i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore, the headlines: us secretary of state mike pompeo has arrived in riyadh. high on the agenda — the us decision to withdraw troops from syria. a senior member of the saudi royal family tells the bbc the pullout is "very negative." it will further entrench not only the iranians are also the russians and the shah arla side. —— and bashar al—assad parts of europe grapple with the worst winter in years — more than 20 people have died and entire villages are buried under snow. underneath this white length it is a tarmac road. this area has not seen it is much for a decade. —— this much snow. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme.

the australian open's set for emotional scenes later, with andy murray in action, in what he says could be his final tournament. and the new zealand albatross chicks who've become unlikely stars on the internet. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good morning. it's 9am in singapore, iam in london and four in the morning in the saudi capital riyadh where the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, has arrived. president trump's decision to pull american troops out of syria is on the agenda, and mr pompeo has also said he'll raise the killing of the saudi journalist jamal khashoggi. the us senate has blamed crown prince mohammed bin salman, for the murder. our correspondent, barbara plett usher is in riyadh with the latest. this issue ofjamal khashoggi, obviously, but also other things, like counterterrorism, iran, syria,

all of these things will come up. before mike pompeo arrived, i had a chat with a senior member of the royal family, prince turki al—faisal, and i asked him what he thought about syria and what he thought about president trump's position to withdraw troops, because that is the topic that has really dominated mr pompeo‘s trip so far. from my perspective it is going to further complicate the issue rather than find any solutions. and it will further entrench not only the iranians but also the russians and bashar al—assad. so from that perspective it is a very negative development. generaljames mattis was well known here, wasn't he? yes. he was a man who had experience in the area. of course, he was commander of central command. he served, i think, in iraq and afghanistan. so, yes, he was pretty well—known. do you think his departure is a loss

for saudi—us relations? i think it is action that counts, rather than personalities. we still have to wait and see what is going to happen with his departure. when it comes to iran do you think israel is a better ally than qatar? as long as they occupy arab territory — and look at how they are treating the palestinian people in the west bank and gaza — there is not going to be any way of cooperation between the kingdom and israel. there is cooperation between the kingdom and israel already. tell me how and where. intelligence sharing. i have no idea, and i don't think there is. nothing remains secret. and the fact that the israeli government and benjamin netanyahu have been leaking this news about saudi—israeli cooperation is to serve his own purposes. if the crown prince was completely

in the dark about the murder of jamal khashoggi, as the saudis say he is, isn't that a staggering level of incompetence, to let something like this go on right under his nose? rogue actions by subsidiaries are not unique to the kingdom, or to the crown prince. the crown prince's reputation has been damaged internationally. is that a matter of concern here? of course it is a matter of concern. i think it has been an unfair attempt to criminalise the crown prince on the part of the media. there has been no proof at all of these participations in any nefarious activity at all. you feel that president trump and mr pompeo are strongly supporting the saudi government and the saudi—us relations

at this point? they have publicly said so. and they clearly say that there is absolutely no evidence that the crown prince has been involved in this case. what mr pompeo has said exactly is that there is no direct reporting of a link between the crown prince and the murder. but he has also said he wants to ensure that those responsible for the killing are held fully accountable and he will press the crown prince on this issue. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. the british prime minister theresa may is making a last—ditch attempt to persuade mps to back her brexit deal, ahead of tuesday's key vote in the house of commons. she will use a speech later today to warn that parliament is more likely to block brexit than let the uk leave with no deal. labour has vowed to table a vote of no confidence if mrs may loses. a lot‘s been happening at westminster over the past few hours — vicky young has all the latest. four of her own brexit—backing mps have said that they will now swing

behind her deal. i spoke to one of them, sir geoffrey clifton—brown, and he says he has deep reservations. he thinks bits of that deal are very bad. but he said that the uncertainty means we could have no brexit at all. and particularly he focused on the controversial role of the speaker, the intervention last week whenjohn bercow made it clear he would give mps a much greater say in the process. that is leading some to think that a brexit not happening at all, there's a far higher chance of that. of course, theresa may needs dozens more to agree with that and there isn't much sign of it. meanwhile at westminster, everyone is talking about their plan b. some leaning towards another referendum, although it is clear thatjeremy corbyn is very reluctant to go down that route. others of course saying that in law no deal is still the default position. others say we should have a much closer relationship with the eu after brexit.

and of course they can't all be right. so, although it looks bleak for the prime minister tonight, it feels like a damage—limitation exercise, unless mps can agree what they want instead of her deal, she could just keep trying. we will give you coverage of that live here on bbc world news and the news channel in the uk, step—by—step, minute by minute with correspondence on the ground and we will be at westminster for the vote on tuesday sojoin will be at westminster for the vote on tuesday so join us for that. also making news this hour, the mayor of the polish city of gdansk, pawel adamowicz, has been seriously hurt in a knife attack at a charity event. he was stabbed onstage in front of a large crowd of people and has been undergoing surgery in hospital. the attacker complained that mr adamowicz‘s party, the civic platform, had imprisoned him. poland's president, andrzej duda and the president of the european council, donald tusk — himself a former polish president — are among those who've condemned the attack. the government in bangladesh has

announced a revised pay structure for garment workers. wages will be increased for six out of the seven garment worker grades. workers began a strike over a week ago when they discovered that a government pay deal meant some people were actually worse off. president emmanuel macron has published an open letter to the french people in an attempt to defuse the "yellow vest" protests that have rocked france for nine weeks. he has called for a nationwide debate until march to discuss the future of the country. one of italy's most wanted fugitives, cesare battisti, has been handed over by the bolivian authorities after decades on the run. a plane sent by the italian government flew the former militant out of the bolivian city of santa cruz de la sierra. battisti was convicted in italy of the murder of four people in the late seventies. the barcelona forward lionel messi has become the first football player to score 400 goals in la liga. it is 14 years since messi scored his first la liga goal and the 31—year—old argentine has gone on to build an enormous lead at the top of the spanish league's

all—time scoring chart. a new bill is causing some anger in hong kong which criminalises the abuse of the chinese national anthem. in a moment, we'll be hearing from a legislator who's opposed to the proposed new law — but first, for those of you who don't know what the chinese national anthem sounds like, take a listen. march of the volunteers plays well a hong kong government statement says "..the main spirit of the national anthem bill is respect, a behaviour which is natural, easily understood and not hard to display. as such, the bill will not

affect the daily life of the general public. nonetheless, for those with an intent to insult the national anthem, and publicly and intentionally perform acts to insult the national anthem, there is a need to introduce punitive provisions in the bill with a view to deterring such behaviours." i spoke to alvin yeung, a barrister and legislator from the civic party and asked him if the issue was more about a lack of respect for the chinese state. of course, we have to ask the question, why did the chinese government fail to earn hong kong people's respect? it has been over 20 years since the handover, and what has gone wrong? of course it goes to the core issue, which is poor governance in hong kong. hong kong's chief executive, carrie lam, has shrugged off the critics like yourself. she says there will be judicial review of prosecuted people who accidentally insult the anthem, and that concerns might be overblown.

are they? well, if you read the bill carefully, there is a clear provision that prohibits people from insulting the national anthem. but what is an insult? insult can be a very subjective term. it is a very subjective concept which requires the court to look very deeply into the case. the problem is, in a common law jurisdiction, we have to be clear, we have to be unambiguous, but this insulting concept is to the contrary. you can see how people who are generally quite nationalistic, and certainly lots of people around the world get patriotic when they hear their national anthem, you can see how they would be supportive of such a bill?

of course. we hope that in an ideal world that nobody would insult the national anthem. people are all cheering for the national anthem. again, in reality, there are people who should have the liberty to express their concerns, who should express their dismay to anything, and hong kong, under "one country, two systems," these liberties should be protected. aside from the points you have made, what is particularly unusual about this bill? as mentioned earlier, insulting the concept of the anthem in such an objective, unambiguous concept as inserted in this bill, that could cause problems in the future. more importantly, there is the education clause. it requires the secretary of education to require all primary schools and secondary schools to teach the national anthem, be it a government school or international school or private school, every student in hong kong will have to learn the national anthem. the problem here is, there is no penalty clause on the secretary

of education. so what is the effect of this clause? in the future it could result in censorship of students or teachers or even schools, they would have to do anything that is imposed or instructed by the secretary of education. three people have been killed and a fourth is missing after an avalanche near the austrian ski resort of lech. austria has been hit by record snowfall in the past week and there have been more than twenty weather—related deaths across parts of the alps this month. bethany bell reports. mountain regions in austria are used to snow, but this is extreme. days of heavy snowfall are taking their toll. last night, three skiers from germany were killed in an avalanche in lech. their bodies were found on a ski route that had been closed off because of the danger of avalanches.

a fourth person is still missing. translation: yesterday evening we decided to cancel the search because it had become too dangerous. we know how the weather will develop, so we can probably initiate the search again on wednesday. the risk of more avalanches is very high. some ski resorts and mountain villages have had to be evacuated. other areas are snowed in. these firefighters near the town of kleinzell in central austria are working round the clock to clear snow from homes and buildings. the snow is very heavy and there is a real risk this roof could cave in. translation: it's quite dangerous work. as you can see, all the men are harnessed because you can easily slip off while coming down. so the risk is relatively high. driving conditions are treacherous. it's a struggle to keep the streets clear. underneath this white blanket is a tarmac road. this area hasn't seen this much snow

in well over a decade. in neighbouring germany, the army has been brought in to help clear the roads, and people here are bracing themselves for more. heavy snow is forecast over the next few days. bethany bell, bbc news, near kleinzell in the austrian alps. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the live feed of new zealand albatrosses parenting their chicks watched by millions of people online. also on the programme: days after saying he may stop playing through injury, andy murray's on court later in what may be his last australian open. 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 9,6ioth 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 newsday on the bbc.

i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories. as us secretary of state mike pompeo arrives in riyadh, a saudi prince tells the bbc america's decision to pull troops out of syria is "very negative." and an avalanche kills three people in the austrian alps, as the region struggles with perilous conditions. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the south china morning post reports on chinese president xi jinping's possible trip to north korea. the paper says it will be the first time president xi has accepted the invitation in his six years as leader and is likely to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between china and north korea. in the straits times, a win for singapore's badminton champion, loh kean yew, is the main picture story. the 21—year—old beat two—time chinese olympic champion, lin dan, to claim his first world federation title in thailand. and finally, a new year ritual

features in the japan times. men in loincloths and women in robes pray in ice—cold water in a ceremony in tokyo to purify their souls and wish for good health. monday is the first day of the australian open, but it could also be the last day of andy murray's tennis career. the three—time grand slam champion faces spain's roberto bautista agut in melbourne, but he is battling a hip injury which he fears may stop him playing competitively. here he is announcing the news last week. i said to my team, like, i think i can get through this until wimbledon. that was where i would like to... that's where i would like to stop and stop playing. but i'm also not certain i'm able to do that.

heartbreaking to watch, that is. our tennis correspondent russell fuller is in melbourne, and he told us the eyes of the sporting world would be on andy murray today. yes, he has very much dominated the buildup to this first grand slam of the year, and quite rightly so, because he has had a huge impact on the sport. he has not won as many grand slam titles as roger federer, novak djokovic or rafael nadal, nowhere near as many. but he has been able to win grand slams in this era. he has been a world number one. he has two olympic gold medals. and the way he has approached the sport has made him on the names that will be remembered many years to come. it is very sad to see somebody who has tried to do everything they possibly can to bring this hit back to life,

but it is a chronic hip injury, it has been apparent after several months he was never going to be able to regain the form he showed in the past. he has finally realised that his race is nearly run. how many hours to be have to wait before he ta kes to hours to be have to wait before he takes to the court? he will be under way from seven hours gmt on monday morning. schedules can sometimes mean that is a bit of a later start then we anticipate. but against roberto bautista agut, the 22nd seed from spain, andy murray really has his work cut out, because he is a fully fit match fit competitor who has already won a title on the men's tour this year. so with andy murray does lose today it is possible it will be his final match. as you heard, he would then much like to play at the wimbledon championships, but i don't think he can continue as a fully fledged professional between now and then. he is considering having a second operation to improve his quality of life, and that may possibly still allow him to play some sort of role in the grass courts in the uk summer. the those

he don't know, gives a history of the hip injury he sustained? at the end of 2016, we thought he still had the world at his feet, even though he was approaching his 30s. he had just become the world number one for the first time, he won that second olympic gold medal in rio de janeiro, he won a second wimbledon title in july. x janeiro, he won a second wimbledon title injuly. x months later he was close to reaching another french open final in paris was up —— six months. yet that was the last fully competitive match we saw him play. a hip problem he has had since his early 20s became unmanageable. even though it has become a long and drawnout process, he opted for rehabilitation and then he went the surgery, rehabilitation and then he went the surgery, and now he has ultimately realise that it is nowjust impossible to be able to continue an elite sporting career with such a chronic condition. hips up the crucial to tennis players. —— are pretty crucial. albatrosses on new zealand's south island have become unlikely internet stars. three years ago, rangers set up a 24—hour live stream of an albatross nest in the hope of saving the giant seabirds. now, millions tune in from around

190 countries to watch the endangered chicks hatch and grow on the otago peninsula. i spoke to sophie barker from the royal albatross centre in new zealand. i asked her if she was expecting the albatross webcab to be such a hit. i don't think we were, it's just amazing to think that everywhere around the world, thousands of people are watching the camera right now. tell us a bit about how this web cam works because this colony that you are filming, there are hundreds of chicks and families there. how do you choose the family to become the stars of this youtube video? the department of conservation, which runs the web cam, and the rangers working on the headland, they choose a nest within a link that the extension can get to and also good stable parents is what you are looking for to become the next royal family of dunedin.

you said stable parents because there was a very unfortunate incident a while ago where one of the parents actually attacked its chicks. really, it's actually fraught with sort of tragedy watching this web cam live, isn't it? what are some of the highlights, you would say, of the youtube channel? i think the highlights is when the chick hatches. it's just really beautiful. the biggest chick has been 13.4 kilograms so they get big and white and fluffy and beautiful. in the evenings, penguins visit. penguins who live close by coming up. also the fledgeling on camera in september so you see the chick right from when it hatches till when it leaves the colony. we know the albatross is incredibly endangered. obviously this is a way to try to raise awareness for their plight. pollution in the sea. how can the public get involved? the public can get involved by thinking first of

all about the use of plastic. also about how they are contributing to climate change. the heat has been quite a problem here so we had to put irrigation in, so people can donate and also signed petitions against longline fishing. it's not just albatross, over 300,000 every year, killed by fishing, signing petitions, try to get something done about climate change is extremely important. we are watching some of that footage right now. they do look very engaging. the public also get to vote for a name for the chick. what are some of the names out there? they do. the first chick was moana. in may, the call goes out for people to choose a name. they then explain why they chose a name and it goes out to public vote. all the keen be a watchers help to choose the name

of the chick. you have been watching you stay on the bbc. i am babita sharma in london. and i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. don't delay. coming up, we have more on the crucial brexit vote on tuesday. and before we go, take a look at the world's longest aircraft. it's a combined plane and airship which is set to go into full commercial production. it comes after the current test model, the airlander 10, completed its final trials in england. the prototype hit headlines last year when it fell apart and deflated during testing. the company behind it hopes once test runs have been passed it will take paying customers from "the early 2020s". hello again.

it's been a mild winter so far and one thing we've not seen a great deal of is snow. however, over the last few hours, behind this cold front, we have seen some snow showers push in across shetland so if heading outside soon, you might see more of these coming and going, some clear spells between, and a cold wind. scotland, cold enough for patches of frost but otherwise there is too much wind and cloud around, showers too, so it's not especially cold for england and wales and northern ireland, temperatures for most between 6 and 8 celsius for the early rises. the first part of monday, still a lot of cloud around and passing showers, probably sunshine for scotland but a frosty start here before thicker cloud works in the west and we see rain arriving. also some of that rain getting into shetland. mildest weather across western and southern parts, temperatures into double figures but noticeably cooler across eastern parts of the uk, temperatures 3 in lerwick and 5 in aberdeen. the cold weather doesn't last long, a warm front pushing through on monday night and tuesday, this weather front targeting western scotland, bringing heavy rain to the highlands. here, 50—100 millimetres of rain over the mountains, quite a wet spell of weather. elsewhere, a lot of cloud and a few limited sunny spells but it's milder.

temperatures for most of us between 10 and 11 celsius. notice those temperatures coming up in shetland so the threat of any snow receding with that milder weather arriving. tuesday night, the slow—moving weather front bringing rain in scotland will eventually push southwards, bringing the wet weather from scotland into northern ireland across parts of england and wales as well. to the south of our weather front, the cold front which continues to move in during wednesday, we should see some reasonable temperatures in the south with highs expected to reach about 10 celsius or so, but noticeably colder further north, cold enough for some hill snow there across northern parts of scotland with single—figure temperatures. that colder air moves southwards wednesday night and by thursday, winds coming down from the arctic and with that a lot of dry weather and sunshine but cold with a sharp frost and showers around as well. those showers are likely to be wintry with snow showers into the north of mainland scotland and the odd bit of sleet in the showers down the north sea coast as well. a cold day, temperatures between 3 and 7 degrees celsius. that's your latest weather. goodbye. i'm babita sharma with bbc news. our top story. a saudi prince tells the bbc donald trumps decision to pull us

troops out of syria is a negative developement. prince turki al—faisal made the comments as the us secretary of state mike pompeo arrived in riyadh to discuss the pullout as part of a tour of middle east allies. exceptionally heavy snowy in central europe is expected to continue causing severe disruption. in austria, an avalanche killed three german tourists, and a fourth person is missing. and this story is trending on bbc.com. the singer robbie williams has reportedly been accused of blasting his next door neighbour — led zeppelin‘sjimmy page — with heavy metal music, including black sabbath and deep purple. the two fell out over williams‘ plans to build a basement swimming pool at his home. and the top story in the uk: 48 hours before the parliamentary vote that could define brexit — the prime minister has told mps not