i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: i extend to you this gavel. a new challenge to donald trump's presidential authority. democrat nancy pelosi becomes house speaker and immediately throws down the gauntlet on the government shutdown. democrats will be offering the senate republican appropriations legislation to reopen government later today. i have never had so much support as i have never had so much support as i have in the last week, over my sense for border security. —— stance. north korea's ambassador to italy disappears, amid reports that he's seeking asylum in the west. i'm nuala mcgovern in london. also in the programme, china makes history by landing an unmanned space probe on the far side of the moon. and manchester city condemn

liverpool to their first defeat of the season, closing the gap at the top of the english premier league tojust four points. good morning. it's 8:00am in singapore, midnight in london and 7:00pm in washington, which ushered in a new era of politics today. democrats took control of the us congress with a promise to pass legislation that will bring a partial government shutdown to an end. the veteran democratic party legislator, nancy pelosi, was re—elected speaker — the second time she's held the position. she is still the only woman in us history to do so. gary 0'donoghue reports. democrats will be offering the senate republican appropriations legislation to reopen government later today.

and with that, democrats took control of the house of representatives for the first time since 2010, ending republicans‘ hold on both chambers of congress. once again, the party turned to san francisco's nancy pelosi to assume the speakership, putting her second in line to the presidency after the vice—president. she's the only woman ever to have held the post and a regular target of conservative vitriol. we all have the ability and the privilege to serve with over 100 women members of congress, the largest number in history. while republicans strengthen their control of the senate, it was a different story in the house. that means republicans now have 199 seats to the democrats‘ 235. and it's a congress of firsts

for women too, including the first elected muslim and native american lawmakers and the youngest woman to be elected to the house, 29—year—old alexandria 0casio—cortez. it is all smiles at the moment but the grown—ups have big battles ahead. first up, out went the 13—day—long federal shutdown, caused by failure to agree on budgets for key government departments. museums and national parks are closed, many jobs going undone. 800,000 federal employees are also going without paycheques. at the heart of the stand—off is president trump's demand for $5 billion towards his border wall, something democrats, for the time being at least, reject out of hand. we are talking about border security. nothing for the wall, but that means it's a non—starter. we can go through this back and forth — no. but the president has invested huge amounts of political capital into the wall,

and giving in would likely prove unpopular with those who voted for him. hello, everybody. and in an impromptu press conference, the president insisted he would push ahead with the wall. i have never had so much support as i have in the last week over my stance for border security, for border control and for, frankly, the wall, or the barrier. the split congress means legislative progress will be hard to come by, but drama there will be, with democrats determined to make full use of their scrutiny powers. gary 0'donoghue, bbc news, washington. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. south korea's spy agency has confirmed that north korea's ambassador to italy has disappeared. jo sung—gil and his wife are reportedly seeking asylum in a third country, but their whereabouts are unknown. let's get the very latest from seoul

and our correspondent, laura bicker. great to have you with us. what are you hearing? well, what we have heard from officials here in seoul is that's jo song—gil was heard from officials here in seoul is that'sjo song—gil was last seen leaving the north korean embassy in rome in late november with his wife. italian officials have not seen or heard from him since the italian authorities say they have received no application for asylum from a north korean ambassador or diplomat. this disappearance comes amid reports thatjo song—gil has actually asked italian authorities for protection while he seeks asylum from a third country. if this is indeed the case, it could be a huge embarrassment oi’ indeed the case, it could be a huge embarrassment or the north korean leader, kim jong—un. when embarrassment or the north korean leader, kimjong—un. when it comes to defectors, they are seen in north korea as traitors, traitors to their country and to the people. to have

such a high official leave, well, that could be potentially embarrassing. what we know aboutjo song—gil also is that he is said to be the son and son—in—law of two elite officials in pyongyang, they we re elite officials in pyongyang, they were former ambassadors themselves and could have connections higher within the workers party. we have also heard from former defectors that the family left behind in north korea, well, there could this severe consequences. from a defector here in south korea, the last high—profile defector to leave, he was the deputy ambassador to the uk, in london. he told reporters here in south korea that he had worked with jo song—gil. he said jo song—gil was actually responsible for trying to get luxury goods into north korea, and he may also have knowledge of north korea's nuclear plants. if this is indeed the case, well, it is the kind of information, the kind of intelligence, that the us would

really like to get their hands upon. laura bicker, thank you very much. also making news today, thousands of tourists and residents have reportedly fled islands off thailand's south—east coast to escape an approaching tropical storm. authorities have also been preparing shelters for those deciding to stay put. thailand's met office says tropical storm pabuk will bring strong winds and 7 metre waves, but it is unlikely to become a typhoon. a special afghan tribunal has convicted three men of being involved in the murder of bbcjournalist ahmad shah. mr shah, who worked for the bbc‘s pashto language service, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen last april. a spokesman for the attorney general‘s office has told the bbc one man was sentenced to death, the others to 6 and 30 years in prison. $75 billion has been wiped off the value of shares in the technology giant apple after it warned that its latest revenue figures would be worse than expected. apple shares ended the day 10% down on wall street. the revenue warning prompted by weaker sales in china,

fuelled falls in the main us stock markets. we'll have more on that in asia business report later. a clean—up operation is underway in the netherlands where beaches have been littered with shoes, flat—screen televisions and children's toys. the objects drifted ashore after nearly 300 shipping containers fell off a cargo ship during a storm. around 100 soldiers have been sent to the islands as part of the clean—up operation. let's go back to our top story. democrats have taken control of the us congress. this is not just this is notjust a dawn of a new political era in washington, dc, this is also the most diverse congress in the us history. a short while ago i spoke to our correspondent in washington, david willetts. it absolutely is, ricoh,

the most diverse server. their 116th congress. —— diverse ever. more than 100 women sworn in, and a record number, a somali american, the first muslim woman, the first native american woman, the first palestinian american to serve in congress. and of course, also, the youngest woman ever, at 29 years of age, alexander or kate —— alexander otto age, alexander or kate —— alexander 0tto is your containers, from new york. —— 0casio—cortez. this congress will take office at a time of deep division in american politics, and its main role, the democrats are making clear, as far as the house is concerned, will be a role of oversight, effectively providing a cheque to the powers of the president. so what does this democrat controlled lower house mean or this government ship down? ——

shut down. it will be interesting to see. i think it will embolden the democrats, this new majority that they have now in the house of representatives. embolden them to push donald trump over his wall proposal. he is clean to this assertion that there needs to be five million dollars in the federal budget to finance his signature campaign issue, a wall along the us — mexico border. —— clinging to this assertion. the democrats don't want anything of it, and they are standing in the way. president trump has invited congressional leaders back to the white house tomorrow, friday, to debate this all over again. but there seems to be no fresh proposal on the table. it will be very interesting to see what's coming if anything, comes out of that meeting tomorrow. —— what, if anything, comes out. china has landed a spacecraft on the far side of the moon. it's the first ever such landing,

and it's a major milestone in space exploration. the probe has already sent back an image of the largest, deepest and oldest crater on the moon's surface. the landing is the latest step for china, as it races to catch up with russia and the united states and become a major space power by 2030. 0ur science editor david shukman reports. haunting and barren, much of the surface of the moon has been well known for centuries. but this is the side we see from earth. by contrast, the far side is far more mysterious, with the deepest craters. and when nasa considered landing astronauts there back in the ‘60s, the idea was rejected as too risky. in this image, it's easier to see how different the two sides are, and no one really knows why. so the chinese lander, now on the far side, will analyse the rocks. scientists are hoping to learn how the moon was formed, but some experts say this is more about china planting a flag. the fact that they chose to land on the far side of the moon is part of a chinese strategy to do things

that haven't been done before, to garner the prestige that comes with it, because that prestige very often translates into geostrategic influence. this is one of a series of moon landings by china, and the big question amid all the national pride is, where will it lead? 0n the one hand, china is working on its own, the landing hushed up until it proved successful. no surprise, with the military dominating the space programme. 0n the other hand, one instrument on the lander is german. there is some collaboration, and the chinese say they want more of it. but we don't know if china's future missions will be more open, or whether the tendency to keep things secret will continue. i hope we do see china become more international, more globally focused because space is too big and too ambitious to go it alone, and there's a lot of expertise. we've seen with recent missions coming from nasa and the european space agency

that the most ambitious ones are the ones where they've collaborated and worked together. so where will you land? but some chinese scientists want to exploit the moon. back in 2013, this senior figure told me of plans to mine the moon for precious minerals. we'd like you to leave immediately. the last moments of apollo 17, the final american mission to the lunar surface back in 1972. at this rate, the next boots on the moon will be chinese. by golly, this time goes fast! now, will get a good sense of chinese intentions, so what does this mean for space exploration? a short time ago i spoke to michael wall. he's a senior writer at space.com and author of the book out there. this is fantastically exciting. this isa this is fantastically exciting. this is a new low carl which had previously been unexplored, which we can now say that we have a robotic explorer there. —— new locale. can now say that we have a robotic explorerthere. —— new locale. i

think it is good for all of humanity. how do you think they kept it quiet? katich it something of this magnitude under wraps? it quiet? katich it something of this magnitude under wrap57m it quiet? katich it something of this magnitude under wraps? it is just something you can do in a command and control economy. china's space programme is run by the military, so they do things a bit differently. they didn't want to get all the information out there until it was proven to be successful. that is just sort of how they have done things over the years, just make sure it is successful before you get it out of air, so you don't lose face if things don't go well. so, people have been to the moon before, but not the far side. you think this means in terms of space exploration? this is a milestone. a milestone march in showing us how we are advancing as a species out into the solar system. i mean, advancing as a species out into the solarsystem. i mean, i don't advancing as a species out into the solar system. i mean, i don't expect us solar system. i mean, i don't expect us to have moon bases on the moon or the far side any time soon, and in that sense it is kind of symbolic, because this is a tough place to explore. it is difficult to communicate back to earth because

you are always facing away from earth so you need a relay satellite to do that, which actually china did. so, yeah, this isjust one of those things. china is ambitious and this shows their ambition, wanting to do things other countries haven't done, get some global prestige on the show what they are capable of and generate social cohesion. all that stuff is in play here. what about the end of that report by our science editor? he had spoken to somebody who was potentially thinking about mining the moon. is that a possibility? yeah, yeah. and in fact, people who aim to do learn a settlement, and space settlement generally, we have to tap into space resources if we want to do that sustainable it. —— lunar settlement. and the chief resource on the moon is actually water ice. there is lots of water ice at the bottom of some of water ice at the bottom of some of these lunar craters, in permanent darkness. if we can get probes there, it will probably start with robotic mining probes, we can access that water and have life—support

systems and turn that water and split it into hydrogen and oxygen and we can make rocket fuel out of that. so that is the key to having a sustainable presence. do you think that will happen in your lifetime, briefly? i would certainly hope so. that is one of the really exciting things about the past five or ten yea rs, things about the past five or ten years , we things about the past five or ten yea rs, we have things about the past five or ten years, we have seen things about the past five or ten years, we have seen the pace between space years, we have seen the pace between s pa ce stuff years, we have seen the pace between space stuff escalating. spacex is seriously talking about taking people to mars, they are building hardware for their giant mars spaceship. you have companies that are actually aiming to do some of this moon mining we werejust talking about was that some of these companies are going to launch craft, little scouting craft, to explore those resources in the next year, so in the next few months, if things go according to plan. a senior writer speaking to us earlier. you're watching newsday on the bbc.

still to come on the programme: manchester city puts an end to liverpool's undefeated run, at the top of the english premier league. we'll have more from the etihad stadium, in a few minutes from now. dou btless doubtless converged on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead —— thousands converge. good grief after half a century of delighting fans around the world, charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts his tour of south africa tomorrow, in spite of protests and violence from sum up black activist groups. they say international artists should continue to boy cat south africa to majority rule is

established. teams were trying to scoop up lumps of oil is france realise is an ecological crisis. three weeks ago the authorities said that the oil from the broken tank would head out to sea. it didn't. the well‘s tall skyscraper opens today. it is easily overtaken its nearest rivals. that might tour was. —— the world's tallest. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm nuala mcgovern in london. our top stories: democrat nancy pelosi has become the new speaker of the us house of representatives —a role which pits her directly against the authority of president trump. north korea's ambassador to italy has disappeared, amid reports that he's seeking asylum in the west. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the south china morning post of course features that historic

—— just ——justan —— just an update on the nikkei. after afful reported that its earnings would be hit by a fall in sales in china. the nikkei is down by more than 3%. let us take a look at the south china morning post —— after apple reported. news of a chinese spacecraft landing on the far side of the moon. its headline reads ‘where no nation has gone before' over a photograph taken from the spacecraft. the japan times looks at the case of carlos ghosn, the former chairman of nissan, who's been charged with financial misconduct. it reports ghosn's detention is being extended until at least the 9th january and says he has little chance of release or a not guilty verdict.

and the new york times serves up some forecasts for 2019 — of what americans will be eating and drinking. that includes cheese tea, little—known varieties of lettuce, and more probiotics for improved gut bacteria — but it warns to take all predictions with a grain of salt. those are the papers. now, what stories are sparking discussions online? could it be gst? —— cheese tea. no. it is not. in iran's capital, a mysterious smell has provoked thousands of people to complain on social media. it has even prompted city officials to hold an emergency meeting about the apparent ‘sulphur—like' or ‘fishy‘ odour.

but tehran's authorities say it is not a cause for concern, despite the fact that its source is yet to be identified. bangladesh's new parliament has been sworn—in at a ceremony boycotted by opposition mps. they reject the results of a general election that gave the country's prime minister sheikh hasina a third consecutive term in power. the boycott is yet another controversy surrounding the election, which saw 17 people killed in clashes between ruling party supporters and the opposition. so what can we expect from sheikh hasina's new government, after being in powerfor a decade. a short time ago i spoke to pratyush rao — lead analyst for india and south asia for the risk consultancy control risks. this was a landslide victory by all accounts. 288 seats, a two thirds majority. what we see is a strong degree of political and policy continuity as well as predictable as you are the next five years. of the last ten years we have seen a strong economic showing. bangladesh's micro

economic showing. bangladesh's micro economic prospects have been strong. the country has been growing at six or 7% on the country has been growing at six or7% on an the country has been growing at six or 7% on an annual basis. we are seeing a huge ability to generate power. and in terms of the power output going out, that has been a huge success for the country. in terms of the next five years, we are likely to see the growth trajectory continue. 0bviously, likely to see the growth trajectory continue. obviously, in the absence of any legislative scrutiny you are likely to see power largely centralised in the prime minister's offers. legislative scrutiny is very important. there are no checks and bala nces important. there are no checks and balances because the coalition dominates parliament. what will be the big challenges and risks for bangladesh over the next five years? i think the main risk is on the security side. the absence of any political, in this shrinking political, in this shrinking political space is likely to empower some of the opposition members to seek to challenge from outside the

political spectrum. that is a point of concern. we saw what happened two yea rs of concern. we saw what happened two years ago when one of the most popular cafes was attacked. that was in response to a conservative crackdown... in response to a conservative crackdown. . . the in response to a conservative crackdown... the risks that you mentioned, briefly, but could this turn away foreign investors from bangladesh? there is a growing concern around the security environment. i think the macroeconomic picture remains strong. you are likely to continue to seek investments, particularly in the power and infrastructure sector, particularly from japanese, chinese, an indian investors. premier league champions manchester city have closed the gap on the league leaders liverpool with a 2—1win at the etihad stadium in manchester. 0ur sports correspondent david 0rnstein was watching the game for us. even at the halfway point of the season, this was being billed by

some as a potential title decider. whether or not that was over the top is certainly lived up to the hype in terms of excitement. liverpool are right as in form team. they could have gone ten points clear at the top of the title as they seek their first title in the top—flight since 1990 and they could have opened the scoring through sadio mane who hit the post in the first half, it is in moments like that that ends up on turn. so it proved. manchester city going up the other end and taking the lead through sergio aguero shortly before half—time. liverpool needed half—time. it came, they regrouped, and then managed to get an equaliser through roberto firmino. it seemed then that they might have the momentum, however city responded, as champions do, with leroy sane scoring what proved to be the winner and killing wild celebrations among the home fans inside the etihad stadium. liverpool are now four points clear at the

top. manchester city are breathing down their necks. it is a good night for tottenham who are still within touching distance. liverpool will still feel confident of going on to lift that monumental title they have been waiting 29 years for, but manchester city won't give up their crown without a fight in what is proving to be a thrilling season. thanks to david for that. you have been watching newsday. i'm nuala mcgovern in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. we will be looking at what apple can do to recover after a terrible day's trading around the world. that is all for now. stay with us on bbc news world news. for now, goodbye. hello there. for most of us we are

in the middle of what has been a really quite cloudy and cool run of weather and we have more of the centre on friday as well, with only su btle centre on friday as well, with only subtle changes in time for the weekend. the reason the weather is not changing it regulate the moment is high pressure right over the uk. rain bearing weather fronts that would bring any changes to the weather stalled out in the atlantic. for the early rises this morning, we have got cloud across most of scotland, northern ireland, northern england, north midlands, north wales, and for these areas, most areas will just stay above freezing. for eastern scotland, where we have some cloudbreak and across wales, south—west england, the south—west midlands, it is here where we will see a sharp frost. it will be ekol started the day, temperatures below -5 in started the day, temperatures below —5 in the cold spots in wales. groth —— across the south—west we will have the best chance of breaks in the car. 0therwise most of the uk will be stuck under a sheet of cloud. at the cloud is with you in

the morning there is a good chance it will be with you all through the day. the prospects of sunny spells greatest towards southern wales, south—west england, devon, southern hampshire, maybe the isle of wight and across the eastern side of scotland. temperatures are still struggling somewhat, typically around 5— seven celsius with the mildest air around 5— seven celsius with the mildestair in around 5— seven celsius with the mildest air in western scotland, nine degrees in stornoway. there will be little in the way changes we have through friday evening and the night—time, it stays cloudy, again it will just have night—time, it stays cloudy, again it willjust have asked a frost free. into the weekend, we have the weather fronts around the northern side of our area of high pressure. because it is running into the high pressure it will be very weak. 0n saturday, again we are looking at extended cloud across the uk, but better prospects of seeing some sunshine across eastern scotland and towards east of the pennines that should break the cloud as well. the cloud will thicken for western scotla nd cloud will thicken for western scotland and we will see a little bit of light rain running in. there isa bit of light rain running in. there is a tendency on saturday for temperatures to be a degree also

higher, typically around six or seven celsius for much of the country. on sunday, the weak fronts will be pushing southwards across england and wales. again, a loss of cloud. not a great deal of rain. the odd spot. for scotland and northern ireland, sunday should be a much sunnier day. temperature wise we are looking at highs between seven and nine celsius. something milder towards the south—west. we could see afair bit towards the south—west. we could see a fair bit of low cloud over the hills, perhaps hill fog. is a quiet speu hills, perhaps hill fog. is a quiet spell of weather and it stays quite well into next week as well. ——it is. that is your weather. goodbye for now. this is bbc news. our top story: the veteran democrat politican nancy pelosi has become one of the most powerful politicians in the us. she's just been re—elected as speaker of the house of representatives, a role which will put her into direct confrontation with president trump.

there's no sign so far of any compromise which could resolve the current dispute over the federal budget and the border wall. china has made history by successfully landing a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the moon. the chinese space agency says it has opened a new chapter in space exploration. a big clean—up operation is underway in the netherlands, after nearly 300 shipping containers fell off a cargo ship in a storm. beaches have been littered with shoes, flat—screen televisions and children's toys. coast guards have warned people to stay away from the area. that's all. stay with bbc world news.