coming up on this programme: asian cup controversy — a challenge to qatar's place in the final from the political rival they beat to get there. kemar roach takes four wickets as england suffer another batting collapse in the west indies. and it's not all about brady — the deep rooted friendship that's providing a fascinating subplot to super bowl 53 in atlanta. hello and welcome to the programme. we start with football and controversy ahead of the asian cup final, which takes place in abu dhabi on friday. japan will be bidding for a record 5th title and they're facing qatar who are playing in the final for the first time. but their place was thrown in doubt following a complaint from the host nation, the uae, who claim two of qatar's players aren't eligible and the team should be disqualified. more now from the bbc‘s mani djazmi in abu dhabi. felix

mani djazmi in abu dhabi. sanchez the cat coat sa) is felix sanchez the cat coat says he is not concerned about this. qatar. they are just focused on the game. qatar dispatched saudi arabia and absolutely humbled the uae, beating them 4—0 in the semi—final. to the three best teams are in the final. asa three best teams are in the final. as a nation, japan have been the most consistent team in asia without question. this is theirfifth most consistent team in asia without question. this is their fifth final since the first in 1992, and they have one all the other four. this is a young japanese team coming through. their big target is at the olympics in tokyo and absolutely 110—0118 olympics in tokyo and absolutely no—one expected them to reach this

stage, especially watching them play, they were very scratchy. they stepped up a level. qatar have all the stakes in their favour. almoez ali the leading scorer. they have not conceded a goal yet. the most assists in the competition from their staff. i just assists in the competition from their staff. ijust did not see japan beaten. i make them favourite, just but it will be an entertaining game. thursday was transfer deadline day in many of the major european leagues — the final chance for clubs to add players this season. one of the final deals before the door closed will see belgian striker michy batshuayi return to london to crystal palace. he had been on a season—long loan from chelsea to spanish side valencia but will move to palace on loan until the end of the season.

let's take a look at some of the other big deals. english premier league side newcastle united have broken their transfer record to sign the paraguayan midfielder miguel almiron. he joins from the mls champions atlanta united for $27 million. marouane fellaini is on his way out of manchester united. the belgian midfielder has had a medical with the chinese super league side shandong luneng. the fee hasn't been confirmed but the chinese transfer window doesn't close until the end of february. ba rcelona's highly—rated midfielder denis suarez has joined arsenal on loan until the end of the season. he played for the arsenal manager unai emery at sevilla. the ivory coast international wilfried bony has moved from swansea city to the qatari stars league side al—arabi on loan until the end of the season. all the details are over on the bbc sport website. in spain, real madrid are through to the semi—finals

of the copa del rey, after a comfortable victory at girona. karim benzema scored twice as real won the second leg 3—1. marcos llorente also scored for madrid as they completed a 7—3 aggregate win. and lazio are through to the semi—finals of the coppa italia after beating inter milan on penalties. it was goalless after 90 minutes, and 1—1 after extra—time. lucas leiva scored the winning penalty as lazio won the shoot—out 4—3. cricket and australia have made a dreadful start to the 2nd test against sri lanka in canberra. they won the toss, and chose to bat first, but they've lost three early wickets. marcus harris for 11, then usman khawaja without scoring. vishwa fernando picked up both those wickets before chamika karunaratne got a wicket with his fourth ball in test cricket. they're currently 103 for 3.

meanwhile, the west indies had the better of the first day's play in the 2nd test against england in antigua. after winning the toss, they put the tourists into bat and it looked to be thr right decision. and it looked to be the right decision. england never recovered from losing both openers cheaply, and, despite half—centuries from moeen ali and jonny bairstow, they were bowled out forjust 187. kemar roach was the pick of the west indies bowlers‘ with 4 for 30 on another wretched day for england's batsmen. west indies closed the day on 30 without loss in reply. our correspondent, jonathan agnew is there. and an even teach kept the batsmen on their toes all day. some unlucky with deliveries bouncing cruelly. 21 overs before the close. it of sighted 93—6. burns made for anjoe root got a snorter. jonny bairstow

played well. 85 with folks before being caught at mid—on. ben foakes a pull shot into his stumps for five. while england beat the bat, they we re while england beat the bat, they were unable to break through. not long now until superbowl 53 — always a night that can test friednships between rival supporters, none moreso though than new england's ryan allen and the los angeles rams‘ johnny hekker who are the punters for sunday's showdown. eleven years go, they were walk—on freshmen teammates at oregon state — in atlanta, they'll have to put their history aside. the bbc‘s caroline barker is there. sports is all about rivalries. in 1996 when the olympic summit games we re

1996 when the olympic summit games were in atlanta, there were some great rivalries on and off the track. the ultimate with the new england patriot up against la. some bribery is go back a long time. to childhood fans turned punters for example. johnny and i walked on together at oregon state as freshmen and the punter position was open and all i knew at the time was theirs of these big allstate quarterback from washington that was supposed to come and that is the other guy was competing against the job. he pushed mea competing against the job. he pushed me a town in pursuit of the scholarship. look at we both are. it is crazy. think about where you came from and johnny is at the beginning

of it all. he has earned every single bit of success. he never let circumstances defined his attitude. we are very close. he is a hell of a punter and we are very close. he is a hell of a punterand a we are very close. he is a hell of a punter and a great friend as well. you say you still talk to him, when was the last time? text on him after their championship game and congratulated him and told him i would like to meet up for a cold beverage. it sounds like you are a bit of a fan as well? he is a start. the best in his position. —— staff. it puts me in a position to be attacking which is kind of unusual but to be able to use that skill is great and the avid team that relies oi'i great and the avid team that relies on that gives me a chance to make an

impact. if he gets the ring, that's good? we are playing to win but our friendship is our friendship and hopefully i'm all get to hang out with him in the off—season. it is awesome. friendship will count for nothing come sunday. that will be out the window but keep your window shut because it is expected to be cold come game day. both france vying for the vince lombardi crown. a reminder of the top stories. the asian cup takes place on friday at between qatar and japan. some

controversy around some of qatar's players. from me and all the team, it is goodbye for now. hello. there is more snow to come in this forecast as we head into friday. the main focus is the zone, say, from south wales across east anglia and anywhere south of here. all driven by this area of low pressure, which stays close by as we go into friday. now, whilst the earlier amber warning from the met office has expired, we still have yellow warnings in place for both snow and ice. so, slippery surfaces, tricky travelling conditions. stay up—to—date with the latest travel news on your bbc local radio station. by friday morning, we are likely to see perhaps 5—10 centimetres of snow across parts of wales, south—west england, particularly

over the higher ground, up towards the chilterns and the cotswolds. at least a couple of centimetres elsewhere. and we will start to see further sleet and snow showers piling into north—east england. some of those may well get further south and westwards, perhaps down towards the midlands. should be a fine start to the day across northern ireland, but cold and frosty. and a really cold start again across scotland, although not quite as cold as the nightjust gone. and, once again, frequent snow showers piling into north scotland, the highlands and also the northern ireland. so, as the day wears on on friday, we will keep our zone of snow showers across central and southern england. it will become more fragmented and increasingly sleety through the day. still further snow showers piling into north—east england, across the north york moors. as i mentioned, some of those may just get across the pennines and down towards parts of the midlands. it will be a breezy day in places, particularly the further south you are, so that's just going to exacerbate the cold feel. and, for most, temperatures are not going to get much above three or four celsius. but we should at least see them above freezing across parts of northern england and scotland,

where we struggled through thursday with the fog. as we go through friday night and into saturday, we still keep this feed of showers, mainly down eastern and some western coasts. and we start to lose the sleet and snow from south—east england. but a cloudier night here, so temperatures will stay above freezing. elsewhere, further west, under clear skies, getting down to —1 or minus two celsius. still “11 —5 across the highlands of scotland. then we start the weekend, and our area of low pressure moves away into france and germany, and for a brief time through the weekend things are looking drier and quieter. now, with a northerly wind, we are still going to pick up some wintry showers down some eastern coasts. a few mayjust clip some western coast, but for most on saturday it's a dry date, with some crisp winter sunshine. after a frosty start, temperatures getting up to between 3—5 celsius, perhaps 6—7 across south—west england. so, to sum up the weekend, it's going to stay cold, there will be some sunshine, further wintry showers and perhaps we could see some rain later on sunday, with some snow across scotland. bye— bye. a very warm welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe.

my name is mike embley. our top stories: the deep freeze. cities in the american midwest grind to a halt as temperatures hit record lows. ‘substantial progress' claim american negotiators — but no agreement yet in the us—china trade war. now we are going to have a great trade deal with china if it all works out. we look forward to it. it will be great for both countries. venezuela's self—declared interim president says his family has been threatened by units loyal to his rival — president maduro. and the leonardos of queen elizabeth. one of the world's greatest collections goes on tour for the 500th anniversary of the artist's death.