welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is reged ahmad. our top stories: when the united nations made the request of us that we grant ms al-qunun asylum, we accepted. the prime minister of canada confirms his country has offered asylum to the saudi woman who had fled to thailand in fear for her life. the partial government shutdown is about to become the longest in us history, but president trump says he won't declare a national emergency. it's the easy way out. but congress should do this. this is too simple, it's too basic, and congress should do this. a teenager from wisconsin held captive since her parents were murdered in october has managed to escape. a man has been charged. and heavy snow causes more widespread disruption across europe, with some mountain villages evacuated. canada has granted asylum to a saudi

teenager who was stranded at an airport in thailand after running away from her family. rahaf mohammed al-qunun publicly renounced islam and feared her relatives would kill her. she is now on a plane heading to canada from bangkok, where she initially tweeted for help from her hotel room. kim gittleson has the latest. and i'm still in the room... five years ago, 18—year—old rahaf al-qunun fled saudi arabia in the hopes of being granted asylum in australia. but her plans went awry when she was detained by thai security officials for not having what they said was the appropriate visa paperwork. when she was told she would be sent back home, rahaf instead barricaded herself in a bangkok hotel room

and took to social media, begging anyone who would listen to help her escape what she said would be certain death that she was sent back to herfamily. i'm not leaving my room until i see unhcr. i want asylum. the world heard her, and rights activists took up her cause, using the hashtag #savera haf to demand that the united nations grant her refugee status. in a rare step, the un complied. however, in a twist, she was granted asylum not in australia, but in canada. the unhcr has made a request of canada that we accept ms al-qunun as a refugee, and we have accepted the un's request that we grant her asylum. that is something that we are pleased to do, because canada is a country that understands how important it is to stand up for human rights, to stand up for women's rights around the world. it is unclear why her final destination changed at the last minute.

for thai authorities, her departure has led to a sense of relief, and for other middle eastern women online, inspiration. rahaf mohammed al-qunun, mark my words, is going to start a revolution in saudi arabia. go on social media now and watch the accounts of so many young saudis saying, rahaf, you have shown us that we can do this. while there are many questions that remain unanswered, for now, she summed up herfeelings about the surprising outcome in, of course, a tweet, thanking the online army that she says saved her life. let's get some of the day's other news: the us—led coalition fighting so—called islamic state in syria says the withdrawal of american forces from the country has begun. at this stage, it is believed only equipment is being shipped out, not troops. president trump's announcement that he was to pull out us forces, almost a month ago, surprised many in washington, and some foreign governments. a british computer hacker described

by the national crime agency as perhaps the most significant cyber criminal yet caught in the uk has beenjailed for 32 months. daniel kaye is thought to be the first person to knock an entire nation offline, after his attack on an african phone company caused the internet to crash across liberia. a prominent us congresswoman, tulsi gabbard, has said she plans to be a candidate for the 2020 presidential election. a democrat from hawaii, ms gabbard is a former vice chair of the democratic national committee. she was the first hindu to be elected to congress in 2012, and earlier served with the us army in iraq. the row about who should pay for a wall along the us border with mexico is about to enter the record books, with the government shutdown now approaching its fourth week. president trump has dismissed suggestions that he is about to declare a national emergency in order to bypass congress. as a result, hundreds of thousands of workers haven't been paid,

as our north america correspondent nick bryant reports. harvest time in the fields of virginia, where farmers hit already by the trade war with beijing are now feeling the bite of the political war in washington. john boder has been receiving federal subsidies to compensate for not being able to export his soy bean crops to china, a financial lifeline during difficult times, severed because of the shutdown. guess what — i don't need a damn wall. i need my money today. i need my money to plant my crop, i need my money to pay my labourer, i need my money to continue my farming operation. federal workers have mounted protests across the country, and today was supposed to be payday. but, on social media, employees posted payslips showing they hadn't received a single dollar. a lot of things are working out well... to break the political deadlock, this billionaire president has warned he will declare

a national emergency. but he is not ready to take that extraordinary step yet. it's the easy way out. but congress should do this. this is too simple, it's too basic, and congress should do this. if they can't do it, if at some point theyjust can't do it — this is a is—minute meeting. if they can't do it, i will declare a national emergency. invoking emergency powers could end the shutdown, because it would allow congress to pass spending bills, without funding for the wall, that democrats and republicans could both support. but the trump white house would be violating the norms of us government by spending the money on the barrier without congressional approval. this constitutional showdown would inevitably be settled in the courts. but, in the meantime, federal employees could return to work. heavenly father, we thank you for this time. we pray today for your wisdom, for your answers, for your help in the time of crisis...

tonight at the white house, they prayed for this norm—busting president. but, for now, he is paying reverence to more earthly powers — the checks and balances of the us constitution. thank you, pastor, very much. i appreciate it, it was beautiful. and you can keep up to date with the latest on president trump and the partial us shutdown by going to our website, bbc.com/news, or you can download the bbc news app. a 21—year—old man will appear in court in the us state of wisconsin on monday charged with murdering two people in order to kidnap their 13—year—old daughter. jayme closs was discovered on thursday, three months later and 100 km away, having escaped while her alleged captor was out. jane 0'brien has been following the story. jayme closs disappeared the night her parents were shot dead at the family home in rural western wisconsin.

good morning and thank you for being here on this amazing day. at a briefing, police described how thousands of volunteers searched in vain for the 13—year—old, who suddenly appeared on thursday, almost three months later, and approached a woman for help. this lady immediately went to a nearby house, notified that neighbour of the claim. and this neighbour called 911, and my deputies responded en masse immediately and identified jayme as the person that approached the neighbour, took control of her and possession of her, and put her in safekeeping. and a short time later, one of my patrol sergeants happened to find a vehicle that matched the description that jayme gave my deputies of the suspect, and pulled the vehicle over and took the suspect in custody at that time. jayme managed to give a description of a man she said had

held her captive. the suspect arrested — was arrested, and is currently being held in the barron county jail. that suspect is jake thomas patterson. he is 21 years old, from gordon, wisconsin. he is currently being held on two counts of first—degree intentional homicide for the murder ofjayme's parents, and one count of kidnapping. police say patterson had no previous contact with the family, but that jayme was the target of the attack. they believe she was held near the town of gordon, about an hourfrom her home. they said patterson went to considerable effort to avoid detection. the investigation attracted national attention, and a reward of $50,000 was offered for information. local officers say they never gave up hope of finding jayme alive. jane 0'brien, bbc news. heavy snow is continuing to fall across large parts of europe, wreaking havoc, with roads blocked, towns cut off and schools closed. at least seven people have been killed in the past week.

andy beatt reports. from scandinavia to switzerland, and the baltic to bulgaria, vast swathes of europe are in the grip of a deadly, debilitating freeze. in austria, the heaviest snowfalls in 30 years have left alpine resorts and villages stranded, up to three metres of snow bringing many to a standstill. rescuers are continuing to search for two hikers missing since saturday. in a rare break in the weather, a rescue flight reuniting a ten—year—old girl with her waiting mother. safe and smiling after being snowed in for days, telling reporters, no, she wasn't scared, and yes, she was planning to get pizza. translation: we're very happy to make these helicopter operations today. it helps a lot in hard—to—reach

areas, where there's no chance to get the snow away. translation: people are quite relaxed. you have to cope with it and do the best you can. in germany, hundreds of soldiers joined emergency workers to clear roofs and roads in bavarian towns. five districts declared a state of emergency, with schools closed and many communities cut off. further north, in saxony, helicopters were used to blow snow off trees, to stop them falling on roads and railways. but some remain blocked, while more than 100 flights have been cancelled. three people were injured when an avalanche swept through this hotel in eastern switzerland. local reports said the wall of snow was 300m wide. and storms across scandinavia have made some routes impassable. in northern norway, a bus full of students blew off the road, while winds on the swedish border approached almost 180 km/h. 1,000 miles further south,

more snow and sub—zero temperatures. drivers in romania battling blizzard conditions, police rescuing some, but reportedly finding the body of one man in a car park. translation: you cannot see three metres in front of you. right here, 200m back, you cannot see. translation: we're waiting, for the moment. we're waiting for the snowfall to stop. but there is little sign of that, with heavy snow forecast to continue across europe over the weekend. for many, there is still a long winter ahead. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: he was homeless at the age of 1a. now, the rapper octavian has turned his life around. he has been chosen as the bbc‘s sound of 2019. day one of operation desert storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait

has seen the most intense air attacks since the second world war. tobacco is america's oldest industry, and it's one of its biggest, but the industry is nervous of this report. this may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. there is not a street that is unaffected. huge parts of kobe were simply demolished, as buildings crashed into one another. this woman said she'd been given no help and no advice by the authorities. she stood outside the ruins of her business. tens of thousands of black children in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the country's new multiracial government and enrolled at formerly white schools. tonight sees the 9,610th performance of her long—running play the mousetrap. when they heard of her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonight's performance, but agatha christie would have been the last person to want such a thing. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: the saudi woman who had fled to thailand in fear for her life is on her way to canada after being granted asylum there. president trump has said he won't declare a national emergency to build a wall on the border with mexico, meaning there is no end in sight to the us government shutdown. let's stay with that story. our washington correspondent david willis has the latest on whether the us president plans to bypass congress and declare a national emergency. the president has said he will not be declaring a national emergency — not now, at least. he believes congress should reconvene and talk this matter out and he said that basically, calling a national emergency would be just too easy. he thinks this is something that should be solved by other means and that is a view that is not shared by some in his party. we heard today from

the south carolina republican senator lindsey graham, urging the president to declare a national emergency and reopen the government. conversely, there are those like his son—in—lanared kushner, senior adviser to the president, who argue that a national emergency, though it would be a way out of this, on the whole would be seen as presidential overreach and an abuse of power. it would almost certainly take the whole thing through the courts and ultimately to the highest court in the land, the supreme court. meanwhile, 800,000 government workers are going without pay. there are repeated stories now of hardships on the part of some of those people and we have airport screeners and air traffic controllers and fbi agents currently working without pay. union officials are warning that if that continues,

then the security of the general public could be compromised. where does public opinion stand on this shutdown? which side is being blamed? it is very much a battle for public opinion. president trump and the democrats are so far apart — as far apart as they were when this started, really, four days before christmas. the opinion polls would have you believe that the majority, 51%, blame president trump for the current impasse. but these figures fluctuate day by day. it does require one or the other to back down, otherwise this isjust going to go on and on. you mentioned the government workers who have been affected. there must be real hardship you are hearing about people who are having to make decisions between paying bills and buying food 7

absolutely. members of the coast guard, for example, their bosses are urging them through an online tip sheet to sell things if necessary, or take up dog walking. a lot of the people affected are pay cheque to pay cheque workers, the sort of people who really cannot afford this sort of stand—off. they do not have the means to pay their mortgages in terms of savings. the effect will be crippling, the longer it goes on. david willis in washington, thank you very much. most of us do not have enough fibre in our diet, despite the fact that it reduces the chance of heart attacks, strokes and type 2 diabetes. researchers advise eating 30 grams a day, but 9 out of 10 of us are failing to do that. our medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. it's the super—ingredient most of us don't get enough of — fibre. a landmark study in the lancet

journal has confirmed that fibre in fruit, veg, whole grains, pulses and nuts has major health benefits. researchers analysed more than 200 studies and found a high—fibre diet significantly cut the risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as bowel cancer and type 2 diabetes. the overall risk of death was reduced by at least 15%. adults should be aiming to eat 30 grams of fibre a day. the average in the uk isjust 18 grams. i don't think we eat as much fibre as we should do. it's not something i think about when we shop and cook and things. i don't really think about fibre, to be honest. i would have no idea how many grams of fibre is in anything, so, yeah, it would be good to know. so, how do you get your 30 grams of fibre a day? let's start with breakfast. two slices of wholemeal toast, 6.4 grams of fibre — more than double what you get in white bread. add to that a banana and you're nearly a third of the way there. or you could have some

porridge plus fruit. at lunchtime, this meal has a whopping 21 grams of fibre — a baked potato with its skin on, some baked beans and a large apple. well, that's your recommended intake injust two meals. then, in the evening, you could have some whole wheat pasta, some pulses like kidney beans, some wholegrain rice. don't forget the veg. each of these has 3 grams of fibre, and then a handful of unsalted nuts and you're getting all the roughage you need. around 9% of the population hit that 30 gram target, so its a lot of us are quite, you know, quite deficient, really, and that's for a variety of reasons but generally, you know, if we were all to increase fruit and vegetable intake, getting fruits and vegetables at every meal and every snack, you know, for most of us, that would bump us up really significantly and really help decrease those, you know, those risk factors. fibre is crucial for our digestive and overall health. those on popular low—carb diets may be missing out on this key ingredient. fergus walsh, bbc news.

the first pictures have emerged of china's lunar probe touchdown on the far side of the moon. the footage reveals the moments leading up to the soft landing and were sent back to mark the success of the mission. beijing plans to launch construction of its own manned space station next year, racing to catch up with russia and the united states. the daughter of singer r kelly has broken her silence about the sexual abuse allegations surrounding her estranged father. on instagram, 20—year—old buku abi wrote she was "devastated", describing r kelly as a "monster" and a "terrible" father. he denies all allegations against him. everyjanuary, bbc music starts the year by picking out a new artist as one to watch. the award goes to performers who've never had a major hit and aims to boost the profile of new musical talent. this year, the bbc music sound of 2019 is a 23—year old rapper

from london who was previously homeless as a teenager. lizo mzimba has been to meet him. meet octavian... # say my name now, say my name... ..one of music's most exciting new talents... # i got bigger. i used to be little. # my belly got full when i've got that meal. # they used to cuss, used to diss. # now they ask me how i feel. ..unaware of what i was about to tell him. on the sound of'19 list, octavian, you are actually the winner. is it? yeah, that's lit, that's lit, that's lit, that's lit, that's lit, that's lit! that's lit, that's lit, that's lit! that's lit! a year ago, i was, like, i was poor, like, i had no money, so to have, like, to be nominated for, like, the bbc sound poll, like, and to win it, like... it's mad, it's mad!

it's crazy, it's crazy! his sound of win means he now follows in the footsteps of previous winners like sam smith... # won't you stay with me... # hello from the outside... ..and adele. it's all a huge change from octavian‘s teenage years, much of which he spent homeless on the streets of south london. it was very hard for me. i was very young. i didn't know where to sleep. i didn't know when my next meal was going to be. it was very hard for me, very difficult. and how has that influenced the music that you produce today? it's inspired me to make music about where i was at, like, and inspire others to kind of follow in my footsteps. his win means his music will reach a wider audience, and potentially bring him even greater success throughout 2019 and beyond.

lizo mzimba, bbc news. fed up with non—africans telling african stories, three friends from nigeria and uganda have decided to create their own anthology. showcasing artists and writers from across africa, they hope it will bring african comics into the mainstream. they told bbc stories why it's so important for africans to share their own stories with the rest of the world. the idea was that in the science fiction genre, there were hardly any black people. it was as though they were passing on this message that there are no black people in the future. musicians and writers decided they were going to create their own genre, afro—futurism, which presents a future where black people do in fact exist. we have a story where someone from senegal is creating

this space opera. he didn't create ships to look like american jet fighters. his ships look like boats — the boats they use for fishing in senegal. the way we understand life is through stories. the way we get meaning in life, how we structure ourselves in society, is through the stories we tell ourselves. there is this tendency to lump africa into one pot, as though it is a country. i think it is really important to also stress the fact that africa is a huge and a diverse place, and so bringing diverse voices to the project will help eliminate that. —— to the project will help iluminate that. we want nigerians, senegalese

people, zimbabweans... i don't know what the correct word for senegalese people is! if we try and get the really unique pieces, the really outstanding artists, tojust pull them out of the mine. like diamonds in the dust, right? just pull them out, they can do it if they have the chance to do it. some talented comic artists were telling their story. —— some talented comic artists there telling their story. now, before we go, most of us can relate to getting stuck in a trafficjam but certainly not like this! this was the scene in south africa's kruger national park as four large male lions strolled along the road. of course, the pictures gained international attention when posted online. they didn't look as though they were ina hurry they didn't look as though they were in a hurry at all. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @regedahmadbbc. hello.

the weekend is upon us and there will be some spells of sunshine around, like there was to end the day on friday in portsmouth. it will also briefly be feeling a little bit milder, but also increasingly windy and there will be a few showers around as well. in fact, for western parts of scotland, some persistent spells of rain. and that comes courtesy of this cold front which we can see here, already delivering some persistent rain across the western isles through the early hours of saturday morning and slowly sinking its way south and eastward, so for much of the uk, it will be a fairly cloudy day on saturday. increasingly windy, a few showers sinking their way southwards but tending to dissipate as they do but the showers will give way to a more persistent spell of rain initially across the east of northern ireland and later in the day across northern and western scotland and some of that rain just arriving into the far north of england as well. quite a windy day, particularly across scotland. that's an idea of average strengths but gusts could well touch 30 or a0 miles an hour. but for many, a milder—feeling day, temperatures into double figures, around 10 or 11 celsius.

overnight, it's cloudy, it'd windy, a bit damp in places with some patchy drizzle but more persistent rain pushing its way across northern scotland and then slowly sinking its way southwards to arrive perhaps into the far north of england by dawn on sunday, but it will be a mild night — temperatures not much lower than seven or eight celsius. so here is how sunday shapes up. notice how the isobars are really quite close together. it's an increasingly windy day. this cold front will be sliding its way southwards, tending to weaken as it does, just bringing a few showers. we'll see plenty of showers, though, piling into northern and western scotland. a much cooler feel to the day here. further south, some bright or sunny spells. increasingly windy, though, and this is an idea of average gusts through sunday afternoon — quite widely 30 or a0 miles an hour. for northern and western scotland, gusts up to 50 or 60 miles an hour and a slightly cooler feel here during sunday afternoon with some blustery showers. further south, still quite mild — ten or 11 celsius. but not for long, because as we go into next week, we start to lose the milder yellow colours — they become confined to south—western fringes and elsewhere, it turns colder again. now, on monday, the winds

will slowly ease down, so lighter winds, a mixture of variable cloud and sunny spells. but aside from one or two showers across northern scotland, it should be a dry day. but everywhere starting to feel cooler — temperatures up to between five and nine celsius. and that's how the week continues in the week ahead. the temperatures will be starting to slide away. here is an idea of our city forecast over the next five days. by the end of the week, temperatures not much higher than six or seven celsius. so, for the week ahead, it will turn colder, a return of the overnight frost and some of the showers could be wintry. this is bbc news. the headlines: rahaf mohammed alqunun, the 18—year—old saudi woman who had fled to thailand in fear for her life, is now on her way to canada. the canadian prime minister said his country was pleased to offer her asylum. she had said she feared being killed, if she was returned to herfamily in saudi arabia, for having renounced islam. president trump says he won't declare a national emergency to build a wall

on the border with mexico, meaning there is no end in sight to the us partial government shutdown. in 1.5 hours it will enter its 22nd day, becoming the longest shutdown in history. seven people, including a nine—year—old boy, have now been killed in the extreme weather across southern europe. heavy snow is still continuing to fall, bringing chaos to a number of the continent's alpine regions. news what