this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top stories: with m millon people facing starvation in yemen, the united states finally calls for a ceasefire. we are calling on all the parties, specifically the houthi and arab coalition to sweden in november and come to a solution. president trump, his family and advisers, visit the scene of the massacre of "jewish people in pittsburgh. hundreds of protestors say he's not welcome. denmark says it's foiled an iranian plot to carry out an assassination on its soil. losing friends in europe — facebook growth disappoints as it battles security breaches and worries over fake news. and the chinese yuan falls to its lowest level against the dollar in a decade. so will it fuel allegations of currency manipulation? a warm welcome to the programme,

briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. also we want to hear from you as europeans give facebook the thumbs down with a million less logging onto the site every day. we'd like to know what alternative you have found or have you switched off social media? get in touch, just use the hashtag bbc—the—briefing it's one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. the un says 1a million people are facing starvation.

now, united states has called for a halt to conflict in yemen. the secretary of state mike pompeo said, "the time is now. coalition air strikes must cease". that coalition is saudi arabia, supported by the us and other allies. it backs the yemeni government which is at war with houthi rebels helped by iran. russell trott reports. schoolbags splattered in blood and the school bus burnt. more scenes of death and destruction in what has been called the forgotten war. the government called in the saudis for help is what it calls an insurgency of houthi rebels backed by iran. with pressure mounting, those seeking a lasting ceasefire are

asking the question, could this time the different? mike pompeo released a statement calling for a cessation of her —— hostilities. and then this... general mattis, defence secretary, said the two sides should meet in sweden and come to a solution. we are calling on all the parties, specifically the houthi an arab coalition to meet in sweden, in november, and come to a solution. not talk about issues and what time and size of table but talking about the mitchell —— demilitarising the area. the war has been

indiscriminate and lethal. critics and activists say the bombing is causing an unacceptable number of civilian deaths and fuelling a humanitarian catastrophe. we have some breaking news for you — pakistan's supreme court has overturned the death sentence and acquitted a christian woman sentenced to death over blasphemy allegations. in a case that has drawn global attention and condemnation, asia bibi, a mother of four, has been living on death row since 2010 when she became the first woman to be sentenced to death under pakistan's blasphemy laws. she was condemned for allegedly making derogatory remarks about islam after neighbours objected to her drinking water from their glass because she was not muslim. her case has outraged christians worldwide and been a source of division within pakistan, where two politicians who sought to help her were assassinated.

the news is that the death sentence has been acquitted. she has been acquitted. she was sentenced over blasphemy allegations and that has now been ruled by the high court in pakistan. president trump, with several of his family and advisers, has offered condolences at the synagogue in pittsburgh where 11 people died in a mass shooting on saturday. the white house has had to respond to suggestions that mr trump's rhetoric has encouraged a surge in white nationalist and neo—nazi activity, although the alleged gunman was not a trump supporter. somejewish groups and leaders publicly opposed the president's visit, and hundreds of people protested on the streets. our north america editorjon sopel reports, from pittsburgh. awaiting donald trump's arrival,

members of pittsburgh's jewish community gathered outside the tree of life synagogue to sing and to say kaddish, the prayers for those in mourning. the president flew into pittsburgh accompanied by the first lady, but also his daughter, ivanka, who converted tojudaism when she married her orthodoxjewish partner, jared kushner. they first went to the synagogue were the ii worshipers were gunned down and, in the entrance, lit a candle for each of the 11 victims. next, they came outside to lay a small pebble from the white house grounds, and white roses at each of the stars for the victims. the rabbi accompanied them, saying a prayer. and then to the hospital to speak to medical staff and survivors, among them four policemen who were shot and injured as they tackled the heavily armed gunman. in the wake of saturday's massacre, donald trump was unequivocal

in his condemnation of anti—semitism. and he said "we must unite to conquer hate". but his visit is sowing some division in this community. civic leaders and a few left—wing jews are saying he should stay away because of his divisive rhetoric. the rabbi of this synagogue welcomed the president, as did many in the community. but not the group, bend the arc. he has victimised immigrants. he has victimised refugees, he has victimised mexicans, muslims, lgbt community, women, people with disabilities — the list goes on and on. we cannot stand idly by. police radio: shots fired, shots fired! there are terrible stories of tragedy from saturday's shooting, incredible stories of bravery and luck, too. judah samet survived because he arrived late and was parking his car when he heard the gunfire. the second narrow escape of his life. in 1945, as a small child, he was on a train heading to a nazi concentration camp when it was liberated by the allies. it never stops, at least

for me and my family. it never stops, itjust keeps going. but we are survivors. you know, i'm 80 years old. i told my daughter that i am ready whenever. you know, i am not afraid of death. today, the first funerals were held for three of the congregants who were gunned down on saturday — two brothers and a local doctor. families mourning loss, a city in grief and a country wondering where it is heading. jon sopel, bbc news, pittsburgh. facebook revealing its latest numbers showing you serve growth has slowed down. and here in europe it the number of those logging in every day has actually dropped by a million. fiona cincotta, senior market analyst at city index joins me now. you have been looking at facebook‘s

numbers. the shares went up in after—hours trading? numbers. the shares went up in after-hours trading? the shares have had a really hard time of late. we have seen a really hard time and as results came out, they were not that bad, that has been some slow in growth. but it is not as bad as it could have been. there was a sigh of relief from investors who did i in. expectations were growth of 40% and they sought 30% and they are still making many billions every quarter. the results were strong but varies great expectations for facebook. expectations were extremely high and the fangs have been considered in the fangs have been considered in the darlings of wall street —

facebook, amazon.com apple. it has not been the previous outright amazing result so we have seen some sort of nervousness. thank you to now. fiona will be back later for our briefing. we will be getting more analysis in particular about stories that mark zuckerberg is discussing as well. denmark has demanded new eu sanctions against teheran, after it said it had foiled an iranian plot to carry out an assassination on its soil. a norwegian citizen of iranian background has been arrested. the danish intelligence service says he was planning to murder an iranian arab activist living in denmark. eliza philippidis reports. this report has ended weeks of speculation about why denmark shut down bridges and ferries to sweden, on september 28, during a manhunt that mobilised hundreds of police and the military.

that operation was linked to this assassination plot. on tuesday, denmark recalled its ambassador to iran. translation: it is the assessment of denmark's national intelligence and security authority that a foreign country's intelligence service has planned an assassination against a person on danish ground. let me make this very clear, it is totally unacceptable and it is very serious. it is hard to find words that can describe the seriousness of this case that we are looking at. last month police said they were looking at concrete threats against specific individuals. on tuesday, the head of danish intelligence unit said the man arrested is suspected of planning an attack against the leader of the danish branch of the arab struggle movement for the liberation of ahvaz. translation: this is the case that has led to the arrest of a norwegian citizen with iranian background on the 21st of october.

the person in question is now detained in custody. he is charged with having made it possible for an iranian intelligence service to operate in denmark. so far the suspect has denied involvement and iran says these allegations are a conspiracy to harm the developing relations between iran and europe. denmark is out building support with its allies for new sanctions. the danish prime minister met the uk prime minister in oslo on tuesday. he wrote on twitter... the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, has sent congratulations on arresting an iranian regime assassin, while iran is currently dealing with new us sanctions that take effect in november. eu countries, china and russia have so far been committed to working with iran but pressure from denmark and the us

could now change that. eliza philippidis, bbc news. the head of indonesia's military has revealed search and rescue teams may have found, on the seabed, the main fuselage of the lion air plane that crashed on monday, with 189 passengers and crew. details of the plane's flight log, published by the bbc, show the aircraft had technical problems the day before the crash. inspections of all 737—max 8s have been ordered. rebecca henschke has the latest. this is now the grim ritual that is taking place here at the port. these coastguard boats coming in, bringing back what they've been able to recover from the wreckage. it's then laid out here, on the concrete. there's people's baggage, clothes. amongst it also children's items, shoes and toys,

and the wreckage of the plane that they've been able to retrieve from the ocean. also coming on these boats, coming off these boats are body bags filled with passengers that were on that plane. from here, they are rushed to a nearby military hospital, where the families of loved ones are desperately waiting there for news. some have flown in from bangka island, where this plane was headed. they're being told to give dna samples and items of clothing, anything that will help doctors there identify what they're being able to recover from the wreckage. presidentjoko widodo recently visited the site, and the government is promising a full investigation about what took place here. a fact that a new plane crashed in daylight and in good weather, there are many questions about the technical health of that

plane when it took off and lion air is under enormous pressure now. rebecca henschke, bbc news, tanjung priok port, jakarta. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: impossible choices for migrants in bosnia — stay in freezing temperatures or move on and face violent borderguards. indira gandhi, ruler of the world's largest democracy, died today. only yesterday, she'd spoken of dying in the service of her country and said, "i would be proud of it. "every drop of my blood will contribute "to the growth of this nation." after 46 years of unhappiness, these two countries have concluded a chapter of history. no more suspicion, no more fear, no more uncertainty of what each day might bring. booster ignition and lift—off

of discovery with a crew of six astronaut heroes and one american legend. well, enjoying the show is right. this is beautiful. a milestone in human history. born today, this girl in india is the seven billionth person on the planet. you are watching the briefing. our headlines: seniorfigures in the us government have demanded a ceasefire and peace talks in yemen within 30 days. and our breaking news this hour: pakistan's supreme court has overturned the death sentence against the christian asia bibi, who had been convicted on blasphemy charges,

and ruled she should be acquitted. the united nations is warning that migrants will freeze to death outdoors in bosnia during the winter. it is calling on the local authorities to do more to house the people. but nobody wants to stay. they all want to cross into neighbouring croatia, and move north to germany or italy. the journey is fraught with risk, especially if they are caught by the croatian border police. the bbc‘s sana safi has this exclusive report. these men are in a desperate race against time, to leave before winter starts. they want to reach the european union, but the borders are shut. this man is one of 5000 migrants who is stuck here —— stuck here in bosnia. he has been on the road for three

yea rs. he has been on the road for three years. he says he fled violence at home in afghanistan, but also faces it here at the hands of the croatian border police. most people in this camp have a similar story to tell. the mood can change in an instant. people are struggling to survive, and risking everything to play what is called the game, and reach europe. migrants are also living in a field close to the border, exposed to the elements. this man is from morocco, and returned from the border with these injuries. his scars have healed a little since then. he wants to reach italy, but is too

frightened to risk another crossing. we have also obtained footage of severe beatings. this man from north africa has marks all across his back. women can also be targeted, though it's normally young man. the united nations is calling for an investigation. sometimes when migrants asi investigation. sometimes when migrants as i was beaten up by croatian border police, it may be that he was beaten up by another migrant, but there are enough stories that would warrant an independent enquiry. croatia com pletely independent enquiry. croatia completely denies the claims. the interior ministry says it does not support any form of violence or intolerance from police officers. so these men are faced with a choice.

survive when temperatures dropped below freezing, or risk getting badly beaten when trying to enter the european union. all the young men say there is no going back, and no giving up. let's take a quick look at some news events coming up later on wednesday. the first scheduled flights are due to depart from istanbul's giant new airport this morning. just a few domestic flights are involved, because of delays in finishing the construction project. the eu's statistics agency will release october inflation data for the eurozone, a day after it revealed that economic growth was at its slowest rate in four years. and nato and russia will meet for talks in brussels as fears grow of a new arms race, with the us vowing to ditch a cold war weapons treaty. now it is time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm chetan pathhak with wednesday's sport briefing.

coming up: real madrid begin life without lopetegui. pakistan prepare to take on new zealand. and novak djokovic marches on in paris. having had less than 48 hours at the helm of real madrid, santiago solari is set to take charge of his first match when the spanish giants take on melilla in the copa del rey. after real‘s worst start in 17 seasons and that nightmare 5—1 thrashing aginst barcelona on sunday, julen lopetegui was sacked the following day. solari takes charge on an intermin basis, and the 42—year—old insists the players will be giving their all. translation: we need to play a game on wednesday, and it'sjust translation: we need to play a game on wednesday, and it's just as important as any other game for this is the chew shing, which always wa nts to com pete is the chew shing, which always wants to compete for every trophy.

let's go and win it with this group of champions, who are hurt by the current situation. that's all, as simple and as hard as that. the world's top t20 nation, pakistan, will face new zealand in the first of their three—match twenty20 series on wednesday in abu dhabi. the hosts have named an unchanged squad. new zealand, who will be hoping to do better than australia, who were whitewashed 3—0 by pakistan in their t20 series, will be without martin guptill, who has been ruled out with a calf injury. pa rt part of the international game, or any sport, really, is that you do have injuries, and people perhaps move on at times, so it's a shame that we don't have martyn for this series. he's obviously a world—class player for us, series. he's obviously a world—class playerfor us, a big performer, but therein lies some opportunities for some other guys. novak djokovic began his bid for a record fifth paris masters title with a 7—5, 6—1 win againstjoao sousa in the second round on tuesday.

the us open champion will play bosnian damir dzumhur in the third round. she already has four olympic golds, and now it is 11 world gold medals. simone biles helped the united states win the women's team title at the world gymnastics championships in doha. it is the first of six possible medals the american superstar could take home, and despite a couple of slip—ups in the team event, biles believes she is in the best shape of her life. ifeel like i'm mentally stronger, and physically stronger, as well, and i know what i'm capable of whenever i step on the mat. what would it mean to get a fifth world title? it's never been done by a woman at the world level. yes, i think it's really exciting, so we'll have to see what happens. finally, it's skydiving, but without the death—defying leap out of a plane.

people liking this on social media. it is the indoor skydiving world cup, held in bahrain at the weekend. competitors fly through various rounds in a wind tunnel, showing off their moves against the clock. there are formation and individual events, including the solo freestyle, where skydivers perform one—minute routines set to music. you can get all the latest sports news at our website. that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, chetan pathak, and the rest of the team, that is your wednesday sport briefing. a recap of our breaking news this hour: pakistan's supreme court has overturned the death sentence, and acquitted, a christian woman sentenced to death over blasphemy allegations. in a case that has drawn global attention and condemnation, asia bibi, a mother—of—four, has been on death row since 2010, when she became the first woman to be sentenced to death under pakistan's blasphemy laws. the supreme court has overturned

that now. we shall bring you more detail as and when we get it. we will be unpacking the news from facebook, and europeans are logging off of facebook, so we are asking what are you doing in terms of social media? irene says i have reverted to twitter, i don't look into facebook every day. quite a few saying they have come off due to the general negativity and bad vibes. we will talk more about that in a moment. stay with us. hello there.

if the cold weather isn't your thing, then you'll be glad to know by the end of the week, and certainly into the weekend, it'll be turning much milder, but also wetter and windier with it, too, so more on that injust a moment. this morning we're starting off again on quite a cold note for many areas. further west, though, we've got these weak weather fronts bringing more cloud, some spots of rain, so here a less cold start. for central and eastern areas, a fairly widespread frost. there'll also be a little bit of mist and fog across southern areas, but at least where you have the frosty start, it should be dry, with plenty of sunshine in central and eastern areas. these weather fronts further west will be producing a little bit of rain, western scotland into northern ireland, and the other one affecting western parts of england and in towards wales. but eastern scotland, central, southern and eastern england should remain dry all day. and we'll start to pick up a milder southerly breeze, so that'll push temperatures up to around 11—13 degrees across england and wales. still quite a cool one, though, for scotland and northern ireland. then into wednesday night, we start to see some rain pushing up from the south into south—eastern areas of england. meanwhile, this weather front across the west begins to meet with it, so by thursday it looks like it's going to be quite wet,

cloudy, for much of eastern scotland, eastern england and wales, and by the end of thursday that band of rain will be confined to more eastern areas, with skies brightening up further west, bar a few showers. a cooler feel to things across central and northern areas, but we're still holding onto double—figure values across the south. then we look to the atlantic for friday. now, this deep area of low pressure contains the remnants of hurricane oscar, and it'll arrive across the north—west of the country later on friday. but actually, friday not a bad start. a chilly one, mind you, but it will be bright, with plenty of sunshine. across western areas, though, the cloud, the wind, and eventually the rain will start to appear. but it'll be a little bit milder pretty much across the board, with double—figure values for many of us. and then, through friday night, it really will be quite stormy across the north—west of the country as that low passes by. into saturday, a windy day with outbreaks of rain, and for sunday we see a secondary area of low pressure move in, to bring another spell of wet and fairly windy weather to our shores. so it really will be quite wild to end the week. this is saturday's picture, then.

starts off again plenty of sunshine across southern and eastern areas, and here it should stay dry all day, albeit quite windy. the further north and west that you are, we'll see widespread gales, a spell of pretty heavy rain at times, too. but it's a gusty day across the board, especially so, though, across this north—west corner. but look at these temperatures, importing some very mild air from the south—west. temperatures 14 to maybe 16 celsius. another wet and fairly windy but mild day on sunday. a quieter one on monday, but we'll still have southerly winds, so it'll be very mild in the south. this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. losing friends in europe — facebook disappoints on revenue and user growth as it battles security breaches and worries over fake news. and the chinese currency falls to its lowest level against the dollar in a decade. so will it fuel allegations of currency manipulation? and on the markets... look at the us, it was a bounceback

but how long will it last?