i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: free trade in a spin, as president trump slaps tariffs on some asian imports. executive actions uphold the principle of fair trade and demonstrate to the world that united states will not be taken advantage of any more. the us attorney general becomes the first member of president trump's cabinet to be questioned by russia's special counsel. i'm babita sharma in london. i'm babita sharma in londonli i'm babita sharma in london. i have to tell you something, i have been dating this girl. a dating thma’r'éh-l'zuhikezk and we're liverianouthjfirea ' ' ' " to check out the venues for the winter olympic games. live from our studios in singapore

and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. glad you could join us. it's 8am in singapore, 12am in london, and 1am in the swiss resort of davos, where one issue is dominating the start of the world economic forum, protectionism. it follows the decision by the us president donald trump to impose steep import tariffs on washing machines and solar panels. the move has been condemned by china and south korea, who fear it could choke off the revival in global trade. here's what both sides of the debate had to say. for both solar and washing machines, executive actions uphold the principle of fair trade and demonstrate to the world that the united states will not be taken advantage of any more. translation:

our government is expressing regret for the latest us safeguard measures against our industry, as they are excessive and would obviously violate the wto rules. we will actively respond to protectionist measures to protect our interests and resolve these difficulties. i'vejust spoken to professor david kang, director of the korean studies institute at the university of southern california. he told me how he thought south korea would respond to the us tariffs. well, i think the us relationship is so well, i think the us relationship is so complex and intertwined that south korea will be cautious at first, though they clearly do not like the tariffs. they are deeply independent. they will try to avoid any retaliation, at least in the short—term. any retaliation, at least in the short-term. is this the first shot ofa short-term. is this the first shot of a larger trade war? one reason

people will wait and see, will donald trump do this and then wind it back? it could be a small point. or is this the beginning of more tariffs from the us? there might be a different response. they are waiting to see. who will retaliate first, the koreans or the chinese?” think it really depends on how this plays out. after all, neither career nor china is alone in making solar panels and washing machines. countries around the world are affected by component parts in the supply chain. it will really depend ultimately on which country and which companies in each country get affected first. and we do not know

that yet. do you think these tariffs being imposed by the united states on south korea, washing machines, and chinese solar panels, will it improve us manufacturing? almost definitely not. there are maybe 40,000 us manufacturing jobs in solar. those are heavily reliant on imports. the us does not make it from ground zero, nuts and bolts, to be finished product. it tends to be deeply global at this point. it is not clear how this will help us manufacturing. can tariffs be enforced? briefly. ithink they manufacturing. can tariffs be enforced? briefly. i think they can. you can make sure enforced? briefly. i think they can. you can make sure no enforced? briefly. i think they can. you can make sure no finished parts are coming in without a tariff. it is not clear how long you will hold it up. david kang on the row over trade tariffs. david kang on the row over trade ta riffs. let's david kang on the row over trade tariffs. let's take a look at some

of the day's other news. the us attorney general, jeff sessions, has become the first member of president trump's cabinet to be questioned in the ongoing russia investigation. the department ofjustice has confirmed to the bbc that america's top prosecutor was interviewed by special counsel, robert mueller and his team last week. here's anthony zurcher. jeff sessions sits in an interesting position at the crossroads of several different lines we have heard from robert mueller‘s investigation. he had meetings with the russian ambassador during the campaign in his senate office. he was not forthcoming when asked about during his confirmation is as us attorney general. as us attorney general, he was involved in a conversation with donald trump possibly about james comey, the fbi director who was fired by donald trump. another portion of the investigation is to look at any

possible evidence of obstruction of justice on the part of the president and presidential staff. they could have information valuable to that aspect of the investigation as well for example. antony zurcher. also making news this hour, at least 22 people have been killed and many others wounded after two car bombs exploded in quick succession in the libyan city of benghazi. the attack hit worshippers leaving a mosque. both military personnel and civilians are among the victims. a court in myanmar has denied a bail request for two journalists who were detained last month. the pair are accused of violating the country's colonial—era official secrets act and could face up to 14 years injail. reuters chief operating officer, told the bbc, the pair could yet secure bail at a future hearing. the court has essentially said they will not give him bail. they said they will make the final ruling at they will make the final ruling at the next hearing, february one. the prosecution has objected to bail at this point. we obviously feel they

should be out after having been in custody for this long at this point. the pakistani authorities say they have arrested the main suspect in the rape and killing of six—year—old, zainab ansari. the chief minister of punjab province said the suspect, imran ali, had confessed and his dna matched samples from the crime scene in the city of kasur. zainab's murder triggered protests across the country and two people died in clashes with police. as if hawaii's false missile alert incident wasn't embarrassing enough, the island's governor, david ige, has now admitted that he was slow to tweet a public correction because he'd forgotten his twitter password. governor ige was told two minutes after the threat warning was issued that it was in fact a false alarm. but his office didn't share that via social media until about 17 minutes later. a south korean delegation has crossed into the north to inspect venues ahead of the winter olympics. south korea's chung hyeon takes

on tennys sandgren of america in the quarter—finals of the australian open on wednesday, after the biggest win of his career against novak dyokovic. 21—year—old chung hyeon is nicknamed "the professor" due to his trademark thick—rimmed glasses. he only took up tennis after a doctor recommended that peering at a green court would help his weak eyesight. the south korean has never looked back. here's the timelapse of the most active volcano in the philippines, mount mayon, which has been raining ash on local communities. there are fears of a major eruption after two weeks of activity. 40,000 people have already fled the area. and aircraft have been warned to steer clear because of the risks posed to their engines by sucking in ash. a south korean delegation has crossed into the north to inspect venues ahead of the winter olympics.

the two countries will compete under a unified korean flag at the games next month. as part of the agreement, south korea's ski team will spend a short time training in the north,

bit of heating up. we are getting a few details with regards to the opening ceremony, to give the helicopter circling above me doing some kind of exercise to get used to the anti—terrorist measures they will have to put in place. that is what they are doing above me. helicopter noise. the opening ceremony will have a fairy tale theme. they will take you like child through the history of south korea. that is what they will do at the opening ceremony. you are competing, laura bicker, with the sound of a helicopter. tell us, what is the sentiment of south koreans with the two koreans competing under the same flag? we willjust wait for this to go by. inaudible. all right, we

would like to apologise. the sound of the hovering helicopter is too much for laura's voice. we would to thank herforjoining much for laura's voice. we would to thank her forjoining from the mountains of pyeongchang, the site of the winter olympics. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the oscar nominations and fantasy romance, the shape of water, leads this year's field with 13 nominations. also on the programme. tributes to hugh masekela whose music gave voice to the struggles of south africa during apartheid. the people of saigon have just heard that,

at last, there is to be a ceasefire. the reaction of american servicemen was predictable. i'm going home. demonstrators waiting for mike gatting and his rebel cricket team were attacked with tear gas and set upon by police dogs. anti—apartheid campaigners say they will carry on the protests throughout the tour. they called him the butcher of lyon. klaus altmann is being held on a fraud charge in bolivia. but the west germans want to extradite him for crimes committed in wartime france. there, he was the gestapo chief klaus barbie. millions came to bathe as close as possible to this spot, a tide of humanity that is believed by officials to have broken all records. this is newsday on the bbc.

i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: president trump has denied that new us import duties targeting mainly asian companies will spark a trade war with china. the us attorney general, has become the first member of president trump's cabinet to be questioned by the special counsel investigating alleged russian interference. a family from zimbabwe have finally left bangkok airport after living there for three months. they became stuck after trying — unsuccessfully — to fly to europe and then being refused re—entry by thailand. it's thought they are now in the philippines. more on that story at bbc.com/news. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the china daily focuses

on a new development for the belt and road initiative. it says china is considering creating an organisation dedicated to handing disputes that arise from the silk road project. the japan times features the volcano that erupted near a japenese ski resort in gunma prefecture on tuesday. the paper reports the news that a 49—year—old member of japan's self defence force died, and 11 other people were injured, after mount kusatsu—shirane erupted. and the philippines enquirer also discusses volcanic eruptions. it shows this remarkable photo of lava spewing out of mount mayon in the philippines — with the news that the danger zone surrounding it has been expanded. now, what stories are sparking discussions online?

the baywatch actress pamela anderson has defended her comments about the alleged victims of the hollywood producer harvey weinstein. ms anderson previously said the women knew what they were getting into. now she's told the bbc, women in general need to be more protective of themselves. i have just learned to i havejust learned to not i have just learned to not put myself in a position where i could be in danger. i think that is an ok thing to say. i have a lot of women thanking me for saying this. it's awards season in hollywood and the nominations for the 90th academy awards have been announced. leading the field is the american fantasy romance, the shape of water, with 13 nominations, including for best picture. the best actor category is dominated by british stars — with gary oldman, daniel day—lewis and daniel kaluuya all

in the running. and meryl streep who already has three oscars to her name has been nominated for the 21st time in her career — this time for her role in the post. our arts editor will gompertz has more. guillermo del toro's amphibian fantasy love story the shape of water leads the way with 13 oscar nominations, including best picture. a category which also sees the critically acclaimed dark comedy thriller three billboards outside ebbing, missouri nominated. i want to go where culture is. as well as the coming—of—age drama lady bird. good to see another brother around here. also short listed is the horror mystery get out. and a couple of british world war ii films, christopher nolan's dunkirk... when will the lesson be learned?

and darkest hour, which sees mr churchill struggling in his early days as britain's wartime prime minister. several of the scenes in darkest hour were shot in a replica of this place, the churchill war rooms in westminster, where i am joined by the editor in chief of the film magazine empire. terri, welcome. thank you. we're going to go through the runners and riders, starting with best film. will darkest hour win? i don't think it will. i think it will go to the shape of water, guillermo del toro's fantasy monster epic. actually, the film i think should win is get out. which has a british rising star, daniel kaluuya, in the lead role. he gets a best actor nomination. along with daniel day lewis for phantom thread... timothee chalamet for call me by your name... denzel washington...

and gary oldman for darkest hour. quite a list for best actor, quite a lot of stories. will daniel day—lewis win yet another oscar in what might be his last film? will gary oldman win for churchill for darkest hour in the cabinet war rooms? or will it be somebody else? i think it is gary oldman's year. how he has never won an oscar is beyond me and darkest hourfeels like his finest moment. the best actress category will be really competitive. so who will win — sally hawkins for the shape of water? or frances mcdormand for three billboards outside ebbing, missouri? maybe margot robbie for i, tonya. or saoirse ronan for lady bird. or even perhaps meryl streep for the post. that's a great list. are you going to say we're going to get another british win for sally hawkins, or maybe meryl streep? no way, this year it's all about frances mcdormand in three billboards outside ebbing, missouri, one of the great dramatic performances of the year. i suspect she is right. we will find out on the 4th of

march, when the oscars are awarded. will gompertz, bbc news. us defence secretaryjim mattis is in the indonesian capitaljakarta as part of a week—long trip to south—east asia. he met presidentjoko widodo to discuss efforts to curb the rising influence of china in the region, just days after the us announced a new defence policy aimed at countering china's expanding military. rebecca henschke is in the capital jakarta. talk to us a little bit about what the two men have been discussing. from the us side it was very much a show of support for indonesia, the words that the us defence secretary we re words that the us defence secretary were using was that indonesia was critical in this part of the world in terms of marine security. very much a pointed comment about the south china sea and china's ambitions there. he said they would

help indonesia to maintain dominance in this area and also in terms of language he used the name that indonesia recently gave the area around the natu na indonesia recently gave the area around the natuna islands where indonesia is seeing tensions increase and stand—offs with chinese fishermen entering what indonesia believes is its water. indonesia calls that the mack north natuna c. that word was used by the us secretary, showing that they stand behind indonesia as an ally in this region. you talk about countering the influence of china in the region. is what is it what are the relations like? they have a complex relationship and from the indonesian side the message from the defence secretary here was very much about getting as much training and us

military knowledge in return for this kind of support in the south china sea. indonesia still has sanctions on its special forces because of humid rights abuses that they are accused of carrying out in they are accused of carrying out in the 1990s in places like popular and east timor. the message from indonesia was that the us government should lift those restrictions so their special forces can be trained in america, something not possible at the moment. they hope the trump administration will make moves to do this. indonesia also has in some senses a close relationship with china. china is in investing injoko widodo's infrastructure push. it wa nts to widodo's infrastructure push. it wants to maintain that indonesia also purchases weapons and

has purchased military had where from russia. it plays a careful game here to keep everybody happy. one of south africa's most famous musicians — the jazz trumpeter hugh masekela — has died at the age of 78. he fled the country in 1960 and became a prominent campaigner against the system of white—minority rule, known as apartheid. his song bring him back home — calling for the release of nelson mandela from prison — became an international anthem for the anti—apartheid movement. pumza fihlani reports from south africa. the trump has fallen silent. the passing of masekela has shocked many across the country. he has been

described as the epitome of a life lived in full. he was a family man, a world—renowned artist. a philanthropist and a political activist. he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and put up a fierce fight. last october he was forced to cancel all of this concerts and focus on this hills. a fellow musician says africa has lost its greatest treasure. i think he was a living legend. he may be gone but this music will always be there. the world has lost a great icon.” this music will always be there. the world has lost a great icon. i lived in liberia, i lived in senate goal... at the height of white oppression in south africa, jazz became the soundtrack of the resistance. masekela was forced into exile as tensions intensified. after

returning he was determined to make a difference. i need to pay africa back and the only way to do that is to make people see how wonderful they are. masekela describes himself asa they are. masekela describes himself as a troublesome child and spoke openly about the many times music saved this life, even later on at the height of a drug addiction. this picture marks one of the moments it all began. he was stationed here, when the military was stationed here he was given this first instrument. an unlikely ally at the height of oppression here in south africa. that three continued to use this voice over the years to speak truth to power why. —— masekela continued to power why. —— masekela continued to use this voice over the years. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. we will take you to bengaluru

where internet giant google has snapped up a small indian start—upfirm. we find out what stirred google's interest? and before we go, let's head to quebec in canada — and these life size snow sculptures — at jacques—cartier park. you can see here chinese artists putting the finishing touches to theirs. just a couple of the twenty sculptors put their masterpieces on display in a special winter exhibition for locals and tourists to admire. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. wednesday is going to bring some

fairly disturbed weather across the country, courtesy of what the irish weather service have named stormed georgina. across the uk it will bring gales and heavy rain which could cause travel disruption. your local radio station will keep you up—to—date with our. here is the storm drifting across the north—west of scotland. look at those wide lines, the isobars on the chart. that shows we will have strong and gusty wind, showers feeding in around the low around scotland during the first part of the morning and these, to give you an idea of the wind gusts we expect, 50, 60, 70 miles an hour in exposed spots. as we drifted down across england and wales, a band of heavy rain, and intense downpour a company that i particularly squally and gusty wind. that rain band with the gusty wind will only track eastwards slowly as we head on through the day. let's run the wednesday whether through. windy wherever you are, a band of

rain sinking south and east across england and wales with gusty wind. behind the rain band, bright skies. spells of sunshine, showers chasing a long into western areas, there could be wintry showers are the high ground in the north because you will get into some slightly chilly air. 6- 10 get into some slightly chilly air. 6— 10 degrees by the end of the afternoon, one of those days whether temperature drops away as the day goes on. into wednesday night it will be a cool night generally, a fresh feel and clear spells were showers flinging in from the west and temperatures by dawn on thursday will be between two and seven degrees. thursday, not a bad day for many. spells of sunshine around, still some showers drifting in from the west. a little area of low pressure drifting across the country, acting as a focus for those showers moving eastwards as as far as temperatures go on thursday, still slightly fresher feel, 5— as temperatures go on thursday, still slightly fresherfeel, 5— nine degrees. for the time of year that is not too bad. that area of low

pressure responsible for showers should differ the way on thursday night and we try to bring in a bolt of high—pressure, a little bridge toppling in from the west. if the timing is right it would give some frost to start friday morning but should bring a decent day. rain into the far north—west later perhaps an temperatures of war—9d. and the weekend? after a slightly chilly couple of days to end the week, the temperature should start to climb again. cloud and rain in the north—west but hopefully some sunshine as well. i'm with bbc world news. our top story. president trump says he's not expecting a trade war with china despite new us import tariffs that target asian manufacturers. the tariffs on washing machines and solar panels are part of mr trump's "america first" policy to protect local industry. china and south korea are among those unhappy at the move. the us attorney general, jeff sessions, has become the first member of president trump's cabinet to be questioned by the special counsel investigating

alleged russian interference in the presidential election. and this video is trending on bbc.com. here's the timelapse of the philippines' most active volcano mayon which has been raining ash on local communities. there are fears of a major eruption after two weeks of activity. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news.