this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: more tensions between the president and the fbi. donald trump is set to approve the release of a republican memo that accuses the agency of bias against him. the reality of life in china's xinjiang province. our reporterfinds out what it's like to live under a huge security operation. china is building a total surveillance state, it's a place where saying, doing or even thinking the wrong thing can get you locked up in an internment camp. also in the programme: scientists say they've developed a early warning test for alzheimer's, but with no cure, should people be told if they're at risk of the disease? and making history, nigeria's bobsleigh team become the country's first athletes to qualify for the winter olympics. life from our studios in singapore

and london, this is bbc world news —— live. it was back newsday. glad you could join us. it's 8:00am in singapore, midnight in london, and 7:00 in the evening in washington, where the seat of the us government is buzzing with anticipation about the controversial memo about the fbi. it's understood the report, which is thought to claim the agency effectively spied on one of donald trump's staff during the presidential campaign, will be made public on friday. the fbi is understood to preparing an extremely rare public rebuttal. the final say on publication remains with mr trump. he has remained tight lipped, even when reporters were shouting questions at him as he left the white house. at the heart of the memo is understood to be the claim

that the fbi was working in a way which favoured the democrats. senior democrat adam schiff says he's worried the republicans are trying to engineer a way of weakening the robert mueller investigation into alleged russian interference in the presidential election. firing rod rosenstiel orfiring robert mueller would be an obstruction of justice robert mueller would be an obstruction ofjustice that would bring down this administration, don't go there —— robber is on stea m. don't go there —— robber is on steam. instead they sang the fbi is corrupt, the department is corrupt, and if you buy anybody we are going to roll over. senior democrat adam schiff there. to find out about what is in the memo, i spoke to the bbc‘s peter bowes in los angeles. we believe that this memo essentially accuses the fb of

abusing its surveillance powers, specifically the allegation is that the fbi and the department of justice misled a judge last march when they went to thatjudge to extend a surveillance warrant against one of donald trump's foreign advisers that worked for him during the election, carter page. what they allegedly did not tell the judge was that the justification for extending that a warrant, that surveillance warrant, essentially a tap warrant, the justification came from the famous trump dossier of information that was partially funded by the democrats. this is inevitably getting political with the democrats accusing the white house to justify the firing of robert mueller. the russian investigation is overhanging the trump administration. the democrats

are essentially saying that this is are essentially saying that this is a ruse to discredit the entire russian investigation. we understand from us media reports that donald trump has been telling friends that he believes the release of this memo would help them in terms of that investigation. as you say, it could potentially give the white house some justification for firing the man who is in charge of that investigation. there is a long way to go. it looks like the president will essentially declassify the memo which will then go back to congress. we understand that during the next 24 we understand that during the next 2a hour was we will get to see the fine detail. and the moment we get that fine detail we will bring that to you. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. president putin has welcomed a decision to overturn lifetime doping bans on 28 russian athletes who'd competed at the 2014 winter olympics in sochi.

sport's top court said there was insufficient evidence to prove doping. the decision means the athletes could take legal action against the international olympic committee. russia is already proposing that they be entered for the winter games in south korea. here's what the ioc had to say. this may have a serious impact on the future fight against doping. therefore, the ioc will analyse the recent decisions very carefully once they are available and consider consequences including an appeal to the swiss federal tribunal. also making news today, us lawmakers have nominated hong kong pro—democracy activists, including their 21—year—old leader joshua wong, for the nobel peace prize. he was nominated alongside alex chow and nathan law for "peaceful efforts to bring political reform and self—determination to hong kong". a dozen members of congress, both republicans and democrats, signed a letter nominating the group.

the move is likely to anger beijing. the pro—democracy "umbrella movement" brought parts of central hong kong to a standstill for nearly three months in mid—2014. the maldives' supreme court has overturned the terrorism conviction of the exiled former president, mohamed nasheed, seen here in london in 2016, and ordered the immediate release of a number of high—profile political prisoners. the court ruled that the nine politicians and former officials had been jailed as a result of trials which had been subject to political pressure. the latest school shooting in the united states, two school pupils have been shot and wounded. police have been shot and wounded. police have taken a 12—year—old girl into custody after the incident in central los angeles. the two victims, a boy and a girl aged 15, are expected to survive. the us state department says it is "deeply troubled" by new reports of mass graves in myanmar‘s rakhine state, where the military has been accused of atrocities against minority rohingya muslims.

the authorities in myanmar say, they'll investigate the report of mass graves containing the bodies of as many as 400 rohingya muslims. police in the united states say the actor robert wagner is now being treated as a "person of interest" in an investigation into the death of his wife. the hollywood star natalie wood was found dead in the water off the coast of california after going missing from herfamily yacht in 1981. in interviews for cbs news, detectives investigating the case say they have uncovered new evidence. these little creatures are among more than 500 illegally trafficked finches that have been rescued in peru. the were being transported by bus from the south of the country, without authorisation. at least half of them died, and the rest were dehydrated and hungry. suspects have reportedly been arrested. the birds will be released back into their natural habitat

once they're healthy. the british prime minister theresa may is on the third and final day of her visit to china and is due to address the shanghai business forum in the next few hours. she's agreed a joint trade and investment review with china as the first step towards an "ambitious" post—brexit deal, downing street says. president xijinping said china's markets would be further opened to the uk, including in beef, dairy and otherfood products. the two leaders also discussed north korea, protecting the environment and human rights. earlier i spoke to our beijing correspondent steve mcdonell, i asked him what the outcome of the meeting between xi jinping and theresa may was? i should say off the bat, something of you is in mainland china will already know, some of our coverage

of theresa may's trip to china is 110w of theresa may's trip to china is now being censored. —— something our viewers. i was asking the question on as to whether or not theresa may could be raising with xijinping human rights allegations in tibet and xinjiang regions, and its gringos to black. we know from the readout of that meeting there were discussions on human rights. the british prime minister raced hong kong the xijinping. —— the british prime minister raced hong kong the xi jinping. —— the screen went to black. she was talking about the erosion of freedom is there and the erosion of freedom is there and the implementation of the so—called one country two systems model, whereby hong kong is supposed to have certain freedoms guaranteed and many people living there see it being eroded. the third and final trip for china, it has now taken her to beijing, how successful has it

been? i think if we talk about trade normally we are all welcoming back oui’ normally we are all welcoming back our viewers in mainland china. i think the chinese and british governments would say it has been a successful trip. they are talking about the long—term projections of the economic relationship between his two countries post—brexit. this is partly a way of reassuring chinese companies who might want to invest in britain that it is ok to do so. britain is not shut for business post—brexit. do so. britain is not shut for business post-brexit. steven mcdonell in beijing. while china is often see as a prized country with which to trade, the nations which strike deals with beijing are also confronted with what to do about china's stance on human rights. one area which is particularly attracting attention is the province of xinjiang, in the far west of china, and home to many muslims. it's also seen violent clashes with the security forces, and china has now greatly increased its security measures there.

our china correspondent john sudworth and his team travelled to xinjiang, where all filming and reporting by foreign media is tightly controlled. here's his report. in looks and in distance, it's closer to baghdad than beijing. but this is china, it's far western province of xinjiang and now the target of one of world's most intense security crackdowns. the uighurs, a mainly muslim minority, have a long history here. today, fear is everywhere. under the watchful eye of government minders, there's only ever one correct answer. "i know nothing," he tells me, "life is good here". moments later, armed police show up. this is the china visiting prime ministers never get to see.

police power here is all—pervasive and growing. millions of residents are being forced to give dna samples. mobile phones are searched for sensitive religious content, using hand—held plug—in devices. and for those suspected of even the mildest disloyalty to beijing, there's now a network of secretive detention camps in which thousands of uighurs have been locked up without trial. close to what we believe is one of them, we are stopped from filming. china is building a total surveillance state. its is a place where saying, doing or even thinking the wrong thing can you get you locked up in an internment camp. as you can see, it is a place where foreign journalists are certainly not welcome. wherever we go in xinjiang,

we are constantly hassled, detained, monitored and followed. like thousands of uighurs, abdurahman hassan has fled to turkey. he thought his wife and mother would be safe at home — he has since heard, he says, that they have been taken to the camps. translation: from early morning to late evening, she is only allowed to sit on a hard chair. my poor mother has to endure this punishment every day. my wife's only crime was to be born a uighur and, because of that, she lives in a re—education camp where she has to sleep on the ground. i don't know whether they are alive or dead. i can't bear it any more. i would rather they were executed than abused to death by the chinese government. he says he has no idea what's happened to his children. today, the british government raised its concerns about the treatment of muslims here, including

restrictions on religious practice. such a frank statement in the middle of a prime ministerial visit will not go down well. china is seeking the uk's backing for a plan to use xinjiang's desert highways as a new economic corridor to central asia and beyond. it insists the threat of islamic terrorism — with a number of attacks in recent years — is a real one. can i ask you the question? is it difficult to answer questions? but a police state breeds fear. they're busy, they say. and can stoke the very resentments china says it's trying to stamp out. john sudworth, bbc news, xinjiang. you're watching newsday on the bbc.

still to come on the programme: we hear from a scientist who's developed an ea rly—warning test for alzheimer's. also on the programme: the broadcast which packs a punch. we'll reveal why tempers got a little frayed in this russian radio studio. this is the moment that millions in iran had been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. the ban on the african national congress is lifted immediately, and the anc leader, nelson mandela, after 27 years injail, is to be set free unconditionally. the aircraft was returning from belgrade, where manchester united had entered the semi—final of the european cup.

two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it a piece of cake. thousands of people have given the yachstwoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world non—stop. welcome back. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories... donald trump is set to approve the release of a republican memo that accuses the fbi of bias against him. president vladimir putin has welcomed a decision to overturn lifetime doping bans on 28 russian athletes who'd competed at the 2014

winter olympics in sochi. let's now take a look at some front pages from around the world. we start off with the new york times international edition of the japan times. it reports on an apartment fire in sapporo which has killed 11 people and left three injured. most of the victims of the blaze were elderly residents who lived on welfare. the incident has given rise to a debate about poor fire prevention for people with low incomes. shifting our attention to the strait times, it leads with pictures of cape town's reservoir running dry after three years of low rainfall. the severe drought is threatening water supplies for its residents, businesses and the tourism industry. and the china daily looks at rail expansion — to make travel for passengers smoother.

three new railways are expected to relieve pressure on china's transportation networks during the spring festival. which is coming very, very soon. now, what stories are sparking discussions online? rico, some professionals getting into a heated debate has captured people's attention online. these are experts who were invited into a russian studio and they did not agree, an example of what can happen when a debate gets just a little bit too heated. this is the webcam feed from the russia's komsomol skaya pravda radio station, during a debate about the former soviet leader, stalin. the disagreements led to blows. fortunately, staff from the station were able to step in to make sure that events didn't get too out

of hand, and it doesn't seem that anyone was seriously hurt. no fights, please. would you want to know if you were likely to develop alzheimer's? well, australian and japanese scientists have developed a blood test that has the potential to identify early indicators of the dementia disease before people even show any noticeable symptoms. trials on nearly 400 people showed the blood test for a toxic protein linked to the disease is more than 90% accurate. early detection is important as treatment can slow the rate of further decline. to find out more about this development, earlier i spoke to professor colin masters, one of the lead researchers on the study. it isa it is a good feeling. we have been vindicated in this long search for very robust blood test that works very robust blood test that works

very efficiently. and you tested this on close to 400 people. what is their age group? most of these people are in their mid— seventies. and of course, this is a major development path is still in the early stages, where do you see it going from now and how will it change medicine? well, this blood test needs to be still worked up so that it can be applied to many people. this will happen, we think, within the coming year. by the end of this year, we would expect the blood test to be available for the pharmaceutical industry to help in their recruitment of subjects for prevention studies. this test predicts alzheimer's but it does not treat it. no, absolutely not. today, we still do not have an effective treatment for alzheimer's disease, but the industry is working very

ha rd but the industry is working very hard on this and there are very promising signs of drugs in development which we think will do the trick. and absolutely do the trick, and how do you think this test will help other researchers develop therapies to deal with the treatment? well, the first step in treatment? well, the first step in treatment discoveries is to be able to diagnose specifically and this test shows all the characteristics of being able to do that, so we need to pick up people at a very early stage before the onset of any symptoms. a fascinating discovery. nigeria has never competed in the winter olympics. but next week, the country will make history by entering a female bobsleigh team for the games in south korea. they are the first nigerian athletes to qualify for the winter olympics and they've had to raise their own money to get there. alex capstick went to meet them at their training camp in america. we are the nigerian

women's bobsleigh team. we are the first team from the country of nigeria... the first team from the continent of africa... and the first team to be represented in the winter olympics in the sport of bobsleigh... ..in pyeongchang. they're known as the ice blazers, going where no african has gone before. heading to a bobsleigh track at the olympics. the opening ceremony, that would be really cool. we were just like, gosh, we are carrying the nigerian flag in a winter olympics. gosh! born in america, like her team—mates, seun adigun qualifies for nigeria through her parents, and it all began in her garage in houston with a home—made wooden sled. get on up, it's bobsled time!

cool running! the exploits of the jamaican men's team at the calgary olympics in 1988 inspired a hollywood movie. comparisons are inevitable. it's really honourable, to say the least, that 30 years later, people are still singing their praises, and to say that we are along that same path of what people consider to be legendary is really humbling and it's an honour to receive. just over a year ago, seun recruited two team—mates who take it in turns to sit behind the driver. they knew nothing about the sport and its risks. after going to whistler, that's the fastest track in the world, it was like, ok, this sport is actually pretty dangerous. you know, like people can get seriously hurt. behind all the excitement, the fun, the global exposure, is a group of women who have no desire to be considered a novelty act. rank outsiders, yes, but they also want to be taken seriously in their bid to set a new benchmark for africa at the winter olympics. people didn't think we had a chance to make it to the olympics, so i think when you talk about things like that, anything can happen and we are here to compete.

the team know they are unlikely to become the first africans to stand on the podium at a winter games, but they also know the olympics is about more than just medals. alex ca pstick, bbc news, lake placid. it should have been one of the more touching moments of president trump's inauguration but it ended up in one of the more awkward ones, the gift from melania trump to the first lady, michelle obama, not knowing what to do with it. there was much speculation over what was in the box, we now know it was a photo frame. he/she is speaking to ellen degeneres. there is all this protocol and this is like a state visit to they tell you you're going to stand here and never before you

get this gift. what am i supposed to do with this gift? no one will take the box. my husband took the box, took a back inside, but everybody cleared out. no staff, no one, i was like what you do with the box? and you have been watching newsday on the bbc. i am rico hizon in singapore. coming up, brace yourself for a tech earnings avalanche. we will be taking a look at the books. before we go, let's bring you these images of a very flooded paris because we have been telling you all week about how flooded the capital of france is. this teenager in a particular suburb decided to take advantage of a weight board, it is some kind of sideboard. it looks like he's having fun. hello once again.

it was quite windy day on thursday, the wind probably at its strongest across parts of scotland. there was some disruption to ferries. the only difference i can see about the wind on friday is that there will be less it. the ice wasjust on friday is that there will be less it. the ice was just that little bit further apart, it might not seem that way first up along the eastern shores of england where you have the combination of quite distinct north—easterly breeze. out towards the west, maybe even some of those showers out to western wales and the north—west will also lose their intensity. elsewhere, it is a really decent day. lentjes sunshine but not overly warm if you are exposed to that breeze. and so we bring in association with a weather front, this is going to be the major feature of interest, certainly from a meteorological point of view on saturday. not quite sure how far it is going to go, some wants to go

this way, someone is to go that way. other portions of it may go round and round as it forms the centre somewhere along its length. if you don't get all of the weather on this front, you will end up with a dry day, maybe even a bit of the sunshine there. on its eastern flank because it is so cold, the moisture will turn to snow, particularly over the high ground. whenever it stops going eastwards, i think it is going to be all over cardiff. no great issues for france versus ireland in paris. the more westerly fixtures here affected by that rain, possibly a bit of sleet and snow over the pennines, and the eastern fixtures in scotland again i am not promising that everybody is going to stay dry by any means at all. less in the way of rain or snow on sunday, there will be some snow showers coming down on this north—easterly winds into the far south—east. the best of

the sunshine, scotland and into fire northern ireland. if you're heading as far as italy for england's fixture on sunday, there really will not be many issues with the weather there, we suspect. the weekend, a real mishmash. the rain and snow will ease in some parts but it will remain cloudy and they will be that cold wind. monday is a much more straightforward until we bring more moisture from the atlantic on tuesday's weather is going to bring significant parts of snow right across the heart of the british isles. stay up—to—date with the forecast for that one. this is bbc world news. the report is believed to claim the fbi spied on a member of donald trump's campaign team. the fbi has said the document is selective in what it contains. the us has nominated hong kong's pro—democracy activists to be awarded the nobel peace prize, including campaignerjoshua wong, for their peaceful efforts to bring about political reform. and this video is

trending on bbc.com. police in america investigating the death of the actress natalie wood 37 years ago say they are now treating her husband, fellow actor robert wagner, as a person of interest. miss wood drowned during a boating trip in 1981. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk.