Preparing a huge parade of their military prowess. Us Vice President has reiterated all options are still on the table, he said the us and the allies were striving to dismantle north Koreas Nuclear programme and alleviate the suffering of its people. He has already said the us will institute the uss toughest ever sanctions against north korea. Well, here at pyeongchang, there was hope that it was possible that this high level delegation from the United States and north korea, given that theyre here at the games, might actually sit down and talk to one another. But weve heard from the north korean side that that delegation has, quote, no intention whatsoever of meeting with the us delegation. Were getting this from north koreas official, state run media, which said in an editorial, weve never begged for 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 you know, 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 theyll try and sort of somehow downplay this military parade, because theres not a lot of representation there from the Foreign Press corps, for example. But its 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. Because it doesnt seem many hours ago that it was being hailed as a very positive step that kim jong uns sister would be coming to the games. Yes, the fact that, you know, the leader theres sister is coming for the Opening Ceremony shell 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 its also possible to imagine shes in the stadium at the same time as mike pence, i guess they could be going to buy coffee or something 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 here. We will keep you updated on any coffee shop diplomacy. 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 sanctions are the only way forward, and he insisted they are biting. 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 bz 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 anyones 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 theyre starting to work. Well, sanctions are biting. Now, we have a lot of indications the sanction is 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 to 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, theres going to be no more north korea, and they know it. So they are just making a threat, but theyre just sitting in the middle of the sanction, and eventually, theyll run out of their resources. So youre prepared to play a long game . Yes, it is, 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. Lets take a look at some of the other stories making the news. Rescuers in taiwan are still searching for people trapped in the city of hualien, struck by an earthquake on tuesday. At least nine people were killed, 250 injured, but about 67 are still unaccounted for. Aftershocks are still rattling the country the strongest magnitude 5. 7. Rescue teams are focusing their efforts on buildings like this, tilting precariously. 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 its in effect the same job. Human Rights Groups are saying more than 25 people have died, including at least 12 children, in eastern ghouta, where Syrian Government forces have carried out more airstrikes. Its one of the last areas still controlled by rebels fighting president assad. Its east of the capital, damascus, and is home to about a00,000, but medical supplies and food havent been allowed in since late last year. Quentin sommervilles report contains 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. Theres 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 theres 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. Weve given up on the International Media and the un. 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. News isjust coming into us from the Reuters News Agency quoting us officials, that more than 100 pro Syrian Government fighters have been killed during an operation involving Us Led Coalition forces. Well bring you more on that as soon as we have more. Party leaders in the us senate have struck a two year budget deal that should avoid any repeat of last months federal government shutdown. But it still needs approval from the house of representatives, the lower house, and many are questioning a 300 billion increase to the bulging federal deficit. Democrats also want to use the deal as leverage to bring in immigration reforms. From washington, our correspondent david willis told me its not yet a done deal. Bipartisan deals are in short supply, they have been at least, here in washington, dc. Some say that you should count your lucky chances, lets 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 pelosi, who spoke for more than eight hours today without so much as a break but for a 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 dreamers thats the 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. And how many times have we heard that before . And even if it does go through, it balloons the deficit, already ballooned 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 Crisis 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 and their votes, if he is to get this spending measure through. Much more to come on bbc news. China shows off its latest surveillance fashion accessory facial recognition glasses at the service of the Security Forces. 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, saying it has no intention of using the Winter Olympics to hold talks with american officials. Party leaders in the us senate have struck a two year budget deal that should avoid any repeat of last months federal government shutdown. But it still needs approval from the house of representatives. The Coalition Agreement reached in germany between chancellor Angela Merkel and the social democrats, or spd, is good news for europe according to a senior eu official, the economy commissioner, pierre moscovici. The deal ends months of uncertainty since septembers inconclusive elections, but as andrew plant reports, it will still need to be approved. Marathon talks that began on tuesday and continued through the night, to try to end more than four months of stalemate at the top of europes largest economy. Now, news that chancellor merkels party has reached a deal tojoin 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 are waiting to see. It has been called a marriage of convenience, but the deals made to make a coalition bring widespread criticism from members on both sides, who feel their core values have been compromised too far. So what could the new Coalition Look Like . The sdp, thejunior partner could control crucial ministries including finance and foreign affairs. Martin schulz, the party leader, 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 to enter into such a coalition. The implications of that are widespread on major issues in germany, like migration and workers rights, but also on the brexit negotiations, as chancellor merkel looks set to enter her fourth term politically far weaker than before. But the deal is not yet done. Martin schulz has promised his members a vote, and the results will not be in until 2 march. The australian Prime Minister has said he will issue a National Apology to survivors of child abuse. A Royal Commission into the treatment of thousands of children who were abused in the care of churches, schools and homes across australia called the abuse a national tragedy. Malcolm turnbulls announcement increases pressure on state governments and religious institutions that havent signed up to a scheme to compensate the victims. Several people have been injured in australia, where a hot air balloon crashed during a dawn tour. It landed heavily at dixons creek, in the yarra valley, about 60 kilometres north of melbourne. Police say some passengers were thrown from the basket as the balloon was trying to land in strong winds. A missing masterpiece described as the african mona lisa has been discovered in a north london flat. Ben enwonwus oil painting of the daughter of a yoruba king has taken on almost mythical status in his native nigeria. It is one of three portraits which went missing. It eventually surfaced when an art lover had it valued, not realising what it was. It will go on sale in three weeks time. She was a princess, so she was a yoruba, and the artist, enwonwu, was of a different ethnic group. So the fact that the two of them developed this close, personal connection over the course of this painting was a symbol of national reconciliation. Back to germany now, and an unusual musical event that started in frankfurt. A special plane operated by the European Space agency took a group of djs and theirfans up into the sky for a set in zero gravity. The bbcs tim allman takes up the story. Studio 5a and the ministry of sound have nothing on this. An airbus a310 called zero g. Dozens of people from around the world given the chance to get high, very high, and not an illegal substance in sight. Taking off for a whole new experience. Music plays. We hit turbulence. Usually the testing ground for astronauts, zero g instead became the most exclusive and unusual nightclub in the world. A heavy beat, but the lightest of party goers. For 90 minutes they danced, or at least they they try to dance, they floated, they spun. What goes up must come down, but this was one High Altitude rave, that blew peoples minds. It was insane. It was so crazy. Just floating upside down. And then steve aoki was doing flips down. It was just insane. It was like all your emotions at max level. And it was hilarious. Im super thankful. Now, ijust want to do it again, and again and again. For everyone involved, this was a unique gig, unlikely to be repeated. They say music can lift the soul. This went a lot further than that. Tim allman, bbc news. Police in china have started using sunglasses featuring facial recognition technology. The glasses are linked to an internal database of suspects, and allow officers to scan crowds looking for suspects. Chinese officials claim the glasses have already helped Police Arrest seven people, but there are concern about how Security Forces might use them to track and profile political dissidents and ethnic minorities. More on this now from eric vanderburg, Vice President of cybersecurity at tcdi, in cleveland, ohio. Thank you very much for your time. China, of course, is building a huge surveillance state. There are obviously privacy concerns here. In fa ct, obviously privacy concerns here. In fact, though, this kind of technology is in widespread use already, isnt it . Yes, it is. Facebook has been using it to auto tag photos, Police Officers i