hello, this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: a group of latin american countries and canada call for a change of government in venezuela as its crippled economy teeters on the brink. if you buyjust this much, you've spent a third of the average monthly wage. and prices are skyrocketing. they've doubled in a month. search teams confirm they've sighted a body in the wreckage of the plane carrying the missing footballer, emiliano sala, and his pilot. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: talking trade in uncertain times. angela merkel meets shinzo abe as global economic tensions rise. meet the tnt boys, the philippine sensation who've exploded onto the international stage with their drag and pop music. good morning.

it's 9am in singapore, 1am in london and 9pm in venezuela, where the opposition leader, juan guaido, has dismissed warnings from president nicolas maduro that the country's political crisis could spark civil war. pressure is growing on mr maduro, as more than half of the countries which make up the european union said they recognised mr guaido as interim leader. orla guerin reports from the capital, caracas. all eyes now on venezuela, where it's not hard to find scenes like this. the embattled president, nicolas maduro, insists his people are not paupers.

19—year—old anders would beg to differ. he only eats what he can find. translation: people don't throw things away anymore. before, they threw out everything — food, clothes, shoes. sometimes i don't find a thing. so i don't eat. right across the street, at the neighbourhood fruit and veg stall, plenty on display, but few customers. they talk here about the maduro diet, enforced weight loss due to hyperinflation. what can you not afford to buy any more, what things did you eat before that you can't eat now? "meat, chicken, milk," says irene. "thank god there are no toddlers in my house. anyone who can is leaving the country. " i've got a handful of potatoes here.

if you buyjust this much, you've spent a third of the average monthly wage. and prices are skyrocketing — they've doubled in a month. food is a key battleground here for president maduro and for the opposition. it's a top priority for the opposition leader, juan guaido, swarmed by cameras and looking like a head of state. the european union, the latest to recognise him as such. he is promising to bring in food aid if the venezuelan military will allow it through the border. "lives are at stake," he says. this would be the gateway, the border with colombia. today, as every day, venezuela ns streaming out. more than three million have fled. but president maduro is refusing all offers of aid, angering some of his countryman. translation: i think it's really bad that the government

won't accept help. they are scared that people will realise the hospitals aren't working, that nothing is working in venezuela. thank god the border is open so that we can buy food. but on venezuelan state tv, no hunger in sight, just military theatrics. president maduro making almost daily appearances now with his troops. front and centre, as commander—in—chief. he needs to keep them onside. so far, it seems he has. he is sending a none too subtle message to opponents at home and abroad — i've got the big guns, remember that. orla guerin, bbc news, caracas. our other top stories: with the clock ticking on brexit, a working group of leave— and remain—supporting conservative mps have got together to come up with a solution. their compromise plan would extend

the transition period until 2021, allowing more time to work out how to avoid a hard border with ireland, and plan more thoroughly for a no—deal. but the eu is currently standing firm, not wanting to re—open the negotiations. here's ireland's foreign minister. we spent 18 months negotiating the complexity of a withdrawal agreement. that withdrawal agreement is going through the ratification process on the eu side and of course we want to provide assurances and clarity to the uk to assist the ratification process on the uk side. but certainly, from our perspective, on some of the core issues, particularly on the irish protocol and the backstop, it's already a series of compromises that is actually designed around british red lines. and speaking in washington, scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon backs

the idea of buying more time for the brexit negotiations, but for different reasons. the uk is simply not remotely prepared to leave the eu in 53 days‘ time. that's been obvious for a while now so the uk government should ask the eu to agree to put back the planned date for brexit. also making news today: the us special envoy for north korea, stephen biegun, will meet with his north korean counterpart in pyongyang on wednesday. he said the aim of the meeting was to map out a set of concrete deliverables for the second summit between president donald trump and the north korean leader kim jong—un later this month. pope francis has delivered a speech on the arabian peninsula calling for a halt to wars in the middle east. he was addressing leaders of different faiths at a gathering in the united arab emirates. he said the harmful consequences of violence could be seen in yemen, syria, iraq and libya. a new study has warned that climate change could cause two—thirds

of himalayan glaciers to melt by the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions aren't reduced. scientists say this would disrupt the lives of nearly two billon people who live in the himalayas or along major rivers in india and china. police in belgium are hunting thieves who tunnelled from sewers into a bank vault in antwerp, close to the city's diamond trading district. it's thought the gang dug into a network of pipes before digging a second tunnel into the bank. over 20 deposit boxes were emptied. police have not said how much was stolen. the painting by banksy that famously began to self shred while at auction has gone on display in germany. the frieda burda museum paid over a million dollars for the artwork love is in the bin before a shredder built into the paintings frame went to work. the gallery made sure the shredder was deactivated before the public opening. angela merkel has held

meetings in tokyo with prime minister shinzo abe, where the two discussed politics and business, including brexit and the ongoing us—china trade war. the german chancellor is also meeting emperor akihito and crown prince naruhito on her two day—trip. earlier, i spoke to seijiro ta keshita, a professor at the university of shizuoka injapan, who said the two countries need each other. germany has been approaching china quite ardently but you can clearly see they're starting to see some of the country risk involved especially in regards to data security etc and also due to the fact that external environment, as we see it, is crumbling down. mr trump is basically tarnishing or breaking down the western allies and cohesion that has built over the years and that hurts both japan and germany quite severely. but the germans also have

to balance their attention in asia to both japan and the chinese. absolutely true but you can see from the visits that ms merkel has been making, it is very clear they have been trying to strengthen the ties with china but excessive inclination is not very good. obviously, as you say, balancing is quite important, especially at times like this when we are seeing aggression on the military side from china and possibly russia as well. at the same time, we are seeing the other war, which is the trade war that is occurring from the us with the rest of the world. certainly the regression back to the conservatism and protectionism is something that japan and germany wants to avoid the most. what about the geopolitical threats? with both brexit and donald trump's stance on the current international order?

absolutely and if we talk about the geopolitical side, obviously, germany and europe itself is constantly feeling the threat from russia especially after 2014, and japan is constantly getting the military and geopolitical pressure from china. so from that point of view as well, there needs to be a lot more coalition to reaffirm between germany and japan in regards to security of data and ai. underwater search teams who've discovered the wreckage of the light aircraft carrying the cardiff city footballer, emiliano sala say they've seen a body. the plane was found on the seabed in the english channel on sunday, from where sian lloyd reports. the wreckage of the light aircraft which was carrying emiliano sala and piloted by david ibbotson. resting on the sea bed, in more than 60 metres of water. it was discovered yesterday by a vessel commissioned

by the footballer‘s family, following a crowdfunding appeal. we wanted to go out there and find the plane. we're pleased that that happened. it's going to be, you know, people use the word closure, this is just the first step. it's a long, long way, but at least this is the route for people — for them to have answers. the cardiff city striker was being flown to south wales from nantes in france by 59—year—old david ibbotson when the plane lost radar contact. two weeks later, underwater cameras have identified that a body is onboard. the wreckage was found 30 miles north of guernsey, following a search which covered an area of four square nautical miles. two ships, the fpv morven, the vessel paid for by the sala family, and the geo 0cean iii, hired by the air accidents investigation branch, both combed this position. sonar underwater detection equipment

carried onboard the fpv morven located the aircraft in 63 metres of water. the morven has now completed its part in the operation and will soon be returning to southampton. ross taylor was one of the team onboard during the search. the weather is very challenging, it's — to identify something on the sea bed is not as straightforward as perhaps you might understand, so you do need experienced personnel to interpret that data, to develop a strategy to know what to do next. so even though we are obviously very pleased the plane's been found, but we're also very surprised we were able to do so quickly. much of the plane is still intact, with part of its registration number visible. it will now be for those leading the official investigation to decide whether the wreckage is recovered, once the families of the two men have been consulted. sian lloyd, bbc news, guernsey.

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: pillow pets. is sleeping with your faithful friend really a good idea? also on the programme: they've conquered the philippines, now they're taking on the world. the tnt boys mixing drag and pop. this is the moment that millions in iran had been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. and the anc leader, nelson mandela, is to be set free unconditionally. four, three, two, one...

a countdown to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 of its engines at once. and apart from its power, it's this recycling of the rocket, slashing the cost of a launch, that makes this a breakthrough in the business of space travel. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it a piece of cake. thousands of people have given the yachtswoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world non—stop. welcome back. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. thanks forjoining us.

i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: a group of latin american countries and canada have called for a change of government in venezuela without force, urging the army to end its backing for president maduro. and search teams have confirmed they've sighted a body in the wreckage of the aircraft carrying the missing footballer emiliano sala, and his pilot. it's emerged a multi—million dollar package of support, which was offered to nissan by the uk government in 2016, was dependant on the company's promise to build new models of the qashqai and x—trail cars in the north of england. nissan has confirmed that it is moving production of the x—trail to japan. more on that story at bbc.com. let's now take a look at some of the front pages from around the world. the international edition fo the japan times leads on the meeting between shinzo abe and angela merkel, with both leaders pledging to strengthen their bilateral relationship in the face of growing

protectionism. staying with japan, and the new york times reports that women in the country are disadvantaged in the workplace because men do fewer hours of household chores and childcare than any other of the wealthiest nations in the world. and finally, the front page of the philippine star focuses on calls for china to cut its meat consumption, saying that china could reduce its emissions by 10% if people ate half the amount of meat. those are the papers. now, which story is sparking discussions online? well, rico, one of the biggest names in american hip—hop, the grammy—nominated rapper 21 savage, has been arrested by us immigration officials. the authorities in america say the rapper is actually from the uk

and he only came to america in 2005 at the age of 12, and failed to leave the following year when his visa expired. those are the reasons they gave for the arrest. more on that story at bbc.com. today marks the beginning of the lunar new year and it is the year of the pig. as well as big celebrations, retail companies are cashing in, but not everyone gets it right. i spoke earlier to marketing expert steve mcginnes and asked him about one of the big hits of this year — peppa pig. it's 340 million views of the promo film on the first date it was released. and i think that's the big thing that some of the brands miss. bransds try to align themselves often with too many holidays, and the chinese new year's about family, it's about fun, it's about children, it's about harmony, and the peppa pig movie is all about that — it is fun, it's family, it's entertainment. apart from peppa pig,

which other western brands have jumped into the bandwagon of the chinese new year holidays and have been successful? well, successful, ithink the lego chinese new year set was fantastic. again, it was about all those things — it was family togetherness, it was playful, it was a beautifully done piece. some of the big brands do a great job, coke do a greatjob every year, budweiser do a greatjob every year, pepsi, those guys. but it's not always a home run for the brands. well, that's right and, of course, peppa pig, plus these other major western brands have been successful. which ones have failed? well, it is a $116 billion spending spree over chinese new year, so there's a lot of desire for the brands to get onboard with it but also there's a fear they'll get it wrong. there's a lot of very sophisticated and subtle etiquettes and cues around use of chinese new year, and particularly this year. so the peppa pig is a very bold move. right. there's 1.2 billion muslims in asia, so the use of the pig, particularly by food

and drink brands, is a little problematic for them. it's a little like not using father christmas in december. but really, who has made a big clunk? i think burberry‘s campaign, where they tried to modernise the family get—together with some very unhappy—loooking people, it's been described as the addams family at chinese new year. so you basically have to stick to tradition and just don't try to think too much out of the box? yeah, stick to what chinese new year and lunar new year is about, it's about harmony, it's about family. the arsenal ad, where the arsena players dress up in traditional chinese garments and mangle some phrases really is a 1.5 minute car crash. it's very hard to understand why they even did it. it reminds me of the 805, when everyone was releasing pop songs. it's just cringeworthy. now, pets can bring great comfort and joy, so it's no surprise that around half of owners will sleep alongside their animals at some point. cats are the most popular bed—mates, closely followed by dogs. now we've found out that in pur

newsroom, we have many pet lovers. take a look. here's our director nathan with luca and fleur. the dogs, we're told, regularly pass out on his bed. and our editor della loves cuddling up to her cat called fluffy. but is it safe or hygienic to allow them to share your duvet? i asked professorjane heller if our team were taking the right approach. look, they're not doing the wrong thing, no. i would — definitely wouldn't say that but it is important to be aware of any potential risks and to make an informed decision if you are deciding to sleep in close proximity with your pets, —— that's the bottom line. what are the risks? look, there are a number of risks that need to be considered. the main ones that we think of are risks of disease, transmission of disease, because we can transmit disease from animals to people,

and also from people to animals as well. these risks are very low, they're very minimal, but we need to consider whether we are at greater risk at any point in time in our life and maybe adjust our arrangements accordingly. so, you know, if people are potentially what we call immunocompromised, so they don't have as good a functioning immune system as they might otherwise have had, then a simple mitigation strategy to try to reduce the probability of getting disease is to reduce the contact — the extent of close contact with our pets. what kind of, do you think, diseases are we talking about? we'll talk about the positive aspects of sleeping with your pets first, but let's just get rid of all the negative stuff and what we should be really alarmed about. good, perfect. look and i'd say we don't really need to be alarmed about anything, but there are a few things, bacteria, different types of bacteria, so things like staphylococcus can be

shared between humans and animals. 0ther different bacterias as well, salmonella and campylobacter can be shared by our pets, which is a little bit under—recognised, and also parasites, so roundworms and gastro—intenstinal worms can also be shared. and we can have some viruses as well — they're probably slightly less common. these are not commonly carried and spread by animals, and particularly those animals that are very well cared and have regular de—worming and good health care plans. this next act, babita, the tnt boys, needs little introduction in my home country, the philippines, where they are massive. now the teenage tribute band, with their explosive blend of drag and incredible vocal skills, are taking on the world. and celebrities like ellen degeneres and jessiej are huge fans. take a look. abba's mamma mia plays:

# i've been cheated by you since i don't know when. # so i made up my mind we must come to an end... yeah, that's it. gong xi fa cai. hgppy happy lunar new year, it is the year of the pig. i thought we were just ona singing of the pig. i thought we were just on a singing contest then, for which you got ten out of ten. they give a much. we love them, they were great. hgppy much. we love them, they were great. happy new year to many of our viewers as well. —— thank you very much. i'm babita sharma in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. hgppy happy new year to all of you. we will see you again soon, goodbye. hello.

monday saw a transition to much milder weather across much of the uk. tuesday though will start off on a pretty chilly note, at least first thing. this picture was taken on monday evening, by one of our weather watchers, in hertfordshire, showing that the fog's already been forming. so i think we are likely to start with quite a bit of mist and fog around, also some frost here and there first thing tuesday morning. rain will move in from the west later on in the day, so we'll see those skies clouding over. a clear start for many of us. you can see the the blue colours indicating where the lowest of the temperatures and the frost will be. there's also going to be some fog problems, particularly through the vale of york, also through parts of southern england, perhaps east wales as well. through the day, we do start with that sunshine for much

of scotland, northern england, eastern england too. but you can see the cloud rolling in from the west, ahead of the arrival of some wet weather. so later in the morning, there'll be some rain for northern ireland, wales, the south—west of england too. that rain pushing its way eastwards through the day. eastern scotland and eastern england should stay mostly dry. although skies will cloud over and temperature will range between around 6—12 degrees, on tuesday afternoon. now, we'll keep all the cloud and the outbreaks of patchy rain overnight tuesday into wednesday. still quite a breeze too. so for many of us it will be a reasonably mild night but where we do see those skies clear, particularly in the north, could just be a touch of frost, but generally a frost—free and a mild start to your wednesday. now, through the day on wednesday, showers from the word go across the north—west of the country. initially some rain in the south—east too and that's down to this weather front that you can see on the map here. it is clearing its way off towards the south—east and then we're all left with this westerly flow of air. so quite a showery scene for northern ireland, western scotland too. and through the day, we'll see some of that rain in the south just pushing back in, so a bit of a soggy afternoon, i think, for south—east

england, the london region and east anglia too, but elsewhere actually some sunny spells coming through and temperatures not far off what we would expect for the time of year. between around about 8—10 degrees for most of us. looking ahead now towards the end of the week and things will turn increasingly unsettled. we could see a spell of rain, perhaps even a bit of snow over the hills, moving through into the early hours of thursday morning. so overnight wednesday into thursday, chance of seeing a little bit of hill snow here and there. through the day on thursday, then the worst of the rain and hill snow should clear away. and then again we're left with a westerly flow, a mix of sunny spells and a few scattered showers but it could turn quite stormy, quite windy and unsettled as we look towards the end of the week. that's it for now. bye— bye. i'm babita sharma with bbc news. our top story: a group of latin american countries and canada has urged the venezuelan military to support the opposition leaderjuan guaido as interim president. the 1a—nation lima group called

for a change of government without the use of force, and the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid. german chancellor angela merkel has been meeting the japanese leader shinzo abe injapan to talk about trade as global economic tensions rise. among the topics are the us—china trade war and brexit. and this story is popular on bbc.com: the american hip—hop rapper 21 savage has been arrested by us immigration officials. they say he's from the uk and overstayed a visa when he came to america at the age of 12. you're up to date. stay with us. and the top story in the uk: nissan will have to reapply for millions of pounds in government funding, after scrapping plans to build a new model in the uk.