BBC在线收听下载:中国嫦娥四号成功着陆月球背面

Hello, I'm Neil Nunes with the BBC News.

A Chinese robotic probe has become the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon. State media in Beijing have confirmed within the last hour that the Chang'e-4 probe had touched down successfully. John Southworth is in Beijing.

It marks a milestone in space exploration. Never before attempted, the mission faced serious challenges, including landing on the much more rugged terrain of the moon's far side and the need for a relay satellite to bring the signals back home. The Chang'e-4 probe named after a Chinese goddess has touched down close to the moon's south pole in its oldest and deepest crater. The experiments on board are expected to offer important insights into the formation of our solar system.

Deadlock continues in Washington after discussions between President Trump and leaders of Congress failed to resolve the budget dispute that's caused the partial government shutdown. David Willis has more.

A new session of Congress convenes later today with Democrats now in control of the House of Representatives, and the party's leadership is planning to pass legislation which would provide sufficient funds to end the partial shutdown, all be it with none of the five billion dollars President Trump wants for the wall. Such legislation will be dead on arrival in the Senate, however, where Republicans still hold the majority. President Trump has said the current partial government shutdown would last as long as it takes for him to get the border wall funding that he requires.

Scientists say they have discovered the source of a cholera outbreak in Yemen, which has become one of the worst epidemics of the disease in recorded history. British and French researchers have identified the cholera strain as one that originated in eastern Africa and was probably carried to Yemen by migrants. Yemen has seen more than a million cases of cholera.

Zimbabwe's biggest drinks company Delta has announced that from Friday it will only accept payment in hard currency such as US dollars. The firm said it had been hit by a shortage of foreign currency needed to pay its overseas suppliers. The government says the move is illegal.

Police in Britain have arrested two men suspected of arranging the illegal movement of migrants across the Channel. The men, one British, the other Iranian, were held in the city of Manchester. In the past two months, more than two hundred people have reached the southern English coast in small inflatable boats.

That's the latest BBC world news.