this is newsday on the bbc. the headlines. the countdown to the winter olympics is almost over but could a north korean military parade upstage the celebrations? as kim jong—un sends his sister to represent him at the games, japan warns that the world to be taken in by the time the offensive from north korea. also won the programme, sci—fi sunglasses. chinese police say their high—tech sunglasses help spot suspects. remember this? we catch up with the man behind the viral video that has just won tv moment of the year. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday.. glad you could join us. eight a.m.

here in singapore and midnight in london. half past eight in the morning in pyongyang where north korea is preparing to display its military might. display is due to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of its army and according to one source, as many as 13,000 troops are practising. this comes as the opening ceremony of the winter olympics, dumped by the south —— dubbed by the south korean prime minister as the peace olympics takes great. we arejoined by minister as the peace olympics takes great. we are joined by our correspondent at the winter olympics. thank you forjoining us. so much talk about this military parade across the border. what is the sentiment among south koreans? it is interesting. if you were north korea and you were just about to

achieve a major propaganda coup with your unexpectedly high level of engagement here at the winter olympics, what might you do today? of course, hold a big and scary military parade across the border to remind everybody of your nuclear weapons programme. it is probably the case that this was already locked in in the north korean schedule a long time ago. thousands of troops will be involved. it does seem that they are possibly trying to play down the military parade, if thatis to play down the military parade, if that is possible, by not inviting foreign journalists to attend. i think they are going to try and sneak it through as best they can for domestic consumption in north korea and hope the rest of the world doesn't worry too much that this military parade is happening one day before the opening ceremony here. the north koreans wanted to make headlines. kim jong—un is sending

his sister as part of the north korean delegation to the olympics. yes. the presence of his sister will be quite remarkable. we are already seeing in the press here, comparisons of her and is bunkered trump turning up to book and the olympics. —— her and trump turning up to book and the olympics. —— herand ivanka trump. it isa olympics. —— herand ivanka trump. it is a major propaganda showdown between north korea and the us say here in pyeongchang with the olympics in the background. there is a small problem, for south korea, that some in this delegation, including a senior north korean figure is subject to un sanctions including a travel ban and assets freeze. if he is allowed into the country, south korea is technically in breach of sanctions. they are trying to work that through with the

security council at the moment. thank you for updating us on these latest developments in pyeongchang. stephen was talking about military parades there and north korea, we will have more on that later in the programme and how president trump wa nts to programme and how president trump wants to plan his own in washington. for now, looking at another story coming from the american capital. senators have announced a two year budget deal to avoid a repeat of the shutdown last month. the agreement could increase of government spending by hundreds of millions of dollars including on the military and infrastructure. but it still needs the approval of congress and of the president. earlier i spoke with our correspondent in washington and began by asking him if this deal is likely to be approved by congress. that is the big question. we move closer today to avoiding another government shut down here. the bipartisan bill approved by the

central group in the senate that will be voted on tomorrow. then it will be voted on tomorrow. then it will go to the house but before president trump can sign it into law. but there is the rub. there are democrats in the house who want the same sort of agreement that democrats in the senate baht from the leadership then. namely, they wa nt the leadership then. namely, they want a commitment to have a follow—up bill on immigration that addresses the plight of the so—called dreamers. we have heard a lot about them recently, over a million of them who were brought to this country illegally through no fault of their own. democrats want to see them protected, and, in the house anyway, they were hoping to tie the budget agreement, a two year budget agreement, to the plight of the grimas. nancy pelosi has been on her seat now for over seven hours.

she is talking about the plight of the dreamers. it is not a filibuster that she is getting hurt point across. she said a record a short while ago for the longest continuous speech since 1909. —— set a record. rescuers and taiwan are still searching for survivors are the recent earthquake. seven people were killed and 250 injured but 67 are still unaccounted for. after—shocks continued to rattle the country, the strongest was 5.7 in magnitude. rescue efforts are being focused on building is tilting precariously. translation: it is the most difficult part of the rescue here. because it is tilting by over 50 degrees. all of the rescuers entering the building, if it colla pses, entering the building, if it collapses, they will all be killed immediately. the latest symbian

government airstrikes in damascus have killed over 100 people since tuesday including many children. that is according to a british based monitoring group. the area has been under intensive bombardment recently and this is the heaviest death toll in two months. un has called for a ceasefire. chancellor angela merkel has promised a good and stable german government is a coalition deal is approved. she spent more than four deal is approved. she spent more thanfourmumps deal is approved. she spent more than four mumps trying to form a government since inconclusive elections. the social democrats have promised party members a vote on whether to accept a deal. and you must recognise it. the eiffel tower in paris which has been shut after a cold snap when pitted the french capital in six inches of snow. commuters have been trapped in their ca rs commuters have been trapped in their cars as authorities tried to clear the snow. but have a look at these

locals and tourists having fun, making the most of the weather. the world must not be taken in by north korea's charm offensive. that is what the japanese foreign minister told the bbc. he was speaking as relations between the two koreas appeared to be following ahead of the winter olympics. he told our tokyo correspondent that sanctions are biting and are the only way forward. four weeks, rumours have been swirling that the trump administration was preparing a military strike against north korea. a so—called bloody nose to force dong yang to the negotiation table. last month, these stealth bombers arrived at a us base on guam. japan's foreign minister told me such speculation should not be taken seriously. a military strike on

north korea is far too risky. the capital of south korea is only 30 kilometres from the border. if any military action is taken, the repercussions are outrageous. i don't think anyone seriously considers taking a military method however in order to get north korea to dialogue, we need to increase pressure on them. in his new year message, the north korean dictator kim jong—un described the latest actions against his country as life—threatening. they include a ban on north korean exports of coal, iron and seafood, and a cut on the import of oil. that shows, according to the minister, that they are

starting to work. sanctions are biting. we now have a lot of indications are that the sanctions are biting. what is going on with this sudden rapprochement and over the winter olympics? that is one of the winter olympics? that is one of the indications that sanctions are working. they wanted to do something and they wanted to do a charm offensive towards south korea. i think north korea wants more but i don't think the international community are ready to give them anything. on friday, north and south korean athletes will walk side by side as the winter olympics opens in jung chang —— pyeongchang. but kano says the world must not be taken in by the charm offensive or intimidated by the growing threat. if they use their missile or nuclear capability, there will be no more

north korea. they know that. that they are just making a threat. they are sitting in the middle of the sanctions and eventually they will run out of resources. so you are prepared to play a long game? yes. the sanctions will not work in days or weeks. it takes months. we must be patient and we have to be well co—ordinated. that is the only way. the alternative is some kind of military action which no—one wants. that interview with our correspondent in tokyo. news just m, correspondent in tokyo. news just in, north korea has said that it has no intention of meeting with us delegates during the winter olympics. us vice president had read beazley said he would not rule out meeting north korean officials

during the olympics but this latest statement says there is no interest in dialogue with the us. police in china have started using sunglasses featuring facial recognition technology. the sunglasses are linked to an internal data base of suspects and allow officers to scan crowds looking for suspects. estate says that the glasses have a ready help police to tap seven individuals but there are fears it could be used to track and profile political protesters and ethnic dissident. there is also worries about the chinese surveillance programme. we spoke to someone about how worrying this development is. the sunglasses look quite made tricks — like but the impulse is george orwell. police are already extraordinary really powerful and we

have documented the use of different technology to extend that power without any protections for ordinary citizens. they may not even know they are being surveilled and even if they are, they do not have the ability to challenge that. our concerns are that the police can in fa ct concerns are that the police can in fact profile certain kinds of people, even if they have not committed a crime. many of these are ethnic minorities, particularly in places where groups have been targeted. there are other forms of surveillance used as well including dna profiling. do you know anything more about that? we learned that late in 2017 that under the guise of a free public health programme police across a province were gathering dna samples from everyone between the ages of 12 and 65. again, people were given no justification in lawrenny opportunity to opt out. they have no

idea of how their bio data will be used or stored by the authorities. this violates a number of different human rights, not least the medical information is meant to be private. this campaign is in no way linked to any kind of credible identified threat that would justify using such a broad based and intrusive programme. you say china is violating human rights but in terms of surveillance, if you have a look at the numbers, they have 170,000 cctv cameras watching people. however, looking at countries like the uk, where i am, estimates suggest there are about 5 million cctv cameras watching people. how is what china doing any different from what china doing any different from what more liberal western societies are also doing? first of all, if you when i were in china we would not be

having this conversation live on national television. we would not have the ability to challenge this nor the ability to put any kind of limitation on how the data is used onceit limitation on how the data is used once it has been gathered. i think there are enormous differences in how states manage the use of these technologies. this is newsday on the bbc live from london and singapore. coming up. the road back to rakhine state. we report on obstacles facing rohingya refugees returning home to myanmar. and also on the programme, keeping in step with the competition. donald there's mr mandela.

mr nelson mandela, a free man, taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader ayatollah khomeini has said he's passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president, 'baby doc' duvalier. because of his considerable value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud farm's central block. shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. there stepped down from the plane a figure in mourning. elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and of all her other realms and territories. head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. this is newsday on the bbc.

i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm sharanjit leyl in london. our top stories. north korea plans a large—scale military parade as the winter olympics are about to get under way across the border. japan's foreign minister says international sanctions against pyongyang are starting to bite and will lead talks on their nuclear programme. this story is popular on line. the indian prime minister, narendra modi, his estranged wife has survived a crash, though one of her relatives died when their car hit a truck. the front pages around the world. the front pages around the world. the japan times. it is concentrating

on the earthquake that hit taiwan on tuesday evening. there are some incredible pictures of partly collapsed buildings, including this one, showing a massive crack on the road. shifting attention to the south china morning post, hong kong edition. it is following suit, with the headline life in the balance. they do not know how many people are still trapped in the residential building. and the gulf news is looking to the skies, and at the spacex rocket launch. it is reporting the falcon heavy taking off. it is the second biggest youtube live broadcast ever since the red bull jump.

youtube live broadcast ever since the red bulljump. what is happening on the internet? many of you will remember this moment, one of the most watched videos of the year. professor robert kelly was in a live interview with the bbc from his home in south korea when his two children burst into his office. they were followed shortly after by his wife who tried to do some damage limitation. he is in london for the broadcast tv awards, and got tv moment of the year. he was nearby, so we talked to him again.|j moment of the year. he was nearby, so we talked to him again. i do not think of myself as a celebrity. i did not want this to be i do not mind it. it is not bad. we got many gifts and e—mails. but, i mean, it is not something we sought. i am not in the media business. it is not my profession. it is a weird moment. people take photographs of me. even

ifiam people take photographs of me. even if i amjust people take photographs of me. even if i am just getting out of my car and buying milk at costco. i was recognised. you are that guy? yeah. they want a picture. it is bizarre. he is getting used to becoming a celebrity, especially now he has won the tv moment of the year award in london. here he is with james menendez, my colleague and present. the british government's assessments predicting the economic impact of rate set suggests growth will be hit ha rd est rate set suggests growth will be hit hardest in regions where the leave vote was strongest. —— brexit. the department for exiting the eu looked at scenarios from leaving with no deal to remaining in the single

market. can they go back? will the more than 700,000 rohingya muslims who fled myanmar last year ever return? discussions were finalised last month. the obstacles for a large—scale repatriated are formidable. we have been in rakhine state. these old temples are all that is left of a once powerful buddhist kingdom. in the study rakhine people, some of the poorest in myanmar, a reminder of how far they have fallen. this is a favourite theme of local politicians, decline, with fear they are being squeezed on the one side by the burmese state, and the other, a massive muslim population. five years ago, they turned on their muslim neighbours.

dozens died in this part of rakhine. many rohingya communities were com pletely many rohingya communities were completely destroyed. the survivors, confined by the government to squalid camps. this was the start of a bitter ethnic conflict which led to the flight of 700,000 refugees to england at last year. —— bangladesh last year. but their neighbours have little sympathy. they have their own complaints. they have blamed the government for their poverty. and they all had tales to tell of violent disputes with muslims. we cannot have them here, they said. and yet they remembered living together peacefully once. no one was sure why that had changed. this man works as a tour guide in the ruins. he is also a political activist for

the rakhine state, of useful for the future of his community. i asked him if they could accept the rohingya refugees coming back. if we help the muslims encamped in bangladesh now, they need to follow the rules of law in our country. the existing laws. they cannot be citizens. there will be some that can be citizens by citizenship law, but on the other hand, we are sure there are a lot of illegal muslims from bangladesh. today in this part of rakhine, you can see royhingyas only as ghostly figures on the roadside. you can see communities. they are tightly segregated. they are being followed bya segregated. they are being followed by a police special branch the people most foreigners visiting here, the muslims might as well be

invisible. we did eventually shake off our police escort and found a group of rough rohingyas working near the road. talking to us was risky for them and we concealed their rights. they described a life of co nsta nt their rights. they described a life of constant restrictions on the. —— theirfaces. it of constant restrictions on the. —— their faces. it would of constant restrictions on the. —— theirfaces. it would be of constant restrictions on the. —— their faces. it would be a of constant restrictions on the. —— theirfaces. it would be a dangerous journey to the border. but they think even now they may eventually have tojoin the think even now they may eventually have to join the refugee exodus. jonathan head, bbc news, rakhine state, myanmar. president trump has said he wanted military parade. so we have looked at how other countries do including the uk. let's take a look. you have been watching newsday on the bbc. it is great to have you

with us to be i am rico hizon in singapore to be in before we go, look at these pictures. —— singapore. in the last few minutes, the winter olympics have officially kicked off. hello. for many places, there will bea hello. for many places, there will be a different feel. something more mild. many starting the day under cold air. but this wedge of mild air in the atlantic beginning to show its hand. this is tied up with a weather system in the atlantic. this cloud is going to bring some outbreaks of rain as we go on through the day. a split in temperatures in the morning. —5, 16, in the south—east. temperatures above freezing for northern ireland. —— —6. above freezing for northern ireland. -- -6. the above freezing for northern ireland. —— —6. the coldest weather in east anglia and the south—east, but the brightest weather. sunshine to come.

the south—west, wales, northern england, thick clouds, outbreaks of mostly light and patchy rain at this stage. cloud into southern scotland. northern ireland, the northern scotland, something more bright. sunny spells returning. showers to the north—west. because of the mild air, most showers falling as rain rather than anything more wintry. through the day, we take this band of cloud and our of rain for the south and east. do you see the blue colours? that indicates the rain will turn more heavy for wales in northern england during the afternoon. clouding over in the south—east after the right start. chilly here. scotland, sunshine and a few showers. temperatures getting up a few showers. temperatures getting up to seven — eight degrees. thursday night, we push this band of at this stage quite heavy rain eastwards. wintry showers. as we get into friday, the air will be turning

more cold. temperatures dipping away. seven in cardiff. rain, sleet, and snow in the south—east. wintry showers elsewhere. generally is eating, high pressure with us for the start of the weekend. —— speaking. anotherfrontal the start of the weekend. —— speaking. another frontal system. snow in the north. then some rain. the second half of the weekend, you got it right, back in the cold air. things are very much up and down through the coming days. this is the weekend. often it will be windy. rain at times on saturday. something more bright and cold for most on sunday. there could be double—digit temperatures in places. but with outbreaks of rain, on sunday, it will feel more cold, but it should the —— be brighter. i'm sharanjit leyl with bbc world news. our top story: north korea

is preparing for a military parade in pyongyang. it comes a day before the opening ceremony of the winter olympics — dubbed by south korea's president as the "peace olympics" — is set to take place. the leaders of the republican and democratic parties in the us senate have reached an agreement on a budget deal. if passed by the house, it would increase government spending by billions of dollars. and remember this video on bbc.com? well, robert kelly was in the middle of a live interview when his children burst into the room. well, professor kelly is in london for the broadcast tv awards, and guess what? he's just won the best tv moment of the year. congratulations to him. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. and now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.