this is newsday on the bbc. i'm in singapore. the headlines: is this a thaw in relations? northampton career agree to gestures of goodwill at the winter olympic games. was the cia double agent responsible for a major breach in the us spy network in china? also in the programme, powerful stories of abuse at the sentencing of a former team usa gymnastics doctor on a dann two in court. historic french victory over the english, so why is president macron lending the bayeux tapestry to the uk? live from singapore and london... this is bbc world news. glad you

could join as comic 8am here in singapore, midnight in london, and 4pm in vancouver. foreign ministers from 20 countries have concluded talks there to try to exert more pressure on north korea to give up its nuclear ambitions. the meeting has been overshadowed by an apparent thaw in relations between north and south korea. the two sides have agreed to march under the same flag at next month's winter olympics in seoul and field a joint ice hockey team. laura bicker has been following the latest developments from vancouver. a slight breakthrough, but what happens now? that is the question i put to the south korean foreign minister, just a few hours ago. i started by asking her about her alliance with america, an ally that has had her back for many years. now with a president who tweets about war with north korea,

he skirted that question diplomatically. she said that's democracy for you. i asked her why north korea has come to the discussion table now. after all there have been overtures from the south for some months. this is what she had to say... i think we understand north korea as... better than anybody. having dealt with north korea for decades. having had a series of discussions vandoorne. we've knocked had any significant engagement in the recent past. this is an opportunity. you can have all kinds of theories why are they here, but there is obviously calculations going on, on the part of the north korean decision—makers, as to their actions. but i think in the end we have to make the most of it. as you

we re have to make the most of it. as you were watching tensions ramped up, tweets going on between donald trump and kim jong—un‘s response. tweets going on between donald trump and kimjong—un‘s response. as a country were you watching, knowing you were on the front line and thinking, hang do my allies know that we could bear the brunt of this? well, we watched, of course. we track every messaging coming from north korea, coming from our ally, very, very carefully. the daily management of the messaging is a big pa rt management of the messaging is a big part of foreign policy. but again we have to focus on the longer term. i think the longer term is the denuclearisation goal, we are very much on the same page with the american ally. but in fact the entire international community. the denuclearisation of objective is written into this series of security council resolutions and commits everybody towards that goal.

i get the impression from talking to the foreign minister that the approach the south korean foreign ministry is taking is one of softly softly, gently gently. we hope rather than expectation of north korea. yes, they're encouraged by the breakthrough they are having, but they know there is such a long way to go. there are issues that haven't gone on the table yet. divided families. there are 61,000 families that have been cut off between north and south korea, who are waiting to see one another. they wa nt are waiting to see one another. they want those talks to go through as well as getting the nuclear issue back on the table. there is a lot of work still to do, but the hope of the south korean government is they can use the olympics as a platform to build on to take any further action. laura bicker there. we'll have more on korea and those talks

inafew have more on korea and those talks in a few minutes. also this hour... a former cia officer has been arrested in the us where reports say he is suspected of helping china. he worked for the cia between 1994 and 2007 when he moved to hong kong. 20 cia informant in china were killed oi’ cia informant in china were killed or jailed. cia informant in china were killed orjailed. our security correspondent says the breach was disastrous. this is the worst nightmare for spy agency, to watch agents in another country, nationals of china in this case, providing intelligence to the cia, being rolled up. not just intelligence to the cia, being rolled up. notjust arrested, but in some cases actually executed for spying for the cia. they started in 2010 and went on to two years. it leads to questions about why... there is a possibility it was a communications compromise, perhaps hacking into their systems. but also that fear of being somebody who has betrayed secrets from inside the cia. it looks like that is what the

fbi will investigate, these kinds of cases, focused from as early as 2012. myanmar security forces have shot dead seven protesters in the troubled state of ragtime. protesters have been taking part in a historical commemoration banned by the authorities. a group of afghan villages has awarded donald trump a medalfor villages has awarded donald trump a medal for what they call his brave sta nce medal for what they call his brave stance against pakistan. the villagers from the taliban stronghold say they have received donations from across the country to pay for the medal. here in london the house of commons has voted in favour of the british government legislation, transferring all european union laws into uk law after brexit. legislation will now go to the house of lords where it will be debated for the first time. us stocks jumped on wednesday and the dowjones us stocks jumped on wednesday and the dow jones index us stocks jumped on wednesday and the dowjones index closed above 26,000 for the first time as

investors expectations for higher earnings lifted stocks across sectors. more on this coming up in the asia business report at half past the hour. more on our lead story on the apparent thaw in relations between north and south korea. china is absent from the vancouver conference. it's notjust a near neighbour of north korea, it is one of its few remaining allies. we are speaking with victor gow, former interpreter to the chinese theatre, 110w interpreter to the chinese theatre, now director of the china national association of international studies. hejoins us association of international studies. he joins us from association of international studies. hejoins us from our studios in beijing. thanks for joining us. what do you think china feels right now, but it was excluded from this vancouver talks? and these 20 countries are piling on the pressure on north korea. first of all the chinese government has already cold the vancouver conference as illegitimate and

non—representative. this is because all these 20 countries also were actually fighting in 1950 and in the next several years in the early 19505 next several years in the early 1950s against china during the korean war. therefore the impression china got from this vancouver conference is that these countries we re conference is that these countries were ganging up again in preparation for another military effort. involving the korean peninsula. at a very critical moment where relations are kind of improving on the korean peninsula, this kind of gesture is not welcomed. and maybe very, very destructive of the fragile situation on the korean peninsula. there are concerns that china is not holding

up concerns that china is not holding up on its end of the agreement on sanctions on north korea. and that is why they were excluded from these talks. are these justified? is why they were excluded from these talks. are these justified ?|j personally talks. are these justified?” personally don't think these concerns 01’ personally don't think these concerns or allegations are justified. i think china is doing everything necessary to do. under the united nations security council resolutions. anything above the resolutions. anything above the resolutions needs to be discussed and approved by the united nations security council. further, i think, philosophically speaking, sanctions themselves are necessary, but may not be sufficient to achieve the goal of denuclearisation on the korean peninsula. and given china's importance involving the career peninsula situation, any effort excluding china and trying to improve the relations done the korean peninsula may actually be

futile, at least. what is your view of the current thawing of relations between north and south korea and both sides agreeing they will be participating in the upcoming winter olympics under one unified flag. the current direct dialogue and negotiations between dprk and are 0k, negotiations between dprk and are ok, focusing on their participation in the winter olympics, is important and a positive development. it is important to note that dprk has made no gesture at all towards denuclearisation of the korean peninsula. they strictly limit their discussions with rok negotiations regarding the winter olympics and

there is no indication at all that as far as nuclear weapons are concerned on the korean peninsula there is any positive step forward. of course rok has insisted the peaceful negotiations and dialogue for the winter olympics will be helpful for the eventual effort as denuclearisation, but dprk has taken a very different view on this. therefore i think we need to do everything not to disrupt anything involving peaty koreas for their winter olympics participation, but we need to be vigilant and make all the effort to achieve the denuclearisation. —— involving the two koreas. victor, thanks so much for joining two koreas. victor, thanks so much forjoining us in our beijing studio. director of the china national association of international studies. we continue to hear powerful testimony from women who say they we re testimony from women who say they were sexually abused by former team

usa gymnastics doctor larry 2—1. simone biles became the latest gymnast to stacey was sexually abused by the doctor. our correspondence has been following the hearing image can. another emotional day of testimony here at the court in michigan as survivors of larry nasser‘s sexual abuse have been speaking out as part of this sentencing hearing. ispent been speaking out as part of this sentencing hearing. i spent time in the court earlier. i was struck by the court earlier. i was struck by the sense of collective empowerment these young women now have as they all come together and share their stories. the court was filled with some of these women have grown up, supported by their husbands and pa rents. supported by their husbands and parents. as they all share their story. some anonymously. speaking to some of the survivors outside the courtroom, one thing that seems to

bea courtroom, one thing that seems to be a common thread is these were all young women gymnasts who trusted larry nassar as a doctor but when they went into that medical treatment room he violated their innocence. so for these women this hearing is very important, giving them a chance to have their voice and for action to finally be taken. you're watching newsday on the bbc live from london and singapore. still to come... president trump's, strategy steve bannon strikes a deal with special counsel robert muller over the russian election investigation. space invaders celebrate its 40th birthday. we take a look at the game which spawned a multibillion—dollar game industry. welcome back, you're watching newsday on the bbc, i'm rico hizon in singapore. north and south korea agree to march

under the same flag at the seoul winter olympics as foreign ministers meet for talks in vancouver to discuss raising pressure and sanctions in pyongyang. former cia officer has been arrested in the us on charges of retaining classified information in a case brought to be... dillon farrell says she feels outrage after years of being ignored over sexual assault allegation against her adopted father, hollie webb director woody allen. the 32—year—old is to appear on television to discuss the allegations. more on this story on bbc .com slash news. let's take a look at some of the front pages from around the world. south china morning post leeds on the jailing of josh law one. take a look at this picture on the front page, which says he's barely tasted two and a

half months of freed on bail before being sent back for another three months. the japan times international edition leads with a conference on career, which has been oui’ conference on career, which has been our main story over the past two days. —— korea. it says us secretary of state rex tillerson has told north korea to engage with negotiations on giving up its nuclear weapons or triggering a tough response. a picture ofjets from the republic of singapore air force, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. look at those fighterjets. there will be a special aerial display at the singapore airshow next month and a fly— past singapore airshow next month and a fly—past on national day this coming august. those are the top stories around the world. the health of a leader is sparking discussions online. it was a lot, we talked about this yesterday. a lot of interest in his health check. what is interesting is

focused on the cognitive test results the white house doctor spoke about. good news if you are interested in taking a similar test you can. visit our website. look for the most red section and undergo your own donald trump test. staying with donald trump, his former strategist steve bannon will not appear before a jury. it is reported he has struck a deal to meet with robert muller and his team instead. they are investigating russia's alleged goodling in the 2016 presidential election and secured a subpoena to compel bannan to testify. we reported yesterday the special counsel robert muller's team had issued the sabina to get steve bannon to give evidence to investigators while today it has emerged there are reports he has agreed now to a sit down interview with those investigators. a much

more with those investigators. a much m ore cosy with those investigators. a much more cosy affair in which his lawyer can be present. it is not public as a grandjury hearing can be present. it is not public as a grand jury hearing would have been. advantage is therefore steve bannon. his evidence seen as crucial not only to the robert muller investigation, but to the three congressional inquiries currently under way into alleged links between the trump campaign and russia. steve bannon a man with insight into the transition period of the trump administration and the early days of this white house, investigators clearly think he knows a lot of stuff that could be of use to them. do you know when they will have this meeting to discuss this further?m hasn't been made clear but what is clear is that steve bannon is going to bea clear is that steve bannon is going to be a busy man as far as giving evidence. i mention those three congressional inquiries. he spent the whole day yesterday before the

house of representatives intelligence committee. he is going to have to give evidence to the senate intelligence and judiciary committees. indeed the house intelligence committee after a lot of wrangling yesterday in which he was reluctant to give evidence. they might be looking to bring steve bannon back again, possibly as early as tomorrow to give further evidence. nearly one year since donald trump came into office and a stephen sackur has been speaking with former white house aide anthony scaramucci for the bbc‘s hard talk programme. his tenure lasted ten days but he still pushing the president's agenda and predicts the american public will give donald trump four more years. he's going to get re—elected. it'll probably be a landslide of the election. the way the american political system works, it's almost impossible to defeat a sitting president unless you have a calamitous situation like a depression or some kind of historic

rise. you just agreed with me... is standing is at an historic low.” said he's roughly at the same approval rating that barack obama had. what universe are you living in? i'm living in the same universe you are, that's why i want to get invited back when he winds, we'll be p°ppin9 invited back when he winds, we'll be popping champagne together you and i. he's going to win the re—election because he's got the right policies for the american people. you can watch more of the interview with anthony scaramucci right here on bbc world news. it's almost 1000 years old and commemorates probably the most famous date in british history. the battle of hastings in 1066. but now the bayeux tapestry could be about to leave france for the first time. emmanuel macron the french president is expected to announce he's going to lend it to britain. our paris correspondent lucy williamson. if anything puts current

anglo—french relations in context, it's this — the bayeux tapestry, almost 1,000 years old, telling the story of the norman conquest of england and the victory of william the conqueror at the battle of hastings. a very different kind of anglo—french summit. now the french president has given approval for the 50—meter bayeux tapestry to leave french territory for the first time. but moving something this big and this old is no simple matter. it's difficult to imagine all the practical to put it in a case and show and to put it in a train or... no, we don't know. president macron‘s gesture highlights france's deep ties and long history with britain. though cynics might say it also highlights a crucial french victory over its anglo—saxon neighbour. art experts say it's a benign telling of the tale with moments of comedy and artistic influences from both sides of the channel. there's a lot of excitement from

british museums. the opportunity to get really close to the bayeux tapestry and explore it and look at it is what's fascinating to all of us who have studied the bayeux tapestry. the exact location of the tapestry‘s famous battle has long been in dispute. but, in hastings today, locals said the artwork should be displayed there. i think a lot of people in hastings are quite proud of hastings and if it's returning to hastings, even better. because it, you know, it comes from hastings. i mean, you know, the battle of hastings and all the rest of it, yeah. yeah, a good tourist attraction. the battle happened here and there's not enough displays of what happened in hastings. so i think it should come here. britain has twice requested the tapestry on loan. the first time for the queen's coronation, but has always been refused. this initiative has the backing of president macron, part of the cultural exchanges he promised in his election campaign. but the deep ties with britain have often been tinged with rivalry, and one french official wasjoking today about whether britain would find anything of similar merit to send them in return.

lucy williamson, bbc news, bayeux. the legendary video game space invaders is 40 years old this year and to celebrate its place in cultural history images from the game had been predicted under the window panes of tokyo skyscraper to the of many fans. it's part of a high—tech exhibition allowing enthusiasts to reacquaint themselves with the space game that helped spawn today's multibillion—dollar global games industry. i remember space invaders. used to play it during my teens. you've been watching newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. authorities in china have been clamping down on investment in factory pollution. how will this affect economic growth? the gdp numbers of china will be released later today. and before we go, meet

these twin penguins, the chinstrap penguins were artificially incubated atan penguins were artificially incubated at an aquarium in the north—east of china. the twins were born in november last year and are now big enough, one kilo and a half each, to move into a special kindergarten area. thanks forjoining us, see you again soon with the headlines next. the weather looks set to cause a few problems for commuters first thing thursday morning thanks to this rapidly deepening area of low pressure. the isobars really squeezed together across eastern counties of england, where the winds will be at their strongest, particularly across east anglia and the south—east. coastal areas could get gusts up to 75 mph. could well bring down one or two trees with winds that strong. our cuts are a

possibility. transport disruption is possible at year well due to the windy weather. across the far of england, southern areas of scotland, it snowed that will be causing problems. with another 5—10 centimetres of fresh snow around. there could be disruption across high—level routes first thing in the morning. it's one of those days where you might want to leave extra time for your commute. across scotla nd time for your commute. across scotland icy conditions first thing in the morning, plenty of snow showers working in across western areas. a number of snow showers as well piling in across northern ireland, across the high ground, pennines, peak district as well of northern england. strong winds. across parts of east anglia and south—east england. even towards the south—east england. even towards the south coast winds will be gusty for a time and showers working into southern parts of wales, across south—west england. as i say, one of those mornings whether it's due to the snow locally or very strong winds, either way, we could see one or two problems out and about. the rest of the day the weather becomes more straightforward as those fears winds work across the netherlands,

which could bring disruption at schiphol airport. if you are flying there, check before travelling. it stays quite windy. wintry showers across the north and west with temperatures struggling across northern areas, feeling cold here but even colder when you factor in the strength of the wind. as we go through thursday evening and overnight, snow showers could get heavier again across parts of scotla nd heavier again across parts of scotland and northern ireland with further significant accumulations of snow building up. elsewhere as temperatures take a dive, again, eyes could be a problem as we head into the first part of friday morning. friday has a similar look. a day of brisk winds, plenty wintry showers across the north—west of the uk. yes, some sunshine, but even across parts of england we could see one or two wintry showers pushing in from time to time. the weekend looks like this, high pressure followed by this atlantic weather front. it means the weekend comes in a package of two halves. saturday largely dry, sunday sees a spell of rain, turning

milder. potentially snow on the leading edge of this weather system. that is your weather. you are watching bbc world news. the top story... north and south korea have agreed to march under the same flag at next month's winter olympics in south korea. the arrangement is a sign of thawing relations which began with north korean leader kim jong and offering to send a team to the games in the new year speech. a former cia officer has been arrested in the us on charges retaining classified information that is linked to a case thought to be linked to a case thought to be linked to a case thought to be linked to the crippling of spies operations in china. this video is trending on the website... to celebrate, images have been projected onto the window of a skyscraper. more to come here and bbc world news. you are watching bbc

news, it has just gone bbc world news. you are watching bbc news, it hasjust gone half bbc world news. you are watching bbc news, it has just gone half past midnight. it is time for hardtalk.