welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the world. i'm duncan golestani. the british foreign secretary will meet the president of iran on sunday. her husband gives the visitor a cautious welcome. it can only help improve relations and improved relations can only lead to a better case for us. as palestinians continue to protest, arab foreign ministers urge the us to abandon its decision to recognise jerusalem as israel's capital. barack says its war against the so—called islamic state is over, but has warned that the group poses a threat from across the syrian border. —— iraq says. and thousands in france say goodbye to their rock vnv in france say goodbye to their rock ‘n‘ roll legend johnny hallyday. hello, and welcome to bbc news. the

recherche foreign secretary, boris johnson, will meet the president of the rhine on sunday. —— british foreign secretary, boris johnson, will meet the president of iran. borisjohnson is expected to bring up the imprisonment of the british iranian woman, nazanin zaghari ratcliffe. mrjohnson has already had discussions with the iranian foreign minister. our diplomatic correspondent james robbins reports. it could look routine. borisjohnson and his iranian counterpart, mohammad javad zarif, shake hands on the way into talks. but there's nothing routine about this encounter. the foreign secretary looking uncharacteristically tense, and with good reason. he wants to improve relations but also criticise some of iran's actions while arguing

for iranian prison releases, including of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe — a case many accuse him of damaging by loose talk last month. watching anxiously with me in london, nazanin‘s husband, richard ratcliffe. he has campaigned day in, day out for her freedom since nazanin‘s arrest in april last year. i'm sure it'll make a difference, i'm sure him being there, i'm sure him raising her case, raising her case in the context of lots of other stuff can only help improve relations and improved relations can only lead to a better case for us. i think that's right, but i'm not expecting that on monday morning he comes back with her on the plane. borisjohnson is saying nothing at all publicly while in iran. instead, the foreign office issued a statement after two hours of what they call a constructive meeting. they discussed the full range of bilateral issues and they both spoke frankly about the obstacles in the relationship, including the foreign secretary's concerns about the consular cases of british—iranian dual nationals. both emphasised their commitment to continuing to work together to improve the bilateral relationship.

one good sign — iran's foreign minister confirmed borisjohnson should be able to meet president rouhani tomorrow. yeah, he's reciprocating your hospitality. something that is not automatic on a visit like this. the talks went on for two hours. positives and negatives in relations were fully aired. we shouldn't expect immediate consequences but iran is in no doubt about british efforts to get nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe home. singing christmas carols this evening in london, richard ratcliffe and supporters have been gently keeping up the pressure to have the family reunited. he says he was not able to sleep last night and may not find rest tonight either, before the talking in tehran resumes in the morning. james robbins, bbc news. it has been reported the palestinian president, mahmoud bass, will not go ahead with a planned meeting with the us vice president mike pence. ——

mahmoud abass. it follows a decision by donald trump to recognise jerusalem as israel's cap for. —— capital. palestinian protesters have been involved in further clashes with israeli security forces. a display of grief and anger. funerals were held in gaza for two people killed in israeli air strikes last night. the islamist group hamas said that the men belonged to their armed wing. weapon stores and a base run by the militant group were targeted, said israel. a new round of hostilities between old enemies. israel said three rockets were fired from gaza last night. one landed in this southern israeli town. there was minor damage but no casualties. further disruption took place in jerusalem as palestinians continued to vent their anger at president trump. police broke up protests before they gained momentum. and for a third day in the occupied west bank, protesters threw stones

and burned tyres. israeli troops responded with tear gas in bethlehem and palestinians answered back. the clashes since mr trump's statement onjerusalem has so far not matched the scale of previous escalations in violence this year. but people here remain wary and diplomatic relations between the palestinian leadership and the white house are under severe strain. president trump appealed for calm and moderation. his critics point to what has happened here in the three days since his announcement and say he has stoked precisely the opposite. many israelis continue to praise his move, but it comes at the cost of increased tensions. tom bateman, bbcjerusalem.

arab foreign ministers meeting in cairo have urged the united states to abandon its decision to recognise jerusalem as the capital of israel, saying the move would increase violence through the region. in a statement, the arab league called us president donald trump was mac announcement "egg dangerous violation of international law which had no legal impact". the prime minister of iraq has declared that the war against the islamic state group is over. haider al—abadi said the iraqi flag was now flying across the whole country. there'll be a public holiday in the country on sunday in celebration. at the height of its strength, the militant group controlled a third of iraqi territory, and proclaimed a caliphate. recapturing mosul, reca pturing mosul, a recapturing mosul, a right‘s second city, was a bloody conflict. tens of thousands were killed and the city

was reduced to ruins. after several yea rs of was reduced to ruins. after several years of fighting against so—called islamic state, a raqqa is declared the war over. speaking from baghdad, the war over. speaking from baghdad, the prime minister said government troops were now in complete control of the iraqi syrian border. this announcement comes days after russia declared it had accomplished its mission against is in syria. translation: i thank all the countries, as well as humanitarian and international organisations, which stood with iraqi and its people during this battle. i salute every iraqi fighter who took up arms to defend our land. i salute the souls of the marchers and those injured, and their families souls of the marchers and those injured, and theirfamilies to preserve the iraqi and its people. barack survived united and victorious. —— iraq survived united. just over three years ago, at its peak, is seized large swathes of syria and erupts tried to impose rule over 10 million people. now it has been suffering a series of defeats, losing mosul injuly, and

its de facto capital of raqqa in syria last month. but the allied victory has come at a huge human cost. translation: victory has come at a huge human cost. translationzlj victory has come at a huge human cost. translation: i can't find my family. where are they? where have they gone? thousands of civilians have fled as fighting intensified. the united states has hailed the end of what it called the vile occupational barack, while the british defence secretary congratulated iraqi security forces but warned the fight was not yet over, as isis could still plan and inspire further attacks from across the syrian border. —— what it called the syrian border. —— what it called the vile occupation of iraq. police in sweden have responded to reports of an apparent attack on a synagogue in gothenburg. the exact sequence of events is not clear. there are reports that several masked individuals were involved. burning objects were reportedly thrown towards the building. president trump has visited a new

civil rights museum in the state of mississippi in the face of a boycott by critics who accuse him of deepening racial division. two democratic party, as many who pulled out of the ceremony and jackson described his residence on the opening day as an insult. —— is presence. opposition parties in honduras have formally demanded the annulment of last month's presidential election — a poll which triggered street violence, amid allegations of widespread vote—rigging. the electoral authorities are accused of tampering with the results in favour of the incumbent, juan orlando hernandez. he has been declared the winner by a narrow margin. the main opposition contender is calling for either a new vote or a full recount. he initially led counting by five points but was eventually overtaken by president nando's after a series of glitches affected ile aux tourtes court's computer system. a partial recount

is under way but the opposition has made it clear that will not be enough. translation: what we are questioning is a total recount. meaning the annulment of the election's vote counting. we need all the evidence in the hands of the electoral tribunal. honduras, all the evidence in the hands of the electoraltribunal. honduras, an impoverished central american nation with one of the world's highest murder rates, is polarised and facing political uncertainty. it has now waited two weeks to find out who will be its next president. teenage migrants in italy are attempting dangerous night—time crossings over the alps, in a desperate attempt to reach france. almost 2000 people have made the crossing sincejuly, almost 2000 people have made the crossing since july, according almost 2000 people have made the crossing sincejuly, according to a local charity. any have come from migrant camps in italy, described as overcrowded and under resourced. —— many. lucy williamson has been to the alpine village of nevache, the

main crossing point into france. after dark, alain and sylvie become a nightly mountain rescue team, walking the alpine passes that act as migrant gateways from italy into france. tonight, they found these six young men, half frozen after walking through the alps. this ghostly picnic their first taste of france. the clothes that carried them from west africa, eritrea, afghanistan, dangerously thin for the alpine snow. it is a good sign if you can still move your hands. i am finding it a little bit difficult, a little bit difficult. because snow and mountains and night, everything is dark and then we discovered we had snow. also up on the mountain tonight, the border police. in seconds, the migrants melt away into the trees. a police search turns

up only one of them. mamadou took the same path across the alps last year. by the time he was rescued, his feet had frozen. both had to be amputated. translation: i used to be athletic. i played football, i had threejobs. now my life is over, as if i were dead. it's all overfor me. france has been tightening controls on its border with italy but mountain guides here on the french side say the number of migrants making their way across alpine passes has jumped sharply in the last few months. and that many of them are unaccompanied minors. at the makeshift migrant centre in nevache, staff say minors make up more than half the admissions. many, like 15—year—old sheik from ivory coast, left migrant camps in italy, determined as a native french speaker to make a life in france. translation: my older brother died on the way to europe but thank

god i've arrived in france. i want to have a better future and go to school. my mother is dead and i have no support. nobody left back home. as temperatures drop, there are fewer migrants arriving here each night. but those who do are in a worse condition. some unable to stand. each one a reminder in this tranquil ski resort of the mountain europe needs to climb. lucy williamson, bbc news, nevache. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, thousands of fruit bats descend on a rural town in australia, but its residents say they are now a plague and a threat to public health. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building, in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here standing in more or less silent vigil. and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended

at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former president of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila. she's facing seven charges of tax evasion. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: britain's foreign secretary, borisjohnson says he's had frank talks with his iranian counterpart

in tehran over the case of a british—iranian woman being held in prison there. as palestinians continue to protest — arab foreign ministers urge the us to abandon its decision to recognise jerusalem as israel's capital. tens of thousands of people have filled the streets of paris for the funeral of the singer johnny hallyday who died on wednesday at the age of 7a. he had a career lasting nearly six decades and touched the lives of generations of french people. our correspondent, hugh schofield sent this report. for nearly 60 years, johnny hallyday sang his songs to the french and today, in paris, they came to bid him goodbye. tens of thousands of fans, many of them from the older generation, people who grew up to his sounds in the happy, optimistic days of the ‘60s. for france, johnny was le rock'n'roll. he was the first here

to open their ears to the thrilling new music coming from the united states. america was his obsession. america and motorbikes. hence the escort of hundreds of bikers for his funeral cortege down the champs—elysees. translation: let him rest in peace and wreak havoc up there. let him sing, let him get it going and let him open his heart up there, surrounded by family and friends. stars of music and screen, political leaders past and present — all there for the funeral service inside the madeleine church. for the french, johnny was their rock hero. the man who, for half a century, was always there with new songs, more performances. with his death, people really do feel that part of the nation's life has gone. hugh schofield, bbc news, paris. it's 50 years since a discovery that helped found the modern conservation

movement. in 1967 an american biologist figured out that whales could sing. this idea came at a time when whales were being hunted almost to extinction and most people knew nothing about them. dr roger payne's been telling his story to witness. the first time i ever went swimming with a wail that was singing, it was at incredible experience, it is com pletely at incredible experience, it is completely shattering. it feels like when you get close to one that something has put at ten is on your chest and is shaking you and tell your teeth rattle. my first thought was, i wonder if i can stand this. i wonder if this is actually going to

kill me somehow. bet she blows! harpoon grenade is higher. back into the 19505 and 605, nobody, a5 harpoon grenade is higher. back into the 19505 and 605, nobody, as far as i could tell, knew much of anything about wales. there was no whale watch industry, there was no 5ave the wales movement. —— whales. watch industry, there was no 5ave the wales movement. -- whales. the modern way is far more humane. a few people knew that whales were over hunted. the entire whaling industry. some of it goes to japan and russia for food. it was back in 1967 that i

met a great friend who played a sound to me of humpback whales. it was the most beautiful thing i had ever heard from nature. and 5lowly, 5lowly, 5lowly, i realised, imac, my god. this thing repeats itself. —— oh. when an animal repeats itself and does it in a rhythmic fashion, you say, by definition, it is singing. whether it is a bird or a frog or a cricket or a data or a wail. you might get a sound —— bat. he might get a sound that goes...

makes whale noises. you will hear the rhyme at the end of it that was maintained and that will stay in the 5ame maintained and that will stay in the same place among all the other themes in the song and so it tells you the whale has kept the rhyme. i was out in san diego one time, visiting a friend of mine and i played him whale 5ound5 visiting a friend of mine and i played him whale sounds and he was fascinated. he was wanted to make a record of these and he said, we will make it! so we sat down and made a record and we then wrote a booklet that went with it and talked all about wale5 that went with it and talked all about wales and their plight and what was going on and so forth. ——

whales. it remains . the 5ave . the save the wales movement was then born and in many ways, that was then born and in many ways, that was the beginning of the conservation movement —— whales. the whales gave the whole idea of conservation wonderful exposure. a so—called bat plague has hit a rural town in australia, with the large colony of flying foxes out—numbering residents 25 to one. the town of charters towers in oueenland is considering drastic measures to remove the creatures, which are protected by national environment laws. georgina smyth has this report. it's not a horror movie. it's the sky above a small town in australia. just over 8,000 people live here in charters towers and they are overrun by fruit bat5. it is actually the stuff of nightmares.

it is 200,000 bats in and around our cbd, which is horrific for our community. it's likely the fruit bats were attracted to the town's flowering eucalypt trees. but the towns says it is fed up of toxic bat droppings which threaten public health and damage property. we cull kangaroos, we cull crocodiles, we cull other things. the reason we cull them is to keep them at a manageable level so they do not become a menace to society. but the grey—headed flying foxes are threatened, and receive environmental protection across the country. there are large fines for anybody caught harming them. bat experts say the visitors pose no great threat to the public and are likely to move on in a few weeks. realistically speaking it's no great risk to health. hendra virus is something people mention a lot, but in reality that's a problem when dealing with horses, not bat5. how would you feel if your house, and whole neighbourhood,

were put on the market without your knowledge. that's just what's happened to residents of one small village in germany. now the controversial sale has gone ahead at a knock—down price. andy beatt reports. ina quiet in a quiet corner of east germany lies the historic hamlet of alwine. it once served as a wartime training campfor it once served as a wartime training camp for hitler youth. now it is rundown and partly abandoned it still home to 15 people. most are elderly, long—term residents paying low rents. they had no idea their small community was on the market until a forced sale sign appeared a few weeks ago. translation: whoever buys all these houses all is going to buy them, and

you will buy us, too. that's how i see it. none of locals could afford to bid at auction but despite their concerns, the nine houses went under the hammer for little more concerns, the nine houses went under the hammerfor little more than asking price. translation: alwine will be a bargain for the buyer at 150,000 euros. gone are! congratulations. many potential buyers stayed away, scared off by the condition of the buildings and what would be a sizeable renovation bill. what the sole anonymous bidder will do with this small, slightly shabby piece of german history... translation: you can make a christmas which that there is still great scepticism —— wish. christmas which that there is still great scepticism -- wish. amid fears

of evictions and demolition, the auctioneers are at least optimistic. they say the new owner wants to do something good and has alwine's residents at heart. a reminder of our top story. britain's foreign secretary boris johnson says he has had a frank talks with iran's prime minister in light of a british prisoner held there. the charge that she strongly denies. and there's much more on all our top stories — plus business and sport, on our website. just go to bbc.com/news — you'll also find plenty of background and analysis. hello. more disruptive weather on the cards

for the second half of the weekend thanks to ice and snow. here are some pictures from saturday's snow. the second picture is in bradford. some very scenic pictures coming in but the snow may well cause significant disruption through the day on sunday. i first thing in the morning, temperatures as low as —12 degrees across parts of scotland and the rain in the south increasingly turns to snow as it bumps into the cold air. it is through the central slice of country that we see disruptive snow. to the north, ice could be an issue on sunday. the met office has issued an amber weather warning for the snow. particularly affecting parts of mid and north wales, through the midlands and parts of northern england where we could well see 5— ten centimetres and perhaps double that over higher ground. we could see snow out of this area as well but the central

slice is where it will be concentrated. on the southern edge for southern counties of england and south wales, we could see sleet and snow but it is more likely to turn to rain particularly during the day. the winds will be gusting at 60 mph 01’ more the winds will be gusting at 60 mph or more through the english channel and the bristol channel, enough to cause some disruption. snow will be the hazard of further north with icy conditions across northern england, scotla nd conditions across northern england, scotland and northern ireland but here, a return to wintry sunshine although temperatures will struggle to get above freezing in the north but it will turn milder in the south. heading through sunday night, as the sleet and snow gradually eases away, ice becomes a problem again with widespread frost into early hours on monday. during sunday, we turn our attention to this low pressure affecting portugal, spain and france and it could bring strong winds and heavy rain. on the northern flank of that system, we could see heavy rain and a severe gales towards southern and eastern parts of england, something

we are keeping a close eye on. alp we re a cross we are keeping a close eye on. alp were across the country, a quieter date by the time we get to monday. —— elsewhere. a bit of a wintry aspect across the hills and it won't be quite as cold as it has been on the weekend. on tuesday, a quieter day across the whole country. some places struggling to get above freezing, particularly with lying snow but on tuesday comedy standards rain works its way followed with heavy downpours. temperatures milder than the weekend. —— on tuesday, this rain works its way. this is bbc news. the headlines: the uk's foreign secretary boris johnson has held talks in tehran where he's pressed for the release of the british iranian woman nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe. she's accused of working against the regime, which she denies. the foreign office said the discussions had been "frank" and "constructive."

there's been a third day of protests by palestinians in the west bank and gaza after donald trump's decision to recognisejerusalem as israel's capital. arab foreign ministers have urged the us to abandon its decision. palestinian leaders have cancelled a meeting with the vice president mike pence. iraq says its war against so—called islamic state is over. government troops say they now have complete control of the iraqi—syrian border. the group seized large parts of syria and iraq in 2014, declaring it a caliphate, but has suffered a series of defeats in the last two years. parts of north wales, northwest england and the midlands are bracing themselves for heavy snow.