welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: president trump calls a meeting with democrats to end the government shutdown "a total waste of time" as both sides dig in. again, we saw a temper tantrum because he could not get his way and hejust walked out of the meeting. i think the president made his position very clear today. there will be no deal without a wall. in australia, police investigating dozens of suspicious packages sent to foreign embassies arrest a 48—year—old man. theresa may suffers another blow from mps. parliament could now get more power over brexit. look at the! look at me! howjaguar! close your eyes! —— how dare you! and there's one clear ‘favourite‘ among the bafta nominees as awards season picks up steam. we'll take a look at the contenders.

talks to end the us government shutdown collapsed on wednesday, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers in limbo. president trump called the meeting with democratic leaders a total waste of time after they again refused his demand to fund a border wall with mexico. they accused him of storming out. well, unfortunately, the presidentjust got up and walked out. he asked speaker pelosi, "will you agree to my wall?" she said no, he said, "then we have got nothing to discuss," and hejust walked out. again, we saw a temper tantrum because he couldn't get his way and hejust walked out. but vice—president mike pence says the president won't budge. i think the president made his position very clear today

that there will be no deal without a wall. there will be no deal without the priorities the president has put on the table. all this the day after he took his case for the world to the american people in a televised prime—time address. many of the 800,000 federal workers who have been affected by the shutdown were watching closely. the bbc‘s nick bryant has more. washington is stuck in what seems like an unending loop of gridlock and dysfunction, just three sleeps away from breaking the record for the longest government shutdown in us history. my fellow americans, tonight i am speaking to you because there is a growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border. summoning all the authority the oval office conveys, donald trump restated the case for his long—promised wall, claiming it would protect americans from murderers entering illegally from mexico. then why do wealthy politicians

build fences, walls and gates around their homes? nowhere was this presidential address watched more than in the living rooms of the employees not being paid. but what they heard actually escalated what is a personal financial crisis. he doesn't get it, he doesn't care and i think it is of the earth when you don't mention federal workers who have been out of work for how many days? didn't even mention us. it is like we don't exist. it anything is said to persuade you that the shutdown is the right thing to do? no, he did not, at all. the president last night failed to shift the needle that this was a scissor ofa the needle that this was a scissor of a speech urged upon him by aids. it has heightened concerns that they

are losing this political blame game. he came to capitol hill to rally his party and later on he walked out of a meeting with democrats claiming it was a total waste of time, and tweaking bye — bye. will he declare a national emergency that could allow him to totally bypass congress? let's get more from our correspondent in washington, david willis. 0n on that point that they raise at the end, the meeting change anything, there does seem to be some movement. some republicans in congress possibly moving against the president, also the opinion polls, he will not be happy with those. that's right. the president will have you believe as far as republicans in the senate are concerned that there is unity, everybody is on the same page. you are right. some are wavering. they are right. some are wavering. they area are right. some are wavering. they are a small proportion of a do

exist. they want to see the government opened and then a discussion on the whole issue of border security. the two sides in this net for the third time at their white house in a week, and three was not a charm. president trump saying to the new house speaker, nancy pelosi, if i open the government, will you approve the government money i want for the wall? she said no and it was all over. you heard in the report that his tweet saying, just left a meeting, a total waste of time. nancy said no, i said just left a meeting, a total waste of time. nancy said no, isaid bye— bye. nothing else works. do you have any sense of where this could end? so many people suffering, not being paid. quitea so many people suffering, not being paid. quite a few bits of government not working. this week it will become the longest shutdown ever, won't it? it will. actually buy the

weekend. what started as a dispute over policy has become a high—stakes game of brinkmanship with two sides as entrenched as perhaps they've ever been. in the morning, thursday here, resident trump is due to go to the borderfor here, resident trump is due to go to the border for what he here, resident trump is due to go to the borderfor what he himself admits it's pretty muchjust a photo opportunity. will he take that opportunity. will he take that opportunity to announce that he is declaring a national emergency? something that would allow him to circumvent congress and basically siphon money from other parts of the government presumably the department of defence. we will have to wait and see. it was not dismissing that stability today, and it might be his only way out of this oompah. stability today, and it might be his only way out of this oompahm could face quite a few legal challenges. thank you so much for that. let's get some of the day's other news. police in norway have confirmed that they're treating as kidnapping the disappearance of a woman who's married to one of norway's richest men.

anne—elisabeth falkevik hagen has been missing since october and police believe she was probably abducted from her home. a man has been arrested after 27 suspected migrants were discovered by police in the back of a lorry on a major motorway here in the uk. the vehicle was stopped by police near the city of stoke—on—trent. it's understood those on board have been medically assessed and transferred to immigration officials for interview. britain is ending its policy requiring women saved from forced marriages abroad from taking out a government loan to cover the cost of their rescue. the decision follows a newspaper investigation, which found that some were made to pay for their food, shelter and flights back to britain. forced marriage is illegal in the uk, punishable by up to seven years in prison. now to political gridlock in the uk where members of the prime minister's own party are once again adding pressure to her proposed deal. conservative lawmakers joined forces with their opponents to insist that if theresa may's plan is rejected in a vote on tuesday. she'll have just three days to come

up with another one. so, what exactly is at stake? chris morris explains. in downing street they are trying to figure out the numbers in the house of commons. to work out whether they have any hope of getting this vote passed. but don't forget amidst all the political drama, it is the documents that have been negotiated behind closed doors that are at the heart of the debate. we have come into the cabinet room for a reminder of what they are talking about and eventually voting on. the credibility of the prime minister and her brexit plan wary much at sta ke. and her brexit plan wary much at stake. first of all, withdrawal agreement itself. it is a legally binding document that would take the uk out of the eu. it includes the financial settlement or divorce bill that the uk will pay. an estimated £39 billion. it also sets out basic rights for uk citizens elsewhere in

the eu and eu citizens here in the uk. and the terms of a transition period of at least 2! months after brexit when all the rules would state the same. but most controversial is all, there is a protocol on or up —— on ireland and northern ireland, including the backstop plan to keep the border open under all circumstances. the backstop coming to the effect at the end of a post— brexit transition period if a future trade agreement to afford a hardboard hasn't been achieved. the payment has been given additional reassurances from the eu that the backstop would only ever be temporary and that no—one actually wa nts temporary and that no—one actually wants it to come into effect. but it still exists in the treaty and there is no unilateral way for the uk to get out of it without the eu's agreement. there is also a non—binding political declaration on the future relationship between the uk and eu. the wording here is so vague that it does not offer any guarantee of any political outcome.

the government is facing an uphill battle to get this vote passed and it will properly had to ask mps to vote more than once, maybe after getting even more reassurance from brussels. after that, well, if the vote goes through, the withdrawal agreement then is to be turned into uk law through new legislation. it also needs to be given the green light by the european parliament, and before that happens in time, the uk will leave the eu on the 29th of march. but if the government is defeated, well, the default position is that the uk would still leave, but with no deal on or mps could try to come up with an alternative plan for leaving. a relationship more like norway, for example, which is still in the single market. we might be looking at a new prime minister, and new election or even another referendum which could mean no brexit at all. the truth is no can save a short what is likely to happen over the next three months. this street has seen its fair share of drama in the past, but nothing

quite like this. chris morris there. australian police have made an arrest in their investigation into dozens of suspicious packages sent to embassies and consulates across the country on wednesday. a 48—year—old man faces charges of triggering security alerts in three cities. the bbc‘s hywel griffith joins us now from sydney. tell us more. this 48-year-old man has appeared in court in the last hour or so. he lives a couple of hours north of melbourne and that is where police arrested him overnight australian time. they allege that he is behind sending 38 parcels to different embassies and consulates, including the british high commission, the us embassy, also to india, new zealand, the list goes on. in every case, we understand there were envelopes and inside those envelopes were little packages and it is allegedly contains sample the asbestos or of material that

looked like the best. in some cases, the word is was written on them. while that is not immediately toxic hazardous substance, it triggered a security alert and in some cases the embassies were evacuated, staff sent home for the day. the police managed to track him down they say by using cctv footage. he was arrested and has recently appeared in court. many questions. any suggestion of a motive so far? is it confirmed it was as best of an whether anyone was at risk? the police have taken away the samples they say for forensic testing. they say of the 38 so far they have their hands on 29 of the packages though there are more out there but they say there is no greater risk to the wider public. in terms of motive, nothing said in court so far. it was explained that he did not have any previous convictions against his name but no application for bail either so he is still on remand until his next

appearance early in march. thank you very much for that. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: rescued from the wrecking ball — a centuries—old theatre turns over a new leaf as a bookstore in buenos aires. 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 oil from the broken tanker erika would head out to sea. it didn't. the world's tallest skyscraper opens later today. the burj dubai has easily overtaken its nearest rivals. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: donald trump has been accused of having a temper tantrum by the democrats after he walked out of a meeting to discuss funding for his border wall. let's get more on that now. i'm joined now by kristen brengel, who is vice president of government affairs at the national parks conservation association. that is an independent organisation founded a century ago to advocate for national parks in the united states. it now has more than a million members. she joins me from washington. good to talk to you, thank you very

much for your time. what is the impact as you see it so far? so our national parks, unfortunately, have sort of been the victims of the shutdown. we have seen parks remain openin shutdown. we have seen parks remain open in many cases and some pretty serious damage happening to many of them. damage in what sense? so joshua tree national park in southern california is very popular during this time of year. we've seen trash, human waste, and people of roving in areas and campsites... you know, sort of a build—up of this type of damage could attract wildlife and could cause sort of permanent damage to the famous joshua trees. some of them have been cut down since the shutdown started. in addition to that, several parks have had heavy snow, and so some of

the other issues are the parks service not being able to plough the roads in order to create this visitor access so people can get into the parks. and i suppose a lot of people who would normally be spending money in and around the parks are not at the moment. what impact has that had? so you are absolutely correct. gateway communities that are around national parks typically, in the month of january, generate around $20 million a day in revenue. so that its revenue that could be lost forever that these small businesses are not going to get back. in addition to that, the national parks are not collecting fees at the entrance gates, they are losing about $400,000 a day in fee revenue. so over the course of the shutdown, the parks service has lost about $7 million in fee revenue as well. so i suppose some people might have been thinking well, there are amenities, these are places that people go to largely for pleasure, it doesn't

matter too much if they are shut down for a while. but actually the opposite is true. presumably there is also an impact on staff. absolutely, so essentially what the administration has passed the parks service with doing is to leave the parks open but understaffed, hopelessly understaffed —— cast the parks servers. that means you won't have a traditional experience when you go to yellowstone or the sanity oi’ you go to yellowstone or the sanity or the great smokies, you are greeted by park rangers that visitor centres and entrance gates. they tell you where to go, they tell you about the area, about bison, about the history of the civil war, and that means that none of it is happening right now. so when you go into the parks, you may not only have the staff there to help you, but you also don't have the facilities that you are used to get there, including visitors centres. thank you for talking to us. awards season kicked off this week with the golden globes, and now we are moving to the next round with the baftas.

the favourite leads the pack with 12 nominations. four other films grabbed seven nods each. the british academy film awards are considered a precursor for the oscars. here is our arts editor will gompertz. who did your make—up? we went for something dramatic, do you like it? you look like a badger. the favourite is a darkly comic period drama set in the i8th—century court of queen anne, who is played by 0livia colman in a warts—and—all performance, alongside her two co—stars emma stone and rachel weisz. ..makesa sound, but releases no shot. well, the favourite is clearly the favourite, but will it win? what do you think, larushka? let's start with best film. i think the favourite is odds—on favourite to win. stick your money on it now. i think period dramas always do incredibly well, especially at the baftas. i think its biggest rival will be roma, beautiful memoir of childhood from alfonso cuaron, of his time in mexico. all right, larushka — best actor? best actor — i think it's

less of a competition than it is in the best actress category, for once, this year. well, rami malek won the golden globe for best actor for his transformation into freddie mercury. but i think this is christian bale's nomination to lose. i think he was just astonishing in vice. it was a total transformation as dick cheney. the vice presidency is mostly a symbolicjob. right, right. 0k — best actress? embarrassment of riches this year. there are so many, i'm pleased to say, female—driven dramas. but i think it's got to be a competition between the wonderful 0livia colman for the favourite, surely she's got to win on home turf, but huge competition from glenn close in the wife, where she plays this apparently downtrodden wife of a nobel prize winner. so, while i was out being a drunken lush, you were seducing the luscious linnea? nothing happened. 0w! 0k, and finally, best

supporting actress? i think the two favourite ladies are the two favourites, rachel weisz and emma stone, and i think emma stone is going to swing it. fantastic to see a film which had three female leads this year. progress? maybe. but it is also worth noting that once again there was no female representation in baftas' best director category. will gompertz, bbc news. 0pposition candidate felix tshisekedi has been declared the provisional winner of the presidential election in the democratic republic of congo. the result could lead to congo's first democratic transfer of power since independence from belgium in 1960. the provisional results put him about one million votes ahead of martin fayulu but vote tallies by the catholic church put fayulu ahead. the discrepancy sets the stage for a possible standoff between the congolese government and the church, which deployed 40,000 election observers and is considered one of congo's most influential and trusted institutions. moron that as we get it.

australian officials say the un refugee agency has asked australia to consider granting asylum to a saudi woman who fled with her family. rahaf mohammed al-qunun made international headlines after she barricadded herself inside a bangkok hotel. jonathan head reports. and i'm still in the room. i have no choice. her extraordinary campaign from inside an airport hotel room won 18—year—old rahaf al-qunun an unlikely reprieve. thailand has a poor track record of supporting vulnerable refugees. but she is now in a safe location in bangkok, under the care of the un, and australia, her original destination when she flew here, looks set to accept her asylum request. if she is found to be a refugee, then we will give very, very, very serious consideration to a humanitarian visa. thailand has had to explain to saudi diplomats why it chose

to give her temporary sanctuary. the saudi charge d'affaires complaining they should have confiscated her phone, not just her passport. the immigration chief made the abrupt about—turn on monday from trying to deport her to welcoming her as an asylum seeker. they went to see her father and brother today. but their request to meet her was denied. "yes, they did ask to meet her, but that depends on the un, and she has refused to see them." two days ago, few would have predicted this outcome. for human rights campaigners, it has been a key victory.

the key thing is that today she is a refugee and deserves protection. she is under the protection of the un, and she will be leaving this country to go to a third country, where she will actually be really and truly safe, and we can say this has been a victory. if all goes well, this courageous young woman should soon be safe in a new home. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. one of argentina's most important cultural landmarks is celebrating its centenary. the grand splendid opened as a theatre in 1919 but was later converted into a cinema. it has now become a book shop, and notjust any old book shop, as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. from the outside, the grand splendid has a certain weary, rundown glamour. but inside, it'sjust about the most beautiful bookshop you have ever seen. the most beautiful bookshop you have ever seen. 0rnate sculptures, majestic frescoes on the ceiling. 0h, majestic frescoes on the ceiling. oh, and books. lots and lots of books. translation: this is a classical style theatre. throughout its history, it has held cultural

significance. the man who built it was important for various forms of cultural expression, theatre, cinema, radio and music. it was a very thorough journey of culture throughout the 20th century. around 1 throughout the 20th century. around i million people visit each year, locals and tourists. they come from farand locals and tourists. they come from far and wide to browse and to read, and tojust far and wide to browse and to read, and to just admire. translation: one of the things that i thought of doing in argentina with my husband was to visit this bookshop. we are both lovers of literature, and we know this is a temple for those who are passionate about the written word. the environment here is an inspiration. each book is like a new adventure. we read about this library on the internet, how it was formally a theatre, and was converted to a library, and our guide was telling us it is the best library in the world. sol guide was telling us it is the best library in the world. so i love books. in every city that we visit we try to go to a bookstore, so we

thought this was the perfect place to come to. the grand splendid, 100 yea rs to come to. the grand splendid, 100 years young. a philosopher once said a room without books is like a body without a soul. well, this is quite a room. that is some bookshop. just a reminder of that ratings story this hour. in the democratic republic of the congo, the opposition candidate has been declared the winner of the election. it could mean the first democratic transfer of power since independence from belgium. the provisional results put him about! million votes ahead, but the vote tallies by the catholic church, which deployed 40,000 election observers, put his opponent ahead. so there is a possible stand—off there between the government and the church. more as soon as we have it. thank you so much for watching. hello.

0ur weather prospects are still looking comparatively quiet through the next few days. if anything, our major shift will be to rather more cloudy weather. today, though, some slightly milder making a return to our shores for some. but not actually in the most traditional way that we see milder air arriving. normally it comes sweeping up from the south—west off the atlantic. at the moment, we have high pressure, and milder air will be toppling in to the north of it, behind a warmer weather front which is sinking its way south. first thing, still very chilly with a foster cross southernmost counties of england. this line of cloud here just about marks out the warm weather front. to the rear of it, quite a lot of cloud through the course of the day, butjust slightly milder weather than we saw through midweek. so top temperatres in double figures for belfast. we're going to struggle at around 6 or 7 in the likes of cardiff and london. and we will struggle throughout the day, i think,

to see much in the way of sunshine. 0vernight thursday into friday, that weather front slides away into the continent. plenty of cloud around, and we sit in the relatively milder air. so our map is green for first thing friday, rather than seeing that blue as we will do to the south first thing thursday. temperatures — well, they're down on the lower end of single figures, but essentially frost—free to get friday under way. another day offering us quite a lot of cloud. we have got a northerly breeze but remember it's tipped around that area of high pressure, so instead of actually coming straight from the arctic, it's been modified by the atlantic. hence things will start to get milder, actually, as that northerly breeze drags the milder air further south. so, for the weekend, our temperatures making a return closer to average. it could be quite windy through the weekend, actually, as areas of low pressure try to erode this high. the isobars become increasingly tighter packed. much of the rain will fizzle out before it sinks too far south,

i think, across the uk. the greater chance of any significant rain probably for northern ireland scotland, but quite cloudy on saturday. as i said, it will be a windy day as well and temperatures more typically average values for the time of year, perhaps 10 or 12 degrees. some brightness hopefully across eastern counties. similar picture again for saturday, the high still sitting to the south—west. this low tumbling over the top of it, bringing some rain in briefly for scotland, northern ireland, perhaps some patchy rain for northern england. if anything, perhaps sunday the slightly brighter day of the two, and again, temperatures are a little more favourable than we've had in recent days. back into double figures for most of us. the headlines: "a total waste of time" — that's how donald trump's described a meeting with democratic leaders aimed at ending the partial shutdown of the us government. democrats again refused to approve funding plans for a border wall with mexico. they say the president threw a temper tantrum and walked out. australian police have arrested

a 48—year—old man over suspicious packages mailed to foreign embassies and consulates. they say 38 items were sent to the missions of countries including the us, uk and south korea. a 48—year—old's charged with sending dangerous articles through the postal service. the contents have not been identified. 0pposition candidate felix tshisekedi has been declared provisional winner of the presidential election in the democratic republic of congo. the result could mean the country's first democratic transfer of power since independence from belgium in 1960. you are up—to—date with the