hello, you're watching bbc news. i'm adnan nawaz. our top story this hour: president obama gives his farewell address. in an emotional speech, he defended his record, thanked his supporters and repeated his continuing messages of hope and change. yes we can. yes we did! yes we can! thank you, god bless you. and god continue to bless the united states of america. welcome to the programme. our other main stories this hour: as fresh allegations are made about donald trump, the president—elect says he's the victim of a political witch—hunt. talks continue over the future of cyprus, the leader of the turkish side of the divided island speaks exclusively to the bbc. i'm sally bundock.

in business: as obama fades from view and donald trump heads to the white house, we might finally find out today what he plans to do to step down from his vast business empire once he become us president. and where in the world will there be growth in 2017? the world bank says brazil and russia will prosper despite the shadow of uncertainty from the united states. president obama says he's leaving the united states a better, stronger country after his eight years in the white house. his farewell speech to the nation was delivered to thousands of supporters in chicago. among the achievements of his presidency, he mentioned economic growth, the nuclear deal with iran, and legalising same—sex marriage. but he also warned of continuing threats to us democracy, including inequality and racism, saying race remained a potent and often divisive force.

mr obama praised the armed forces for, in his words, taking out tens of thousands of terrorists, including the al-qaeda leader, osama bin laden. the bbc‘s laura trevelyan is in chicago. well, and behind me in the bar of the convention centre where barack obama delivered those parting words, you can see his supporters discussing and mulling over what is for many of them a painful moment, his final public speech as president but yes, this was a hopeful and optimistic address but also, as you said, containing warnings pertaining to the american people but implicitly to the president elect donald trump, who was like the elephant in the room, not mentioned but ever quoted about how american democracy must be protected against the challenges that could undermine it stop.

barack obama ba rack obama returned barack obama returned to chicago, the place where his political career began to deliver his long planned farewell address. the crowd, though, had other ideas. four more years! smiling that one away, the president used his platform to underline what he sees as his achievements. ifi he sees as his achievements. if i told you eight years ago that america would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleashed the longest stretch of job creation in our history... cheering if i had job creation in our history... cheering ifi had told job creation in our history... cheering if i had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the cuban would open up a new chapter with the cu ban people, would open up a new chapter with the cuban people, shutdown iran's nuclear weapons programme without firing a shot, take out the mastermind of 9/11...

cheering mastermind of 9/11. .. cheering if i told you we would win marriage equality and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens... cheering ifi had another 20 million of our fellow citizens... cheering if i had told y'all that, you might have said our sights were set a little too high. turning to his theme of what could undermine american democracy, the nation's first black president was direct about the state of race relations. after my election there was talk of a post racial america. and such a vision, however well intended, was never realistic. race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society. now, i've lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were

ten or 20 or 30 years ago, no matter what some folks say. you can see it not just what some folks say. you can see it notjust in statistics, you see it in the attitudes of young americans across the political spectrum. but we're not where we need to be. and all of us have more work to do. and after a divisive election campaign, barack obama had this rebuke. if you're tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, try talking with one of them in real life! cheering if something needs fixing, then lace up if something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organising. cheering if you're disappointed by your

elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures and run for office yourself. for americans depressed by the state of their politics, the message from the man who started out as a community organiser was a simple one. paying tribute to his wife, michelle, and his daughters, the president became emotional. for those who had lined up emotional. for those who had lined upfor emotional. for those who had lined up for hours to hear him speak in person, the effort was worthwhile. yes, many of those who waited hours in the cold on a freezing chicago saturday morning to get the free tickets to be here tonight are behind me now and they were pleased and inspired by what they heard. they saw it as charting a way forward after what the democrats saw asa forward after what the democrats saw as a disappointing and divisive election campaign. they feel barack 0bama election campaign. they feel barack obama has told them, if you don't like what's happening, get up, sort yourself out, organise and oppose,

this is a democracy. a bittersweet moment for people here in chicago who have seen barack obama go from a community organiser to the nation's first black president and now exiting the stage after eight years. laura, thank you very much indeed. laura, thank you very much indeed. laura trevelyan in chicago. staying in the united states... donald trump has dismissed as fake news unconfirmed reports in the american media that russian intelligence has gathered compromising information about him. he is scheduled to hold a rare news conference later this wednesday. from washington, barbara plett usher reports. mrtrump mr trump posted an angry message on his twitter account written in capital letters. without referring to the media reports, the tweeted: the unverified claims were broadcast by us networks quoting unnamed sources. they say russian spy agencies have embarrassing information about the president—elect which is personally compromising and the us intelligence

services have now informed him privately about the allegations, although they said nothing publicly. mrtrump had although they said nothing publicly. mr trump had already scandalise washington by disparaging intelligence assessments that the kremlin order russian hackers to kill the election in his favour and he is two to hold a rare news conference today, called to address concerns about his business interests but this topic will almost certainly dominate. barbara plett—usher, bbc news, washington. 20th of january, the 20th ofjanuary, the handover happens, and sally has more on donald trump. yes, we are talking about that long—awaited press conference that barbara was talking about, his first official one since winning in november. we feel like we have heard from him so much since he became president—elect but still it's the first official press conference so there's lots of questions about how he will separate himself from his vast business empire. in his latest disclosure the president—elect revealed interests in 144 companies. these have had dealings

in least 25 countries in asia, europe, africa, south america and north america. democratic party politicians are amongst those to express concerns this could influence his policies towards some of those countries. he derives much of his income from developing real estate and operating golf courses in the us, britain, ireland and the united arab emirates. but he also makes money licensing the trump name to property developers around the world. some of those projects have been engulfed in controversy. however, it should be noted that as president he is legally allowed to continue to run his businesses. but previous presidents have put their businesses

into blind trusts to prevent conflict of interests or the perception of them. we'll have more on that from our team in new york. we'll also be looking at the latest forecast from the world bank which says a moderate pick—up in economic growth is going to make it more difficult for it bring people out of extreme poverty. that's one of its main aims. it's predicting growth of 2.7% but suggests that there is still a lingering weakness from the finacial crisis. the pick—up will be driven mainly by improvements in emerging markets and developing economies, such as brazil, russia and india. but there's also a warning abiout the uncertainty of where the united states is heading because of a lack of policy detail from donald trump. that is in just over a week, that is injust over a week, adnan. certainly is. thanks very much, sally. a jury in south carolina has confirmed that dylann roof will get the death penalty for killing nine black worshippers at a church

in charleston in 2015. the 22—year—old self—confessed white supremacist was convicted of the crimes last year. in the penalty phase of the trial, roof represented himself and told jurors he didn't have a mental illness. he didn't offer any remorse or ask that his life be spared. melvin graham, whose sister was killed in the shooting, gave his reaction to the verdict. as i sat in the court room, i thought this is a very hollow victory because my sister is still gone. i wished that this verdict could have brought her back but it can't. what it can do is send a message to those who feel the way he feels, that this community will not tolerate it. when my sister was killed, this community pulled together in a way that i had never seen before and i just wish that that

feeling, that that love that we showed for each other in the city of charleston and the state of south carolina, and around the nation, the warm words, the prayers that came in will continue. i just want this to stop, i really do. i'm tired. everytime i hear about a shooting, i cry. we have to stop this. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: football's governing body approves plans for a massive of the world cup to 48 teams. day one of operation desert storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attacks since the second world war. tobacco is america's oldest industry, and it's one of its biggest, but the industry

is nervous of this report. this may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. there is not a street that is unaffected. huge parts of kobe were simply demolished as buildings crashed into one another. this woman said she'd been given no help and no advice by the authorities. she stood outside the ruins of her business. tens of thousands of black children in south africa have taken advantage of laws, passed by the country's new multiracial government, and enrolled at formerly white schools. tonight sees the 9,610th performance of her long—running play, the mousetrap. when they heard about her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonight's performance, but agatha christie would have been the last person to want such a thing. this is bbc news. i'm adnan nawaz. our main headline: the us president has given a farewell speech to the nation

in front of thousands of supporters in chicago, where his political career began. to sustained applause and cheers, barack obama said he was leaving the united states a better, stronger country after eight years in the white house. northern ireland's democratic unionist leader and former first minister, arlene foster, has said the province is undoubtedly heading for a period of direct rule from the uk's central government in london. the power—sharing government in northern ireland is in crisis following the resignation of sinn fein‘s martin mcguiness as the deputy first minister. nicholas witchell reports from belfast. the speaker: the secretary of state for northern ireland. it all has echoes of unhappier times. in the house of commons, a british minister was making an emergency statement. right honourable and honourable members should be in no doubt, the situation we face in northern ireland today is grave and the government treats it with the utmost seriousness. the situation to which he was referring was the collapse of the power—sharing government at stormont. a decade of broad consensus

between republicans and unionists have broken down. 0n the surface, it's about a green energy scheme, the cost of which was found to have been exorbitant. the scheme was originally overseen by the democratic unionist leader and now former first minister, arlene foster. the major sticking point between us over this last few weeks has been the fact that sinn fein would not agree to the establishment of an inquiry until i stepped aside as first minister. for me, i felt to have done so would have led to the conclusion that i was guilty of something improper, which is not the case. across in west belfast the leader of sinn fein, gerry adams, was issuing two warnings — a return to direct rule from london would not be acceptable and neither would a return to the same power—sharing arrangements with the democratic

unionists after an election. if the dup think that they're going to waltz out of government or have an election and then waltz back into government on the same terms as caused the collapse, then they'll have to make their minds up. the politics of northern ireland can seem pretty impenetrable from outside, but here's the essential point — it took years to put together a successful power—sharing government here. that government oversaw peace and stability. that government has collapsed. there is a vacuum. there is uncertainty about how to put it all back together. nicholas witchell, bbc news, belfast. the most intense effort in over a decade to reunite cyprus is under way at the un's offices in geneva. the country's greek and turkish leaders have come together after several failed attempts at reunification. in an exclusive interview, our correspondent selin girit has been speaking to the turkish—cypriot leader mustafa akinci. a diplomatic graveyard. after

numerous attempts at peace falling one by one to decades, that is what many people call cyprus. what could there be an end to the conflict inside? turkey's cypriot leader mustafa akinci told me the time has come for a united cyprus. we need to set upa come for a united cyprus. we need to set up a united federal country now, after 50 yea rs of set up a united federal country now, after 50 years of separation. it is high time that we are able to create a better future for our younger generations to develop culture, federal culture, and to prepare a brighterfuture. federal culture, and to prepare a brighter future. cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines since 1974 when turkey occupied the northern third in retaliation for a greek inspired coup. the turkey cypriot state founded in the north is recognised only by ankara,

whereas the greek cypriot state is a member of the eu. peace talks are currently under way in geneva but there are hurdles ahead. security, there are hurdles ahead. security, the presence of the turkish military on the island, a rotating presidency between two communities just some of the biggest concerns, but mustafa akinci doesn't want to contemplate failure. if we try to speak about peace and so on and so forth, of course this might create suspicion in the minds of other people, saying that, oh, the turkish side has other plans, they didn't really mean business. this is not the case. we will do our best with all our determination. we will focus for a solution. if you go again to the referendum and you get another vote from the greek cypriots, of course you cannot do this. mustafa akinci believes that these could be the last opportunity to bring peace to

cyprus. the younger generation, i believe that they will not focus on a federal setup in the future, because they are growing far apart, they are becoming aliens in their own country. they are like tourists visiting each other‘s side and they don't share a common vision for the future. it is the last trial of our generation. most probably the last chance for a federation. the turkey cypriot leader in geneva for the potential reunification talks. football's world governing body, fifa, has approved plans to expand the world cup to 48 teams. it will open up the tournament to nations who have previously found it difficult to qualify and is set to boost the number of african and asian countries taking part.

the move will also generate millions more from advertising and tv rights. 0ur sports correspondent richard conway reports from zurich. fifa has finally cleared a path to a world cup of 48 teams — from 2026, 16 more countries will join football's flagship tournament. speaking to me today, the world governing body's president insisted, in the face of much criticism, it is time for the sport to look beyond its traditional borders. football has now become a truly global game because many more countries, many more teams will have the chance to qualify so they will invest in developing football, they will invest in developing elite football as well as grassroot football, they will invest in their technical developments and this will make sure that the quality raises. the growth of the world cup will bring enormous extra revenue — fifa stand to make an additional £500 million in profit in 2026, according to its own research. but the man elected as fifa president, partly on a pledge to deliver a bigger competition, insists it is not about cash or politics. it is not at all money and power

grab, it is actually the opposite. it is a football decision. so the way we presented it was, ok, every...we presented four formats, every one of the four formats has advantages in terms of the financial situation, which means we are in a comfortable situation to be able to take a decision simply based on the sporting merit. asia, where interest in football is booming, and africa stand to benefit the most when the extra 16 places are divided up. there will be more slots too for european nations. the scottish fa welcomed todays' decision, believing it will give them and others a better chance of qualifying. after a number of years when fifa was a byword for corruption, its new leadership is determined to assert itself. gianni infantino's task is now to convince his critics a reformed world cup is a force for good. richard conway, bbc news, zurich. in the english game, manchester united beat hull 2—0

in the first leg of their league cup semi—final on tuesday night juan mata and marouane fellaini scored second half goals at old trafford. the first leg of the second semi—final is this wednesday. southampton will be at home to liverpool. in the coppa italia, napoli are the first team into the quarter—finals. they beat spezia 3—1. and in spain, two late goals couldn't save las palmas in the copa del rey. they came from behind to beat atletico madrid 3—2 in the dying minutes of the match, but lost 4—3 on aggregate, it's atleti who advance to the quarters. clare hollingworth, the british war correspondent who broke the news that world war two had started, died at the age 105. as a rookie reporter in poland, she spotted german forces gathering on the border in 1939 and brought the news to the world. james robbins reports. archive: this is a national

programme from london. germany has invaded poland and has bombed many towns. but three days earlier, clare hollingworth's greatest scoop had already appeared in the daily telegraph. alone inside germany she'd seen the nazis massing for invasion. aged 27 and a journalist for less than a week, a woman in a man's world had beaten the lot of them. 1939, i went out to poland to become number two to hugh carleton greene of bbc fame and i got to warsaw and he said one of us has got to go to the frontier and i was on the german polish frontier when the german hordes, tanks, moved in. and clare hollingworth's scoops kept coming. in 1963 she uncovered kim philby‘s escape to russia as an m16 traitor. for weeks the guardian refused to publish, fearing a libel action. but above all she was a war correspondent. across the middle east and notably in vietnam, revealing secret talks between hanoi and washington.

i'm really passionately interested in war and if one is then one can't help like being in it. happy birthday dear clare. last year in hong kong, fellowjournalists celebrated clare's 105th birthday, as even more extraordinary stories emerged of her role before world war two, helping refugees escape the nazis. in danger herself so many times, clare hollingworth was witness to great events across more than a century. a lavish new concert—hall is officially opening in hamburg, germany this wednesday. it's taken nearly ten years to build and has cost in at about ten times more than its initial budget. the building has attracted protests, with many locals believing it will only benefit an elite minority.

music plays gales and severe gales across

scotla nd gales and severe gales across scotland overnight. this morning we could see travel disruption and round. the winds gusting in excess of 60 mph. the strongest winds in the north and west scotland. elsewhere across scotland, northern england and northern ireland, problems with the wind, frequent showers through the morning, few we re showers through the morning, few were in northern england, those mainly in the west of the pennines. difficult travel conditions in the pennines. gales around western wales at the rush—hour. and across parts of devon and cornwall. not as windy but strengthening in the south—east. clearing away morning cloud, introducing sunshine, dropping the temperature. increasingly called for many through the day. frequent showers. want and northern ireland turned wintry. eventually into north wales. these are the afternoon

temperatures. 3—4 in scotland, dropping to 7—8 in the south of england. it remains lowly in wednesday night. showers come in thick and fast, turning to snow. scotland, northern ireland, northern england, icy conditions possible. further south, many will be dry for the time being. even here the wind will make itself known. the arctic winds from the north and north—west into thursday. complication for southern areas is this feature, because the cold winds will interact. for many, rain across southernmost counties. snow developing for the welsh mountains and the south—west. increasingly across southern england, even at low levels in sussex and kent later in the day. keep tuned to the forecast. it might change. further north on thursday it will be wintry showers. frequent heavy sleet and snow flurries, 10— 20 centimetres, maybe

more for the highlands. there are showers hit and miss, many will avoid it altogether, but you will note is wherever you are the icy wind which will make it feel like subzero for just about all. icy wind continues into friday, picking up in the south, showers die in the coast, across the east, severe gales on friday and the potential for some coastal flooding. this is bbc news, the headlines: president obama has given his farewell address to the nation. in a farewell speech to supporters in chicago. mr obama listed achievements including economic growth, the nuclear deal with iran and legalising same—sex marriage. but he also warned of continuing threats to us democracy, including inequality and racism. mr obama praised the armed forces for, in his words, taking out tens of thousands of terrorists, including osama bin laden. donald trump has complained of a political witch hunt against him after unconfirmed reports emerged in the us media that

russian intelligence had gathered compromising information about him. the claims are unsubstantiated. ajury in the united states has sentenced to death a white supremacist who killed nine black worshippers in a south carolina church.