09/01/2018 Beyond 100 Days

This is Beyond 100 Days,

with me Katty Kay in Washington

and Christian Fraser's in London.

North Korea offers to send

a high-level delegation

to next month's Winter Olympics,

after the first talks with the South

in more than two years.

Donald Trump hosts a roundtable

meeting between Republicans

and Democrats about security

and immigration in a rare

show of bipartisanship.

As fans call for Oprah Winfrey to

run for president, Donald Trump is

also full of praise but says he

would beat her at the polls. And the

self propelling suitcase that

follows its owner. Just one of the

marvels at this year's major tech

show in Las Vegas. Get in touch on

#Beyond100Days.

Figure skaters, cheerleaders and

artists are the subject of talks

between North and South Korea but

nuclear weapons are off the table as

the two countries celebrate

Pyongyang's decision to compete in

the Winter Olympics but there are

questions about where this will lead

when military talks will not even

include nukes.

But it is a step

towards easing tensions. It is the

first time with the North has

participated in any Olympics since

2010 and now there of a scramble to

work out how to get the athletes are

there and how to make sure they

return home again afterwards.

The skiers on the slopes today were

moving a little slower than they

will be in a month's time. Then, the

world's best will be flying down

these slopes. And now we know that

when the Olympic Games open here on

February the 7th, there will be a

full North Korean team competing.

They will march in side by side with

their South Korean company dreads.

TRANSLATION: I think we can put

everything else aside and everyone

should do their best to achieve

their goals in the competition.

North Korea is just 50 miles away in

that direction and the North has

completely overshadowed preparations

for the Olympics here. Some teams

have threatened to pull out, ticket

sales have been slow. You can see

this place is not exactly humming

with skiers. So there is immense

relief that the Northampton South

are at least talking. This morning,

North Korea's chief delegate strode

along the demarcation line that

divides the two countries. He warmly

shook the hand of his South Korean

counterpart. The weather is cold, he

said, but despite the cold the

people's desire for improving

relations is unfrozen. It is hard to

overstate how dramatic and rapid

this shift has been. It is only a

month since North Korea test fired

this huge new missile, posting it

could hit any city in the United

States. Off the coast of Korea, US

aircraft carriers and must, their

decks swarming with supersonic

strike aircraft. It felt like this

region was teetering on the brink of

war. So is Pyongyang's sudden change

of heart real or just a tactic to

avoid war with America?

North Korea

would like to gain time in order to

avoid a potential immediate

retaliation by the United States and

eventually re-engage with the

provocation cycle so they can

threaten the United States.

The

Winter Olympics may be a cover for

Kim Jong-un, a convenient excuse for

him to step back from the brink, but

in the south, any chance to talk is

better than the terrifying

alternative.

Few could disagree with that

thought. Earlier we were joined by

South Korea's ambassador to the UK

and started off by asking him what

is the long-term goal of what has

just begun.

The US and Korea have

the same view that we can not accept

a nuclear armed state. And also we

want to preserve the verifiable...

But they give nothing in order to

come to the table and the fear is

Pyongyang is trying to drive a wedge

between Seoul and Washington.

If

they try to drive a wedge between

the US and Korea, they will fail

because we maintain very close

collaboration and coordination on a

daily basis at every level. As I

said, we have the same goal and the

same approach. So the driving wedge

is not a concern for us.

In order to

bring North Korea to the games, what

is your government have to do in

terms of easing sanctions so that

the team can actually travelled to

soul?

Actually, I understand we need

to not get into any details about

dropping sanctions. What we are

talking about now is that we invite

North Korea and they decided to send

a large sized delegation. We

wholeheartedly welcome it and we

sincerely hope this is a good

starting point to ease tension on

the Korean peninsula and also engage

in direct dialogue with the North

and also further create an

environment conducive to more

serious negotiations on nuclear and

ballistic missile issues.

Ambassador, you describe it as a

good starting point. Of course,

there must be concerned that North

Korea does not follow through, that

you have a peaceful Olympic Games,

but after that they go back to their

bad behaviour. You must have some

concerns about that, don't you?

We

hope, we sincerely hope that this

Olympic Games and also this

high-level talks will pave the way

for a relaxation of tension and more

serious dialogue between the two

careers, and also leading to the

more serious dialogue and

negotiation on nuclear issues.

But

all of the evidence in history is

that they don't follow through

long-term on these breakthroughs,

these moment of rapprochement, they

just go back to their bad nuclear

behaviour.

But these situations have

been changing now and the

international community,

particularly the Security Council,

instigated very strong sanctions and

resolutions in recent years. We

increase the pressure on the North

Korean government to change their

strategy and this time, on the

occasion of the Olympic Games, they

have decided to send a large sized

team, and they are engaged in direct

talks in a serious manner so we

believe and we hope that this is a

good starting point.

Just one last

question, the Wall Street Journal

today says the Americans are talking

about a tactical strike may be, the

next time they launch a missile, a

bloody nose, but not full-scale war.

Those that worry your country that

the Americans are even considering

that?

My government and also all

relevant governments, relevant

countries, they pursue diplomatic

solution to this problem. Nobody

wants full-scale war, nobody wants

even limited war.

You can't stop it

becoming a walk with a limited

strike, can you?

It may be difficult

to control everything but

undoubtedly, the Korean government

and the US government and other

related countries all pursue a

dramatic solution to this problem.

Good to have you with us. Thank you.

It may be difficult to control

everything. A short while ago I

spoke to the former US ambassador to

South Korea.

How significant is this breakthrough

around the Olympics in terms of the

broader relationship between the

North and South?

First of all, it is

busy very significant for the

Olympics. South Korea has invested

ten years and lots of money in

preparing for these Olympics.

Frankly, the only thing that could

have gone wrong would have been a

North Korean provocation. The fact

that Kim Jong-un issued that new

Year 's address and then followed up

by sending a team down is a good

sign. The question is, can this

really go much further than the

Olympics?

There, time will tell. We

have seen a pattern over decades of

North Korea making advances,

engaging with the international

community, only for them to retreat

and start misbehaving again. Do you

have any optimism that it can be

different this time around?

Based on

past experience, I don't think it is

going to go much further. I do feel

the North Korea are motivated by a

essentially three different ideas.

One, that they can be a good,

friendly neighbour, even with

nuclear weapons, and that they can

start the process, which I think is

a long-term effort to drive wedges

between the US and South Korea,

ultimately decoupling the US from

South Korea's security, and I would

not be surprised if they are feeling

the pinch of some of these

sanctions, although I don't want to

go too far with that. I know

President Trump is taking credit for

these meetings based on the

sanctions, but I think it is far

more complex than that.

The

reporting is that it will be the

South Koreans to pay for the North

Korean athletes and delegates to

come to the Olympics. You have been

had so many negotiations yourself,

there is give and take, what has

North Korea given in this instance?

They have certainly made sure that

nothing will go wrong with the

Olympics so, in that sense, they

have given something. It sounds a

little like organised crime but that

is essentially what they have given.

I think they are trying to show that

they can be this good neighbour, and

that is something that certainly the

president wanted to see because he

has a lot of people in his party who

believe they should be an engagement

policy with regard to North Korea.

So he has got something on that

score and can placate a lot of

people within his party. But it's

important to understand that the

peninsula talks ten to deal with

humanitarian issues, family

reunification, which is the next

topic they would like to address. It

is not about nuclear weapons or

security. It is more about the

atmosphere and the bilateral

relationship that the North and

South have clearly not had much of

in recent years.

I was interested to

see that when it comes to military

talks, which they will now hold as

well, the discussion of nuclear

discussions have been taken off the

table. How realistic can military

talks with North Korea be if they

are not going to discuss the

problem?

Historically, they have not

been very significant. Obviously,

you would look for some kind of

confidence building measures, may be

pull-back of forces, this type of

thing, but what the North Koreans

will be looking for is further to

their policy of trying to decouple

the US from South Korea, they will

be looking for further postponement

and even cancellation of US,

Republic of Korea military

exercises. So they will be

absolutely focused on that. They see

that as part and parcel of the

effort to weaken the Alliance.

Thank

you very much.

Both sides today saying there is no

increased daylight between them.

That they share opinions on what

needs to happen in North Korea. But

look, anything is better than where

we were two months ago. Any talks.

And if they can become a catalyst

for change, all the better.

It is

weird. We are in this day will track

process at the moment where we have

these talks going on. The State

Department saying they welcome those

talks going on and yet there is

still talked in Washington about

what you asked the ambassador about

and that is some idea of a precision

strike. There is a piece in Foreign

Policy magazine and a title is, it's

time to bomb North Korea. So there

is certainly a discussion on

military action against North Korea

but we just can't say where we are

going to be in two months' time on

this. Will we be in a position where

those talks will make a breakthrough

or could there be the prospect of

some kind of military action?

It

will be interesting to know just how

involved the Americans have been in

these discussions. I can't imagine a

scenario where North Korea, where

South Korea say we will talk to them

and then pick up the phone.

The

ambassador was very keen to say

there was close collaboration.

Given how rarely President Trump

chooses to do politics, the tone of

today's meeting was writing, but

whether the two sides can actually

agree on the wall or protecting

young immigrants is less clear.

Here

is Mr Trump a few minutes ago. I

feel having the Democrats in with us

is absolutely vital because it

should be a bipartisan bill. It

should be a bill of love, truly, and

we can do that. But it also has to

be a Bill where we are able to

secure our border. Drugs are pouring

into our country at a record pace. A

lot of people coming in that we

can't have. We have greatly

stiffened and fewer people are

trying to come in but we have

tremendous numbers of people and

drugs pouring into our country. So

in order to secure it, we need a

wall.

Republican strategists and former

aide for the Bush White House Ron

Christie joins us from San

Francisco. I was thinking, my

goodness, that is the kind of

meeting we might have seen your

former employer, President Bush,

hold in the White House.

I thought

that was a fascinating bit of

television that we saw within the

last hour. President Trump had 25

members of Congress join him, 16

Senators and a handful of members

from the house of representatives,

and we saw something that we don't

see in American politics often. He

let the camera crew in and let them

observe what was going on. I can't

tell you how many meetings I was in

with a bring the press in, they are

there for 30 seconds, and then they

get pushed out. We got to see

Republicans and Democrats negotiated

in front of the American people. It

was a great bit of television

Theatre.

Beyond the bit of

television Theatre, what happens on

the substance of this? Do you think

it makes it easier for them to come

to some kind of agreement on tricky

issues like the wall and protecting

young immigrants?

I do. I believe

there is bipartisan consensus. They

want to find a way to protect these

800,000 young people from being

deported. One of the mechanisms that

we might able to be able to do this

is that government funding is going

to stop on January 19 next week. If

the president can find a legislative

stopgap that will keep the

government open as well as

addressing these issues, I think

there is a pathway that all sides

can say they got a little something.

Most importantly, these young people

are allowed to remain.

I agree, it

was a fascinating three quarters of

an hour when they went around the

table. A real shot in the arm for

bipartisanship. We certainly needed

that after the last few months. But

he went on to say that Republicans

and Democrats need to go out for

dinner more, they need to talk more.

He said everybody hates each other.

But this is the Tweed he sent out on

the 2nd of January. Democrats are

doing nothing, just interested in

politics. This is the sort of

sentiment he has been sewing on

Twitter. He has been the division.

Good to see you, Christian, as well.

Yes, he has been. We have long

talked about the president and his

tweets and it seems to take people

apart as opposed to bring people

together. But one of the things I

heard today that I thought was very

important is that it is really hard

to disagree with somebody who you

like. It is hard not to work with

someone you know and respect. And

members of Congress, certainly the

last ten or 15 years, have taken to

running against Washington, trying

to demonise not only the opposition

party but the city itself. If we can

find a way to get little bit more

civility, perhaps the president can

put down Twitter every now and again

and bring people over. President

Bush brought people over every

Thursday and had drinks. Let's get

to know each other, talk to each

other, and talk about these issues

rather than demonise each other.

Picking up that sentiment that it is

difficult to disagree with someone

you like. Here is a message from Ron

Christie, who has fallen in love

with Oprah Winfrey. Here it is.

Is she the 46th president, Ron

Christie? No, and don't worry, I

will be back in Washington next

week. I think she was

extraordinarily eloquent. I stand by

the sentiments expressed in my

tweet. With so much rancour and

division in Hollywood, with Harvey

Weinstein and the six scandals, it

is nice to see a strong woman of

collective eloquent remarks and take

head-on an issue that has ripped

apart the fabric of our society

today. Yes, I am still coming back

to Washington, don't worry.

Good

man. Great to see you.

So what do you make of it, the round

the table?

I thought it was

fascinating. It is fascinating

partly because we haven't seen the

president do this. This is what

presidents in the past have done,

got everyone together. We have

talked a lot about division in

Washington and kudos to the

president for managing to get

Democrats there to listen to them as

they made their policy statements.

Getting people together does mean

you can do some talking.

And he is

going to Davos. I didn't realise

that President Obama and President

Bush did not go to Davos, so this is

a first.

I was fascinated when this

news broke. It came out from the

White House that he has decided to

go to advance the America first

agenda. Davos, previous presidents

have felt is this gathering of this

local glitterati, and they didn't

want to be seen in that

circumstance. President Obama would

not have dreamt of going to Davos

because he would have been chastised

by Republicans throughout the

country for those food grass

afterwards. President Bush felt

exactly the same thing. President

Clinton did go right at the end of

his time in office in 2000. So it is

rare for American presidents to go

and it is fascinating that this

president, who has railed against

globalisation, styled himself as a

populist, is the one that breaks the

mould and actually goes to

Switzerland for the gathering.

Interesting to watch.

French authorities are investigating

a suspected arson attack on a kosher

grocery store in Paris. It was

recently did face with Nazi

swastikas. It comes amid fears of

France's Jewish community about

rising anti-Semitism.

A cargo is still leaking oil into

the East China Sea following a fire.

One person has been confirmed dead.

Now, if you want a glimpse of the

future, there is no better place you

can be right now than Las Vegas. It

is the width of a massive consumer

electronic show and on display the

technology that will revolutionise

the way we live.

170,000 people are

expected to visit those exhibitions.

They are going to see the tech

companies latest developments

including driverless cars and

advances in artificial intelligence.

A powerful and largely invisible

technology is on the march. It is

learning how to drive. It can

recognise individual faces and it

knows an awful lot about our

personal preferences. That

technology is artificial

intelligence and, in Las Vegas this

week, tech firms are showing off how

far it has come. Can we shake hands?

In a Las Vegas University lab, I am

eating Sophia, a humanoid robot. How

sophisticated do you think you are

as a robot?

A lot of people perceive

me as a robot but I would not people

what then I am a human. I just want

to communicate with humans in the

best possible ways, which include

looking like one.

Severe has few

practical uses right now but her

creators believe she represents a

big step on the road to artificial

intelligence.

Our aspiration is to

bring the machines to life, to

create living, intelligent systems,

and there you will see the greatest

revolution in artificial

intelligence.

As this giant tech

show gets underway, China's spending

on AI and robotics is very much in

evidence. This case recognises and

follows its owner. And here is the

biggest development, with the

slogan, AI is changing the world at

China speed. It calls itself China's

Google, it is already a leader in

technologies like facial

recognition, and they are confident

China can challenge America's AI

dominance.

China is quickly catching

up and the gap is closing. But China

has a lot more people, a much larger

scale. There is a big market. So I

think that is a foundation for China

to prevail in the AI agent.

Google,

which usually keeps a low profile at

this show, has chosen to put its

name everywhere across Las Vegas,

stressing its leading role in AI.

We

are trying our best to stay ahead.

There is lots of great competition,

lots of excitement, and it means

there is a lot of investment going

into this area, so I think you are

going to see the field advance

pretty quickly.

It is arriving quite

slowly. And in downtown Las Vegas, I

booked a ride in an autonomous taxi.

No steering wheel, no pedals, no

driver, and it is made by a French

transport company. It is not just

America and China are racing to get

ahead in AI.

Part of the fun is the black cabbie

talking to you from the front. I

particularly like the bag that

recognises and follows its own, so

you can't lose your bike in the

airport. Maybe I can sit my children

on it. I definitely want one of

those. This is Beyond 100 Days from

the BBC.

Coming up for the worse on

the BBC News Channel and BBC World

News, he walks the walk but can he

talk the talk? The French president

is in trying and trying to do a

trade deal in his attempt to speak

Mandarin.

And democracy on ice, the

country that has been without a

government for 12 months. What

impact is it having on everyday

life?

One of our weather watchers did

manage to find a bit of sunshine on

the Isle of Lewis. Northern

Scotland, part of Cumbria, some good

sunny skies today, and we will see

that sunshine return tomorrow. This

weather front has been bringing rain

to Northern Ireland. Overnight that

will spread northwards and

eastwards. With clearing skies to

some parts of western England, Wales

and Northern Ireland, temperatures

will drop. There could be some icy

conditions to start Wednesday

morning. Take it easy first thing.

Another great start in the

north-east of Scotland. And there

will be some lingering fog patches

in the West. But foremost, this

sunshine be back and much better.

Northern Scotland grade, misty over

the hills. But in other parts of

western Scotland, it will brighten

up. Still fairly cloudy for some in

eastern England. I can't rule out

the right moment but further west

sunny spells developing for most.

Not everyone will see blue skies

overhead. And with winds light, it

should feel much more pleasant than

it has done over the past few days.

On Wednesday night, outbreaks of

rain, a few showers close to the

south-west of the country. They will

gradually fade away through the

night. And with light winds, clear

skies, these are the city centre

temperatures. However, the risk of

frost. And not just widespread

frost, fog patches will become that

bit more expensive -- extensive.

Exactly who will stick with the fog

all day long, one of those things

difficult to say at this moment.

Parts of Northern Ireland. But

elsewhere most of the morning will

clear, the sunshine will come out,

another pleasant day but still

feeling on the chilly side. A

similar day on Friday, most at risk

of four, sunny spells breakthrough

in the West, but we finished the day

with rain across Ireland and some

gusty winds to go with it. That

weather front will try to work its

way in this weekend. A slow process

though. Rain heavy at first, like

that but you later.

This is Beyond 100 Days,

with me Katty Kay in Washington

and Christian Fraser's in London.

Our top stories.

North Korea offers to send

a high-level delegation

to next month's Winter Olympics,

after the first talks with the South

in more than two years.

A former South Korean

ambassador tells this programme,

he's sceptical.

Well, they have certainly made sure

that nothing will go wrong

with the Olympics

so, in that sense,

they have given something.

It sounds a little

like organised crime.

Donald Trump hosts a roundtable

meeting between Republicans

and Democrats about security

and immigration in a rare

show of bipartisanship.

Coming up in the next half hour.

Then we have a special report about

the murder of Ukrainian lawyer. And

how Prince Harry got to grips with

this cool handshake! Send us your

thoughts. This is the hashtag.

If Donald Trump is called for an

interview by special prosecutor

Robert Muller, how would that

actually work? And piercing, under

oath? All of those questions are

relevant to reports that discussions

between the camps have just begun.

Donald Trump has repeatedly said

Mr Trump has repeatedly said

that there was no collusion

between Russia and his campaign.

He also says he understands

he is not personally

under investigation.

But the FBI probe is wide ranging,

many people in the President's inner

circle have been interviewed

and there is certainly

much that Mr Mueller

would like to ask Mr Trump.

With us now is former federal

prosector Barak Cohen.

thank you for coming to the studio.

How does this work when a special

prosecutor decides that they want to

talk to the president?

Situations

like this, rare. We understand that.

But how it has worked in the past,

what likely is going to happen, the

special counsel will be negotiating

with lawyers.

Presumably, the

President wants to keep his lawyer

with him?

Absolutely.

Preferring to

do this in writing, sit down?

The

preferences to do this in writing,

lawyers can prepare what you intend

to say. What the person being

interviewed intends to say. That

might happen. The special counsel is

probably pushing for an interview,

certainly the president is going to

want that.

Some speculation, the

fact that Muller is in negotiations

with the President's lawyers, it

could be drawing towards an end.

Would you conclude that? It is

closer to the end.

Why would that be

the case?

Depending on what the

president has said, any information

they could want to follow up on.

The

implication, interview everybody

else?

I expect the president is

probably the last person that they

would want to interview, it could

result in a follow-up interview.

The

New York Times said that what Muller

is really interviewed on, Flynn, and

the firing of James Comey.

Obstruction of justice? Would you

agree?

If that is what they are

after, I would agree that they are

looking at evidence of obstruction

of justice.

Where does that leave

the President? Can the president of

strong justice?

Exactly. Some bigger

questions, if he can be killed

accountable -- held accountable.

I

was just going to say, it is very

American, this? I remember when

Nicolas Sarkozy was under

investigation in France. He was

hauled in. The same for Silvio

Berlusconi. Why does the American

president get a say?

At the end of

the day, even though the information

is critical and part and the office

deserves a certain part of

difference.

Thank you. It is going

to be fascinating to see how those

meetings take place. And whether the

President, Even if he can be

undisciplined on Twitter, he has

actually also sat with lawyers many

times. Being disciplined when he

needs to be. The trick is... If you

are being grilled, be on top of

facts. We know that he does not have

that capacity. Does not have that

capacity to sit down read! Also

going to have to remember the issue

of obstruction, Bill Clinton was

undone on the perjury issue when he

was impeached in the 1990s. It is

more of a pattern. Something that

Muller would think easier to work

with.

In Ukraine, the funeral has taken

place of a young female lawyer

whose murder is rapidly becoming

a test case

for attempts to reform

the country's judiciary.

Irina Nozdrovska's body

was discovered five days

after she appeared in court

to ensure that a drunk driver

who killed her sister

would not be released early.

From Kiev, here's our

correspondent Jonah Fisher.

In a small town just outside Kiev,

hundreds of people came

to say goodbye to a woman whose life

and death has reminded Ukraine

of how far it still has to go.

This is Irina Nozdrovska two

years ago in full flow.

She was leading a very public

campaign to try and make sure

that the drink-driver responsible

for killing her sister

was prosecuted.

It was an uphill struggle.

The man was well connected,

the nephew of a local judge.

But against the odds, two weeks ago,

he had a jail sentence

of seven years confirmed.

But Irina Nozdrovska's activism

made her powerful enemies and five

days after the court hearing,

her battered body was discovered

stabbed and dumped.

"They murdered you for telling

the truth", says her father,

as he weeps over her coffin.

"They removed you because you were

standing in their way."

Her mother cries out for her first

dead daughter, Svitlana ,

to welcome Irina to heaven.

Ukraine has a pretty miserable track

record of solving high-profile

murder cases like this one.

The justice system is widely seen

as being rotten to its very core

and at the service of the rich

and well connected.

Under pressure, Ukraine's police

service has arrested a man,

but at the funeral there was deep

scepticism about whether justice

would eventually be done.

People understand that the judicial

system is not about people at all.

We understand that it is about

corruption first of all,

because all these judges, for 25

years, was corrupt with politicians.

The whole system is corrupt.

Having fought and, it seems,

died to get justice for her sister,

the murder of Irina Nozdrovska

is now a very public test case

as to whether Ukraine

really is changing.

It seems everybody is on the China

charm offensive. Trumps... Then the

British international trade

Secretary. And the French secretary.

Macron and the Chinese president

have been talking about trade.

Offering to open up the economy to

investment, it is not just Macron's

policies that have been

causing make our planet great again.

This is in Mandarin.

We are going to do a test at the end

of the programme. I am going to ask

you to say that in Mandarin. Very

good linguist. He has done this

before. He had this fly on the wall,

behind-the-scenes view. But I want

to talk about how far Britain is

lagging behind in the gift giving

diplomacy. He took with him an

eight-year-old horse! Do you know

what we gave to the Chinese? A

signed England football shirt. You

have got to do better. I think

Theresa May could be going later

this year. The next month or so.

Going to take corgis? Bulldog?

Dragon? Where do you go? It was

interesting. You have got everybody

trying to woo the Chinese. The

French at the moment. And Macron has

been very complimentary about the

Chinese government, the role on

climate change. Chinese investment

around the world, what it means. Id

just feels like we are in this

moment, the centre of gravity

shifting around. And a lot of people

turning up on the doorstep, who

wouldn't have done years ago. As my

editor remaindered me, one gift...

Some proper armchairs! Just look at

these? Almost like Bond armchairs!

Arm opens up. The trigger inside. We

will take them some new chairs. We

will see how that goes.

Police in Italy and Germany have

arrested 169 people in a joint

operation against one of Italy's

most notorious mafia groups -

the 'Ndrangheta.

Most arrests were made in Italy,

and include the head

of the southern province of Crotone,

and two other mayors.

The criminal network

is based in southern Italy

but it has expanded its reach

into the rest of Europe.

Theresa May's cabinet has met

for the first time after a reshuffle

designed to recharge her government.

The British Prime Minister appointed

more women and MPs from ethnic

minority backgrounds as ministers,

at the end of the two-day reshuffle.

But the most high-profile cabinet

ministers have all kept their jobs.

It was interesting. I think I

tweeted this earlier. I have never

seen the New York Times run any

piece about the British Cabinet

recycle. It was the ways than

glowing headline, not changing much.

I think Number ten have convinced

themselves after the budget, after

signing the deal with the EU, that

she ended the year on a good end and

could resume normal activities. She

cannot. It was proving just be. How

does it happen that Jeremy Hunt,

comes to Downing Street and they do

not know that he is going to move.

The Cabinet reshuffle stalls. Senior

ministers dictating they are not

going to leave. They allow spin in

the press. Going to reflect the

country at large. In the end, moving

the Education Secretary, sacked,

Greening, instead put in a middle

age white man. This is the second

time. After the party conference,

you hit the Cabinet reshuffle that

should have been straightforward. It

is the second time. Surely questions

have been asked internally? Do not

spin it out over two days. More

hours of headlines. Than if you did

it as normal! David Cameron, did it

at a canter! Heavy snow has been

raising the avalanche risk to some

areas. Some Switzerland resorts, has

blogged real and road access.

So much now. This was the scene at

Switzerland. The avalanche risk is

as high as it has been for almost a

decade. Over one metre Ross Noble

fell in parts of the Alps on Monday.

At this Battalion residents

evacuated. Snow poured down.

Villages cut off. Many schools

closed. This was France.

We had big noises at first. No

tremor. Growls. We ran back to the

basement.

It is always a shock. It

is always a shock. It is not nice to

see. We thought the house was going

to explode. Your heart sinks.

Ad in

the shadow of the famous

maintenance, over 14,000 tourists

cannot leave. Snow has blocked road

and rail links. Skiing is not

possible. Closed because of the

avalanche danger. Residents and

holiday-makers are being warned to

avoid these roads and follow all of

the safety advice. Those stranded

may have to be patient. Another

metre of snow has been forecast over

the next 24 hours. That is amazing.

Snow in the Alps... Not unusual. But

this is the sahara. Just to prove

that things are wacky... More than

Algeria, rare spell of icy weather.

Melted. Not long after these

pictures.

Prince Harry and his bride-to-be

Meghan Markle have visited

the studios of a radio station

in Brixton in South London

to learn about its work

supporting young people.

The couple met presenters and staff

from Reprezent FM which trains

hundreds of people every year

in media and employment skills.

Harry and Ms Markle also

visited Pop Brixton,

a community project housing local

start-ups and restaurants.

Down in the hood, Harry.

Yes, I've been looking at those

pictures as well and I just

want to show you something

that went down pretty well

on today's royal tour.

Let's just show you the moment

where DJ Remi of Reprezent FM

taught Prince Harry

this special handshake.

OK, so... Fist pump. Up down. To the

side. Other side! Rehearsing that

one more time. Looks as uncool as I

am! Yeah! Dad dancing. Who had it

harder? Macron learning that

Mandarin, Prince Harry trying to

learn that? The every time. You

can't do either! No. Mandarin, very

limited. You totally have not

learned the test. Still to come, the

silent treatment.

The silent treatment -

we return to the world's largest

tech trade show in Las Vegas,

where one robot went rogue.

The nominations for this year's

British Academy Film Awards

have been announced.

The fantasy romance The Shape

of Water leads the field

with 12 nominations.

It's also been announced that

Joanna Lumley will host

the awards ceremony,

replacing Stephen Fry,

who's stepping down from the role.

Here's our entertainment

correspondent Lizo Mzimba.

The Shape of Water, a tender

science fiction fantasy,

with Britain's Sally Hawkins playing

a mute cleaner who falls in love

with a water creature.

A Best Actress nomination

for Hawkins, one of 12

for the movie, including Best Film.

You have wanted this

your entire adult life.

No, since the nursery.

Just behind, two films

have nine nomination.

Wartime drama Darkest Hour,

where both Gary Oldman

and Kristin Scott Thomas

are recognised for Best Actor

and Best Supporting Actress.

So Mildred Hayes, why did you put

up these billboards?

My daughter Angela was

murdered seven months ago.

And dark drama Three Billboards

Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Like The Shape of Water,

its strongly female led,

with Frances McDormand

nominated for Best Actress.

This is a year where, unusually,

two of the three most nominated

films feature strong women

at the centre, with the men

only supporting roles.

We are levelling up very very

quickly to the same level.

We have still got to fight,

stand up, be brave, be bold,

be resolute, and say,

we are going to make things even.

We will make them equal from now on.

The theme of, to an extent,

focussing on women is continued,

with Bafta announcing that it

will soon be publishing

a set of cross-industry

workplace guidelines,

following the sexual harassment

revelations of the past few months.

This is also the week

when Oscar voters

are deciding their nominations.

It is likely much attention will be

paid this year more than ever,

as to whether they will be

championing female-led stories

and female storytellers.

You're watching Beyond 100 Days.

A year ago today in Northern

Ireland, the late Martin McGuinness

resigned as the Stormont

Deputy First Minister.

His party, Sinn Fein,

and the Democratic Unionists

have been unable to reach

an agreement

to restore the power-sharing

coalition.

Civil servants have been

running the country,

but they're not able to make

any major decisions.

Our Ireland Correspondent Chris Page

has been looking at the impact

of 12 months without government.

Just like everywhere else

in the UK, the health service

in Northern Ireland is under severe

pressure this winter,

but what's different here is that

there's no Health Minister.

Three months before it collapsed,

the devolved Government published

a plan to restructure the NHS

after a report said the system

was at breaking point.

No problem with your

blood pressure before?

No.

This GP says urgent

reforms are being held up

because ministers are out of office.

We already see it with the long

waiting lists for secondary care.

We see it with the lack

of investment in social care.

We see it with the issues around

the out of hours service and we see

it with the heavy demands on access

to GP services, and that's where

the patients will see it primarily.

Others who rely on public money

to do their jobs say that

uncertainty is unacceptable.

You're too neat by nature.

This workshop for people

with dementia is one

of hundreds of programmes run

by community arts organisations.

They say their future is shaky

because of funding cuts,

but they feel they've nowhere to go

to make their case.

We have no Government,

we have no champion,

we have no minister.

So we've nobody to turn

to to support policy changes,

to support the communities here.

This is a crisis moment for us.

The political crisis is apparently

still as deep as a year ago.

Martin McGuinness ended

Sinn Fein's uneasy partnership

with the Democratic Unionists

when he resigned as

Deputy First Minister.

There have since been elections

to Stormont and Westminster

and several rounds of talks

to restore power-sharing.

But many days of negotiations have

failed to break the deadlock.

The DUP and Sinn Fein

increased their dominance in both

elections last year and they blame

each other for the

Stormont stalemate.

In the meantime, unmade

decisions are piling up.

Half of the construction

industry's business comes

from public sector projects.

Workers are concerned

about a downturn in demand.

Within the next few months,

unless decisions are made

and projects and things start

to move forward, I think

we could see a situation

where we're seeing layoffs

in the construction industry.

We need to see the Executive

and the Assembly reestablished

as soon as possible.

The British and Irish governments

are aiming to restart

talks between the parties

in the coming weeks.

At the moment, there's no sign

of a deal to bring devolution

out of the deep freeze.

Chris Page, BBC News, Belfast.

That goes back to what you said

yesterday, a lot of government at

local level. The world record for

democracy going without an elected

government, Belgium, 2010/11. 589

days! With out any government. If I

remember correctly, national debt

went down! A lot of people who do

not like government. Especially in

this country. We can go back to that

consumer electronic show at Las

Vegas. We find out what gadgets, all

of the different things, what

difference debt went down! They

make. The great and the good, very

keen to show off the advances,

including this robot Chloe. But not

everything went according to plan.

Allow me to introduce Chloe. Hello

Chloe.

Good morning. I hope you are

well. What can I do for you today?

Chloe. What is my schedule?

You need

to go to the gym at 10am today.

Power up! Power up! Smart learner

has set the washer to sportswear.

Chloe. Am I going to be ready for

the washer cycle? Even some robots

have bad days... Chloe. What is

going to be for dinner tonight?

OK. Chloe... Not going to talk to

me. Does not like me, evidently.

Reminiscent of my household. They do

not respond. I have got Alexa,

revolutionary. Does not talk to me.

Probably the only woman who listens

to you. I do the dishes. The

Chinese, make the planet great

again. Mandarin.