Moth south rediscovered in 55 relatieps ififi south korea rediscovered in 55 relatieps ififi moth south korea to be north and south korea looks to be taking a backward step. Officials said they have no intention of meeting with delegates. These satellite images from a few days ago show the troops practising for that display, all very much a contrast to the Public Relations image being projected on the eve of the Opening Ceremony of the games, which south koreas president has been calling the peace olympics. The games are being held in pyeongchang, in south korea. The bbcs Stephen Mcdonell is there. Bring us up to date. Well, here at at pyeongchang there was hope that it was possible that this high level delegation from the United States in north korea, given that they are here in the games, might actually sit down and talk to one another. But we have heard from the north korean side that that delegation has, quote, no intention whatsoever of meeting with the us delegation. We are getting this from north koreas official state run media, which said in an editorial, we have never begged the dialogue with the us in the past, and we dont intend to in the future. And all this as the north prepares a massive display of its military might. Yes, i mean, just as north korea is about to achieve something of a propaganda coup here at pyeongchang, with its unexpectedly high level of engagement, sending along kim jong uns sister, and the like, the joint hockey team, what would you do to try and counter all that goodwill . How about a big, scary looking mass military parade, just across the border, to remind everybody of your Nuclear Weapons ambitions. Now, it is thought that possibly they will try and somehow downplay this military parade, because there is not a lot of representation there from the Foreign Press corps, for example, but it is hard to get away from the fa ct but it is hard to get away from the fact that this will be happening, and there will be images going around the world showing this military parade in north korea, one day before the Opening Ceremony here at pyeongchang. It doesnt seem very long ago that it was hailed as a very positive step that kim jong uns sister would be coming to the games. Yes, but the fact the leader thats sister is coming for the Opening Ceremony, she will be the Opening Ceremony, she will be the only member of that dynasty to have ever come to south korea, since the end of the war. So it shows an extent to which north korea is trying to achieve something of a diplomatic breakthrough here. And i guess it is also possible to imagine she is in the stadium at the same time as mike pence, i guess they could be going to coffee at some stage and bump into one another. Who knows . There could be some sort of informal type of dialogue there. But yes, as i was saying, no official talks, though, from the north korean side, even though kim jong uns sister is going to be there. Thank you very much for that. Japans foreign minister has warned the world must not be taken in by north koreas Charm Offensive. Taro kono also told our tokyo correspondent Rupert Wingfield hayes that sanctions are the only way forward, and insisted they are biting. Thank you, well, as we have heard from steve, there is a lot of stuff going on around the opening of the Winter Olympics tomorrow in south korea. This north korean Charm Offensive really unleashed on the world a few weeks ago. Well, here in japani world a few weeks ago. Well, here in japan i wanted to talk to the Japanese Foreign minister about the other story that has been happening at the same time, which is reports coming out of the United States that the Trump Administration may be preparing what has been called a bloody nose, some sort of military action against north korea. And i wa nted action against north korea. And i wanted to find out, given that japan is the base for 50,000 us troops, and any attack on north korea would include japan, i wanted and any attack on north korea would includejapan, i wanted to ask mr kono, how others japan feel about military action against north korea . How does japan feel . For weeks, rumours have been swirling that the Trump Administration is preparing a military strike against north korea. A so called bloody nose to force pyeongyang to the negotiating table. Last month, these b2 stealth bombers arrived at a us base on the island of guam. But japans foreign minister, tara kono, told me such speculation should not be taken seriously. A military strike on north korea is far too risky. South koreas capital, seoul, is situated just 30 kilometres from the border. And, if any military actions taken, the repercussion is outrageous. So i dont think anyone is seriously considering taking a military method. But, in order to get north korea to come to the dialogue, i think we need to increase the pressure on them. In his new year message, north korean dictator kim jong un described the latest sanctions against his country as life threatening. They include a ban on north korean exports of coal, iron and seafood, and a cut on the import of oil. Mr kono says that shows they are starting to work. Well, sanctions are biting. Now we have a lot of indications the sanctions are actually biting. What do you think is going on, with this sudden rapprochement over the Winter Olympics . Thats one of the indications the sanction is working. They wanted to do something, and they wanted to do a sort of Charm Offensive towards south korea. I think north korea wants probably more, but i dont think the International Community are ready to give them anything. On friday, north and south korean athletes will walk side by side as the Winter Olympics opens in pyeongchang. But mr kono says the world must not be taken in by pyongyangs Charm Offensive, or intimidated by its growing missile threat. If they use their missile or nuclear capability, theyre going to be no more north korea, and they know it. So theyre just making a threat, but theyre just sitting in the middle of the sanction, and eventually theyll run out of resources. So you are prepared to play essentially a long game . Yes. The sanction is not going to work in days or weeks. It takes months. We just have to be patient, and we just have to be well co ordinated, and thats the only way. The alternative is some kind of military action, which no one wants. And the us Vice President , mike pence, is here at the moment, and he brought a very uncompromising message when he met with mr abe, and he and mrabe message when he met with mr abe, and he and mr abe will be going to the opening of the Olympic Games in south korea, and they will be taking that message with them, but the us and its allies need to stick with sanctions to continue to put extreme pressure on north korea, not to be taken in by this Charm Offensive that the north has launched around the Winter Olympics. These are live pictures from taiwan, where rescuers are continuing to search for people at the site of a sunken residential building in hualien. Survivors of the 6. 1i magnitude tremor escaped from the tilted building, and say there are still people trapped inside. At least nine people were killed in the earthquake, and 250 injured, but about 67 are still unaccounted for. Aftershocks are still rattling the country, the strongest magnitude 5. 7. Lets take a look at some of the other stories making the news a Pakistani Court has sentenced one man to death and five others to life injailfor murdering a student falsely accused of blasphemy. Mashal khan was dragged out of his University Accommodation in north west pakistan, last april. Hundreds of his fellow students beat him, shot him, and mutilated his body. One of the great landmarks of paris, the eiffel tower, has been shut, because a cold snap has blanketed the french capital in six inches of snow. Commuters have been trapped in their cars as authorities try to clear the snow. In the uk, the giant Supermarket Chain tesco is facing the countrys largest ever equal pay lawsuit. Up to 200,000 shop workers, most of them women, could be due up to 5. 5 billion worth of back pay. The shop floor staff have been earning less than men who work in the companys distribution centres, even though they say it is in effect the same job. Human Rights Groups say more than 25 people have died, including at least 12 children, after Syrian Government forces carried out airstrikes on eastern ghouta. It is one of the last remaining areas controlled by rebels fighting president assad. The region, which is east of the capital, damascus, is home to an estimated 400,000 people, but medical supplies and food havent been allowed in since late last year. Our correspondent quentin sommervilles report contains some images you may find distressing. Syrias war isnt ending. Its getting worse. In eastern ghouta, near damascus, theyre overwhelmed. Death comes daily from the skies. More than 150 civilians have been killed here this month already. The rescuers have to move fast. Here, they follow the sound of a child crying. Then they reach for a scrap of cloth, and pull hard, and a boy is removed alive from the rubble. Hundreds have been left injured in eastern ghouta, and in the last week, more than a0 children have been killed. Yesterday, rescue worker Saeed Al Masri was called to an emergency, the baby in his arms is his own. Translation as we were approaching, i realised it was my house that had been hit. I heard a babys cry, and saw my son was wounded. I went inside and my children had been injured, and my cousins, too. My house was destroyed. Three month old ibrahim is doing fine, but the family wonders when the next attack will come. Regimejets drop unguided bombs. They fall haphazardly, and bring devastation. Rebel shelling has killed a dozen people in government areas. There is a new ferocity to the conflict. It should look different here. This is part of a de escalation zone, where suffering should be diminishing, but the opposite is happening. Here and elsewhere, the conflict is intensifying. Basic medical supplies are running low, the region is under siege, but there is also a sense of hopelessness that the world has stopped caring. Translation we are completely drained. The roads are closed and we cant get new supplies. Weve stopped believing that anyone will help us. We hoped they would help us, but theyve done nothing. East ghouta is nearing exhaustion. At least 31 people were killed today. The bombing has stopped for now, but everyone here knows that this new surge of bloodshed is far from over. Stay with us on bbc news. Still to come President Trump has taken credit for the fall in black unemployment, but in the state of delaware, we find that local people arent giving the Current White House much praise. Theres mr mandela. Mr nelson mandela, a free man, taking his first steps into a new south africa. Irans spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini has said hes 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 , baby doc duvalier. Because of his considerable value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud farms 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 bbc news. The latest headlines north korea is about to hold a massive military parade just before the Winter Olympics. It says it has no intention of using the games to hold talks with american delegates. Party leaders in the us senate have struck a two year budget deal that would forestall a repeat of this shutdown last month that it is still needs approval from both shutdown last month that it is still needs approvalfrom both houses shutdown last month that it is still needs approval from both houses and conservatives are likely to question a 300 billion dollar increase to the federal deficit. David, a shutdown over federal spending has become a regular political wrangle. If this goes through it would be a victory for both parties but it does not cover everything on the table. It does not. Bipartisan deals are in short supply, not. Bipartisan deals are in short supply, they have been at least, here in washington, dc. Some may say that you should count your lucky chances and see what happens. There isa chances and see what happens. There is a major road block looming for all of this, no question about that, in the house of representatives because the leader of the democrats in the house, nancy pellucid, who spoke for over eight hours today without so much as a brake but for a couple of glasses of water, she wa nts couple of glasses of water, she wants the same sort of agreement from the majority leader in the house, paul ryan, that the democrat leader in the senate managed to wrangle out of the majority leader there, mitch mcconnell. In other words, a commitment to discuss the plight of the so called dream is. Nearly 2 Million People who were brought here illegally through no fault of their own and whose deportation is potentially looming. Now unless that sort of agreement is forthcoming from paul ryan in the house, then nancy pelosi has said that she is minded to advocate to her caucus to vote against this budget measure. So with just over 2a hours to go until the deadline, nothing here is certain. Only times have we heard that before . And even if it does go through, the deficit balloons by the tax cuts. Absolutely. This is 300 billion more on spending for such things as defence, infrastructure, disaster relief, even coping with the opioid grosses here. Certain conservatives have described this as fiscal madness, bearing in mind that the total deficit next year is calculated to top around 1 trillion. So there are those opponents as well in the house of representatives, meaning that potentially paul ryan is going to need the support of democrats in their vote. If he is to get this spending measure through. Still plenty of wrangling ahead. Thank you very much. The two biggest Political Parties in germany have agreed a coalition deal. Angela merkels conservatives and the centre left social democrats have decided which Government Departments each party will run ending months of stalemate after inconclusive elections in september. But as andrew plant reports, the deal will still need to be approved. Marathon talks that began on tuesday and continued through the night to try to end over four months of stalemate at the top of yours largest economy. Down is that the chancellor has reached a deal to join forces in a ruling coalition. Translation i am convinced that the Coalition Contract we have worked out can lay down the foundations for the stable government that our country needs and that many in the world a re country needs and that many in the world are waiting to see. It has been called a marriage of convenience but the deals made to meet a coalition brain criticism from both sides to feel the core values have been compromised too far. So what could the new Coalition Look Like . The junior partner could control crucial ministries including finance and foreign affairs. Martin shilts, the leader of the sdp and former leader of the European Parliament would step down and become the German Foreign minister. Translation were optimistic that we will step for our Party Members with such a good proposal that we can convince a large majority to allow us convince a large majority to allow us to enter such a coalition. The implications of that are widespread on major issues in germany like migration and workers riot, but also on the brexit negotiations as chancellor merkel looks set to enter her fourth term weaker than before. The deal is not yet done. Martin shilts has promised his members a vote on the results will not be in until the second of march. President trump has persistently taken credit for falling black unemployment, claiming his policies mean that African Americans have never had it so good. While its true that black unemployment did fall in the first year of the Trump Administration, last month it actually increased, from 6. 8 to 7. 7. So how much impact are white house policies having . I travelled to delaware where African American joblessness is more than twice the overall average to find out. This is no ordinary bath. It is a mobilejob centre. It this is no ordinary bath. It is a mobile job centre. It goes around areas of high unemployment in the state of delaware. Today, the bus is in northeast wilmington. We have Different Things available on a daily basis are lit with staff tell people looking for work, offering advice on things like resumes and interviews. The economy of delaware is not seen as much growth as other states and almost 10 of African Americans here are unemployed. Stressful. This woman has a job that she is looking for a