would lose the freedom to share their faith beyond the four walls of their faith beyond the four walls of the church building. that means they cannot ba ptise anyone the church building. that means they cannot baptise anyone under 18 years old. that means all the church leadership has to be under the total control of the atheistic communist pa rty‘s control of the atheistic communist party's control. and that means they will not be allowed to have their own, actually, true freedom of religion. doctor fu, since president xijinping created his own political thought, how has the situation... what is happening to christians in the country and people of other religious beliefs in china? the religious beliefs in china? the

religious freedom in particular, and the rule of law, in china, under president xijinping, has really become the worst since the ending of the china's for revolution under chairman mao, and we have seen, you know, more christian believers, more underground catholic believers who are for the vatican, they are being arrested, and some were sentenced to even life and 15 years imprisonment for their independent spirit, worship. and even the government sanctioned churches in the past three years under president xi's direct leadership. over 2000 crosses of these church buildings were forcefully destroyed, and bombed and burnt. and some, and many of the churches were even totally destroyed. doctor bob fu. only bad for your health and

research shows it is significant and equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes per day. now, no one knows that more than the singapore tax administrator belinda lo, who took up painting in her 50s and now her work is seen across singapore. iam i am belinda lo, the accidental painter. i took a painting 15 years ago to combat loneliness. and now it has become a passion. when i am painting, actually, ifeel kind of free and away from whatever is troubling me. i used to look after them, like, cook for them is troubling me. i used to look afterthem, like, cook forthem and do everything for them. but i find

that they have got their own activities, and i was, like, left on my own most of the time at home. so, because of this, ijust my own most of the time at home. so, because of this, i just went and did my my murals show the things i would do when i was a child, and the activities back then. ijust when i was a child, and the activities back then. i just want to showcase it on all my walls. and it was a happy time for me. i feel it is innately in each one of us, something that needs to be unleashed, yeah, but it is just up to us to find it. so, if you don't start, you wouldn't know. if you do it with the right heart, and the right incentive, and the right motive, the rest will follow. lovely artworks, kasia, on the

everyday life here in singapore. you have been watching newsday. i'm rico hizon. stay with us. seeking out manufacturing opportunities in south east asia — we will look at why companies are shifting their focus from china to other countries in the region. now, rico, we were talking earlier about a whale that possibly saved a diver from a shark, and let's stick with that theme, let's look at some seals ina swimming that theme, let's look at some seals in a swimming pool. it looks cute but there is a serious side to this because conservation charities in britain say they will be overwhelmed by the number of stranded seals found along the cornish coast over the past few weeks. record numbers of sick and abandoned pups have been discovered. lots more on that story, all of our stories, on our website. goodbye. good morning. fog is our talking

point for the weather this morning, widespread fog across the western half of the british isles and some dangerously dense patches to be found out at the moment. the knock—on effects to travel certainly on the roads, but also i think for some of our airport as well. a chilly start to thursday across scotla nd chilly start to thursday across scotland with a frost here and dense fog through the seven uplands, central lowlands, murky conditions across northern ireland for the rush—hour, for the north—west of england too. further east it is murky conditions for a different reason, the remnants of a weather front here introducing a lot of moist air, low cloud particular hanging across the hills. a chilly start for wales and the south—west of england here with dense patches of england here with dense patches of fog fallen overnight lingering across the west country as well and that could get quite messy. then in the east some drizzly rain out of the east some drizzly rain out of the remnants of our weather front. all in alla the remnants of our weather front. all in all a pretty gloomy, murky

start thursday. in the west i am hopeful things will improve through the morning. the fog lifting initially into cloud. and over the moors and the south—west of wales and the dick lee for the north—west of england it will break and allow through some sunshine. —— particularly. it looks like glasgow could be one of those, whether fog lingers, it could be a struggle. highs of somewhere between five and a and with the cloud in the east even a degree is, nothing special here. thursday night into friday, a repeat performance —— 5— eight degrees. the fog will fit in with apache frost to develop, more breeze across ireland, in the east, though, the weather front close for a murky start —— a patch. hopefully some hazy sunshine in the west as the day goes on and perhaps, just perhaps, a little more brightness across eastern england come the afternoon. temperatures again fairly unremarkable around six or seven degrees. so quite static for the uk for today and friday. further afield into europe, our patchy fog could be

a problem across france and germany. if you're travelling down to the met this area of low pressure causing problems with thunderstorms for the next windy for allah is —— med. for us next windy for allah is —— med. for us though not a lot moving until this weather front tries to pushing on friday —— us. it gradually works its way eastwards. most of the rain will be out of the way on friday night and then basically for the weekend it is just going to introduce quite a lot of cloud and a strengthening breeze. so this weekend, no really dramatic changes, largely dry, cloudy and breezy. you are watching bbc world news. our top story: at least 17 people have died in floods and mudslides in southern california, which was hit only recently by a huge wildfire. emergency teams are digging into the debris in the hope of finding survivors. airlifts have been called in to help rescue those trapped in their homes. the search for missing malaysia airlines flight mh370 resumes, a year after it was officially suspended. the plane vanished en

route from kuala lumpur to beijing in 2014. and this video is trending on bbc.com. that is the hand of a marine biologist who says a humpback whale saved her from a 15—foot tiger shark during a recent research expedition in the cook islands. nan hauser believes it this could be the first time a humpback has protected a human. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news, it is time for hardtalk.