this is bbc world news today. i'm ben bland. our top stories... austria becomes the only country in europe for the far right party in power. brexit negotiations are moving on. eu leaders give the green light for talks to proceed to phase two but warn the next stage will be even tougher. we are able to conclude that sufficient progress has been made. now it's up to us to draft the withdrawal agreement together with our british friends. the united states and north korea trade barbs at a sitting of the un security council in new york, as secretary of state rex tillerson suggests washington could be open to dialogue with pyongyang. and... save the date — prince harry and his bride—to—be meghan markle will wed at windsor castle on the 19th of may. hello and welcome to world news today.

in austria, a coalition deal between the conservative‘s people's party and the far right freedom party has been announced. it paves the way for this man to become the next chancellor. the deal comes two months after the original parliamentary election. it means austria will become the only western european party with the far right party in government. do we expect to see politics in austria shifting to the right?m appears so, yes. we have a government which is conservative and far rightand

government which is conservative and far right and it was noticeable that, during the election campaign, it was dominated by the question of anti—migrant feeling. the freedom party even accused the conservatives of stealing their position when it came to anti—migrants. what lobby interesting to see though is how the two parties have balanced out the ministries. they announced this coalition deal but could not give any details, the two leaders. they say tomorrow they will meet austria's president, who basically give the green light to this coalition to go ahead. they will then speak to the parties. it will be very interesting to see the similarities and differences. we will not get the details of what they agree until saturday, but any kind of ideas as to what the junior coalition party might extract is a price for propping up the government? they have had a very

long coalition negotiation. the freedom party is not that much smaller than the conservative party. one of the things that did emerge a few days ago that we know about is repealing a proposed total smoking ban in austria's restaurants and bars, but we do not know what else they have managed to get. there is speculation that the freedom party may have charged both the foreign ministry and the interior ministry and possibly the justice ministry, but we do not have confirmation of that yet, we will have to wait and see what emerges over the next couple of days. but i think a lot of people will be wondering exactly how the freedom party will in government. sebastien and his conservatives, some people say they will tame the freedom party from its populism, others will say they are

being pushed more towards the right, so being pushed more towards the right, so this will be what the austrians will be watching in the months of removing itself the 27 other eu leaders have officially given the green light for a change in gear, from purely divorce talks to negotiating the relationship to come. the uk hopes that will include a generous trade deal in due course. the british prime minister theresa may has hailed the progress as an "important step" forward. but she still faces differences of opinion in her own government and suffered an embarrassing house of commons defeat on brexit earlier this week. damian gramatticas has more. on a big day for the eu, a barrage of questions. last night, these leaders gave theresa may a round of applause. not very enthusiastically, but it was well—deserved.

angela merkel led that gesture, appreciative after mrs may told eu leaders she wants a smooth brexit. it's what they want, too. the one leader who isn't here is theresa may herself, the leader for whom this matters more than any other, getting the green light in the brexit process, to move to the next stage. and so, the looming question — exactly what does the uk want future ties with the eu to look like? i think the first big step is for the united kingdom to say very clearly what it wants in clear terms. i think if this happens in the next few weeks we can start in earnest and by march we will have a very clear european position. thank you. first, the eu 27 agreed, as expected, sufficient progress has been made. then the discussions turned to the eu's terms for phase two of the negotiations and a new set of guidelines. they say talks will only move

on if all commitments the uk has made so far are respected in full — so no backtracking on the financial and citizens‘ deals. and for a transition, the eu's terms are, the uk will continue to participate in the customs union and single market — so little change — but the uk will not have a part in eu decision—making and will have to accept all the same rules as everyone else including any new eu regulations and be bound by the european court ofjustice. as for the framework for future relations, it is now time for internal eu 27 preparations and contact with the uk. to get more clarity on their vision. as for what the uk wants most of all, in—depth discussions about the future ties, they will have to wait until march, eu leaders said, indicating it is the eu who is firmly in control of the brexit process.

my colleague christian fraser is in brussels for the summit and gave us this assessment of the talks finally came to a conclusion. i think what we take away from this summit is that the eu side really does want to deal with theresa may. they see her as their best chance for a smooth brexit and also they think that, with her, they can ensure that there aren't the same sort of hiccups that we might have seen over the course of the last eight or nine months. let's talk to damian grammaticas, our europe our europe correspondent, about that. is that a broad assessment of where we're at, that they see theresa may as their best chance? well, i think they want a stable prime minister in the uk who can make difficult compromises for the uk because that is going to continue to happen, and who can deliver those. so, that is crucial. there was a real sort of audible sigh of relief in this building today. and it's interesting — the end of this year is actually

quite a good point to take stock because we had the triggering of article 50 at the beginning of the year. all sorts of confusion about what was going to happen. as you said, real down points when it looked like everything might fall apart, and they're back on track and i think that's what matters to the europeans. what do you make of where we're at now in terms of the future relationship? because theresa may's not spelt out much of that, but then perhaps that's not a bad strategy because, if you look at how she's dealt with the first phase, she didn't spell much of that out to her own side, either. well, what i can say, i think, is that the eu side, the messages they've put out, is that they find that quite frustrating, actually, ithink, because they want to know more — they want to engage in this discussion, and i think they feel that the uk side hasn't yet. we know the uk cabinet hasn't yet engaged fully with discussing what the future will look like and the eu feeling, i think, certainly, is that these are really difficult things that have got to be grappled with and that the earlier

the uk does that, the better, because then the eu can engage with what the uk wants and that's what we're going to start to see next year. yeah. having said that, they have all been prime ministers, jean—claude juncker included. some of them lead minority governments, some of them are at the head of weak coalitions. they know how difficult it is to be a prime minister and they're painfully aware of the maths back in the uk. they are, and i think that's an important point, actually, to make. it's an important point to remember in that there's a lot of sort of concern in the uk, i think, watching the progress of legislation through parliament. here, that is viewed as a normal, natural part of this process. every parliament in europe is going to have to look at what happens in this process, what comes out at the end of it, and approve it. so, they think it's fine that the uk is doing the same thing. but, actually, ithink the eu side see that... they don't see that as in any way, i think, weakening theresa may. in a way, i think they'd be glad

of the fact that the parliament will approve something because, as i say, they want a sort of durable outcome from this that works all round, however hard it is to get to that. so, in the new year, they move on to the next part of negotiation. one thing we should just say about the withdrawal process. they are saying in the document that they released today that they expect the withdrawal agreement to be put into a legal text. they want it to be legally binding. and there is still a little bit of work to finish on that, particularly when it comes to citizens‘ rights. they're hoping that that can be done in parallel with the talks about the future negotiation. but that is the situation here in brussels at the end of this eu summit. christian fraser there at the summit in brussels. the us secretary of state says north korea needs to show a "sustained cessation of threatening behaviour" before meaningful talks can begin. rex tillerson was speaking at a meeting of the un security council in new york. mr tillerson also questioned the commitment of moscow, and especially beijing,

in trying to reign in the secretive state's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. there's chinese crude oil flows to north korean refineries. the united states questions china's commitment to solving an issue that has serious implications for the security of its own citizens. recently, the north korean regime has sought to portray un sanctions as harmful to women and children, but this is a regime that hypocritically spends billions on nuclear and ballistic missile programmes while its own people suffer great poverty. the regime could feed and care for women, children and ordinary people of north korea if it chose the welfare of its people over weapons development. let's speak to the bbc‘s nada tawfik who is in new york. many may remember that just on tuesday when rex tillerson was addressing an audience at a think tank event on north korea.

he said the us was ready to enter into talks without preconditions. the white house quickly came out and denied that, saying the us policy had not changed at all and so today we saw rex tillerson toughening his stance there, saying north korea had to earn its rights to get to the negotiating table and they really had to show a commitment walking back its nuclear programme before those talks could get under way. it's interesting because it really echoes a lot of what the us' allies have said. for example, the japanese foreign minister, who presided over this high—level meeting, he said that we shouldn't be conducting dialogue for the sake of dialogue, that these resolutions are very clear, that north korea has to end its programme and there should be no compromise on that front. how did north korea respond? well, it was a rare appearance that we got from north korea's ambassador and he said

that the nuclear programme was a self defensive measure to protect against the united states. he said, if anyone was to blame it was the us, that north korea was a peace—loving country, it was a responsible nuclear power and that, as long as north korea's rights were not infringed upon, no state should be worried about them using their arsenal. rex tillerson hit back at that, saying that the only country responsible and who held the solution to this issue was north korea itself as the aggressor. how did all of this go down with the other members of the security council present? well, the europeans kind of endorsed this maximum pressure along with the diplomacy approach, saying it was important that north korea, that sanctions were implemented and pressure was put on north korea so they could come to the negotiating table. russia and china, on the other hand, again, they feel that north korea

needs to abide by its obligations under the security council resolutions, but they did show concern about the increased rhetoric we're seeing in the region, saying it is unhelpful and could lead to unintended consequences if there's any miscalculation that goes forward. they reiterated their call, this proposal that russia and china have put out, that says the us and japan and south korea should cease military activities in the region in return for north korea stopping their programme. they called for that as a possible resolution to this issue. thank you. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. police in the netherlands have shot and wounded a man who was armed with a knife in the country's main airport, schipol, just outside amsterdam. the main entrance to the airport was evacuated — but has now re—opened. the man is in custody.

there were no reports of other injuries. zimbabwe's ruling party has endorsed the new president, emmerson mnangagwa, as their leader and candidate in next year's presidential elections. the oxford english dictionary has chosen "youthquake" as its word of the year. the word — first used in the 1960s — is defined as a "significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people". it's been used more recently in relation to the effect of young voters on politics in britain, france and new zealand. still to come... the un warns the united states is becoming the world champion of inequality under donald trump. the signatures took only a few

minutes but they brought a formal end to three and a half years of conflict, conflict has claimed more than 200,000 lives. the presence of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border was sealed in silent today. flamini has cut itself off from the outside world to prevent the details of the presumed massacre from leaking out. the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed bill clinton his place in history is only the second president ever to be impeached. austria will become the only western

european country with a far right party in power. the conservatives have reached a deal with the anti—immigration freedom party. britain's drawn—out divorce from the eu seems to be making progress. eu leaders have given the green light for talks to progress to two. england's cricketers will begin day three of the third ashes test in perth. but they will need to dispense with steve smith early on. he is unbeaten 92 and knows victory will secure the series and the famous trophy. if day one of this

test match belonged to england, day two has belonged to australia. not that it seemed that way at first. jonny bairstow reached his century and celebrated by head—butting his helmet, a reference to that infamous incident in a bar in perth. but when milan went for mo, the rest of england's batting collapsed horribly. they lost their last six wickets for 35 runs, 403 all out and will feel they should have gotten a lot more than that. but england's bowlers set about repairing the damage, two wickets for craig overton but than a half—century and 92 not out from captain steve smith turn things around in australia's favour. in the end, it was

australia's day but jonny favour. in the end, it was australia's day butjonny bairstow with that century, these were his thoughts afterwards. it was my favourite one in many ways. i have played in a few ashes series so far. the score and ashes hundreds of something you dream about as a kid. it has eluded me until now. a whole heap of emotions came through. australia will feel they are right backin australia will feel they are right back in this. one of the key men, are battling half—century helping to turn things around, afterwards he said he was surprised by the speed of england's batting collapse. said he was surprised by the speed of england's batting collapsem was not that england have a history of collapsing, we just knew that if we had a breakthrough, the new batsmen would find it tough coming in. leading into the tail, another

wicket, it is never an easy place to bat. a good day for australia. steve smith the captain is very much the key man. 92 not out going into day three. if he gets a big century, australia will still be hopeful of securing a first innings lead and potentially match—winning and ashes winning position. pep guardiola is adamant his manchester city side or not go all season unbeaten. city are 11 points ahead of the english premier league table after a record 16th consecutive win. they play spurs at home on saturday. that belongs to arsene wenger. we will lose games. today's completely different. now what has happened is an exception. that is not normal,

but we have done. the former head of cycling's international governing body has told the bbc the chris froome's adverse drugs test is a disaster for the sport that could use team sky or its credibility too. chris froome was found to have had double the permitted level of an illegal drug in his system. he said he was following doctors' advice. the president said it would be very ha rd the president said it would be very hard for the britain to avoid a ban. a senior un official has criticised the rich and poor gap in america. he says the trump administration's policies could make the situation even worse. president trump has argued that cutting tax will result

in the us economy performing more robust you. let's speak to david willis. what are the other points that mr ulster made? this is a scathing report on the state of poverty in one of the richest nations of the world. the un special rapid tour basically making the point, after spending two weeks here and talking to a local and federal government official as well as poor and homeless people, but the american dream is becoming an illusion, the land of opportunity fast becoming a land of inequality. he makes the point that his visit here coincided with a change in direction in us policy on poverty. the trump administration has proposed a tax reform package making its way through congress. he said, we will make the united states one

of the most unequal societies in the world as far as wealth is concerned and widened the gap between the richest here and the poorest. there isa richest here and the poorest. there is a telling phrase, talking about this notion of american exceptionalism, he says the us has proved itself to be exceptional in ways that are shockingly at odds with its immense wealth and founding commitment to human rights. as a result, contrasts between private wealth and public squalor abound. result, contrasts between private wealth and public squalor aboundlj suppose the counter argument of those who support the tax cuts would say that, if it does stimulate the us economy, then everyone benefits from that. that certainly is president trump's contention. he says this is a tax reform bill aimed at the middle classes, but critics say that the main beneficiaries will be business and the very wealthy. as

a result, the democrats are refusing en masse to support this bill which has been going through congress, and indeed there were further developments today with certain clauses being tightened up and so on. it is expected that legislation to go toa on. it is expected that legislation to go to a vote of both houses next week and beyond president trump's desk for signing before christmas. president trump is not known as a man to take criticism without putting forward his own side of things. has it responded to this report? no response so far, but it will not be favourable if the response comes. we can expect tweeting over the weekend in response to this if it picks up traction here on american cable news outlets. but there is certainly damning stuff in that report. no question about that. not least as well about how the so—called social safety net has basically been eroded

to the point where it is no longer functioning properly and serving those that it is intended to serve him. if you have your diary to hand, you may want to note down saturday 19th of may, 2018. that is the date that's been set for the royal wedding of prince harry and his fiancee, actress meghan markle. the pair announced their engagement last month. they will marry in st george's chapel at windsor castle. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @benmbland. the first half of our weekend. todd

cold and frosty but the second half will bring a change. however, temperatures just below freezing in many places first thing on saturday morning so there will be a frost around and it will be cold but showers to northern ireland and the irish sea in the north—west england and wales to the morning, eventually down the south—west england, here it will stay milder but it will not be a particularly great afternoon with the showers around. plenty of sunshine but temperatures struggling. as we move out of saturday into sunday, a weather front will bring some rain with it. a change of wind direction. milder air pushing in from the atlantic. some of the rain heavily across west facing coasts. it pushes eastwards as we go to the date the rain for all of us at some point on sunday but mild with it, highest values

7-iidc. at ten but mild with it, highest values 7—iidc. at ten o'clock, fiona bruce will be here with a full round—up of the news but first, a special programme, uk city of culture. welcome to hull, britain's city of culture as we review 12 months of cracking events. it has been a phenomenal year with so many photos to look back on. across four seasons, hull took at out of galleries and theatres and into the streets. 365 days of events change the way the city has been seen by the way the city has been seen by the rest of the world. the year has gone by so quick, i

cannot believe it is almost over. i hope these guys get to stay. this is the latest installation for 2017 cold weather we go from here? this is to do with dancing. it's sort of mirrors back to the very start of the year injanuary mirrors back to the very start of the year in january when mirrors back to the very start of the year injanuary when the whole of the city centre was filled with lights and sound. that was amazing. that was how we started the season in hull. 2017 really did start with a bang with 3.5 tonnes of fireworks and

made in hull, a spectacular light show, telling the story of the city and its people. or do you think of the unbelievable display? ipod it was amazing. absolutely fab mirallas. i have got family watching it live now. i am in london. if this was in london, the reaction we would get would be fantastic. it is amazing! fantastic. really moving, very emotional. i am from ozil. this is the same quality as kirkup at cabana. it is amazing. ithink it is meant to really positive year. and the centrepiece of the season called made in hull, something that was a huge wind turbine blades handmade in

the city's siemens factory. it is an incredible 75 metres long and put that into perspective, annabelle is six foot. so why would that the longest 41 times. getting in was a big job. 50 lamp posts, traffic lights and barriers were taken down that four hour journey from factory to city centre. and itjoined the crowds. one in five people who came to see it were from outside hull in east yorkshire. caroline quentin and mark starred in the world premiere of the hypocrite. i spent the last two days going round in a cardboard box which represents commode. for reasons that are too