this is bbc news, i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: another attempt in washington to break the deadlock over the partial government shutdown ends with no sign of a breakthrough. mourners lay candles for the five teenage girls killed in a fire in poland, as safety checks at escape room venues across the country are ordered. days of violent attacks by criminal gangs in the brazilian city of fortaleza continue despite the deployment of security forces. an historic split from russia. ukraine's new orthodox church is granted independence after more than three centuries of rule from moscow. ice—tastic celebrations in china, as carvers from around the world unveil their masterpieces. hello and welcome to bbc news.

not much headway — that is president trump's verdict on yet another day of talks aimed at breaking the deadlock over his proposed border wall. the partial government shutdown caused by the financial row is now entering its third week. that is a third week without pay for around 800,000 federal workers. president trump is refusing to sign any legislation that would enable government work to resume. so what are some of those government workers saying? millionaires don't care about the regular people, you know? they're not really sympathetic to what's going on. were just really fed up right now. we are just so fed up. we need to be funded, because we need our paycheques, and we need to service the american people. a short time ago i spoke with our correspondent david willis, in washington, about where things stand after that meeting. despite the fact that some of the

participants are saying there were signs of progress, the two sides, the white house officials and the congressional staff members, failed to reach agreement on the central issue, a wall along the us border with mexico. president trump has said that a wall is vital to america's national security interests. the democrats, who now of course have the majority in the house of representatives, disagree. they are refusing to provide the funding for the project, and in response to that, president trump has said he won't sign into law any legislation that would bring an end to the current shutdown unless that legislation contains billions of dollars for his pet project, the wall. so we have a stand—off, the two sides to meet later tomorrow afternoon. but this was clearly a

signature issue of donald trump's run for office, and it is not one that he is going to depart from easily, i don't think. and that means that we have the potential for a stand—off that could go on for some while, leaving museums closed and national parks with rubbish piling up, and of course, 800,000 government workers without pay. so do we have any idea of what the potential parts forward could be, any potential areas of compromise because as you say, they have staked out such opposing positions. that's right, and president trump has even threatened to call this a national emergency and use funds that are earmarked for the pentagon, the department of defence, to build the wall. but that would be an extreme piece of action on his part. such a move is normally reserved for times of war. but he did say himself,

yesterday, that this is something that could go on for months and possibly years. i think, though, that we will see really tangible signs of suffering want another paycheque is missed, and then there will be stories in the media which will be stories in the media which will put a lot of pressure on both sides, republicans and democrats, the end this situation. well, that's just what i was wondering, david. how is this impacting on ordinary americans? how widespread is this government shut in terms of the services that are offered to citizens? well, it is interesting, because this started, of course, just before the christmas holiday —— shut down. a lot of people were away, were watching television news, and so on. many are playing catch up with this. and of course, as time goes on and a crucial paycheque which is due next week, 11 goes on and a crucial paycheque which is due next week, iijanuary, is missed, assuming the situation is not resolved by then, then if you

like, the suffering is piled on and the pressure increases. but there is the pressure increases. but there is the potential for considerable pressure, a lot of government workers affected by this are saying that they may have to take alternative cash paying jobs simply in order to pay their bills. an appalling tragedy — that is how poland's president has described the death of five teenagers killed in a fire at an escape room, a venue that involves players solving puzzles in order to get out of rooms or situations. the victims, all 15—year—old girls, were celebrating a birthday. it happened in the northern town of koszalin, but safety checks have been ordered on escape rooms across the country. adam easton sent this report from warsaw. the five schoolgirls had gone for an evening of fun to celebrate a birthday. locked inside the small, seven—metre—square room , the teenagers were trying to solve puzzles to let themselves out. leaking gas cylinders started a fire

in an adjacent room. translation: there were four heaters located in the waiting room, which is where the fire started. the fire prevented the employee who was supervising the game's participants from unlocking the door to the escape room. as the fire and toxic smoke quickly spread, the girls had no way to escape. firefighters had to use specialised equipment to break in, but it was already too late. koszalin is in shock. translation: this is a huge tragedy, it's traumatic for their parents, for those closest to the girls, and also for their teachers. i met with them today and i saw how they are reacting. translation: these are people from koszalin. they are our neighbours. it's a terrible tragedy. we've come here today to symbolically unite with all those affected by this awful tragedy, and show that we are there to support them.

all cultural events in the town have been cancelled, and the mayor has announced a day of mourning. escape rooms have become popular in poland over the last four years. it is estimated there are now around 1,000 venues across the country. the authorities have ordered that all those sites be checked to ensure they meet the required safety sta nda rds. adam easton, bbc news, warsaw. ken ferguson is an escape room enthusiast who runs one of the industry's leading websites and online forums in the uk. so i think the first thing to say is that most of the time the rooms aren't locked at all. in many rooms, you're free to come and go during the game. and even the ones which are locked, they are locked with a magnetic lock, so it's very much like if you were going to a normal company building, where there's a code on the outside, and you go inside, you have to press a button to get out.

so it's very much like that. you press a button on the inside to get out, or press a button within, or if the fire alarm was to go off, the door would open automatically. you're inside a room, solving puzzles, and the idea behind the puzzles is to get out. sometimes you leave the room, in other cases it's a mission you are on to retrieve a particular object in the room, orfind out information. in terms of being able to get out of the rooms and fire escapes, are those governed by local fire regulations? i suppose what i'm asking is might it be different in the uk to poland, to another country? absolutely, so each country will have their own fire regulations. those in the uk are particularly strict. and it's a subject which is often discussed among escape room owners in the uk. they'll be talking about the different steps and things they have to do to meet those fire regulations. pick up any issues during, for example, planning applications or from fire inspection visits.

have you ever been to one of these escape rooms and yourself felt uncomfortable, when you've been in them? yes, i've played several hundred escape rooms across the uk and into europe, and i have felt unsafe in some of them. the ones that i felt unsafe with have been in eastern europe. there are plenty of safe rooms in eastern europe, and some of them do fall below what i would say is a safe level, where you are locked, physically locked inside a game, feeling like there's no way you can escape unless somebody comes to help you. inside the uk, there's only one i've ever felt unsafe within, and that no longer is open. do you think this might be a moment for looking at regulations, and how they are implemented in different countries? i'm really not sure. obviously we have general regulations on safety across all industries in the uk, and there are risk assessments that employees and companies have to undertake in order to open their businesses. and that's generally the framework,

i understand, that most companies work within. they follow those risk assessments to say, what are the risks specific to your business, and how can you mitigate those? finally, this is far away from where you are in the uk, but i imagine there must be some sadness in the gaming community. yeah, i mean, speaking personally, it's a terribly tragic event, with five teenagers' families out in poland, and a man who's been injured during the incident, and that's been echoed within all these escape room forums i'm a member of across the uk and the whole of the world. the first thing in everybody‘s mind is the sadness in this tragedy. let's get some of the day's other news: two british special forces soldiers have been seriously injured in an attack in syria by so—called islamic state. it is understood the two soldiers were wounded by a missile which exploded near the syrian town of deir al—zour, in the east of the country, and were taken to a hospital by american forces.

police in california say three people have been shot dead at a bowling alley near los angeles. police say they are working to identify those involved in the shooting, in which four other people were injured. local media said the shooting followed a fight at gable house bowl in the coastal town of torrance. germany's cyber security authority has defended its handling of a mass data attack on hundreds of politicians, including chancellor angela merkel, after criticism it did not tell the police about the breach for weeks. the agency says it was not aware of the full extent of the systematic leak of information until thursday night. a crime wave against banks and shops in the brazilian resort city of fortaleza has continued for a third day, as hundreds of troops arrive to restore order. president jair bolsonaro deployed 300 soldiers to the area, that has been rocked by violent attacks by criminal gangs. it is being seen as the first test facing the new president, who took up office on tuesday.

earlier i spoke with the bbc world service americas editor leonardo rocha about what is behind the surge in violence. the authorities have been saying it is that they introduced tougher measures on the local prisons in fortaleza , measures on the local prisons in fortaleza, and the prisons in fortaleza , fortaleza, and the prisons in fortaleza, like in most of brazil, are controlled by some of the big criminal gangs. so what happened is two, three of the main criminal gangs that operate nationally, they decided to get together against the government, because of this loss of privileges. we are talking about access to mobile phones, drugs in jail, and all the sort of thing. so they ordered their mates outside jail to carry out attacks. this on buses, minibuses set on fire, banks,

also shops, and things like that. it is nothing new in the sense that it has happened before. in other brazilian cities. what is new now is that we have a law and order president that was elected on that ticket, and that everyone is waiting to see what will be... what he will do, if he will be able to control that. so we have heard about this tough response, the sending of troops to the area. we getting any idea of what impact that is happening? locally, this already has an initial impact, because the challenge that the gangs wanted was just to send out a message. and of course, when you have 300 troops there, and the leaders of these gangs are injail, they know there, and the leaders of these gangs are in jail, they know that they will have two stop at some time. there were more attacks on saturday. there were attacks on buses, but in a reduced number. and one of the local population, their main achievements, the fact that public transport started to work again. but on each bus you have to

have three heavily armed troops, which is something that cannot be sustained. as you say, mr bolsonaro is the law and order president, so here is an opportunity for him to put his message out. that's right, because he was inaugurated on one january. he didn't have a first... a very good first week, because he announced measures in brazil that then he had to dismiss. he announced changes to the pensions and domestic measures, and on the economy, but then he said he wasn't very clear. so that is a big chance for him, and thatis so that is a big chance for him, and that is what people are expecting for him to do. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the winter wonderland that is harbin, in china, the world's largest ice festival. 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. welcome back.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: talks in washington to break the deadlock over the partial government shutdown end with no sign of a breakthrough. poland orders fire safety checks at escape room venues across the country. after the death of five teenage girls at a birthday celebration. ukraine's new orthodox church has been granted independence, ending moscow's authority after more than three centuries. the move has provoked a furious response from russia. from kiev, jonah fisher reports. was this the moment that split the global orthodox church? in st george's cathedral in istanbul, the ecumenical patriarch bartholomew signs what is known as a tomos. the document recognises ukraine's orthodox church, for the first time, as separate and outside russian control. a relationship that has lasted centuries ended with the stroke

of a pen. watching on, and enjoying a rare moment of success, was ukraine's president, petro poroshenko. he's called this the final step in ukraine's independence from russia. translation: glory to god. without his will, this would not have been possible. i say thank you to metropolitan bartholomew — to his faith. the big questions are about what happens next. the russian orthodox church, facing the loss of millions of followers, has already condemned the decision and severed ties with the ecumenical patriarch. will other countries now refuse to recognise the new ukrainian church? there will be celebrations over the next few days, here in ukraine, to mark this historic moment. what remains unresolved, though, is the fate of the thousands of parishes and religious sites that

are still under the control of the russian orthodox church. this could turn out to be a very messy divorce. jonah fisher, bbc news, in here. mountaineering experts say the risks of winter climbing should not be under—estimated following the deaths of two young climbers on ben nevis — britain's highest peak — in recent weeks. a student from germany died on new year's day while another young climber — from britain — died in december. here's our scotland correspondent james shaw. ben nevis, the highest mountain in the british isles and, for that reason, extremely popular with walkers and climbers. but the paths across its north face can be dangerous. this is what's known as the ledge route. on new year's day, a student from bristol university fell 500 feet down the mountain from this path and was killed. her three companions were rescued by a coastguard helicopter. the actual helicopter managed to winch them off the crag

from where they were and i was below the crag, which was carn dearg buttress, where, unfortunately, she'd fallen. it was the second death in recent weeks. patrick boothroyd, who was 21, died in december. tens of thousands of people climb ben nevis every year. most use this path to the summit, which is relatively straightforward, but some, including the two students who died recently, attempt the rock faces and gullies on the northside, which, even in the best weather, are never free of risk. many new climbers use professional guides. this group is returning from the mountain after a training day. it's horrible to hear of accidents and fatalities in the mountains, especially because it's such a life—affirming thing to do. despite all of our best efforts, we can't control everything. it is a risky environment and sometimes things go wrong fairly randomly. experienced climbers know and accept the dangers of scaling

britain's highest peak. those with less experience may not be so aware that this place can be beautiful and deadly. james shaw, bbc news, ben nevis. thousands of anti—government demonstrators have marched through hungary's capital budapest to protest against the policies of the far right government of viktor orban. the demonstrations began in december against a law that extends overtime, but have since broadened. nick thorpe is in budapest. thousands of people marched through the centre of budapest in bitterly cold january afternoon to gather here in front of the hungarian kuvasz and. the main achievement of these protests so far has been the unprecedented degree of unity they've achieved from the left to the right of the hungarian

political spectrum. but as the novelty of the demonstrations wes off, the problems facing organisers is how to maintain this momentum. the trade unions have been canvassing their members and there's talk today of a general strike, a one—day general strike, in two weeks' time. from the government side, these protests have been downplayed and the government media has been denigrating those taking part. there's also been a carrot from the government side, an offer of an 8% wage increase this year, followed by another 8% next year. set against the government then, the protest organisers are hoping that this overtime law, this ‘slave law', will act as a catalyst for all the grievances people across hungary feel towards the government. nick thorpe, bbc news, budapest. as robert miller investigates the alleged russian pollution in the 2016 presidential election has had

its term extend about the six—month —— robert mueller. the term was due to expire this weekend amid speculation a probe might end soon. president trump is called the investigation a witch—hunt. ice and snow carvers from around the world have unveiled their masterpieces in the chinese city of harbin, known for its brisk winters. the winter festival in the northeast of the country is a huge tourist attraction — more than a million people visited last year. olivia crellin reports. christmas may be over but the celebrations are onlyjust starting in harbin. the city is known for its freezing temperatures, which can drop as low as —35 celsius, —31 fahrenheit. but apart from the inhospitable conditions keeping people away, the city attracts millions of tourists from around the world every year.

translation: the ice castles and sculptures made by workers are very impressive and with music in harbin snow world, it is like disneyland, disneyland in winter. lake scenes from the music —— movie frozen, it ca ptu res from the music —— movie frozen, it captures the imagination and melts hearts, too. translation: i am very happy today asi translation: i am very happy today as i saw the castle here. the towering sculptures that make up the ice city are carved by thousands of artists and workers as part of a festival, now in a steady 50 year. the sculptures are made from big chunks of ice, dragged out of the nearby river. but the theme park, which spans over 600,000 square metres, the equivalent of 2500 tennis courts, isjust metres, the equivalent of 2500 tennis courts, is just the tip of the iceberg. this year's festivities include a symbolic 2019 snowman, sledge rides on me frozen surface of

the river, mass weddings in an ice chapel, and the annual winter swimming, edition. brace yourself for this. translation: when you are doing ice swimming, it is better to get their step by step. you have to start swimming from the autumn so that the body can cope with the sudden ice impact on the cardiovascular system. the feeling of diving into the water is very cold. you can say... there's not a sport for those who easily get cold feet. you need nerves and muscles of steel to plunge into the freezing water, and even the most enthusiastic need months of preparation to help the body acclimatise. still, more than 300 swimmers take part in this northern chinese tradition, particularly popular among older residents who claim winterswimming

popular among older residents who claim winter swimming has health benefits. the festival lasts a month, or until the ice city melts. until then it will continue to take everyone's breath away. olivia crellin, bbc news. it puts british weather in perspective. a reminder of our top story. us congressional leaders and white house officials have met in a further attempt to end the budget row which has paralysed parts of the government for the last two weeks. president trump has tweeted that the democrats could stop the shutdown by approving what he called real border security. they are due to meet again on sunday. we will be following that story in the coming hours. but for now that is it. plenty more on the website. thank you very much your company. see you again soon.

hello there. sunshine was in short supply on saturday and it will be again on sunday. we still have high pressure in charge of our weather but it is essentially filled in with cloud. coming into the high pressure a weakening weather front, it has been bringing a bit of rain and drizzle, but that is petering out. but the weather front gets as far south as northern england and then moves so that began. the north—western england, southern scotland, northern ireland, it could be dampened disley. a lot of plough to be stuck about. if you want the sunshine you need to be across the northern half of scotland, where temperatures are back down to seven degrees. elsewhere it should be a milder sort of day, despite all that cloud. that high pressure is going to start to get squeezed on monday, asa to start to get squeezed on monday, as a deep low pressure rushes towards our shores, really picking up towards our shores, really picking up the winds and packing a punch in northern scotland later on in the day, with severe gales developing. and we have got a bit of rain around two. mainly for scotland and

northern ireland as the band of braehmer southwards again it tends to peter out. we get some sunny spells following for northern ireland, later northern england and southern scotland. it is the strength of the wind that is the main story of the weather. stronger with all of us. much windier as you head further north. for the scotland scene gusts of 70 mph or more. at least it should be a milder day on monday. temperatures widely in double figures. it stays very windy overnight, mind you. the area of low pressure swee ps overnight, mind you. the area of low pressure sweeps away into scandinavia and then the wind direction changes. we draw down our airfrom the north or direction changes. we draw down our air from the north or north—west, that means it will get colder. it does mean there is more sunshine on the way on tuesday, although the sunshine tend a bit hazy in the north—west later on. there will be a few showers running into north—west scotland, down the north sea coasts as well. a lot of places will have a dry day. the winds for a while touching gale force down those eastern coasts, lighter winds further west. temperatures will be a bit lower on tuesday. we are back

down into single figures. it will feel a bit chilly up but at least there is more sunshine around. we could start to lose some of that sunshine for the middle part of the week. high pressure still never too far away, toppling around it that weather front is going to increase the cloud. but ahead of that we have a slice of their escutcheon scotland down towards wales, midlands, central and southern england where we are likely to find a touch of frost. the best of the sunshine on wednesday. still some cloud for eastern parts of england. the winds easing. out to the was, cloud amount increasing, turning letter later on in the day for northern ireland and western parts of scotland. ahead of that cloud to riches are struggling to five or six celsius. —— temperatures. this is bbc news — the headlines: us congressional leaders and white house officials have met in a further attempt to end the budget row which has paralysed parts of the government for the last two weeks.

president trump has tweeted that the democrats could stop the shutdown by approving what he called real border security. poland has ordered checks at escape room venues across the country after five teenagers were killed in a fire at one site. the polish president described the fire in the venue in the northern town of koszalin as an appalling tragedy. the victims, all 15—year—old girls, had been celebrating a birthday. attacks organised by criminal gangs in the brazilian city of fortaleza have continued for a fourth day despite the deployment of hundreds of members of the security forces. buses, banks, and petrol stations have been targeted. it's the first major test for brazil's new president who took office on tuesday. now on bbc news, who's looking after mum and dad? in this special programme, riaz khan explains why looking