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. a veteran us diplomat quits his role advising myanmar on the rohingya crisis, saying aung san suu kyi lacks moral leadership. # 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. 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. 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. and the president of michigan state university says she is resigning following criticism for not doing enough to stop the abuse by larry nassar. in her resignation letter, lou anna simon says: "as tragedies are politicized, blame is inevitable. as president, it is only natural

that i am the focus of this anger." let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. 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. will 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, subject to all my lawyers and all of that, but i would love to do it. reporter: would you do it under oath, mr president? you mean like hillary did it under oath? who said that? i said that. would you do it under oath? oh, you said it, you say a lot. did hillary do it under oath? i have no idea, but i'm not asking you... i think you have an idea, don't you have an idea? wait, wait, wait, do you not have an idea? do you really not have an idea?

we don't remember... i'll give you an idea, she didn't do it under oath. it was a voluntary interview. you would? listen, but i would do it, and you know she didn't do it under oath, right? she did do it under oath. if you didn't know about hillary clinton then you're not much of a reporter. but to reach a higher standard you would to do it under oath? oh, i would do it under oath, absolutely. you are seeing stills though because there is no living pictures of that, just the audio recording. earlier i spoke to our washington correspondent david willis. the president in expansive mood prior to departing for his trip to davos, 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 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 team as has james comey, the man that donald trump sacked in may last year. it does fuel 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 president himself, they could be about to reach their conclusions. as for 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. david willis for us in washington. 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. (map) 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. the bbc‘s jonathan head is in myanmar. i asked him about the significance of mr richardson's move.

it is very important. aung san suu kyi appointed five international members to work advisory panel to convince the outside world that she had a plan to address the conflict in rhakine state based on applying the recommendations of the kofi annan commission from last year. she said that was her blueprint. she has said it time and time again in statements, on the rare occasions he has made them, and she pointed to these five advisers to show that she wants to listen to international advice bill richardson is notjust a very seasoned extremely experienced diplomat, but also a very old friend of aung san suu kyi, who used to go see her when she was under house arrest. for him to come out and notjust resign from this commission, this advisory board, but also to give such damning

language about are basically saying she refused to listen to advice 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 the commission or addressing the deep—rooted problems in rhakine state on issues such as citizenship for rohingyas. he has gone out and said this is worthless. itjust adds to the enormous damage that has been done to the reputation of aung san suu kyi over the past six months. jonathan head for us there in myanmar. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: flood alerts in paris, and across france, as water levels keep rising. the shuttle challenger exploded soon after lift—off. there were seven astronauts on board, one of them a woman school teacher. all of them are believed to have been killed. by the evening, tahrir square, the heart of official cairo was in the hands of the demonstrators. they were using the word revolution. the earthquake singled

out buildings and brought them down in seconds. tonight, the search for any survivors has an increasing desperation about it as the hours pass. the new government is firmly in control of the entire republic of uganda. moscow got its first taste of western fast food as mcdonald's opened their biggest restaurant in pushkin square but the hundreds of muscovites queued up today 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. there's been a week of harrowing

testimony from nearly 160 people. earlier we spoke to one of the victims about what happened and what it was like seeing him. the never scared me, he was in this big prestigious doctor, he was never like that to me. at home he was kind of lame is the best way to put it. so going in there, i already felt, like, powerful over him so seeing him and him not even able to look at me for most of my statement was more in powering. how angry do you feel about the fact that not only did he sexually abuse you but he sexually abused you when you were so vulnerable? children just don't

understand, you know? they don't understand, you know? they don't understand what's going on and he doesn't understand that not only are you taking advantage of them in that moment but you have put in front of them this path for the rest of their lives where they have to figure out the hip place in all of that and justify to themselves that they shouldn't be ashamed, justified to themselves that they didn't participate in the abuse, and justify to themselves because of all those things i feel worthless but i am worthy. so a predator takes advantage of someone when they're vulnerable, but then that continues, that's a gift that keeps on giving. i don't know if he understands that all predators understand that. you're one of the women that took him to the criminal court and succeeded, he pleaded guilty, not many women who are sexually abused

get to see their abuser in court and convicted. how much of an achievement do you feel that is? achievement is probably the wrong word but how do you feel about that because there's so many women out there that never get to this stage? i don't think it's sunk in yet with him but then when i kind of compare it with abusers i know who still on the street and stuff i start to feel a bit, like, really, no girl is going to be abused afterjanuary the first, 2018, you know? and no other girl is going to have to stand up there and give her testimony about that. so i don't think it's sunk in yet but i'm getting there. carl stevens after the hearing talking to vergini region often. —— rajini vaidyanathan.

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. laura bicker reports from seoul. the north korean hockey players will inspect the venues in gangneung. this is just an advanced party, this isjust an inspection, but the decision to merge the two teams has proved to be controversial here in south korea. there's a feeling here they may be jeopardising their own medal chances to engage with the north, however, they will go ahead and they'll play their first friendly match against sweden in just over a week's time. this is part of a continuing flurry of talks between the north and the south, just as the north team is coming south, there's suddenly a southern team coming back from the north after inspecting ski resorts, the whole joint ski training and north korea with the two teams. also it's been announced there will be a joint arts concert on the february the eighth and the 11th between north and south and further dates and venues are due to be announced as the schedule is finalised. now, i have to say,

when you speak to people here, there are different reactions to what's going on. some fear that this is simply a propaganda exercise by the north, but there has been a message in state media from north korea this morning calling for reunification with the south, saying they're committed to it. it's a reiteration of kim jong—un‘s new year message. meanwhile, there are others here in the south who say it's time for calm, it's time for peace. and the benefits of cooperation right now outweigh the risks. 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. sarah corker reports. for well over a century,

the zouave statue has been used 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 are rising dramatically. we wanted to come and see what it looks like and it looks like it's up to his waist now, so it's amazing to see the flooding. i think it's 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's no way boats can pass under these bridges. it's predicted the seine could reach 6.2 metres by saturday, that's five times the normal level. translation: we're almost at the point of a natural catastrophe, which reminds us of the flood in 1910. i hope that doesn't happen. at the famous lourve museum, home of the mona lisa, they're not taking any chances, one of the wings has been shut to protect the artworks. with no power, some boats have been abandoned. those who have stayed check mooring ropes hourly so they don't break

as the water rises. in fact, large swathes of the country are on flood alert. this is what happens after france's wettest january for more than 100 years. the town of ornans east of paris has 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. 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 three—year extravaganza featuring 300 gigs around the globe. 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. # i'm still standing better than i ever did... 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'm 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. 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 160 women, including olympic gold meda winners. donald trump says he's looking forward to being interviewed by robert mueller — the special counsel investigating alleged russian meddling in us elections. the president said he would give testimony under oath.

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, hardtalk.