hello. you're watching bbc world news. i'm adnan nawaz. our top story this hour: a deadline passes in the gambia. but there's no sign of presidentjammeh stepping down. with their troops poised on the country's borders, west african leaders are in last minute talks to persuade him to leave office peacefully. welcome to the programme. our other main stories this hour: a final farewell to the white house press corps. but barack obama says he will still speak out to defend his "core values." three diseases could become global killers, but half a billion dollars has been pledged to defeat them. i'm sally bundock. in business, brexit exodus. fears grow in the city of london, as leading firms warn thousands of staff may now be relocated. plus, relief for samsung as a court throws out an arrest warrant for boss jay y lee, in a corruption scandal that has threatened

to engulf south korea's biggest company. troops are massing on the border of the gambia, in west africa, ready to force the president to accept his defeat in the election and step down. yayahjameh's successor is supposed to be inaugurated today, but the president has refused to leave office, and declared a state of emergency. west african leaders have given neighbouring senegal a mandate to intervene militarily if necessary, on wednesday, gambia's parliament passed a resolution allowing presidentjammeh to stay in office for another three months. greg dawson has the latest. these could be the final moments of president jammeh's power over the country. this president flew in in a last—minute effort to stop it developing into a crisis. we will work on a peaceful solution. it is

in the interest of everyone, gambia, everyone. he immediately left for negotiations in senegal, one of several west african nations ordering him to leave office or face a military invasion. the gambian president initially conceded defeat in the election last month after 22 yea rs in the election last month after 22 years in power during which he faced claims of torturing and murdering opponents. he quickly changed his mind, claiming the vote was fraudulent. the man who defeated him, adama barrow fled to senegal but remains confident he will be sworn in on thursday. president—elect, he has power. he has said he was right to be elected and assume office will not be taken away by any force on this earth. more than 16,000 have now crossed

the border into senegal and they are not the only ones who have left. planes have been flown in to pick up tourists, most of them from the uk and the netherlands. it is unnecessary, i think, at the moment but i understand we need to do it. it was very scary. the local people we re it was very scary. the local people were crying and are worried about their children. my fourth daughter was crying. senegal, nigeria and ghana are among the countries who had ordered yahya jammeh to step down as president. they have asked for the un's allowa nce to they have asked for the un's allowance to intervene now that he is mandate has expired. yahya jammeh once said he would lead his country for one billion years. he now faces being forced from office in the next 2a hours. president obama has held his final news conference in the white house. his successor has promised

to dismantle his legacy, and barack obama was asked what he'd told his daughters about donald trump's victory. he said "i tell them the only thing that is the end of the world is the end of the world. i think we're going to be ok." he wished the press good luck. our north america editor, jon sopel, was there. for one last time, barack obama came to the white house briefing room to joust with the press. good afternoon, everybody. but amid reports that his successor wants to limit access and regularly accuses journalists of being dishonest and liars, the outgoing president spoke of the importance of a strong and free media. you're not supposed to be sycophants, you're supposed to be sceptics. you're supposed to ask me tough questions. you are not supposed to be complimentary but you are supposed to cast a critical eye on folks who hold enormous power. this picture was released today of donald trump preparing his inaugural address. barack obama was asked what advice he would give his successor. on this, he steered a diplomatic course. this is a job of such magnitude that you can't do it by yourself. you are enormously

reliant on a team. that's probably the most useful advice, the most constructive advice, that i have been able to give him. and then the final question. come on, mr president, are you really as sanguine as you are saying publicly about donald trump taking over? this is notjust a matter of no drama obama. this is what i really believe. it is true that behind closed doors i curse more than i do in public. laughter. sometimes i get mad. and frustrated like everybody else does. but at my core, i think we're going to be ok. thank you very much, press corps. good luck. barack obama will spend the next year writing and being around more for michelle and his two daughters. he says he won't be a back seat driver. but he's given this warning, if he sees things that he really doesn't like then he will speak out.

it seems that friday won't be the last we see of barack obama. but in the meantime, there's a new home to get ready. moving house is said to be one of life's most stressful experiences. but when you have been president for eight years making life and death decisions, where to hang your favourite picture is probably unlikely to keep you awake at night. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. as washington gears up for friday's inauguration there was news today that former president george hw bush has been moved to intensive care at a houston hospital. he's 92 and suffering from pneumonia but is said to be in stable condition. a procedure was performed to clear his airway. his wife barbara has also been admitted to the same hospital, as a precaution. she is said to be very fatigued and coughing. sally bundock is here with the

business news. we are focused on london today. fears are growing of a costly brexit exit is. a fear of banking jobs leaving are growing. leading firms are now weighing up moving thousands of staff out of the uk, after prime minister theresa may confirmed plans to leave the european single market as well as the eu, the so called "hard brexit" option. so, what have we heard already? on wednesday, the boss of hsbc said he's preparing to move around 1000 of his 5000 london staff to paris. that would mean around 20% of its european revenue leaving the uk, worth several billion dollars. swiss rival, ubs, also told the bbc that 1,000 jobs may go in london as a result of brexit, again around a fifth of its workforce. and according to a report in the handelsblatt newspaper

in germany this morning, goldman sachs may halve its london workforce, moving 3,000 staff to new york and continental europe, a thousand of those to frankfurt. goldman though says has said it has yet to make a decision on the matter however, some believe this could be the tip of the iceberg as far as uk financial job losses. back in october, consultants oliver wyman warned 75,000 uk jobs are at risk if financial companies based here lose the right to operate across europe. theresa may is at the world economic forum in davos today. she will be meeting the bosses of some of the big banks including goldman sachs and jp morgan for private talks. we will talk about that in world

business report. we are also in south korea, where a growing corruption scandal has led to the impeachment of president park geun—hye, here on the left, and has been threatening to suck in the boss of samsung, jay y lee. some good news for him in the past few hours, though, mr lee was held by prosecutors overnight on wednesday, but early this morning he's been allowed to go home after a court in seoul threw out a warrant for his arrest. prosecutors wanted him arrested on suspicion of bribery, embezzlement and perjury. they have accused him of paying some $36 million to organisations linked to a friend of the president to get a merger of two samung companies approved and cement his control of the family business. he denies all wrongdoing as does president park. we will be live in seoul for all the

information on that. we will have other stories as well. thank you, sally. what was will be the next global epidemic, a virus we already know about, or a totally new one? the ebola outbreak in west africa exposed how utterly unprepared the world is for new epidemics. more than 11,000 people died, partly because there were no vaccines to protect them. the research charity the wellcome trust is part of a new coalition urging people to look at a new epidemic being even more deadly, especially if it is an airborne virus.

we got luck so far. but the world has major gaps that could spread a new disease. this puts the world in a very vulnerable place. scientists have identified three obscure viruses they want to fast track vaccines for. nipah virus, spread to humans from from fruit bats. it can cause swelling of the brain and is mainly common in bangladesh. lassa fever is common in west africa. it kills around 5,000 people every year. the last is middle east respiratory syndrome. it's believed to be spread by camels. it's killed more than 650 people, mostly here in saudi arabia. this lab in oxford is one of the research facilities trying to come up with a vaccine to protect people from mers. it is one of the most advanced vaccines out there.

this is the clinical bio manufacturing facility. this is the basis for the mers vaccine. it will be scaled up over the coming months and it's expected that hundreds of vials will be ready for human trials in the coming year. is this vaccine does work, it could still take a decade or so to get to those who needed. historically, money for these obscure viruses has not been forthcoming and the regulatory process is long and complex. these labs are also working on an ebola vaccine. we found it frustrating as we were testing ebola vaccines in people and getting good safety data in people in oxford and yet those vaccines were not being used in west africa where the ebola outbreak was happening. people were dying of the disease while we were testing the vaccines. we don't want to be in that situation again. this sort of research takes years and costs hundreds of millions of dollars.

it may not be any of these three viruses that cause the next epidemic. but, if it is, putting the time and money in now could stop a small outbreak becoming the next global health emergency. in other news: at least 50 people have been killed in northern mali in a car bomb attack on a military base. a vehicle packed with explosives detonated at a camp housing soldiers and members of rival armed groups in the region's main city, gao. a mauritanian news agency, al akhbar, is reporting that the jihadist group al mourabitoun carried out the attack. a prominent mexican environmental activist and indigenous leader, who had been fighting illegal logging, has been shot dead. isidro baldenegro was killed in his home state of chihuahua, in northern mexico, after receiving death threats. he had spent many years in peaceful protests against illegal logging in the sierra madre mountains. the colombian president, juan manuel santos, says formal peace talks with the country's second largest rebel group, the eln will begin in the first week of february. he said the eln have agreed to free a former congressman they've been holding since april. the start of formal negotiations has stalled for months

because the rebels refused to comply with government demands to hand him over. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: this was, until very recently, a frontline in the syrian civil war but now it's deathly quiet. we have a special report from the city of aleppo. the people of saigon have just heard there is to be a ceasefire. the reaction of american servicemen was predictable. i'm going home! demonstrators waiting for mike gatting and his rebel cricket team were attacked with teargas and set upon by police dogs. anti—apartheid campaigners say they will carry on the protests throughout the tour. they called him the butcher of lyon. klaus altmann is being held on a fraud charge in bolivia but the west germans want to extradite him for crimes committed in wartime france. there he was the gestapo chief klaus barbie.

millions came to bathe as close as possible to this spot, a tide of humanity which is believed by officials to have broken all records. this is bbc world news. i'm adnan nawaz. the latest headlines: a deadline has passed for the president of the gambia to step down orface possible military action by west african powers. at his final news conference, president obama has said he will continue to speak out to defend what he called "core valu es" after he leaves office. united nations officials believe 40,000 people have returned to their homes in eastern aleppo, the syrian city devastated by civil war. government forces cut off rebel supply lines and, in just a few months, took full control. 0ur middle east editorjeremy bowen sent this special report. this is the calm after the storm.

the final battle for aleppo swept through the city like a man—made malevolent tornado. all sides in this war were prepared to destroy aleppo to possess it. in the end, the firepower of the regime and its russian and ukrainian allies was too much for the fractious rebel coalition that controlled east aleppo. this city is the key to northern syria. right across the country, rebels who are still fighting are on the defensive. the battle for aleppo lasted four years. more than 200,000 civilians were trapped in the heat of the fight. attacks on civilians by any side in the war are crimes if it can be proved they were deliberate.

zakaria mohammed juma lost his leg in east aleppo three months ago. at a clinic run by the international committee of the red cross, he is being measured for a prosthesis. rehabilitation is painful. when you can't walk, supporting a family is even harder. it will take years and billions to rebuild. the east side of aleppo and much of the old city in ruins. with a photo of his clothes shop, salah stood in front of where it used to be. i've seen this much damage elsewhere in syria, but never in such a wide area. abu mahmoud is one of the first

to return to his neighbourhood. if only they'd take away the rubble, he said, all the neighbours would come back. this corpse was still lying on the road a month after the battle. more are certain to be buried in collapsed buildings. abu mohammed, collecting firewood, showed where a mortar fragment had hit him. look, he said, they took out my spleen, kidney, and part of my intestines. i've had many operations. in every queue for emergency aid there are tragedies. in every queue for emergency aid, there are tragedies. this child, who is 12, has seen more than anyone should in a lifetime. her grandmother is using all the strength she has left to care for her surviving grandchildren. translation: my daughter's 15—year—old girl and her son,

who was seven, were killed. my son's three—year—old daughter lost a leg. another grandson, aged seven, lost a hand. my family's houses were all destroyed. translation: we don't know what's hidden in our future. the war has damaged all of us. my cousin lost her leg. i saw with my own eyes my other cousin, his intestines were out of his body. president assad's resurgence in aleppo means talk about forcing him out sounds more hollow than ever. he is the strongest he's been since the war started. the empty, ruined, silent streets on the formerfront lines

feel oppressive. no—one has tried to move back here. it's haunted by violence and death. that is a home—made mortar, designed and built by the rebels. in itself, it's a fearsome weapon. but it is nothing compared to the power of the russian air force and the military know—how of the iranians and their lebanese allies. foreign intervention has transformed this war. and the way it's looking right now, foreigners, not syrians, will dictate the way the war ends. the sun sets in aleppo on a dark, cold and broken place. it feels like a post—war city, but this is not a post—war country. syria has a fragile partial truce. for the first time, the president and his allies can smell victory.

but they are not there yet. rafael nadal plays marcos baghdatis in the second round of the australian open tennis this thursday. the 2009 champion is the number nine seed this year — his lowest ranking in melbourne for 12 years — and it's a combination of injuries and age that have forced the former world number one to come to terms with the fact he's no longer at the very top of his sport. 0h, oh, yes, it makes a difference. it's my record as number one, i'm number nine. there's no question about that. but i am number nine today. that's just. . .that‘s just a real thing. so today, i'm the ninth player of the world. i'm going to

fight to not be worse! and i'm going to fight to be, again, better. because i feel that, if i am playing well and i because i feel that, if i am playing welland i am because i feel that, if i am playing well and i am healthy, ithink because i feel that, if i am playing well and i am healthy, i think i can be much better. at football's africa cup of nations, hosts gabon are still looking for their first win of the tournament after being held to another 1—1 draw, this time against burkina faso. they had to come from behind to secure the point. pierre—emerick aubameyang equalised from the penalty spot. in wednesday's other game, cameroon came from behind to beat guinea—bissau 2—1. liverpool are through to the fourth round of the english fa cup after a slender victory at fourth—tier plymouth argyle, who are 67 league paces below them. the only goal of the game was scored by the brazilian midfielder lucas leiva — his first goal for seven years. plymouth's best chance fell to jake jervis — but his acrobatic volley hit the post. liverpool will now face wolves in the fourth round.

in other fa cup replays, matt ritchie scored twice for newcastle as they beat fellow championship side birmingham 3—1. and shane long scored the only goal of the game — in injury time — as southampton beat norwich. in spain, real madrid have lost again. after going a0 games unbeaten, they've now lost twice in four days. they were beaten 2—1 — at home — by celta de vigo in the first leg of their copa del rey quarterfinal. an international assessment led by british scientists has found that 60% of primates are now threatened with extinction because of human activities. the researchers say that, without urgent action to reverse declines, our closest biological relatives face an extinction crisis. the findings are published in the journal science advances. victoria gill has more. 0ur closest biological relatives. but while the human population continues to grow, most of our

fellow primates are now sliding towards extinction. this international team of scientists trawled through the data on more than 500 primate species, revealing a looming extinction crisis. they estimate that 60% of primate species are now threatened with extinction, and 75% have populations that are in decline. these guys are ring—tailed lemurs, and they are just one of the primate species that's been assessed in this new global study. as nice as it is to see them thriving here in captivity, their natural habitat is disappearing fast. and it's human activity that's driving that. forest habitat that these animals rely on is being destroyed, primarily for agriculture and logging. the animals are also hunted, particularly for their meat, at a rate that's faster than populations can recover. while all of this most acutely affects our wild primate relatives, destroying their habitat is something scientists say we just cannot afford to do. these forests provide

essential services for people. they help in mitigating climate change by being carbon stocks. they help in providing clear water for people, pollinations so people can grow their crops. reversing these declines means looking closely at where we source products like timber, palm oil and where we source products like timber, palm oiland meat, making sure destruction of tropical forests is not part of their production process. because oui’ is not part of their production process. because our current, very human demands process. because our current, very human demands are coming at the cost of many very human—like wild animals. finally to eastern china, where the world's oldest panda has just celebrated her 37th birthday, equivalent to 100 human years. bassie is being credited — well, her breeders are in eastern china, and a p pa re ntly breeders are in eastern china, and apparently it's their ver special ca re apparently it's their ver special care that's helped her to live this long. you're watching bbc world news. bye—bye. raze

hi, there. there is definitely a pattern emerging with our weather. i will say that much for the weather over the last few days. here is monday's satellite picture. a lot of cloud across the uk underneath building high pressure. spot the difference on tuesday. a bit of sunshine coming into south—east of england. otherwise it was cloudy. and yesterday's satellite picture also shows a lot of cloud. again, the south—east poking out in the sunshine. can you guess what the forecast will be for thursday? yes, today will be another cloudy day for much of the country. the cloud will be thick enough as we go through the first part of the morning to give a spit of rain in the midlands, maybe north—west england and wales. but under this blanket of cloud it's a mild start for most. perhaps a touch of frost in aberdeenshire. and certainly for southern wales and southern counties of east anglia it will be a cold start to the day. underneath relatively clear skies a widespread frost. but just as we've seen for the past couple of days there will be sunshine working across southern

counties of england. cold, but bright. a weather front continues to dangle across central portions of wales and england, where the thickest cloud is. that's where we could see the odd spit of morning drizzle. in scotland, the cloud thick enough for a few spots of rain. this is the picture through the rest of the day. southern counties of england will keep the sunshine. breaks in the cloud across scotland. the best in eastern areas. through the night we're stuck with this cloud through thursday night. again there could be a few mist and fog patches forming, a bit of drizzle through the night. with those clearer skies across southern england and wales we will have pockets of frost. where we have the cloud breaks, in towns and cities, close to frost, but in the countryside it will be

cold again, with about minus four on the thermometer to start friday. friday again sees sunshine around the periphery of the uk, but large tra cts the periphery of the uk, but large tracts of england and wales, northern ireland, keeping a lot of cloud again. temperatures around seven or eight degrees at best. any changes over the weekend into next week — well, not really. the high pressure's still with us, and it's still gonna stay pretty cloudy. that's your forecast. this is bbc world news. the headlines: a deadline has passed for the gambian president to step down, with no sign of any change in his position. yayha jammeh, who's been in powerfor two decades, is refusing to leave office and is disputing the election result. at least 50 people have been killed in northern mali in a car bomb attack on a base housing soldiers and members of rival armed groups. a local news agency is reporting that the jihadist group al mourabitoun carried out the attack. president obama has warned his successor, donald trump, not to lift sanctions against russia unless it reverses what he described as its violations

of ukrainian sovereignty. he also pledged to speak out in defence of his core values. former us president george hw bush has been moved to intensive care