welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines: after the blowout, 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. 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. voice-over: live

voice—over: live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's news day. hello and welcome to the programme. 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 fighterjet 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... 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. earlier, i spoke to 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. i started by asking her whether the release of the balloon was a calculated move by china or an honest mistake. given that beijing really stood to benefit from this visit by antony blinken, it is unlikely that the leadership had time, the passage of the balloon over the passage of the balloon over the us with his visit. it is

likely 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 over the us before in recent years, so the leadership likely knew that this programme was in effect and implemented, but 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 postponed visit. it is interesting that - antony blinken postponed his visit and not cancel it outright. does it mean that washington may be wants to leave the door open as well�*s i do think that washington remains interested in having a visit at some point down the line stop what this balloon incident really did, unfortunately, was to derail the momentum that we saw

generated by the g20 meeting where president xi and president biden were able to meet face—to—face for the first time in november. {jut meet face-to-face for the first time in november.— time in november. out of that meeting. _ time in november. out of that meeting. we _ time in november. out of that meeting, we saw— time in november. out of that meeting, we saw a _ time in november. out of that meeting, we saw a desire - meeting, we saw 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 governments had softened, and there is interest expressed in finding ways to prevent competition from spiralling into conflict. i do very much think that both sides are 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. sides have to step back for the time being-— time being. briefly, before really go. _ time being. briefly, before really go. you _

time being. briefly, before really go, you talked - time being. briefly, beforej really go, you talked about competition. we have semiconductor chips, possible bands of sales of huawei and tiktok. what's next in us and china relations?— tiktok. what's next in us and china relations? what we have a calendar going _ china relations? what we have a calendar going forward - china relations? what we have a calendar going forward is - china relations? what we have a calendar going forward is a - calendar going forward is a busy couple of months. that does not bode well for when this next visit could occur. as you mentioned comedy pressures from the us have heightened 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 and the philippines, so i think we are in perhaps heightened tensions over the next couple of months as beijing gets involved in its own domestic meetings, a big legislative meeting is happening in march, and there is talk of us house of representatives speaker kevin mccarthy visiting taiwan in april. overthe mccarthy visiting taiwan in april. over the next couple of months we can expect more

tensions at least for the time being. 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 destruction of state property. i asked our news reporter, azadeh moshiri, what more we know about the pardons. it is 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, 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 by the supreme leader about releasing a huge number of them and oftentimes that doesn't come through.

what is particularly unusual here is it also applies to people who have not necessarily received their verdicts 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 pardons themselves, 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, those facing serious charges, things like damage to state property, things like murder and spying forforeign 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, 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. as you said, pardoning this many political prisoners is quite unusual, so what do you think the iranian government is trying to achieve here? well, 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 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. thank you so much for that update. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. pope francis says laws criminalising lgbt 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 an 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, a huge global body, to say that this is not a sin, these are real people, who are loved by god, is a long way away from the harsh rhetoric we have had over the years. it is part of a trajectory the pope has shown constantly since i met him in 2019 of wanting the 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 christodoulides, 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. 10 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.

in ukraine there are reports that the country's defence minister oleskii 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 the 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, russians 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, it was really a matter of time until he was shifted. it looks as though he is likely to take the role of minister for strategic industries. that would be logical because as defence minister he has played such a key role in co—ordinating with the nato countries about arm supplies and so on going to ukraine.

still to come on the programme: dressed for success — the outfit is spectacular, but will lizzo be celebrating as the grammys get underway? crypto.com arena there's mr mandela, mr nelson mandela, a free man taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader ayatollah ali khamenei has said he has passed the death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti has flocked church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president, baby 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 steps down from the plane a figure in morning. elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and all her other realms and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko oi, in singapore. our headlines: after the blowout, 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 northwest 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 george, 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. three children and a young woman have died after a boat carrying more than a0 migrants from turkey capsized. it sank off the greek island of leros, according to coastgards. search operations continue but are being hampered by strong winds and choppy seas. 41 survivors were rescued, including six children. the former military ruler of pakistan, general pervez musharraf, has died in hospital in dubai. he was 79. general 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. our islamabad correspondent

caroline davies looks back at this life. as his troops clambered over the fences of pakistani state tv, general 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 led 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. general pervez musharraf who has died at the age of 79. stars have gathered in los angeles for the music

industry's biggest night — the grammy awards. the main televised event begins any moment after about 80% of the awards were handed out at a premiere ceremony. viola davis has already won the best audiobook recording award which makes her one of only 17 people to win an emmy, grammy, oscar and tony, also known as egot. an emmy, grammy, oscar and tony, also known as egot. and beyonce picked up an award bringing her closer to the breaking the record for the most grammys in history. i spoke to our north america correspondent peter bowes for the latest. we can expect a lot of excitement, as you say, the stars are gathering, back at the traditional home of the grammys in downtown los angeles, at the crypto.com arena as it is known now. of course, the last few years have been disrupted by the pandemic so there's a lot of excitement just because of that but, as you say, beyonce is in contention. she is a 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 grammy—winning artist of all time and, as you mentioned, the pre—ceremony, the premier ceremony hasjust taken place and that is when about, what, about 80% of the awards are actually handed out and she has already won in two of those nine categories. she won four 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 would be the most successful grammy—winning artist of all time. she is nominated for renaissance, which is that hugely popular album which she had out in the last year, which is really omage to black, queer dance music, to house music. it has been critically acclaimed, and deeply researched album. an fault all beyonce hasn't

in the past been hugely successful sometimes in the big categories like album of the year, the general consensus is that this year is her time. good luck to beyonce and all the other contenders but i was also rearing it could be a big night for latin music as well? well, yes, it could be a big night for latin music and that's the beauty, isn't it, of the grammys. it is actually notjust about music, it's about recordings. we have had awards handed down to, as you mentioned, viola davis, winning for the spoken word recording of her biography which puts in the record books as well. but yes, grammy, latin music we've got country music, we have r&b, we have rock music, we have ozzy osbourne winning already in a couple of categories at the pre—ceremony and one of the other big categories everyone is always looking at is best new artist and that is a category where it is given to an artist who enters the public

consciousness within the last year and wet leg, which are a british group from the isle of man are amongst the leading contenders. they have three nominations going into tonight. they have already won in two categories so i think they are quite hotly tipped to win in that particular category and one artist that i have not mentioned already that we should talk about is adele, of course, hugely popular and successful. she has a stellar grammy—winning record up until tonight. all the nominations she manage to translate those int owins. she has i think seven nominations going into tonight for herfourth album which is 30 and, again, hugely popular as you could be one of the leading contenders. she is one of the leading contenders for the top categories. we will have all the latest

from the grammys as we find out. for now, stay with bbc news. 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 ourfrost 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'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. cheering and applause. hello, everyone. good evening. welcome to you, me and the big c live. woo. hello.