welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: judgement day for a serial abuser. dr larry nassar gets up to 175 years in prison after heart rending testimony from team usa gymnasts. we were ultimately strong enough to take you down. not one by one but by an army of survivors. i will carry your words with me for the rest of my days. donald trump says he'd "love to" be questioned under oath — about allegations of russian meddling in the presidential election. zimbabwe's new president vows to ensure transparent elections — and respect any result. we have an exclusive interview. # i'm still standing after all this time.# and — still standing — but goodbye yellow brick road. eltonjohn says he'll quit touring to spend more time with his children. hello.

the former doctor of the usa gymnastics team, larry nassar, has been sentenced to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing young female athletes. more than 150 women filed personal statements against him during the seven—day hearing. thejudge said he would die injail, and dismissed his apology to his victims as "insincere". our correspondent, rajini vaidynathan, has been following the court hearing in michigan. the tables have turned, larry. we are here, we have our voices and we are not going anywhere. the amount of physical, mental and emotional trauma this man has forced upon me is immeasurable. over the last seven days, their voices and their stories have become hard to ignore. 156 women say they were sexually abused by this man, larry nassar. i am giving you 175 years,

which has 2100 months. i have just signed your death warrant. during the hearing, thejudge invited other women who had been abused to come forward. the response was unprecedented, what started as ten convictions turned into an outpouring of testimony. today she did not hold back when delivering her verdict. your decision to assault was precise, calculated, manipulative, devious, despicable. i wouldn't send my dogs to you, sir. you do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again. today he had this response for his victims. an acceptable apology to all of you is impossible to write and convey. i will carry your words with me

for the rest of my days. described as a monster and as satan in court, the former usa gymnastics team doctor treated hundreds of women over decades. from decorated 0lympians and state—level gymnasts to the children of family friends. sent to him for medical treatment instead of taking away their pain, he stole their innocence. you know, i think we saw yet another example of larry being a master manipulator, that is something society needs to understand better, this is how predators operate. he didn't think he did anything wrong, his words are empty. they are empty they are empty. you would think by now he could take ownership, and he just hasn't. i think we have started a tidal wave of people speaking up, because they feel supported, they feel validated. and that is notjust for nassar victims, but every victim of sexual assault and sexual abuse.

there are mixed emotions as this hearing comes to a close. many here still wonder how larry nassar was able to abuse young and vulnerable women for so long and not to be held to account, but those same women demonstrated sheer strength in this courtroom. the judge described them as warriors with superwoman steel. the focus of the sentencing has been on those who survived larry nassar‘s abuse. perhaps the biggest victory isn't seeing the man who molested them behind bars, but knowing that together they found the collective strength to confront him. let's take a look at some of the other stories a statement just a statementjust in from reuters, from michigan state universities

saying the president of the university has resigned over will larry nassar‘s work at the school. they say that as a statement from michigan state university. more news as soon as we have more to give. ajudge in california has barred david and louise turpin, the father and mother accused of abuse, imprisonment and torture, from any contact with their 13 children. the siblings were rescued when a 17—year—old girl managed to escape from the family home in perris. the parents deny the charges. if convicted they face life in prison. save the children has suspended its aid programmes across afghanistan after an islamist attack on its offices injalalabad. gunmen stormed the charity's compound after detonating a suicide car—bomb. three members of staff and an afghan soldier were killed. the charity says it remains "fully committed to helping the most deprived children of afghanistan". a court in brazil has unanimously rejected an appeal by the former president, luiz inacio lula da silva, convicted last year of corruption and money laundering. the threejudges said he had broken the law by accepting an apartment

from a construction company, and increased his originaljail sentence from nine—and—a—half years to just over 12. he plans another appeal. north korea's ice hockey players have arrived in south korea ahead of next month's winter olympics. they're taking part in joint practice sessions for the first time as part of a unified team at the games. they will also march together under a unified peninsula flag at the opening ceremony. president trump has declared he is looking forward to being interviewed by robert mueller — the special counsel investigating allegations of russian interference in the us elections, and possible obstruction ofjustice. the president told reporters he would give testimony under oath, but it's not clear when — or if — any questioning will take place. i have to say,... would you do it under oath, i have to say,... would you do it underoath, mr i have to say,... would you do it under oath, mr president? would you

do it under oath? did hillary do it under oath? you don't have an idea? you really do not have an idea? i will give you an idea. she did not do it under oath. listen, you know she did not do it under oath. so you would do it under oath to reach a higher standard? so you would do it under oath to reach a higher standard? as you can probably gather, there is just audio of the president speaking to reporters. 0ur correspondent, david willis is in washington. where does this leave things now? i think it is fair to say that his lawyers had their heads in their hands. the president in expansive mood prior to departing for his trip

to switzerland, making the point that he is looking forward to being interviewed by robert mueller‘s team, saying he would love to do it at it is possible and not denying the suggestion that that could happen within the next two or three weeks. a key comment, however, subject to the advice of my lawyers. in the last few moments, ty cobb, the lawyer leading the response to the lawyer leading the response to the special counsel's investigation has been quoted by the new york times as saying that mr trump was speaking hurriedly and intended to say only that he was willing to meet with the special counsel. he is willing to meet but will be guided by the advice of his personal counsel, they are the words of ty cobb to the new york times. this follows news yesterday that the attorney general, jeff sessions has been interviewed by robert mueller‘s

tea m been interviewed by robert mueller‘s team as has james comey, the man that donald trump sacked in may last year. it does feel suggestions here that robert mueller‘s investigation could be reaching its climax. the very suggestion that by interviewing increasingly senior members of the administration and now, perhaps, the present and himself, they could be about to reach their conclusions. as the mrtrump about to reach their conclusions. as the mr trump himself giving evidence, it is a matter on which he has wavered in recent weeks. just over one week ago he said that there is no, has been no collusion between the trump team and the russians to try and influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. therefore he did not think it would be necessary for him to sit down with robert mueller and his team. he had consistently called the

investigation a hoax and a witch—hunt. investigation a hoax and a witch-hunt. certainly one to watch. thank you very much. president trump has called on turkey to "limit" its military operations against kurdish fighters in syria, who are backed by the united states. in a phone call with president erdogan, mr trump warned about the risk of conflict with american forces in the area. on saturday, turkey began attacking the kurdish militia — known as the ypg. mark lowen sent this report from azaz in northern syria, close to the frontline of the turkish offensive. ya allah, bismallah, allahu akbar! the drill of war. syrian opposition police training for a new front. they are backed by turkey, the two working side—by—side in the offensive against the kurdish militia, or ypg. turkey says the target, ypg, is linked to outlawed kurdish insurgents in turkey. so some troops here are kurds, taking up arms against the kurdish militia. this commander denies he is betraying this people. translation: i am taking part in this offensive

not to fight kurds but to save them from the terrorism of the ypg. they planted terror into the heads of our youth. the shelling intensified today as turkey's president vowed to neutralise every last terrorist. many of those involved are sent from here to the nearby frontline. the terrain is bumpy and the threat is constant. any car, any passerby is scanned for explosives. we're patrolling the frontline now with turkish troops. the closest position of the ypg kurdish militia is just a few hundred metres in that direction from where they fire artillery. we just heard a couple of incoming mortars. the turkish military offensive is now focused on clearing villages around this area of the ypg and turkey says it wants to establish a buffer zone, pushing the militia 20 miles deep away from its border and into northern syria. among local residents, there is trust in those keeping

guard and in the operation itself. translation: the kurdish militia stole our villages, killed our young people and displaced us arabs, says this refugee. god should bless the military offensive. but ypg resistance is fierce. they are armed by the us which says the offensive distracts from fighting the islamic state group. the kurds say civilians are being killed by turkish artillery. turkey denies that. for those in areas hit by air strikes, it is hell. translation: there is no-one here. i am alone. there is no electricity and they are firing on us. they are shaking the world with this. everybody has left. this town is scarred with the legacy of the seven year—long war. in syria, territory is power. as the country has fallen apart, turkey is determined to stop its age—old foes from grabbing a piece of it. the veteran american diplomat,

bill richardson, has resigned from an international panel set up in myanmar to advise on the tensions, killings, and expulsions in rakhine state. mr richardson criticised what he called a government whitewash over the plight of rohingya muslims, and had strong words for the country's leader, aung san suu kyi. our correspondentjonathan head joins me from myanmar. tell us more about this. ultimately, do you think it will make any difference? i think it is very important week of aung san suu kyi appointed five international members to her advisory panel um to convince the outside world she had planned to address the conflict in rakhine state, based on applying the recommendations of the commission from last year and address the long—term problems. she hasjust

time and time again about her blueprint and appointed these five advisers to show that she wanted to listen to international advice bill richardson is not just listen to international advice bill richardson is notjust an extremely experienced diplomat and a former governor of new mexico but an old friend of aaron surrey who used to go and visit her way back when he will she was under house arrest. but to give such damning language about her, saying that she refused to listen to advise and he feels that the board is little more than a cheerleader for government policy and he does not feel it is serious about implementing a commission or redressing the deep—rooted problems in rakhine state especially on things such as citizenship for muslims, he has really stepped out and said that this thing is worth close and has added to the enormous damage done to the reputation of aaron surrey over the last six

months. —— aung san suu kyi. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: flood alerts are in place in paris — and across france — as water levels keep rising. the shuttle challenger exploded after liftoff, all of them are believed to have been killed. by the evening, cairo was in the hands of demonstrators, using the words revolution. the earthquake singled out buildings and brought them down in seconds. tonight, the search for survivors has an increasing desperation about it as the hours pass. the new government is firmly in control of the entirely republic of uganda. moscow got its first taste of western fast food as mcdonald's

opened its biggest restaurant. but the hundreds of muscovites queued up in pushkin square will not find it cheap with a big mac costing half a day's wages for the average russian. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: america's disgraced olympic gymnastics team doctor, larry nassar, has been jailed for 175 years for molesting young gymnasts. donald trump has said he'd "love to" be questioned under oath about allegations of russian meddling in the presidential election. the new president of zimbabwe, emmerson mnangagwa, has told the bbc he will ensure transparent elections byjuly and will respect the result if the opposition wins. the election will be the first big test of his legitimacy since he took power after the military ousted robert mugabe. he was speaking to mishal husain at the world economic forum in davos, his first tv interview

since the inauguration. let's talk about zimbabwe's relations with other countries. now, president trump is on his way to davos, i wonder what you thought when you heard about his reported comments about some african countries being s***holes?. yes, i have my foreign minister somewhere here, he informed me about that but he has also told me that he has since denied. nonetheless, we are a block, also the continental block. that is the eu. i have informed the minister of foreign affairs that the eu made a statement representing us all. also sadiq made a statement representing us all. would it affect how you interact with president trump in the future? pardon? would it affect how you interact

with president trump in the future? look, this is why i say, those against us in the past, zimbabwe is now open. to me there should not be anybody we cannot talk to. i believe that people of zimbabwe have no case against the american people, nor do the people of america have any case against the people of zimbabwe. this is a question of international relations. if president trump came here today while i am still around, i would be able to talk to him and make requests from him and say, "mr president, zimbabwe is open for business, i know americans like growth, come and build growth across victoia falls. build american earrings, build hotels. we will give incentives for you to do all of those things." we are open. i want to ask you about the mugabe is, you have said already that

essentially you will leave him to leave in retirement. what about grace mugabe? haddi given her immunity from prosecution? —— have you. no. we haven't given any immunity. what i have promised to ourformer president immunity. what i have promised to our former president and the founding father of our nation is that first you have given me a package, a very lucrative package. but above that... it is reported to be above $10 million, is that right? no, that is in the press. what is the figure? there is no figure. he continues to enjoy his allowances and securities, secretary. my government will also facilitate him going to singapore for medical

checkups and medical attention, all of those things. but we're not saying anybody commits a crime then we will stop the police dealing with that issue. paris is on flood alert — the seine has already overflowed its banks in some areas, and the river is so swollen that boats can't get under several bridges. some metro lines and stations have been closed, along with tourist attractions including notre dame cathedral. it's the wettest january in france for at least 100 years and the seine is expected to rise further — peaking on saturday. sarah corker reports. for well over a century, this statue has been measured to measure the height of the river seine. when his feet are under water, that means emergency flood measures in paris and after days of heavy rain, water levels have been rising dramatically. we want to come and see what it looks like and it looks like waste now, it is amazing.

see what it looks like and it looks like waste now, it is amazinglj think it is dangerous for the people who live on the boat. i think it is dangerous for them, not for us. some roads, metro lines and stations have been closed and cruises cancelled, there is no weight boats can pass under these bridges. it is predicted the seine could reach 6.2 metres by saturday, five times the normal level. translation: we are almost at the point of a national catastrophe, reminding us of the flood of 1910. i hope that doesn't happen the. the famous lourve is not taking any chances, one of the wings has been shut to detect artwork. those who have stayed check ropes hourly so they don't break as the water rises. large swathes of the country are on flood alert. this is what happens after france's wettest january for over 100 years. towns east of paris

have been inundated. back in the capital and more rain is forecast, but the authorities say they are well prepared to protect the city from rising floodwaters. sarah corker, bbc news. mark e smith, singer and lyricist of the post—punk band the fall has died at the age of 60. he was the driving force behind the band and the only constant memberforfour decades. a cult hero, curmudgeon and an absolute one—off, he was once described as "a strange kind of antimatter national treasure." # hit the north! # 95% of hayseeds (hit the north!) are corn—pones guaranteed # hit the north # proper legend. mark e smith who's died at the age of 60.

sir elton john has announced a farewell tour. he says he wants to stop touring to spend more time with his young children, but only after a 3—year extravaganza featuring 300 gigs around the globe. he describes it as a way of going out with a bang. nick bryant spoke to him in new york. eltonjohn used a virtual reality show of previous performances to announce that he doesn't want to do the real thing any more. after almost 50 years of performing around the world, he has finally decided where his future lies. and it's away from departure lounges, immigration halls and 180 flights a year. # i'd buy a big house where we both could live... he wants to spend more time with his family. i've never had that before, i've never had children. it's changed my life, ijust love them so much and ijust love being with them

and i don't like leaving them behind and wherever i go they say, "please daddy, don't go." i facetime them now, i say ijust announced my last tour, they said, "good, you'll be here." yes, i'll be here. this ultimate piano man still clearly loves performing and will continue to release records, but he is 70 years old and has clocked up more than 4,000 concerts in 75 countries. enough. i just don't want to travel any more. i have been travelling since i was 17 in the back of a van up and down the m1. although i travel in the most fantastic way, it's exhausting and i don't enjoy it. it's a long goodbye. three years, 300 shows but i am really, really looking forward to it and they will be happy shows, i won't regret it and ijust want to give my fans the best farewell possible. no chance of a change of mind?

no. so in three years time it really will be goodbye yellow brick road. but the former pub pianist who gave the world ‘rocket man' has promised he will go out with a bang. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. two decades after dolly the sheep, scientists in china have now used the same technique to clone two monkeys. the identical macaques were born several weeks ago at a laboratory in shanghai. scientists say genetically identical monkeys will benefit research into human diseases. but for many, animal research, especially using monkeys, raises ethical concerns. more on that and all of the news on the bbc website. thank you very much for watching. hello there.

after the downpours and gales of wednesday, the weather prospects for thursday look a little bit quieter. this curl of cloud here, that was storm georgina now pushing off to the north—east. what we now have feeding in is this speckled cloud, some showers pushing in from the atlantic, in fact, some heavy showers coming thick and fast into northern ireland through the first part of the morning. also some showers pushing in across the west country into devon and cornwall, some of these could be on the heavy side. seven degrees there in plymouth. there will be some sunny breaks between those showers, and that mixture of sunshine and showers extends across wales and into the west midlands. a cooler, fresher start to the day, four degrees in birmingham. you will notice a lot of showers across northern ireland at this stage, could be some hail and thunder and perhaps some wintryness over high ground. certainly the chance for wintry weather over higher ground in scotland. temperatures in aberdeen, three degrees, four there in edinburgh. some sunny spells. showers into north—west england, but across north—east england, the east midlands, east anglia

and the south—east, should be getting off to a dry start to the day with spells of sunshine, cooler and fresher than it was on wednesday morning. through the day will bring this cluster of showers eastwards across just about all parts of the country. some of them could be heavy, could be thundery with some hail mixed in. some wintryness over the high grounds in the north pennines, the southern uplands, but there will be some spells of sunshine too and temperatures of around 5—10 degrees. a fairly chilly feel i suppose, but it won't be as windy as it was on wednesday. now, during thursday night into friday, the showers will take time to fade away, but in western areas particularly they will ease as the winds ease as well. it could turn cold enough for a touch of frost because this little bump in the isobars, this little ridge of high pressure will be toppling in during friday morning. so actually after a frosty start for some, we're looking at a decent day. spells of sunshine, bit of patchy cloud and thickening cloud into the west later on ahead of this weather system, but i suspect it will stay dry until sundown wherever you are.

those temperatures of around 4—9 degrees. but those temperatures will start to climb into the weekend, we start to bring in a more south—westerly wind. mainly dry in eastern areas on sunday, a fizzling weather front from the west, but temperatures climbing all the while because we will group bringing mild air from the south—west, so on sunday it will be a pretty mild—feeling day. generally large areas of cloud, some sunshine too particularly down towards the south—east, some outbreaks of heavy rain into northern scotland, a windy day and a mild one too, 9—13 degrees. this is bbc news. the headlines. the former doctor for the us gymnastics team has sentenced to 175 years in prison for sexually assaulting young female athletes. larry nassar was jailed after a week of harrowing testimony from nearly 160women — including olympic gold medal winners. donald trump says he's looking forward to being interviewed

by robert mueller, the special counsel investigating alleged russian meddling in us elections. it's not clear when any questioning will take place. flood alerts are in place in paris — and across france — as water levels keep rising. the seine has already overflowed its banks in some areas, while some metro lines and stations have been closed, along with tourist attractions including notre dame cathedral. it's the country's wettest january for at least a century. now on bbc news... wednesday in parliament.