welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani — our top stories... donald trump hits back at the british prime minister following a spat over controversial tweets by the us president. after north korea's latest missile test — the us ambassador to the un issues another blunt warning to kim jong—un. and if war comes, make no mistake, the north korean regime will be utterly destroyed. a convicted bosnian war criminal kills himself by drinking poison in court — after his sentence is upheld. and — what exactly happened in zimbabwe in the run—up to president mugabe's resignation? we'll have a special investigation. donald trump has told britain's prime minister theresa may

to focus on "terrorism" in the uk after she criticised his sharing of far—right videos. mr trump tweeted "don't focus on me, focus on the destructive radical islamic terrorism that is taking place within the united kingdom". the us president earlier retweeted three inflammatory videos posted online by a british far—right group. mrs may's spokesman had said it was "wrong for the president to have done this". earlier i asked the bbc‘s washington correspondent laura bicker about his latest tweets. what now for the special relationship that has been between the us and the uk for a number of years? when theresa may was here she was given a warm welcome by president trump. he is expected in the uk for a state visit but now it seems, tonight certainly, that president trump has decided to hit

back. this came after he re—tweeted videos from a far right political group called britain first. the videos purport to show, allegedly show muslim immigrants beating up white people in the united kingdom. they have not been verified, the videos, and some on social media believes that they are certainly made up in some way. the president re—tweeted three of them this morning. it was a strong rebuke from the united kingdom and it is a strong rebuke back tonight from the president. at least one of those videos tweeted was perhaps not showing what is claimed in the tweet. it left his spokeswoman

in a difficult position, trying to square that circle. let's listen to what she said. you are putting words in my mouth. i said that the threat is real and it needs to be addressed. it must be talked about and that is what the president is doing by bringing that up. this is now difficult for downing street, isn't it? it will leave them in a tricky position. the statement from downing street earlier said that british people overwhelmingly reject the rhetoric of the far right. when it comes to these videos and it comes to donald trump's tweet tonight you need to look at what is happening here and what he is trying to draw attention to here. donald trump wants to build a wall on the border with mexico. he also wants to put in immigration policies to ban people

from predominantly muslim countries coming in to the united states. to do that, he is looking to his supporters to pressure congress. that is what this is about. he has already angered some people in britain. he attacked the london mayor, on twitter he attributed rising crime figures in england and wales to radical islamic terror. this latest tweet is unlikely to go down well and it is very likely that theresa may will be asked about it in the next few hours. america's ambassador to the united nations, nikki haley, has warned the north korean leadership that it would be "utterly destroyed" if war broke out. speaking at an emergency meeting of the un security council, she called all countries to cut their diplomatic and trade ties with pyongyang. it follows the latest launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by north korea. experts believe this icbm could bring the us mainland within range — although north korea

is yet to prove it has reached its aim of miniaturising a nuclear warhead. this was the us ambassador‘s warning for the leadership in pyongyang. the dictator of north korea made a choice yesterday to bring the world closer to war, not farther from it. we have never sought war with north korea, and still today, we do not seek it. if war does come, it will be because of continued acts of aggression like we witnessed yesterday. and if war comes, make no mistake, the north korean regime will be utterly destroyed. one of the most prominent figures in the bosnian civil war has killed himself in court, after he was convicted of crimes against humanity. moments afterjudges had upheld his conviction at the international criminal tribunal in the hague, slobodan praljak said he rejected the verdict and drank what he said was poison.

our middle east editorjeremy bowen, who testified at the tribunal about his experiences reporting the conflict, has the story. his report contains some distressing images. slobodan praljak and his co—defendants were being told their appeals against long jail sentences had failed, when praljak kept standing, to insist one last time that he was innocent. slobodan praljak is not a war criminal. i am rejecting the court ruling. he drank from a vial of liquid. i have taken poison. the court, dealing with its final case after 25 years, was stunned. don't take away the glass that he used when he drank something. the emergency services arrived. praljak died later in hospital. in 2007, i was a prosecution witness in the trial of praljak and his co—defendants in the hague.

he cross—examined me, outraged that he was being prosecuted for, as he saw it, doing his duty. i testified because in 1993, in the depths of the bosnian war, i had seen what they had done in mostar, in the south of the country. this was the 400—year—old ottoman bridge, then under fire from praljak‘s forces. it was a symbol of the old bosnia that they wanted to dismantle. the destruction of the old bridge wasjust one item on a long list of war crimes. in 1993, bosnian soldiers who were besieged on the east side of mostar, along with thousands of civilians, were fighting back against bosnian croat forces led by slobodan praljak. he was convicted of the murder of civilians, men like frano pavlovic. with his wife and his neighbours,

i tried to help him, but he was already dead. civilians were dying because praljak and his co—defendants were trying to establish an ethnically uniform state for bosnian croats, which the court decided was a joint criminal enterprise. their war crimes included the persecution of civilians, mainly muslims, they wanted to kill or expelled. at night, i saw civilians under fire being forced over the front line into east mostar. these pictures were evidence in praljak‘s trial. i heard many first—hand accounts of murder, rape and ethnic cleansing at the hands of bosnian croat forces from the traumatised people arriving in east mostar. after the war, the old bridge was rebuilt, but mostar and all of bosnia herzegovina is still divided on ethnic lines. at least the victims, thousands of whom appeared in the hague, have had somejustice from the international criminal tribunal for the former yugoslavia.

its work to convict the worst war criminals europe has seen since the nazis should not be overshadowed by the suicide of slobodan praljak. british ministers are expressing confidence they can break the deadlock in the brexit talks with an improved financial offer. it's understood to be around a0 to 50 billion euros. but the eu still says that no final agreement has been reached. the kind of sum being mentioned would be a considerable increase on the amount previously offered by theresa may's government, as a so—called brexit divorce payment. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg has more details. there is no substitute for personal diplomacy. the prime minister the first major leader to visit iraq since so—called is were driven out of mosul. thousands of miles away, dealings between westminster and brussels mean a broad offer

to settle the uk's accounts has been hypothetically agreed. we are still in negotiations with the european union, and i'm very clear that i want us to move together onto the next stage. of course, we're working in the lead—up to the december european council. i want to see us able to move on to the trade talks and the security talks, but it means us moving together. surely a bill of around a0 to 50 billion euros is too much for brexiteers, who promised we would get money back. well, after months of haggling, and handshakes, and frankly, changes of heart, the cabinet is pretty much on board. the prime minister is going to go forward to the december european council with, i think, a very fair offer. now‘s the moment to get the whole — the ship off the rocks, and move it forwards. the hope is that, with more hypothetical cash on the table, talks about trade can start next month. reporter: do you think the brexit

divorce bill is too large? but nothing is final, so no minister will publicly give an official seal of approval. nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, about this whole package. but we accept that there are obligations that we've built up, and we'll meet them, as the prime minister has said. weren't we all told there would be plenty of money back if we voted to leave? well, it seems the eu has won the argument, that the bill to settle our accounts runs into the tens of billions — whether paying for long—term projects we have already signed up to, or the pensions of brussels staff in years to come. in the bigger picture, around a0 billion spread over many years is not big bucks for the government. so the anger you might have expected in there didn't really explode. if we are going to negotiate the comprehensive new trade agreement with the european union, which we need for future jobs and prosperity, we do need to be seen as a country which can be trusted to comply with the deals we reach. so will my right honourable friend guarantee that there will be no

legally binding commitment to spend money until our partners do agree to a serious free trade deal? she should not pay more than we owe, mr speaker. but she should be confident that, whatever that is, it's a bargain against the cost of staying in. reporter: do you welcome britain's decision to pay more, mr barnier? is it enough? we are still working. the eu chief negotiator in no mood to declare it is done. the final details of the bill will not be agreed for some time, and a deal to move onto the next phase of talks could still be scuppered by disagreement over the irish border or the european courts. "we're still waiting for more from london," he said. "we are not there yet." after months of european hard talk, and sticking together, britain has moved significantly towards their version of what we have to pay — the government finding little success, perhaps, in the brexit talks, in trying to stay out ona limb.

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the shipping forecast — celebrating 150 years of a british institution it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i am feeling so helpless, that the childrens are dying in front of me and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippy cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people, in los angeles. at 11:00am this morning, just half a metre of rock

separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands with and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite number from dover. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: donald trump has hit back at the british prime minister following a spat over controversial tweets by the us president. following the latest north korean missile launch, the us ambassador to the united nations has warned the north korean leadership that it would be utterly destroyed if war broke out. just over two weeks ago, the zimbabwean army moved into harare, in what has been seen as a military coup. president robert mugabe was soon out of office,

but it was unusual in that the army did its job peacefully. 0ur correspondent gabriel gatehouse has been in zimbabwe, piecing together what exactly happened over the few days running up to president mugabe's departure from office. he's been speaking to the man who's been called mugabe's confessor, fidelis mukonori, who acted as a mediator with the generals. the events had been very fast. i was phoned by the secretary and minister of information. he said, father, something has happened this morning. ajesuit priest and close personal friend of many years, when the generals made the move they asked father fidelis to attend. he was sober and sombre as anything.

there was no sign ofjitteriness or over—excitement or anger. the generals had drawn up a list of demands which centred around the reinstatement of the exiled vice president, emmerson mnangagwa. the main one was we will not accept the legacy of zimbabwe, the legacy of robert mugabe to be drained out or to be fizzled out by opportunists. after finishing the meeting with the commanders, i drove to president mugabe's residence. they call it the blue roof. and we read the points one by one. what was his reaction? i have known robert mugabe as a guerrilla, fighter, and leader. he never loses his calmness.

not everyone who was at that first meeting remembers things going quite that smoothly. two people with knowledge of the conversation told us that robert mugabe said to the generals, "you can go to hell." "you can kill me if you want to." and perhaps after 37 years in power that is a more plausible reaction. this was no revolution. the soldiers on the streets heralded an internal battle within zanu—pf, the ruling party. mnangagwa and the military had gained the upper hand. grace mugabe and her supporters were losing their grip. the tables had turned. from exile in south africa, emmerson mnangagwa sent a message to fidelis mukonori, he wanted to speak to robert mugabe. i called him on my cellphone. i said i am standing next to the president.

he also wants to speak to you. the two spoke for exactly ten minutes. mnangagwa had accused grace of attempting to poison him. now he told his former boss... he said, i had to leave the country for fear of my life. and that is why i left the country. he wanted me to come back. i love zimbabwe. indeed i will come. so the president said, "please, please, come, come. come right away." that was on the friday. by the weekend, people were coming out onto the street calling openly for robert mugabe to go. these were scenes unthinkable just a few days earlier. on sunday, robert mugabe addressed the nation. everybody expected him to resign, but still he clung on. by the following tuesday, the 21st,

parliament had begun impeachment proceedings and the game was up. now the combination of political acumen and intimidation that kept him in powerfor so long and finally failed him. father fidelis was there when he was presented with his resignation papers. he read them and he took his pen and signed. and when he finished signing, he has faced just... calm. it glowed. as if to say, it is over. american airlines is facing a shortage of pilots over christmas after a computer glitch gave too many of them time off. an estimated 15,000 flights don't have an assigned pilot due to the software error. pilots are now being offered more

money to cancel their holiday plans and work the shifts — american says it expects to avoid cancellations. what's believed to be the longest—running weather forecast of its kind in the world, celebrates its 150th anniversary on thursday. the shipping broadcast goes out a times a day on bbc radio and it provides weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the united kingdom. this year marks 80 years since the bbc began broadcasting the shipping forecast. bbc weather presenter sarah keith—lucas reports. archive: there's a chance that leaving those seasickness pills at home was a mistake. the weather impacts the power of the ocean... the shipping forecast for the next 12 hours. a disturbance near the hebrides... and after a major storm back in the mid 19th century that led to hundreds of deaths and the loss of dozens of ships, the shipping forecast was introduced. like then, today the forecast is a vital tool that saves lives at sea,

and the rnli say that forward planning is the key to safety on the water. we want people to respect the water as much as possible. it's particularly important for small boats and for vessels who may not have computerised apps available. the traditional use of the shipping forecast through the radio is what they have as their forecasting model. that crucial forecast data is produced daily, here at the met office. there was just a feeling that there was too much risk of loss of life. catherine ross, the chief archivist, showed me the very first weather charts from 150 years ago. what they did, rather cleverly, was basically put pins through the paper, and so you can kind of see just about these little pinpricks here, and that meant they were always plotting the same information in the same place. and you can see how they changed from having no maps to very detailed maps, and it was known as the storm warning service to start with, but it became known as the iconic shipping forecast. before radio broadcasts, storm warnings were communicated

by using drums and cones hoisted up masts. it is a complex job to forecast accurately what the weather will do. and, of course, technology has dramatically changed over the years. they've even got computers to do some of the figuring out. computers were first used in weather forecasting in the 50s, had have become much more sophisticated ever since. humber, west or south—west, five or six, occasionally four later. the shipping forecast is not just for mariners, but it also listened to by hundreds of thousands of us every day on radio a. south—west, five to seven. 0ccasional rain, good, occasionally moderate. and that's a flavour of the bulletin which is broadcast four times a day. however you get your shipping forecast, it is still essential, and its melodic and rhythmic qualities mean it remains an iconic sound of british radio. sarah keith—lucas, bbc news. moderate or fresh, extensive fog. weather outlook similar. washington, dc, is a city

is full of speechwriters, but only a select few can say they've written for the president. david litt is part of that club. he helped craft president 0bama's words for nearly five years and, while he covered a range of weighty issues, his specialty was comedy. with a new memoire out, he told us what it was like turning the commander in chief into a comedian in chief. i remember the first day i walked through the gates of the white house, thinking, wait a second, they are actually going to let me in? my name is david litt, i was a speechwriter for president 0bama from 2011—2016. i am now author of a book — thanks, 0bama: my hopey, changey white house years. i came to washington, dc with what passes for a comedy background. i did improv in college. it was nice to have a niche. in 2012, i became the token in—house funny person the white house. good evening, everybody, welcome to the white house correspondents' dinner comedy night when washington celebrates its self.

when my speeches came up, i got to punch above my weight class a little bit and take responsibility on a speech i otherwise would not have gotten if it were more serious. my name is barack 0bama, my mother was born in kansas, my father was born in kenya. and i was born, of course, in hawaii. i can remember with each of those jokes at what internally i was feeling when the president read them. you feel that you live or die in that moment. if he liked a joke he would add a little something, he would add a little or adlib a line. republicans are sorting out what happened in 2012. one thing they all agree on is they need to do a betterjob reaching out to minorities. and, look, call me self—centred, but i can think of one minority they could start with. hello...

in the 0bama administration, humour was a chance for us to tell a little bit of truth about washington that we would not have got to tell otherwise. the most important think that a politician the most important thing that a politician can do when they telljokes is to be self—deprecating, especially in a democracy, to recognise that they are extraordinarily powerful, but also they are a human being, they make mistakes. some people still say i'm arrogant and aloof, condescending. some people are so dumb. laughter. no wonder i don't meet with them. you hear this thing that started as a thought in your head become the president's words. that was just a magical transformation. it still boggles my mind thinking about it or writing about it. you were watching bbc news. hello.

milder, well, less cold air will be with us for the weekend but with that, lots of cloud around. many of us in the day ahead will have sunshine and arctic air around high pressure to the west and low pressure to the east. arctic air, of course, it is very cold. widespread frost to start thursday. icy patches where we have had showers overnight and these are town and city temperatures. of course, it is colder in rural spots. the coldest parts of northern england and scotland will be down to about minus six or seven as the day begins. as many of us will start with some sunshine, we have sleet and snow showers affecting north—northeast scotland. down eastern coastal parts of england — as far south as norfolk. rain showers mainly for northern ireland. a bit of sleet to the hills. a scattering of these sleet and snow showers north—north—east scotland, but along the east coast, some of the showers will have pushed a little bit further inland so some accumulations in places like the hills to start the day. mainly rain showers western parts of wales, cornwall, west devon, sleet and snow to the highest ground. cold, frosty, clear start

to the day for most of us. sleet and snow showers along the coast and just inland across eastern parts of england. driven in by a strong — gale force wind here, showers continue for west wales, the far south—west of england. showers dotted about northern ireland and northern scotland. across much of southern england, the midlands, wales, north—west england, south—west scotland, will have sunshine, but another cold day. colder still when you factor in the wind. especially where it is strongest across the north sea coast. a subtle change of wind direction thursday evening and night, more of these sleet and snow showers pushed further inland, again, giving accumulations in place is especially on hills. 0ut west, we stay mainly dry. a lot of clear, cold weather. quite a hard frost particularly across parts of scotland as we start off on friday morning. some sleet and snow showers, some accumulations to parts of eastern england on friday.

a lot of the showers turning to rain or sleet as we go on through the day. a lot fade to allow some sunshine to come through. a change for scotland and northern ireland as it clouds over from the north—west and a bit of patchy rain and hill snow starting to move in here. that is a sign of the change coming in for the weekend as this weather front moves through. we change the wind direction back to more from the atlantic rather than the arctic. that will be a change in the feel of the weather. less cold, milder air, moves in for weekend. as i mentioned earlier, it will come with plenty of cloud. this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump has said the british prime minister, theresa may, should pay more attention to destructive radical islamic terrorism taking place in britain rather than criticising him. the tweet came after britain said donald trump had been wrong to retweet inflammatory anti—muslim videos posted by a far—right group. the us ambassador to the united nations, nikki haley,

has warned the north korean leadership that it would be "utterly destroyed" if war broke out. speaking at an emergency meeting of the un security council in new york, she called all countries to cut their diplomatic and trade ties with pyongyang. the former bosnian croat general, slobodan praljak, has died in the hague, after drinking poison during the final hearing of the international criminal tribunal for the former yugoslavia. praljak swallowed the liquid after the presiding judge affirmed his original twenty—year sentence. now on bbc news, hardtalk.