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 she might not seek to remove it altogether.

she met business leaders in belfast on tuesday, and is now set to travel to brussels. now on bbc news, live to singapore for asia business report. trump's state of the union. what will this year's address to congress mean for the us china trade dispute? feng shui in the year of the pig. will they be fireworks, or will the chinese new year usher in a calmer period? good morning, asia, hello, world. glad you could join us for this lunar new year edition of asia business report. i'm rico hizon. in about half—an—hour's time, president

donald trump will be delivering his annual state of the union address to the us congress, and he is expected to call for bipartisanship after a divisive battle between the democrat on the republicans that shutdown the federal government. could mr trump offer beijing an olive branch before next month's deadline to impose higher tariffs on chinese goods? and international trade expert told me what to expect. because this has been such a contentious year and because congress is divided, the issues around the wall, i think, in particular, building this wall along the southern border with mexico, i think is going to be a big part of his speech. and i also think probably domestic issues will probably domestic issues will probably dominate. again, what is going to happen with the next government closure? i think what is also going to be very interesting is the optics of this particular speech, with nancy pelosi, the

speaker of the house, literally sitting behind him and looking over his shoulder. at two thirds of the global population is here in asia, and the us— china trade dispute is very important to many of us. that's right, so whether or not mr trump ‘s spends very much time on that topic, i think, remains to be seen. i think because of this inward looking focused on america and america first, i think it's likely that we hear much about china, maybe just a passing mention. but in your view, are we getting closer to a deal?” think the latest rounds of meetings in washington would indicate that at least they have agreed to continue talking. i don't think anything of substance has been agreed to yet, certainly not the core fundamental issues in this trade dispute, around structural reform in china. so i think wejust have structural reform in china. so i think we just have to wait and see. but i think that is an ongoing discussion. the us president is also

expected to announce that he has chosen the new leader of the world bank, currently the undersecretary of treasury has been an outspoken critic of the multinational organisations, so why would donald trump tap someone who thinks the world bank is inefficient? our correspondent has the answers. former chief economist at bear stea rns, former chief economist at bear stearns, trump supporter, and is now david malpass can add world bank president to the list. he has previously challenged the role of these institutions and has characterised the world bank is big and inefficient. he has also been very critical of the bank lending money to china which he says it doesn't need, and especially troubling, given the harsh lending practices china uses with other countries. we engaged repeatedly with china on our trade and

investment concerns and the problems caused by their one belt, one road initiative, which often leads countries with excessive debt and poor quality projects. despite his criticisms, through his role at the treasury department, malpass significantly increased america's contribution to the world bank to $13 billion, albeit with conditions attached. the world bank is committed to meaningful reforms to focus lending on countries in need and agreed to other reforms that would enhance accountability. so will countries coalesce around the american tech, or will they try to put forward their own candidate? —— pick. the latter option seems unlikely but we will know for sure next week when nominations for a new president close. what you see here are called president close. what you see here a re called nyo nya president close. what you see here are called nyonya kuehs. really delicious delicacies and deserts. a traditional treat found in singapore

and malaysia, but automation, rising competition in the labour—intensive nature of making these cakes means the number of traditional bakeries is dwindling. but one nyonya kuehs maker is determined to keep this dying tradition alive. making kueh purely by hand is not a profitable trade. i am not the last one to make kueh by hand, but i can say that we are one of the last few. my say that we are one of the last few. my grandfather started this business in his village in the 1960s. they started making traditional cakes, called kueh, and from then on, my aunt, my parents, my mum, started making them as well. my favourite

kueh is kueh lapis, because it is so colourful, it is so chewy, it is soft, and the way we eat here, is to peel layer by layer. in the market, usually find nine layers of different colours, for us we make ten layers. so it is one more layer of enjoyment. iam in i am in this because i want to preserve the tradition. i want my kids to see how i grew up.” preserve the tradition. i want my kids to see howl grew up. i will ta ke kids to see howl grew up. i will take over the store after i go to university. we will see whether my kids want to take over the business, because if they do take over, it is their position and it is their life. delicious kueh. to bring luck into the new year, some as most owners

consult feng shui experts to bring harmony and prosperity. so what can we expect from the year of the pig? feng shui master told me whether the year of the earth boar will be good for beijing. i think it will be better than last year, it won't be like before, but we will come up with a lot of resolutions and solutions for the coming year, especially in this relationship with america. so it is coping well and the people are quite happy, the people in china will be quite happy, and asa people in china will be quite happy, and as a result there will be a vibrant business starting from the south of china. because a lot of them have been sad over the past year because of the slowing economy and this ongoing us— china trade dispute. in your view, will it be resolved before march one, or at least by 2019? in 2019. in a way,

america's economy is getting better than before. however, politically it has got some disputes, so therefore authority in america will be suppressed, and that will give china a little space to breathe. they are coping quite well, i mean china. all right, hoping something positive will come out very soon. what about the outcome for brexit? what will happen there, before the 29 march deadline? are we going to see a solution, no brexit deal, or no deal? i won't say whether there will be no or yes, but there will be a resolution coming up. there will be less of the ugly things like you know, we have experienced the past year. so europe, and including england, will be getting better than before. what about in the year of the pig, for those born during this period? will it be bringing prosperity and good health for them

in business? yes, but it will be a challenging year for the pig in business? yes, but it will be a challenging yearfor the pig people, who are born in the year of the pig, especially those who are working, because there will be others that are competing with them, especially when it comes to promotion, position, authority. what are the good investments for the year of the pig? for the year of the pig, the main thing is from the middle east, so main thing is from the middle east, so there will be prosperity to do with oil and gas, or anything that is related to eat. that means metal, as well, especially precious metal, it will be starting to rise up. so the stock market will still be a little low, but there will be a lot of marketing, and as a result, people will feel a lot more optimistic about the stock market for the coming year. a little bit more optimism in the year of the pig, that is a feng shui master.

before we go, a recap of our lead story this power. injust before we go, a recap of our lead story this power. in just 20 minutes' time, the clock is ticking, president donald trump will give his annual state of the union address to the us congress. he is expected to call for bipartisanship after a divisive battle between republicans and democrats would shut down the federal government. here is a closer look at the markets and how japan and australia are faring, because many of the regional markets are closed for the lunar new year holiday, such as singapore and china. the nikkei up more than 500 and the all ordinaries gaining 20. thank you for investing your time with us. happy lunar new year, everyone. i am with us. happy lunar new year, everyone. iam rico with us. happy lunar new year, everyone. i am rico hizon, with us. happy lunar new year, everyone. iam rico hizon, goodbye for now. this is bbc news. the top stories this hour: millions of americans prepare to tune in to donald trump's state of the union address in around 15 minutes' time. this is seen on capitol hill.

he is expected to call for unity in front of a divided congress. the actor and un 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. the music and entertainment chain hmv has been bought out of administration by the candian retailer sunrise records. the move safeguards 1,500 jobs and 100 shops, but 27 stores will close, including the flagship on oxford street, in central london. the new owners say they will focus on giving customers more of what they want, including a greater selection of vinyl records. here is lizo mzimba. file footage: lunchtime - a quick stampede to the record shop... for decades, hmv stores have been a huge part of life for music fans, and for some of music's biggest artists. now, while100 stores have been saved, 27 are being shut down,

including the one where it all started almost 100 years ago, on london's oxford street. today's would—be shoppers perhaps an illustration of hmv‘s falling relevance to younger, online—heavy consumers, and its continuing value to others. people are ordering online, they're streaming, and really there is still a crowd of people who want to come and browse. we rely on so many other things now, streaming music, we stream tv, we stream films, and they've got to find a business model so they can survive. enter doug putman, owner of canadian retailer sunrise records, hmv‘s new owners. we took over, you know, 80 some odd stores in canada almost, you know, 2.5 years ago. and they're doing strong, doing well, profitable. we see hmv continuing

on in the uk for a long time. the challenges are significant. hmv once made its money from huge sales of cds and games, all of which have been plummeting year on year. at the same time, like so many high street stores, they say they're being hit by unsustainable rent levels. but even though many stores, including perhaps this one, theirflagship, are closing, they are still confident that hmv can exist up and down the country through to its centenary in 2021 and beyond. lizo mzimba, bbc news. 15 minutes away from the state of the union address by donald trump. this is the scene live in capitol hill, where as you can see congressmen and women have gathered. it is of course a very divided house indeed, but we will bring you coverage of what we are expecting to hear from donald trump. coverage of what we are expecting to hearfrom donald trump. stay coverage of what we are expecting to hear from donald trump. stay with us for that here on bbc news. now it is a sport today. cu seven.

it is hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme... no fairy—tale, just a heavy fall, as lindsey vonn‘s penultimate race before retirement ends in a spectacular crash. nojail time forjose, but there is a massive fine for mourinho, as he avoids a prison term in spain for tax fraud. absolute scenes. six goals, four of them in extra time, as weder bremen knock borussia dortmund out of the german cup. hello and thanks for joining us on sport today. we start at the alpine world ski championships in sweden, where lindsey vonn‘s fairytale finish to her amazing career suffered a nasty blip. the most dominant female skier in history announced last