this is a newsday on the bbc. rico hizon in singapore. the headlines. chinese censors block online debate — as president xi's given the right to rule indefinitely. but a few critics speak out. translation: if the leader stays in office too long, and if power becomes too concentrated, then eventually, power becomes evil. russia orders a daily five—hour ceasefire — to allow civilians to leave the besieged syrian syrian enclave of ghouta. also in the programme. india mourns bollywood's sridevi kapoor, amid new revelations about how she died. and we visit the resting place of millions of damaged korans, deep inside these pakistani mountains. live from our in singapore and

london, this is bbc world news. it's 9am in singapore, 1am in london and 9am in beijing where censors have been deleting online criticism of the announcement that president xi jinping could stay in power for decades to come. the proposal would remove a clause in china's constitution that limits the head of state to just two terms in office. some people online have accused the communist party of ‘creating a dictator‘ and becoming like north korea. john sudworth reports from beijing. chanting. it's no secret that xi jinping has been tightening his grip on power. this is just the most recent display of tu bthumping military loyalty. but now, a defining

moment has been reached. state media reports of closed—door party meetings confirmed that the two—term limit is to be scrapped. there's nothing to fear, his supporters argue. mr xi, the benevolent fatherfigure, is staying on for the good of the nation. china has become such a developed country, the middle—class is increasing in size, as well as in the number of wealth they command. i don't think anyone in china, either in the party or outside the party, would sit tight to allow the return of a despot or tyrant back onto the political stage. but one ruler still casts a long shadow here — chairman mao. the two—term limit was introduced after his death to keep tyranny at bay. zhang bao cheng, an activistjailed

for mild dissent in the past, is one of the few daring to publicly criticise the change. translation: if a leader stays in office too long, and if power becomes too concentrated, then eventually power becomes evil. for most people, though, criticism is best kept in the shadows. the striking of just a few words from china's constitution marks the biggest political shift in decades, with far reaching implications. out go regular, orderly transitions, as the world's second—largest economy finds itself in the hands of a man with total, unfettered power, indefinitely. behind the appearance of strength lies the risk of instability. a rising superpower has just torn up its rule book.

john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. and we'll have more on that row about president xi staying in office — in a moment. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. russia will establish a humanitarian corridor out of syria's eastern ghouta, and enforce a daily five—hour ceasefire to allow civilians to escape. more than 500 people were killed in shelling of the rebel—held enclave last week alone. the un has criticised governments for failing to implement its 30—day ceasefire passed on saturday. security council resolutions are only meaningful if they are effectively implemented. and that is why i expect the resolution to be immediately implemented and sustained, particularly to ensure the immediate, safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services, the evacuation of the

critically sick and wounded, and the alleviation of the suffering of the syrian people. as you know, the united nations is ready to do its part. as i have the opportunity to say in the security council itself a few days ago, in particular, eastern ghouta cannot wait. it is high time to stop this hell on earth. antonio guterres on syria. also making news today. saudi arabia's king salman has sacked several of the country's top military commanders in a series of late—night royal decrees. the heads of the air and grounds forces were among those dismissed. the move comes as the war in yemen, where a saudi—led coalition is fighting rebels, nears the end of its third year. us president donald trump has again criticised law enforcement officers for the way they handled the florida school shooting. during a meeting with state governors in the white house, he suggested he would have been

braver than the armed guard who failed to confront the killer. i really believe you don't know until you test it, but i really believe i would run in there, even if i didn't have a weapon. i think most of the people in this room would have done that, too. i know most of you. but the way they performed was really a disgrace. a fifth briton has died following a helicopter crash in the grand canyon earlier this month. ellie udall was on honeymoon with her husband, jon, when they were involved in the crash. he died last week. a preliminary report in to the accident failed to establish a cause. turkey president recep tayyip erdogan has been criticised for telling a young girl who was dressed up in military uniform that she would be honoured if killed while fighting. in a televised address to his ak party, he told the sobbing girl, ‘if she's martyred, they'll lay a flag on her‘. the speech has been described, by some twitter users, as child abuse. formula one's pre—season testing

is underway in barcelona, and it wasn't a great day for mclaren‘s fernando alonso. the double world champion lasted just six laps before losing a wheel, and spinning off the track. he was able to return to the track later in the morning, completing another four laps. and there's been dancing in the streets in thailand. about 300 enthusiasts grooved to swing music in nakhon pathom, about an hourfrom bangkok. swing music has been growing in popularity in the country. 0rganisers now hope to make the dance festival an annual event. long—serving leaders are not uncommon in asia but as china's xi jinping look set to erase term limits for the top job and cambodia's hun sen want an extra 10 years after 33 years at the helm — are we seeing a growing trend of long—term autocractic power in asia? earlier, i spoke to angela mancini,

a partner at risk advisory firm control risk. i asked her if she was surprised by the social media backlash to president xi's power plans. a little bit surprised by the level, but to be honest. what he has done... is significant and historic. it is the most power any chinese leader and 25 years. it's not that surprising. if you remember in the party congress in the fall, he didn't namea party congress in the fall, he didn't name a successor. that was quite significant and gave a hint of what was to come. what has really done here now is formalized that and send a signal to everyone in the party, but also all the citizens he is formalized that can send a signal to everyone in the party, but also all the citizens user to stay. and not go anywhere. it is not surprising to see there has been a bit of a backlash, but the levels of it has been surprising. is there really a need for xijinping to extend his term beyond 2022? he still has another four years

to cement his legacy. that is right and he could go for ten more. he is 64 years old. he is pretty young as it relates to, generally speaking, in terms of world leaders. has a lot of ideas and a lot of policies. he could still get a lot done in four years that he wants to do, but as you know, it is a big job to transition the chinese economy and what they're trying to do. there's quite a to do there. we could see him staying easily another ten yea rs. but, this could also set a bad precedent because there is a risk of a sucession crisis down the road. that is exactly the issue. the issue becomes enough someone who is extended term limits. they have named a successor and it likely won't. in the medium—term time frame. what happens next? what happens in the next person comes around? what does that look like? that is a serious medium to longer—term risk. if he stays beyond 2022, for another eight, ten, 15 years, what will this mean for the dynamics in asia? clearly, it is very significant in china. it has been written to the constitution.

china is growing. it is having more and more power in southeast asia and broader asia—pacific, so we just continue seeing that going. the positive side would be different be more consistency and things like economic policymaking, foreign policymaking. in a way, you have more certainty in those areas, but it would be quite significant if you see him in power for another ten years. one of the longest leaders in asia is cambodia's hun sen. he was just in another ten years after 33 years. are we seeing another trend of a long term autocratic power in asia? in cambodia, they cannot be a bellwether. he is been there a long time and he has no intention to leave. we are seeing a rise in autocratic power. it's interesting that we see that this and getting a lot of headline news is actually those governments attitude to cyberspace. a lot of places like

thailand, vietnam are taking the page from china to set up several security laws to allow the incumbent leader to have advantages. they can control and monitor data in ways they haven't before. that is something that is going to be, we think, quite fundamental as it relates to democracy over time. another example, of course, is malaysia's prime minister. nine years and counting. we expect that he will win another term. that, to your point, is a risk. he has been in power quite a long time. people are extremely frustrated there by his leadership and all of the corruption scandals. assuming he wins, and we think he will, the frustration level there will be very high. that is when we give to people in the streets. is democracy under a risk in asia? it has always been a mixed bag. indonesia is healthy. it is too much

ofa indonesia is healthy. it is too much of a risk to say. angela mancini there talking to rico earlier. ever wondered what happened to old, unusable copies of the koran? in pakistan, thousands of old korans are being buried under a mountain in tunnels because they are not allowed to be destroyed. 0ur correspondents has this for report. under this mountain in pakistan, hundreds of thousands of copies of old korans. muslims in pakistan believe you can't throw away old or damaged copies of the holy book, so they are brought here from around the country. the tunnels here stretch for over two miles and they're all lined with these sacks, each containing around 8—10 korans. most, like this one are completely filled in. you cannot walk along it. this person has been helping run the project for the last 25 years. after his brother set it up. translation: my older brother loved korans.

he used to collect them and put them in his car. some of his friends joined him and then, with god's grace, all of this was established. each day, more copies of old korans are sent here. workers separate what can be preserved and what needs to be disposed of. translation: some books, like this one, are only a bit damaged, so we repair them and give them a way. but when pages are torn like these, we bury them in tunnels. to keep up with the demand, they‘ re constantly building a new tunnels, but cutting into the mountain is hard work. translation: to dig a tunnel of 200 feet, it takes four or five months. some days, we only dig around to six inches because the rocks are very hard. in pakistan, disposing of the koran

is a sensitive subject. people have been lynched for not treating it respectfully. the project here is calling for anyone in the country with a damaged copy of the koran to send it to them. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... 0n shakey ground — what's behind the recent flurry of earthquakes in the asia pacific region? also on the programme... india mourns bollywood actress sridevi as new details emerge about her death. princes charles has chosen his bride. the prince proposed to lady diana spencer three weeks ago. she

excepted, she said, without hesitation. as resolutions go, this had its fair share of bullets. the climax of the night outside the gates of the sanctuary. the name itself symbolising one of the cruelest regimes of modern asia. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have a produced a sheep using a cell from another sheep. citizens are trying to come to grip with her new freedom. though there isjoy and relief today, these cars are everywhere. not for 20 years have locusts been seen in such numbers in this part of africa. some of these forms have been ten miles long. this is the last time the public will see this pope. very soon, for the sake of the credibility and authority of the next pope, benedict xvi, in his own words, be hidden from the world for the rest of his life. welcome back, everyone. you're

watching newsday on the bbc. i am in singapore. thank you for staying with us. i am in london. our top stories... 0nline critics of china's plan to allow president xi extra time in office have found their comments censored. russia says there'll be a daily five—hour pause in the fighting in rebel—held eastern ghouta in syria from tuesday. a mother and her three children narrowly escaped a fire in houston, texas. their apartment complex caught on fire and firefighters managed to get them out. — that story is popular on bbc.com. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the straits times looks at the jump is salary that singapore's graduates can expect. apparently some former students took home four to five -—$4,00—5,000 a month.

with business and computing being the best earners. the china daily features some colourful images taking place as part of chinese lunar new year festivities. that includes this snap of a fire dragon dance, performed at buddhist temple in brazil. it all comes ahead of the lantern festival, which gets underway in march. estelle turned the page to the international edition of the new york times. and finally the new york times wonders if harry potter will manage to keep his powers on broadway? the eighth instalment of the celebrated wizarding saga cast a spell over london. now they're hoping to pull off the same trick in the big apple. when i was in london leicester, i couldn't even get the ticket. they we re couldn't even get the ticket. they were sold way in advance. now, which stories are online? it is not even about tickets. the stories all focus

on toilet paper. the taiwanese obsession with toilet paper is back in the news again. last time it was because the paper was being stolen. now there's been a panic about price rises — and stores are running short — that's popular on bbc.com the leader of the uk's main opposition labour party says, he wants britain to remain in a customs union with the eu, after brexit. the policy shift — could lead to labour siding with government rebels to defeat theresa may on her brexit strategy. a spokesman for the prime minister repeated the government's position, that britain would not be in the customs union — and the uk would be free to strike its own trade deals. here's a little of what the opposition leader said earlier. we have long argued that a customs union is a viable option for the final deal, so labour would seek to negotiate a new comprehensive uk—eu customs union to ensure there are no tariffs with europe and to help

avoid any need whatsoever for a hard border with northern ireland. the asia pacific region has been hit by a series of earthquakes in the last few weeks that have left a trail of damage and loss of life. —— a trail of damage and destruction. a7.5 magnitude earthquake took place on monday in papua new guinea. indonesia was also hit a 6.1 magnitude earthquake off the eastern coast on the same day. this follows a 5.5 earthquake off japan on sunday. earlier this month, taiwan was hit by a quake in the town of hualien where the bodies of last two victims of the disaster have finally been removed. and just last week, we also also saw a couple of earthquakes close to new zealand. so are earthquakes happening more frequently, especially in the asia pacific region? and if so, why? well, earlier i spoke to gary gibson, founder of the seismology research centre.

who is also the principal research fellow for seismology at the university of melbourne. first, iasked him if all this seismic activity is somehow related. one of the things about earthquakes is that they cluster. we have periods where were they aren't active and periods where they are active. we had 14 years from 1977 with only one magnitude eight earthquake in the world and the last 14 years, we had one a year. they vary. overall, though, i don't think there's any... increase in the actual rate. we're just hearing about them better. this is suggestion that they're cluster earthquakes suggests they are somewhat related, so should countries on the same fault line then, perhaps, be on alert? not necessarily. usually it is only a local phenomenon and large earthquakes in

papua new guinea will not trigger quakes elsewhere. they rarely do, but it is not common. we know that technology and earthquake reporting, part of what you do, is becoming far more sophisticated, so is there a sense that perhaps there is a perception that earthquakes are happening more frequently because the technology has gotten so good? yes. nowadays, we have a lot of data sharing. seismology is a comprehensive technology. technology has enhanced. we can share that online. normally, we can get preliminary locations of the earthquakes within about 20 minutes of them occurring. basically, you are saying you cannot predict when the next big one will take place? no. i'm sorry we can't do that yet.

i don't think we ever will, really. most earthquakes happen out of the blue and with no indication that anything is to happen. some of them have foreshocks and a few of them in continental regions seem to have unusual activity for about a year beforehand were a few years. most of them come out of the blue. what would you suggest as a seismologist, what kind of safeguards can be put in place to potentially protect him populations, evacuate people in time? by far the best thing is building standards. the difference in the quality of the building and the casualties in an earthquake have been remarkable. i have visited chile after their magnitude 8.8 earthquake in 2010 and there were casualties, but for such a huge earthquake, very, very few. seismology gary gibson are speaking

earlier. the bollywood superstar known as simply as sridevi died of accidental drowning. according to a forensics purport in dubai. she drowned in her bathtub after she lost consciousness. according to the postmortem. earlier it had been reported that the actress died of a heart attack. 0ur reporter explains. here at one of sridevi a's family homes, fans have been coming to pay respects all day. dubai police today released the postmortem results saying that her actual cause of death was drowning in the bathtub of her hotel apartment. that is different from earlier reports that such actually died from a cardiac arrest while attending a family wedding in dubai. her body was allegedly delayed because of the results of the reports. that is what local media were reporting in dubai. politicians, fellow celebrities

and fans have been reacting in utter shock at the news of her death. she is being described as bollywood's first female superstar. since starting acting at the age of four, she acted in more than 300 films and it wasn'tjust a bollywood she acted in. she was a star of many regional film industries across india. one of the real appeals of sridevi, especially since she came to bollywood in 1978, was that she was seen as one of the few female stars to carry a film and deliver box office success without a need for a male costar. celebrities had been coming to pay their respects at the family home and her funeral is expected on tuesday. there will be plenty more people coming to pay their tributes to this great actress for herfinaljourney. you have been watching newsday.

stay with us. what will the revised trans—pacific partnership mean for new zealand's economy? we'll be hearing from the country's new finance minister on whether he thinks tpp will really make a difference. and before we go, let's take a look at these pictures from a snowy europe. it is getting a cold. the so—called ‘beast from the east‘ is making its presence felt and this priest outside st.peters' is certainly enjoying it. in switzerland no one's going very far on this bicycle as the big freeze hits the banks of lake co nsta nce. germany is experiencing very low temperatures — minus 8 in munich for these brave swimmers! and a record —27 celsius on its zugspitze mountain in the alps. hello there. winter refuses to

relinquish its grip across the uk, but not just uk, relinquish its grip across the uk, but notjust uk, across the whole of europe at the moment. with that high—pressure still entrenched across scandinavia and this siberian air spilling right across europe having such a dramatic impact. yes, we have some snow around at the moment and yes, we still have weather warnings in force. these affected areas will be before northeast of england and also stretching down across essex, kent and sussex coastline here where we could see significant accumulation starting to develop to its add—on. the met office has issued an amber weather warning for these two areas. we could see as much as 5—10 cm of snow. that could affect the commute into the london area. you could also have an issue if you're driving to work or take the chains across the northeast of england, as well. stay

tuned to bbc local radio stations, particularly early in the morning. it looks like the snow showers will be continue to be brought along by a brisk north easterly breeze. a brief lull in proceedings across the southeast, but certainly going to have an impact throughout the day. it will feel bitterly cold out there for all of us with that those temperatures really struggling. most of the sunshine, perhaps, reserved for the west. as we move out of tuesday into wednesday, we stop met 0ffice amber weather warnings. be prepared for destruction, but the emphasis changes. i went to the northeast of england and affecting eastern scotland. again, we could see widely 5—10 cm, maybe more in places. the winds will strengthen, as well. that will create wintry conditions. i will drive the showers for england. —— further in land. it may be the southeast this gives the worse. another call today for all with the temperatures really struggling. add in the factor of the wind, particularly as it strengthens

and it will feel well below freezing out of there. as we move out of wednesday into thursday, we still have a frequenter rash of showers across the north, butjust wanted to draw your attention to what is happening down to the south. an area of low pressure set to moving as it bumps into the cold air, it could bring more persistent, heavy snowfall. there is still a level of uncertainty as to where this area of low pressure will tend to settle. moving up all away from iberia across france as the bombs into the cold airfora time across france as the bombs into the cold air for a time across central and southern england and northern ireland. we could see some significant snow. i'm sharanjit leyl with bbc world news. our top story: chinese censorship increases after the ruling party proposes changes to the law to allow president xijinping to remain leader beyond his second term. russia says there'll be a daily five—hour pause in the fighting, and a humanitarian corridor established in syria's rebel—held enclave of ghouta from tuesday. us president donald trump suggests he would have been braver than the armed guard who failed

to confront the florida school shooter, saying he would have run in even if he wasn't armed. and this video is trending on bbc.com. europe is in the grips of a deep freeze. a front dubbed ‘the beast from the east‘ has brought freezing temperatures and snow to large swathes of the continent and the united kingdom. that's all from me now, stay with bbc world news. and the top story here in the uk: jeremy corbyn has revealed he would seek a new customs union with the eu if he was prime minister, saying it would safeguard jobs and living