hello. this is the briefing. i'm samantha simmonds. our top story: as fewer migrants cross the mediterranean, shocking claims that many are imprisoned, abused, and forced to work as slaves in libya. taking a stand against sexual harassment. stars launch a campaign to support women in the workplace. and storm carmen batters the coast of western france, cutting off power to thousands of homes. it's expected to cause more disruption as it heads east. china bans the import of millions of tons of plastic waste to protect its environment. i'll be speaking to laure cucuron, who helps run terracycle — a recycling firm that specialises in hard to recycle waste. a very warm welcome to the programme — briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport.

and you can be part of the conversation. do you think the sexual misdemeanours in hollywood last year will lead to change in the workplace in 2018? tell us what you think. just use the hashtag — #bbcthebriefing. hundreds of thousands of migrants are stuck in libya after the number trying to cross the mediterranean sea to europe has been reduced by police patrols. a european union policy of encouraging libyan groups to monitor its coastline has reduced migrant travel by 70% since july. however, the un has called living conditions for the majority of african migrants "inhumane". over 5,000 — mainly nigerians — have been repatriated and those returning from libya have told harrowing stories of abuse. in this special report, the bbc‘s stephanie hegarty went to the city of benin in southern nigeria to meet those recently released. walked the streets to the

anti—europe. these two man almost made it, but they were arrested in a boat off the coast of libya and sent to prison. they said when they were no longer needed, they were dumped in the desert, rescued by a man driving by, they will repatriate the nigeria with the help of the un. we spoke to several nigerian migrants, the details of their stories, and each told us of the same horrifying trend. prison authorities leasing or

selling migrants to local businesses as labour. is the new development in as labour. is the new development in a dark and brutal industry in which traffickers and prison officers extort migrants, forcing them to buy their this man was arrested in libya and 2015 and brought to prison. he says the man bought his freedom, he forced into for nothing. after three months, he refused to backin back in prison, he was told he was going to be deported. instead, he was taken to prison for seven months. how many people did you c di

there? almost 20. in benin city, men are being processed by the authorities here. many of them have stories of abuse and mistreatment at the hands of the parties in the libyan detention centres where they we re libyan detention centres where they were held, and at least three people i have spoken to so far have told me they were forced to work for free or sold as slaves. again and again, the prison is mentioned as a place of terrible abuse. it is run by libya's ministry

of interior, which itself is run by two militia groups. libya is in the middle of the civil war and his militia are only nominally under the un wreck most government in tripoli. the libyan interior ministry did not respond to our attempts to set up an interview. the un agency says there are about 7000 african migrants still stuck in libya, they have stepped up attempts to get their citizens home and thousands have been repatriate it in the last few weeks. carrying on told former, those that do come home have to continue the hard work of rebuilding their lives. more than 300 women from hollywood's entertainment industry have launched an initiative to tackle sexual harassment in workplaces. the campaign is called ‘time's up‘, and it includes hollywood stars such as cate blanchett, america ferrera and eva longoria. it is going to provide legal support for women and men who suffer abuse. i'm joined now from los angeles by the entertainmentjournalist,

kj matthews. thank you very much for talking to us thank you very much for talking to us here on bbc world news. tell us about this campaign, they have already raised $10 million towards it, haven't they? it is interesting, we learned about this initiative monday in the united states, it has really been in the works ever since the harvey weinstein scandal broke backin the harvey weinstein scandal broke back in october. there have been actors, agents, producers in hollywood meeting to say what can we do to make sure this trend is lasting? what measures can be put in place? we want to make sure that hollywood understands that things need to change and he was needs to change, so they basically after four

months, came up with an initiative called time's up. time is up, it is time to end the nondisclosure agreements, and they have. so they basically have formal objectives, the first thing to mention is the legal defence fund. so far, it has raised $30 million, hollywood bigwigs have donated a couple of million dollars and what they want to do is use that funds to help women who may be facing sexual harassment or misconduct and reported to their human resources office and have faced backlash. many office and have faced backlash. many of these women do not have money to fight their companies, that is where this legal defence fund will come in help women in the workforce who do not have the money or the power to fight back against this. the second thing they want to do is eliminate

nondisclosure agreements, these are the agreement that many women, who once they report sexual harassment 01’ once they report sexual harassment or sexual misconduct and the company wa nts to or sexual misconduct and the company wants to eliminate them and come up with a settlement, they often agree to pay them a certain amount of money in exchange for their silence, meaning they can never talk about any of the allegations with anyone, ever. many of the women say that when they come forward to report things, they are not aware that there are other women have had the same incidence or been in the same circumstances because of these nondisclosure agreements, so they wa nt nondisclosure agreements, so they want companies in hollywood and all across the world to really get rid of these agreements. the third thing they want is gender parity, they wa nt they want is gender parity, they want women working in hollywood, doing the same exactjob with the same exact qualifications, to be paid the same amount of money as man, and then lastly, they want a lot of the actresses that will be attending the golden globes, which

happens this sunday here in hollywood, to use their red carpet interviews to talk about this new initiative and talk about ways they wa nt to initiative and talk about ways they want to make sure... thank you so much for explaining what this new initiative is all about. you can of course be part of the conversation as well, let us know what you think. do you think the sexual misdemeanours in hollywood last year will lead to changes in the workplace? tellers what you think. —— tell us. storm carmen has cut power to tens of thousands of homes in western france. wind speeds of up to 140 kilometres an hour battered the country's atlantic coast and is moving towards germany. elsewhere, and a deep freeze has settled over large parts of the united states and canada bringing extreme cold, snow and travel disruption. sarah corker reports. 0n france's atlantic coast, the new year was ushered in by the arrival of wild weather. strong winds and rough seas meant seaside cities cancelled traditional new year swimming events.

winds exceeding 140km/h knocked out power to thousands of homes across brittany. this man said the storm was stronger than expected, and had already done some damage to the roof. police say one man in his 60s was killed when a tree fell on his car near the french—spanish border. elsewhere, and across the atlantic, the united states is experiencing a record—breaking arctic cold. from texas to maine, the sub—zero temperatures and snow were unrelenting. at chicago airport, there were long delays. it is brutally cold — i mean, five degrees and below, in the single digits. it was something else. and for almost a week now, parts of canada have been colder than the north pole. niagara falls have

become an icy spectacle. with temperatures falling below —30 celsius, even the penguins at calgary zoo have been moved inside. there's widespread disruption on the roads, railways, and in the air. but for these brave souls in pennsylvania, it's never too cold for a new year's dip. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. police in germany are considering whether to charge a politician from the far—right afd for inciting hatred, after she made anti—muslim comments on social media. on twitter, beatrix von storch accused german police of "appeasing" what she called "barbaric, gang—raping muslim hordes of men." the metropolitan police are investigating the murders of four young men across london, after they were stabbed to death in unrelated attacks in the space of 15 hours. so far, there have been five arrests in connection with the incidents. the mayor of london sadiq khan has said he will "work tirelessly in 2018" to stamp out what he called the "scourge" of knife crime.

air accident investigators in australia say it could take months to establish why a seaplane carrying a prominent british businessman and four members of his family crashed into a river near sydney on new year's eve. richard cousins died along with his fiancee and her daughter. the pilot was also killed, as well mr cousins‘ two grown—up sons. the spanish economy minister luis de guindos has estimated the dispute over catalan independence has cost spain more than $1 billion. he said this was due to the slowdown in the catalan economy after the unauthorised independence referendum. dr stephanie hare is an independent political risk analyst. shejoins me in the she joins me in the studio. shejoins me in the studio. a she joins me in the studio. a warm welcome to you, happy new year. thank you very much for coming in. what you make of this figure, $1 billion? this is obviously going over several months, but it is

hugely damaging to spain's economy. there's only started in october and there have been drumbeats of catalan separatism for a while and it really escalated in october and then we have just had the vote on december 20 one. to have1 billion euros fallout, i would want to see the numbers, and to see if it is actually jobs numbers, and to see if it is actuallyjobs orjust a number of companies... yeah, i suppose we want to put this in context too. this is spain's economy minister, spain has not want to see catalonia breaking away. yeah, i would like to see the catalonian separatist agree with these figures, there is an angle to be played here. political uncertainty does have consequences for economics. it is still not clear what is going to happen. that is

right, it is looking like a really on the issue because the separatists have won the vote in the referendum, so have won the vote in the referendum, so now have won the vote in the referendum, so now what? how do they square the circle? yeah, we will see, won't we? thank you very much. stay with us on the briefing. also on the programme: scotland's bookshop by the sea: your chance to read, relax — and even run the place. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland, we are going to use money we picked up in belgium today, and then we will be in france and again it will be the same money. it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his 0xfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it was good.

you... just good? no, fantastic! that's better. you're watching the briefing. 0ur headlines: new claims that many african migrants are being imprisoned, abused — and forced to work as slaves in libya. hundreds of stars and hollywood insiders have launched a campaign in the us to fight sexual harassment at work. protestors in iran have attacked police stations late into the night as demonstrations across the country entered their sixth day. at least thirteen people have been killed since the protests began last thursday. 0ur correspondentjon donnison has

been following developments. iran has not seen anything like this in almost a decade. the country's leadership underfire in almost a decade. the country's leadership under fire in in almost a decade. the country's leadership underfire in the biggest protests since 2009. people are angry about high unemployment, rising prices and corruption. police stations have been attacked, authorities say one policeman was shot dead on monday. three other officers were injured. in recent days the country's let that president, rouhani, has sought to downplay the protests and their significance saying they were instigated via iran's enemies. translation: al victories against the us and the zionist regime are unbearable for our enemies. our success unbearable for our enemies. our success in the region is intolerable for them. they are out for revenge and trying to provoke people. so far

his words have done little to stem the protest. in the past, to do that, the government has used force. there have been large counterdemonstrations organised in support of the country's leadership. but is the protests enter an sixth day, the message from many iranians is that they want change. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. prepare for rail chaos across london and the uk as protests take place over an increase in railfares. the first scheduled protest is expected at paddington station from 0700 local time. zookeepers at london zoo are readying their clipboards and calculators for the zoo's annual stockta ke. from lions to leaf—cutter ants, they'll all be counted as part of the audit which is essential for zoo license requirements. and later —japan‘s royalfamily will make a public appearance to receive new year greetings from well wishers. the emperor of japan, akihito, and empress michiko will make the scheduled appearance alongside immediate family members.

time now to bring you up today on the latest sports news. this is tuesday's sport briefing. the premier league continues. leaders manchester city are in action later — they and europe's big clubs can register new players from today so watch out for the start of big spending in what could be a huge transfer window. there's a new darts world champion and we even have a father and son duo sent off in the same football game that's making waves on social media. we haven't been saying this much, but pep guardiola's side will hope to get back to winning ways when they play watford at home on tuesday. manchester city's 18—game winning streak in the premier league was ended when they drew nil—nil with crystal palace on sunday. they are still well ahead of their nearest rivals and unbeaten in the league, so still plenty to aim for. when we win we focus on the next,

when we don't win we focus on the next. i said when we don't win we focus on the next. isaid many when we don't win we focus on the next. i said many times it will be a long road and anything can happen in full also we need to prepare our. —— prepared. can harry kane possibly have as good a 2018 as he did 2017? it may not start well — he's an injury doubt for tottenham's game at bottom—of—the—table swa nsea. the semi—finals of the gulf cup take place on tuesday in kuwait city. they've never won it but bahrain start as favorites against 2009 winners oman. the other semi is the united arab emirates against iraq. the uae have won the tournament twice before, most recently in 2013. their opponents iraq last won it — for the third time — in 1988. now in case you missed it manchester united returned to winning ways with a 2—0 win over everton. jose mourinho's side had drawn their past three league

matches and the victory takes them back to second place and ahead of chelsea, although they still trail manchester city by 12 points lovely goals. i think the performance from the team today was great. that helped us to be more confident, shooting, because if you do not shoot you do not score but we did that today very well. liverpool extended their unbeaten run to 16 matches as ragnar klavan struck late for a 2—1 win over burnley. jurgen klopp's side are now six points clear of fifth—placed arsenal who don't play until wednesday. to the nhl where the new york rangers scored a goal in overtime to win the 2018 winter classic 3—2 over the buffalo sabres. the match played in front of almost 42,000 sant miller score a power—play goal to hand the rangers victory at the home of the new york mets baseball team also taking the rangers to a four and zero record in outdoor

regular season games. in darts news rob cross playing in his first ever pdc world championship has shocked 16 time world champion phil "the power" taylor to win at alexandra palace in london. the match was the last of the 57—year—old taylor's career before retiring but cross prevailed with plenty of room to spare in the end beating his english compatriot by seven sets to two. and what might catch your eye on social media? well, we may have a football first a father and son were sent off in the same game. forest green rovers are bottom of the fourth tier of english football. when midfielder charlie cooper was sent off for a foul, his father mark, who manages the club, protested so much that he was also dismissed and sent to the stands. plenty of people enjoying the novelty. you can get all the latest sports news at our website, that's bbc.com/sport. and that's your sports briefing. reading more books is a popular

new year's resolution but how about reading an entire bookshop — while running it at the same time? that's what holidaymakers are being given the chance to do in wigtown in scotland. it's proving so popular it's booked solidly until 2020 and the concept could soon be branching out into asia. our scotland correspondent has been to take a look. between the hills and the sea in south—west scotland is a small town where they like their book, a lot. wigtown is scotland's national book town and among the many bookshops here, one is available to rent for one week at a time. it is run by enthusiasts who wish to be surrounded ibooks while trying their hand at telling some as well. alison drury is a police community support officer, but not this week. instead she is stacking bookshelves and

shifting stock. you are paying for the privilege of running a bookshop for a week. what your friends think of that? a bit of a mixture. some think i'm a little eccentric. it is a strange thing to do. at the same time we have some friends who think it is extremely exciting and a quiet envious and excited for me. to have you enjoyed it? i have. you can tell, can't you ? you enjoyed it? i have. you can tell, can't you? she has free rein. displays can change as too can the promotions. the chance to run a bookshop for a one or two weeks has proven popular. people have come from as far away as new zealand with america and south korea to run the place. one couple on their 80s came in their honeymoon and others like the town so much that they stayed. the shop, which once came close to closure, turned around by those were the dream of running a bookshop and wa nt the dream of running a bookshop and want the chance to test that our.|j think in everyone's life you have

that voice that says what if. we wa nted that voice that says what if. we wanted to give people the opportunity to do with. this is a real virtual reality where you can come be in a bookshop, feel the cold, enjoy the books, enjoy the community and have an adventure along the way. and if those who've come on a bookshop holiday are looking for ideas, wigtown boasts 1a bookshops so there is plenty here to inspire. we love our bookshops and oui’ inspire. we love our bookshops and our books. we even have people coming from far and wide to run a bookshop. imagine that. it sounds like a crazy idea but what a fantastic thing for us, bringing us out into the world and encouraging people to come and share our love for books. that passion for selling books may be spreading. there is interest from a chinese firm looking to open its own version of the open book holiday business. so successful

has this scottish one being, it is booked out for the next two years. does sound like a great holiday. i'll be back with the business breathing in a few we'll have more beijing's ban on waste imports and the impact that will have on recycling in the rest of the world. and tell me what you think about our talking point today. hollywood are launching a new campaign against actual harassment. let us know your thoughts — use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. good morning.

there is some stormy weather on the way for the british isles in the week ahead. quite windy with a hat scales for many of us and some heavy rain to boot. that said, quite a quiet start to the day today. a chilly one as well with clear skies and light winds overnight to temperatures and some spots have dropped close to freezing. a fine start will be limited. this weather front is keen to move in from the west making a wet rush—hour in northern ireland and rain fringing and western scotland. a frosty start, cloud pushing towards northern england and the midlands, early brightness further east. for wales in the south—west of england the wind is already picking up and the wind is already picking up and the rain arrives promptly. the rain will be heavy but it will move through quickly. for the likes of wales in the south—west of northern ireland, it should be an improved picture by mid—morning. the rain across the east at lunch and pushing up across the east at lunch and pushing up through the north sea in the

afternoon. we may see snow for awhile across the high ground of northern scot eight england so bear that in mind. —— northern england. overnight tuesday into wednesday, widespread strong winds, as waves of gales, perhaps severe ones. heavy rain is well and even as this low heads off into the north on wednesday it leaves us with widespread strong wind and a continued risk of gail along with nasty showers. heavy rain, squally winds and hailand nasty showers. heavy rain, squally winds and hail and thunder. a very lively day on wednesday. chilly in the north, temperatures managing to bridge the double figures in the south. for the rest of the week at an orderly queue. here comes our next one for thursday and friday. weather sweeps up from the south—west on thursday. all areas will experience strong winds on friday. again, yet more rain. on

thursday something perhaps drier on the eastern areas but the rain will push across the british isles overnight thursday into friday and then on friday, somewhere underneath this swirling area of low pressure with all areas the rinsing low pressure. that could be rain and chill on friday. hello. this is business briefing. i'm samantha simmonds. cleaning up its act. beijing bans the import of plastic waste. we ask what impact that will have on nations that rely on china to recycle their rubbish. investors focus on the price of the black stuff in 2018, as china edges closer to opening its own market to trade in oilfutures. and on the markets, asian stocks kicked off the new year on a high, led by investors in hong kong. the hang seng saw its highest level in a decade. plenty more on that. we'll get the latest on that from singapore, coming up.