In global news, business and sport. And you can be part of the conversation. Today were asking as the uk celebrates 250 years since the first circus opened near waterloo in london, are circuses still relevant and entertaining, or outdated and outmoded. Would you still go and see one . Tell us what you think, just use bbcthebriefing. Momentous changes appear to be taking place in south africa. Its being reported that the ruling anc party has formally requested president jacob zuma to step down. It follows marathon talks by Senior Party Officials that continued into the early hours of the morning. If mr zuma old still doesnt go, hell face a vote of confidence in parliament that hes expected to lose. Jon ironmonger has the latest. Cyril ramaphosa left a 13 hour meeting of the partys executive committee under the weight of a momentous decision to re m ove president jacob zuma as the head of state. Earlier on monday night, the anc leader visited the president in person, telling him to step down within the next two days. But an unconfirmed report suggests that mr zuma responded by asking for another three months in office. Cyril ramaphosa, the new president of the African National congress. Since mr ramaphosa was elected party leader in december, jacob zuma has resisted intense pressure to resign. His second term has been swamped in scandal, and the rift within the party has threatened the stability of south africas oldest liberation movement. On sunday, mr ramaphosa told supporters in cape town he was seeking a new beginning and pledged to tackle the corruption that had marred mr zumas nine years in office. Allegations surrounding mr zumas links to the wealthy gupta family have caused his popularity to plummet in recent years. But he continues to demand support in rural areas, and mr ramaphosa has said publicly that he wanted to avoid recalling the president , a move that could damage his chances in next years election. Yet still, if jacob zuma refuses to quit, and there is a no confidence vote, even more turmoil could be around the corner. Jon ironmonger, bbc news. For more, lets go to lebo diseko who joins us from johannesburg. Welcome to you. What is expected to happen today do we think . Well, in the last hour or so we have had an alert from the anc calling journalists to a media briefing, thats around midday local time so hopefully then we will hear officially what was the result of yesterdays meeting. Its been very required, no official communication from the anc about what happened. Clearly jacob zuma isnt in a rush to go anywhere, what happens if they insist he should go, has to go, and he still refuses . Well, its totally unheard of within the anc. I mean, the anc really does follow the line of its leadership and the nec is the top body so when this happened to thabo mbeki a few years ago, i mean, he resigned in front of the nation. Ifjacob he resigned in front of the nation. If jacob zuma decides that he does not want to do that, the anc have a couple of options. They can go for a vote of no confidence in parliament. The downside of that for the anc is that dissolves the whole cabinet, which isnt ideal for them. That dissolves the whole cabinet, which isnt idealfor them. The other option is to try and pursue impeachment proceedings. That has a much higher bark than a vote of no confidence, but may be something they decide to pursue bark. How is this drama playing out on the streets of south africa, is it affecting ordinary day to day life oi affecting ordinary day to day life or is it something very much happening just within the anc . Certainly peoples lives do go on but there is a sense of anxiety and in conversations with people it comes up in conversations with people it comes up all the time. I was listening to a youth Radio Station on the way in and they were talking about it. You talk to older people and you speak to people in the cafe around the corner and that was the topic that was on peoples mines. I guess life does go on, i guess its with this sense of them anxiety looming minds. With this sense of them anxiety looming minds. We will keep you up looming minds. We will keep you up to date on any developments in sap africa as soon as they happen. Lets turn to korea in south africa. Relations on the Korean Peninsula seem to be thawing rapidly. Kimjong un has now praised south korea over its treatment of a delegation from the north to the Winter Olympics. The north Korean Leader says he wants to build on the atmosphere of reconciliation with the south. Lets get the very latest from our correspondent, Stephen Mcdonell in seoul. Developments at a rapid rate in the backdrop . Its not everyday that north Korean Leader says anything good about his southern neighbours, normally hes accusing this country of being the puppets of american imperialism and the like and instead he is praising the handling of the Winter Olympics here and especially the prioritising of the north korean athletes and the north korean delegation and calling for an increase in warm relations between the two so it does seem that this rapid and unexpected communication between the two Park Geun Hye is going on apace here. Were waiting of course to see what comes next. Koreas. I guess a solid plan from president moon to travel to the north following that invitation will be one thing, but theres also talk of before that happens, the military is of the two countries speaking to one another. Again, i dont think people are many are under any illusions that this will cause the denuclearisation of the potential but if they can communicate then it will guarantee to an extent there wont be an accidental war, a misunderstanding, so those in favour of increased dialogue between the two koreas will find this to be a very significant step. For now, stephen, thank you. Lets brief you on some of the other stories making the news. The Uks Charity Commission is launching an investigation into oxfams handling of the sex scandal after discovering that its staff hired prostitutes in haiti, in 2011. The watchdog says documents provided by oxfam, at the time, show that the charity may not have fully and frankly disclosed material details. The ukrainian authorities have deported Mikhail Saakashvili to poland. The former georgian president , whos been leading protests against ukraines president , was arrested in kiev and immediately flown to warsaw. Mr saakashvili says he intends to fight to the very end. The bbc has learned that the commonwealth has secretly begun considering who might succeed the queen as head of the organisation. The issue is hugely sensitive because the role is not hereditary and will not pass automatically to the prince of wales, on the queens death. London city airport says it will open as normal this morning after all flights were cancelled on monday following the discovery of a Second World War bomb. The shell has been removed and will be exploded underwater by the royal navy. A controlled explosion is expected later this morning. New software is being unveiled by the uk government which it says can accurately detect jihadist content online and remove it instantly. The home secretary amber rudd is in Silicon Valley to discuss the british designed tool with technology companies. She says firms could eventually be required by law to use it. Dave lee reports from san francisco. Created by an Artificial Intelligence Company Based in london, and funded with more than £500,000 of government money, it draws upon a vast database of material posted online from so called Islamic State. We have two videos, one of which is legitimate news content, the other is propaganda. To my naked eye, i actually cannot tell the difference between the two. Fortunately down at the bottom, this is very low probability of being terrorist content, but this one of being much higher. What that means is if you were to be in charge of some kind of video upload programme, you could use this whenever someone clicks to upload a video and flag this video for review, and that this one through without any problems. Using this technique, the software creators believe they can spot up to 94 of Islamic State content posted online with an accuracy of 99. 95 . Anything the software is unsure about is flagged for human review. Ive had a demonstration of it, i know a lot of other people as well, and its a very good example of the fact that you can have the information you need to make sure this information is not going online in the first place. The home secretary says this is important tool to help small companies, ones that may not have the resources to tackle extremism properly. But if they do not want the governments help, they may soon be forced to take it. We dont want to rule out taking legislative action, but i remain convinced that the best way to have the best outcomes is to have an industry led forum like the one that weve. This has to be in conjunction with Larger Companies working with small companies. Advocates of an open internet often push back against this type of software because it can often cause content being blocked when it shouldnt be, false positives. Yet, an estimated 400 web services were used to block propaganda in 2017, and so it is less about blocking jihadis today and more about predicting where they might be on the internet tomorrow. Dave lee, bbc news, in Silicon Valley. Tunisia is back and open for business, at least according to the uk Package Holiday Company thomas cook. Once prized as an affordable destination for sun and sand, the northern african country found its tourist economy shattered injune 2015 when a gunman opened fire on holidaymakers on a beach. Rolake akinkugbe from fbn merchant bankjoins me now. Lots of people might be surprised, the government has changed its policy, how badly damaged was the Tourism Industry there . Pretty significant, tourism accounts for 60 of the tunisian gdp and employed over 60,000 people so this is a major boost for the economy. Of course, when you look at the spill over impact on Small Businesses and the ancillary industry around tourism, its pretty significant. We will get more on that later but for now, thank you. Stay with us on the briefing. Also on the programme the changing faces of clowns. 250 years on from the first ever circus, should we still be scared . 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. Youre watching the briefing. Our headlines the governing anc tells south african president jacob zuma you are being removed as head of state. North koreas Leader Speaks of a warm climate of reconciliation with the south after a delegation returns from the Winter Olympics. Australia is marking the tenth anniversary of a National Apology to Aboriginal People forcibly taken from their homes as children. It coincides with a report that says the Australian Government is failing to meet the majority of targets for improving the lives of the countrys indigenous population. Our correspondent, hywel griffith, is outside the Parliament Building in canberra. Bring us up to date on the situation. As you said, it is ten yea rs situation. As you said, it is ten years ago since thousands of people we re years ago since thousands of people were on ms loren witnessing that apology. The question being asked in canberra is really how much has changed in that decade . Closing the gap looks at the differences between indigenous and non indigenous australians and some of the differences are quite stark. Life expectancy, for example, fred is that Indigenous Women is nine and a half yea rs that Indigenous Women is nine and a half years shorter, for indigenous men it is more than ten up here shorter, when it comes to employment the gap has widened between the two communities in the last decade. The employment rate for indigenous australians is 25. 2 lower. There is some progress, particularly when it comes to children and the number of children in preschool education, but there is still a feeling that the huge cathartic moment ten years ago was an emotional response, but we are yet to see the economic response and money filtered through to different communities. The Prime Minister has been speaking in the last 2a hours. He was expected to address a group of stolen generation survivors this morning, some were disappointed when it was the Indigenous Affairs minister doing that speech instead. They said the government is not taking it seriously not listening to the voice of aboriginal australians, in particular, they want more Self Determination to sell some of these issues. It is very difficult. One particularly difficult issue is the idea of a new stolen generation. There are, in fact, more indigenous children being taken into care now than there were ten years ago. Different complex social reasons. So this is a problem australia is likely to have to grapple with many to come. For now, thank you. The ups and downs of life like a failed relationship, the death of a loved one, or being the victim of crime, can all affect how we feel about our lives and our Mental Health. Now an online experiment run in conjunction with the bbc is seeing if its possible to predict how you would cope with those big life events. Heres our health correspondent, dominic hughes. Working with friends, doing something useful, all on a sunny winters dei, jane found the stress of herjob as a Primary School teacher overwhelming. Now working as a volunteer to restore a local party has found the perfect antidote. Sometimes i might not have had a great morning, but i might not have told anyone. They might have made me smile or laugh. Then again i am back on the right track and i am feeling positive. It is a mixture of being outside, doing something great for nature, and also the people and the social side of it as well. Volunteering is the sort of activity that takes ticks lots of boxes when it comes to boosting a mental well being, it is an outdoor activity, and on a glorious day like today what could be better than that . It is physical, social, and for those researching what makes us happy, this is the sort of thing that they say can really help. Im tangling the different factors, positive and negative, that make up oui positive and negative, that make up our sense of well being or happiness could help prevent Mental Health problems from developing. We are trying to learn more about what it is like to have depressive thinking styles. Is like to have depressive thinking styles. That is the aim of the Online Survey being launched today, in particular to explore the link between how we deal with lifes ups and downs and our Mental Health. Being involved in a crime of losing ajob, being involved in a crime of losing a job, saline exam, being involved in a crime of losing ajob, saline exam, how being involved in a crime of losing a job, saline exam, how that would impact on whether or not we get anxious or depressed failing an exam. We might be able to explain a bit more about why people become anxious and depressed, but also because we can do something about it. This artists lawyer knows exactly how dwelling on past experiences work on how you are today. I didnt have the courage to say to people i am struggling. With the help of his therapist he changed the help of his therapist he changed the way he thought with dramatic results. One key thing was think about a good thing before going to sleep. And that changed everything. Unlocking the secret of happiness and how they relate to good Mental Health could be key in understanding how to keep us all happy and to identify those at risk and in need of better help. Dominic hughes, bbc news. There is more on that online experiment on our website. Check it out. Heres our briefing on some of the key events happening later. The trial of palestinian teenager, ahed tamimi, who is alleged to have slapped two Israeli Soldiers is set to begin in a military court. The European Council president , donald tusk, will meet with the austrian chancellor in vienna ahead of austrias eu presidency which starts injuly. And a judgement is due on whether to lift a uk arrest warrant against wikileaks founder, julian assange. On to the Winter Olympics now and strong winds have been impacting on many athletes performances. Those winds really affected the Womens Slopestyle snowboarding final on monday, an event that was run as a straight final after winds forced the cancellation of the qualifiers on sunday. Nearly all the athletes tumbled at some point as brutal side winds made jumps almost impossible to land. The defending champion Jamie Anderson played it as safe as she could and won with a score that would have only been good enough for bronze in sochi. I tried to kind of weight and take a moment before i dropped in and it seemed like the flights went in too much, as i dropped in there was some wind. Ithink much, as i dropped in there was some wind. I think when we all signed up for snowboarding it wasnt always bluebird perfect sunny day is, like we get in california, so my attitude with contests and even training or treading on any given day is learning to adapt with the weather and just doing your best in any given conditions. Canadas Mikael Kingsbury is the mens moguls champion. Hes dominated the event since winning silver in sochi four years ago, with 13 straight world cup wins skiing with a neat and fast final run. Australias matt graham took the silver, ahead ofjapans daichi hara. In the womens ski jump, favourite maren lundby won gold with a finaljump of 110 metres. The 1a points victory gave norway their second gold of the games. Dutch speed skater ireen voost made history by claiming a record 10th olympic speed skating medal when she surged to gold in the womens 1,500 metres. A quick look at the medals table as it stands. Germany are an elite with four gold medals, the netherlands with three, and america in third place. Its a spectacular art that emerged in the late 1700s and has since stunned millions of people around the world. This year marks 250 years since the first circus opened near waterloo in london. Our arts correspondent, David Sillito has more. This phase is old fashioned, in a way, now. Over the years the clown numbers have dropped in shows. Once upona time, numbers have dropped in shows. Once upon a time, every circus had its own troupe. As always, becomes bring down the house. The facepaint, the big shoes, they were the heart of circus heritage, but the weeks and grease paint are in decline. Maybe it is the clown horror films, but on this anniversary year there is a big issue for the man hoping to be wild clown president. I didnt realise there was democracy in clowning. There is quite a lot of democracy and quitea there is quite a lot of democracy and quite a lot of politics as well. What are the issues at the moment . You highlighted the main question we asked,it you highlighted the main question we asked, it are people scared of clowns . Asked, it are people scared of clowns . It is the big issue. Even here in the heart of clowns and, more and more clowns are giving up on looking like clowns. If you had seen me back in 1973 when i first started coming year, then you would have seen a completely different phase. We dont look like proper clowns. Children, over the years have got a little bit wary of clowns. But there is a fightback against all this anti clown prejudice. I am the regional director for the World Clown Association for europe and the whole of africa will stop i thank you. Yes, there really is a regional clown director. Positivity does not sell. So unfortunately we keeping busy, we keep getting work, and you are obsessed with the fact that we might not be getting that because of silly films. I stood corrected. It seems there is still a lot of clown not out there. But clown politics . I had a chat to elsie. It is only when it gets to meetings, it can get quite heated. There are clown meetings . There is a committee. I could not take it seriously. So elsie wont be running for world clown president. But someone has to. Because when it comes to the future of clowning there is a lot to think about. Bit of a sad clown there. Let us know what you think about our talking point, our circuses and clowns are still entertaining or are they outmoded and outdated . Would you still go and see a circus . We have had a couple of weeks. We had this one from kenny who said he would see a circus so long as animals arent involved. You dont get that much in most countries any more. Just before we go we want to show you these pictures. They are the official portraits of barack obama and michelle obama, they are at the national put a gallery of london. Mr obama called his likeness, he said it was pretty sharp. It is pretty cool. If you do a backdrop. And about hers, mrs obama unveiling hers, shejust said wow. Obama unveiling hers, shejust said wow. That picture of her in a beautiful dress. Among those in attendance joe biden, in beautiful dress. Among those in attendancejoe biden, in and others. Former president obama said it was a great honour. Well be talking about what is in our news review in 15 minutes. Stay with me on bbc news. Ill be back with the Business Briefing in just a few moments. We will talk about the British Comedy is returning to tunisia. Goodbye for now. Companies. Hello. The weather will present us with some challenging conditions to get to stay under way, whether it be wintry, wet, or windy, wherever you are. Disrupters are possible across the northern half of the uk. Further south with the worst of the ring. This is the low pressure responsible. This is set to push from west to east through the day. Scotland, rush hour looks particularly difficult. By ten centimetres of snow possible across the islands, even through the central belt we are talking about 13 central belt we are talking about 1 3 centimetres. 5 ten centimetres across the pennines. We could see 5 ten centimetres of fresh snow by the end of the rush hour. As far south as the midlands as well. And falling across the Higher Ground of wales. Further south and into england it is mostly rain we are talking about. That will be accompanied by some strong and gusty winds. Difficult driving conditions. Disruption is likely. Stay tuned to your bbc local Radio Station for all the details. Here is the front pushing it was through the day. Snow possible as far south as the midlands for a time. Mostly rain by the time it gets through to eastern england. Writer skies following on behind. Snow showers for northern and western scotland. A chilly day. That front is keen to get off into the continent. Clearing skies mean falling cabbages, frost developing, and widespread ice could be a definite problem falling temperatures. The blue showing the areas likely to get the hardest frost. By the end of the night it looks as though things will get milder. That is an indicator of the next weather system pushing its way through the britcher isles. That system bumping into the cold air and running over cold ground, it looks like further snow, particularly for scotla nd like further snow, particularly for scotland and northern england. Turning back to rain through the day as mother air comes in. Double figures for cardiff and plymouth through wednesday afternoon. That weather system like its predecessor off onto the continent on wednesday evening. For thursday, off onto the continent on wednesday evening. Forthursday, leaving us with a westerly airstream, milder air starting to push way across the british isles. This is Business Briefing. Im samantha simmonds. Is it safe to go back into the water . Travel operator thomas cook says it is and resumes selling holidays to tunisia for the First Time Since the terror attacks almost three years ago. Plastic fantastic how companies are helping clean up the oceans by cutting down on plastic waste. A quick look at the markets, South East Asian stock markets edged higher on tuesday with the hang seng at 1. 63 . The nikkei, though, was down, but it was closed yesterday and the dow up ever so slightly. More on that later
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