a british research student is sentenced to life in prison accused of spying in the united arab emirates, charges he denies. matthew hedges has been held in solitary confinement for six months since his arrest as he tried leave the country after a research trip. we are all shocked because in fact what this verdict says is that there is no boundaries, there is no safety for academic research in the uae. the foreign secretary has warned of repercussions over the sentence. also this lunchtime.... as theresa may heads to brussels for more talks she warns critics that a no—deal brexit could result if they block the plan. the shocking rise in teenage gambling — a study says it's a problem for 50,000 children in the uk. and how whales change their song over time and develop unique new tunes. and in sport: there are eight

changes to scotland's team for the meeting with argentina this weekend but the biggest is postional as finn russell moves from fly—half to inside centre. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. a phd student from durham university has been sentenced to life in prison for spying in the united arab emirates. matthew hedges, who is 31, was arrested after a research trip to dubai where he was looking into security policies. his wife, who was in court this morning, says her husband is innocent and has called on the uk government to take a stand. the foreign secretaryjeremy hunt has warned the verdict may have repercussions for the relationship between the two countries. jon donnison reports.

matthew hedges had hoped today's court appearance would see him a free man. instead, the 31—year—old academic, seen here with his wife, faces life in prison. his family and friends say the hearing lasted just five minutes. we are all shocked. because in fact what this verdict says is that there is no boundaries, there is no academic, no safety for academic research in the uae. it is just over it isjust over six it is just over six months since matthew hedges was arrested at dubai airport as he tried to leave all stop he says he has been dead carrying out academic research for his phd. the authorities say he was a spy. speaking to the bbc last month his wife daniela said the british government should be doing more to help. we are notjust

talking about a british citizen's rights being violated in the most out right and outrageous manner. we are talking about an innocent british academic who is being accused of being a spy for the british intelligence services. that immediately makes this a state matter and it is notjust about an individual. because it is britain's integrity that is being brought into question through these accusations as well. it seems to have come as a shock to the government who were expecting matthew hedges to be released. deeply disappointed and concerned about verdict. we are raising it with the authorities at the highest level. my right honourable friend the foreign secretary is seeking a call with the foreign minister. during his visit on november the 12 he raised the issue with the crown prince and the foreign minister. today matthew

hedges' wife daniela said the last six months had been the worst of their lives and now the nightmare had only got worse. 0ur middle east reporter paul blake was at the court in dubai. what happens now? well, there are unconfirmed reports in the uae that the defendant, matthew hedges, has 30 days to defend this. i have been speaking to a family spokesperson and she says the family are not aware of this fact. theresa may has spokenin aware of this fact. theresa may has spoken in parliament and she has said she is deeply disappointed by this outcome. she said the foreign secretary is urgently seeking a call with his counterpart in the uae. jeremy hunt has released his own statement saying it is contrary to earlier reassurances that they gave about the case and it will have repercussions between the relationship with the uae and the uk. ina relationship with the uae and the uk. in a country where there are so many british expats and tourists.

paul blake. the prime minister is to meet the european commission president in brussels in a few hours' time, to try to finalise a plan for relations after brexit. several eu member states have expressed concerns over the uk's future access to the single market, fishing rights in uk waters for eu boats, and gibraltar. theresa may is under pressure from her own mps not to concede any further ground. from westminster, alex forsyth reports. when they meet this afternoon it will not be the first time. in the past there has been handshakes, hugs, even awkward kisses. this afternoon they will be hoping they can find common ground, i bet the creases in the brexit deal, before eu leaders meet later this week. first, the prime minister had to face mps, knowing many, some in her own party, are not happy with what is on offer so far. instead of

giving confidence to millions of people who voted both leave and remain, this half baked deal fails to give any hope that can bring the country together again. but the prime minister is not budging. the right honourable gentleman is playing party politics, he is opposing a deal he has not read, he is promising a deal he cannot negotiate. he is telling leave voters one thing and remain voters another. whatever the right honourable gentleman might do, i will act in the national interest. westminster is officially waiting to see what is signed off by eu leaders, but something parliament will eventually back what is on offer rather than the alternatives. it is my view that when the deal comes before parliament it will get through despite what people say, but i also feel, having spent the last six or seven months on the backbenches talking to other backbenchers, that parliament will

stop and no deal. we do not know how parliament would react, we do not know what will happen. i think there isa know what will happen. i think there is a serious danger of no brexit at all. so, back the deal, or rather the no deal risk no brexit seems to be has some are trying to rally support for the prime minister. much will depend on what labour does and their position is not completely clear. they suggest they will not back this deal, but do not want no deal, so could try to force out the government, or push for an election oi’ government, or push for an election or another public vote. we have kept all the options on the table and one of another referendum. but the debate about the referendum would be agreed amongst the parties in parliament itself. so, the only certainty seems to be that there is still uncertainty, which begs the question... brexit is going to happen, right? there is an element

of nostradamus in this. we demand a people's vote. despite some demand, the government has ruled out another boat, the prime minister insisting today we are leaving next march. exactly how is still not clear. in a moment we'll speak to adam fleming in brussels, but first to norman smith in westminster. how difficult is the task that theresa may will face in brussels? it would not be brexit if it was easy pc and a doddle. i think the truth is theresa may is facing another difficult day because she has almost no room for compromise or give because of the potential backlash she would face here. if she can come back maybe after a bit of verbal fisticuffs, but showing that she has stood her ground, that is probably the best result she can expect as she tries to tiptoe her

way over what is turning out to be the longest sort of political tightrope in history, trying to manage the tensions in her party which again were on display in the commons this lunchtime with a whole series of tory mps getting up and demanding she renegotiate the deal. 0ne tory mp said she needs to cut the tentacles of the eu off this cherished island nation. 0thers the tentacles of the eu off this cherished island nation. others say she needs to emerge, keeping as close to the eu. to underline how free bra the atmosphere is here, we had both sides are seizing on the remarks by the new work and pensions secretary amber arrived that if a deal is voted down they will not be no deal because parliament will block it. remain supporting mps are saying that means the only option to theresa may's deal going down is a second referendum. 0thers theresa may's deal going down is a second referendum. others are saying this is cunning tactics by team theresa may to try and crank up the

pressure on brexit tories by warning them that if you vote down my deal, you could have another referendum and maybe no brexit. there are all sorts of shenanigans going on here. it is just another day at the brexit office. 0ur brussels reporter adam fleming is in brussels. what issues do theresa may and the commission president have to sort out? we do not think they will spend a lot of time on the withdrawal treatment, the divorce treaty, because as far as brussels is concerned that is close. the focus will be on the political declaration which will sketch out the shape of the relationship for decades to come. the outstanding issues are the problems that have bedevilled this process since the start of the week and there are three of them. how much of the prime minister's plan for a free—trade area with a common rule book goes into the political

declaration? how much detail is there about how much access eu boats will get to the rich british fishing waters? how much of the future relationship will apply to gibraltar which is a real concern for the spanish government who have kicked up spanish government who have kicked upa spanish government who have kicked up a massive fuss about it in the last couple of days. in terms of what is happening with the other countries that was laid bare in a diplomatic note shown to me this morning which showed france worrying about whether the single market could survive all of this, and germany saying do not rock the boat and do not make this any harder than it already is for the uk to sign up to. the hints here in brussels this morning are that there has to be a finalised text of the political declaration in the next couple of days. if there is no text, they will be no summit on sunday. adam fleming in brussels, thank you. and thank you to norman smith in westminster. and thank you to norman smith in westminster. the number of children in england receiving treatment for knife attacks has soared.

bbc analysis of nhs figures shows an almost 90% rise for under—18s going to hospital over the last four years, far outstripping the increase among adults. the government says it has plans to deal with the problem, and that police will be given more powers. tim muffett reports. in september, bereaved mum tracey hanson appeared on breakfast with a message for the london mayor. what would you want to say to him? to sit down and share with him our frustrations. will you do that? of course, i'll carry on meeting with bereaved families and experts, including tracey. two months on, tracey‘s about to meet sadiq khan. how are you feeling before your meeting with the mayor? hopeful. is he doing enough at the moment to tackle knife crime? he's saying it's a generation, it's going take up to ten years, i'd actually really have to say why, why does it have to take ten years? tracey‘s son, josh, was stabbed and killed in 2015. josh was murdered in an unprovoked knife attack. for no reason, no fight, no altercation, totally unprovoked. the person who killed josh

has never been caught. as well as more support for bereaved families, tracey and josh's sister, brooke, want to talk to children in primary schools about the reality of knife crime. they've set up a charity injosh's memory, but are finding it hard to get access. schools could potentially not want somebody to come in and talk about knife crime. they might worry it might make children think more about knife crime. all organisations talking about knife crime need to be speaking in schools as young as primary. the average age of those being attacked with a sharp object, such as a knife, seems to be getting lower. we've analysed nhs data from across england. last year, 11% of those admitted to hospital because of such an attack were children, and the rise in the number of child victims far exceeds the rise in the number of adult victims. five steps to stay safe... all saints primary school in bootle in merseyside, and a pilot scheme aimed

at nine and ten—year—olds. a tough topic, perhaps, for children this age, but these parents support it. i think it's a really, really good idea, especially with boys, because they see what other boys are doing and they go, "i might do that!" why do you think some kids are attracted to knives or gangs? people have got nothing better to do now, these children, they all tend to get into groups. i'm saying, "i'm 0k, but you're not." it's that feeling of belonging with a group of older children. is that going to be in a positive way or a negative way? so you just met the mayor, how did it go? really, really well. yeah, very positive. through sharing our story and the devastation it had on us, you can change somebody‘s mindset quite quickly. we met the mayor later at the spotlight youth centre in east london, which offers creative classes for teenagers. some schools are worried about their school being labelled by allowing in groups like the group

tracey founded. my message to all schools is, nobody is immune to this challenge. there might be a weapon... such a tough subject at such a young age, but for many, lessons like this are the best way forward. tim muffet, bbc news. the police body interpol has averted an international row by rejecting a senior russian official to lead the organisation, in favour of a south korean. the election comes during a turbulent period for interpol, after the disappearance of its former president, who vanished on a trip to china in september. 0ur security correspondent frank gardner is here. interpol is not in a good way. they have difficulties because there current president, very much an honorary role, he vanished in china in september. it now turns out he is under investigation for alleged bribery there so has had to resign.

so they need to replace him and up until the last minute and really in the last few hours the annual co ng ress the last few hours the annual congress of interpol was taking place in dubai and it was expected a russian major—general, alexander prokopchuk, was going to take the post. and he is someone who come here to serve in the interior ministry, he was the interpol chief in moscow but was accused by kremlin critics of hunting down those very critics of hunting down those very critics and essentially abusing the power of the red notices of interpol. interpol is like a big police notice board, it does not have a police force of its own, it has 194 members and youtube represent a country for the outcome issue red arrest warrant and is is up issue red arrest warrant and is is up to the country concerned to choose whether to act on that or not. there were concerns in the uk, in the states and the baltic states that if he got the top job then he wouldn't use that our two arrest

critics of president putin. instead they've chosen a very controversial figure, a south korean. many thanks. our top story this lunchtime... the british research student matthew hedges is sentenced to life in prison accused of spying in the united arab emirates, charges he denies. and coming up — after winter olympic heartbreak — speed skater elise christie reflects on her disappointment — and tells us about her hopes for the future. coming up on bbc news. republic of ireland manager martin 0'neill, his assistant roy keane and the rest of the management team have left their roles by mutual consent after a disappointing nations league showing. gambling is usually thought of as an adult issue, but now there's real concern about the impact it is having on the lives of teenagers. more than 50,000 children in the uk have developed a gambling problem, according to a report

by the gambling commission. the regulator says more teenagers now gamble than drink alcohol, smoke or use drugs. chi chi izundu reports. i got addicted to fixed odds betting terminals, which are the machines in betting shops. matt started gambling when he was 16. by the time he had stopped, he had racked up debts of more than £16,000. it was very exhilarating, when you win it is like a massive adrenaline rush. what you become addicted to eventually is the anticipation between bets. so if you have a bet, on these machines, you can gamble again 20 seconds later. so you're getting that hit three times a minute. now a new report has found that the number of children classed as having a gambling problem has quadrupled to more than 50,000 in just two years. the gambling commission says 11 to 16—year—olds are using bets with friends, slot machines, and scratchcards. the regulator also highlighted

concern of nearly a million young people being exposed to gambling through loot boxes in video games and apps. those can involve a player paying money for an item that is only revealed after purchasing. we are clearly concerned as an industry that in game enticements such as loot boxes will encourage young people into gambling. so that is something we would be looking at legislation and regulation. campaigners agree to a clamp down on gaming but they also want regulation on gambling ads in and around live tv sports games and treatment centres for those who need help. they say that cost should be compulsory to the industry. i want 1% and that would produce £140 million a year. so we could treat people, we could educate people, we could make sure that parents — terribly important — parents understand how to help their children once their children begin gambling online. that is an essential part of the whole programme. in a statement, the department of digital culture, media and sport

said it expects the gambling commission to take the strongest action against companies that break the rules, but it is also important that parents and businesses remain vigilant to the risks posed by gambling. today's study suggests 450,000 children bet regularly. but the warning is unless more is done, some of those will definitely become addicts. those figures about the huge rise in teenage gambling come as it's revealed that the billionaire founder of the betting firm bet365 earned an extraordinary £220 million last year. i'm joined by our business editor simonjack. this is a staggering sum — how has she achieved this? it is because of the staggering rise in the popularity of online gambling. as we heard that previous report. she founded bet365 and that

company took the staggering £33 billion worth of bets last year generating a profit of £660 million. she's not a household name, denise coates, but she's up there with the likes of richard branson in terms of natwest. she went to sheffield university, she came back and took over her father ‘s string of betting shops around the stoke area and then made a big bet of her own senate to the online giant coral. she invested all in online gambling with bet365 and did turned out to be a fa ntastically and did turned out to be a fantastically good bet. she also got £45 million in the form of dividends. and with bet365, ambitious plans to expand to the us which has liberalised its gambling market. i think it is a racing certainty that she will be top of the earning charts for years to come dwarfing the pay—out to any loss of any ftse 100

dwarfing the pay—out to any loss of any ftse100 company and even people like sheryl sandberg. she's knocking spots off them and i think that will continue. ikea has said 350 of its employees in the uk are facing redundancy as part of its global transformation plan. the swedish home retailer, which has 17 stores in the uk, expects 7,500 jobs to be cut across its global operation. the firm's retail manager in the uk says the company had to make difficult decisions as it adapts to a "fast—changing retail environment". the united nation's envoy to yemen has arrived for talks with houthi rebels in the capital sanaa, to try to lay the groundwork for urgent peace talks. the fighting in yemen has caused a huge humanitarian crisis and half of the country's 28 million people are thought to be on the brink of famine. before he arrived in yemen, martin griffiths, who's a former uk foreign office diplomat, called for all sides to exercise restraint. caroline rigby‘s report contains images you might find distressing. ten—year—old nazir is

fighting for her life. four of her siblings never even made it to hospital. like so many others, they were collateral damage in this devastating war. the conflict in yemen has been raging for three and a half years, between a saudi—led military coalition and iranian—backed houthi rebels. as the main entry point for food aid, the rebel—held port of hudaydah has been a focus of international efforts to broker a truce, but hopes of a deal suffered further setback this week when fighting escalated. the un describes yemen as the world's worst man—made humanitarian disaster, with 14 million people on the brink of famine, more than half of them children. and the charity save the children estimates 85,000 under the age of five may have already died of malnutrition since april 2015. saudi arabia and the united arab emirates have pledged almost

£400 million to help tackle the crisis. but as well as being the country's largest aid donors, they are also the biggest military powers in a coalition repeatedly blamed for civilian deaths. there should be an end to this conflict. let's put enough pressure on the houthis to come this time to attend this dialogue, and let's be serious to reach a political solution that brings peace to yemen. 0n the ground, for now, the war goes on, but the un remains hopeful it can resume peace talks between the two sides within the coming weeks. caroline rigby, bbc news. president trump has been asked to determine whether saudi crown prince salman played a role in the murder of jamal khashoggi. mr khashoggi was killed on the 2nd of october inside the saudi consulate in istanbul. democrat and republican senators are demanding a second investigation into his death.

mr trump earlier defended us ties with saudi arabia, despite international condemnation of the incident. the accountancy firm grant thornton is being investigated over its auditing of the cafe chain patisserie valerie, which came close to collapse last month. the company discovered a black hole in its accounts, and was forced to raise emergency funds to stay afloat. the financial reporting council will also investigate patisserie valerie's former finance chief chris marsh. venus williams has reached a settlement with the family of a man who was killed as a result of a car crash the tennis star was involved in. 78—year—old jerome barson suffered fatal injuries from the collision in florida injune last year. he died thirteen days later in hospital. police had already cleared ms williams of wrongdoing. the british speed skater elise christie was the focus of huge hopes at this year's winter 0lympics. but her dreams ended in tears as she came home empty—handed. now the 28—year—old has told the bbc

she felt as though she had lost even before she competed. she's says she's deteremined to win gold in beijing in four years' time. elise has been speaking to our 0lympics reporter david mcdaid. nine months ago, another winter olympics ended in heartbreak for elise christie. and christie goes down before they reach the very first corner! for the second successive games, she was team gb's great medal hope. and for the second successive games, those hopes were dashed. today, though, she believes that outcome was virtually guaranteed. i felt i had lost the olympics before i even got there. the year as a whole just wasn't right. and we made a lot of mistakes. as a triple world champion, she should have been a match for anyone. but she says her body and mind were telling her otherwise. going into the games, you know, i was depressed, i was low, i was in pain every day. i eventually went to

the doctor and said, i just don't know what's wrong. and he was like, you know, you are on the verge of being overtrained if not overtrained. there was a conversation between me and a few of the staff and it was like, it's not time to back off now. i was the medal hope from the team. i was the medal hope for everyone, i think everyone felt that pressure to just keep pushing. the rebuilding process for christie has not been simple. post pyeongchang, her relationship also fell apart and her coach of 15 years was let go. how do you come back from that? i think there was a period of time when i was like, i don't know if i can keep going. but the last six weeks i've been back full—time on the ice again, feeling quite positive about my future now. i'm definitely back into thinking about winning that olympic medal. so she may have been knocked down, but the message is, don't count her out just yet. david mcdaid, bbc news. whale song has bewitched and beguiled scientists

and mariners for centuries. now it seems the distinctive chorus of squeaks and groans can change over time — and not all whales sound the same. scientists working in australia say humpback whales undergo major changes which mean their song is constantly evolving. here's our science correspondent, helen briggs. i'm back wales are known for their haunting songs and they can spread until all singing from the same song sheet this signature song evolved gradually over time as individual males add embellishments and others copy. senior on the east coast of australia this is what the whales we re australia this is what the whales were singing two years later. every now and again a song completely disappears from the oceans of the

and it is replaced by something new in what scientists call revolution event. normally when a song is evolving through gradual changes you can hear the songs from one year to the next and hear those similarities. but with the revolution the song is completely different, century they start from scratch. researchers at it whales over 13 years and found when they changed their tune, the new ballots we re changed their tune, the new ballots were almost always more simple. changed their tune, the new ballots were almost always more simplem tells us there could be some kind of limitation to the learning so they might be some kind of cap either in terms of how complex the thing that they can learn much new material they can learn much new material they can learn at one time. and that could explain how the cruellest of the sea adapt and change their songs, ensuring their musical repertoire stands the test of time. —— crooners.

the first snow of the winter has fallen in some parts of the uk here is some footage filmed by a drone flying over devil's dyke in east sussex. the snow has mainly been over hills but in the south east there's even been some falling on lower ground. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. we have seen some snow not a lot. i would not expect a lot more over the next few days because as i mentioned temperatures are going to start to creep up slowly. slowly being the operative word. 0ver creep up slowly. slowly being the operative word. over the past 24 hours we've had some showers drifting west. and we have had some sleep and also snow, especially over the higher ground but even some to