welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: political lines are drawn over the us government shutdown. democrats and president trump square off as he says he's prepared for it to last months. he said he would keep the government closed for a very long period of time, months or even years. we won't be opening until it is solved. we think this is a much bigger problem, the border is a much more dangerous problem, it is a much bigger problem, it is a problem of national security. us stocks soar after the head of america's central bank says he will adjust interest rates quickly and flexibly — that's despite past criticism from president trump. more tension in kerala, after a third woman defies traditonalists and enters a temple which has been at the centre of a legal battle, keeping women out of the shrine. pressure rises on russia after a joint uk—us citizen is charged with spying — britain says individuals cannot be used as diplomatic pawns. upbeat drums.

and a new congresswoman who dances to a different tune — an attempt to smear her for her college dancing days backfires. hello and welcome to bbc news. the partial government shutdown could last months — or even years. that's what the us president told democratic leaders as the two sides met to try to end the impasse. democrats are refusing to agree to the funding president trump needs to fulfull his promise of building a wall on the border with mexico. instead they've accused him of holding millions of americans hostage. donald trump says he's even considering using emergency powers to secure the money. aleem maqbool reports from washington. 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. cheering. 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. earlier i spoke to our washington correspondent david willis and asked him if president trump really could keep the shutdown going indefinitely. it is a sign i suppose of how far the two sides are apart at the moment on this, reged, and really these negotiations have descended into a rather messy display of muscle flexing on the part of both sides. president trump insisting that any budgetary measures that would bring this government shutdown, this partial government shutdown to an end, be conditional on a $5 billion grant to fund his pet project, a wall along the us— mexico border. the democrats, as we heard in that report, newly emboldened by taking control

of the house of representatives, are in no mood to go along with that, they have put forward plans that would reopen the government without providing funding for the border wall, something they regard as an anathema to american values and a waste of time. so today's meeting at the white house by all accounts, rather acrimonious, and all indications are that these two sides are as far apart as they have ever been on this. where does public opinion stand on who is to blame for this partial shutdown? are the democrats being blamed for not yielding, or is president trump in blamed? yielding, or is president trump being blamed? a recent opinion poll suggested that more people, more voters here blamed the president for this current impasse then they do the democrats. but having said that, amongst the president's core base there remains remarkable enthusiasm for a wall along the mexican border.

when he looked ready to compromise earlier in these negotiations that whole issue, he faced a backlash from commentators on the right, who accused him of caving in on his signature campaign issue. so clearly he is not going to do that again, he has dug in even deeper than he was before now, and it seems that it is non—negotiable, there has to be money for that wall. david willis in washington. it's been another wild ride on us stock markets. after two days of declines, they had their best daily performance in more than eight years. wall street was reassured by comments from jay powell — the head of america's central bank. 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 presidents and fed chairs do happen. and they've happened, i think... and i cant‘t think of any fed chairs who didn't eventually meet with the president.

but, again, 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 it? no. joining me now is our business reporter kim gittleson. he will not leave even if the president asks him to, why did he make those comments? this was part ofa make those comments? this was part of a larger conference with former federal reserve chairs, and as we have seen over the past few months, president trump has really lashed out at mr powell, he has been angry at the federal reserve's position to raise interest rates, he raised for a fourth time in december. mr trumps said this is the reason have seen all of this stock market turmoil. what was interesting aboutjerome powell there was that he reassured investors by saying he is not planning on leaving any time soon, it is unclear as president trump has the ability to fire him, and earlier in the interview he said inflation

was more muted than the central bank had been expect indian as a result they could be patient with a rate increases. many investors interpreted that to mean that even though the fed had indicated it might raise rates another two times in 2019, maybe that wouldn't be set in stone, given a lot of the global headwinds we have been seeing. as we have been saying, jerome powell says he is prepared to adjust interest rates or secretly, we did see some harsh criticism in the past from president trump on the us fed, is that any connection there? it is interesting, some people could say he is capitulating to president trump who said please don't raise interest rates, i think a lot of investors have said he is paying attention to the fundamentals, and the fundamentals have changed. we have seen a slowdown in chinese economy, that has affected american companies like apple, which said it would miss its revenue target in

china, and so he said the fed had some wiggle room when it comes to raising interest rates. we have seen some good job figures, and that has had an impact on the stock market and the stock market has been pretty volatile over the past few weeks. we saw these big gains on friday, the us economy added over 300,000 jobs in december, significantly more than many in december, significantly more than ma ny a nalysts were in december, significantly more than many analysts were expecting an even though the unemployment rate ticked up though the unemployment rate ticked up slightly that is seen as a good thing because it means that many more americans were entering the rate —— labour force, more americans were entering the rate —— labourforce, the blee because the economy is doing well, and american workers are also getting a raise, average hourly earnings increased by 3% in 2018, thatis earnings increased by 3% in 2018, that is its best performance in ten yea rs, that is its best performance in ten years, and these are the things you are like to see if you are a central banker, you want to see that is how the economy is doing. at one wiggle about thejob the economy is doing. at one wiggle about the job statistics, they are ona about the job statistics, they are on a delay. we know how manyjobs

are created in december, we are not in december any more. as a result for many investors it is difficult to tell whether that is something that will continue into 2019. let's get some of the day's other news. five teenagers have been killed in a fire while taking part in an escape game at a venue in northern poland. the girls, all 15 years old, had been celebrating a birthday. escape games involve players finding clues to make their way out of a locked room. the democratic republic of congo's ruling party has accused the roman catholic church of "preparing for insurrection." the party said a statement by bishops that they knew who'd won last sunday's presidential poll broke election law. the un security council has met to discuss the vote, with france calling for the result tallying process to be transparent. police in the uk say a man who was stabbed to death on a train in surrey was with his 14—year—old son at the time. a major manhunt is under way for the killer, who fled from the london—bound train further down the line. thousands of tourists in thailand

have complained about a lack of information from the authorities as the region is battered by the worst tropical storm in 30 years. they say they've received no official advice and are getting updates from the internet. the islands of koh samui and koh phangan were the worst affected. police in india say a third woman has defied traditionalists and entered a hindu temple in the southern state of kerala, after two others set foot inside on wednesday. the sabarimala shrine has become the focus of a prolonged showdown, after india's supreme court overturned a ban in september on women of menstruating age entering the temple. the issue has triggered violent clashes in the state. yogita limaye reports from mumbai. earlier this week, these women made history. escorted by policemen in plain—clothes, they were the first to enter the sabarimala temple since the supreme court allowed in september last year.

now they've been kept in a safe house by the government because their lives are under threat. bindu ammini explains why she entered the temple. the things that happened in sabarimala are a violation of equality, and i like to establish order and implement judgement given by the supreme court. the implementation of this judgement also helps to implement gender justice in our society. their entry prompted fierce protests around the state of kerala. violent clashes broke out, and one person was killed. demonstrations were also held in the national capital, delhi. a black day, yesterday. we never expected the government could do like this. the temple is devoted to a hindu god believed to be celibate. and so for decades, women

between the ages of 10—50, considered impure because they menstruate, were not allowed inside. the issue has become politically contentious in the run—up to a national election later this year. the ruling bjp party, as well as the opposition congress, have both opposed the entry of women in the temple. kerala's local government has supported the court's verdict. on tuesday, they organised this human chain for gender equality, hundreds of kilometres long. translation: it's the state government's responsibility to give protection to women. and the government has fulfilled this constitutional responsibility. on thursday, a third woman entered the shrine, and it's believed that more planning to do so. 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. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: jazz music plays. remembering the men who introduced jazz to europe — the musicians who brought a whole new sound across the atlantic. the japanese people are in mourning following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. "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 some black activist groups. they say international artists should continue to boycott south africa until majority rule is established. teams were trying to scoop up lumps of oil as france recognises it faces an ecological crisis. three weeks ago, the authorities confidently assured these areas that oilfrom the broken tanker, erika, would head out to sea. it didn't. the world's tallest skyscraper opens today. the burj dubai has easily overtaken its nearest rivals. this is bbc news, the latest 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.

us stock markets have climbed after better than expected jobs figures and assurances from the us central bank chairman. 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 britsh foreign secretaryjeremy hunt 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 1h 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 ? 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. personal data and documents from hundreds of german politicians and public figures, including the chancellor angela merkel, have been published online. hackers posted data including credit card details and mobile phone numbers from a twitter account. politicians from all major parties have been affected apart from the right—wing alternative for germany. a government spokeswoman said that no sensitive material from angela merkel‘s office had been released. a bid to smear the youngest woman elected to the us congress has backfired. a video of alexandria 0ccasio—cortez dancing while she was a student at boston university was shared just a day before the 29—year—old was officially sworn in to congress. but, instead of discrediting her, many people instead have celebrated her dance moves.

laura westbrook reports. upbeat drums. this is a video of a girl dancing, but it's just who is dancing that's got people talking. alexandria 0casio—cortez is the youngest woman ever elected to the us congress. this footage, from 2010, is from when she and other students at boston university tried to recreate a scene from the movie, the breakfast club. it was posted on twitter to try to discredit the congresswoman the day before she was sworn into office. but the tactic backfired. many instead took to social media to praise her. molly ringwald, the actor from the breakfast club, tweeted, "you're in the club," while others responded asking for dancing lessons. even russell crowe tweeted his admiration for the congresswoman. 0casio—cortez. ms 0casio—cortez is part of a new wave of faces in the most

diverse congress in history, but the 29—year—old in particular has been the subject of intense scrutiny online, with critics calling her out for what she wears, to trying to discredit her financial struggles. what this highlights is just how divided the political landscape in america is. the congresswoman responded to the controversy with another video. # yeah, what is it good for? as congress enters a new era, this new law maker isn't afraid for her critics to know that she dances to a different tune. laura westbrook, bbc news. it's the extraordinary news that we'd all like to receive, a couple from northern ireland say they are overwhelmed at winning £115 million in the euromillions lottery.

frances and patrick connolly say they want the money to have a major impact not only on their own lives, but those of other people they know and love as well. the sum is the fourth biggest euromillions win in the uk, and the biggest in northern ireland. lucky couple. world war one brought about significant social change, not least the introduction ofjazz to europe. thanks to a black american regiment of musicians called the harlem hellfighters, the french discovered the joys of syncopation. more than a century on, american musician jason moran is 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 369th 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're, 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 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 center is part of efforts to rekindle awareness of 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 help establish black music, as it was known then.

jason moran has created a tribute to europe with a new work based on some of his compositions. how do you freshen 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 messy. 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. 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 ofjazz. there were some great tunes there. and, finally, a record $3.1 million dollars has been paid for a tuna at the first new year auction in the main fish market in tokyo. the fish, which weighs nearly 280 kilos, was bought by the owner of a chain of sushi restaurants. the price more than doubles the previous record set six years ago. what an incredibly large fish. much more coming up. 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. a 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 to 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 in with that weather 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 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. the shutdown has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay. us stock markets have climbed after better than expected jobs figures, and assurances from the us central bank chairman, jerome powell. he said he was prepared to adjust interest rate policy quickly and flexibly if needed. the dow jones closed on friday up by more than 3%. police in india say a third woman has defied traditionalists and entered a hindu temple in the southern state of kerala, after two others set foot inside on wednesday. the shrine has become the focus of a prolonged showdown after india's supreme court overturned a ban on women entering the temple. in a quarter of an hour, newswatch. but first, it is time to click.