welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories: preparations for north korea's massive military parade, and pyongyang says there will be no talks with the united states during the olympics. hopelessness in syria, as the human cost of the fighting gets worse again. hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending, and another us government shutdown is averted. and a missing masterpiece, described as the african mona lisa, has been rediscovered in an apartment in north london. the recent apparent thaw in relations between north and south korea looks be taking a backwards step. the north koreans have now said they have no intention of meeting with american delegates during the winter olympics,