welcome to newsday reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines... after the blow out — the fallout. diplomatic tensions rise following america's shooting down of china's observation balloon. iran's supreme leader is to pardon thousands of prisoners — including many who tookpart in recent anti—government protests. reports that ukraine's defence minister is to be replaced — following claims of a corruption scandal in his department. and american music's big night is about to get under way. we'll bring you the latest from the grammys.

live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. republicans have criticised president biden over the amount of time it took to shoot down a chinese observation balloon that flew across the united states. china has said shooting down the balloon was an obvious over—reaction. the diplomatic fall—out is continuing, as warships try to recover the debris. secretary of state antony blinken was due to be in beijing this week, but he postponed the trip after the balloon was discovered. barbara plett usher reports from beijing. for days, this solitary object floated serenely through us airspace, putting a diplomatic crisis onto television screens in real time. was it a harmless weather balloon, as the chinese

claimed, or a spy in the sky? moments after it arrived over the atlantic, the us brought an explosive end to the drama. that trail of white vapour you see on the left of the screen is an american fighterjet heading for the balloon. the second vapour trail is from a heat—seeking missile fired from the jet, easily finding its target. whoa! did you hear that? shortly after impact, the sound of the explosion was heard by people watching on the ground. then, what was left of the balloon came down in the sea off the coast of south carolina. suddenly we saw something take off from the jet and we knew that was a missile, and you could see the explosion. gosh, it was almost like a moving cloud coming down. it's scary. it's a different way of spying on us, let's put it that way. i the us navy is now recovering debris spread over seven miles in relatively shallow water. down to earth, the us shoots down a suspected chinese spy balloon monitoring us military sites... this was how america woke up

to the news on sunday morning. late yesterday, an air force f—22 fighter jet fired a single air—to—air missile into the balloon, bringing it down. president biden was criticised by republicans for not acting sooner, but he chose his own time. i ordered the pentagon to shoot it down on wednesday as soon as possible. they decided... without doing damage to anyone on the ground. they decided the best time to do that was over water, within a 12—mile limit. china's foreign ministry accused the us of overreacting. the statement said... and that it would... the incident has blown up a chance to ease tensions between the world's two great powers, with the us secretary of state antony blinken postponing a planned trip to beijing. here in beijing, the foreign ministry in china had been expecting to welcome

antony blinken today to talk about stabilising the relationship in carefully planned, carefully choreographed meetings. instead, suddenly, relations have taken a sharp turn for the worse. the visit could still very well take place later in the year. butjust getting here is now part of the problem. barbara plett usher, news, beijing. for more on this i am joined now by amanda hsiao who is a senior analyst for china at crisis group, she studies china's conflicts and conflict development, as well as developments in foreign policy. thank you forjoining us on newsday. what's your take on this — the fact that it happened so close to blinken�*s visit — could this have been a calculated move by china or an honest mistake?

thank you. i think that given that beijing stood to benefit from this visit by antony blinken, i think it is doubtful that the leadership had time. it is likely that the leadership was very much of course aware of the balloon programme, which the pentagon has stated takes place around the world, and passages of surveillance balloons have taken place in the us before so the leadership likely new this programme was in effect and implemented but i think it is unlikely that they understood that the timing would come up on the eve of antony blinken�*s visit. it on the eve of antony blinken's visit. , , ., visit. it is interesting that antony blinken _ visit. it is interesting that antony blinken postpone| visit. it is interesting that i antony blinken postpone his visit and not cancelled it out right, doesn't mean washington may be wants to leave the door open as well? may be wants to leave the door open as well?—

open as well? yes, i do think that certainly _ open as well? yes, i do think that certainly washington - that certainly washington remains interested in having a visit at some point down the line. what this balloon incident really did, unfortunately, was to derail the momentum that we saw generated by the 620 meeting where president xi and biden were able to meet face—to—face for the first time in november. and out of that meeting, we saw really a desire expressed by both sides to begin to stabilise the relationship, even as competition continues. we saw that the rhetoric that came out of it, that governments have softened, that was interest expressed in finding ways to prevent competition spiralling into conflict so i do think very much that both sides likely still hope that the visit can happen, but given the way in which this incident has become

a part of domestic politics on both sides, the two sides have to step back for the time being. to step back for the time beinu. �* , , to step back for the time beinu.�* , i, ., being. and briefly before we let ou being. and briefly before we let you go. _ being. and briefly before we let you go, amanda, - being. and briefly before we let you go, amanda, you - being. and briefly before we . let you go, amanda, you talked about competition, we have semiconductor chips, possible ban of huawei and tiktok, what is next in china us relations? i think what we have in the calendar going forward is a busy couple of months. and that does not bode well for when this next visit could occur. as you mentioned, the pressures from the us are fighting recently, not only in the form of export controls that the japanese and the netherlands have signed on to, but also in the form of strengthening military alliances between the us and the japanese in the philippines. so i think we were cash we are in heightened tensions over the next couple of months as beijing gets involved in its own domestic

meetings, bit legislative meetings, bit legislative meeting is happening in march. i think over the next couple of months we can expect more tensions at least for the time being. tensions at least for the time beinu. ., ., tensions at least for the time beinu. . ~' ,, tensions at least for the time beinu. . ~ i. tensions at least for the time beinu. ., ~' . ., being. thank you so much for “oininu being. thank you so much for joining us _ being. thank you so much for joining us on _ being. thank you so much for joining us on newsday - being. thank you so much for joining us on newsday today. | in ukraine, there are reports that the country's defence minister 0leksii reznikov will be dismissed and replaced with the head of military intelligence. reznikov, a loyal ally of president zelensky, is expected to be moved to a different post — with ministry ofjustice named as a possible appointment. in recent weeks ukraine's, defence ministry has been embroiled in a corruption scandal over an army food contract, with one of deputy ministers fired and named a suspect, and another resigning voluntarily. mr reznikov became defence minister several months before the invasion. during the war, he fostered relationships with western defence officials and helped oversee the receipt of billions of dollars

of military assistance. we've been speaking to bbc�*s former defence and diplomatic correspondent jonathan marcus. the whiff of scandal has been surrounding the defence ministry for a few weeks now, obviously due to this procurement scandal where food was being charged, rations were being charged at two or three times the normal price. there is no suggestion that mr reznikov himself was dishonest but i think as head of that ministry and given the fact that the ukrainian president is so eager to set a new face on ukraine's government, one that tackles corruption and so on, and it was probably only a matter of time until he was shifted, it looks as though he is likely to take on the role of minister for strategic industries, that would be logical because as defence minister, he has played such a key role in coordinating with nato

countries about arms supplies and so on going to ukraine. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. pope francis says laws criminalising l6bt people are a sin and an injustice and that people who are attracted to the same sex are children of god. the pope made the remarks aboard a plane while returning from a historic visit to south sudan. he said it's not right for some countries to still outlaw same—sex relations. for the leader of the catholic church to come out and say, look, this is not a sin, these are real people, these are people who are loved by god is quite a long way away from the harsh rhetoric we have had over the years, and i think it is part of the trajectory that the pope has shown constantly, well, since i met in 2019, of

wanting that catholic church to be pastoral in its approach. the presidential election in cyprus will be decided in a run—off next sunday. the centrist former foreign minister, nikos christo—dou—lides received most votes in the first round but failed to reach the 50% needed to win. he'll face andreas mavro—yannis, supported by the leftist akel party. ten people have been killed in several avalanches across the austrian and swiss alps over the weekend. tourists from new zealand, china, and germany were among the dead at several different ski resorts. austrian authorities put in place a level four avalanche alert — the second highest — following intense snowfall and wind in the area. to iran now, where its supreme leader is pardoning a large number of prisoners, including some of those arrested during the past months of protests. ayatollah khamenei's move comes

on the eve of the anniversary of the islamic revolution in 1979 — a date on which an amnesty is often given to prisoners. though the country's state media says the pardons exclude people facing charges of spying forforeign agencies, murder or the destrusction of state property. with us now is our news reporter azadeh moshiri. talk reporter azadeh moshiri. us through what more do know talk us through what more do we know about these pardons? it is not unusual _ know about these pardons? it is not unusual for _ know about these pardons? it 3 not unusual for these pardons in a large number to be issued around the time of the anniversary of the islamic revolution which was in 1979, thatis revolution which was in 1979, that is not unusual, but for so many political prisoners to be involved, that is a little bit more unusual. certainly statements have been made in the past about the supreme leader about releasing a huge number of them and often times that doesn't come through. what is particularly unusual here is it also applies to people who have not necessarily received their verdict yet, who have not

gone through the full trial process, and so it does seem that this could be connected to the months of protests that have been rocking the country since the death of the young kurdish woman mahsa amini in police custody in september. when it comes to the parties itself, there are big caveats, the prisoners must pledge in writing that they regret their actions, and it doesn't apply to people like dual nationals, for example, who can become useful in negotiations later on. and as you mentioned, there is facing serious charges, things like damage to state property, things like murder and spying forforeign property, things like murder and spying for foreign agents, they are exempt from this as well, that is significant because that means that those who are still facing the death penalty, including around 100, according to rights groups, political prisoners who are connected to these protests that are facing the death penalty is still are in danger

of facing that threat. and it is a real danger because four people have been executed so far in connection to these protests. far in connection to these protests-— protests. as you said, pardoning _ protests. as you said, pardoning this - protests. as you said, pardoning this many l protests. as you said, - pardoning this many political prisoners is quite unusual so what do you think of the iranian government is trying to achieve here?— achieve here? well, because, the timing — achieve here? well, because, the timing is _ achieve here? well, because, the timing is important - achieve here? well, because, l the timing is important because the timing is important because the islamic republic and the regime as a whole is facing the biggest existential threat it has ever faced since its inception. and therefore it does feel like the nature of this is connected to the protests, certainly because the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei made this decision following a letter by the judiciary framing these protesters and prisoners as wayward youths and young people who were led astray by foreign agents, and so this does go towards the way that the government has been framing these protests as essentially riots orchestrated by foreign powers. and that is how they

have been justifying this brutal crackdown on the people of iran. why they have more than 500 people have been killed in these protests, according to rights groups, and so, yes, we are talking about pardons right now but it is important to say that the dangers faced by a lot of these prisoners and these protesters still exist. ., ., prisoners and these protesters still exist. ., ~' , ., prisoners and these protesters still exist-— still exist. thank you so much for that update. _ you're watching newsdaay on the bbc. still to come on the programme... dressed for success — the outfit is spectacular — but will lizzo be celebrating — as the 6rammys get under way. there's mr mandela, mr nelson mandela, a free man taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader ayatollah khomeini has said he has passed a death sentence

on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president ba by doc duvalier. because of his considerable value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud farm's central block. shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. there stepped down from the plane a figure in mourning, elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and of all her other realms and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko 0i in singapore. 0ur headlines... after the blow out — the fallout. diplomatic tensions rise

following america's shooting down of china's observation balloon. iran's supreme leader is to pardon thousands of prisoners — including many who took part in recent anti—government protests. to the uk now — and new pictures of nicola bulley, who went missing while walking next to the river wyre in lancashire in north west england have been released, showing her on the morning of her disappearance. police have said their assumption is that she fell into the river. on sunday members of the local communityjoined the search to find her. a key witness, who was pushing a pram near where ms bulley disappeared nine days ago has come forward. here's danny savage. this is nicola bulley leaving home on the day she vanished. in the picture is first obtained by the bbc, she can be seen setting off on the school run, putting her spaniel, willow, in the boot. her family released these pictures to show exactly

what she was wearing. for days, police have been searching for any trace of the mother of two young girls. today was no different. what did seem very obvious was the large number of other people out, too. this is the bench where nicky's mobile phone was found a week last friday. today is dry and sunny and the number of people out along here is extraordinary. there are dozens and dozens of people along this stretch, along the other stretches as well, all walking the riverside paths to try and assist in the search. i mean, if she went missing in the same way, i would be expecting people to go looking. do you understand what i mean? i would really want there to be a search party. if it was myself or my eldest, we both takes the dogs out on our own. if it was one of us that was in that situation, i'd hope the community would do the same thing for us as well. i just feel like everybody should be doing their part. she disappeared without trace. police believe she accidentally fell in the river wyre,

but it's the not knowing for sure which is keeping people looking. danny savage, bbc news, st michael's on wyre. elsewhere in the uk — the head teacher of a prestigious british public school has been found dead — along with her husband and seven—year—old daughter — in a property on school grounds. emma pattison, her husband 6eorge, and their daughter lettie, were found dead in the early hours of sunday morning. police said they were confident it was an isolated incident "with no third—party involvement". the former military ruler of pakistan, 6eneral pervez musharraf, has died in hospital in dubai. he was 79. 6eneral musharraf took power in a coup in 1999 and ruled for nine years. following 9/11 he supported the us in its war on terror. his loss of power and popularity saw him spend most

of his remaining time in exile. 0ur islamabad correspondent caroline davies looks back at this life. as his troops clambered over the fences of pakistani state tv, 6eneral pervez musharraf announced pakistan needed the army, not politicians to be in control. your armed forces have never and shall never let you down, inshallah. musharraf portrayed himself as a liberal, disliking the term military dictator. when 9/11 happened and the war on terror began, he publicly declared he was with the west, although later he said america gave him little choice. it was a high wire act, balancing us demands with increasingly anti—american islamist sections of pakistan. musharraf ordered the siege of a mosque in islamabad whose religious leaders and students had condemned his pro—western policy. the outrage at what

happened to the rise of the pakistani taliban. when former prime minister benazir bhutto was killed there were questions about whether the nation was safe in his hands. he lost the 2008 election, resigned before he could be impeached and went into exile. when he returned to try and stand again in 2013 he was arrested. allowed to go to dubai for medical treatment, he was convicted in his absence of treason, which was later overturned. he stayed in dubai until his death. some today praised a man, saying he put his country first. others see the seeds of pakistan's current turmoil planted and growing under his rule. stars have gathered in los angeles for the music industry's biggest night — the grammy awards. awards have been handed out at premiere ceremony before the main show gets under way

later with performances from harry styles and lizzo. during the premiere, actres, viola davis won the best audiobook recording award which makes her one of only 17 people to win an emmy, 6rammy, oscar and tony, also known as e60t. let's get a sense of the action tonight with the bbc�*s peter bowes in los angeles. a lot of excitement about beyonce — what can we expect? well, we can expect a lot of excitement, as you say the stars are gathering. back at the traditional home of the 6rammys at the downtown los angeles. the last few years have been disrupted by the pandemic so there is a lot of excitement just pandemic so there is a lot of excitementjust because of that but as you say, beyonce is in

contention, she is the leading nominee with nine nominations in various categories which means that come the end of the night, she could be a record breaker, she could be the most successful 6rammy—winning artist of all time. as you mentioned, the pre—summary has just taken place and that is about some 80% of the awards are handed out and she has already won in two categories, two of those nine categories, she won the best dance recording and also best r&b performance, so she is on course to achieve at least 31. if she gets more than 31, she will be the most successful 6rammy—winning artist of all time, she is nominated for renaissance which is a hugely popular album that she had out in the last year which is really in a marsh to black, queer dance music, to house

music, it has been critically acclaimed and deeply researched album. she hasn't been hugely successful in the big categories like album of the year, but the general consensus is that this year is her time. good luck to beyonce and all the other contenders, but i was also reading it could be a big night for latin music as well. well, yes, it could be a big night for latin music, that is the beauty, isn't it, the 6rammys, it is notjust about music, it is about recordings. we have had awards handed out, you mention viola davis when in further spoken word recording of a biography which puts her in the record books as well, but yes, latin music, with that country music, we got r&b, we've got rock music, we've got 0zzy we've got rock music, we've got ozzy osbourne when in already in a couple of categories at the pre—ceremony, and one of the pre—ceremony, and one of the other big categories

everyone is always looking at is best new artist, that is the category where it is given to an artist who enters the public consciousness within the last year, and went leg, a british group from the isle of man are among the leading contenders, they had three nominations going into the night, they have already won in two categories, so i think they are quite hotly tipped to win in that particular category and one artist i haven't mentioned already that i should talk about is adele, of course hugely popular and successful, in fact, she has a stellar 6rammy—winning record of up until tonight all the nominations she managed to translate those into windows, she has i think it is seven nominations tonight for her fourth album which is 30, and again hugely popular as she could be one of the leading contenders, she is one of the leading contenders for the top categories.

leading contenders for the top categories-— leading contenders for the top categories. peter bowes, what an exciting _ categories. peter bowes, what an exciting night, _ categories. peter bowes, what an exciting night, i _ categories. peter bowes, what an exciting night, i am - categories. peter bowes, what an exciting night, i am sure . an exciting night, i am sure you will be across all the latest of elements as we get them. thank you for watching. hello. the weekend was a tale of two halves. we had a weather front with us and a lot of cloud on saturday, mild atlantic air. sunday brought high pressure with us and clearer skies. now that high pressure stays with us for much of the week, but round the periphery of it, towards the north, as you can see, we'll see, well, cloudy skies at times of weather, windier weather as well, midweek. but for the most part, that high pressure keeps the weather fronts at bay, particularly in the south, where temperatures are falling away, a little bit of mist and fog as we head towards morning and around for the rush hour. but with a bit more cloud creeping in across the west of scotland and northern ireland, more limited our frost here, not for eastern scotland and a much colder start for england and wales, —3,—4 celsius in rural areas and some ice to scrape off the cars. but the fog should lift fairly readily, and it looks

like we'll have less high cloud around compared with sunday. so bright blue skies, but more limited brightness and sunshine for northern ireland and western scotland. after a frosty start in the east, though, we could see some sunshine lifting till ten across parts of scotland, ten celsius in belfast. that's a little bit above average, further south, about average. now then as we go through monday evening and overnight, this weather front starts to take shape across scotland and northern ireland, so, again, limiting ourfrost here, but not in the south. again, a cold night, —3 celsius out in the sticks across countryside areas. for tuesday, therefore, probably more more fog in southern areas and a slower to clear. and it could stay grey and cold for much of the day in some parts. then we've got that weak weather front slipping down across northern ireland and northern england, but brightening skies follow across scotland. so i actually think more sunshine for the northwest of scotland compared with monday. then as we go into wednesday, those tightly packed isobars arrive, our weather front as well. we could have a spell of severe gale force winds towards the north later on wednesday, wednesday afternoon onwards, and it will bring with it then

wednesday night in particular a spell of quite significant rain hill snow. but further south, hopefully a bit more breeze just to lift that fog, less issues around, but certainly the prospect of some more in southern areas where the winds are a little bit lighter and again, a frosty start. so as we move into the latter part of the week, we've got that chance of some rain in the north, but the high pressure ruling the roost further south. so i think the main point about this week is that it's going to be largely dry away from scotland in particular, but there'll be some frost and fog in the mornings and chillierfor a time on thursday.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. viktor 0rban can make a strong claim to be europe's most successful leader. after four consecutive election victories, he's admired by cultural conservatives and nationalists from moscow to washington. he wins elections, yes — but is he a democrat or has he subverted democracy

and undermined the cause of freedom — notjust in hungary, but across the eu?