hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm ben bland. president trump says he is prepared for the partial shutdown of the us government, which is now entering its third week, to last years. he was speaking after meeting congressional leaders in the white house. mr trump has said he'll reject any new budget that doesn't provide funding for his proposed us—mexico border wall. but the democrats seem in no mood to provide the money. our north america correspondent aleem maqbool is at the white house. looking in, it might appear to be business as usual at the white house, but it is far from it. for two weeks, government has been shut down. the democrats won't agree to sign off on $5.6 billion for a wall along the border with mexico, and donald trump is refusing to back down on his demand that they do just that. the southern border is a dangerous, horrible disaster. we've done a greatjob, but you can't really do the kind ofjob we have to do unless you have a major,

powerful barrier, and that's what we're going to have to have. while there is no agreement, 800,000 government workers are not getting paid, and many government departments and services have been suspended. 0pposition leaders met donald trump today to try to resolve the crisis, but said they found a man who was uncompromising. so we told the president we needed the government open. he resisted. in fact, he said he'd keep the government closed for a very long period of time — months, or even years. but democrats themselves are not yielding. they have been emboldened after the swearing—in this week of new congressmen and women that now give them the majority in the house of representatives. among the freshman politicians who will be a thorn in the president's side was one of the first muslim congresswomen, rashida tlaib, always seen as someone representing a more combative, brash opposition. but few expected she would steal the headlines as she did, talking about the president at a washington reception.

because we're going to go in there, we're going to impeach the bleep. those comments provoked donald trump. using language like that, i thought that was a great dishonour to her and to her family. but what of that question of impeachment? well, you can't impeach somebody that's doing a greatjob. that's the way i view it. thank you very much. there is no question this week, though, that a resurgent democratic party has ushered in a new, more turbulent and divisive time here. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in washington. it's been another wild ride on us markets. after two days of declines, they had their best daily performance in more than eight years. investors were reassured by comments from the head of america's central

bank, jay powell. he's been heavily criticised by president trump for the bank's decision to raise interest rates. mr powell was asked if he'd met the president yet — amid reports that mr trump had considered firing him. meetings between president still happen. and i don't think that any fee chairs that didn't eventually meet with the president. but nothing has been scheduled and i don't really have anything to report on that. if the president asked you to resign would you do that? no. let's get some of the day's other news. britain's foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, says iran has acted shamefully by not giving medical care to the jailed british—iranian woman, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe. he said iranian officials had given him a clear assurance that mrs zaghari—ratcliffe would be treated for her complex health problems, but this hasn't happened. she was jailed in 2016 for five years for spying — an allegation she denies. police in germany have arrested

three german men in connection with a bomb attack on an office of the right wing populist alternative for germany party in its heartland in the east of the country. prosecutors said they suspected a political motive. the united nations has criticised the trial of the men accused of murdering saudi journalist, jamal khashoggi. the un says there needs to be an independent, international investigation into the killing. mr khashoggi, who was a prominent critic of the saudi government, was killed after entering the kingdom's consulate in istanbul, turkey, in october. huawei has punished two of its staff for using mobile phones made by its american rival apple.

the employees tweeted new year greetings from huawei's official account, which came with the message "via twitter for iphone". the chinese company has reportedly demoted the two workers and reduced their salaries. there are renewed tensions between britain and russia after a joint us—uk citizen was arrested in moscow, accused of spying. paul whelan's family say he was simply attending a wedding. the british foreign secretaryjeremy hunt has said moscow mustn't use british citizens as "pawns in diplomatic chess." sarah rainsford reports from moscow. paul whelan was with a wedding party staying at this top—end moscow hotel, but he never made it to the ceremony. he was arrested, charged as a spy. russia's security service implied he had been caught red—handed. as his family and friends insist he is innocent, the british government says it is extremely worried. individuals should not be used as pawns of diplomatic leverage. and, you know, we need to see what these charges are against him, understand whether there is a case or not. we are giving every support that we can. so what do we know about paul whelan?

he was a reserve in the us marines for 14 years, and served two tours in iraq. in 2008 he was discharged for bad conduct — theft, according to military records. but it was from iraq that he made his first trip to russia in 2006. paul whelan has had a page on this russian social media site now for over a decade, and he has got dozens of friends on here. and, because this is a spy case, the ones i've contacted have been too nervous to go on camera to speak openly about him. but they have been messaging, and they have described a man who they say is very interested in russia and its culture, not in its secrets. in fact, one man told me, if paul whelan is a spy, then i'm michaeljackson. there are men on here who do have military connections, but even those men have told me that mr whelan never asked them anything suspicious. his twin brother says paul whelan had been showing wedding guests around the kremlin on the day of his arrest. it's very hard for me to understand how anyone would consider paul to be someone who would be a lawbreaker, and take those sorts of risks,

particularly in countries where they're less, maybe, flexible about lawbreaking. he is now in solitary confinement in this former kgb prison. there is still no official word what exactly he is accused of. instead, there is speculation this could be part of a bigger political game, one that now involves britain as well as russia and america. so might vladimir putin himself be involved 7 last month, he condemned the detention of a russian woman, maria butina, in the united states. she is accused of trying to build back channels to republicans for her government ahead of the us elections. so might russia be banking on a prisoner swap? either way, this latest crisis threatens to cool russia's relations with the west even further. at its heart is a man facing a potential 20—year prison sentence for espionage. sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. detectives in surrey are urgently searching for a man who stabbed

and killed a passenger on a train in broad daylight. the attack was on yesterday afternoon, in front of the victim's teenage son. the stabbing happened near clandon station in surrey, during a ‘vicious fight‘ — as police described it — on a train from guildford to london waterloo. it's not thought the men knew each other. richard galpin reports. forensics teams searching the carriage this afternoon, in the wake of the murder on board the train heading from guildford to london. the victim — a 51—year—old man who died of multiple stab wounds, in what an eyewitness described as a vicious fight. his body was finally removed from the scene at horsley station this evening. the victim boarded the train at around 1:00pm at london road station in guildford, along with his 14—year—old son. traumatically, the victim's son would have been nearby when his father was fatally wounded. this would have been an horrific

and hugely traumatic event to have witnessed, and we're providing him with as much support as possible. the suspect is a black man in his 20s to 30s. he's approximately six feet tall, and of slim build, with a beard, believed to be dressed all in black, with white trainers. the train had left guildford at lunchtime, bound for waterloo station. the men boarded the train at the first stop, london road station, just after 1:00pm. a few minutes later, at clandon, the next stop on the line to waterloo, the murderer got off the train and fled. the train went on to horsley station, where ambulance crews found the victim dead. ever since then, the police have been searching for the man who carried out what seems to have been a frenzied attack, but so far to no avail, although they say there have been multiple sightings of a potential suspect. it's really shocking,

because around here, you don't hear things about that sort of situation happening. because it is a very quiet area. we are a close community around here, like, pretty much everyone knows everyone. no big news happens, so i think something that tragic is going to shock a lot of people. tonight, the people of this area know there is a murderer on the loose, following a highly unusual killing on a train in broad daylight. you are watching bbc news. it's the start of a new year, the weather is cold, and many of us are back at work after the break — invariably this is the time we start trying to plan a holiday in the sun. this though is a year with a big difference, with the uk due to leave the european union on march 29th. so, what impact is brexit likely

to have if you want to book a holiday abroad? 0ur consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith has been finding out. back home and back to work after christmas. this is the moment people's thoughts turn to the next getaway, but this year is going to be different. it is a worry that flights will become too expensive, you know? do try to come home and see family and stuff three or four times a year and if that gets too expensive it is a bit of a worry. i think people will be worried about whether they are going to need a visa but that doesn't stop them travelling to other parts of the world. i don't know about brexit in honesty. does anybody understand brexit? because i definitely don't. the government say passengers can book their trips with confidence and the european union have confirmed even if there is no deal we will not need a visa to travel to europe. one of the biggest brexit impacts on holidays, whether or not there is a deal reached, will be

on the price of them. the pound has bounced around loads over the last couple of months on brexit news and that makes it really hard to plan in advance, to plan ahead exactly how much value you're going to get for the pound when you get on holiday. 0ne impact could be on flights. they are likely to increase in price because most airlines buy fuel in dollars. my advice to customers would be to wait until they are ready to buy, just before they go away, and check the rate then. i cannot see it being any great increases in the rates like they used to be. so if you are going on holiday this summer it's about holding your nerve, then? yes, unless they have to go away immediately and you need your currency, then of course you need to purchase it. 0therwise if you are not going until the summer i would wait. the easter break is just a few weeks after the brexit deadline and if there is no deal you will need at least six months left on your passport to travel to europe. you may need an international

driving permit to hire a car. for now it is political details on the ground in westminster that will decide. theresa may has had a phone call described as "friendly" with the president of the european commission about her brexit plans. the prime minister is preparing to try and persuade members of parliament to back her withdrawal deal later this month. the democratic unionist party has repeated its opposition to her proposals. 0ur political correspondent chris mason gave us this update. we are going to get a resumption of a rather noisy conversation, and as things stand, that conversation is rather familiar. why — to answer your question, because very little seems to have changed. so northern ireland's democratic unionist party prop up the prime minister and government. before christmas, they didn't like the eu withdrawal agreement. guess what — they still don't

like it now, and neither do a shed—load of conservative mps. they still have real concerns about the so—called backstop, this insurance policy to ensure that the border between northern ireland and the republic stays open under any circumstances. so here is a sense of the timeline. mps will return here on monday. they will be discussing and debating the withdrawal agreement by the middle of the week, and we expect the vote to take place a week on tuesday. but, as things stand, it looks like the prime minister will lose. this is bbc news. the headlines: donald trump says he is willing to let a partial government shutdown last for months, or even years, unless he is given $5 billion to build a border wall. a murder investigation and manhunt is underway after a man was fatally stabbed in front of his teenage son on board a train in surrey. let's stay with that now. david graham is a staff writer at the american magazine the atlantic. i asked him about president's trump's claim that he can bypass congress by declaring a national emergency to build a border wall,

and if that is true, why he hasn't yet done that. it's unclear whether he can. we don't really know what he means, and he's sort of vague about it. but i think that's exactly the right question. you know, if this wall is so important, it's unclear why he's chosen this moment to go all out and to threaten to shut down the government for years, potentially. why now, and why not two years ago? and that statement today will be really unsettling for hundreds of thousands — in fact, at least 800,000 federal employees who've been unpaid since 22 december. this talk of it lasting years could do huge damage to them personally, in a financial sense, but also to the american economy. that's right. you're already hearing stories about people who are behind on rent, and behind on mortgages, and behind on loans, and the federal government is encouraging them to bargain

with their lenders. but that's obviously not a sustainable long—term solution. i think there's a tendency to seek federal employees as a class apart, or as not citizens, sort of look down on them. but, at some point, that will become unstable. in that case, how does this get resolved ? that is a great question, also. you know, we see today both sides digging in. nancy pelosi, the speaker of the house, was saying that a wall is an imorality. you played the clips of trump really digging in. so it's hard to know where the movement comes. trump said that the meetings today had been productive, that he had with the democrats. but it wasn't clear what it produced. he didn't really offer any details. they said it was combative. you know, it still seems most likely that trump will be forced to compromised either for a little bit of money, or no money. but i don't how we get to this point from here, given where both sides are. police say there is evidence that members of criminal gangs are deliberately getting jobs in prisons to bring in drugs. the warning comes after leeds prison introduced an x—ray body scanner to detect illegal substances.

but prisoners are finding new ways for them to be smuggled in, including having their own clothes soaked in drugs, so they can cut the material up and smoke it. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw reports. stand up onto the two black marks. that's it. spin round, face me. just place one hand onto there. using x—ray technology to make prisons safer. this is a demonstration of the first body scanner to be installed as part of a government programme to reduce drugs and violence in ten of the worst affected prisons in england. nearly finished. it is used on prisoners if there is intelligence they have hidden a package inside them. this is an image of an inmate found with concealed drugs on the first day the device was deployed. you can see the straight edges, which shouldn't be in the human body. the scanner operates in a similar way to a standard hospital x—ray machine, but the level of radiation is 400 times lower. that is a photograph of a normal—sized felt—tip pen. that is a zanco mobile phone alongside it,

which is about the size of your thumb. this phone was smuggled into the jail. prisoners use mobiles to order drugs. there is no limit to the techniques they come up with to get drugs in. they've been soaking clothes in drugs, and then either smoking bits of cut—up clothing, or then using the kettles, boiling the drugs out and impregnating them back into paper. the prison market for drugs is highly lucrative. 0ne inmate, locked up for armed robbery, told me what happens when prisoners get into debt, though he wasn't involved himself. lads get themselves into debt, and when they can't pay their debt, they'll get beaten up for it. you get yourself into drugs, and you're buying drugs all the time, you can't pay, and the other lads want to beat you up, to show that if you don't pay,

that is what's going to happen. leeds is one of ten prisons where the government has promised to reduce drug—related violence by this summer. assaults have been rising since 2014, and were projected to increase in eight of the jails last year, though the final figures have not yet been compiled. a lot more availability, a lot more access to them. at the st george's crypt centre, in leeds, i asked former prisoners if they thought the government plans would work. if they want to solve the problem, they need to work with the social issues, the problems that are making people want to use substances in the first place. the government minister responsible has pledged to resign if there hasn't been a reduction in drug use in prisons this summer. he is concerned that people are deliberately getting jobs in prisons to bring contra band in themselves.

it can happen, and the answer to that is searching, searching notjust in terms of finding a bad apple, but also that if you have very good search procedures in place, it's much more difficult for a prisoner to put pressure on a prison officer. at leeds, they have blocked off windows to stop drugs getting in. packages were dropped by drones or thrown over walls. the new scanner will help, too, but there is a long way to go. doctors in the uk say there is no firm evidence that spending time on smartphones, computer screens and tablets is harmful to children's health in itself. but, while the guidance avoids setting any screen time limits, it recommends not using them in the hour before bedtime. it also says it is important that the use of devices doesn't replace exercise or time with family. here is our medical correspondent fergus walsh. how much screen time, via smartphones, computers or tv, is ok for kids?

these children from beckenham in south london have strict limits set by their mum, including no screens before bedtime. i think that's really fine, ‘cause i play on it. i always play on it, really. i have a computer upstairs, and that's where i do a lot of my homework on. but, like, in my free time, when i'm not doing, like, homework and training, it's calm to just chill out on my phone. if i think back to when i was younger, i think the thing for us was tv. you know, we were on tv too much, we watched tv. what was it going to do to us? it didn't harm — i think it'sjust a new medium. i think tablets is a new medium, it's a new generation and this is how they spend their time. i don't think it's bad. i think anything — nothing is bad in moderation. today's guidance says, as long as children are active and healthy, then parents are best placed to decide what screen use is appropriate, and there's no need for set time limits. there's not good enough evidence for a particular threshold, and it's really difficult to pick a number here. the second is actually applying a threshold is very difficult.

what about homework? what about educational things? what about piano practice with your music on an ipad? it's very difficult to actually put these things in practice. and often what happens is itjust makes people feel bad about what are quite normal activities. many studies have shown an association between high screen use and obesity and depression. but the royal college says there is simply not enough evidence to show a direct causal link. it might be that children with those issues are more likely to use screens excessively. in its guidance, the royal college recommends families ask themselves four questions. is screen time in your household controlled? does it interfere with what your family wants to do? does it interfere with sleep? and are you able to control snacking during screen time? the child health experts say there is a need for better research, especially on the effects of social media. so this guidance could change in years to come. one thing they are sure of is that children should not use screens

in the hour before bedtime, because the light can slow the release of the sleep—inducing hormone melatonin. world war i brought many social changes. here is one you might not know about — the introduction ofjazz to europe. it was thanks to an african—american regiment of musicians, the harlem hellfighters, that the french were exposed to the music's signature sound. to mark the 100th anniversary of the war‘s end, a number of musical tributes are raising fresh awareness of the hellfighters and their leader, james reese europe. jane 0'brien has the story. when america entered world war i, the 369 black infantry regiment was sent to france. better known as the harlem hellfighters, they were also

musicians, and when they set foot on the continent, jazz came with them. when the french audience hears them for the first time, they are, like, what is this music? how does this sound like this? you know, can i see your instrument? you must be doing something tricky with it to make it sound as wave. -- this way. 100 yea rs sound as wave. -- this way. 100 years later, the sound of the hellfighters has been reproduced by young musicians from historically black colleges. this performance at the kennedy centre is part of effo rts the kennedy centre is part of efforts to rekindle awareness of their legacy, and in particular their legacy, and in particular their leader, james reese europe. europe was already a famous musician in new york. his complex melodies and driving rhythms had held established black music, as it was known then. jason moran has created

a tribute to europe with a new work based on some of his competition is. —— composition is. how do you fresh and that up, that sound? you know, the way that i like to think about this, we can play it fast for a while, and then we play it kind of messi, and so that's one way, is to show the mess in all of this. over the one—hour that we present this work, we present the history to james reese europe. —— messy. this is how we feel about you, this is how we want to honour your work, this is how it feels to us today. europe survived the war and returned

to america to rave reviews, but a few months later he was stabbed in the neck by his drummer, and died aged 39. forgotten for so long, he is now remembered as one of the great masters of jazz. let's have a look at the weather, with phil avery. hello, once again. just because a big area of high pressure is dominating the weather across many parts of the british isles, and it's dry for many, it doesn't mean to say that we're all in the same boat. as we see here, quite a transformation in the day, once the cloud peeled away to reveal those gloriously blue skies. but, if you kept the cloud right throughout the day, well, then it was pretty leaden fare, despite the fact, as i say, it was dry for the most part. and here we are, many of us, through the course of the weekend,

again, largely dry, often cloudy. and that's because there's quite a lot of moisture trapped in the lower levels of the atmosphere, under the influence of the high pressure there. the frontal system will eventually show its hand across the north—western quarter of the british isles. we'll talk more about that in just a second. so that cloud shield isn't complete, by any means at all, and if it breaks for any length of time into the first part of saturday, you will end up with a chilly start to your day, although there will be some sunshine to compensate. that could well be the case across parts of wales, down into the south—west. but i think, as the morning proceeds, so perhaps some of those gaps will fill in. again, much of england and wales will be cloudy, but dry. the best of the sunshine perhaps into the eastern side of the pennines, up into the eastern side of scotland. temperatures nothing to write home about for the time of year, pretty average, four to around seven, the exception the western isles of scotland. but here, late in the day, the cloud thickens all the while, so too into northern ireland, and you eventually end up with a wee bit of rain.

i don't think it's going to amount to very much at all. it's tied into that when the front, which, as we move from saturday into sunday, will just tumble its way through the area of high pressure, tending to lose what little potency it had. and you'll notice that one portion was away towards the continent, another eventually flicks back towards northern ireland, so maybe some brightness here for a time, but then the cloud comes back later in the day. enough about the cloud for there to be the odd spot of rain perhaps across the heart of england and wales. the best of the sunshine in the day further north across the greater part of mainland scotland. temperatures may be up a touch or two across particularly the south—western quarter, just picking up on more of a south—westerly flow. but as i take you from sunday to monday, the eyecatcher is a vigorous area of low pressure passing very close by to the northern portions of britain, before it dives through the north sea and off towards denmark. whilst that's around, and with so many isobars on the charts, it's no great surprise that when i show you the gust values on monday and tuesday for a number of locations across northern and north—eastern britain, well, 50, 60, possibly even 70 mph. not everybody will see that,

by any means at all. come a little bit further south and west, a quieter couple of days in prospect. this is bbc news. the headlines: donald trump says he's willing to let a partial government shutdown last for months or even years unless he's given $5 billion to build a border wall. the shutdown has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay. talks between the two sides aimed at resolving the standoff were described as ‘contentious' by democrats. mrtrump said they were ‘productive'. a murder investigation and manhunt is under way after a man was fatally stabbed in front of his teenage son onboard a train in surrey. police have described it as "a horrific and hugely traumatic event to witness." the uk has warned russia not to use people as diplomatic pawns, after moscow charged paul whelan, a former us marine with joint british and us citizenship with spying. britain's foreign secretary said the uk had offered consular