hello there. high tides combined with brisk winds to give a little bit of coastal flooding across some parts of eastern england on tuesday. still quite windy and eastern areas on wednesday. those wins feeding some showers and across eastern counties of england, generally speaking to the day ahead, breezy. there will be some good spells of sunshine, kabul thickening to northern ireland in scotland late in the day, bringing some outbreaks of patchy rain. temperatures struggling for most of us, five to seven degrees but feel colder than that given the strength of the wind but a little bit colder across the far south of the north—west. we bring that cold air a little bit south and eastwards, the odd spot of drizzle with it. across wales, the midlands, the south—west, here we could see a touch of frost in many places. thursday above freezing, and as we head towards the end of the week, we are still looking at a lot of dry weather. it turns milderfor all of

us, some rain late on friday in the north. now, like the singapore for asia business report. —— alive too. now on bbc news, live to singapore for asia business report. trade war breakthrough — the us and china extends talks aimed at ending the conflict between the world's biggest economies. plank tech— we find out how not everything in the show is sleek and shiny. good morning, asia. hello, world. it is wednesday. i'm glad you canjoin us for this exciting edition of asia business report. i'm rico hizon. we start off with us — china trade and officials extended talks to a third day to try to end the trade war between the biggest economies. at the same time, president

donald trump tweeted, "talks with china are going very well". alex capri is senior fellow at the national union of singapore in the us, and told me why there are hopes of a positive outcome for these negotiations —— national university. people are cautiously optimistic about these talks. this time feels a little bit different from previous times in that it was perceived that the chinese word may be disingenuous when it came to the concessions that they were going to give. now that the chinese economy is slowing down, there is a real threat of the technology transfer from the us being cut off. so there is real optimism that there might be some progress. so are you saying that the americans have the advantage in these negotiations? well, again, the chinese economy has been decelerating in part because of the trade war, also because of the chinese government clamping down on debt, but there is a realisation, especially in the wake of the zte debacle, and also the huawei issues, where the us is trying to block huawei, there is awareness in china that there is still a huge dependence on western technology and american technology. so if the trade war moves into a more broad complex, if that technology is cut off,

then there is some trouble for chinese companies and even american companies. these negotiations, can the us really lay out a clear list of expectations and stick to it, will it be subject to donald trump's impulsive vacillations? that's a very important question, and the us will have to lay out clear expectations. they will have to have some kind of a gradual way to make steps and progressive steps. if that is not clear, if we do have us policy change day today, then we won't have any kind

of substantial deal. alex capri, joining the earlier from seattle, washington. japan is on a global trade charm offensive with prime minister abe in europe this week, while the economics minister meets representatives for the us and europe in washington today. joining us now is business reporter mariko oi. what is likely to happen in the talks? as you can imagine, talks will be overshadowed by what's going on in beijing and what president trump calls china's unfair trade practices. remember, his administration has slapped tariffs worth $250 billion on chinese goods. in retaliation, beijing countered that with duties on $110 billion of us goods. it is notjust a big trade deficit mr trump keeps complaining about. beijing has been accused of stealing or pressuring companies to hand over technology. injune the eu put forward a challenge against the world trade organisation in china saying that

beijing prevent foreign companies from protecting and profiting from their own technology. the tension has cast doubt on the wto's ability to handle disputes and the global trade body can't even appointjudges who are responsible for settling these disputes because the us has blocked it. trade officials from the eu, canada and japan among others will meet later this month to review vital wto reforms, so lots to talk about later this evening in washington. indeed, thank you so much for the update, my colleague, mariko oi. in other news making headlines, in the next half—an—hour donald trump is set to argue that an immigration crisis

requires the long promised wall on the mexican border. the us president will make the case for $5 billion to build the wall rising income, booming population and growth in international travel have attracted global budget airlines to india. last month, two low—cost carriers started operating in the country, one is a joint—venture between singapore airlines scoot, and my colleague went to meet with the company's ceo to talk about the plans for nokscoot. clearly the metro is where the big travel will be. there is growing demand from the cities, there are 18 cities, and we think that

many will become viable. so do you have money to invest in a competitive market like india? your parent company norkair posted a loss in the third quarter this year. there is no doubt that the travel market has gone through a really difficult year. fuel prices have risen very sharply. there are challenges in big markets like china, where the general condition has also gotten more challenging, has affected traffic to thailand as well. in this business, we have to look at it from the long—term perspective. growth prospects in the long—term remains very bright. ajapanese start—up has created what might be the most unusual looking smart device yet.

it appears to be a standard piece of wood. when it is touched, it lights up and provides use of the google system. our technology correspondent had problems testing the prototype at the ces tech show in las vegas. this doesn't look like the most high—tech device at ces, a beautiful plank of wood. it is in fact an interactive plank. let's touch it and get going. it is connected to smart devices around the home, it is a control interface. so we want to know what the weather is, press on here. it gives us that. let's go home again.

we can even talk to the interactive plank. that's not working very well. let's see what it tells us. oh, yes, we have a weatherforecast. it is talking to the cloud, the plank is talking to the cloud. quite an attractive interface to connect the smart devices in your home, but will it really find a market? so, it is a beautiful thing, but why would someone want that

in their home? so, human is designed to interact with nature, so we put natural material between you and the information, so you can get natural feeling rather than touching or talking with plastic or glass like traditional gadgets. now it's going to cost $699 in the united states, that's quite a high price for just an interface. yes, it is relatively higher because of our small sourcing, but we use very rich materials, like word, but wood, but it will get cheaper with the volume. our technology correspondent reporting from ces tech show. on the markets, the major indices are moving from strength to strength, the nikkei is up 1%, the all ordinaries is gaining 0.8% and the hang seng index opened for trade and it is gaining 1.4%

over optimism over a potential us— china trade deal with negotiations now into the third day. thank you so much, i'm rico hizon. goodbye for now. this is bbc news. our top story this hour: donald trump has appealed directly to the american people, urging them to support his controversial southern border wall. afterwards, the democrats gave their response. they called on the president to immediately reopen the government. flights from london's heathrow airport were stopped for an hour on monday

evening due to a drone. here's our transport correspondent, tom burridge. europe's busiest airport is tonight almost back to normal after a drone sighting temporarily closed the northern runway. this flight radar website shows how atjust after 5pm this evening, all departures from the airport were suspended. some passengers were left waiting on the runway. so, we all boarded the flight and then we were told that we wouldn't be departing until the police said it was safe. they had a police helicopter circling above and the emergency services came onto the runway to see if they could find the drone. and the door kept opening to the aeroplane, we didn't know if we were getting off or staying on. after about an hour we were told that we were good to go, so we took off. departures were suspended for less than an hour and flights continued to take off from the southern runway. unverified videos are circling on social media. we do not know if the flashing object is a drone, but a bbc cameraman who was at heathrow and works with drones is certain

he saw it. i noticed way up in the sky, about 300 feet up, these lights, green and red, flashing, obviously attached to a craft that was offering still in the sky there. the traffic had slowed by that point, so it was quite safe to watch this thing, and i watched it for about a minute or so, and it was staying there up in the sky, not moving left or right. heathrow said it suspended all take—offs as a precautionary measure and the police are investigating. on twitter, the transport secretary said the military was preparing to deploy the equipment used at gatwick at heathrow, should it prove necessary. it was just before christmas when tens of thousands of passengers were stranded at

gatwick and elsewhere. all flights at the airport were suspended across two days. sussex police are still investigating and no credible arrests have been made. yesterday, the department for transport said it would increase the exclusion zone for drones around uk airports, and give the police new powers to investigate offences, part of a raft of measures. but many in aviation have been calling for action to counter the threat of drones for a long time. after the disruption at gatwick, i was told that heathrow was already trialling some of the latest anti—drone technology, like devices which try to jam the signal drones need to operate, so the suspension of some flights here today again raises questions about how vulnerable britain's airports are. hello, i'm tulsen tollett and this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: var controversy as harry kane's first half penalty proves the difference for tottenham against chelsea, in the first leg of their english league cup semi—final. a late iraq stunner wins their opening match

at the asian cup, as they twice come from behind to beat vietnam. and while others almost disappear into the sand dunes during the second stage of the dakar rally, it's nine time world rally champion sebastian loeb who wins out on tuesday. hello there and welcome to the programme. all that and more to come, but we start with football and the news that tottenham will have the advantage heading into the second leg of their english league cup semi—final in a fortnight‘s time. they beat chelsea 1—0 in the opening leg at wembley stadium thanks to a controversial var ruling, and our sports correspondent katie gornall was watching. both the spurs and chelsea managers are teasing the first silverware of their career, and they have two strong starting lineups. harry kane scored the only goalfrom the sport. initially, it wasn't

straightforward, though. the claim for a penalty was waved away for offside, before the var corrected the decision. 1—0 down was when chelsea sparked into life. they deflected across and forced a great save. and tottenham, despite pressure, held firm. the day was massive. how we ran, and competed. i am pleased and proud to have this squad. they are going to win titles. i always am happy to feel proud of the players we have. 18 shots against seven, i think. five opportunities against two. 50 we deserve more. but i am very disappointed with the result, but i am really

happy with the performance. spearheading the game was the behaviour of fans, particularly for chelsea fans, after a couple of high—profile instances of alleged racist and anti—semitic and use. the metropolitan police announced here this evening that they had arrested a 17—year—old male for racially aggravated public order, that was before the match, no details yet as to whether he's a supporter of either team. there were two more matches in the asian cup on tuesday with plenty of goals to tell you about, as iraq and saudi arabia won their opening group games. but it wasn't all down to great finishing, as ben croucher reports. after the success of the 2015 asian cup in australia, the united arab emirates has a lot to live up to. the early signs are that organisers are struggling to fill seats. those who did attend the match in abu dhabi saw an entertaining one, even if the quality of football left plenty to be desired. the opening goal won't be pretty viewing. the goalkeeper seemed

to panic under pressure. his clumsy backheel gifting vietnam the 1—0 lead. ten minutes later, a mistake at the other end let in ourlead. vietnam regained the lead before the break, before running out of steam afterwards. woeful defending with their downfall. a scrappy goal made it 2—2. for vietnam, more misery was to come. a careless challenge on the edge of the penalty area resulted in a 90th minute freekick for iraqi and it was one of the more impressive moments in the game. it wasn't pretty to watch, but 12 years on from their fairytale run, iraq are off to a winning start. there was more class on show in dubai, as saudi arabia got the lead against north korea. they went on to tear their opponent apart. this goal completed a 4—0 win. they're already showing

they will be one of the tougher teams to beat in this year's competition. egypt's mo salah has added to his bbc african footballer of the year award after he was named player of the year by the confederation of african football. the liverpool forward has now won it two years in a row and is quite keen to make it a hatrick. it's awalys difficult when you win an award like african player of the year. last year, it was too much pressure, when people said he is not going to win it again, and i put it in my mind that to be here again this year. i am happy to win a gain a second time. i am proud of that, i am not complaining, but something pushes me to work as hard as i can to be here again next year. and salah will have a chance to shine at home on the international stage later this year because egypt will now host the africa cup of nations injune and july.

cameroon was stripped of its duties last month, amid security and construction concerns. it'll be a record fifth time that egypt will stage the biennial event. but with it being just six months away, how ready are they? austin halewood reports. translation: i 'm happy to announce that egypt will host the 2019 africa cup of nations. a time to celebrate for egyptian football fans. africa's showpiece sporting event back on their soil for a record fifth time. translation: this is fantastic news for egypt to host this event. egypt is safe and can accommodate such championships and thousands of football fans. but the seven time winners weren't always down to be hosts. back in 2014, the confederation of african football announced that cameroon would stage the 2019 tournament, with a comfortable five years left to prepare. but in november last year, they were stripped of that right because of construction delays and security concerns. on tuesday, the vote for a replacement was almost a clean sweep. egypt beating south africa by 16 votes to one.

but a time to party will soon be over. not only is there just five months to go until kick—off, egypt also have to prepare for the biggest afcon in history, with 2a teams, rather than 16. everything is ready. the stadiums are ready, the hospitality is ready, the hotels are ready, we have good ways to get to the competition. it is not difficult for egypt to manage this competition. the tournament will be staged across the country in five different cities. but even with tuesday's announcement, the talk on the streets of the capital cairo was all about one man. translation: this is huge news for egypt. a dream for us mohamed salleh is like the fourth pyramid, he honours our name.

so the to the cloud. he is a national hero back home in egypt. the liverpool forward has inspired a generation in his country and without doubt he will be the star attraction at the tournament this year. whether egypt will be ready to host though, only time can tell. —— ireland's padraig harrington has been handed the task of defending europe's ryder cup title in the united states next year. he succeeds denmark's thomas bjorn, who led the team to victory in paris last september. harrington had received high profile support from the likes of rory mcilroy in the leadup, and harrington in return heaped the praise on mcilroy and his importance to the team. he loves it. he's morphed into being the playing captain in the team room. he's a leader in that team room. nothing gives back to rory like the ryder cup. he loves the adrenaline,

he loves the greens and golf balls, it's made for him, as it is for a lot of europeans, it is made for him. he will not miss out. he will be there, front and centre, one of the leading lights of ourteam. nine times world rally champion sebastien loeb won tuesday's second stage of the dakar rally from pisco to sanjuan de marcona, in peru. it was a day of near misses for some, while overnight leader nasser al—attiyah plunged to eighth in the overall standings, with south africa's giniel de villiers, the 2009 champion, now out in front, with the event running until the 17th of january, when it ends in the peruvian capital of lima. mikaela shiffrin was denied a record—equaling eighth consecutive fis world cup slalom win by petra vlhova on tuesday. shiffrin had led after the first run, but vlhova set a testing target. the slovakian was more than a second faster than the rest of the field. and when it came to the double olympic champion's final run, the american‘s advantage gradually slipped away and she was beaten for the first time in eight events by 15 hundredths of a second. vlhova had finished runner—up to shiffrin in each of the previous five slaloms this season,

and is the only skier other than the american to have won a women's slalom since the start of last season. 45—year—old claudia riegler showed the youngsters how it's done at the parallel slalom snowboard world cup in austria on tuesday. in front of home support at bad gastine, the austrian veteran led poland's aleksandra krol from start to finish in the final to win by 0.63 seconds. and in the men's event, germany's stefan baumeister was quickest down the slope. he beat swiss boarder dario caveetzel in their final. the winning margin was just four tenths of a second. a snowboard world cup parallel slalom team event takes place in salzburg on wednesday. that's all we have time for. but from me, tulsen tollett, and the rest

of the sport today team, goodbye. hello there. high tides combined with brisk winds to give a little bit of coastal flooding across some parts of eastern england on tuesday. there were some showers as well, you can see the way these speckled shower clouds were racing from north to south, blown along on those strong winds. and the winds will still be quite brisk across the east on wednesday, still quite a few isobars, white lines on the chart. further west, high pressure builds in, the winds fall lighter. but we do have a weak frontal system into the north—west. that'll bring some cloud and some patchy rain, but it will also usher in some slightly milder air. so this is how we start wednesday morning. quite windy, particularly in the east. those winds feeding some showers into eastern coasts of england. for many places, we're looking at a dry day, with some good spells of sunshine. but cloud will be thickening all the while for northern ireland and the western side of scotland, and here, we will see some patchy rain as that warm front starts to push its way in, but temperatures will start to rise.

nine degrees there in stornoway. a little bit chillier from aberdeen down to glasgow, but here, we'll hold onto some brightness. northern ireland clouding over as the day wears on. and then across england and wales, many places fine with some sunshine. temperatures of five to eight degrees but it will be quite windy, particularly in the east. that wind feeding some showers into eastern coastal areas, and also making it feel a little bit colder than those temperatures suggest. but as we go through wednesday night, you can see on the map more cloud toppling south eastwards, but also milder air with it. so a frost on thursday morning, likely to be confined to north—west england, the midlands, wales, and down towards the south—west. most other places will be starting thursday above freezing, but it will be pretty cloudy for most of us. where we have that chilly start in the south, that's where we're likely to have the best of the sunshine through the day. north—east england and north—east scotland also doing quite well for brightness and sunshine. but elsewhere, a lot of cloud, maybe the odd spot of drizzle, still quite chilly in the south,

but those temperatures climbing across north—western parts of the uk. and more and more of us see that milder air spreading in as we get on into friday. still large slabs of cloud floating around, some spells of sunshine as well, and temperature wise, we're looking at highs of eight to 10 degrees. now, as we head towards the start of the weekend, an area of low pressure is going to pass just to the north of the british isles. this frontal system bringing some outbreaks of rain in northern areas on friday night, into the first part of saturday, but that will tend to clear away, actually, leaving us with a lot of dry weather through the weekend. it will be fairly mild, fairly windy as well, and there is the chance of some rain at times in the north. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: president trump addresses the nation, saying his controversial border wall is vital for america's security. this is a choice

between right and wrong. justice and injustice. this is about whether we fulfil our sacred duty to the american citizens we serve. the democrats give their response, urging the president to reopen the federal government without delay. tonight and throughout this debate and throughout his presidency, president trump has appealed to fear, not facts, division not unity.