concerns about women's rights and gay rights. the average two—year fixed mortgage rate falls below 6% — just — for the first time sincejune. is it going to be a fifth term in office for vladimir putin? a spokesman says an �*astonishing' number of people want him to run again for leader. # the boys of the nypd choir still singing galway bay... # and the crowds pay a unique tribute to shane macgowan — as dublin bids him farewell. on bbc london: coming up in sport on bbc news, landing a big hitter — jon rahm joins golf�*s saudi—backed breakaway tour, leaving the store even more divided than before.

good evening. we start tonight with a special report into the sporting revolution being driven by saudi arabia. the kingdom has been investing billions of pounds in attracting some of global sports�* biggest names, from boxing, formula 1, football and golf. nowjon rahm, one of golf�*s top players, has announced he'sjoining the saudi—funded golf tour. the country has been accused of using sport to improve its reputation — distracting from its human rights abuses and poor environmental record. but in an interview with the bbc, the sports minister denied claims of so—called "sportswashing". our sports editor dan roan reports from the port city ofjeddah, where he was accompanied by saudi ministry officials at all times when filming. from a revamped league attracting football's biggest stars and the hosting of world heavyweight title fights to an attempted takeover of golf. jon rahm now the latest top player tojoin its breakaway series.

saudi arabia is spending billions of pounds transforming the sports landscape. now the world cup itself is on the horizon and the man overseeing it all told me what lay behind this sports revolution. our ambition is to host the best events around the world and the kingdom for the people of the of the kingdom to see, of the kingdom to see, but also to invite the world to the kingdom. do you want to be the sort of number one sporting superpower? i don't see it that we're competing with others. 20 million of our population are below the age of 30, so we need to get them engaged. al—hilal versus al—nassr in the saudi pro league. this summer, clubs here spent a staggering £750 million signing top players to join the likes of superstar cristiano ronaldo, sending shock waves through the game. while the riyadh derby is a sell—out, some matches have been watched byjust a few hundred fans. but the man leading the recruitment drive says it's worth it. obviously we would be happy to have

all our stadiums full or at least half full, but we recognise the evolution that is taking place. our goal is to create a hugely competitive league that around the world people want to tune in and watch. having lured some of the game's biggest names here, saudi arabia's remarkable spending spree, both in the pro league and beyond, is generating plenty of hype and potentially growth, too. but it's also forcing sports to confront difficult questions over the disruption that all this investment is causing and the motivation that lies behind it. amid fears over the environmental impact and concern sport is being used to improve the reputation of a country where women's rights are restricted and homosexuality is illegal, saudi arabia is the only bidder to stage the 2034 world cup. for those who say that saudi arabia is not a suitable host, what would your message be to them? hosted a lot of events in the past, more than 85 events. everyone�*s welcome in the kingdom. like any other nations around the world, we have rules and regulations that everyone should

abide by and respect. so when you're accused of sports washing, does that frustrate you? it's very shallow and i'm sure that a lot of the people that accuse us of that haven't been to saudi or haven't seen what we are doing on the ground. human rights campaigners will say, well, look at the imprisoning of campaigners for women's rights. no—one�*s perfect and we acknowledge that. and we are reforming. and these events help us reform. open play! a training session for some of the estimated 70,000 saudi girls now playing football here. women were only allowed in stadiums five years ago, but there's been rapid progress since with the creation of a professional league and national team. here at a new elite sports academy. here at a new elite sports academy such opportunities are credited with changing perceptions. it will really make people, like, not see us as a really weird country because they have always judged saudi arabia for being too religious

and everything. we want to be more known as the country that has a lot of opportunities for girls, not only men. but campaigners insist a lot more still needs to be done. unfortunately, over the last few years, saudi arabia's human rights record has got worse, not better. we still see activists imprisoned for decades just for tweeting. and we've recently reported on widespread exploitation of migrant workers in the country, the sorts of issues that we saw in qatar. but more sports are being enticed to this oil—rich state. jeddah recently hosting a first ever america's cup regatta in the red sea. the critics waved aside. they should come here and check it for themselves and not grandstand. you can't change from outside. you've got to change from within. we've seen this for over a year now that this is the place where the sport will grow. but for those competing here, there's scrutiny as well as opportunity, as a profound shift in sporting influence towards this region gathers pace.

saudi arabia is not the only country with a notorious human rights record to have hosted major sports events in recent times. this time last year in recent times. this time last year in fact we were in qatar reporting on the world cup there. what's and what is unique here is the scale, seismic of this land grab as it has been known in sport. and as if to prove it, look no further than the news every night thatjon rahm, the world number three men's golfer, has signed up to the saudi bankrolled liv rebel series in a deal worth reportedly £500 million. it is destructive and highly controversial but the money on offer seems impossible for many in sport to ignore and this saudi investment seems here to stay. studio: dan roan reporting there. thanks very much. here, ministers have been defending the cost of the government's rwanda plan after it emerged that another

£100 million had been given to the nation as part of its deal to relocate some asylum seekers there. it means the scheme now costs more than £240 million — without a single asylum seeker being flown to the country as yet. from rwanda, mayenijones reports. all dressed up with no—one to cook for. this used to be a refuge for survivors of the 1994 genocide here in rwanda. it was repurposed to host the uk's asylum—seekers. this hostel is part of what we now know is a £240 million investment the british government has made into its asylum deal with rwanda. a bbc crew was here injune of last year when staff were getting ready to receive the first arrivals from the uk, but a year and half later, it still stands empty. the home office says some of this money is for rwanda's economic development. it adds that there are significant set—up costs to ensure asylum—seekers are processed sufficiently. but rights groups say the uk shouldn't be partnering with rwanda in the first place. this is a government

where fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom to vote how someone wants to, freedom from arbitrary detention and torture, these fundamental rights are not respected. the rwandan government says it respects human rights and international law. during tuesday's visit by home secretary james cleverly, rwanda's foreign minister pointed out that his country has a long history of welcoming refugees. migrants in this un—run centre were brought to rwanda after suffering abuse in libya, but although they say conditions here are good, of the 2,000 people who've passed through this camp since it was set up in 2019, none have chosen to stay in rwanda. some are the asylum—seekers who came from yemen. 26—year—old south sudanese refugee john lives in kigali. we've changed his name and hidden his identity to protect him. out of15, 16 million of rwanda populations, i can say 5 million want to leave. why? the life standard here is restricted. we all are restricted.

the british government says the rwanda scheme is necessary to deter illegal migrants, and it believes the asylum—seekers it sends here will be able to rebuild their lives. but as many refugees in rwanda want to relocate, that may be a tall order. mayenijones, bbc news, kigali. our deputy political editor vicki young is in westminster — a crunch vote for mr sunak next week in the commons on his rwanda policy, with his own party deeply divided on the issue? it is. he had to act after the supreme court said that was unlawful, so it is yet another bit of legislation coming forward and a big vote on tuesday. the problem he has got, there is at least two factions in his party who are opposed to this fraud diametrically opposed to this fraud diametrically opposed reasons. one side are saying we have to disregard more human rights legislation, the other saying you have gone too far already. this weekend the home secretary and other

ministers will be giving every simple message to their mps, focus on this, don't worry about all the other things but you are also grumpy about, this is the best way forward. the problem, though, also, as there are two former ministers who were working on the home office in all of those who were undermining the message saying they don't think it will work. i think it is worth emphasising what a huge deal it would be if tory mps went against the prime minister next week. he has put an awful lot of effort and money into this policy. and to really go against him now would undermine his authority and i don't think anyone could then predict what would happen. vicki young there. mortgage rates on a typical two—year fixed deal have fallen below 6% for the first time since mid—june, according to a leading financial information service. moneyfacts says the average rate is now 5.99% as lenders compete for customers. our business correspondent marc ashdown is here to explain. thanks very much. the rates for average mortgage deals have changed quite a bit

over the past two years. you can see from this chart the average two and five—year fixed rates. both have peaked twice — getting towards 7% — after the mini budget last autumn. and then this summer as the bank of england moved its base rate higher. now the hope is the tide has turned. the average cost of a two—year fixed rate today is 5.99% — under 6% for the first time sincejune. a real psychological barrier. it's 5.6% for an average five—year deal. remember these are averages — if you have a bigger deposit you could get a slightly better rate. but even if rates get cut furtherfrom here — and that's the hope — a lot of people could still see their outgoings creep up. the bank of england estimates that five million mortgage holders will see their costs rise by 2026 — as they look for a new

mortgage deal. they were on historically low rates around 0%. repayments for 900,000 of them could rise by at least £500 a month. some could be facing an increase of double that. another bit of research, by the institute for fiscal studies, looked at deposits. it found that between 2018 and 2020, half of first—time buyers received financial help to purchase a property — mainly from parents. the average amount was £25,000 to go towards a typical deposit of £55,000. quite a chunk. all this is important for the housing market, but it is worth remembering that a third of uk households live in rented accommodation, and a third of people own their home outright, without a mortgage. marc ashdown, thank you. the un secretary—general, antonio guterres, has told the security council the system of humanitarian support in gaza

is at risk of total collapse. he has urged the council to call for an immediate ceasefire. there'll be a vote later tonight but america is expected to use its veto — allowing israel's fight against hamas, classed as a terrorist organisation by the uk, to continue. more images have emerged on social media of palestinian men, stripped to their underwear, being detained by israeli forces. the bbc is not showing the faces of the detained men and we've been told some of the men have since been released. our international editor jeremy bowen's report contains some images you may find distressing. gaza is on the brink of a full—blown collapse, says the un. almost 2 million people have been driven from their homes by israeli forces. civil order, the un warns, is breaking down. in deir al—balah, the mosque was bombed with such force that the yafa hospital next door was put out of action. the hospital director said gaza's health care system is being targeted systematically.

israel said it launched a50 strikes in the last 2a hours. it released these night—vision pictures without a soundtrack. the americans repeated warnings that israel is killing too many civilians. it is a war crime to target civilians or harm them with an indiscriminate attack. more pictures are emerging on social media of israel's round—up of hundreds of palestinian men it says are hamas suspects. they were ordered to leave a un shelter, forced to strip to their underwear and bound before being driven away for interrogation. israel still has not beaten hamas in northern gaza. fighting continues in an urban wasteland. the video has been traced to israeli soldiers posting out of gaza, and since it went viral, has been deleted from tiktok.

the way hundreds of thousands of palestinians in gaza are being forced to live was filmed by a freelance journalist working for the bbc. atar is sheltering in a tent made of plastic sheets in the grounds of a hospital in deir al—balah, in the middle area of gaza. gaza's people are looking into the abyss, according to the un secretary—general. he's implored the security council to end their ordeal by passing a cease—fire resolution tonight. atar said he's trying to get his kids to forget the good food they used to enjoy. translation: idon't| know what to tell you. the only thing we have to eat is tea with no sugar. the only three words we have from our children are "hungry, cold, thirsty". and we would rather die than see them get sick. israel destroyed the historic omari mosque in gaza city. it is close to an area israeli troops are assaulting.

palestinian diplomats at the un says israel wants to force the people out. israel once again rejected a cease—fire. jeremy bowen, bbc news, jerusalem. our top story this evening: saudi arabia's sports minister has dismissed accusations against his country of "sportswashing" in an exclusive interview with bbc news. and, coming up, celebrating the life of the pogue�*s front man shane macgowan at his funeral. coming up in sport on bbc news, more on the rule changes that are coming to rugby league to make the sport safer, including lowering tackle height for all levels from 2025. vladimir putin has announced that he will stand for re—election

as russian president when his term ends next year. the decision was widely—expected — and confirmed following an awards ceremony in moscow. the kremlin�*s official spokesman said that an "astonishing" number of people wanted mr putin to continue for what would be a fifth term in office. from moscow, our russia editor steve rosenberg reports. it had been his decision to invade ukraine. today, vladimir putin honoured russian soldiers who've been fighting in his war. there was pomp and patriotism, and more than a hint of kremlin choreography about what came next. president putin was surrounded by admirers. then... "in the name of the donbas," he says, "i ask you take part in the election. we need you. russian needs you." well, since you asked, "it's time for a decision," president putin replies. "i will run for the

post of president." already he's the longest—serving kremlin leader since dictatorjosef stalin. vladimir putin surprised no—one today. even after nearly a quarter of the century in power in russia as president or prime minister, he'd shown no sign of wanting to step aside. as for the outcome of next march's election, well, no surprises expected there either. the political landscape here has been cleared to remove all critics and potential rivals to president putin. that only leaves room for one man. the kremlin wants russians to see vladimir putin as the father of the nation, russians�* protector. and although his invasion of ukraine hasn't gone at all to plan, many in russia have rallied around their flag and their president. putin's ratings were stagnating in the more or less peaceful time,

especially in covid time. but in the periods of military and patriotic history, his ratings are going up. and he uses this war for keeping his power. and to boost pre—election patriotic spirit, there's a giant russia exhibition complete with putin merch, with putin quotes. this one, "if a fight is unavoidable, through the first punch." throw the first punch." natalya's buying. "i don't think we need any elections," she says. "just let putin be our president." not all russians are putin super fans, but many see no alternative right now. that's just how the kremlin wants it. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. a 16—year—old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder, after a woman was shot dead in east

london on tuesday evening. 42—year—old lianne gordon died at the scene in hackney — while two others were injured. her family have described her as having "a heart of gold". the defence has begun in the trial of two teenagers accused of murdering 16—year—old brianna ghey. the accused, who can't be named because of their ages, were charged following the death of brianna, who was transgender and was found with fatal stab wounds near warrington in february. both teenagers deny the charges. judith moritz reports. brianna ghey was captured on doorbell camera footage as she left her house and went to catch a bus. she was going to meet at school friend at the park, but the teenager would never return home. her body was found with fatal stab wounds by dog walkers later that afternoon. two 16—year—olds, a girl known as x and a boy known as y, both deny murdering her. today, the girl began giving evidence in her own defence.

the teenager told the court she'd been interested in murder, torture and serial killers since the age of 1a and would watch videos on the dark web. she said she shared those fantasies with the 16—year—old boy, remarking, "he seemed to like that sort of stuff as well." she said the month before breanna died, she'd sent a text to him about killing her, but said, "it was just a fantasy. i had no intention of doing it." x denied being obsessed with brianna and said they had a good relationship. she said brianna was attractive, interesting and different to the other friends she'd spend time with. earlier in the trial, the jury was told that the teenage boy referred to brianna, who was transgender, as "it". the girl was asked why he'd done this. she answered... she was asked... "no," she said. the jury has previously been shown a note of an alleged murder plan to kill brianna which was found

on x's bedroom floor after her arrest. the defence case will continue next week. judith moritz, bbc news, manchester. an author whose book triggered a row over allegations of racism in the royal family has said an earlier version of the text was to blame for the naming of two royals in one edition. helena wilkinsonjoins me now. helena what do we know? since the controversy after the book was published, the author repeatedly said he had no idea how the names of two members of royal family ended up in the dutch translation of the book. the two people named were the king and the princess of wales, who allegedly discussed the skin colour of the duke and duchess�*s unborn baby. the author denied naming the royals. tonight he has writ a piece in the i newspaper and said the

names were in an early version for his us publishers. but he said unbeknownst to him text was provided to a dutch publisher who published the wrong version. he said i edited carefully and took advice and the finished book i submitted was not the version published in the netherlands. so he is saying that an earlier version of the text was to blame for the naming of the two members of the royal family. thank ou. a scottish court has ruled the uk government acted lawfully when it blocked controversial changes to gender laws in scotland. a bill to make it easier for people to change their legally—recognised sex was passed by the scottish parliament last year, but westminster prevented it becoming law. here's our scotland

correspondent, lorna gordon. noisy, passionate, controversial — scotland's gender reforms divided campaigners and governments. the legislation passed by a large majority in the parliament at holyrood, in an unprecedented move — then blocked by the government at westminster. a judge here at the court of session today ruling that decision to trigger a section 35 veto was lawful. well, i'm obviously very pleased that the decision i took has been vindicated, i'm very pleased that the section 35 order that had never been used before is clearly cemented into the scotland act of 1998 and i'm pleased also that the judge agreed with me that there were adverse effects on gb—wide legislation relating to equalities. the gender recognition reform scotland bill is passed. the gender recognition reform bill was approved by msps after yea rs of consultation and days

of parliamentary debate. we have a uk government that now it seems to - be able to override the _ democratic wishes of - the scottish parliament to veto a law that was passed by a large majority of msps, _ members from all parties, l and i think that is a sad day for devolution. scotland's first minister humza yousaf now has to weigh up whether an appeal would be a wise use of taxpayers�* money, or if he ditches the bill could the scottish greens who is in government with end up ditching him? arguments over the rights of individuals and where exactly parliamentary powers lie. thousands of mourners lined the streets of dublin to pay an emotional tribute to the pogues singer shane macgowan who died last week at the age of 65. as the horse—drawn carriage bearing his coffin made its way through the city, crowds of fans broke out in song in his honour. hollywood actorjonny depp was among

the famous faces who took part in the funeral mass in county tipperary. here�*s chris page. music: fairytale of new york. ireland is mourning and celebrating its poet of punk. shane macgowan was one of this country�*s greatest cultural geniuses. as his cortege moved through the streets of south dublin, thousands showed their appreciation for a remarkable artistic life. when i first heard shane�*s voice, it, like, stopped me in my tracks. i met my wife at a pogues concert early '905, and he's been a big part of our life since then. my favourite song of all is dirty old town| because it connects with here. # i kissed my girl # by the factory wall # dirty old town...# the legacy of his music

is already living on. # sinatra was singing # all the cops, they were swinging # we kissed on a corner and then danced through the night...# the pogues�* most famous song is synonymous with this time of year. in nenagh, tributes have been added to christmas shop window displays. to shane! at philly ryan�*s pub, people remember shane macgowan as a friend rather than a star. he wasn't a guy that was in for the big limelight stuff. - he just wanted to be around his friends, l play a game of pool, _ sing songs and chat and stories. he was a great musician and notjust lyricist, voice, all that. one word — legend. at the local church, the singer�*s status as a global irish icon was reflected by those who took part in the service. maestro. we pray for a deeper spiritl of compassion in the world.

and we feel the pain of others. one of the musician�*s closest creative comrades, the australian singer nick cave, played a seminal pogues number, rainy night in soho. # i�*ve been loving you a long time # down all the years # down all the days # and i�*ve cried for all your...# and shane macgowan�*s wife remembered their decades together. i'm feeling so much love now from him that i don't think he can go away. i don't think love can go away, can it? i reallyjust don't. applause. music: fairytale of new york.

there are few people who could�*ve inspired a funeral like this. a talent forged in rural ireland won admirers across the world all year round, the unique shane macgowan. chris page, bbc news, in nenagh, county tipperary. time for a look at the weather. here�*s darren bett. one part of the country sensitive to more rain is here in dorset and it is going to be a mixed bag this weekend. there will be some sunshine, but only between these bands of rain. it will be mild, but it will be particularly windy on saturday. this is the cloud that is hiding up from the south—west and this will bring us our first band of rain of the weekend. ahead of that we still have cloud in the north and some rain here. that will head up to

northern scotland, allowing the next batch of rain to sweep up from the south—west, heading to northern ireland and much of england and wales by the morning. on saturday. a mild night. this is the main rain, could be heavy at time and it will head north and east. followed by sunshine in england and wales. more rain comes back into northern ireland and we keep cloud and rain for much of the day in scotland. temperatures here 8 or 9. up to 1a in the london area. it is going to be windy. the winds picking up in northern ireland and much of england and wales. gusts of 60 or 70mph around the irish sea coasts. tomorrow night the winds ease and we will keep some rain for a while in the north. another band of rain