i'm nuala mcgovern with bbc news. our top story. the american actorjussie smollett, has been charged with filing a false police report claiming he'd been the victim of a homophobic and racist attack. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. chicago police say he staged the headlines. the event to promote his career, and that he paid two brothers tv actorjussie smollett is charged with falsely claiming to be to carry out the attack. smollett denies the charge. the victim of a racist attack. chicago police issue saudi arabia's crown prince mohammed a strong condemnation. bin salman is in china on the last leg of his asia tour. he's due to sit down with president xijinping empire actorjussie smollett took on friday afternoon, advantage of the pain and anger with trade talks top of his agenda. of racism to promote his career. and this video is trending on bbc.com. saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman is in china with trade visitors at yosemite national park talks top of his agenda — were stunned by this firefall. but what reception is he likely to get? this happens when light hits a waterfall tumbling down el capitan. the intensity depends on the volume i'm nuala mcgovern in london. of water and the cloud cover. also in the programme. that's all. the stigma of living with hiv stay with bbc world news. after a data hack in singapore reveals thousands of medical record — we hear from some of the victims. and inside the world ofjrr tolkien. a new exhibition celebrates and the top story in the uk... his work — which paved the way to middle—earth.

the family of shamima begum, the teenager whojoined live from our studios in singapore and london. this is bbc world news. good morning. it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london and 6pm —— it's 9am in singapore, 1am in london and 6pm in chicago where the american actor jussie smel—lett, has appeared in court after being charged with filing a false police report. the tv star had claimed he'd been the victim of a homophobic and racist attack by two men last month. but chicago's chief of police says the actor may have staged it all, because he was dissatisfied with his salary. aleem maqbool‘s report

contains flash photography. it is a humiliating fall from grace. used to appearances on the red carpet, actorjussie smollett has now been snapped for his mugshot, arrested for concocting a fake hate crime against him. # sometimes you feel insecure #. he is best known to us audiences for playing jamal lyon, a sensitive, slightly troubled r&b singer in the tv series, empire. this is exactly where jussie smollett says he was attacked in the early hours of the morning when he had gone out to get food. he says two men punched him, subjected him to racist and homophobic abuse, even at one point shouting at him that this was make america great again country, suggesting they had been trump supporters. my manager was still on the phone, so i picked up the phone and i said, brandon, and he's like, what's going on? and i said, i wasjustjumped. and then i looked down and i saw

there's a rope around my neck. the president himself was among the many who came out to condemn the attack. i think that's horrible. it doesn't get worse. but police now say two brothers, seen here buying ski masks ahead of the incident, were paid by smollett himself to stage the attack, because, they say, he was unhappy with his salary. empire actorjussie smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career. i'm left hanging my head and asking why. why would anyone, especially an african—american man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? hate crimes have seen a dramatic increase in the us of late, but the police and rights advocates alike have talked of their dismay at the harm jussie smollett has done to those who really have suffered. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in chicago.

let's take a look at some of the day's other news. saudi arabia's crown prince mohammed bin salman is in china on the last leg of his asia tour. he's due to sit down with president xijinping on friday afternoon when the two are likely to discuss trade — china is saudi arabia's biggest trading partner. stephen mcdonell in beijing has more on what we can expect. well, he will be sitting down with xi xinping. we have been asking what deals might be signed or agreements reached. at the moment, the government here is keeping its cards very close to its chest. apparently any such m0 used and the like, won'tbe announced until the whole thing is over. one thing that might be expected by some in muslim countries to erase would be the question the camps and the far west of china.

there's up to i million people being held in these extrajudicial re—education camps. simply for being muslim, not having committed any other crimes. as the keeper of the faith, the saudi crown prince could potentially raise this issue. he's facing criticisms of his own human rights record, following this murky killing of a journalist in turkey last year. others might say it is a bit rich for him to start raising human rights with xi xinping. they won't have to worry too much because i would be very surprised if this issue is raised. it is much more likely to be all about trade between the two countries. the phenomenal trade, the tens of billions of dollars between these two countries. we will find out more about that later today. also making news today.... survivors of child sex abuse by priests in the roman catholic church have been giving their personal

accounts to a landmark summit at the vatican today. one told the assembly of bishops that the church's reaction was to treat the victim as a liar and an enemy. around 200 bishops and cardinals are attending. the pope opened the summit with assurances that concrete measures will emerge from the event. at least 70 people have died in a fire in the bangladesh capital dhaka. the fire broke out late on wednesday night in the chawkbazar precinct, parts of which date back more than 300 years. officials have warned that the death toll could rise as fire fighters scour the rubble. japan has registered 167 cases of measles in the country in nine days. that's the highest number of cases for ten years. authorities are struggling to control the outbreak, with health experts calling for vaccinations. ajapanese space probe has landed on an asteroid, almost four years after setting off from earth. the haya—busa—2 craft will try to collect rocks

from the surface of the asteroid, called ry—uku, in the first mission of its kind ever attempted. samples collected by the probe will reveal whether asteroids brought water and the building blocks of life to earth. a data leak of a singaporean registry exposing the hiv—positive status of 14,200 people — both residents of singapore and visitors, has caused great shock and upset to those whose names were on the list. until 2015, foreigners with hiv were not even allowed to visit the city state. i spoke to victims of the data hack. living with hiv. avin is one of the few singaporeans who has been public about his struggle with the condition. it took them three years to finally tell his family. living in singapore with hiv can be quite challenging. because there are a lot of laws that

dictate what we need to do. we need to come out to our sex partners, we need to come out to our potential employers, oui’ insurers, oui’ health care givers. but there are no laws to protect once we come out. now avin helps others who feel stigmatized by it. he says for those secretly living with hiv, there is realfear. including for this woman, who wants to be known only as "joyce". why these things can happen, and how a place that we think is safe becomes not safe for us. she and avin are the over 14,000 people whose hiv status, names and addresses — authorities say — were dumped on the internet by an american man who is believed to have obtained confidential data from his partner, a singaporean doctor. this scandal has gripped singaporean media for weeks. how is a man able to obtain and allegedly leak such

sensitive information? it's brought up many questions on how singapore handles such information, after a data breach of medical records last year that exposed to the information of 1.5 million patients, including the prime minister. it's an embarrassing lapse. those affected were only alerted a few weeks ago when the ministry of health made the weak public, even though they had been aware of it for a number of years. singapore's health manager rejects allegations of a cover—up, saying in a statement that... at this brand—new state—of—the—art centre to handle infectious disease outbreaks, there is disquiet. the doctor who runs it tells me that safeguards have been put in place which now restrict doctors from accessing such data. but she too admits that the real

problem is how people living with hiv are treated. hiv—positive persons still face a lot of stigma. they find themselves very difficult to be accepted by society. it is important for us to pick it up and challenge the community, because the stigma comes from the community. just four years ago, singapore lifted a 20—year ban on hiv—infected people entering the country. but not much seems to have changed in terms of attitudes towards those living with hiv. as people live in fear of being named, the data breach highlights the vulnerable community in a society that continues to stigmatize the condition. really interesting to see and hear your report there. i am curious a little bit more

in detail, how those people are feeling. people are fearful and one person i spoke to did not want to be named. she was so scared for herself and her husband. scared he might potentially lose his job and her husband. scared he might potentially lose hisjob and his collea g u es potentially lose hisjob and his colleagues might find out. there is a real fear colleagues might find out. there is a realfear and colleagues might find out. there is a real fear and frustration out there. you heard from some activists who are incredibly frustrated as to how such confidential information in a registry with 14,200 names was able to potentially be wreaked. there is a realfear that able to potentially be wreaked. there is a real fear that people are losing trust in the system. you can read a little bit more about what people said in my bbc online article. you can see that on the website. the man at the centre of the scandal, i suppose it's the correct term, what more do we know? he is an american man. he was

deported from singapore last year after serving a debt —— jail term for drug related charges. he is alleged to have done this. there are still investigations ongoing. he is currently in the us. there is hope that he will come to singapore and a nswer that he will come to singapore and answer some of the questions from the authorities there. if you want to hear more, go to the website. thank you so much for that. worth a read. the venezuelan president, nicolas maduro, has announced he is closing the border with brazil to prevent the delivery of foreign aid — it was due to happen a few moments ago. he is also considering shutting the border with colombia, where american aid has been stockpiled. opposition leaderjuan guaido, the self—proclaimed interim president, headed to the colombian border today to try and end the aid blockade.

our international correspondent orla guerin reports now from the venezuela—colombia border. a new arrival in a foreign land. alice hasjust given birth to herfirst child, carlos, born in exile in colombia, far from her family in venezuela. "it's possible that my son would not have survived," she says, "there is nothing there." "the president is telling a big lie when he says there is no need for help." paediatrician albert cova shows me around the ward where he treats the sick who make it this far. for him, there is a deep personal anguish — he's venezuelan himself and has a question for president maduro. "what more does he want?" translation: he is useless and does not have power any more. he already achieved his aim, to destroy my country. arnaldo is five months

old and fighting for every breath. he's malnourished and has pneumonia. his mother, claudia sandino, says she begged for medicines in venezuela but the only ones who get help are those who support the government. there is aid available, donated by the united states and stockpiled here in the border town of cucuta. well, there is no doubt that venezuela desperately needs help and there are many in the country hoping against hope that the supplies will get through. but the humanitarian aid here is also a political weapon, and it's aimed directly at nicolas maduro and his government. if it gets through, every box that crosses the border will be a victory for the opposition, and that's something president maduro is determined to avoid. he told us if the us really wants to help, it should remove economic sanctions

and unfreeze venezuela's assets. translation: they should send a convoy with the dollars they have stolen from us. send a convoy with the gold. it's our money. with that, we could solve all our country's problems. the opposition say he's more worried about stopping them than solving venezuela's problems. his troops have been targeting trucks heading for colombia and he's threatening to close the border altogether. battle lines being drawn over aid — and venezuela's future. orla guerin, bbc news, cucuta. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... can vietnam provide an economic success model to north korea in the run—up to the summit between washington and pyongyang? also on the programme... the early paintings of tolkien that inspired the visions of lord of the rings.

nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan, the last soviet troops were finally coming home. the withdrawal completed in good order, but the army defeated in the task it had been sent to perform. malcolm was murdered. that has a terrible effect for the morale of the people. it's terrible for the repercussions on the streets. one wonders who is next? gunfire. as the airlift got under way, there was no let up in the eruption itself. lava streams from a vent low in the crater flowed down to the sea on the east of the island, away from the town for the time being. but it could start flowing again at any time.

the russians heralded their new generation space station with a spectacular night launch. they've called it mir, the russian for "peace". this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. and i'm nuala mcgovern in london. our top stories. the american actorjussie smollett is charged with falsely claiming to be the victim of a racist attack. chicago police have issued a strong condemnation. saudi arabia's crown prince mohammed bin salman is in china with trade talks top of his agenda. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. papers in first the new york times which is leading on a story we're also covering, that's the situation in venezuela. they're reporting on the venezelans who are fleeing the country's economic crisis by travelling more

than 125 miles on foot through neighbouring colombia. the japan times is looking at the amount of plastic waste the country disposes of. figures reveal a 30% reduction last year, due to restrictions china imposed in late 2017, but experts are also urging japan to take action to reduce its plastic waste. finally let's look a story running in the philippine daily inquirer. it's reporting on a new law which has increased paid maternity leave from 60 days to 105 days, it says that up to seven of those days can be transferred to fathers. now nuala what stories are sparking discussions online? yes let's look at what is trending right now. visitors at yosemite national park were stunned by this firefall.

the rare phenomenon happens when light hits a waterfall tumbling down el capitan. the intensity of the brief annual display in february depends on the volume of water and the cloud cover. that is just like, there that isjust like, there is no actual fire there, but what a sight. it was one of the most bitter and bloody wars america ever fought. but despite the brutality of the 20 year vietnam war the two countries went onto form a strong relationship. its no coincidence that vietnam was chosen to host the summit between the leaders of north korea and the united states. as donald trump tries to convince kim jong—un to abandon his nuclear programme, vietnam will be on show as an example of what the future could hold. van tran helps train and educate north koreans, to better deal with the west, she explained what north korea has to gain economically by opening up to the west.

i think one thing that stood out most to me is better economic opportunities for 20 million north koreans. so north korea reminds me a bit of vietnam before the reform. when i go to north korea or when i participate in the north korean workshops, i met so many young and talented, hungry, ambitious people. and without access to information, capital, or trade networks, it is really difficult for them to gain any benefit from their talent. and i remember clearly after one workshop, a young woman came to me and she never ever had stepped out of north korea before. and she told me that she's dreaming of owning a company that can export her software to the rest of the world. and honestly, it wasjust very challenging for her to do so at the moment. challenging, you say, but you're talking to these incredibly bright and hungry north koreans looking for these kinds of opportunities. so when you train them and talk to them, what are

they telling you in terms of what they are seeking out? so they are really curious about how to gain access to the capital, especially from international investment. and one more thing that they are really curious to learn is all the new innovation and trends in technology and consumer products. i remember when we brought them to singapore and went to visit different supermarkets, they were really amazed to see the variety of different consumer products. and they engaged with different apps on smartphones, watching a lot of youtube. so one thing i think they really want to learn is how to deliver a better product and how to gain access to capital, those are the two things i'd focus my training on, which is discovery and financial management. now what is really fascinating is all eyes will be on hanoi next week when those two leaders meet again after they met here last year in singapore. now you're from vietnam, and obviously the summit is very much in hanoi. so what can pyongyang

learn from hanoi? i can really recall a couple of years ago, we brought a group of north koreans to visit hanoi, and they were really overwhelmed at first. it was really busy, super chaotic. and in some way, the urban planning of pyongyang is more to singapore then hanoi. i think after a while, the conversation between business owners, they can feel the energy of the growing economy and how vibrant the city is. you can see international tourists everywhere, people look very busy and excited. so two things after that trip that they highlighted to me, and i think they did really well is the participation of women in business and entrepreneurship, and another thing is the growth of the small and medium businesses. before the lord of the rings, and even before the hobbitt, jrr tolkien had his paintings.

and maps. and even a secret language. now, a new exhibition at the morgan library in new york brings together all of the work that led up to creating middle earth . its the largest collection of tolkien material in years, and the bbc went to take a look. this exhibition sets out to explore the life ofjrr tolkein and how his experiences informed his creative process. here we have an illustration that tolkein produced in his teen years. at 18—year—old boy he was making watercolors of trees and rivers streams that developed into his teen yea rs streams that developed into his teen years he streams that developed into his teen yea rs he started streams that developed into his teen years he started experimenting more with visions of the distant mountain landscapes. and dark forests.

here we have an illustration that tolkein produced in his teen years. it is called eerieness from 1914. it shows a cloaked and hooded figure walking through a very eerie and sinister forest. it was something that was so embedded in his imagination that in 1914 it became out in illustration, and then years later it would come out again in hobbit and lord of the rings. this is his working map for lord of the rings that he used from 1937 until 1919. you can see how well used it is. it is folded and refolded, tattered and taped together. he did this so that the narrative would always remain geographically true. tolkein always said he began with a map and made the story fit. rather than beginning with

a narrative that creates geography. visitors might be surprised and also excited by tolkein‘s father christmas letters that he produced for his children over 25 years. that shows what an involved and doting father tolkein was, bringing out tolkein the man, not just tolkein the the author of middle earth. i hope that our visitors understand a little bit more about the life of jrr tolkein and the creative process. and really how deep the human imagination and creativity can 90, human imagination and creativity can go, when they see what one man has created and the legacy that he has left to us. what an imagination. you have been watching newsday. i'm nuala mcgovern in london. and i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore.

stay with us. coming up, an indepth interview with huawei's founder and ceo... ren zhengfei tells us how he flet when he heard his daughter had been arrested. hello there. it is very mild, springlike weather for february is set to continue this weekend and indeed into next week. on thursday we saw a top temperature of 18.3 celsius in aboyne in aberdeenshire. this has broken the scottish february record of 17.9 celsius. mild for the time of year. this warm air is rooted in the far south as the canary air is rooted in the far south as the ca nary islands air is rooted in the far south as the canary islands and being brought up the canary islands and being brought up to our shores on a fairly brisk, south and south westerly wind. as we start this morning it will be a largely tribal and, quite briefly across the far northwest with a few showers. we can see areas of fog developing across england and wales, some could be quite dense. a few

chilly spots across the northeast of england. otherwise temperature is generally between 6—9dc. the fog can be quite extensive across the midlands on the southern and southeast england into east anglia. it may take a long time to clear through the morning and could hold onto one or two spots across the southeast. some areas could have a great day. for most a bright and great day. for most a bright and great day, some hazy sunshine and it will feel very warm indeed. like when the across the far northwest corner. generally 13—15d with a few spots of 17—18dc. high pressure still let into the weekend. the weather fronts are always trying to encroach and from the atlantic. it will bring some outbreaks of rain. into western scotland the odd heavy embraced and quite windy. eastern scotla nd embraced and quite windy. eastern scotland for most of england and wales away from the west. another

fine day with some hazy sunshine after mist and fog clears away. extremely mild. 1415 degrees. into sunday, some mist and fog to start off with. could have a bit more cloud across the west, north highland and western scotland and perhaps western wales. temperatures a degree or rehearsal down across the board. —— a degree or so down across the board. into next week, this big area of high pressure is still dominating the weather. trying to keep these weather fronts out at bay, but they will occasionally brush into the west and the northwest of the country, bringing a few spots of rain. generally speaking into next week with high pressure there is still warm days. fairly chilly night. sunshine by date and also the risk of fog in the morning.