i'm rico hizon in singapore. this is newsday on the bbc. the headlines. 20 countries meet to step up pressure on north korea. but key players, china and russia, skip the talks. is steve bannon set to testify to a grand jury? the us—russia probe reportedly turns its sights towards trump's former chief strategist. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: a californian couple is charged with torturing their 13 children. they were held captive, close to starvation, some chained to their beds. and hitting new heights. india's first skiing champion races into the record books. live from our studios in singapore and london, you're watching bbc world news. it's newsday.

glad you could join us. it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london, and 4pm in vancouver, where foreign ministers from 20 countries are meeting, to try to exert concerted pressure on north korea to give up its nuclear ambitions. the group is made up solely of countries which were involved in the korean war more than half a century ago, which means that two key international players, russia and china, are not there. barbara plett—usher has the latest from canada. members of an exclusive club have gathered again. these are the states that sent troops and aid to help the un effort in the 1950s korean war. now they want to show solidarity in the face of a modern—day korean threat. missing from the guest list was china, an enemy in the 1950s war, but now a crucial ally in confronting pyongyang. the absence left many wondering

what could really be achieved. and recent talks between north and south korea have eased tensions on the peninsula, so the question was how ministers here would respond. the us took a tough line. the object of negotiations, if and when we get there, is the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of north korea. all nations here today are united on that goal. let me be clear, we will not allow north korea to drive a wedge through our resolve or our solidarity. after ignoring south korea for months, the north offered an olive branch ahead of the olympics, reaching a last—minute agreement for pyongyang to send athletes and musicians to pyeongchang, but there's suspicion about kim jong—un‘s motives. what we should have in mind is that north korea continues to advance its nuclear and missile programmes even as we speak. and we should not be naive about their intent, nor should we be blinded by their charm offensive. in short, it is not the time to ease pressure or to reward north korea. and the agenda was to tighten

the squeeze to look for ways to stop sanctions busting, like intercepting ships that smuggled banned petroleum products. south korea praised talks with the north as a significant first step, but otherwise held the tough line. despite these overtures to improve relations with the south, north korea has yet to show any intention to fulfil its international obligations regarding denuclearisation. to the contrary, north korea adheres to its stated claim of having completed its state nuclear force. the olympic peace parade will probably continue for the next month or so, but by itself it does not resolve any of the issues. and if kim jong—un doesn't back down on his nuclear weapons programme, the crisis will resume.

that's the message here. our other top story this hour: us media is reporting that steve bannon, president trump's former chief strategist, has been summoned to testify before a grandjury. the new york times says it's the first time a subpoena has been issued a to seek information from a member of mr trump's inner circle over alleged collusion with russia during the 2016 election. a short time ago, i got the latest from our correspondent, david willis, in washington. steve bannon was the man widely credited with helping to steer donald trump to victory in the presidential election of 2016. he served as the white house chief strategist, and so he is a man who knows a lot about this campaign. and he, is as you say, babita, the first member of donald trump's inner circle, if you like, to be served a subpoena to give evidence to a grand jury investigating the alleged links between the trump campaign and russia. now, there is some speculation

here that this could be a pressure tactic, basically to get steve bannon to co—operate with robert mueller, the special counsel's enquiry, because, by bringing him before a grand jury, he would not have the assistance of a lawyer, which he would have, potentially, by his side if he gave a cosy fireside interview to a member of robert mueller‘s team investigating those alleged russian links. so, it's interesting stuff. we will wait and see with bated breath how it all pans out, of course. we've been hearing from president trump's doctor. he told reporters that the president is in excellent health following his first medical check—up in office. have a listen. can you explain to me how a guy who eats mcdonald's and all those diet cokes and never exercises is in a good shape as you say he is in.

it's called genetics. i don't know. some people just have great genes. i told the president if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years he might live to be 200 years. i don't know. he has incredible genes, i just assume. also this hour: the trump administration has suspended more than half of its funding to the un agency supporting palestinians. the us has informed the unrwa that it will deliver $60 million of this year's first instalment, but withhold the rest. the unwra provides healthcare, education and social services to millions of palestinians. the bangladeshi government has said it hopes to repatriate all rohingya refugees to myanmar within two years. however the un refugee agency has expressed reservations about the plans, saying that any return to myanmar must be voluntary, and the safety of those going back had to be ensured. more in a moment. pope francis has been to visit a women's jail in santiago on the second day of his visit to chile. the women inside the sanjoaquin

prison are mostly mothers who are on drugs trafficking charges. the trip has been overshadowed by multiple accusations of child sexual abuse against nearly eighty members of the chilean clergy. earlier, pope francis said he feels "pain and shame" over the scandal. meteorologists in russia have confirmed that moscow has had its darkest december on record. they say the sun shone for just six minutes during the whole month, compared to a december average of 18 hours. the scientists put the gloom down to warmer—than—normal weather generating cloud cover. simone biles has been the latest to come forward saying she was sexually abused by the team doctor. in an emotional statement, the star of last yea r‘s

emotional statement, the star of last year's rio games said she would not let nasser steal her love and jov- not let nasser steal her love and joy. he was jailed last month for 60 yea rs joy. he was jailed last month for 60 years for having inappropriate images of children. her smile lit up the olympics and her performances won herfour gold medals and worldwide acclaim. but through it all, simone biles hid a dark secret. olympic champion, simone biles comes forward to say she was also sexually abused by former us a gymnastic doctor, larry nassar. simone biles is the most high profile of larry nassar‘s victims. he's alleged to have abused more than 100 young girls. biles said she knows she's not to blame for what happened and isn't afraid to speak out now. of a sentencing hearing.

good morning, my name is kyle stephens. 552555é5é5é5;.. -... ..-.... you should tell someone." well, larry, i'm here, 55? $5 $5.1! 55m55fi5 7” 7 77” 7” ”7” 77 but to tell everyone. 0livia cowan suffered for years from nassar‘s abuse. now she's finally rebuilding her life and is a mother. i will educate my children about monsters like you and pray to god they will never experience pain like this. there will be a day where i look

into my soul and i will still see for the young women who shared their stories today here at court, this is also about accountability. how did larry nassar work as the team doctor for usa gymnastics for nearly two decades and continue his abuse? and what did top officials know? one of those who wants answers from the us gymnastics team is simone biles' team—mate, aly raisman. what did usa gymnastics do and larry nassar do to manipulate these girls so much that they're so afraid to speak up? as they performed before millions around the world, these young women were hiding the pain and trauma of abuse. after a day of emotional testimony, the world of gymnastics is now confronting its own "me—too" moment.

bbc news, but in private, say police, the turpins had a dark secret. before dawn on sunday, a 17—year—old girl escaped from this house through a window. she had taken a deactivated mobile phone and managed to use it to call the police.

inside, officers found her 12 brothers and sisters, dirty and malnourished. three were shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks. the home dark and foul smelling. i wish i could come to you today with information that would explain why this happened. but we do need to acknowledge the courage of the young girl who escaped from that residence to bring attention, so they could get the help they so needed. neighbours say the turpins were originally from west virginia. the father was an engineer on a good salary but had twice declared bankruptcy. and neighbours admit there were signs that something was amiss. i never saw a scooter, i never saw a bike. i saw the infant maybe three times. maybe. i never saw the infant again. how did they live when you saw them? they were always pale, like, abnormally pale. the children do look pale in pictures posted on facebook. here, they're visiting disneyland. police say the siblings were so small they were shocked to discover that seven

were actually adults. the eldest, 29. they're now being treated in hospital. they've gone through a very traumatic ordeal. ican i can tell you that they are very friendly. they are very co—operative. and i believe that they're hopeful that life will get better for them after this event. this quiet californian suburb is now under intense scrutiny. the authorities say they had no prior contact with the family. but neighbours are searching their souls, wondering if they could have saved the siblings sooner. as for david and louise turpin, they are now under arrest, charged with torture and child endangerment. with the media gathered outside the house, we are getting a little more detail about what might have happened and what is now happening. we are told that all 13 of these siblings are the biological children of david and louise turpin. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we hear from the we hearfrom the indian skier making

history on the slopes. day one of operation desert storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attacks since the second world war. tobacco is america's oldest industry, and it's one of its biggest, but the industry is nervous of this report. this may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. there is not a street that is unaffected. huge parts of kobe were simply demolished as buildings crashed into one another. this woman said she'd been given no help and no advice by the authorities. she stood outside the ruins of her business. tens of thousands of black children in south africa have taken advantage of laws, passed by the country's new multiracial government, and enrolled at formerly white schools. tonight sees the 9,610th performance of her long—running play, the mousetrap. when they heard of her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonight's performance, but agatha christie would have been the last person to want such a thing. this is newsday on the bbc.

i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: foreign ministers from 20 countries are meeting to try to exert pressure on north korea to give up its nuclear ambitions. us media is reporting that president trump's former chief strategist, steve bannon, was been ordered to testify before a grandjury. time to look at the headlines from around the world. the china daily reports on a phone call between donald trump and chinese president xijingping about north korea. the paper says president xi told trump that china would like nations involved to keep up momentum to ease the tensions.

trump reportedly said the united states values china's role in this matter in the korean peninsular. shifting our attention to the straits times and it headlines a deal between singapore and its neighbour across the border, malaysia, to build a rapid transit system link between the two countries. it says in seven years singaporeans and malaysians will be able to hop on and of train every eight minutes to get across the border. finally you have the international edition of the japan times and it reports on flu cases in the country. it says the health ministry expects the peak flu season to run until february this year. the ministry asks the public to wear masks or cover their mouth so as to not spread the flu through sneezing or coughing. those are the top stories from major publications around the world. meanwhile the ad controversy continues. well, rico, the mother of a five

year old child model is caught up in a row about racism because of this photo. the family say they have had to move out of their home for security reasons. the little boy was photographed modelling a hoodie for the clothing chain h&m, with the slogan "coolest monkey in the jungle". the photo led to a huge twitter storm and protestors vandalised a store in south africa. in the philippines, one of the country's leading websites has been deregistered. there is criticism of the government. joining me from manila is the chief executive officer of rappler. is it all about curtailing press freedoms or is it foreign ownership? you are being funded by the founder of ebay. that the state, for the

record, we are actually following that of being constitution, but this issueis that of being constitution, but this issue is both a corporate issue and press freedom issue and that is why we are bringing it up. but it is also an issue of harassment. but critics are saying that rappler, which is funded by the head of ebay, funded several of the opposition ngos and the ukraine which conspired to oust the president in 2014. they are saying this could be a template and he is using rapplerfor this. that is ludicrous, absolutely ludicrous. number one... you know me, we would not allow that. we set

up me, we would not allow that. we set up rappler to be an independent voice. the network knows that and what is to be independent. it is to be able to support technology in a digital company like rappler. all of the things you mentioned seem like wild conspiracy theories and frankly have nothing to do with rappler. what we are seeing is philippine depositary receipts which are constitutionally recognised being used as a ploy... 0ur licence was revoked. rappler is appealing to the courts. are you hopeful that you will win? yes. let me put it this way. we will fight this as much as we can as long as we can. we will

exhaust all legal remedies but the punishment is too severe and we were not given due process and this is a press freedom issue. rappler is not a company, we are not tell a commission —— telecom indications company, and we are protected by the constitution. you cannot take the securities exchange commission decision on its own. you've got to look at it within this entire context includes politics. thank you very much thejoining us, the ceo of rappler. the french president, emmanuel macron, wants britain to take in more refugees who are currently living in northern france. president macron has been visiting calais on the northern french coast. what's at stake is the 2003 agreement between britain and france, which effectively moved the uk border onto french territory. 0ur correspondent, lucy williamson, reports from calais. once the uk was a magnet forjuma, today it was the french president. after months of camping around calais, the sudanese migrant has decided to apply for asylum in france.

mr macron‘s government has promised a quicker welcome for those it accepts, a quicker rejection for those it refuses. juma is still waiting for his answer. so you are our president, not in front of you, but in my heart. but hundreds of migrants around calais are avoiding asylum centres like this in a bid to reach the uk illegally, and mr macron wants more help from theresa may in dealing with them. translation: we need to better manage the issue of isolated minors, reinforce police co—operation in calais with the departure and transit countries and unblock funds for the calais region. i will raise these points with our british friends in 48 hours. despite big british investments in security, migrants continue to test border defences. this petrol station, its perimeterfence broken, a new favourite for those trying

to board lorries bound for the uk. we caught this man squeezing through before being caught by a police patrol. mr macron is due to talk to the prime minister on thursday about how to improve the joint management of the border here. france would like britain to take more migrants from calais and to pay more money towards security and border checks. mr macron has vowed to prevent another jungle taking root. police routinely demolish the small camps that cling on, but aid workers say that some here, including families, have reached the uk in the past few months. discomfort no match for that renewal of hope. lucy williamson, bbc news, calais. when you think of skiing, one of the last countries you'd expect to produce a champion is india. but 21—year—old aanchal thakur has just made history by becoming the first indian to win

a medal in a winter sport at a recent event in turkey. anchal‘s been talking to the bbc about what the medal means to her. this medal means everything to me because what this has given me i think i could never achieve in my life, so this is priceless. first reaction of my parents was they couldn't believe because they thought i was joking with them, they thought it was a souvenir. but then when i told them it was a real medal, international medal, so they were shocked and surprised and they were so happy. the first thing about skiing is being away from home

because we cannot ski so much in india, so we have to go abroad for training. i want more support from government and i want them to put more money, put more funds, so we can train much more and if i can wish something i wish that there would be a big resort in india so every children and skiers can train in india, they don't have to go abroad for training. congratulation to aanchal for that. you have been watching newsday.

stay with us. mcdonald's makes a huge pledge on packaging and sustainability. we'll find out what's behind the fast food giant's recycling drive. that's coming up shortly. and i'm babita sharma in london. before we go the central philippine province of albe has declared a state of calamity after volcano spewed lava that reached the limits of a no—go is own and spread ash on a nearby set of villages. it started on saturday, people have been fleeing their homes and tourists have descended on the area to watch the spectacular alaba display. well, there's been some significant accumulations of snow across parts of northern ireland and scotland, the far north of england,

and we continue to see wintry showers, snow showers, through the course of the night, early into wednesday so that's prompted the met office to issue an amber warning for parts of south—west scotland, northern ireland, for this combination of snow and ice. very windy too during the overnight period. gale force winds, particularly across irish sea coasts in towards the south—west for a time. plenty of snow showers continuing across scotland, northern ireland and into northern england that accumulate and continue to tot up. across the south, some dry interludes in fact, particularly across the south—east, but wherever you are it's going to be a chilly start to wednesday. wednesday itself looks like to be another cold and a windy one, there will be wintry showers again but also some good spells of sunshine and increasing amounts of sunshine as we head on into the afternoon. but plenty of wintry showers, snow showers across scotland and northern ireland to begin the day. strong winds too so there'll be some drifting of snow, blizzard conditions, take extra care on the roads,

watch out for icy stretches as well. the same too for parts of northern england but the further south that we head, fewer showers through the morning period. a few running through the cheshire gap there in towards the pennines and the odd wintry showers across the higher ground, the moors of south—west england. but elsewhere it should be dry, chilly and bright with some sunshine through the morning. those showers continue across many northern and western areas, but through the afternoon, like i mentioned, increasing amounts of sunshine for england and wales with most of the showers confined to scotland and northern ireland, the far north of england with snow amounts continuing to tot up here. it will be cold if you factor in the wind, subzero feeling temperatures in the north. now, onto wednesday night, this is the area of low pressure will the next hazard to our shores. it's going to bring a spell of wet and very windy weather to all areas. across the north of this rain band, we're likely to see a spell of snow for northern ireland,

northern england, central, southern scotland, which could be heavy for a time. severe gales sweeping through england and wales along with that rain but it clears out quite quickly through thursday morning, and in fact, into thursday afternoon, and improving picture, the winds falling lighter. likely to there'll be fewer showers, most in the north and west, against snow on the hills, but some good spells of some joint further south and east. but that area of low pressure is cause some disruption, the severe gales, heavy rain and also the snow, which could fall across southern areas, so keep tuned to your bbc local radio. and then into friday itself, it's looking quieter. not as strong, those winds. still blustery across the north and the west where there'll be most of the snow showers. i'm babita sharma with bbc news. our top story: foreign ministers from 20 countries have met for a summit about north korea's nuclear programme. but two key players, china and russia, aren't involved in the meeting. it comes just days after inter—korean talks about north korean involvement in next month's winter olympics. us media is reporting that donald trump's former chief strategist steve bannon has been ordered to testify before

a grand jury as part of an investigation into alleged russian interference in the presidential election. and this video is trending on bbc.com. the philippine province of albay has declared a state of calamity as mount mayon spews lava beyond the limits of a no—go zone. people have been fleeing their homes as tourists have been descending on the area to watch the spectacular lava display. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk: meetings between unions and mps will continue today,