welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... facebook has reinstated donald trump's account, two years after he was suspended over messages praising rioters who attacked the us capitol. ukraine has welcomed the decision by the united states and germany to provide modern tanks to push back the russian invasion. america's united and so is the world. these tanks are further evidence of our enduring commitment ukraine and our confidence in the skill of ukrainian forces of. as covid continues to spead across china, the bbc finds evidence of a mounting death toll in rural areas. it's australia day down under —

we look at divisions over australia's colonial legacy with many young people shunning the holiday. and understanding apes. we look at new evidence that the way we communicate could have come from these animal ancestors. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. meta has announced it will reinstate donald trump's facebook and instagram accounts, two years after he was suspended following the capitol riots. nick clegg, the president of global affairs, has laid out the reasons for the decision on the meta website. he says...

the former president has also given his reaction on his own social media platform, truth social, saying... let's bring in our north america correspondent, peter bowes. he's been watching this story very closely. peter, great to get you on the show. just talk us through the backdrop of this. why was donald trump in the first instance taken off the first instance taken off the platform? he the first instance taken off the platform?— the first instance taken off the latform? ., the platform? he was removed from facebook _ the platform? he was removed from facebook the _ the platform? he was removed from facebook the day - the platform? he was removed from facebook the day after i the platform? he was removed| from facebook the day after the january the 6th riots. the assault on congress. the former president had been posting claims repeating false claims about voter fraud during the

2020 election. he also praised the actions of some of those people who attacked congress on that day. so, he lost his platform, he lost his account on facebook and instagram. he had some 3a million followers on facebook. he is planning to stand for presidency for a third term, and there have been some campaigning to get him back on facebook. the reason being obvious — it is a very prominent platform for him. do we expect him to be back on the platform? we didn't see him back on twitter.— back on twitter. that's the interesting _ back on twitter. that's the interesting question, - back on twitter. that's the interesting question, he i back on twitter. that's the i interesting question, he does have this new platform, truth social, which is his own network. i understand quite a complicated legal relationship with that particular platform. even though he could go back onto twitter now, that ban was

lifted by elon mosque. it remains to be seen whether he will want to get them to brace facebook —— elon musk. some close to him have been campaigning for it. the signs are that donald trump wants to returned to facebook, especially as the plans to be campaigning over the future months for presidency, but we haven't seen just yet.- haven't seen 'ust yet. indeed, and ou haven't seen just yet. indeed, and you brought _ haven't seen just yet. indeed, and you brought up _ haven't seen just yet. indeed, and you brought up the - and you brought up the interesting timing of all of this. give us a sense of what the next political moves and steps might be for donald trump? steps might be for donald trum - ? . , steps might be for donald trum? ., , ., , trump? clearly, donald trump has announced _ trump? clearly, donald trump has announced he _ trump? clearly, donald trump has announced he is _ trump? clearly, donald trump has announced he is standing i has announced he is standing for the presidency. he did this last year, very, very early in the political framework in the us political agenda. wejust have under two years to go

before 2024 election, but donald trump has had a head start there. it remains to be seen whether he will be chosen as the republican candidate. there will be others who indicated they plan to stand as well. before he goes into competition, he has to at least to secure the nomination by his own party. i to secure the nomination by his own party-— own party. i know it's impossible _ own party. i know it's impossible to - own party. i know it's i impossible to speculate own party. i know it's - impossible to speculate about the response of people who use the response of people who use the social media platforms and what that might be, but i remember at the time when twitter made this decision, it did get a lot of criticism. what do you think facebook might get in terms of response from its users? there are threats when twitter made this decision that people would leave the platform.- decision that people would leave the platform. yeah, and this is deeply _ leave the platform. yeah, and this is deeply divided. - leave the platform. yeah, and this is deeply divided. i - leave the platform. yeah, and this is deeply divided. i think. this is deeply divided. i think people's attitudes, especially those existing users of facebook, their views will be

divided in a similar way to what the country feels. some will be very strongly pro—donald trump getting back on this form, while mo others may move away from the platform themselves. i think we're likely to see that debate from today. there are certainly some who will simply not be able to abide by the possibility of him coming on the platform. 0thers coming on the platform. others will agree strongly with the views that are actually being expressed by met us. we heard from nick clegg earlier that americans deserve to be able to hear the views — the good, the bad and the ugly. hear the views - the good, the bad and the ugly.— hear the views - the good, the bad and the ugly. always great to net bad and the ugly. always great to get you _ bad and the ugly. always great to get you on _ bad and the ugly. always great to get you on newsday. - bad and the ugly. always great to get you on newsday. peterl to get you on newsday. peter bowes with that insightful analysis. let's get the latest developments now on the war in ukraine. president volodymyr zelensky has warmly welcomed the decision by germany and the united states to send tanks to ukraine. but in his nightly address, he said speed of delivery and the number of tanks were key to his country's

defence against russia. 0ur europe editor, katya adler, reports. the most serious armed conflict in europe since the second world war. an attempt by russia to upend a sense of security across the continent. but today saw an offer of help kyiv has long been crying out for. translation: we will now be sending our leopard 2 - battle tanks to ukraine. we are doing this after intense discussion with our international partners and allies. it was right not to hurry this decision. actually, mr scholz�*s allies had fast been losing patience. lots of european countries own these german—produced tanks. they're stable and reliable. but berlin has the export rights, so countries like poland, desperate to send this powerful help to ukraine, couldn't as long as germany dithered.

now kyiv could eventually receive dozens of tanks, though its soldiers first need to be trained how to use them. weary of moscow, chancellor 0laf scholz was keen for the to send some of its mighty abrams tends to ukraine, too. and this evening, as if on pre—agreed cue, president biden promised to send 31 vehicles to kyiv. putin expected europe and the united states to weaken our resolve. he expected our support for ukraine to crumble with time. he was wrong. and he was wrong from the beginning, and he continues to be wrong. we are united. washington's announcement and berlin's u—turn are a wish come true for ukraine's president, who turned 45 today. translation: the key now is speed and volume. - we had form a fist of freedom that will not allow— the russians to rise again.

—— and not allowed taremi to write again. these soviet—era tanks on display in the german capital. while many celebrate 0laf scholz�*s decisions on tanks, others, including voices in his own party, warn that this conflict could now escalate — threatening lives beyond ukraine. katya adler, bbc news, berlin. —— allow i spoke to the assistant director at the atlantic council's eurasia centre andrew d'anieri, and asked him how the tank deliveries would help ukraine's war effort. this is really a significant day in the west's response to russia's war in ukraine. kyiv has been calling out for tanks for many months now. we've seen a similar pattern as with other weapons systems, where kyiv and president zelensky ask for weapon systems, the us and germany say "no, no, no," and then, a few months later, those same systems are transferred to ukraine.

it's worked relatively well so far, but of course, that strategy could be strengthened even more and ukraine could be closer to victory were the us, were germany to send these tanks much quicker than they have done, even if today is a big day for this. poland, for example, has been asking germany to send these tanks for months as well. so, this is a strong development, and unfortunately, it will take a few months for the german leopards to arrive in ukraine and even longerfor the us abrams. but this is a signal that allies realise that russia's war in ukraine is not going away for many months and they're ready to stand behind kyiv and fight russian aggression in europe. yeah, there was some reluctance on the part of germany ahead of this in terms of concern with tanks coming into the picture — russia would escalate. it's already called this blatant provocation. what you see moscow doing now? well, the irony about russia calling this a provocation or an escalation is that they're the ones escalating the war.

we've seen in the months in between kyiv asking for tanks and different weapons systems, even more russian strikes on civilian apartment buildings, for example, and shopping centres away from the front lines — driving up the death toll in ukraine of people who aren't even involved in the conflict. so, really, doing nothing is the escalatory move there that moscow thinks it can win. that's when they continue these strikes and send tens of thousands of men to the donbas. the fortunate thing is russian capabilities are degraded significantly. they have dumb bombs they can send at civilians, at apartment buildings, they have untrained troops that they can send to the front lines, but really, primitive weapons and just bodies are the two main weapons they have at this point. just briefly — i know it's impossible to say,

but where do you see the war going from here? well, i do think in the spring and summer, we will see the fighting tick up a bit. russia has long been talking about, been murmuring about another offensive at kyiv. it's unclear how they would do such a thing, but i think now that their troops's ranks have increased, we could see that. and we could also see, with these tanks and with some additional capabilities, ukraine launching another counteroffensive in the south. so, lots more to come, but expect more action in the spring, certainly. that was assistant director at the atlantic council's eurasia centre speaking to me earlier. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the european court of human rights has confirmed it will hear a dutch case against russia over the downing of flight mhi7. all 298 people died when russian—backed ukrainian separatists shot down the malaysia airlines plane in 2014. amsterdam argues that moscow's

disinformation about its role in the incident violates the human rights of the victims' relatives. spanish authorities are treating a series of stabbings which left one person dead as a possible terrorist incident. clergymen at two different churches 300 metres apart were attacked just after 8pm local time. local media report four others were injured. the uk prime minister has faced more questions about the tax affairs of the conservative party chairman and former chancellor nadim zahawi. the labour leader sir keir starmer accused rishi sunak of being hopelessly weak in not sacking mr zahawi, after it was revealed he paid a tax penalty to hmrc. mr zahawi says he's confident he acted properly. dozens of homes and businesses have been damaged after storms and a tornado hit pasadena in the us state of texas. the storm system also affected

towns south of houston. high winds damaged power cables and torrential rain caused flooding in a number of areas. police say no one was seriously injured. the international olympic commitee has suggested that russian and belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete at the paris 2024 summer games if they participate as neutrals. in a statement, the ioc said it was exploring a pathway, saying no athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport. the move has been criticised by ukrainian athletes. in china, a bbc investigation has found evidence of many covid—related deaths in rural areas after the virus spread from big city areas into more remote areas with older populations. people working in the funeral industry say they've been much busier than usual. the chinese authorities have been consistently accused of under—reporting the number of people who've died from covid.

0ur correspondent stephen mcdonell has been to the northern province of shanxi and he sent this report. the coffin makers in northern shanxi province have been busy. there's been great debate about the number of covid deaths in china's cities. but there's still no official death toll for rural areas. yet what you see if you visit local crematoriums is that a lot of people have died. translation: she had severe diabetes. - after she got covid, she had a high fever and her organs began to fail. this man has just lost his sister—in—law. the mother of two was in her early 50s. translation: she was a great person. - we must hold a grand event to send her off, the best we can afford. orders for these paper funeral

ornaments are being placed at two or three times the normal rate because of coronavirus deaths, according to this man. translation: some sick people were already very weak. - then they catch covid and their elderly bodies can't handle it. the government has announced more than 70,000 covid—related deaths in china's hospitals, but these rural areas have only sparse facilities and many pass away at home, so are mostly not being counted. for the spring festival, hundreds of millions of younger people already returned to their home towns. these are the fireworks, the pictures, the lanterns and the snacks that chinese people buy to help them ring in the new year. it's normally a very joyous time — in fact, the most important festival in this country — but this year, people won't necessarily be so happy because they may well have lost friends or loved ones to the coronavirus.

everyone seems to know somebody who's died. i ask this farmer about what appear to be new graves nearby. translation: families have been burying their| elderly relatives. there are just so many. he points to the fresh mounds of earth. they're marked with red flags. in his village of a few thousand, he says more than 40 people have passed away during the outbreak, but they're hoping that covid's worst work has been done. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, shanxi province. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we look at new evidence that the way we communicate could have come from these animal ancestors.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines... facebook�*s parent company meta says it will reinstate the accounts of former us president donald trump. ukraine has welcomed the decision by the united states and germany to provide modern tanks to push back the russian invasion. let's turn to australia now — where thousands are expected to protest today at rallies in major cities demanding the country's national day be changed. the 26th of january — is the anniversary of the 1788 landing of britain's first fleet, which began the era of colonisation. 0ur correspondent phil mercer is at a rally in sydney. great to get you on the programme again. i can see that

the crowd is filling up behind you. australia day is traditionally a public holiday, but our young people and others in australia increasingly saying they don't want to do this any more?— saying they don't want to do this any more? well, australia is unusual— this any more? well, australia is unusual in _ this any more? well, australia is unusual in that _ this any more? well, australia is unusual in that it _ this any more? well, australia is unusual in that it takes - this any more? well, australia is unusual in that it takes the i is unusual in that it takes the start of colonisation as its national day. it's been a public holiday in this country since 1994. for millions and trillions, it is a time of great celebrations and pride —— for many australians. however, aboriginal people and many other australians consider this to be a time of great sorrow. today, for them, is invasion day, when a black continent was stolen and replaced by white domination. so it is an event here in sydney that is attracting many thousands of people. we have heard impassioned and angry speeches

from many indigenous representatives young and old, and people have gathered here to vent their frustrations at inequality indigenous australians suffer disproportionately. so, today is all about urging australians to think about this a — why are they celebrating australia day on this particular date, because they believe the 26th of january, 1788 was a start of a long and brutal and lingering colonisation.— colonisation. indeed, and we can certainly _ colonisation. indeed, and we can certainly hear— colonisation. indeed, and we can certainly hear the - colonisation. indeed, and we i can certainly hear the strength of emotion in those speeches behind you. people in australia have been urging the government to change this date, to move away from the celebrations, but what's the government response? there is no official government policy about moving the date. that we did hear from the

indigenous affairs minister, linda bernie, saying she would preferred not to be on the 26th of january. preferred not to be on the 26th ofjanuary. this is a major reform promised by the labour government that came to power in this country in may of last year. the addition indigenous voice would be an independent advisory body set up after a referendum, changing the constitution to allow that body to change government policy. we get the sense here that there is overwhelming opposition. many people believe it is an elitist project driven by white guilt. it's notjust about to changing the date of australia day. many other issues of equality and land rights are dominating events not only here in sydney, but right around this vast country. you have to remember that although there is

great anger and frustration at events like this, many other australians are enjoying parties, barbecues and beaches. here in cindy, it's over 30 degrees, so many people have decided to the beach —— here in sydney. 0thers decided to the beach —— here in sydney. others have come here to listen and learn.— to listen and learn. indeed, phil mercer. _ to listen and learn. indeed, phil mercer. thanks - to listen and learn. indeed, phil mercer. thanks for- to listen and learn. indeed, - phil mercer. thanks for keeping us up—to—date on that story. great to get you on newsday. we can all understand human gestures like waving, smiling or hugging — and it seems we can also figure out what some of what apes are communicating. volunteers watched videos of chimps and bonobos and were asked what they were trying to convey. 0ur science correspondent, victoria gill, has the results. grooming builds bonds of friendship... 0ur closest living relatives. social, intelligent primates that communicate without speaking. and it seems that we humans can tune into this silent gesturing language. researchers who have spent years observing great apes closely in the wild have

recorded a whole gesture dictionary — dozens of signals, expressions and movements that chimps and bonobos use to communicate. by showing videos of these gestures to volunteers, scientists discovered that more than half the time, people are able to understand the message that a wild chimp or bonobo is trying to convey. here's how a chimpanzee says "groom me, please". and this is a bonobo silently demanding food from a companion. some gestures are easier for us to understand than others. this display is apparently flirtation. but the fact that we can derive meaning from these gestures suggest they provided a foundation for our own language. our last common ancestors with bonobos and chimpanzees probably used quite similar gestures. and these gestures may then have gone on to scaffold the evolution of human gesture and human language as we know it now. gorillas, orangutans and other great apes also use some of these same signals.

it's something that people who work with these primates tune into every day. gesture is so important to great apes. all of the little ways they need to regulate their social interactions in these amazingly complex social worlds they live in. it's the sort of communicative grease that gets all of that working. these gestures, and our abilities to interpret them, the researchers say, sends a scientific message about how our own language evolved. victoria gill, bbc news. fascinating stuff there. the cast and crew of the pioneering american children's television show, sesame street, have paid tribute to its co—creator, lloyd morrisett, who's died aged 93. (00v) lloyd morrisett they praised his kindness and wisdom. lloyd morrisett came up with the idea of using tv to teach young children basic skills like counting and recognising letters. sesame street with its lovable puppets — like elmo and cookie monster — was first broadcast in the us in 1969.

it was one of my favourite shows growing up. do stay with bbc news. after a week of weather contrasts so far, thursday brings a bit more evenness to the weather across the uk and most will be dry. some decent sunny spells as well, particularly in the west. now, the reason for the change is that the weather fronts, which brought the heavy rain through the evening across east anglia and southeast, will have cleared into france overnight, allowing this ridge of high pressure to even things out. now, it doesn't mean we won't be without frost and ice, particularly across central and western areas, but temperatures still will be nowhere near as low as they have been through recent nights. a few mist and fog patches in the west, too, but for the vast majority, it is going to be a dry and sunny day. northern scotland will see a few showers and across south east scotland into eastern england, this is where we'll see some showers come and go throughout the day. not everyone will see them.

many will stay dry and still a lot brighter across east anglia and the southeast compared with the grim conditions of wednesday. but here and across many eastern counties, it will be quite a blustery day. but temperature—wise, as i said, we're evening things out. 6—9 degrees across much of the uk, which is not far off where we should be for this stage in late january. now, as we go into thursday evening and overnight, there will be some showers across eastern england, perhaps tracking a bit further westwards, especially for northern england, most of them will be dry. partly clear skies, a chance of some fog across scotland, northern ireland and northwest england, and it will be a little bit colder as well. more widespread frost to take us into friday morning with a risk of ice where showers have continued. but if anything, friday should be another pleasant day for most patchy cloud across england, a bit more in the west compared with thursday. and then later on, northwest scotland and northern ireland will see cloud increase, some rain into the western isles before the day is out.

and temperatures similar to thursday's values with lighter winds. into saturday, though, more cloud on the scene. but this sort of cloud here with patchy rain, this is a weather front which is just toppling round our area of high pressure because it's within the area of high pressure — not much in the way of rain on it. it will clear through off into the near continent. but another batch of more active weather fronts into sunday will push into the northwest. we start with the frost again, particularly across some southern areas. but sunday, there'll be some sunny spells across england and wales especially, but increasing cloud to scotland, northern ireland, heavy rain and strengthening winds. gale force winds, if not gusts of wind in excess of 60 mph by the end of the day. will lift temperatures up, though, compared to the next few days, but it will feel cooler in that breeze.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. the war in ukraine has focused attention on vladimir putin's apparent desire to remake a greater russian space, incorporating chunks of the former soviet empire. with that in mind, keep an eye on what's happening in the tiny, disputed territory of nagorno—karabakh, where ethnic armenians backed by russia continue to defy azerbaijan's claim to sovereignty.