this is bbc news, i'm shaun ley. the headlines at midday. theresa may is set to head to brussels for talks today with top eu officials ahead of sunday's crucial summit to formally sign off the brexit deal. the dup's leader arlene foster is expected to re—affirm her opposition to the eu withdrawal deal at her party's annual conference. french police use water cannon and tear gas to disperse protesters gathering in central paris who are demanding a cut in the price of fuel. a man has been arrested after a police officer was stabbed outside a railway station in east london. the white house has dismissed a government report that warns unchecked climate change will seriously damage the economy and effect human health and quality of life. # polly put the kettle on... # the royal institution hopes to find people with recordings of their christmas lectures from the ‘60s and ‘70s which are missing.

and at 12:30, click will take a look at the technology taking firefighting to the next level. theresa may is heading to brussels this afternoon to try to finalise her brexit deal with eu leaders. the prime minister is hoping the plans will be approved at a summit on sunday. but spain's prime minister has threatened to derail the timetable, if he doesn't get further reassurances over the status of gibraltar. here's our political correspondent, chris mason. roll up, roll up, the prime minister doesn't quite say, but you get the picture. the government's setting its stall out wherever you might hear, see, or read it. but for this weekend at least, the focus turns away from here at westminster,

away from flogging the deal domestically, and the prime minister hops over the channel instead, to ensure that the eu is fully signed up to it. mrs may heads for brussels later to meet two of the biggies of that city — the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, and the european council president, donald tusk. and then tomorrow, it is showtime, as european leaders gather for the big brexit summit. but spain wants more reassurance about gibraltar. translation: regarding gibraltar, let me tell you, i insist that the guarantees are not enough, and therefore spain maintains its veto on the brexit deal. and northern ireland's democratic unionists, who prop up theresa may in downing street, sound like they're threatening to pull the plug on that if the prime minister's plan is approved by mps. that agreement was about

giving national stability and delivering on brexit. if this is not going to deliver on brexit, then of course that brings us back to the situation of looking at the confidence and supply agreement, but we're not there yet. you might feel you've heard quite enough about brexit, but it's about to get even louder still. even if the eu approves the deal, mrs may must still persuade enough mps to support it, which may prove difficult. the chancellor told the today programme this morning that he believes the brexit deal agreed by theresa may is better than staying in the eu. philip hammond said the deal on offer was the "best way of britain leaving the eu with the minimum negative impact on the economy". the position is this, if we were to leave the european union without a deal, i have no doubt that the

consequences for the uk economy would be very serious indeed. very disruptive and very negative for jobs, prosperity in the future. but this country has fundamental economic strengths, and if we can get a deal based on the agreement we have reached with the european union, iam have reached with the european union, i am equally confident that britain has a very bright future ahead of it. so what's in theresa may's plan for brexit? her proposal is made up of the draft withdrawal agreement on how we leave the eu and the political declaration, forming a basis for the future relationship. that declaration, which isn't legally binding, says brexit will end the free movement of eu citizens who want to come and live in the uk, but that also applies to british citizens wanting to move to the eu. on the issue of the irish border, which is proving deeply contentious, the declaration adds only that new technology can be explored to try to ensure there is no need to use the backstop, which would keep northern ireland closer to eu rules. it says the uk will be allowed to pursue an independent trade

policy , with other countries. but the european court ofjustice will still play a role in uk affairs — something which has angered many brexit supporters. live to brussels — and our correspondent gavin lee. ina sense, in a sense, that indicates the difficulties that lie ahead even if britain gets past the summit and gets her withdrawal agreement through the house of commons. it is just premiered to more talks that are likely to be much tougher. yes, if the summit happens tomorrow, the special summit on brexit, they will agree to the forced deal, so the withdrawal deal, 500 plus pages, and the political declaration. that gets endorsed and agreed and then it goes on to british parliament, which has to be ratified and then to the european parliament to be ratified, and then back to the eu leaders.

this time tomorrow, if all goes according to plan, it will be signed off. many see it, the belgian newspaper calling at the final curtain of act one of the brexit divorce. there are still hurdles. if theresa may's team —— they have two toughen up here, because it is like a last—minute fight between the officials and trying to placate pedro sanchez, the spanish prime minister who says spain still does not have enough reassurance that they will have a say directly on the future of gibraltar, which they still contend is not being a british 0verseas territory. the gibraltar prime minister, his team say that he is back in gibraltar, and has realised he has to be there to focus and helped to try to break the impasse with spain, and those discussions are going ahead if

theresa may arriving here in a few hours to meet the eu top team of donald tusk and jean—claude juncker, ahead of tomorrow's suppose it summit. why is the expectation that spain could have derailed this, given that we are told the withdrawal agreement can go through withdrawal agreement can go through with a weighted majority of countries voting, it doesn't have to have everyone voting for it? pedro sanchez has been effective with his language. they have convened a special summit. so far for several months there has been community between countries, . .. the months there has been community between countries,... the european eu officials are saying you cannot have one member state not arriving for the special summit. they would have to call it off, but it is poetical brinkmanship, there are

elections in andalusia, the region which borders gibraltar, 10,000 people that work across in gibraltar, and pedro sanchez has been accused by the opposition ppp party in spain of being too soft on brexit. but it is worth seeing that this dramatic language, and eu officials here believe there can be a breakthrough by this evening. thank you. well, as we heard the dup leader, arlene foster, is expected to reiterate her opposition to the proposed brexit deal when she addresses its annual conference this afternoon. 0ur correspondent chris page is at the event in belfast never has there been another national interest on what happens at a democratic unionist party conference, because this is the party which is

at the parliamentary pivot point, it has a deal with the conservatives to support theresa may's minority government in key votes, but that arrangement has been under increasing strain in recent days because the dup are not happy with the draft brexit deal. they feel that arrangements for the border backstop would leave northern ireland potentially under the control of the eu, which would be a breach of the northern ireland sovereignty, they say. last night we have the chancellor philip hammond coming here trying to sell the prime minister's deal, but i expect borisjohnson will get a better reception when he comes to speak here this afternoon. the question being asked, how stable is the confidence in the agreement? could the dup be prepared to pull down the government? the dup's chief whip. in northern ireland the democratic unionist party is not put off by the notion that we would fight an election on the basis we want the best deal for the union,

for the united kingdom and for our economy, and at the moment this does not represent what we believe is the best deal. so, sirjeffrey donaldson making it clear the dup would not be afraid of a general election if that is what this resulted in. they have been looking further afield than westminster at this conference. they have had strong links with a number of years with the government of gibraltar. they see themselves in the same camp as gibraltar in terms of unionism and retaining the link with the uk, which is that the heart of their politics. today we heard from a minister in the gibraltar government, the minister for housing and equality, she has come here to speak and she had a very uncompromising message when it comes to the current debate over the future of gibraltar in the context of these brexit negotiations. it is critical that the united kingdom remains firmly in the defence of our right

to self—determination, and that spain is given no hope, absolutely no hope in its campaign to take our sovereignty from us. applause so the issue of gibraltar to the fore again this weekend, spain saying it wants more of a say over gibraltar in the talks between britain and the eu when it comes to the future relationship, after the as far as the dup are concerned, they say the reason they propped up the government was to deliver brexit, they were passionate brexiteers, they campaigned for the uk to leave the european union, and they say that if the confidence in the deal by the tories does not deliver brexit, they will not support it. expect to hear that the dup as opposed to the deal, and she is expected to tell the prime minister to go back and get a better

agreement. let's show you some pictures from paris where thousands of protesters are taking part in a second weekend of demonstrations over fuel prices. protesters broke through the police line, and we have seen tear gas and water cannon used. they are known as the gilets jaune protesters, after the gilets jaune protesters, after the yellow tabards that motorists are required by law to carry, and this has been adopted as an emblem against fuel tax increases, which president macron is determined to introduce, many drivers are angry

about. there was an incident yesterday where a man effectively barricaded himself in, demanding that the president should meet protesters, but he was persuaded to come back out. the anger on the president has increased and is increasing, and these protests, and if there are violent scenes on the streets in paris, that will have an impact on the political debate on whether or not these tax rises on fuel are justified. that is the sea mless fuel are justified. that is the seamless lunchtime in paris. police are questioning a man after an officer was stabbed outside a train station in london. british transport police said the male officer was attacked with a knife outside ilford train station. a man was arrested soon after. the police officer has been treated in hospital — his injuries are not thought to be life—threatening. the white house has dismissed a hard

hitting official report on climate change which warns of its impact on the us economy and society. the report was written with the help of more than a dozen us government agencies and says the size of the american economy will shrink by ten % by the end of this century if no action is taken. the report clashes with president trump's own policies on the issue. he's repeatedly cast doubt on the fact that man—made climate change is real. 0ur correspondent, james cook, has more. this, say many scientists, is what 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?" 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 like hurricane harvey, which ravaged houston in 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's 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. the real harm is not the congregation, but whether people conflagration, but whether people know how to respond. we have been through the seasons again and again as is something people in the south—east haven't experienced before. it could potentially have even greater impact. the scientists say substantial and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions are essential, and they do report some progress.

but president trump has taken a sharply different approach to his predecessor ba rack 0bama, 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. hundreds of activists have taken part in a demonstration at parliament square in westminster for an environmental demonstration dubbed "rebellion day two". as part of the event organised the group extinction rebellion — protesters were urged to wear funeral clothing and bring wreaths, to symbolise what campaigners see as the threat to the planet's future. demonstrations are also taking place at the scottish parliament in edinburgh, as well as in manchester, north wales and sheffield. the destruction of the amazon rainforest in brazil has reached its highest level in a decade — driven by illegal logging and the planting of crops. satellite images show that 3,000

square miles of forest was cleared in the year tojuly — up nearly 1a % on the previous year. environmentalists say deforestation is one of the main causes of global warming. the headlines on bbc news. theresa may is set to head to brussels for talks today with top eu officials ahead of sunday's crucial summit to formally sign off the brexit deal. french police use water cannon and tear gas to disperse protesters gathering in central paris demanding a cut in the price of fuel. the white house has dismissed a government report that warns unchecked climate change will seriously damage the economy and effect human health and quality of life. and affect human health and quality of life. the national crime agency issues a warning to organised gangs involved in people smuggling across the english channel. i'll be speaking to the nca's operational lead on how they're tackling the problem. more now on those crutial

talks in brussels taking place across the weekend. theresa may is heading there in the next few hours. let's speak to jacopo barigazzi, brussels reporter for the online political magazine politico. good to speak to you. what do you make of the prospect of the summit going ahead? is it going to happen? 0n going ahead? is it going to happen? on paper it should not be difficult because the request of madrid is to reopen the withdrawal agreement which would be like opening pandora's box. it is now a sideline declaration. 0n pandora's box. it is now a sideline declaration. on paper this would make things much easier, but the

more time and the weight of it gets, the more complicated it becomes. in the eu, often deals are reached at the very last minute. it is also true that madrid's power of veto does exist because it is the council of ministers, there veto can be ove 1120 m e of ministers, there veto can be overcome because the vote is a majority. the european council, the form it will take place tomorrow, consensus is required, unanimity.“ not, there will be no european

council tomorrow. that is an alarming prospect, for theresa may. evenif alarming prospect, for theresa may. even if she gets the summit and the eu leaders are true to their word and sign off on the withdrawal agreement, she has tougher battles ahead, but the agency navigate when you compare what is likely to happen when you talk about a treat relationship. —— they have not seen anything yet. the mood is not that brussels wants to celebrate this deal. leaving the eu by itself is not something that is enjoyable by the eu. nobody can be sure what will

happen to administer. there is concern that theresa may's visit... the commission has reassured them that... what is very important is that... what is very important is that it that... what is very important is thatitis that... what is very important is that it is stable, it is not going to change, and whatever the purpose in the visit, it is not to reopen. after, it will be clear whether the minister will approve the deal. 0nly after that, we will start knowing more about the future, meaning for

example who will be in charge in leading negotiations with brussels for the free trade agreement? and when you look at the prospects of resolution, how long do you think this process could actually take? that is a very good question because here there was a joke already months ago, that transition would have lasted so long that the headline for the stories would be lost in transition! but at least we know there is a limit to how long the transition can be extended. some are pretty confident that the team will

be enough to reach a free trade agreement, the reasoning being that ifa agreement, the reasoning being that if a free trade trade agreement with the company —— country, it it should not be as difficult and complicated asa not be as difficult and complicated as a trade agreement with canada, new zealand or those with regulations that are different. thank you very much for being with us on thank you very much for being with us on bbc news this lunchtime. hundreds of people have attended the funeral of the well—known syrian radio host and activist, raed fares — who was killed by gunmen in the rebel—held province of idlib. raed fares founded an independent radio station broadcasting from opposition—held areas. despite several assasination attempts, he refused to leave idlib and continued to defy both the government and militants. when fresh radio was ordered to remove its female

presenters, software was used to disguise their voices. tributes to fares have been paid across the world. the un envoy to yemen, martin griffiths, has delivered an impassioned plea for peace in the embattled city of hodeidah — which is held by the houthi rebels. a government offensive has jeopardised the operation of the port , a vital lifeline for aid. on a visit to the area, mr griffiths pressed for the un to be given a leading role in running it. caroline rigby reports. explosion. from bombs and bullets to malnutrition and disease. described by the un as the world's worst man—made humanitarian crisis, this conflict has left a nation on the verge of famine. half of children, 47%, approximately half of children are chronically malnourished. health facilities functioning are approximately only 50%, versus 90% in 2013. one fifth of the districts have no doctors any more.

in recent weeks, fighting in yemen has focused on the rebel—held city hodeida as government forces try to seize the area from houthi rebels. but hodeida's harbour acts as a vital lifeline in this devastating war, and this recent offensive has threatened the arrival of food aid for millions of people in yemen already close to starvation. visiting the city on friday, the united nations envoy martin griffiths described hodeida as the centre of gravity in this conflict, and called for the un to take a leading role in running the port. it needs to be done quickly, by discussing it with all the parties. we believe that such a role will preserve the essential humanitarian pipeline that starts here and serves the people of yemen. war has raged in yemen for three and a half years between the saudi—led military

coalition and iranian—backed houthi rebels. international efforts to bring to an end the conflict were once again dashed this week when yet more fierce fighting flared up. but both sides do now appear open, at least, to the possibility of further peace talks, which the un hopes can resume in sweden in december. the national crime agency has issued a warning to organised gangs, which it says are behind a recent spike in illegal attempts to cross the english channel. this morning, the french authorities picked up five migrants from a small boat just off the coast southwest of calais. on friday, eight iranians were brought ashore after their dinghy was spotted off the coast of kent. it brings the total number of suspected migrants to have reached the uk this month to 101. i'm joined now via webcam by chris hogben, the national crime agency's operational lead for tackling people smuggling. what is... there have been a number

of atte m pts what is... there have been a number of attempts of small boats carrying almost exclusively romanian migrants. we're working with law enforcement under french law enforcement under french law enforcement to try to identify the crime groups behind it and bring them to justice ultimately stopping them to justice ultimately stopping the attempts. this is nothing new. we have seen attempts, and what has changed is the intensity in terms of numbers, we have seen a real spike since the beginning of october in this. is that spike is likely to

reduce again because of weather conditions, if nothing else changes? this week we have seen fairly calm weather which makes it easier for people to try these attempts. what i would say if this is a really dangerous method of trying to enter the uk. one of the downsides to a certain extent, some might say, with the tightened security around the uk border is it makes criminals and migrants far more desperate in terms of measures they will go to to try to beat the security, and one of the things we see is the increase in this type of activity. we're talking about people using small boats to ci’oss about people using small boats to cross the english channel, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. invariably at night, invariably with a helmsman who has little if any experience, and we're also talking about a small boat we

would class as overloaded, and almost every occasion the migrants do not have any form of safety equipment, so we're talking about a very dangerous method, and when you look upstream, the central mediterranean, eastern and western mediterranean, eastern and western mediterranean, where we have seen a number of tragedies over the past few years, where people have lost their lives, it is very fortunate we have not seen that in the english channel. thank you very much. sport, and we have mike bushell. sri lankan were bowled out for 240. england's women will face australia

tonight. looking to add to the 50 over and become double world champions. we have had a bumpy ride but it has made this resilient and fight hard to