i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: it is just one hour to president trump's state of the union address, to a deeply divided congress. we are live in washington with more. actress and un special envoy angelina jolie meets rohingya refugees, calling for an end to the violence that has driven them from their homes. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: ten years after one of australia's worst natural disasters, we meet the people still struggling to come to terms with the black saturday fires. mr neeson, are you sorry for what you said? and actor liam neeson denies he is racist, after saying he once wanted to kill any black man in revenge for a friend's rape. good morning.

it is 9:00am in singapore, 1:00am in the morning in london and 8:00pm in washington, where in less than an hour's time president trump will deliver the annual state of the union address. the speech was delayed by a week because of the longest government shutdown in us history. we know the president will address immigration and border security, and likely call for infrastructure spending. well, despite a somewhat rocky start to the year, donald trump's counsellor kellyanne conway was in an upbeat mood. the president will be talking about the booming economy, and the fact that wages are up and unemployment is down. deregulation is successful. he's remade the judiciary. we now export oil and gas, as he would say, like no—one else exports oil and gas.

but he's also going to be visionary. however, senate democrats have not been so generous to mr trump. what is the state of the trump economy? failing the middle class. what is the state of the trump healthcare system? failing american families. what is the state of the trump administration? chaos. and what is the state of trump foreign policy? inside out and backward. the bbc‘s chris buckler joins me from washington. and chris, we now know this is happening, of course, having waited for some weeks for the confirmation. but what are we expecting to hear in the next, what, 56, 58 minutes or so? yes, it is the state of politics, never mind the state of the union, in washington which gives you a sense of why this has been

delayed. at donald trump is really trying to push ahead with what was described as a visionary idea of things going forward. now, the suggestion is up to this point have been to try and put a more unifying message ahead than perhaps some of mr trump's tweets have given the indications of as far as politics is concerned. he wants to really focus on trying to see a bi— partisan way forward. and of course, to some extent that something he needs, because the politics here in washington, dc has changed since the mid—term elections. the house of representatives is now controlled by the democrats. why we've had the government shutdown, is why we've had this divide over immigration. but still, this is a chance for donald trump to set out his agenda for the year ahead, what his goals are, and you would expect to hear him talk about, yes, the economy, yes, infrastructure spending, yes, about healthcare, yes, infrastructure spending, yes, about healthca re, but yes, infrastructure spending, yes, about healthcare, but also that issue of immigration. it is one that has really caused the government shutdown, it is the one that causes this divide. he still wants that $5

billion for a wall with mexico. he still wa nts billion for a wall with mexico. he still wants to push ahead with that kind of agenda. and if you take a look at a guess that have been invited to this, you get a sense of the divide that exists between democrats and republicans. for example, mrtrump has democrats and republicans. for example, mr trump has invited as some of his guests members of a family whose relative was killed by an illegal immigrant. it gives you a sense that he is trying to raise that. at the same time, among the democrat guests, we have a mother who was separated from her children at the border by the policies of this administration. i think as much as we talk about bipartisanship, as much as we talk about a speech intending to unify, we will still be watching that body language to see how nancy pelosi and donald trump really get along and just how much this really brings democrats and republicans together. yes, there is so much to see and hear. fascinating times. 0bviously so much to see and hear. fascinating times. obviously the state of the union address notably renowned for the number of standing ovation is. you know, every year we talk about

it, andi you know, every year we talk about it, and i am sure donald trump being the person that he is is probably going to put a big emphasis on the number that he is hoping to get. yes, and if we look back to last year, in the state of the union address he gave last year, there was an awful lot about what he had achieved. and certainly there will be an attempt to do that. what is a lwa ys be an attempt to do that. what is always fascinating, though, is watching the body language during all of this. so sometimes the republicans, they stand up and they will applaud, and the democrats will remain seated. it gives you this idea of what are the real dividing points inside washington, inside congress. and sometimes it'sjust those moments whenever there is a look to camera, whenever people react. and of course, trump himself doesn't often hide what he feels. it will be fascinating to watch, and we will be fascinating to watch, and we will see at in an hour's time. earlier i spoke to the chair of republicans 0verseas singapore, tina datta, and asked how important is asia to trump in the state of the union.

the state of the union, one of the things you probably will hear is he may address a little bit the relationship with china and what is going on with trade negotiations. as it's been reported, they are sort of coming to an understanding, a preliminary understanding, and we know it is chinese new year, so things are shutdown in china for the next couple of weeks. at there has been good conversation, and i do believe he might talk about that. while that doesn't relate completely to all of asia, that is a discussion towards our direction, not specifically south east asia, but it will roll down in a positive direction. but what is the sense among republicans? with a resolution come to fruition before the first of march, or sometime even later this year? there will be a resolution with regards to some direction with regards to china. it will not be before march one. 0bviously since it was chinese new year, the plan is going to be taking place about that

time. there's things in china that need to be addressed, as well as in the united states. these issues are adjusted with the united states. these issues also sit with the government in china and having people be on the same page for them to be able to move forward as well. so that was the republican view. i also spoke to patricia reed, who is chair of democrats abroad here in singapore. she also gave me her analysis of the issues he is likely to cover in his speech. the president has been focused on things that benefit people like him, primarily, in the first half of his term, so billionaires and corporations. he's done very little to help the average american. as far as his tariffs, and the trade war that he's started with china, we've seen some very real consequences. in the united states, we've — gm has started laying off 4,000 workers this week. harley—davidson barely break even, and has announced that they're moving their manufacturing overseas. trump had to approve $12 billion in subsidies to offset the tariffs — damage that was done to american farmers.

all right. outside of what he is going to talk on domestic issues, clearly the us—china trade dispute will also come into focus. but trump has demonstrated something that previous us presidents should have done — held china accountable on ip and other unfair trade practices. it's a very delicate balance. it's a negotiation that requires great skill, delicacy and diplomacy, and a very deep understanding of, you know, industry and corporation—related issues between the two countries. i think that he needs to rely on his advisers, and i think some of our concerns is that historically he's not been relying on those advisers. but you would agree that he has done what other us presidents haven't really done, and that is face up to the chinese. look, i think — two wrongs never make a right, and regardless of what he's going to say about past presidents, he needs to be his own man, and he needs to be leading the way and be implementing policies that

are good for the average american. we will have more on that speech, and on his promises from last year. that is coming up later. in other news this hour, the un special envoy angelina jolie has visited camps in bangladesh for muslim rohingyas displaced from myanmar. the hollywood actor condemned the world's failure to prevent a crisis that has seen around 0.75 million people driven from their homes, as she addressed a crowd of people in the world's largest refugee settlement of cox's bazar. the rohingya families i have met are no different from other refugees in one crucial respect. they want to be able to return home. and they have an absolute right to return home. but only when they feel it is safe enough to do so voluntarily, and they know that their rights will be respected. the responsibility to ensure those rights and make it possible

for the rohingya people to return to rakhine state lies squarely with the government and the authorities in myanmar. also this hour: a woman has been arrested in paris on suspicion of arson, after an early—morning apartment fire in one of the city's upscale neighbourhoods claimed the lives of ten people and injured 30 others. the prosecutor said the female suspect suffered from prior psychological problems. german chancellor angela merkel has pledged to strengthen her country's economic partnership with japan, amid turbulence caused by the ongoing trade war between the us and china. she spoke to university students at the close of a two—day visit to the region, which also saw her meetjapan‘s emperor and crown prince. hundreds of thousands of fans have lined the streets of downtown boston to celebrate the new england patriots' sixth super bowl championship. the team paraded the vince lombardi

trophy after a 13—3 victory over the los angeles rams in super bowl liii in atlanta at the weekend. quarterback tom brady becomes the first player in history to win a sixth super bowl ring. the head of the taliban delegation in moscow has said he hopes that withdrawal of us troops from afghanistan will take months, not years. following peace negotiations with the us in qatar last month, the taliban delegation is holding political talks with the former afghan president hamid karzai, along with other influential opposition figures. afghan government officials are not taking part, criticising the meeting as counterproductive. 0ur correspondent secunder kermani is there. there is clearly a growing momentum behind peace talks on afghanistan. the discussions here today come just over a week after significant progress was made in separate talks between the taliban and us officials in the gulf. but whilst they focus primarily

on american troop withdrawal, on the threat from groups like al-qaeda, the talks here today have been not only about how to reach a peace deal, but also how the country might be governed in the future, were the taliban to become a mainstream political force. taliban representatives said that the country's constitution would have to be replaced by an islamic one. some politicians pushed back against that, saying that the current system needed to be respected, as does the progress made in recent years on issues such as women's rights. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we look at the mounting controversy over a racial comment made by actor liam neeson. also on the programme: australia marks ten years since one of its worst natural disasters, the black saturday fires. 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.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. yes, thanks for being with us. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: millions of americans prepare to tune in to donald trump's state of the union address. he's expected to call for unity in front of a divided congress. the actor and united nations special envoy angelina jolie has visited a rohingya refugee camp in bangladesh, calling for an end to the violence that has forced thousands from their homes. let's now take a look at some of the front pages from around the world. we start off with the japan times, it leads on the us and south korea's agreement in principle on sharing the cost of stationing us troops

in south korea. it goes on to say that seoul will boost its contribution by nearly $1 billion for keeping us troops in south korea. the south china morning post website explains how the heightened security and emergence of the online sex trade in singapore is driving away mainland chinese workers in the red light district, geylang. and in germany, the idea of imposing a speed limit on the motorway almost caused rioting, reports the new york times. there was an emotional outpouring by the public after a government appointed commission floated the idea of a speed limit on the autobahn. those are the papers. the us premiere of a new film starring liam neeson has been cancelled, amid a row over his comments that he once wanted to kill a random black man after a friend was raped. the actor has denied he is racist but the remarks, published on monday, have sparked an outcry. 0ur correspondent nick bryant reports from new york.

after his explosive comments about rape, revenge and race... mr neeson, are you sorry for what you said? ..liam neeson arrived at this manhattan television studio not to make an apology, but to offer an explanation. i'm not racist... he admitted to setting out to kill an innocent black man, nearly a0 years ago, after someone close to him was allegedly raped by a black man. would you have had the same reaction if your friend had said it was a white man? would you have wanted to kill him? 0h, definitely. if she'd said an irish or a scot or a brit or a lithuanian, i know i would have had the same effect. i was trying to...show honour to my — stand up for my dearfriend in this terrible, medieval fashion. and i'm a fairly intelligent guy, and that's why it kind of shocked me when i came down to earth, after having these horrible feelings. luckily, no violence occurred, ever, thanks be to god.

what makes you think you can kill a man? i read it in a crime novel. promoting his new movie, the theme of which is murderous revenge, the actor had given an interview, telling how he had sought retribution after hearing about the rape. there's been outrage at those remarks, but not universal condemnation. wow, i'm just shocked. i couldn't believe he would say something like that. he's a — i thought he was a good guy. it makes you have a little bit of fear, but we have to push through that and find the love. for liam neeson, today was supposed to be about promoting his new movie, but instead, he's trying to salvage his reputation. the 66—year—old has been one of hollywood's more bankable stars. will he face a backlash at the box office? nick bryant, bbc news, new york. thursday marks ten years since one of australia's worst natural disasters. the black saturday bushfires, on the outskirts of melbourne, caused the death of 173 people and the loss of more than 2000 homes. a decade on, some people still struggle to deal with the trauma of the fire and what

they lost that day. more from our correspondent, hywel griffith. ferocious and all—consuming — a decade on, the scale of the black saturday fires is still standing. 0n the hottest day ever recorded in melbourne, flames swept through victoria's tinder dry forests. embers were carried for dozens of kilometres. i looked over here and a gumtree just went — exploded. michelle and vitali thought they were well—prepared. they packed their cars but the fire cut them off. michelle drove through it, vitali stayed to defend their property, filming the flames as they surrounded them. it was only when i looked in the rear vision mirror and saw the flames and the flames either side, and then i thought, you've made a mistake, you shouldn't have left. and that realisation

that you are trapped, you know, this is happening, and you're stuck. i felt that she'd be ok, felt or hoped, yeah, that she'd be ok. i didn't know that so many people died. i didn't know that so many people died in their cars. ten years may have passed, but the trauma black saturday brought is still felt here. and every summer, the risk of more bushfires returns. the trees have grown again, and so there's plenty of fuel in the forests. and in the last few weeks, they've seen the hottest temperatures here in a decade. the local volunteer fire crews warn everyone needs to have a fire plan. after the fires, a lot of people moved out of the district. their houses were burnt and they decided, no, i don't want to live in a fire area. and a lot of new people have come in without that experience. an official enquiry into black saturday concluded that it would be a mistake to think of the day as a one—off. rather, it should serve as a warning

to everyone of how quickly, how unpredictably, lives can be lost. hywell griffith, bbc news, melbourne. it's about a0 minutes to go until the state of the union speech, but let's go back in time to what president trump promised to do last year. these speeches are a chance for a president to lay out an agenda and goals for the coming months, and in 2018, donald trump touched on the iran deal, infrastructure, and the so—called islamic state group. so has he delivered? 0ur correspondents have been finding out. the state of our union is strong, because our people are strong. but there is much more work to be done. we will continue our fight until isis is defeated. fast forward to december 2018, when president trump tweeted that the us would be pulling

troops out of syria, saying that isis had been defeated. and we have won against isis. we have beaten them and we have beaten them badly. we've taken back the land. many experts and officials dispute that statement. while isis has lost much of the territory it held in the middle east, it still has a large presence in syria and iraq, with an estimated 30,000 fighters. and at the start of this year, isis claimed responsibility for a deadly explosion in the syrian city. i am asking congress to address the fundamental flaws in the terrible iran nuclear deal. so what fundamental flaws is he talking about? well, the deal is narrowly focused on iran's nuclear programme and doesn't include other possible threats. i am announcing today that the united states will withdraw from the iran nuclear deal.

yes, he kept his promise, and he'd made it part of a broader policy to counter what he calls iran's malign and terrorist activity. but pulling out of the deal has also damaged us credibility, because in fact, iran was, and still is, sticking to its terms. it has strained relations with america's european allies, because they helped negotiate the accord and are sticking with it. and critics argue ditching a carefully crafted arms—control agreement makes the middle east less stable, not more. tonight, i'm calling on congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment that our country so desperately needs. infrastructure investment wasn't a new idea for donald trump. he talked about it relentlessly on the 2016 campaign trail, and promised new bridges and roads and tunnels and airports in his inaugural address. the $1.5 trillion pricetag in his state of the union,

however, was new, but since then he's done almost nothing to make it a reality. we are going to rebuild america's crumbling infrastructure. congressional legislation has been non—existent. while infrastructure investment is something that traditionally both parties can agree on, there seems to be very little interest in bipartisan co—operation right now. and we will have live coverage of president donald trump's state of the union address, plus full analysis across the bbc, from 0200 gmt. you have been watching newsday. i'm babita sharma in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. the special court or asia business report. —— we have a special report.

nonya kuehs — we'll be seeing what they are and why they're so popular at this time of year. i'll be sending them your way to london very soon. yeah, i am looking forward to them. that is the new one to me, you will have two let me know what they are like. and before we go, 700 million people tuned in for a massive televised gala in china. these pictures are from the state broadcaster ushering in the chinese new year. the holiday is marked by fireworks, dancing, and the exchange of red packets filled with money. hundreds of millions of people hit the road to visit their loved ones, making it the largest migration in the world. 0nce once again, it is a chance for rico hizon a note to say that a very happy lunar new year to you too. isn't that right? that is right. i have not received my red packet from you. it is on its way, it is on its way. we'll see you soon, thank you

for joining way. we'll see you soon, thank you forjoining us. by. —— goodbye. good morning. in the last few hours, we've got a weather front that's moving its way from west to east. it's bringing some rain, some of it quite heavy, but it will clear away from the south—east corner, perhaps leaving a legacy of cloud first thing in the morning and outbreaks of rain. behind it, quite breezy, with a scattering of showers into the north—west. so that kind of sums up wednesday's weather, really. we'll start off the morning cloudy, dull and damp, with some outbreaks of rain across that essex and kent coast. sunnier spells behind. a south—westerly breeze, so a mild source, but it will continue to drive in the risk of showers through northern ireland and western scotland as we go through the day, some of them pushing inland. 7—11 degrees the high. now, there's the potentialfor some of that rain to pep up a little in the south—east later on in the day. we'll need to keep an eye on that.

that weather front riddles its way off into the near continent, but it's a bit of a mess wednesday night into thursday. it's joined by another weather front, which as it moves its way west to east overnight, could bring in something a little bit cooler and the potential for some snow to higher ground as it moves its way through scotland. behind it, it's going to be a breezy affair on thursday, with that westerly wind still driving in the showers along those exposed west—facing coasts. but again, it's still a relatively mild story, particularly in comparison to where we were a week ago, 5—10 degrees the overall high. now, as we move out of thursday into friday, it does look as though we'll see more of a significant area of low pressure starting to push in from the atlantic, and with that low plenty of isobars squeezing together, particularly on the southern flank, that is where we're likely to see the strongest of the winds, gale force gusts not out of the question. and some of the rain on friday will be quite heavy as that low pressure moves its way steadily north and east. so by the middle of the afternoon, there'll be outbreaks of rain, some of it heavy.

the strongest of the winds perhaps into the afternoon, down towards the south—west, 50—60 mile an hour gusts not out of the question. and so, with the cloud, wind and rain, temperatures perhaps, possibly irrelevant, but nevertheless here they are, 9—12 degrees. still relatively mild across the country. now, as we move out of friday into the start of the weekend, that area of low pressure will push off into scandinavia. but we'll need to keep an eye on another potential developing low into the south, which may well bring more rain for the start of the weekend. again, the isobars stay tightly packed, it stays pretty windy with it. so, for the end of the week, it's going to be a mild story but a windy one, and we have the potential to see some gusts of winds 50—70 miles an hour, with further rain at times. take care. i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story: in half an hour's time, president trump will deliver the annual state of the union address. the speech has been delayed by a week because of the longest government shutdown in us history. millions of americas will be tuning in.

president trump will address immigration and border security, and is expected to call for unity, in front of a deeply divided congress. actress and un refugee envoy angelina jolie has visited camps in bangladesh for muslim rohingyas displaced from myanmar. she says myanmar‘s government must stop the violence that has driven them from their homes. and this story is trending on bbc.com. the irish actor liam neeson has denied he is racist, after telling an interviewer he once set out to kill an innocent black man in revenge for a friend's rape. stay with bbc world news. and the top story in the uk: theresa may says she wants the eu to agree to changes to the so—called irish backstop in her brexit withdrawal deal, but suggested