hello, everyone. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: the starkest warning yet on climate change. scientists say the world's set for the hottest decade ever recorded. we are looking at really big changes in the climate. we're going into territory that we have never been in before. we haven't experienced this, so we don't know precisely what's going to happen. frustration in brussels — european council president donald tusk says there's "a special place in hell" for those who promoted brexit without a plan. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: the taliban tell the bbc they don't want to take afghanistan by force, but won't give up their arms until foreign troops leave. and can brutal be beautiful? a debate over whether to save singapore's 60s architecture. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday.

glad you could join us. it's 9am in singapore and 1am in the uk, where scientists fear that the earth could now be in its warmest period since records began some 150 years ago. the report also says that there's a risk that global temperatures could rise by 1.5 degrees celsius above pre—industrial levels — a tipping point after which there could be rapid and far—reaching changes for our planet, creating conditions that we have never experienced before. here's our science correspondent, rebecca morelle. from the devastating flooding that's inundating australia, forcing thousands from their homes, to the deadly forest fires that raged across the united states last year, and the record—breaking temperatures seen here and across europe over the summer,

it's been a year of extremes, and now scientists warn there could be more to come. the long—term climate projections say... at the met office, researchers have been tracking global temperatures, and their new forecast suggests we could be in the middle of the warmest decade since records began. this is worrying because this is a new level of temperature extreme, and the regional impacts of that are likely to be unprecedented in some regions. so we are likely to see things that we have not seen in over the 100 years of observational records. a temperature rise of 1.5 celsius above pre—industrial levels is set as a threshold by un scientists. anything more could lead to dangerous global impacts. have a look at this graph. the red area shows the predictions the met office has made over the years, and the black lines show the actual temperatures they recorded. there's a close match.

the last four years were the hottest on record. this blue area is their forecast for the next five years. it suggests the warming trend will continue, with a small chance temperatures could temporarily exceed 1.5 degrees. the main driver for all this is the greenhouse—gas emissions we're producing. we're still too reliant on fossil fuels like coal, and globally, levels of carbon dioxide are at a record high. we've got to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases, we've got to reduce concentrations, because if we don't, we are looking at really big changes in the climate. we're going into territory that we have never been in before. we haven't experienced this, so we don't know precisely what's going to happen. all eyes will now be watching to see if this forecast plays out. scientists warn that the time to act is running out fast. rebecca morelle, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. theresa may will hold talks with european union leaders jean—claude juncker and donald tusk during her trip to brussels

in a few hours. the british prime minister is looking for changes to the brexit withdrawal agreement. she heads there the day after mr tusk made these comments about those who brought about brexit. by the way, i've been wondering what that special place in hell looks like for all those who promoted brexit without even a sketch of a plan for how to carry it safely. —— carry it. strong words indeed. there is more reaction to that from mps and of course, analysis, on the bbc news website. talks have been taking place in pyongyang between the us envoy, stephen biegun, and his north korean counterpart, kim hyok—chol. they're organising the second meeting between donald trump and kimjong—un, which is due to take place in vietnam at the end

of the month. 0ur correspondent in seoul, laura bicker, gave us this update. this is the first time for stephen biegun to be in pyongyang on his own meeting his counterpart, and that's why it's being looked that, as one analyst put it to me, as gametime. what the united states seems to be getting this time, before that second summit, which we know will take place on march 27 and 28, is some kind of concrete measure or specific pledge that kim jong—un is prepared to carry out. we understand that mr kim has pledged to get rid of his main kind of nuclear processing plant. this is a plant known as yongbyon. but he said he would only do it if the us acted in return, gave him some kind of corresponding measures, as they have called it. however, they've talked about resting the north's economy, so perhaps some kind of economic measures might be on the cards.

when it comes to what will happen at this second summit, i think there is a huge risk for the united states. i think they need to ensure that they get some kind of detailed plan on board when they go to vietnam, because singapore was so vague and has resulted in a seven month stalemate. will get more on that later in the programme. “— will get more on that later in the programme. —— we will. also this hour, president trump has — as expected — nominated loyalist david malpass, an outspoken critic of the world bank, to be its new chief. malpass is a senior us treasury department official and served as an economic adviser during donald trump's election campaign. he's promised pro—growth reforms. the appointment will have to be approved by the world bank's executive board. a body has been recovered from the wreckage of the plane which crashed into the english channel with the cardiff city footballer emiliano sala and the pilot david ibbotson on board. the air accidents investigation branch said the operation was carried out in as dignified a way as possible and the remains would be passed into the care of a coroner.

the bodies of about 20,000 dead guillemots have been recovered from the beaches of north holland in recent days. experts are investigating whether the deaths could be connected to almost 300 containers that fell off a ship during a january storm. scientists are planning a mass autopsy to shed more light on the mystery. the leader of the taliban's peace negotiations with the us has told the bbc his group isn't interested in taking the country by force, but he did warn that they wouldn't agree to a ceasefire until all foreign forces were withdrawn from afghanistan. the comments came after a second day of talks in moscow between the taliban and opposition afghan officials. secunder kermani has the details. more than four years after british combat troops left afghanistan, levels of violence in the country continue to rise. there's been wave on wave of taliban attacks.

tens of thousands of government troops killed, along with countless civilians. after 17 years of war, following the 9/11 attacks, the taliban now control or contest nearly half of the country. but with afghan government forces still backed by the united states, the insurgents have been unable to capture any major city. the conflict is a bloody stalemate. we are very hopeful. yes, it was good... so the taliban are talking peace with america. and the man who's been leading the negotiations told me they accept there is no military solution to the conflict. 0ccupying the whole country, taking the whole country by power will not help, because it will not bring peace in afghanistan. we don't want to have a victory completely militarily. so we wanted to solve this on the table, in a peaceful manner, so that after the withdrawal of the foreign forces,

there should be no fighting among afghans. there should be peace forever. parts of afghanistan have changed drastically since the taliban ran the country in the 1990s, when the ultraconservative group banned girls from education, along with music and television. some feared progress could be sacrificed in a deal. the taliban say they want a more islamic constitution, but would respect women's rights. all those rights which are according to the islamic rule, and also the afghan culture, afg hani culture, this will be granted to them. and this is their right. that is, they can go to school, they can go to universities, they can work. america is tired of its longest war, still costing billions of dollars. donald trump is promising finally to bring it to an end. the taliban sense an opportunity to become part of the political mainstream. but there are still major obstacles, not least the insurgents‘s refusal to meet the afghan government,

who they dismiss as illegitimate. as one taliban official put it, peace can be harder than war. secunder kermani, bbc news. us president donald trump says he anticipates the collapse of isis militants in the middle east within a matter of days. speaking at an international conference in washington, the president pledged to keep fighting the so—called islamic state group, he said he expects them to lose any remaining territory. the united states military, our coalition partners, and the syrian democratic forces have liberated virtually all of the territory previously held by isis in syria and iraq. it should be formally announced some time, probably next week, that we will have 100% of the caliphate. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent peter bowes about how

much truth there is in president trump's comments. well, his words are widely disputed, of course, and his attitude, his assessment regarding so—called islamic state over recent weeks has been shifting. it was back in december when he first said that the group was indeed defeated, there were reports around at the time that he wanted to pull us troops out of syria within a month, but since then, he has taken a slightly more cautious view, and even now, he is saying that he will wait for, he says, official word before he says, perhaps as early as next week, he believes he could declare that that group, is, has been defeated. however, many of the people that he was talking to, representing almost 80 nations around the world, clearly see the situation in a very different way, and there are grave fears by many that isis is simply in the mode of reforming and that it could regain some of the territory, whether it be in iraq

or syria, that it once held. is there a sense that he's got consensus within his own administration, his military chiefs, for example, about the mission there? well, that's open to question. certainly, when he first raised this in december, jim mattis, the defence secretary promptly resigned, it certainly took him by surprise and many others. we heard from security officials just last week a rather different assessment of isis and its potential to reforme, so that doesn't really seem to 100% gel with what the president is saying now. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... whatsapp steps up the fight against fake news and misinformation, deleting millions of rogue accounts every month. also ahead on the programme for you:

brutal or beautiful? a debate over architecture in singapore. and it's all in the eye of the beholder. 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. thanks forjoining us. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: scientists have issued the starkest warning yet on climate change — they say the world's set for the hottest decade ever recorded. controversy over comments from european council president donald tusk. he said there's "special place in hell" for those who promoted brexit without a plan. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. starting with the japan times which is leading on the apparant

refusal by the government to publish real wage data. the article quotes opposition lawmakers who say the lack of clarity calls into question the success of the government's economic policies. and to the south china morning post — with this stunning picture of lunar new year celebrations over hong kong's victoria harbour. it's main article focuses on how the territory attracts foreign workers from around the world — despite a dip on the global liveability rankings. and the new york times — away from the state of the union speech is also highlighting a golden age for comic books. with asterix celebrating its 60th and batman its 80th anniversaries it's a big year for comic strips. but the article says the form's best days may be yet to come in the french—speaking world.

we've been following whatsapp's service and regulation issues in india for a while here on newsday and now the messaging service has said it's deleting two million accounts each month, to try to stop the spread of fake news and misinformation. the announcement comes two months before elections in india. for more on this i've been speaking to our reporter kim gittleson. we've been talking about how whatsapp has been blamed for the spread of misinformation, link to something like 30 lynchings in india. so whatsapp has been trying to figure out ways to police that. now, it has this problem in that it has this end—to—end encryption, so it's very hard to figure out how messages are spread. so, they say they've been using artificial intelligence to try and figure out when an account seems suspicious. for instance, it doesn't seem like it's typing something, possibly because it's using a line of code to send out a lot of messages. so, that's why it says it's deleted the 6 million messages in the last three months.

and just to put that number in context for you, we were talking about whatsapp instituted its forwarding ban, so you can only forward a message five times, some critics have said that because you are in groups you can reach something like a thousand people, so do the math. even if you delete 2 million accounts, they could have potentially reached 2 billion people — that's a lot of people to be able to reach, especially if you're spreading misinformation. yes, absolutely. so, this call to delete 2 million accounts is clearly their attempt to kind of tidy up their own back garden, if you like, but this is coming at a crucial time with the election in india. there are two big challenges confronting whatsapp, the first of course has to do with india, it has to do with indonesia, two huge countries facing big elections where the service has come under fire for the spread of misinformation. you know, india is whatsapp's biggest market. it wants to figure out

a way to make money. it is trialling this payment service. indian regulators have said, look, we won't help you unless you clean up your act. so that's the first issue. whatsapp is owned by facebook of course. facebook paid billions of dollars for the service, it hasn't figured yet out how to monetise it, and now it wants to integrate whatsapp, instagram and messenger into one so facebook must clean up whatsapp before it can do that. we now know that a second summit will take place between the north korean leader, kim jong—un and us president trump. the americans want pyongyang to relinquish its nuclear programme, but what is north korea asking for in return? earlier, i spoke to do—yeon kim in seoul. she's senior fellow at the center for a new american security, based in washington. that really remains to be seen, and that's the million—dollar question — will north korea in fact agree to america's definition of denuclearisation? when america talks about denuclearisation, it basically means elimination

of all north korea's nuclear weapons, its programmes, facilities, parts, materials — everything. and so this is going to be the first order of business that president trump and kim jong—un will have to discuss and agree on — what is the definition of denuclearisation, what does it mean, what does it entail, how long will it take. and what is the definition of peace? because, when north korea talks about peace, they mean the removal of american presence and influence on the korean peninsular and in the region. so, this summit, this upcoming summit, is really going to be at a factor for the future of the korean peninsular. it will determine whether denuclearisation is even possible at this point. if the americans do not agree to basically clearing troops from south korea, what could the north koreans ask for in return? well, north korea has always wanted america to withdraw its troops from the korean peninsular.

now, i would actually be very surprised if kim jong—un blatantly asked for that at the summit. he might take a savvy rout and instead ask for a peace treaty and a peace regime from president trump. that's a savvy way of getting to the heart of the problem of american troop presence here on the korean peninsular. and so, you know, the concern really is right now, you know, i have faith in the american negotiators, steve biegun and his team, to prevent any bad deal when it comes to us troop presence, but the concern and the nightmare scenario for south korea is if president trump ad—libs is way into a bad deal. the lunar new year is being celebrated in asia and around the world this week.

one of the most popular ways to celebrate the holiday is the lion dance. but the costumes used in singapore are increasingly imported. we went to meet the man who is likely to be the last lion dance costume maker in singapore. translation: when you hear the beat of the drums, in that moment, it sparks such excitement and it can really move your heart. to my knowledge, there isn't anyone still making lion dance costumes. i believe i am the last one persevering in making them the traditional way. when i was deciding if i should enter this profession, i thought to myself,

this market already has more what makes a beautiful skyline? is it modern, glass buildings soaring into the sky? 0r buildings from a different era? take a look at these buildings here in singapore — many of which are being slated for redevelopment. in other words, they will very likely be torn down. they are examples of ‘brutalist‘ architecture — a style that developed in the mid 20th century — which is dictated by function over form and often using raw contruction materials. many might think these buildings are ugly, but there's now a global movement to try to save them around the world. i've been speaking to historian and architect,

professor eunice seng, about the importance of these brutalist buildings. the aesthetic of buildings depend very much on the agenda of the age. so, at a certain moment, when these buildings were built, all over the world, including singapore, it coincided with very much a development nationalist movement. and so, because of that, there is this intention to fill these mega—structures with all the things that a city desire. but what we've seen here around singapore is that they have also tried to maintain their heritage by building around these so—called heritage homes, is that the right way to do it? at the current moment, the agenda seems to be the case, but that's just one of the ways to do it. very much themselves,

there are already many cities in themselves, and across the world there is already a recognition that these are very much intangible heritage and they reflect collective memories and activities that may have been showing layers of a city that may not exist any more if they were to just go. but can this rising awareness and this growing global movement keep these developers at bay? i think there isn't necessarily a contradiction, contrary to popular opinion. what's happening at golden mile complex is a very interesting situation. right around the corner from here. yes, and we can already see that the government, the urban redevelopment authority, already working and thinking ahead for and with developers in order to think about how do you not completely demolish the building, because it is so valuable culturally, it reflects a very particular age, and yet allow for maximising what the developer would desire. eunice seng there.

you have been watching newsday. i'm babita sharma in london. a lot of beautiful buildings here in singapore. i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us for more on donald trump's world bank president pick. we'll be taking a closer look at the us senior treasury official david malpass, who president trump has named to lead the world bank. and before we go, donald trump's daughter, ivanka, doing household chores isn't something you usually see but an exhibit at a washington, dc gallery lets you see just that. called ivanka vacuuming, the performance features visitors throwing crumbs onto the carpet, as an ivanka lookalike elegantly clears up the mess. unsurprisingly, the exhibit hasn't gone down well with the trump family. good morning. to sum up today simply, we'd probably call it a day of sunshine and showers. but first thing this morning we do have a spell a very strong winds

to contend with across the southern half of the uk. they will ease by the time the rush hour's over, but nonetheless some challenging conditions out there currently. the worst of the winds over i think for the south—west of england and wales by the time we get to 8am. but still a core of strong winds across the south—east, particularly the midlands and east anglia, through the morning rush—hour. those figures in the black circles indicate the gust strengths, notice they're lighter further north, but there will be some snow to contend with across parts of scotland. also, as the rain pulls away from northern england on the tail—end of this area of low pressure, there could be some snow for a time across the pennines — a couple of centimetres here.

but, come the afternoon, the picture looks much clearer, the winds have become much lighter, it's pretty mild in the south, there's a lot of sunshine around, but there will be some showers packing into the far north—west. through the evening a largely fine affair, aside from those showers in the north—west. turns quite chilly across the north—east of scotland. elsewhere, though, as we go into the small hours of friday, the cloud piles in, accompanied by rain and again the wind starts to lift. most areas off to a frost—free start to friday. north—east of scotland, some ice around, also be some snow, too, as this frontal system just starts to bump into that colder air. this is friday's weather in a nutshell, this area of low pressure. tightly packed isoba rs, windy once again, particularly from the middle of the day. those winds could be disruptive and will remain strong on into saturday. rain is also going to be quite problematic in some spots as well. not so much across england and wales, where this front continues to push through, but a good portion of scotland, where basically one area of rain moves out of the way and then the low hooks another batch in, if you like, so totals are going to really start to add up. mild enough day on friday, but a very windy one, with gusts of 50—60mph. the band of rain clears england and wales friday night into saturday, but the low hooks

another area of heavy rain across northern ireland, into central scotland. could be wintry for a time as well, the winds certainly still remain strong through saturday, although they will gradually start to ease off a little later in the day. some sunshine around into the afternoon, a little cooler than on friday, particularly in the north as you pick up a north—westerly wind. then all eyes to the south for sunday, because it looks like we could see a spell of heavy rain pushing into england and wales to close the weekend. next week, though, high—pressure returns, it's looking quieter once again. i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story: fears over rising global temperatures. scientists predict the world is already halfway through the warmest decade since records began. the report says there's a risk that global temperatures could rise by 1.5 degrees celsius about pre—industrial levels, a tipping point after which there could be rapid and far—reaching changes for our planet. signs of frustration in brussels. european council president donald tusk‘s says there's "special place in hell" for those who promoted brexit without a plan. and this story is trending on bbc.com: she was one of hollywood's

most eligible singles, but not for much longer. oscar—winning actress jennifer lawrence is now engaged to be married. she won the oscar as best actress for her role in the 2012 romantic comedy silver linings playbook. you are up to date, stay with us. and the top story in the uk: shares in online supermarket delivery firm 0cado have fallen by 6% after a fire tore through its warehouse in hampshire.