welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm monica miller. the headlines... a week after china relaxed its lockdown rules — covid—19 is spreading — fast — across the country. china's hospitals are overrun — and under pressure. american scientists working on nuclearfusion make a breakthrough that could help create limitless, clean electricity to power the planet. it's the first time it has ever been done in a laboratory anywhere in the world. simply put, this is one of the most impressive scientific feats of the 21st century.

founder of collapsed crypto exchange ftx sam bankman—freed is jailed in the bahamas — us authorities want him extradicted to face fraud and money laundering charges. locking in their place in the world cup final — goals from messi and alvarez see argentina crush croatia's hopes with a three — zero win in qatar. live from our studio in singapore — this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin in china — where its hospital system is coming under a huge strain as covid—19 spreads quickly. this follows the government's decision to abandon its zero—covid approach.

the situation has become so bad that doctors and nurses who have contracted the virus are being told to come back to work because of staff shortages. this has potentially made already crowded hospitals places where the virus is actually being spread. china correspondent stephen mcdonell reports from beijing. long lines have been forming outside beijing's clinics after an explosion of infections triggered by an end to china's zero—covid approach. hospitals have increased their fever ward capacity, expecting a huge influx of patients. people in this country have been used to going to hospital to treat any illness at all, but now they're putting massive pressure on the system. so doctors have taken to social media to try to explain that with mild cases of the virus, recovery at home is recommended — a new concept for most here. going to hospital can also be potentially dangerous at the moment, according to one specialist, who says patients could be catching

covid from doctors and nurses. from my conversations with friends in china who serve as the hospital directors or medical workers, people being infected had been required to work in hospital, which creates a transmission environment there. it's notjust hospitals that are under pressure. panic buying at pharmacies has meant certain medicines are now hard to come by. this sign says, "no cold and flu tablets, no thermometers and no home testing kits." just weeks ago, chinese officials were saying lockdowns and isolation centres were necessary. now, after a major u—turn, the message is that the latest covid types aren't dangerous, and many younger people are welcoming the chance to isolate at home. translation: the information circulating before about covid l was completely at odds

with my experience of the virus. i caught it, was a bit uncomfortable, but it hasn't been nearly as scary as i thought it would be. she does however worry about her sister, her children and her grandmother. in other countries, reopening led to bustling streets, as communities again came together. beijing feels like a ghost town. most are either recovering at home or afraid to go out, lest they too become infected. companies in these tower blocks are imploring staff to return to work, but they are having a difficult time convincing employees to reenter crowded offices. it looks like china is in for a tough few months before life returns to anything like normal. amongst those being overloaded are home delivery drivers, and many of them are also catching covid.

so orders are piling up, with not enough drivers to handle them. "zero—covid" may be effectively over, but this virus continues to wreak havoc in china. stephen mcdonnell, bbc news, beijing. scientists in the united states announced they've overcome a major barrier in their bid to produce an almost limitelss source of clean energy — with what's called nuclear fusion. it could have huge possibilities for the planet and for generations to come. the us energy secretary announced the news. last week at the national laboratory in california scientists at the national ignition facility achieved fusion ignition and that is creating more energy from fusion reactions than the energy used to start the process. it is the first time it has ever

been done in a laboratory. anywhere in the world. simply put, this is one of the most impressive scientific feats of the 21st century. joining me now from london is melanie windridge, chief executive of fusion energy insights. welcome to the programme. i have to say for people who are not physicists, could you explain to us simply what is fusion?— simply what is fusion? fusion is what is happening _ simply what is fusion? fusion is what is happening in _ simply what is fusion? fusion is what is happening in the - simply what is fusion? fusion is what is happening in the sun . simply what is fusion? fusion is| what is happening in the sun and simply what is fusion? fusion is - what is happening in the sun and the stars. it's the way the stars make energy. scientists have been wanting to harness it here on earth has a clean energy source for a long time. now, in terms of how this could be done on a bigger scale, what would that take to happen into to have any sense of how many years? it’s sense of how many years? it's difficult to _ sense of how many years? it�*s difficult to predict timescales because it depends on a lot of things, not only do science but also

government support, the funding, private investment, all of these things. but this is a scientific demonstration. it's an exciting milestone on the path to commercial fusion because it shows that it is actually feasible, fusion, getting net energy gain out of fusion experiments is possible in the context that could be scaled up to a power plant. there is still now engineering challenges beyond the science, we've got to do the engineering side of things to actually make a power station that is suitable for creating electricity using this method. for is suitable for creating electricity using this method.— is suitable for creating electricity using this method. for all of us who ma not using this method. for all of us who may not completely _ using this method. for all of us who may not completely understand - using this method. for all of us who | may not completely understand how this works, how will this be a game changer in the energy industry? fusion is an energy source that could provide clean, sustainable and on—demand energy. so this is something that we really need for climate change and for our energy security. we have to remember that it is going to take a while for this

to come online, for it to roll—out and, in fact, to come online, for it to roll—out and, infact, we to come online, for it to roll—out and, in fact, we haven't demonstrated electricity demonstration yet, we have only demonstrated energy coming out of the central target fuel source, so there is a way to go before we actually see fusion power plants, but when it comes to things like climate change, we need a long—term sustainable energy source. we don't just need to attain our next they are targets, we need to maintain net zero in the long term come in the face of rising populations and rising energy demands. fusion will be really important as a long—term sustainable energy solutions. what be really important as a long-term sustainable energy solutions. what a remarkable achievement. _ sustainable energy solutions. what a remarkable achievement. thank- sustainable energy solutions. what a remarkable achievement. thank you | sustainable energy solutions. what a i remarkable achievement. thank you so much forjoining us. ajudge in the bahamas has said the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange, ftx, should be sent to the bahamas department of corrections until february eighth and be denied bail. sam bakeman—fried has indicated

that he will fight extradition to the united states, where the authorities have filed eight separate criminal charges against him. he's accused of wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud. he also faces civil charges including misleading investors who put over a billion dollars into the company. damian williams is the us attorney for the south district of new york. it's fair to say that this is one of the biggest financialfrauds in the biggest financial frauds in american the biggest financialfrauds in american history. this report from our cyber reporterjoe tidy. sam bankman—fried was the front man of his $32 billion ftx empire. nicknamed the king of crypto, he was one of the industry's biggest personalities. but since his empire collapsed leaving more than a million customers out of pocket, he has faced numerous accusations of misusing customer funds. now in custody in the bahamas, the us accuses him of, in their words, building a house

of cards on a foundation of deception. in multiple interviews, most recently with the bbc last week, he admitted to mismanaging ftx. were you incompetent or were you fraudulent? i didn't knowingly commit fraud, i don't think i committed fraud. i didn't want any of this to happen. i was certainly not nearly as competent as i thought i was. ftx was the second—largest crypto exchange in the world. it allowed people to exchange their normal money — pounds or dollars — into bitcoin or any of the many other digital coins on offer. $10 billion was traded through ftx every day. but ftx had a sister company, also owned by mr bankman—fried, a hedge fund called alameda research. his companies both simultaneously collapsed when it was revealed that their finances were unstable. the us securities and exchange commission has now charged him with multiple financial crimes, including fraudulently using ftx customer money to keep

alameda research afloat. the 30—year—old entrepreneur had promised to build a silicon valley of crypto here, attracted by favourable crypto regulations. bahamian police were already conducting their own investigation into the collapse, but it seems that the us has moved first. authorities here say they are planning to fully comply with any us extradition request. joe tidy, bbc news. we can speak now to our north america correspondent peter bowes. peter, he was supposed to have testified on capitol hill yesterday, so what are lawmakers saying about his arrest? ~ , . his arrest? well, there is a palpable — his arrest? well, there is a palpable frustration - his arrest? well, there is a palpable frustration that i his arrest? well, there is a l palpable frustration that that testimony didn't occur, as he say, are vested in the bahamas just 2a hours before that hearing was due to take place. they wanted to hear an

explanation. they wanted to hear in his own words what had happened relating to the collapse of ftx. that was indeed left to the new ceo who talked about there being an utter lack of record keeping in that company, going to some extent to explain how it was that the funds of those customers where funnelled into a hedge fund and perhaps used for his own personal use. in this case really has been moving at quite a lightning pace, as you'vejust really has been moving at quite a lightning pace, as you've just been reporting. he's now appeared in court in the bahamas. his lawyer wanted him released on bail. that was denied by the judges that he was a flight risk. we now know that he has been sent to that correctional facility in the bahamas until february the 8th. he will initially be held in the medical department of that facility and still outstanding is the issue of extradition to the united states stopped by to you very

much for that update. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... argentina is due to the world cup final. it goes from line all messy and alvarez crushed croatia's up so that 3-0 and alvarez crushed croatia's up so that 3—0 when in qatar. saddam hussein is finished, because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes but they brought a formal end to three and a half years of conflict, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border- was sealed and silent today. romania has cut itself off - from the outside world to prevent

the details of the presumed massacre in timisoara from leaking out. - 0n trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair means bill clinton is guaranteed a place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm monica miller in singapore. 0ur headlines... china sees its highest amount of new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began just a week after relaxing its zero covid restrictions. researchers in california make a major scientific breakthrough in the race to create nuclear fusion. it could mean limitless carbon free power for the planet in decades. argentina have reached the final of the world cup in qatar

after beating croatia three —nil. lionel messi scored the first goal in the 34th minute. our sports presenter 0lly foster is in doha the smile on line all messy�*s face at the stadium was as wide as the delhi cornish chair behind me yet again, the argentina captain instrument and everything that they did here. —— lionel messi. carrying his country through to a sixth world cup final step it was julian alvarez his strike partner who has followed just after the half—hour mark against croatia and it was lionel messi who stepped up to square the penalty. that was his 11th world cup goal for penalty. that was his 11th world cup goalfor argentina penalty. that was his 11th world cup goal for argentina overtaking the old mark. he is now up to five year in qatar and he is the level in the race for the golden boot alongside frans's carrying them backpack. he

ran at the heart of the croatia defence before half—time, got look of the bounce, hit the second from close range. 2—0 at half—time and it was lionel messi who beeped his magic on the right with about 20 minutes left to play, turning one croatian defender and another inside and out to be for finding alvarez for their third. the croatian fans knew that it just wasn't to be their day stop they weren't going to reach back to back finals. they were runners—up four years ago in russia, but there was a standing ovation for hit the captain luka m0dric, substituted towards the end. that is almost certainly going to be his final world cup. almost certainly going to be his finalworld cup. , maybe almost certainly going to be his final world cup. , maybe it will be lionel messi, but what a way to go out on sunday and the final. it was his 25th world cup appearance against the croatians, and that equals the record of mattias. he is going to break that if he is fit and

surely he will be on sunday. what going to break that if he is fit and surely he will be on sunday. what a moment for— surely he will be on sunday. what a moment for lionel _ surely he will be on sunday. what a moment for lionel messi. - surely he will be on sunday. what a moment for lionel messi. the - surely he will be on sunday. what a moment for lionel messi. the life l moment for lionel messi. the life pictures of argentina's capital, as he can seek in the tens of thousands of argentinian fans are taking to the streets to celebrate that when of their national team. amazing. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the british prime minister, rishi sunak, has announced a new deal with albania to reverse the flow of albanian migrants. thousands have entered the uk this year after crossing the channel in small boats. mr sunak promised more staff to help clear the uk's backlog of asylum claims by the end of next year. police in the democratic republic of congo say at least 100 people have died in the capital kinshasa after heavy rains caused floods and landslides. there are reports of homes collapsing with major roads underwater. many houses are built on slopes — prone to flooding — and the city suffers from inadequate

drainage and sewerage. the iranian judiciary says 400 anti—government protestors in tehran have been given prison sentences of up to ten years. the city's prosecutor general said nearly half of what he described as "the rioters" were jailed for between five to ten years, most others for two years or less. scientists say a new type of personalised vaccine to treat cancer has produced promising results during trials. the experimental therapy is based on the same mrna technology that was first used in a covid—i9 vaccine. it's a collaboration between two pharmaceutical giants, moderna and merck. moderna's chief medical officer said the results suggested a 44% reduction in the risk of dying of cancer or having cancer cases worsen.

next year, the island nation of timor—leste, or east timor, in south—east asia will formally become a member of asean, the political and economic union of member states in the region. the country occupies the northern half the island of timor. it struggled for independence from portugal in 1975 and then indonesia in 20—02, 27 years after it was invaded by the indonesian military. the country's president, jose ramos—horta, spoke exclusively to the bbc�*s karishma vaswani. she put it to him that perhaps concerns over timor—leste being too close to china.. is why it took so long for his country to be accepted into asean. we are not too close to china. if any accusation we should be level against that we are too close to indonesia in the sense not only

geography but diplomatically, politically, culturally, economically, the other one, we should be as being too close to australia. and we have at navy unit for the past ten years, maybe engineers, in some ways it is good, i don't mind when they say we are too close to china, because that way the australians and americans keep paying attention stop i can certainly you have been quoted as saying that you want this area to maintain an equal distance from all major powers. i maintain an equal distance from all major powers-_ major powers. i think that was an a recent interview _ major powers. i think that was an a recent interview of _ major powers. i think that was an a recent interview of yours. - major powers. i think that was an a recent interview of yours. is - major powers. i think that was an a recent interview of yours. is it - recent interview of yours. is it possible to not take sides in a world that is getting increasingly divided by the superpowers? we get alon: divided by the superpowers? we get along exceptionally _ divided by the superpowers? we get along exceptionally well _ divided by the superpowers? we get along exceptionally well with - divided by the superpowers? we get along exceptionally well with our - along exceptionally well with our immediate neighbours, australia, and

indonesia, singapore, the other countries, new zealand. we have an exceptional communication with the united states, the european union and china. but we are one of the few countries in the world that has zero loans from china. we have not asked for loans. and most of our debt, which is very low anyway, one of the lowest in the world is particularly with the ifc international financial cooperation, it is a lending arm, we do have plenty of trade, thousands of small and big chinese trade areas. , _, y of small and big chinese trade areas. , , ., areas. this country that was born in the rlobal areas. this country that was born in the global stage, _ areas. this country that was born in the global stage, everyone - areas. this country that was born in . the global stage, everyone remembers that moment. how do you feel about its trajectory and what are your hopes for its future? i

its trajectory and what are your hopes for its future?— hopes for its future? i am very pleased. _ hopes for its future? i am very pleased. very _ hopes for its future? i am very pleased, very proud _ hopes for its future? i am very pleased, very proud of - hopes for its future? i am very pleased, very proud of our - pleased, very proud of our leadership, collective leadership, but also particularly but the people in that we could have fallen apart after independence. we have been able to normalise relations within indonesia and today we have the best possible relationship in two countries can have. to new zealand now — where a woman suspected of murdering her two children whose bodies were discovered inside a suitcase, has pleaded not guilty. the 42—year—old was arrested in south korea in september, before being handed over to auckland authorities. the victims are thought to have been between five and ten years old when they died. i'm joined now by tvnz reporter grace thomas in auckland. thank you very much forjoining us on the programme. tell us about this case. i understand that she had been

extradited from south korea, but what should we expect to see later today? 50 what should we expect to see later toda ? , ., ., , today? so this morning, actually, she entered _ today? so this morning, actually, she entered her _ today? so this morning, actually, she entered her not _ today? so this morning, actually, she entered her not guilty - today? so this morning, actually, she entered her not guilty plea i today? so this morning, actually, i she entered her not guilty plea here in auckland. she didn't appear in court herself, her lawyer entered the peas for her for those two charges of murder, and thejudge also ordered a name suppression until her hearing next year and set a trial date for 202a. she has appeared in court once before last month in the monaco district court here in auckland, and that is just a day after she was extradited from south korea, and also when the judge made that ruling that her identity and your children's identities would remain suppressed. what and your children's identities would remain suppressed.— and your children's identities would remain suppressed. what has been the reaction of people _ remain suppressed. what has been the reaction of people in _ remain suppressed. what has been the reaction of people in auckland? - remain suppressed. what has been the reaction of people in auckland? this i reaction of people in auckland? this is a rather grisly case. titer? is a rather grisly case. very arisl . is a rather grisly case. very grisly- it — is a rather grisly case. very grisly. it really _ is a rather grisly case. very grisly. it really was - is a rather grisly case. very grisly. it really was quite i is a rather grisly case. very grisly. it really was quite a| grisly. it really was quite a chilling and unusual case and it all outcomes of this happened back in

august earlier this year in the auckland sunbird where these two children's remains were found in suitcases inside a storage unit. it's believed they were dead for quite a number of years. how this talking about, very unsuspecting buyer who is not in any way connected to this case he bought the storage unit at an online auction, brought the unit home and was unpacking it in the back yard, opened the suitcase to find the remains of these two children. so the shocking discovery here, and of course, this led to a major homicide investigation, which the 42—year—old woman was identified by new zealand police. they asked the south korean authorities to arrest her, which happened in september.- authorities to arrest her, which happened in september. wow, what a startlin: happened in september. wow, what a startling surprise. _ happened in september. wow, what a startling surprise. thank— happened in september. wow, what a startling surprise. thank you - happened in september. wow, what a startling surprise. thank you very i startling surprise. thank you very much forjoining us on the programme. president biden has signed a law that gives protection for same—sex and interracial

marriages in the united states. biden spoke at the signing ceremony. todayis biden spoke at the signing ceremony. today is a good day! a day america takes a vital step towards equality. toward liberty and justice, notjust for some, toward liberty and justice, notjust forsome, but toward liberty and justice, notjust for some, but for everyone! everyone! toward creating a nation where decency, dignity and love are recognised, honoured and protected. before we 90, go, we heard from the streaming giant, netflix, today. netflix says the first three episodes — released last week — racked up more viewing time in its first week than any other documentary on the platform. more than 28 million households have watched it. more episodes of prince harry and meghan's series is hitting netflix on thursday. that said for this

edition of newsday. stay with us on bbc world news. i'm monica miller. hello there. after the coldest night of the year on tuesday night, some parts struggled to get above freezing, for example, in glasgow, it was —5 celsius all day because of the fog, and it was barely much more than —2 celsius in edinburgh, well below the average. and that cold weather stays with us throughout the day on wednesday and thursday. there's just the hint, though, that by the time we get to the weekend, something milder may well come back in off the atlantic. but plenty of winter hazards between now and then. widespread harsh frost and ice risk, widespread snow showers, freezing fog once again to watch out for. and we've got this band of rain with inland sleet and snow in the south, and you can see that stretches across much of southern england.

a blast of northerly winds continues to bring snow showers in across the north and the east of scotland. one or two filtering down the north sea coast as well and into northern ireland, but bitterly cold, minus ten over the snowfields and, of course, clearly icy where we've had the showers, where the showers continue, see through the day in eastern areas. but blizzards in the north, gusts of 60—70 miles an hour for the far north of scotland, northern isles, those showers just keep coming. in the south, hopefully this area of rain, sleet and snow will pull away, but leaving things very treacherous and icy, and temperatures will do well to get, again, a couple of degrees above freezing. one or two snow showers for northern ireland, but plenty of sunshine here, add on that brisk wind, particularly in the north and east, and it will feel colder still, colder than those temperatures will suggest. then as we go through the night and into thursday, we pick up quite a lot of cloud in southern areas. we've still got those showers and low pressure moving down the north sea, enhancing those showers for northern and eastern areas.

but, again, really cold overnight, possibly less fog on thursday morning, although there could be some in the south in particular because we've got a stronger wind. but those ease off again, thursday sees the showers mostly in the north and in the east. we're watching out towards the atlantic for friday. so do stay tuned to the forecast. but some good spells of sunshine take temperatures marginally a little higher. but we could have a quite persistent spell of snow in the north on friday and something milder potentially into the weekend, as we've talked about, but with it, there'll be a transient spell of snow as well. so to keep up to date on the temperatures where you are, you can head to the app. the warnings are on the website, too.

scientists in the us have utilised a major breakthrough to generate power. near limitless clean energy but he could be decades before it is used up our homes. founder of the collapse crypto exchange his being caught in a court that he would fight extradition to us. it's a per criminal charges have been filed against him. court in paris is not a people guilty in connection with the news terror attacks. 86 people died when the truck was delivered in

driven into a crowd. argentine are headed to the