three, two, one... our seoul correspondent takes the g—force test to fly fighterjets as she reports on south korea's defence spending spree. we're still officially- at war with north korea. over the country, . there have also been increasing air incursions. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. a $500,000 legal settlement signed by virginia roberts giuffre and sex offender jeffrey epstein in 2009 included an agreement that ms giuffre wouldn't sue anyone connected to epstein. lawyers for prince andrew say the agreement, which has been made public in the last couple of hours, releases the prince from liability in the civil case brought by virginia giuffre, who accuses him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. prince andrew has consistently denied the claims. our legal correspondent, dominic casciani, reports. a woman seeking her day in court. the unprecedented defendant — a prince of the realm. but have his lawyers now found a way to stop virginia giuffre�*s case from ever being heard? she says she was trafficked into sexual abuse and exploited by the man on the right, jeffrey epstein. ms giuffre, then known as roberts, says epstein and his girlfriend coerced the teenager into abuse by prince andrew in london, new york and the caribbean. today, the release of a 12—year—old settlement in which ms giuffre, seen here at court in new york, accepted half $1 million to end her original case against epstein. that confidential deal has been made public because of its potential importance to prince andrew's defence. in the settlement, virginia giuffre agreed to... the wording goes on to cover any other person who could have been a potential defendant. it's so wide, she promises not to bring any further case dating from the beginning of the world. prince andrew's lawyers say that means he can't be sued, but one lawyer who has represented some of epstein�*s alleged victims says it's too vague to be enforceable. this is one of the most bizarre pieces of a settlement agreement i have ever seen. i just cannot believe that a court would say, well, anyone who has wronged virginia, who was associated with epstein is now released from liability. that would fly in the face of what our laws are now trying to do, which is open up claims for sexual abuse victims, allow them to come forward, even years later, and bring perpetrators to justice. the duke's position remains unchanged since his november 2019 newsnight interview. you can say categorically that you don't recall meeting virginia roberts, dining with her, dancing with her or going on to have sex with her in a bedroom in a house in belgravia? i can absolutely categorically tell you it never happened. l do you recall any kind of sexual contact with virginia roberts, then orany othertime? none whatsoever. tomorrow, prince andrew's team will ask for the case to be thrown out. her lawyers say she is confident that won't happen, and one way or another, the duke will have to answer her allegations. i've been speaking to moira penza, a former assistant us attorney for the eastern district of new york and an experienced prosecutor in civil trials and sex trafficking cases. she outlined what each side is arguing. in this case, we're dealing with the first procedural stats in most civil trials, which is prince andrew has neither motion to dismiss the case, and he is saying that based on legal issues, this case cannot go forward. and you have here ms giuffre�*s attorney saying theissues ms giuffre�*s attorney saying the issues that prince andrew has raise our insufficient. we have seen the issues related to the 2009 settlement agreement, and prince andrew's attorney have argued that this broad language, that is purported to exempt from liability anyone with the potential defendant against ms giuffre, but that should protect them from liability in this case. what we see her attorneys arguing is that this provision is so broad that this provision is so broad that it that this provision is so broad thatitis that this provision is so broad that it is invalid, and furthermore, that because of the fact that prince andrew could not have been sued in florida at the time in which the 2009 lawsuit was being brought, that this provision could not apply to him. in your experience. — could not apply to him. in your experience, can _ could not apply to him. in your experience, can the _ could not apply to him. in your experience, can the judge - could not apply to him. in your. experience, can thejudge make a determination based on the language that we've seen? it’s language that we've seen? it's very difficult. _ language that we've seen? it�*s very difficult, looking at the four corners of this document. to see howjudge kaplan would be able to make that decision, that this should dismiss prince andrew's lawsuit. the language is extraordinarily broad, and this is the type of very broad language that lawyers sometimes think is going to be helpful for them, think is going to be helpful forthem, but think is going to be helpful for them, but often can actually result in finding that actually result in finding that a provision is invalid because it is in fact too broad. right now, at this pretrial stage, judge kaplan will have to look at this and say, based on this document and the four corners, can he make a decision that this lawsuit should be dismissed? in general, it's a very uphill battle for defendants at this stage because the judge has to take the allegation in ms giuffre's complaint as true.— the allegation in ms giuffre's complaint as true. what happens next in terms _ complaint as true. what happens next in terms of _ complaint as true. what happens next in terms of where _ complaint as true. what happens next in terms of where we - complaint as true. what happens next in terms of where we go - next in terms of where we go from here now that we've had this document released? well, we see that — this document released? well, we see that tomorrow, - this document released? well, we see that tomorrow, there i we see that tomorrow, there will be oral arguments in the southern district of new york. we will hear arguments from both sides. about this document, as well as other issues which prince andrew has raised in seeking to dismiss his lawsuit. to do dismissed ms giuffre's lawsuit. he's arguing against the constitutionality of the statue of limitation for child sexual abuse victims. so, all of these issues will be heard tomorrow. we will not anticipate that there will be a ruling from judge kaplan tomorrow, rather, we will probably see a written decision and some number of weeks —— in some number. and some number of weeks -- in some number-— some number. former assistant us attorney _ some number. former assistant us attorney for _ some number. former assistant us attorney for the _ some number. former assistant us attorney for the eastern - us attorney for the eastern district of new york speaking to me a little earlier. we'll be following every development in this story here on bbc news. you can find the full details of the allegations being made against prince andrew and his response on the bbc news website, which you can also access via the bbc app. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines. in france, mps have been debating legislation that would require people to be vaccinated to enter public places such as bars and restaurants. earlier today, several mps said they had received death threats for supporting the vaccination pass. the uk prime minister, borisjohnson, has acknowledged that the health service will face "considerable" pressure in the coming weeks because of staff absences caused by the omicron variant of coronavirus. at least six health trusts in england have declared critical incidents in the last week, but mrjohnson insisted that further restrictions weren't necessary. india has begun rolling out vaccines for all 15 to 18—year—olds. more than 4 million teenagers took up the offer of a jab on the first day they were eligible. india has recorded its sharpest ever weekly rise in infections. mumbai and delhi are seeing the biggest increases. the resurgence of covid cases is a big concern in asia, with officials in singapore for instance saying that omicron cases now account for 17% of cases in the country, and that a wave of omicron cases is imminent. but the data seems to suggest — at this point, at least — that hospitalisations and deaths are still stable. china has been battling a fresh outbreak we'll have more on the situation in the united states. looking at the impact as well on how schools will face the challenge of reopening as children had back to classrooms later this week. china has been battling a fresh outbreak of covid cases, too, potentially throwing a shadow over the winter olympics, which beijing is due to host in exactly a month's time. the new strain is providing a potential logistical nightmare. china's solution is strict isolation bubbles for all those coming from omicron—affected areas. our correspondent stephen mcdonell went to see how they will work. when athletes arrive in beijing from overseas, if their events are in the mountains, they'll be able to take a high—speed train there. that's because some of these trains are operating completely within the bubble. through speaker: ladies and gentlemen, welcome l to take this train. soon, they'll find themselves racing along at 350 km an hour, zooming through beijing's arid north and taking in the views. though freezing cold, this is an area of low winter precipitation, meaning that mountains of artificial snow will be needed for the coming olympics. well, this is one of the main stations for the winter olympics. it's cold up here. from today, this entire station is closed to the public. the bubble walls are coming up. only those with olympic clearance on special trains can arrive or leave. on arrival, covid test results and travel histories are checked. well, here we are in the heart of one of the sites for the mountain events for the winter olympics. where are the people? well, the reason there are no people here is that the local ski reports have already been closed in preparation for the games, which will start in just a month. over there behind where that big green screen is, that's where the medals will be awarded for the events in this area. but there won't be any general admission tickets available, it seems. they haven't gone on sale yet and they probably won't, so the spectators in the stands are likely to be from government organisations or the army or something along those lines. the challenge for games organisers, though, will be to host an event which can overcome the controversy which has surrounded this olympics following the allegations made by former chinese olympian and tennis star peng shuai in relation to the relationship she had with a former chinese leader. there's been a lot of pressure on the beijing olympics because of these allegations, but the organisers will hope that once they sport starts, that it will take over, and they can still host successful games. steve mcdonald there. in other stories for you today — two of donald trump's children are the latest to be subpoenaed by new york prosecutors as part of their fraud inquiry into the former president's business practices. the requests for ivanka trump and donald trumpjunior to testify were issued by the office of the state attorney general. the civil investigation has already heard testimony from another of mr trump's children, eric, and is attempting to force the former president himself to make a court declaration by january the 7th. citizen news, an independent news site in hong kong, will shut it operations later on tuesday, saying it has to protect its staff. the site was seen widely as the last remaining independent news outlet in hong kong following the closure of apple daily and stand news and the arrest of several of their employees last year. the brazilian president, jair bolsonaro, has been admitted to hospital for the treatment of an abdominal problem. the 66—year—old has suffered stomach problems since 2018, when he was stabbed during his presidential campaign. the hospital said his condition was improving, but it's not yet known if he will need surgery. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... we'll tell you why our seoul correspondent has taken to the skies in a fighterjet. the japanese people are in mourning following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. good grief. after half a century of delighting fans around the world, charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts his tour of south africa tomorrow, in spite of protests and violence from some black activist groups. they say international artists should continue to boycott south africa until majority rule is established. around the world, people have been paying tribute i to the iconic rock starl david bowie, who sold 140 million albums in a career that spanned half a century. l his family announced i overnight that he died of cancer at the age of 69. the world's tallest skyscraper opens later today. the burj dubai has easily overtaken its nearest rivals. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines... a legal document signed between virginia giuffre and jeffrey epstein 12 years ago has been made public. it's potentially key to her civil case against prince andrew. as beijing's winter olympics fast approaches,china ramps up its preparations for a global event in a global pandemic. in the united states, coronavirus cases are currently averaging about 400,000 each day, according to data collected by johns hopkins university. the us food and drug administration has now expanded vaccine booster eligibility to allow 12— to 15—year—olds to receive a third shot of the pfizer—biontech vaccine. for the latest on how the omicron variant is affecting cases across the country, i've been speaking to elizabeth stuart, associate dean for education atjohns hopkins bloomberg school of public health like we've seen in many other countries, we are seeing some decoupling of cases with hospitalisations and deaths. all are very high and higher than we would want them to be, but we are seeing some of that decoupling here.— decoupling here. elizabeth, i know there _ decoupling here. elizabeth, i know there is _ decoupling here. elizabeth, i know there is some - decoupling here. elizabeth, i know there is some debate, | decoupling here. elizabeth, i. know there is some debate, as there is in many other countries, about whether children should be going back to school in the united states, given the recent surge in infections. how are policymakers and educators able to mitigate the risks of some of this? ., �* , ., of this? yeah, it's an important _ of this? yeah, it's an important topic, - of this? yeah, it's an important topic, and| of this? yeah, it's an | important topic, and i of this? yeah, it's an - important topic, and i think many policymakers and citizens recognise the importance of in person schooling, so are trying to figure out how to make schools open safely. we're continuing to see a layered approach is crucial, so building and vaccination of as many people as possible, improved ventilation in schools, consistent mask wearing and more attention to high filtration masks, use of regular covid tasks to monitor cases and avoiding crowded when possible. when a set of these mitigation strategies are in place, schools can open safely. that was doctor elizabeth stewart from the john hopkins bloomberg school of public health. i want to bring you some breaking news. the usjury has found elizabeth holmes guilty of conspiring to defraud investors in the blood testing startup. the verdict is still being read in the courtroom, and what we know at this stage is that prosecutors have said that holmes, aged 37, swindled investors between 2010 and 2015 by convincing them that small machines could run a few drops of blood for a friend or prick. we will have more on this breaking news story a little later on in the programme will we can speak to one of our correspondent, so do stay tuned for that. south africa's parliament has suffered further serious damage after a fire that was believed to have been brought under control reignited. the fire service in cape town said strong winds had caused smouldering wood in the roof to catch fire. no—one has been hurt. a 49—year—old man has been charged with arson, and is due in court tomorrow. apple has become the first us company to reach a market value of $3 trillion. landmark was hit briefly on monday, with shares peaking a landmark was hit briefly on monday, with shares peaking at $182.88 cents a share. it passed the $2 trillion valuation in august 2020, as the pandemic pushed demand for electronics and online services. south korea has pushed its defence budgets to new highs in the last four years — spending an extra $90 million a year on new technology. in 2021, it fired new missiles and even launched its own space programme. the country currently relies on the united states for its defence, but it appears seoul is keen to try to stand on its own two feet. our correspondent laura bicker has had exclusive access to south korean air force training. three, two, one. i am trying to pass a g—force test... one, two, three... oh, my god. ..and, well, it's not easy. i'm here training with the air force to find out more about south korea's aim to be a military powerhouse. but before i can fly, i have to stay conscious. keep going, keep going, keep going! 0k, good. wow! wonderful. great, great! south korea has shown off its biggest military advancements yet in 2021. it fired an array of new missiles and launched its first rocket into space. the country is also one of only five in the world to train its own pilots on home—grownjets, but what's it like to fly in one? i don't know how i feel! want my mammy! ijust need to breathe, right? as we do loops in the sky, i hear that, from here, south korea can monitor movements in the north. that the country is now spending on defence perhaps shouldn't come as a surprise, because they're still officially at war with north korea. here, in the skies over the country, there have also been increasing air incursions from russia and from china. we face probably the most existential security threat. as you know, 60 km from seoul, you have north korea armed to their teeth with nuclear weapons and long—range missiles and guns, but you also have china looming in the background, and the us is becoming weaker as we speak. so, even though the americans are our closest ally, we really have to spend much more money and attention on defence. what are we going to do now? another roll. 0k, 0k, 0k. the country has sought to pirouette between the world's great powers. it lies so close to china yet relies on the us to shield it from any potential war. president donald trump described that as "freeloading", and it's made some in seoul question the strength of the alliance. so, we will continue to work very closely with our american allies, but we also want to leave room for more autonomous, self—reliant defence. you want me to do a turn? the major even lets me fly the t—50 jet. are you ready? yeah. 0k, make a right turn. south korea's feeling it's only too slowly taking control over the future of its forces. and despite assurances from washington that the alliance does remain strong, the country is showing no signs of turning back. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. the lengths she will go to get you a story! she is unparalleled months are correspondent. at least three people have been detained by police after a protest in chile involving humans and bees. demonstrators placed wooden beehives containing thousands of the insects near the presidential palace in santiago. they're unhappy about a recent drought that's affecting bee numbers. as one protester put it, there would be no life if bees die. after months of negotiations, david bowie's estate has sold the singer's entire catalogue of songs to the warner music group. the amount paid hasn't been disclosed but is reported to be more than $250 million. bowie released a total of 111 singles, averaging two per year during his career. well, quickly before we go, i want to bring you a reminder of that breaking news that we have for you during the programme. the usjury on for you during the programme. the us jury on monday found the theranos founder elizabeth holmes guilty of conspiring to defraud testers. she was convicted of four of 11 counts, and according to reuters and afp. she was acquitted on four counts. thejury could not reach a decision on three. one reason for the delay as we understand. we'll have lots more later on newsday. do stay with us and bbc news. hello. after what was an exceptionally mild start to the new year, we have now started to see quite a dramatic change in our weather. something much colder has been working its way in. a chilly—feeling day for tuesday — snow and gales for some of us, particularly in the north of the uk. the cold airfiltering in behind this band of cloud and rain with some sleet and snow on the back edge. ice a possible hazard across the northern half of the uk, where it will be a really chilly first part of the morning. wintry showers starting to pile up in northern scotland. in fact, snow showers even to low levels over the highest hills — 15 cm of accumulating snow. and with gales or severe gales, especially around northern coasts, there could be blizzard conditions for a time. a band of cloud and rain with a little bit of sleet and snow over the high ground will slowly clear the southeast corner, then we see some sunshine, some wintry showers, a mix of rain, sleet and hill snow, especially out towards the west. those are the average wind speeds. the gusts will be stronger than that with the wind coming down from the north, so it is going to feel really chilly. on the thermometer, single—digit temperatures, 4—8 degrees. factor in the strength of the wind, this it what it will feel like. it will feel subzero across many northern parts of the uk. now, as we move through tuesday night, there's more snow to come in northern scotland, more wintry showers in the west, some clear spells elsewhere. it's going to be a cold night with frost and ice, temperatures dropping close to freezing, below freezing in quite a few places. so, a widespread frost to start wednesday morning, but wednesday should bring some decent spells of sunshine. a few showers still close to the east coast, one or two out west and up towards northern scotland. more in the way of dry weather, some spells of sunshine, temperatures still between 4—8 degrees. but this is actually where it's expect to be. this approaches from the west. a little wedge of milder air with it, so some snow initially. then it'll tend to turn back to rain as that wedge of milderairworks in, but then colder air returns from the west. wintry showers will start to push in, so only temporarily will temperatures be just a little bit higher. friday, another chilly—feeling day, highs of 5—8 degrees. we'll see a mix of sunny spells and wintry showers. this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk from new york. i'm stephen sackur. this city is testament to the power of science and technology. but we shouldn't be fooled by these gravity defying towers. we are not masters of the universe. covid and climate change remind us of that. and so too does my guest today, arguably america's most famous scientist, neil degrasse tyson. his special subject is astrophysics, but his mission goes much wider, to get us all to respect scientific fact. so how's that going?