this is bbc news, i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: a warning and a challenge to president trump from his own government. a new report says unchecked climate change will cost america hundreds of billions of dollars. spain's prime minister says he hasn't got the british guarantees he wants on gibraltar, throwing doubt over sunday's summit to approve an eu brexit deal. translation: if there is no deal, it is obvious that what will happen is that the european council will most likely not take place. the trump administration asks the supreme court to review court rulings that block the president's ban on some transgender people serving in the military. and a rare visit to iran. as the country again adjusts to life under us sanctions, our reporter goes to see how iranians are adapting. certainly some iranians we spoke to

feared for theirjobs and feared for the future. but others were far more phlegmatic. they said, "look, we have survived sanctions before and we'll survive them again." a report from the us government says climate change is likely to cost hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century, shrinking the size of the us economy by 10% if no action is taken. the report is at odds with president trump's policies. he has repeatedly cast doubt on the fact that man—made climate change is real, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence. our correspondentjames cook has this report. this, say many scientists, is what climate change looks like. in recent yea rs,

climate change looks like. in recent years, california has seen bigger, deadlier and more destructive wildfires than ever before. during a cold snap in washington this week, president trump tweeted whatever happened to global warming? now, his own government experts have answered the question. it is here, they say. its effects are serious, and without dramatic change, they will be catastrophic. already, says the report, more frequent and intense storms like hurricane harvey, which ravaged houston and texas, are destroying property and may damage critical infrastructure such as bridges, power plants and oil refineries. crop yields and labour productivity will decline. there will be a rise in the spread of tropical disease. the poorest americans will be hardest hit. one of the things that is quite striking about the report, for example, is that we could see a future where the south—eastern parts of the united states experience forest fire seasons that look like what happens in the west right now. and the real

harm of a forest fire is notjust a conflagration, it's how people... whether they know how to respond to them. you know how to respond to them. you know how to respond to them if you have been through the seasons again and again and again, but it's something that people in the south—east haven't experienced before, so we know that it could potentially have even greater impact. the scientists a substantial and reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions are essential, and they do report some progress. the president trump has taken a sharply different approach to his predecessor, barack different approach to his predecessor, ba rack obama, championing coal, oil and gas, and rolling back environmental regulations. without major, urgent action, says the report, the impacts of climate change will soon cascade into every corner of american life. dr michael e mann is an american climatologist and geophysicist, and the author of several books on climate change. hejoins me now from pennsylvania. thank you very much for being with us. so ijust want thank you very much for being with us. so i just want to

thank you very much for being with us. so ijust want to pick up on some of the language here used in the report, using these economic terms, setting out the financial cost. this is a tactic that been used before in reports like this, but do you think this is a deliberate to persuade donald trump that action needs to be taken? yes, the question is this an audience of one that the national assessment is speaking to. well, to some extent, i think that there is the hope that this message will break through not just to those who are already on the side of accepting the science and favouring that we act to reduce our carbon emissions, but to communicate the nature of the threat to other constituencies who have been more resista nt to constituencies who have been more resistant to the message, to what the science has to say. sorry to interrupt, but on getting that message out, what do you make of the changing of the timing of the release of this report? that's

right, so i don't think there's any question that the report was timed for a holiday weekend, what we call black friday here in the united states, the first day of the holiday shopping season. i think it was an effort by the trump administration to bury this report, so that it wouldn't get a sort of media coverage that the scientists and those who favour action on climate would hope it would. i think that tactic actually backfired. i think the fact that this administration was so blatantly trying to bury this report actually created its own story, and probably lead to far more coverage of the report, the findings of the report, then we would have otherwise seen. well, we are covering it because of the important issuesit covering it because of the important issues it raises, of course. michael, i want to get your... put you on the spot a little bit here, but what in brief at the actions that you actually want see donald trump and the administration take? well, it's literally the actions

that we don't want him to take, right? because what trump has done from day one, as he has taken office, is first of all use the bully pulpit, use the office of the presidency, to attack the science and to undermine the public‘s faith in science, making silly statements about how a cold day on the east coast is supposedly invalidating 200 yea rs of coast is supposedly invalidating 200 years of science, which is of course absurd. and at the same time, his administration, which is staffed with fossil fuel industry lobbyists and climate change deniers, have been doing everything they can to dismantle the environment protection that were put in place by the last administration, and by previous republican and democratic administrations. so the first thing is we need to stop donald trump's war on climate science and climate action, and we need to improve on the commitments that have already been made by the united states. the good news, by the way, is that we will likely meet our obligations under paris with or without donald trump, because of the progress that has been made at the state—level, at

the local level, what our are doing. but we need to go well beyond our paris commitment if we are going to stabilise greenhouse gas levels below catastrophic levels of warming. i understand. thank you very much for your expertise, and we will keep an eye on what action or inaction follows, thank you. the british prime minister, theresa may, has taken to the airwaves to try and sell her struggling brexit deal to the british public. she told bbc radio that if parliament votes against her plan, there will only be more division and uncertainty. later on saturday, she will travel to brussels for more talks, before a summit on sunday, where the agreement is expected to be signed by the other eu member states. here is our deputy political editorjohn pienaar. a warning — his report contains flashing images. her rebellious mps won't listen to her message on brexit. time to talk to the country. a 5live news special, with emma barnett and theresa may. i think for most people out there, actually, theyjust want us to get on with it.

mrs may is talking now over the heads of political opponents and tory mutineers, trying to tune in to public impatience with the point—scoring, with a political game she may well lose. i'm going to be explaining the deal to people up and down the country, because i think this is important. it's not just about the mp5 in westminster looking at the deal. it's about people across the country understanding what the deal is about. so that's my focus. so no plans to resign? my focus is on getting this deal through. then, this blunt warning to parliament, to brexiteer mps and ministers — no point defeating her brexit plan in hope of getting a better one. if we were to go back to the european union and say, "well, we didn't — people didn't like that deal, can we have another one?" we won't get — i don't think they're going to come to us and say, "we'll give you a better deal." for the former remainer, michael had a tough question. without any political waffle or convoluted answer,

just between the two of us, what, in your honest opinion, is betterfor the uk — your deal, or the deal we had if we'd stayed in the eu? you say are we better off, better off... actually, it's a different sort of environment, and a different approach that we'll be taking to things. so not quite yes, and not quite no. brexiteers know what they don't like. on air, too, the former brexit secretary who quit negotiations and the cabinet, convinced nothing is worse than mrs may's deal. well, i'm not going to advocate staying in the eu, but if you just presented me terms, this deal or eu membership, because we'd effectively be bound by the same rules but without the control or voice over them, yes, i think this would be even worse than that. the chancellor is in belfast tonight, charming the democratic unionists who shore up the government in the commons. they are threatening to tear up that deal, because they see mrs may's plan as treating britain and northern ireland differently, and a threat to the union. if she is successful in parliament, and there's no evidence

that she is going to be successful in parliament, then of course we will have to revisit the confidence and supply agreement. that agreement was about giving national stability. it was acting in the national interest and delivering on brexit. i declare this brexit mini—mart open. a stunt to suggest brexit could come at a cost. more on the labour side are buying into the idea of a fresh referendum. what i'd like to do ideally, of course, is have a general election so we can vote this shower out. i speak as a labour politician. if we can't have that option, i think, you know, the british public for the first time, for the first time, should have a say whether they accept the outcome of these negotiations, with the option of staying in the eu. the odds are that a large number of mps on all sides are stacked up against theresa may's brexit plan. today she is insisting, if her plan is defeated in the commons, there is no chance of getting a better one. but tory brexiteers, including some in cabinet, disagree. they may not want a leader who is convinced they have no chance of success.

as it is, we're all watching and waiting to find out. will this historic plan be pulled up short, stopped in its tracks? it's looking like it. but until then, mrs may will try to make it work. downing tools is simply not an option. john pienaar, bbc news, westminster. as well as her difficulties at home, theresa may also still needs to get her deal approved in brussels, at a summit where all the other 27 members of the european union will have their say. and it is proving farfrom plain sailing, with spain suggesting the summit may be called off, because of its concerns over gibraltar. adam fleming has the latest. there is a last—minute problem that seems to be getting bigger, and it is in the shape of gibraltar. the last few days the spanish government has been looking for written guarantees about how the final break the deal will apply in gibraltar. in the deal will apply in gibraltar. in the last couple of hours the spanish prime minister has done a news conference in havana, in cuba, where he says he has not yet received those guarantees, and if he doesn't

get them, he does not think sunday's plant racks at summit should go ahead. translation: -- racks at summit. regarding gibraltar, let me tell you, i insist that the guarantees are not enough. therefore, spain maintains its veto oi'i therefore, spain maintains its veto on the brexit deal. if there is no deal, it is obvious that what will happen is that the european council will most likely not take place. now, behind the scenes, solutions are being sought. some eu diplomats are being sought. some eu diplomats are getting quite annoyed with madrid, because they think they are making a mountain out of a mole hill for domestic legal reasons. and having said all that, the eu is pushing ahead with all the preparations you would expect for a summit taking place. for example, donald tusk, the president of the european council, who will chair it, has invited theresa may for a last—minute presummit meeting tomorrow night. talking to diplomats and texting them in brussels tonight, the sense is that this will

be solved, but this last—minute hurdle being thrown up by the spanish government was not in anyone's plant. —— plan. the trump administration has asked the us supreme court to review its policy of preventing some transgender people from serving in the military. the appeals court is already reviewing the decision of lower courts which have blocked the policy , but the administration wants the supreme court to fast track a definitive ruling. our correspondent peter bowes is in los angeles. so this is all slightly confusing, peter. take us back. donald trump introduced this policy, it was controversial at the time, and he wa nts controversial at the time, and he wants another review of it. legally this is a little convoluted, but essentially what he is doing is going to the highest court in the land to get a review of lower courts that are in various stages of review of this policy. and as you say, it goes back a year or so, because they

have been two versions of what the trump administration wanted to do. initially it was a blanket ban on transgender people serving in the military. that was kicked back by some of the lower courts. those are the decisions that are still in review. there are still injunctions as far as that first policy was concerned. then the policy was revised to include only those people with gender dysphoria. now, gender dysphoria is a condition where transgender people suffer conflict asa transgender people suffer conflict as a result of their biologically assigned sex and the gender that they believe that they are. now, that doesn't include all transgender people, but as far as the trump administration is concerned, that is the group that should be banned from serving in the military. and why was donald trump so keen to introduce this in the first place? what is the rationale behind it from his point of view? there were two reasons, essentially. one to do with the

operation of the military, he didn't feel as if transgender people were, to use an expression, better suited to use an expression, better suited to serving in the military, that the argument being and the implication that garnered so much opposition was that garnered so much opposition was that they weren't as up to the job is people who were not transgender. the other reason was the medical costs incurred by those people or potentially incurred by those people while serving in the military. groups that are opposing these policies in its first draft and second draft say that this is pure discrimination, and people are protected under the us constitution, afforded equal rights of protection. ok, more legal challenges to come. thank you very much. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: polls havejust opened in taiwan on a number of votes, including a referendum on same—sex—marriage. we will be live in taipei. president kennedy was shot down and died almost immediately.

the murder ofjohn kennedy is a disaster for the whole free world. he caught the imagination of the world. the first of a new generation of leaders. margaret thatcher is resigning as leader of the conservative party and prime minister. before leaving number 10 to see the queen, she told her cabinet, "it's a funny old world." angela merkel is germany's first woman chancellor, easily securing the majority she needed. attempts to fly a hot air balloon had to be abandoned after a few minutes, but nobody seemed to mind very much. as one local comic put it, "it's not hot air we need, it's hard cash." cuba has declared nine days of mourning following the death of fidel castro at the age of 90. castro developed close ties with the soviet union in the 1960s. it was an alliance that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war with the cuban missile crisis. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: a us government report warns that climate change will cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century. taiwan could become the first place in asia to legalise same—sex marriage. the issue has divided the island nation so the proposal is being put to the vote in a referendum. it's one of a number of contentious issues on the ballot paper — including what name the country should compete under in the olympics. polls have just opened so let's join our taiwan correspondent, cindy sui, who is in taipei. good to see you, lots of controversial interesting issues that people will be voting on, let's start with this issue of same—sex marriage. what likelihood you think

there will be of change? it is really uncertain right now, as you see behind me there are long lines of people coming into vogue, not only the local positions of elected officials but also these ten referendums, including same—sex marriage. i think the likelihood perhaps it is quite low, because even though last year the highest court in taiwan ruled that same—sex marriage should be recognised and the laws must be changed by next year, a lot of religious groups have rallied support from parents and others to oppose this, and they have collected enough signatures to put three ballot measures on the referendum, to ban this from happening, to stop this from happening. opinion polls have shown before the election that some 70% of people would turn out to vote on this measure alone. 77% of them would probably vote against legalising same—sex marriage. would probably vote against legalising same-sex marriage. what about one of the other controversial issues, the name here? that is quite

controversial because beijing of course sees taiwan as its province, to be reunified one day. many taiwanese people want to show the world that taiwan is actually an independent country. they have submitted an initiative in a referendum to change taiwan's name in international events such as the olympics to taiwan instead of chinese taipei, the name they have to use because of pressure from beijing. that is very controversial, some olympic athletes have come out and said they do not support this measure. that it willjeopardise their chances of competing in the olympics. but the people who support this measure say that this is something taiwan must do, to stand up something taiwan must do, to stand up and present itself to the world as an independent country. we will be keeping right across these elections and polls, thank you. china says the militant attack on its consulate in karachi will not deter it from investing in infrastructure projects in pakistan. no consular staff were hurt

in the attack, but two pakistani police officers, two locals, and the three gunmen were killed. a separatist group, the balochistan liberation army, which opposes chinese influence in pakistan, said it carried out the assault. secunder kermani reports. gunfire outside the chinese consulate in the heart of pakistan's commercial capital. the attackers, armed with assault rifles and grenades, did manage to enter the building but did kill two policeman. two pakistani civilians also died at the consular staff were unharmed. translation: i took the people inside and locked the door. the chinese asked what was happening, i told them they were terrorists and told them they were terrorists and to stay inside. i barricaded the door with chairs and are covered by the terrorist just door with chairs and are covered by the terroristjust kept firing. door with chairs and are covered by the terrorist just kept firing. militant separatist group, the balochistan liberation army, claimed

responsibility for the attack. they had been waging a low—level insurgency in the south—western province of balochistan, accusing the pakistani state of exploiting the pakistani state of exploiting the region's petrol resources and now say china is doing the same. beijing is investing billions in infrastructure projects, centred around this port in balochistan which would link western china to the arabian sea. both countries want the arabian sea. both countries want the so—called china pakistan economic corridor to succeed and said today's attack would not undermine their relationship. translation: we also believe pakistan will continue to take a festive messes to ensure the safe and secure development of the china — pakistan corridor. and secure development of the china - pakistan corridor. officials in both countries will be relieved the death toll was not higher. but this attack is the most high profile on a chinese target in pakistan so far. and that will raise concerns. the united states imposed tough

new sanctions on iran this month, with donald trump renouncing the international agreement designed to restrict the country's nuclear programme. the measures, which other signatories oppose — are intended to hit iran's oil exports, shipping and banks. but what will the sanctions mean for the people of iran? our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, reports from the capital tehran. when iranians want to have fun, they go up to the mountains. and then come down, fast. this is tochal, a resort in the foothills north of tehran. in winter, they ski. in summer, they walk. a place where children, families and couples can escape the hustle of tehran and breathe some clean air. but behind the fun, it's a different story. amir ali works as a chef here,

and has little hope for the future. iran is so hard for living, so hard for working. everyone thinks about going out of iran. and that's because the latest american sanctions are hitting the economy, making it harder to sell oil overseas and, one doctor told us, tougher to find medicines at home. we came across this man playing his sitar, a 23—year—old music student and graphic designer. so many businesses was trying to open there, for example, restau ra nts a nd cafes, the material that we were importing to iran was stopped and that made so many businesses fail. but that view is not universal. ali is 26, unemployed, and boy,

does he trust the government. there are hardships. but they are uncontrollable. we can't control them. we try. the government, the state is doing its best. in the bazaars, many people were reluctant to talk to us, fearful of how the authorities might react. some traders who did speak grumbled about a fluctuating currency and the trouble they had exporting goods. but other businessmen were optimistic. we are facing problems for the sanctions. but we can manage that. we know how to deal with it. the united states believes that its sanctions will bring about a change of government here in iran. certainly, some iranians we spoke to feared for their jobs and the future. but others were far more phlegmatic. they say, "look, we have survived sanctions before and we'll survive them again."

finally it is thanksgiving in the us and how is this for something to be thankful for. and how is this for something to be thankfulfor. a and how is this for something to be thankful for. a couple and how is this for something to be thankfulfor. a couple in louisiana is $1.8 million richer afterfinding a winning lottery ticket in a pile of old paperwork at home. tina and harold were just in time, they claim the prize only two weeks before it would have expired. they say they have no big plans yet, just to put the winnings away for retirement. congratulations to them. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. this is bbc world news. the week ended on a pretty gloomy

note for many, and we are not expecting things to brighten up spectacularly through the weekends. some of us will see sunshine but many more will be stuck with cloud, it will feel chilly and some areas, added a rein in the forecast. the satellite shows quite a lot of cloud streaming towards urban areas, this cloud is ready bringing some heavy downpours of rain across the south—west of england, even the flush of lightning and thunder, and we keep potential for what weather across the south—west but perhaps across the south—west but perhaps across other southern counties of england as well as we go through saturday. uncertainty about how far north that rain will get. it looks most likely that it will say to the south of the m4 corridor. if you are in the london area, the south midlands, you may see a little bit of rain, on balance it should stay just about dry, temperatures around nine degrees. some rain could move into south wales but for the midlands, north—west england,

south—west scotland and for a time across northern ireland a chance of seeing breaks in the cloud and sunny spells. the north—east england and the eastern side of scotland we will keep cloud and some showery rain and without easterly breeze across the country, top temperatures no better than 7— ten. some rain is likely to continue across southern counties of england across saturday evening, elsewhere dry weather, some rain in drizzle coming into eastern areas, that easterly breeze feeding in cloud, the best of the clear skies in the west. if it does stay away there may be a touch of frost, most areas will stay frost free. for sunday high pressure in charge, but this frontal system threatens to throw a bit of a spanner in the works across the south—east corner, uncertainty about this clipping into kent and sussex, we could see a little bit of rain. it may come a touch further north and west, but for many sunday is largely dry. a lot of cloud in the east, the best

of the brightness to the west, but fairly chilly. on monday we keep our weather coming in from the east, not an especially strong breeze but a cool one bringing lots of cloud, patchy rain in the east, some sunshine to the west and those temperatures stuck in single digits are all of us. and then a bit of a change as we had deeper into the new week because high—pressure retreats and the low pressure in the atlantic sta rts and the low pressure in the atlantic starts to wind itself up, a lot of white lines, a lot of isobars on the chart, that means it will be windy and at times wet. tuesday and at a cool day turning wet and windy on wednesday but also turning a bit more mild. this is bbc news. the headlines: an official us report warns that climate change will cost america hundreds of billions of dollars and cause severe damage to people's health and way of life, all of which is at odds with president trump's stance on the issue. the spanish prime minister says he still hasn't got the british guarantees he wants on gibraltar, suggesting that a summit in brussels

on sunday to approve an eu deal on brexit could be postponed. mr sanchez said, if there was no agreement on the draft deal, the summit would not take place. the trump administration has asked the us supreme court to review lower—court rulings which block the president's ban on some transgender people serving in the military. the administration wants the supreme court to fast—track a definitive ruling on the issue. in an unusually frank statement, one of britain's top police officers has admitted his force can't provide the public