welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: top party officials meet presidentjacob zuma as pressure continues to grow on the south african leader to leave office. two trains collide in the us state of south carolina, killing two people, with more than 100 injured. protestors in greece call on the government not to allow its northern neighbour to call itself macedonia. defrosting relations on the ice — north and south korean women play their first hockey match together ahead of the winter olympics. and it's no surprise that moscow gets wintry weather — but it doesn't get much worse than this. reports from south africa suggest that presidentjacob zuma has

refused to stand down during talks with senior officials from his ruling party. a meeting to discuss his future was held at his official residence in pretoria. mr zuma, who is 75, is facing allegations of corruption. he's previously survived several votes of no confidence in parliament. andrew harding reports from johannesburg. he's swamped by scandal. south africa's president, jacob zuma, has already been found guilty of breaking his oath of office when he upgraded his private home lavishly at the taxpayer's expense. more recently, his friendship with the controversial business family, the guptas, has fuelled allegations of massive corruption — "state capture", they call it here. during the zuma presidency, south africa has floundered. the economy is struggling and unemployment is soaring, amid a sense that senior officials could get away with anything.

but in december, zuma and his allies lost control of the governing anc. the new man, cyril ramaphosa, promising to end impunity. everyone agrees that our state was captured by people who purported to be close to the president, who have been doing really bad things and getting into all and many state institutions. and suddenly, there is real change in the air here. prosecutors seizing this state farm in connection with alleged fraud by the gupta family and government officials. and the courts pursuing corruption charges against president zuma himself. i think these are real historic moments in south african politics. in all likelihood, we are going to see arrests and big people

being caught up in this. because a wheel is turning, momentum is developing. and i don't think there is to be any turning back. for now, zuma is clinging to hisjob. in places like zimbabwe and kenya we have seen this sort of situation turn ugly and dangerous. but south africa is still a robust democracy. so, whether he is pushed or hejumps, president zuma will soon be out of power, and, most likely, in court on corruption charges. it is a moment of drama and optimism for a country poised to exit the troubled zuma era. andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. two people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a rail crash in the us state of south carolina. an amtrak passenger train travelling between new york and miami collided with a freight service, with more than 140 people on board. south carolina's governor said it appeared that the passenger train

had been on the wrong track, at the time of the crash. it is a horrible thing to see and to understand the force that is involved. two trains, is about as forceful as you can get. the engine of the first train was torn up and the single engined of the passenger train, the amtrak heading southwards, it is barely recognisable. it was quite a crash. for whatever reason, the switch... and when i talk about a switch i'm talking about a rail switch, they can switch how the rail track goes from here to here. for whatever reason, that switch was, as they say in the industry, lined and locked at which basically means it was aligned with the train

coming down this way to be diverted into the siding. 0ur correspondent david willis gave us more details about those who died and said the crash could prompt renewed discussion about rail safety. its employees, a 54—year—old engineer and a 32—year—old conductor. this is the third fatal collision on the us railway system in as many months. that has prompted the governor of south carolina, henry mcmaster, to call for a renewed discussion about rail safety in this country. congress has not actually passed a long—term funding measure for the amtrak railway system for the last ten years. it has relied on short term ongoing systems with existing funding levels being maintained. president trump, of course, has mooted plans for a big infrastructure programme, $1 trillion, it is unclear how much of that, if any, would

go towards enhancing the nation's railway system. particularly in certain parts, 30 million people or more travel by train. amtrak is said that based on that, its safety record is pretty good. but i have to say that the national transportation safety board, the federal authority which looks into accidents of the kind that happened in south carolina today, found a deficient culture, as it put it, when it looked into a recent derailment, back at the end of last year, and there are certainly concerned about safety

levels, given, as they say, this being the third fatal incident of its kind within as many months. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: the only surviving suspect of the terror attacks that killed 130 people at the bataclan in paris goes on trial in belgium later on monday. salah abdeslam was captured in brussels four months after the french attacks in 2015. the charges he faces are not related to those attacks, but to a shootout with police while he was on the run in belgium. china has accused the united states of exaggerating beijing's nuclear strength, saying it needs to ditch what it calls a "cold war mentality". the statement comes after washington unveiled a new nuclear policy, which included plans to diversify its nuclear armoury with smaller bombs. the chinese defence ministry said the us had engaged in presumptuous speculation about beijing's intentions. voting is taking place in costa rica's presidential election after a campaign dominated by same—sex marriage.

last month, the inter—american court of human rights ruled that such alliances should be recognised, but the ruling led to a backlash. in recent weeks, a conservative christian preacher, fabricio alvarado, has surged to the top of opinion polls. hundreds of thousands of greeks have protested in athens against the use of the name macedonia by the country's northern neighbour. the macedonian government says its country has been known as macedonia for a long time. greece is blocking its ambition tojoin the european union and nato until the issue is resolved. richard forrest reports. they came in their tens of thousands from the greek mainland and as many islands, the streets of central athens to into a sea of blue and white greek flags. protestors said the crowd size was even bigger than the rallies against austerity the past two years.

there were people of all generations and from all walks of life, from mayors to monks. the keynote speaker, renowned zorba the greek composer, and resistance icon, mikis theodorakis, told the cheering crowd that macedonia was, is, and forever will be greek. the row dates back to 1991, since the former yugoslav republic gained independence. greece objects to using the name macedonia and says there are contentious articles in its neighbour's constitution that could imply territorial claims over the northern region of greek macedonia. last week, greek ministers held talks with the united nations envoy to help resolve the issue. all sides pushing to settle the dispute this year. the greek government has accused the far right and the neo—nazi golden dawn party of exploiting the issue. prime minister alexis tsipras says the majority of people wanted foreign policy to be conducted rationally and not with fanaticism. ministers say the rallies won't stop them

trying to solve the problem and boosting stability in the often tense balkan region. richard forrest, bbc news. north and south korea — two nations which remain technically at war — have put on an unprecedented show of sporting collaboration, fielding a joint women's ice hockey team. the friendly match against sweden took place on the outskirts of south korea's capital seoul, as the country prepares to host the winter olympics. 0ur seoul correspondent laura bicker sent this report. fierce and determined, the korean players head onto the rink to prove they are notjust pawns in a political drama, or an experiment in sports diplomacy. they fight hard against high—ranking sweden, willed on by a crowd eager to witness a piece of history, and waving the flag of a unified korea. translation: i was so touched.

ifeel so good because i felt the passion of the players, and it felt like we were one together. it was very meaningful to all of us, and especially for my son, it was a very meaningful event. but this team's formation has been controversial. the south korean hockey coach has had to tell players she's worked with for years that they've lost their spot to make way for north koreans such as this player. we're not allowed to ask the north koreans any questions at the press conference, but the south korean coach was frank when i asked her about the challenges. so, adding players that close to the olympics that haven't been with us for the last four years, learning our systems, kind of understanding how our team plays is difficult. the north korean language is different than south korean, is so for our team meetings, it is going through to english, to south korean, to north korean, so the meetings

take three times as long, and it's really hard when, you know, you have three different languages on one team. the event feels like a celebration, but playing as one team under one flag has not been welcomed by the younger generation in south korea. to them, unifying the two countries is a very distant goal. the problem with the young generation, and the sentiment towards korea is, they do not really trust them. and they have seen, and we all have seen, flip—flopping and breaking the promises by north korea. so, they do not really share the feeling of like one nation with north korea. the north korean players will not stay with their team—mates at the athletes‘ village. they'll be kept in separate accommodation and watched over by minders. sweden won the match today, 3—1, but for north and south korea, fielding a joint team will be viewed as a small victory for diplomacy. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. now in case you missed it, it's superbowl sunday.

the new england patriots are currently going head to head with the philadelphia eagles in a frozen stadium in minnesota. this the 52nd superbowl — one of the big tv events of the us calendar watched by millions around the world. the philadelphia eagles went into the game as the underdogs — a badge they wear proudly with many fans sporting dog masks — and they are currently trailing 32 to 33 in the final quarter of what has been a nail biting match. we'll keep you updated right through the game. stay with us on bbc news. plenty more to come, including... why do so many south korean men use beauty products?

we'll hear from a youtube vlogger who's trying to change perceptions about men and makeup. this is the moment that millions in iran had been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. the ban on the african national congress is lifted immediately, and the anc leader, nelson mandela, after 27 years injail, is to be set free unconditionally. the aircraft was returning from belgrade, where manchester united had entered the semi—final of the european cup. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it "a piece of cake". thousands of people have given the yachstwoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world non—stop. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: south africa's president jacob zuma comes under further pressure as top anc officials try to persuade him to stand down. two trains collide in the us state of south carolina, killing two people, with more than 100 injured. talks in germany between angela merkel‘s christian democrats and the social democrats on forming a coalition government will now run into another day. both parties had been aiming to finalise a deal during talks over the weekend but its understood they still have outstanding issues to resolve. 0ur berlin correspondent damien mcguiness said the uncertainty could have wider consequences for the eu. she's already tried once to form government with the liberals and the green party. those talks collapsed in november.

the potential government now with the centre—left social democrats is their only chance. if those talks fail, her credibility will be seriously undermined. the most likely outcome then will be fresh elections, a long period of instability here in germany and, potentially, no new government until autumn and no guarantee after that that we would not be in the exact same position we are now where the potential chancellor finds it hard to create a coalition. it must be said there is a caretaker government. there is no sense of crisis here and the economy is doing well. it must be said there is a caretaker government. there is no sense of crisis here and the economy is doing well. so in the short term, things ticking along nicely and the economy is booming. what it does mean is that there is no ability for the temporary government to make long—term decisions on reform, and particularly with europe. this is a problem for the whole of the eu. president macron has been waiting for a long time to push through an ambitious period of reform.

if the government is not in place, france cannot do that, germany can not support that and it could have an impact on brexit because of this disunity europe would be less able to strike a good deal with britain on brexit. let's pick up on damien mcgrane is‘s last point there. the british home secretary has played down the government's internal divisions over brexit at the start of a crucial week in the negotiations. amber rudd said the cabinet was more united than the prime minister's critics thought. will be in london for talks. and the uk's brexit committee will meet later this week, seeking an agreement on the way forward. 0ur political correspondent, eleanor garnier, reports. putting the uk on the world map, the prime minister's been preparing for life outside the eu, taking tea in china, and helping to secure billions of pounds of business deals. this week, she needs to win over her own cabinet amid claims of disunity about the type of brexit they want. i have a surprise for the brexiteers, which is the committee

that meet in order to help make these decisions and is meeting, as you rightly say, twice this week is more united than they think. we meet in the committee, we meet privately for discussions. i think that we will arrive at something which suits us all. exactly how we trade with the eu after brexit is the source of division in the tories. some want complete disentanglement from brussels — others hope to stay as close to the eu as possible. the home secretary believes the government's priorities are clear. we want frictionless trade at the border, we want to make sure there's no border on the island of ireland, and we want to make sure that we can do trade deals outside of the european union. that's the deal we're looking for. but it's clear to all in the conservative party how difficult it will be to get everyone on side. there are inherent tensions in dealing with brexit because different people take different views. it's notjust in the conservative party, notjust in the labour party — it's across the country. it actually needs a bit of a team effort here, that's what i'm saying

loud and clear. so far, the prime minister has managed to prevent that decades—old split in the conservative party over europe from spilling out into something much more serious, something that could lead to the collapse of her government. but this week, there are crucial cabinet meetings here, with pressure to finally pin down an agreed position on our future relationship with the eu. to reason they will finally have to pick a path. and whichever she chooses, she risks making a large swathe of her party unhappy. but it's notjust a battle at home — winning in brussels is key, too. and with more negotiations with the eu this week, the next few days could be pivotal for the prime minister. a few moments ago i promised to keep you up to date with the score in the super bowl in the united states, so here we go, the philadelphia eagles

have defeated the new england patriots to win the super bowl. i think that's a bit of an upset because the patriots were the favourites to win. there we are, the eagles have beaten the patriots to win the national football league super bowl in the united states. we'll try to get some reaction to that in the next few minutes hopefully. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, says america cannot stand by with arms crossed while democracy in venezuela is being destroyed. speaking in argentina, mr tillerson said the us was looking closely at imposing sanctions on venezuela's oil industry to pressure president nicolas maduro into allowing free and fair elections. lloyds banking group said on sunday it would ban its credit card customers from buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. the bank fears it could end up footing the bill for unpaid debts should the price fall further. people will still be able to buy digital currencies with debit cards. nicos anastasiades has won

re—election for a second term in the presidential election in cyprus. the conservative incumbent got 55% of the vote. he's promised to restart peace talks with turkish cypriots who govern the north of the island. moscow has seen its heaviest snowfall in a day since records began with thousands of trees brought down, power lines damaged and air travel disrupted. more than half the monthly average snow fell on saturday, beating the previous record set in 1957. sarah corker reports. this is what it takes to keep moscow moving. an army of snow ploughs at the city's airports trying to keep runways clear. but nearly 150 flights have been severely delayed and dozens cancelled. the russian capital has seen more than half its average monthly snowfall in the space of 2a hours, up to 17 inches of snow blanketing the city's landmarks.

this is the view of the kremlin. for those who ventured out, it was a challenge to get moving. lorries, coaches and cars are getting stuck on the snowy roads. translation: there's been a lot of snowfall over the last two weeks. we've put in a lot of effort and are working faster. i think it will be like this until march. one person died after a falling tree hit a power line, five others were injured. in fact, 2,000 trees have been brought down and people have been warned to steer clear of frozen branches. this is moscow's heaviest snowfall in one day since records began. it is expected to ease off overnight, but temperatures are forecast to drop to —10. sarah corker, bbc news. here's a fact for you — south korean men spend more than men

anywhere else in the world on skincare products. and walking around parts of seoul you can also see men wearing make—up. many say it's about boosting self—confidence and self—esteem. we've been to meet a youtube vlogger trying to change perceptions of men — and make—up. before we go, just a quick reminder of what's happening at the super bowl in the united states. the philadelphia eagles have beaten the new england patriots 111—33. that is a bit of an upset because the eagles we re a bit of an upset because the eagles were thought to be the underdogs going into that, but they will be celebrating tonight in the united states. that's the way it's looking this hour. stay with us here on bbc news. well, the weather over the weekend was pretty mixed, wasn't it? at least we ended on a mostly sunny note, that is across the majority of the country on sunday.

now it's turning colder. cold enough for some snow this week. some of us will get a covering over the next couple of days. you might even have some snow lying in your area already. that's most likely across south—eastern areas, east anglia and into lincolnshire. wintry showers blowing off the north sea over the last few hours. might be a covering just in time for the rush hour, particularly in kent and sussex, maybe essex and possibly even the greater london area as well. these areas we're talking about. that north—easterly wind bringing cold air and wintry showers. the further west you are the brighter it will be. it will be cold. temperatures in towns and cities around freezing or below. here are the wintry showers getting into kent and sussex, parts of east anglia. one or two flakes of snow likely into the north—east of england as well. the rest of the country, northern ireland, the rest of england, scotland, waking to frosty weather but mostly bright if not sunny weather.

so, let's see what's happening during the course of monday. the best of the weather will be across western areas, most of the sunshine, beautiful for the lowlands of scotland, around the lake district, into wales, the south—west as well, but partly cloudy skies across central and eastern areas, and from time to time we'll continue to have those wintry showers. but there won't be too many of them. how about the rest of europe? it's pretty cold for many of the major centres across parts of western europe. look at madrid — three celsius. very chilly. some of the cold air has dug into africa, into morocco and also the ca nary islands. so chilly weather across many western parts of europe. back home, look at this, monday night into tuesday, a weather front rising to that cold air. there will be a period of snow across some of these western areas, settling across the hills for sure. ten centimetres is possible. even the towns and cities could have a covering during early tuesday. by the time that weather front reaches the south—east, the snow should have snowed itself out. tuesday night into wednesday, we are in between weather systems here. there will be a window

of fine weather. sunshine around on wednesday. it looks as though things will cloud over once again by the time we get to thursday with outbreaks of rain and possibly turning milderjust for the day. overall this week it will stay cold with widespread frosts at night where the skies clear, and from time to time we'll have some snow. this is bbc news. the headlines: in south africa, pressure is growing on president jacob zuma to step down. the top six officials from south africa's governing anc have been to see him at his official residence to discuss his future. mr zuma has denied allegations of corruption which have prompted critics to call for his resignation. hundreds of thousands of greeks have protested against the use of the name macedonia by the country's northern neighbour — insisting that the name macedonia belonged to greece. greece is blocking its ambition tojoin the european union and nato until the issue is resolved. and ina

and in a tense final, the philadelphia eagles have beaten the new england patriots to claim the 52nd super bowl. in the last few minutes of the game, the eagles, who have never won the competition, pulled ahead 51— 33. now on bbc news it's dateline london.