welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: britain's prime minister theresa may sacks her deputy, one of her closest allies, over allegations that he lied about pornography on his work computer. he's calling it "a big, beautiful tax cut" — donald trump gets his first major legislative win as republicans approve the biggest tax overhaul in a generation. we report from barcelona, ahead of crucial elections that could decide the catalan independence debate. we sneak a peek at emma, the so—called ‘snow baby', born from an embryo frozen for a record 25 years. hello. a senior member of the british cabinet has been sacked for breaching the ministerial code.

damian green was deputy to the prime minister theresa may, and one of her closest allies. an inquiry has concluded he made inaccurate and misleading statements about pornography found on a computer in his office. he was also being investigated over claims he behaved inappropriately towards a female activist. this report from our political editor, laura kuenssberg. sharing a joke, right by her side, only hours ago. prime minister... damian green, until this afternoon the second—most powerful politician in the country, his old friend theresa may's deputy in government. not anymore. is it right that downing street investigate you? all the allegations are completely false. thank you. he's always denied doing anything wrong, but number ten asked for an investigation into him after claims from a female journalist that he'd behaved inappropriately to her, and allegations he'd downloaded porn on his computer in parliament. he still denies he had anything to do with the porn that police found when they raided his office

in the commons back in 2008. but the inquiry found, and he accepts, that he wasn't honest when he said he knew nothing about it, admitting his lawyers had been told in 2008, and it was raised again in a phone call in 2013. he wrote tonight... and, on kate maltby‘s belief that he made unwanted advances, the report found it impossible to reach a definitive conclusion. she wouldn't comment tonight, but her family said they were proud of her for speaking out. but mr green wrote... it's not just about the end of his ministerial career, but his closeness to the prime minister.

a friend since university, an ally for a leader who keeps a close circle tight. as first secretary of state, my overall — one of my overall responsibilities is for the oversight of intergovernmental relations within. .. and as a minister, on brexit and other issues, his unofficialjob was keeping the show on the road. the prime minister in black and white tonight, clearly sorry to see him go. she wrote... those affectionate words do not make this an elegant departure. many of his colleagues will be furious on his behalf, but damian green himself has accepted that he was misleading, so the prime minister has lost one of the few politicians she could trust to watch her back. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. a quick roundup for you of how

the uk papers are covering such a high—profile departure from government. "green out" is the front page headline on the metro. the paper notes that mr green has described allegations that he downloaded or viewed the pornography on his parliamentary computer as unfounded. the guardian says this is a huge personal blow for prime minister theresa may. damian green was one of her oldest political allies. she said she was "extremely sad" to have to ask for and accept his resignation. the daily telegraph has a photo of mr green leaving his home on wednesday. the paper points out this is the third cabinet departure in two months, just as the uk government is in a crucial phase of the brexit negotiations. the daily mirror — not normally a fan of the conservative party — says the prime minister is in crisis. "may axes her deputy over porn lies" is their headline. the daily mail has a more sympathetic take on the news, describing it as a "sad way to go".

the paper says the pm is unhappy with the metropolitan police over the initial parliamentary raid and leaks to the media. south korean troops have opened fire at north korean soldiers hunting a defector, who crossed the heavily fortified demilitarised zone between the two countries. it's reported from south korea the troops fired around 20 shots, when north koreans came close to the fence marking the boundary of the dmz. the defector apparently managed to escape when fog covered the area. he is the fourth north korean soldier to defect this year. president trump is celebrating his first major legislative win — both houses of the us congress have passed a bill bringing in the biggest changes to the tax system in three decades. the bill slashes taxes for corporations, and republicans say it will boost economic growth and create jobs, helping millions of people. democrats argue it will inflate the deficit and mainly benefit rich republican donors. polls suggest a majority of americans disapprove of the changes. we're bringing the entrepreneur

back into this country. we're getting rid of all the knots and all the ties, and we're going to — you're going to see what happens. and ultimately, what does it mean? it meansjobs. jobs, jobs, jobs. but democrats have called the tax bill a "heist". the leader of the party in the senate said there was nothing there for most americans to celebrate. now, we know they're popping champagne down pennsylvania avenue. there are only two places where america is popping champagne — the white house, and the corporate boardrooms, including trump tower. 0therwise, americans have a lot to regret. voters go to the polls in catalonia later, in a key election that could resolve spain's political crisis. pro—independence parties are up against those who want to remain part of a unified spain.

you may remember the country was plunged into constitutional crisis when catalonia's parliament illegally declared independence. that was followed by madrid stripping the region of its autonomy. the bbc‘s james reynolds reports from barcelona. pro—independence supporters are planning a revival... ..and a new strategy. declaring unilateral independence in october simply got their leaders sacked, and even jailed. the deposed regional president, carles puigdemont, now campaigns from exile in belgium. so this time, if they win, they promise no more unilateral steps. if you win, will you make another effort to declare independence? translation: we are the people of dialogue, of agreement. the problem with the spanish

government is that it is extremely weak. the strong come to an agreement, the weak impose their will. this election will test which side is stronger, pro—independence or pro—spain. unlike the disputed referendum in october, this time, both sides will vote. the pro—spain camp wants to use this election to block any more attempts to break away. the most powerful pro—spain voice belongs to ines arrimadas, the local leader of a party called citizens. she addresses her final campaign rally in spanish, not catalan. why do you oppose independence? because ourfuture is inside spain, and inside the european union. we don't have any future outside the european union, and outside our country. because catalonia is our homeland,

spain is our country, and europe is ourfuture. months of crisis are now marked by a single election. vote by vote, catalonia will count its divide. james reynolds, bbc news, barcelona. for the first time in its history, the european commission has threatened a member state with the loss of its eu voting rights. it's started disciplinary measures against poland, accusing the government of undermining the independence of the country's judges. polish ministers have dismissed the commission's actions as politically motivated. ugandan mps have voted overwhelmingly to remove the age

limit for the presidency — so allowing president yoweri museveni to run for a sixth term. they're also reintroducing a two—term limit for heads of state — which means mr museveni could stay in office until 2031. from kampala, catherine byaruhanga. the bill passes. victory is theirs, and they are relishing every moment. uganda's ruling party mps want their leader, president yoweri museveni, to stay in power. and, one by one, they voted to remove age caps for the presidency. we are enjoying peace and stability in northern uganda. it is because of the effort of president yoweri museveni. we cannot, on a technicality, say we should knock him out of the race. this is president museveni at his first swearing—in ceremony, in 1986. he fought a bitter civil war to seize power, and brought hopes for a brighterfuture.

over 30 years later, he has contested in five elections. he says he needs more time to develop uganda. in parliament, those opposed to extending his stay in power were outnumbered, and some say outmanoeuvred. even though age caps for the presidency have been removed, term limits have been reintroduced. museveni could be president until 2031. the opposition says it's likely, because according to them, elections here lack legitimacy. we have broken the hearts of ugandans. it's not that we are afraid of president museveni. what we are bothered about is good governance. what we are bothered about is a free and fair election. this debate has descended into violence on several occasions. fights between mps and with security forces have made headlines around the world. the dust will settle on the decisions made here,

in this parliament. but ugandans are anxious, waiting to see how this country will transition from president museveni's long stay in power. catherine byaru hanga, bbc news, kampala. a baby has been born from an embryo frozen for nearly 25 years — it may be the longest gap between conception and birth since ivf began. the embryo was donated by a family in the us. it's now the first child for a woman who would have been only one when the baby was conceived. andrew plant reports. preparing for christmas in eastern tennessee. but this year, tina and ben gibson have already got the gift they wanted. he was born from an embryo frozen 25 years ago. i never thought that

i would be to have a pregnancy and have a baby. it is such a miracle. the mother is only 26 years old. mum, tina, is only 26—years—old, which means she and her son were conceived within a few months of each other. she and ben cannot give birth naturally, so the national embryo donation centre provided them with an embryo which had been frozen in storage for a quarter of a century. if this embryo was born when it was supposed to be, like, we could have been friends. we could have been friends. he just thought that was so funny. that's been the going joke. it's so crazy. the embryo was donated 25 years ago by an anonymous family and kept in carefully controlled conditions. emma won't be genetically related to her parents, but has become their first child, and a record—breaking baby too. she was chosen for us. they're called snow babies

because of how long they are kept frozen. finally, though, she's nice and warm, and delivered in time for her very first christmas. andrew plant, bbc news. to —— do not go away, much more to come, including this, special report on the potential of vintage and drug. we saw this enormous tidal wave approaching the beach and people starting to run, and suddenly it was complete chaos. the united states troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. the pentagon said the operation had been 90% successful but it's failed in its principle objective — to capture general noriega and take him to the united states to face drugs charges. the hammer and sickle was hastily taken away. the russian flag was hoisted over what is now no longer the soviet union but the commonwealth of independent states. day broke slowly over lockerbie,

over the cockpit of pan am's made of the seas, nose down in the soft earth. you could see what happens when a plane 8 stories high, a football pitch wide falls from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass in the town of shkodra, where there were anti—communist riots ten days ago. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: britain's prime minister, theresa may, sacks her deputy and close ally, damien green, over allegations that he lied about pornography on his work computer. the oil company, shell, is to be put on trial in italy on charges of corruption. shell is charged along with former executives over allegations it paid a bribe in excess of a billion dollars to secure part of a nigerian oilfield.

shell says there is no case against it or its former employees. the bbc‘s business editor, simonjack, has the story. the heat has been a shell since 2011 when they bought a giant oilfield off the coast of nigeria for £1 billion. the company along with current and former employees will face trial on charges they knew that money would end up in the pocket of this man, a convicted money launderer. shell is the uk's most valuable company by far. if you have a pension, you have shares in shell. it pays more dividends than any other company. for them to find themselves in the dock is unprecedented. billions have been stolen from the people of nigeria according to anticorruption campaigners who have pursued this case and today welcomed the fact.

the oil industry is the most corrupt on the planet. shell has never stood trial before. it is vital we see companies like this facing consequences for the actions. this trial can be a watershed. along with eni and shell, 11 executives are facing trial. that includes these two. all defendants deny any wrongdoing. that is the oil refinery... speaking to me earlier this year, the current boss of shell, not implicated, says the case is damaging. stories like these are stories that cast doubt on the quality of the company and its intentions. these are real challenges we have to overcome. i will not deny that the trust society

has in big companies, certainly oil, is low. and i think we need to face that. if found guilty, the companies could face large fines and exclusions from lucrative contracts. individuals could face up to 10 yea rs individuals could face up to 10 years injail. it is rare for cases like this to make it to trial. this one starting malign on march five. —— milan. bbc news. the acute volatility in the value of the digital currency bitcoin does not pose a threat to global financial stability, according to the bank of england governor. bitcoin is traded online of course, unregulated by any authorities. it's rocketed in value in recent months. current value, around $16,000. but some are warning the bubble is set to burst, as our tech correspondent, rory cellan—jones, explains. his report contains flashing images. it is either the digital currency which is the future of money or a dangerous bubble built on hype. but the value of bitcoin has soared more than threefold this year. and alessandra sollberger is one of the few people who has made serious money from it.

as you can see, in 2012 it was about $9, that was for around 400 bitcoins. and fast forwarding we are at about $18,000. she's sold a lot of her coins to fund her nutrition business but still has a few. you have a dozen or so, what is that worth? 0ne bitcoin is worth around $18,000, so you do the maths. that sort of story has sparked a gold rush. at this london cafe there is a bitcoin cash machine, you put in £20 notes and a tiny fraction of a bitcoin is transferred to your phone. what happens to you if they all go to nothing tomorrow? i'm holding, i will hold it. i have faith it will all go back up, even if it collapses, i will hold it.

unlike a normal currency, bitcoin is not controlled by any central bank or governments. instead, it depends on a network of computers which all record any transactions. you hold it in what is called a wallet on your phone or computer with a unique address allowing you to send or receive bitcoin. new bitcoin are created in a process called mining involving computers solving increasingly complex problems. back at the cafe, this is one of the very few places you can actually spend bitcoin. actually, as bitcoin soars in value, it is becoming less and less useful as a currency. why would you spend it today when it will be worth a lot more tomorrow, so goes the thinking. so maybe for the same amount of bitcoin next week i could buy two cakes. let's just one reason many are sceptical about bitcoin. david gerard has studied and written about it for six years. it's the irrational exuberance phase of a bubble. this is how economic bubbles work,

people buy because others are, assuming they can always sell it and get rich. when the bubble pops, when, not if, it will be a disaster for many. and ever more energy is used by bust banks of computers mining bitcoin like these in russia. one more reason to wonder whether this financial experiment has a sustainable future. life expectancy across the globe is rising, and scientists are wondering just how long we might live in future. most think we will see gradual gains in longevity but some suggest anti—ageing drugs could allow people to live for centuries. in the last of his special reports on the "super agers." 0ur medical correspondent, fergus walsh, travelled to california and arizona. i like to do things. i don't want to sit in the background. enthusiastic, engaged, optimistic.

lester dray is 101. the oldest resident at this retirement village in sun city, arizona. you're going to miss something if you just moan and groan about how horrible life is. show me your teeth... do you hear a sound? say ahhh... ahhh. he gets regular medical checks, as part of a study into longevity. it's an issue which is attracting interest from unusual quarters. in silicon valley california, some of the biggest names from google to facebook are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into defeating the diseases of ageing. so why are tech entrepreneurs suddenly interested in human health? i think silicon valley is driven by curiosity. i think that same curiosity that drives a 14—year—old to programme computers in his bedroom drives somebody in their 205 or 305 to really apply their minds and their cash to this problem. the dna from the special part of the cell called the mitochondrion...

it's why this british scientist set up in silicon valley. aubrey de grey is probably the world's leading advocate of life extension, the idea that humans can and will live in good health for hundreds of years. there will certainly be no limit on how long people can live once we bring ageing under control. people will still die, there are still trucks to be hit by and so on. but the fact is people will on average live a lot longer unless there's some bizarre thing like we get hit by an asteroid or whatever. that's beautiful! that's a minority view. although extending life is possible in the lab, with fruit flies, yeast or worms, it gets more difficult higher up the evolutionary ladder. so, in the lab, in simple laboratory animals, we can increase life span by100%, 200, 500%, really extraordinary differences in life span. it turns out ageing is really plastic in these simple laboratory animals. it may be more complex as we go over to mammals, the mouse, for example. we've been able to increase life span 20 or 30%. and we really don't know

what's possible for humans at this point. we do know exercise is a magic formula that can keep us healthy longer. and there are no drugs yet to match it. there is probably an upper limit to life expectancy of around 115 years. so, the quest for immortality is still the stuff of science fiction. but increasing our health span, the number of years we spend free of chronic diseases, well that really could be a reality. here we go! # jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock! finding something you enjoy and staying socially engaged are key elements of healthy ageing, like the sun city poms, many of whom are in their 70s and 80s. i'm 78. born on the fourth ofjuly, so i'm still a firecracker, still going and booming. it keeps me physically active,

it keeps my brain working and helps my memory. we just get out there and do what we need to do and enjoy. we can't slow time, but we can put more life in our years, and, hopefully, become super—agers. fergus walsh, bbc news, sun city, arizona. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcmikeembley. hi there. the cold weather that we had

during the first half of december is a long way behind us, and, really, for the run—up to christmas, including christmas day, the weather looks pretty mild. at the moment we've got a weather front wiggling its way across central areas of the uk. extensive cloud being wafted across the uk on westerly winds — those winds are fairly light. and we've got some mist and fog patches around the coast and the hills across england and wales. some patches of light rain and drizzle to start the day as well. a risk of that for northern ireland, for england and wales. slightly drier weather for scotland although the far north again could see a bit of rain. so one way or another, as we start off thursday morning, it's going to be a murky start to the day with fog around the coast of wales and south—west england. up over the hills of the downs and chiltons, a few patches of light rain or drizzle tending ease away quite quickly during thursday morning. some damp weather as well, there or thereabouts in northern ireland. but further north in scotland, for many areas, it's a dry and bright start to the day. high cloud in the sky and there should be some hazey sunshine coming through that across many areas. through the rest of thursday,

this wiggling weather front is going to push its way a little bit further northwards and eastwards. it's just going to stay cloudy for most of us. the cloud perhaps thinning a little bit through the afternoon, to allow brighter spells in the east. but always, the thicker cloud across wales, north—west england, northern ireland, threatening some spots of rain. the brightest weather across scotland but this is where we've got the slightly cooler air. temperatures 6 or 7 degrees in the north. otherwise, for most of us, it's a day of double—figure temperatures. and those mild conditions continue through thursday night and on into the first part of friday morning. the cloud though is going to thicken up then through thursday night. with a bit of rain working in again across wales and southern counties of england, on into the midlands for a time, too. cooler across the far north—east of scotland. then for friday, again, it's a rather disappointingly cloudy kind of weather picture. weather becomes drier and brighter for most of us through the afternoon. with a bit more in the way of wind blowing across the mountains of scotland, it is probably the eastern side of scotland that will have the best of any limited breaks in the cloud. for many of us it's a mild one, though.

temperatures, what, 10, 11, 12 degrees celsius across western areas. that mild theme set to continue as we head into the weekend and indeed for christmas day, with the winds generally coming in from the west or the south—west. to start off the weekend, again, it's a lot of cloud around for most of us. thick enough to give us a few spots of light rain across western coasts and hills. perhaps something a little bit more wet across the north—west of scotland. slightly stronger winds, so again a better chance of seeing some cloud breaks for eastern scotland, running into eastern england and then, right up to christmas day itself, it stays mild, but often cloudy perhaps a little bit brighter for most of us for christmas day itself. this is bbc news. the headlines: the british prime minister's deputy, her close ally damian green, has been sacked for making misleading statements about pornography found on his parliamentary computer. theresa may said it was with deep regret that she had asked him to resign. he has denied wrongdoing.

donald trump's overhaul of the us tax system, the biggest in three decades, has been formally approved by both houses of congress. he's been celebrating his first big legislative win. he says it will boost economic growth and create jobs. democrats argue it will inflate the deficit and mainly benefit rich republican donors. people in catalonia vote later in a key election that could resolve spain's political crisis. pro—independence parties are up against those who want to remain part of a unified spain. the country was plunged into constitutional turmoil in october when catalonia's parliament illegally declared independence. now on bbc news, hardtalk.