hello, and welcome to bbc news. i'm gavin grey. the head of the lebanese shia movement, hezbollah, has claimed saad hariri who resigned as lebanon's prime minister last week is being held under house arrest in saudi arabia. in a televised address, hassan nasrallah said mr hariri had been forced to stand down by the saudis, an act which amounted to a declaration of war. there is growing international concern that the political crisis is being fuelled by a proxy war between saudi arabia and iran. our correspondent in beirut, martin patience, reports. for a region in turmoil, beirut served as a sanctuary from the violence. but now it finds itself at the centre of the growing struggle between saudi arabia and iran. in a move that has stunned lebanon, the prime minister resigned suddenly last weekend. not at home, but in saudi arabia. he lashed out at iran, accusing it of destabilising the entire region.

today, iran's proxy in lebanon shot back. the leader of hezbollah claimed riyadh was holding the prime minister hostage. in a bid to diffuse the crisis, the french president emmanuel macron stopped briefly in the kingdom. he met the saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman, who is pursuing a tough line against iran. many in lebanon on share his view that tehran is too influential. some people are seeking dividends in lebanon for the role that they played in syria. those people are iran and hezbollah? yes. they've openly expressed that. that we fought isis in syria, we drew isis away from lebanese borders and therefore we need to be recognised. during the civil war here in the 1980s, the city

was divided by warring parties. and this building was on the front line. but today, lebanon is divided by the regional struggle. and the country's seen as a pawn by the bigger players. everyone‘s reassuring us that everything will be ok but that doesn't mean that it is. but we've been through worse, so we are trying, just hanging on there. it's a play of power and we're in the middle but it's always like this for lebanon. for 30, 40 years. but the fear is the dynamic is far more dangerous than in the past. in the last few decades we've never been so close to the precipice. in many ways the threat of regional war has never been this real, if you like. beirut famously partied through its civil war. and tonight, it's no different, but this is a region on edge, and the international community

is calling for calm. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the wall streetjournal is reporting on investigations into white house national security adviser michael flynn, who was allegedly was offered up to $15 million to forcibly remove muslim cleric, fethullah gulen, and deliver him to turkey. gulen is viewed by turkey's president erdogan as a political enemy, and he and his followers have been blamed for the failed coup attempt last year. louis ck, one of the latest hollywood figures to be accused of sexual misconduct, has admitted that allo allegations against him are true. five women have said that the american comedian subjected them to various acts of indecency, including stripping naked and performing a sex act in front of them. his new film, about an ageing film director who has a reputation for getting embroiled with young women, has been scrapped ahead

of its release next week. three students have been injured after being run over by a car near toulouse in southern france. police have arrested the driver and said that he deliberately rammed the car into the students outside a technical college. all three students hurt, are thought to be from china. the incident is not being treated as terror—related. the taxi—hailing firm, uber, has lost an appeal at a london court, against a ruling ordering it to treat its drivers as workers, rather than self—employed independent contractors. uber originally challenged the ruling, saying it could deprive drivers of the personal flexibility they valued. it says it will now pursue a further appeal. the eu's chief negotiator on brexit says britain must clarify what it will pay on leaving the union within the next two weeks if talks on future relations are to get under way. there's been no major breakthrough

in the latest round of brexit talks. our europe editor, katya adler, reports on the latest round of talks in brussels. time is a precious commodity, and don't the uk and the eu know it. we're halfway now between the date of our eu referendum and actually leaving the club. expect many more face—offs along the way. by now, round six of brexit negotiations, all attempts at bilateral banter, have gone. this is a serious business. says david davis. it is. the eu is the uk's biggest trading partner, and the government still hopes to keep european relations close even as we untangle ourselves from the eu. but relations now are strained. the eu and the uk's brexit negotiators feel they keep repeating themselves, but the other

side isn't listening. the prime minister was clear in her florence speech. let me reiterate once again. our european partners will not need to pay more or receive less over the remainder of the current budget plan as a result of our decision to leave. but eu leaders don't quite believe him. trust is in short supply here. they demand detailed financial guarantees, otherwise they threaten to block what the uk wants. talks of trade and transition. translation: only sufficient progress, that is to say, sincere and real progress on the three main brexit issues, will allow us to start the second phase of negotiations. on those other issues, how to avoid reintroducing a hard border between ireland and northern ireland, remains a key sticking point. so does how to legally guarantee the rights of eu citizens living in the uk and vice versa. eu diplomats say these issues can be

dealt with in parallel to talks on future trade. money is the real stumbling block. and to turn up the heat... translation: my answer is yes. michel barnier confirmed progress was needed by the end of this month. ..ish. otherwise brussels threatens to dash the prime minister's hopes in this room in december at a summit of eu leaders. what theresa may wants is the green light from her eu counterparts to go ahead with what is known as stage two of the brexit negotiations. that is talk of trade and transition deals. on both sides of the channel, companies ache for news. uncertainty is very bad for business. but trade experts say eu — uk fallout over brexit issues will seem child's play compared to complications when it comes to trade. the real obstacle is to come, when britain tries to negotiate

a new trade deal with the eu. and it's looking for something as good as or better than what it has now, which will be extremely difficult to achieve, because why would 27 countries, each of which has a veto, agree unanimously to give britain something better than what they have? can britain get a new trade deal with the eu by the time it leaves in march 2019? not in my opinion. no one can stop time of course, but when it comes to brexit, time can be stretched. negotiations extended. if everyone agrees. but in brussels and london, there is little appetite for that. katya adler, bbc news, brussels. wales's first minister, carwynjones, has asked for an independent inquiry into how he handled allegations about carl sargeant. the labour welsh assembly member was found dead on tuesday and is understood to have taken his own life. carwynjones has called for a seniorjudge to lead the independent inquiry. our wales political editor, nick servini, has the latest. tonight the welsh government has

decided that a full independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of carl sargea nt will be carried out. we heard from carwynjones the welsh first minister yesterday for the first time since carl sargeant died on tuesday. he had been sacked from the welsh government cabinet and it emerged he was facing allegations from a number of different women on inappropriate touching and groping. that's the background to it. the family of carl sargeant had complaints about the way it had been carried out by the welsh government and yesterday in a statement the first minister said there would be an inquest and if the family felt they still have questions that remain unanswered after the inquest then he would welcome independent

scrutiny but it wasn't good for a number of... wasn't good enough for some family and friends of the mp, who felt the specifics of the investigation needed to be nailed down, and that is what they got tonight. a spokesman for carwynjones said it would be led by a qc, who would be appointed, by the most senior civil servant in the welsh government, there will be consultation with the family on the terms of reference, so in that sense he has given them what they wanted. of course this is a conventional route in british politics to take the heat out of a situation. and there has been very intense heat surrounding the death of carl sargeant in welsh politics in the past few days. major phone and internet providers, including bt and sky, have agreed to an automatic compensation scheme for customers when they fail to make appointments or if there are delays installing services. following a review by the watchdog ofcom, by 2019 customers will have their accounts automatically credited if they receive poor service. danny savage has the details.

home broadband is something many of us take for granted, so when it drops out or stops working, it's a big inconvenience. roxanne hargreaves has been there. my service went down, we didn't have any internet for about three days, and they took forever to come out. what do you think about this idea of getting compensation automatically? i think it's really good because you're paying so much for your internet a month, and if you aren't getting a good service, what's the point of paying for something you can't actually get? mick watson is having broadband problems, too. i shall be asking them, obviously, to do their usual technical checks, etc, but it would be worthwhile asking for some money back on the bill. at the moment, if your broadband fails you are not automatically compensated for the days of service you've paid for but haven't received. today's announcement means customers will be reimbursed by the provider — without having to chase them. if an engineer fails

to show up for an appointment, you get £25 back. if your new service isn't installed on a particular start date, you'll be credited £5 for each day it's delayed. and for those facing slow repairs, £8 per day will be paid for each day it's not fully fixed, after an initial waiting period of two working days. we know that providers won't want to pay out this money. we estimate it will be £140 million a year, so we also think it will incentivise them to solve problems more quickly, or even better, to make sure problems don't occur in the first place. but this is no early christmas present for broadband customers. the automatic compensation won't start until early 2019. danny savage, bbc news, leeds. amid growing tension between saudi arabia and the iranian backed

hezbollah movement, the us has warned other countries off of using lebanon for proxy uses. louis c.k. says the allegations made against him by five women are true. the battle of passchendaele was one of the longest and bloodiest campaigns of the first world war. it resulted in almost 700,000 deaths. on friday, the largest number of first world war field guns ever assembled fired a salute to the fallen, exactly 100 years since passchendaele was captured, as robert hall reports. fire! in a muddy field near the franco—belgian border, the thunder of the guns. every one of these weapons had fired during the battles of the first world war. today, they sounded their tribute a century on from the day canadian troops finally took the hilltop village of passchendaele. the fighting was part of a plan to capture high ground and reverse

the course of the war north of ypres, but wet weather slowed and what of the attacks. —— thwarted the attacks. allied forces advanced just five miles. allied and german armies lost well over half a million men, killed or injured, hundreds disappeared in a sea of mud. 64 volunteers, some of them serving soldiers, manned the guns. they represented the seven nations which shared the horrors of that summer and autumn. my grandfather was killed in action at hill 60 in the battle of passchendaele. i have always had a feeling he should be remembered. all of our young soldiers are very aware of the poignancy of what has gone before them. recent wars in iraq and afghanistan really hit home but it makes them more interested in the history that came before that. being here is important

to them and it means a lot. in the drizzle, with the smell of cordite in the air, thoughts turn to the young men who walked into that smoke and fire so long ago. for us to be able to represent and portray the 36th ulster division that gave so much at that time, it's a unique proud, privileged moment for us. those young fellas from that long time ago gave everything, didn't know whether they would be alive within the next hour. the next minute. what they gave was unreal. this weekend, britain and europe will remember conflicts across the decades. here, as the guns fell silent, the focus was on one terrible battle, on lives ruined, on those who never came home. robert hall, bbc news, northern france. the bbc has withdrawn a drama from its christmas schedules

after two accusations of rape were made against an actor. ed westwick was due to star in the agatha christie drama ordeal by innocence. he's denied the allegations and says he'll work with the authorities to clear his name. a british woman detained in egypt on suspicion of drug smuggling has told the bbc she didn't know the prescription painkillers she was carrying were banned in the country, and is desperate to come home. laura plummer, from hull, is due in court on saturday morning in the red sea resort of hurghada, where she was arrested a month ago. her family told the bbc they fear for her mental and physical health. orla guerin reports. it looks like paradise. egypt's red sea coast has long been a tourist trap, but now one british visitor is trapped behind bars, accused of smuggling a heroin substitute to the resort of hurghada. 33—year—old laura plummer, a shop assistant, has been

coming here for years. her family say she lives for her holidays in the sun. for the past month she has been detained at police station number one, with others accused of drug trafficking. the offence can carry the death penalty here. well, we've managed to speak to laura plummer by phone. she told us she is being held in a cell about the size of her bedroom back home, but with 25 other women, so it's hard to breathe. she said her fellow inmates are trying to look after her, but no one speaks her language. she told us her spirits are at rock bottom. she said she's dreaming of getting home, of catching up with emmerdale, sleeping in her own bed, and having a cup of tea. her father got a text saying, help me, i'm in trouble. that was the beginning of a nightmare for laura plummer‘s mother and brother.

they say she was mystified to be detained on arrival. she was kept in the airport all that time. she didn't know what was happening then, did she? she said, why are you keeping me here? what have i done? they just wouldn't say anything to her. she didn't know. she said, "i want to see your manager." the police here say she was kept for good reason — because she had 300 tablets of tramadol. it's legal in britain with a prescription, but banned in egypt, where it's the drug of choice for most addicts. laura plummer claims a colleague gave her the painkillers for her egyptian boyfriend, omar, who has a bad back. she told us they were in a chemist bag she didn't open. "i had no idea they were illegal here," she said. "i can't tell you how stupid i feel." her family insists she's paying a high price for an innocent mistake. the first time i saw her i couldn't believe it, you know. she was breaking down, she was begging me to take her home.

it is absolutely heartbreaking because your daughter is there and you can't bring her home with you. the shop assistant is due in court tomorrow. she may be released on bail, or her detention could be extended. police here say ignorance of the law is no defence. italian police have arrested the brother of a jailed mobster in a suburb of rome for a bloody assault ona suburb of rome for a bloody assault on a journalist captured on camera which has shocked the nation. roberto spada attacked the brit —— the tv broadcaster, breaking his nose. the cameraman continued filming. awarning, nose. the cameraman continued filming. a warning, there are graphic images at the start of this report. the questions by the journalist on the right may have been

uncomfortable, but the reply was vicious, bloodied and brutal. after daniele piervincenzi's nose was broken, he was repeatedly hit by a baton. his cameraman kept rolling. the attacker was roberto spada, brother to a convicted mobster. the questions put to him were about his family's connections to a far—right political group known as casapound. he's now been arrested. this attack has shocked italy and even here in ostia, a notorious seaside suburb of rome, people have been outraged and unafraid to show it. translation: let's hope this demonstration helps to remind everyone that journalism, asking questions, is the essence in a democracy. without freedom of the press, independence of the press, democracy weakens, and look here in ostia, we've reached the bottom. covering suspected links between extreme right wing politicians and organised crime is sensitive business here in ostia. its local government was dissolved two years ago by police who said

city hall had been infiltrated by the mafia. it's because of this local elections here last sunday were being closely watched. casapound made big gains and journalists like daniele piervincenzi were asking why. but the group have condemned the violence and distanced themselves from roberto spada. rome's mayor has tweeted footage of the attack, calling it unacceptable, and expressed solidarity with the victim. she's organised a rally on saturday against violence which will serve as another reminder of how mafia rule still dominates italy's national conversation. tom donkin, bbc news. naomi campbell, one of the biggest names in modelling over the last three decades, has been a vocal critic of the inequalities in the fashion business. she took british vogue to task for its lack of diversity prior to the appointment of its first black editor.

will gompertz has been speaking to her in new york about her views on diversity and sexual harassment in the industry and her own sometimes controversial behaviour. i think it's a positive message to put out, an all—black cast for the pirelli calendar. doing alice in wonderland. are you feeling that there is a change? that's what i feel. interesting, isn't it? that's what i'm starting to see, which is great. but let's hope that it's not a trend, and it remains that way, and they continue to choose with a diverse mind. have you been turned down because of your colour? many times in my past. but it's not something that i let deter me and stop me. i used it to drive me. lupita nyong'o did an instagram post today, criticising a front cover where they have airbrushed out the frizziness of her hair. she won't be happy about that. she's not happy about that. why would they do that? she doesn't understand. see, it's... i mean, i understand why she's upset. 100%.

and what about the darker side of naomi, the angry...? there isn't an angry any more. i don't really let people push that button. other issues in the fashion industry. the abuse of vulnerable young people, specifically women, but young men, as well. i'm saddened, and i've made it clear whatever i can do to use my voice, in supporting models of my industry, and what i do, i will. it's never happened to me. but i don't want it to ever happen to anyone. it shouldn't happen to anyone, period. how big of a problem is it? well, it seems to be a big problem. and i think, before it gets better, it's going to get worse. i think we're going to have to hear about it lots, it's going to have to come out before... i mean, they're trying to find a solution, i know. and... i think it'sjust the beginning, really. the lid's been opened.

and so... let's head to mexico now, and a riddle that's gone unanswered for 1,000 years. the mayans were an ancient people who built huge elaborate cities and there is much we don't know about them. a team of scientists may have discovered crucial information about the ruins of chichen itza. the bbc‘s tim allman takes up the story. in thejungles in the jungles of mexico, a marble and a mystery. this pyramid was built lie the mayans sometime between the ninth and 12th centuries. —— built by the mayans. now archaeologists are going underground to try to answer a crucial question. why was it built here? it seems the answer is pretty simple. translation: the aquifer, the water that sustained the city, that sustains the life of the peninsula. we can see the consequences, even negative ones,

that may come from the fact that these buildings are built above bodies of water. the yucatan peninsula is dotted with underground rivers and natural wells. the mayans seem rivers and natural wells. the mayans seem to have built their city right on top. scientists developing 3—d images showing the cavities underneath the pyramid. there are also tunnels and passageways all around the area. another mystery thatis around the area. another mystery that is still to be resolved, as this extraordinary relic of the past gives up some of its secrets. as far as dramatic car chases go, this one had it all, and every twist and turn was captured by a news helicopter. in a pursuit lasting two hours, this stolen pick—up truck led police through back streets and open fields in the us state of oklahoma. despite multiple attempts to corner the driver he escapes, even finding time to remove a heavy toolbox from the back of the vehicle. at one point a civilian stops and tries to shoot the vehicle's tyres.

but in the end, a pond is what stops the man in his tracks. officers manage to taser him before he's taken for another car ride, this time wearing wet clothes, handcuffs and as a backseat passenger. time for a look at the weather. hello. contrasting fortunes across the british isles for the weekend. first of all in the west we have imported the remnants of tropical storm rina as moist air, but that means a lot of cloud and some rain across much of england and wales and parts of northern ireland. further north the air has come from the north, hence these numbers — 2—4 degrees. there is some sunshine but it's doing nothing for the feel of the day and for the temperatures. this is how we shape up in the middle part of the afternoon. there will be some showers across northern and western parts of scotland. that's been the way of it for a few days.

dry and bright weather in the central belt and towards eastern part of scotland and across the board into the north of england. eventually and slowly we have brighter conditions getting past the wash towards east anglia. anywhere back towards the south and west, go too far and it is just rain all the way for the greater part of the day. scotland versus samoa, right. towards wales later, it doesn't matter what time of day, wales versus samoa will be wet. the rain pops up as a wave when a weather front comes through into the small hours of remembrance sunday. further north, skies will be clearer and temperatures as a consequence will fall away. a touch of frost. plenty of showers from the word go on remembrance sunday around the shoulders of the british isles. largely affecting the coast.

we are all exposed by sunday to the cold blast, as the weather front pulls away. on sunday, bright, crisp and sunny. a scattering of showers as well. it will feel markedly colder. the top temperature on the day, 9— 10 degrees. in the next week we start on that theme of cold and frosty and it then turns milder in the middle part of the week and there will be some rain in the forecast. a bright, crisp, frosty start for many into monday and then we have the first signs of that change getting to the north—west of the british isles, with milder weather on the way. this is bbc news. the headlines: there is growing concern that a power struggle between saudi arabia and iran is fuelling the political crisis in lebanon. the american secretary of state has warned other countries against using the country for proxy conflicts, following a crisis triggered by the resignation of its prime minister. one of the latest figures

in american entertainment to be accused of sexual misconduct, the comedian louis ck, has admitted that several allegations made against him are true. five women had accused him of various acts of indecency. in a statement, louis ck expressed remorse for his actions. the european union's chief brexit negotiator has said the uk has two weeks to clarify what it will pay when it leaves if it wants talks