this is bbc world news today. i'm aaron safir. our top stories... britain's prime minister theresa may is in brussels as the eu says it's ready to sign the brexit withdrawal agreement. the spanish prime minister says britain has given him assurances over the future of gibraltar. mrs may insists she'll always stand by the territory. the uk's position on the sovereignty of gibraltar has not changed and will not change. i am proud that gibraltar is british and i will always stand by gibraltar. french police use water cannon and tear gas against demonstrators in paris, demanding a cut in fuel prices. deforestation of the amazon rainforest in brazil hits its highest rate in a decade. i don't know how you can watch them all at the same time. you're really a freak. and nicolas roeg, the director of the man who fell to earth and don't look now, has died at the age of 90. hello and welcome

to world news today. britain's prime minister, theresa may, has been meeting eu leaders in brussels ahead of sunday's summit, where her brexit withdrawal deal is due to be signed. earlier, she held talks with european commission president, jean—claudejuncker, and donald tusk of the european council. and the process moved forward another step when the spanish prime minister, pedro sanchez, called off his threat to boycott sunday's meeting. he says he now has the guarantees he wanted from britain over the future of gibraltar. here's prime minister may's response. the uk's position on gibraltar has not changed and will not change. we have negotiated on behalf of gibraltar, we have ensured they are covered by the whole withdrawal agreement and by the implementation period

and in the future we will continue to negotiate on behalf of the whole uk family and that includes gibraltar. i'm proud that gibraltar is british. i will always stand by gibraltar. thank you. christian fraser in brussels has been asking our europe correspondent, adam fleming, about the spanish prime minister's backing down of his threat to derail the process. this was an exercise in reassuring the spanish that their agreement, —— their argument, which was that the withdrawal agreement as it is now, would somehow mean that the future relationship between the uk and the eu have to brexit would automatically apply to gibraltar and he has got a confirmation in black and white that the spanish government will have a say over how that final future relationship is applied in gibraltar, which is effectively what they had before, but pedro sanchez has the piece of paper he can wave in the andalusian elections in the next few days, and if you are the spanish foreign minister,

you can send a tweet saying, "this is the biggest thing to happen to gibraltar since the treaty of utrecht in 1713," which the british would say is a bit over the top. for a restatement of their existing position. we have just seen pictures of theresa may going to the meeting withjean—claude juncker this evening. what is she here to discuss? she is not here to negotiate because the two bits of the brexit package, the withdrawal agreement, 585—page divorce treaty and the outline of what the future might look like, those documents were sealed and zipped shut yesterday by eu officials so she is not negotiating. i think this is going to be talking about how tomorrow can be a springboard to the next part of the process which is the brexit package being ratified,

first in the british parliament and then in the european parliament but this is a moment of history. it's a moment of political theatre because the leaders didn't have to do this, they didn't have to come here tomorrow and have this sombre ceremony to endorse the document legally. they are not obliged to do that, but i'm glad that they are. we have been following this for 20 months. when they get these documents in front of them tomorrow, will be vote on them? no, there is no vote. they will all arrive, the 27, walk the red carpet as they always do for an eu summit, we will try and get them to say something, a historic soundbite for the news, then there will be a meeting with the european parliament president antonio tajani for half an hour. the european parliament has to give their consent to the final package. then the 27 will spend an hour together, agreeing a side document that i've had a look at, and i think will spell out seven areas of vigilance they will keep an eye on as talks progress in the next phase. then theresa may will be ushered in for one hour then we're expecting a press conference at midday, brussels time, with jean—claude juncker and donald tusk, where the whole thing will be wrapped up and that will be it. and there'll be full coverage

of sunday's brexit summit in brussels across bbc news. our special programming starts at 8 gmt. we will keep you up to date with all the developments throughout the day. police in paris have used tear gas and water cannon against protesters demanding that president macron drop an increase on the tax on diesel. across the country, 130 people have been arrested. diesel is most commonly used fuel in french cars and the cost has risen significantly over the past 12 months, as part of the president's drive against pollution. a large crowd of demonstrators, known as the yellow vests, converged on the champs elysees. for more than a week, protesters wearing fluorescent yellow jackets have blocked highways across the country. our correspondent lucy williamson reports from paris. this, a reminderfor france's president — sparks can quickly ignite into flames. the champs elysees not a tourist site today, but an unofficial battleground. protesters armed with paving stones, pushed back by tear gas,

water cannon, riot police. this movement is about more than fuel prices. its supporters, tired of taxes and tired of politicians. their slogans threatening revolution. the french authorities, a joke to some. translation: we have to pay rent, food, insurance and telephone. what's left at the end of the month? nothing. i don't want macron to just cut taxes, i want him to resign. translation: why is it always the little taxpayer who has to pay? we've been tightening our belts for 30 years. if it gets any tighter we're going to explode. the government banned protestors from this street today, pointing

them to the eiffel tower instead. the far—right leader marine le pen questioned why. the government says she is encouraging dissent. translation: we are using water cannon and tear gas to push back the assailants. the ultra—right is mobilised and answered marine le pen's call. they want to attack institutions, they want to attack governing mps. the government said no protests on this street and look what happens. they say ultra—right elements are responsible for the violence here, but many ordinary people say they also support this movement. this protest has brought together people from all political backgrounds, all parts of france, but it is a movement with no national leader, no formal structure, its membership and its identity hard to control. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. one of the biggest football matches in argentina's history is in doubt after a bus carrying one of the teams, boca juniors, was attacked by rival fans shortly before the game was due to kick—off in buenos aires. the final of the copa libertadores between two buenos aires—based clubs is due to decide who will become the next south american champions.

voters in taiwan have rejected same—sex marriage, despite a ruling by the island's top court last year that a ban was unconstitutional. it's unclear how the result of a series of referendums on the issue on saturday will affect the court decision. before the votes, taiwan appeared to be on course to become the first place in asia to legalise same—sex marriages. but in recent months there's been a backlash. government officials in brazil say the deforestation of the amazon rainforest has hit its highest rate in a decade. close to 8,000 square kilometres is lost in a year. to put that in context, that's an area roughly five times the size of london. environmental organisations say illegal logging and expanding agricultural activities continue to be the majorfactors in the destruction of the amazon. let's get more from miles silman, a professor of conservation biology from wake forest university in north carolina. just put into context for our

viewers how important the amazon is not just to viewers how important the amazon is notjust to brazil but viewers how important the amazon is not just to brazil but the viewers how important the amazon is notjust to brazil but the rest of the world. it is our largest remaining tract of tropical forest and it contains between one third and it contains between one third and one quarter of all is he/she is on the entire planet so it isn't out -- it is on the entire planet so it isn't out —— it is incredibly important in terms of violent diversity that also in terms of climate. when you think about the forest, it is a tremendous story of carbon. it takes carbon out of the area, from the atmosphere and stores it in the forest. as we lose the forest, we lose the ability to store carbon but also carbon is returned to the atmosphere. this increase is quite alarming but overall the trend is down on deforestation. what is behind this

spike? deforestation reached its peak in the 90s and early 2000s and has fallen by about 70—75% since 2004, and it was due to forward looking forest legislation in brazil and also a falling commodities prices which made some exports less profitable. we are seeing this increase in the rate of deforestation. what is the impact on the remaining forest when huge areas disappear? it does weaken the area asa disappear? it does weaken the area as a whole. the deforestation rate has dropped through the late 2000s and now it is taking up and so it is and now it is taking up and so it is a little alarming. 0ne and now it is taking up and so it is a little alarming. one thing you can happen is you start to lose the forest. the deforestation figures,

the forest degradation that goes on as well, you can multiply the figures by somewhere between three and four, so the loss of forest integrity is higher. 0ne and four, so the loss of forest integrity is higher. one of the fears is that it will pass a point where it ceases to be a sink for carbon. forests are responsible for as much emissions as the entire transportation sector. it is one of the main places where we can store carbon to mitigate climate change. thank you. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come... this is bbc world news today. i'm aaron safir. the latest headlines... theresa may is in brussels ahead of sunday's summit to approve her brexit deal. the spanish prime minister says britain has given him assurances over the future of gibraltar. french police use water cannon and tear gas against demonstrators in paris who are demanding a cut in fuel prices.

archaeologists have discovered an ancient egyptian tomb that's believed to be more than 3,000 years old. it was found near the famous valley of the kings near luxor. the tomb, which was decorated with paintings, also contained around 1,000 statues and figurines. sodaba haidare reports. this and cough coffin of the two discovered in luxor on the banks of the river nile, and it contains the body of a woman almost perfectly preserved for more than 3000 years. ancient egyptians mummified human is to preserve their bodies for the afterlife. the woman was from the 18th egyptian dynasty whose most famous pharaohs include tutankhamun

and rameses the second. that is the first time it egyptian authorities have opened a sealed sarcophagus before the international media. the discovery was made by a french led mission in northern region, along other significant finds. september 2018, we continued the work and then we found a side chamber sealed with mud bricks so we opened it and found almost two intact wooden coffin is in perfectly preserved preservation with flowers on top of them. the other tomb from 2000 years ago includes that oversee of mummification and over 1000 figurines which ancient egyptians believed would serve the dead in the afterlife. archaeologists moved 300 metres of rubble over five months to uncover the tomb which depicts

coloured ball scenes depicting the owner and his family. one of britain's, and the world's, most original film directors, nicolas roeg, has died at the age of 90. he had a career spanning six decades and was celebrated for his original and controversial film—making, including don't look now, performance, and the man who fell to earth. jon donnison looks back at his career. i sent your food back to get it warm. julie christie and donald sutherland in nic roeg's masterpiece, don't look now. it was sumptuous and eerie. both hypnotising and unsettling.

he was a cameraman before becoming a director. here he is on the set of fahrenheit 451, filming julie christie he was the director of photography on doctor zhivago, but fell out with the director david lean, who sacked him. his replacement won an oscar for work that was partly roeg's. why don't you go to a hotel? his first film as director was performance starring mickjagger as a rock star and james fox as a gangster. it included graphic scenes of violence, sex and drug—taking. you are really a freak. i don't mean that unkindly. the man who fell to earth featured another rock star, david bowie, in a sprawling and sometimes hallucinogenic work of science fiction. he could be driven. on one film the crew threatened to walk out when he filmed for 24 hours nonstop.

but no other british director could match nic roeg's visual imagination or his skill at wrongfooting, bewildering and delighting audiences. the film director nicolas roeg, who has died at the age of 90. and we've had this tribute from donald sutherland, who as we heard starred in "don't look now" in 1973. he said, "he is a fearless visionary, always was, always will be. he was a liberating joy to work for. "i fell in love with him then and will love him forever." now all the sport. shocking scenes from buenos aires. the final between two of the biggest teams. the barkerjuniors —— boca

the final between two of the biggest teams. the barkerjunior: many ica the final between two of the biggest teams. the barkerjunior: many of juniors bus was attacked. many of the team, including carlos tethers, are being treated for the effects of tear gas. already away fans are banned from derbies in argentina due to violence when these sides have met in the past. let's get more on this. what is it like at the moment? i got into the stadium three hours before the kick—off and at the time the atmosphere was building. it was a combination of tension and anticipation but then we heard these rumours you have been talking about. with one hour to go there are still no team sheets and we didn't know who was going to play and then

suddenly they turned off the music in the stadium and that is when we knew something was happening to stop the game was delayed by one hour but then delayed again until 715 local time, just under one hour time, and despite the adamant wishes of boca juniors them not to play today. despite the adamant wishes of boca juniors them not to play todaym it likely to go ahead? should it? who will play? we are looking at some scenes inside the dressing room. they are being treated for what we think are tear gas injuries. the boca juniors captain went to hospital with glass in his eye and he has returned to the stadium but he has returned to the stadium but he will not play today. there has been a lot of pressure on boca juniors to play the game, pressure from the governing body of football in south america and also, we understand, the fifa president.

there was a similar incident three yea rs there was a similar incident three years ago when river plate players we re years ago when river plate players were attacked with pepper sprayed by boca juniors fans and that game was abandoned and river plate were given the win. boca juniors want the same thing to happen tonight but it looks like it will go on. the music is back on. that has been my guide for whether things are going to happen 01’ whether things are going to happen or not. the atmosphere has changed. it isa or not. the atmosphere has changed. it is a lot more optimistic now than it was. thank you for that update. a shock result in spain when real madrid last 3—0 last two eibar. manchester city and second placed

liverpool are still unbeaten after big wins at west ham. and watford. manchester united failed to win against crystal palace at old trafford, goalless. croix shop was my guide in the tie have... croatia got the trophy —— no team has come from 2—0 down to claim the title since 1999. now, back in the early 1970s a dutch engineer came up with a novel idea for solving the increasing problem of too many cars on the roads of the major cities. he proposed an electric car sharing scheme called witkar. launched in amsterdam in march 1974, the scheme grew to have more than 4,500 members before it shut down due to lack of support from the city council.

the witkar inventor, luud schimmelpennink spoke to the witness history team. in the beginning a lot of people would say it was crazy but still i make a design for that car and we built an electrical car and that was the witkar, the first one. the car was very dominant in the town at that time and that was not what we wanted. we said, ok, let's go to another system. we can do it with a bike but we can also do it with an electric car. in dutch we called it witkar because it was pure, there was no pollution.

the first witkar station was opened here in march 1974. it began with a three—month trial period. it was in the centre of amsterdam. it was fairly revolutionary. each member gets an encoded magnetic key to access the system. you select your destination on the dial. the computer checks if there is a free parking spot and, if so, a light comes on. the journey can then begin. in the beginning, we get permission only for one station. that was very difficult. three months we ran with one station. the police followed the cars because they were afraid it was dangerous. but there was never an accident and the speed was slow, 30 kilometres an hour, and so it was a safe system for town and was also completely clean. the aim is to get to 15 charging

stations with about 100 witkars. since these cars take up so little space and produce no exhaust fumes, they seem to offer the perfect solution for an overcrowded town like amsterdam. we get more and more members. at the end we had 4500 members but the problem is that we had too few charging stations. the town council was a little bit against it and so we couldn't get the 50 stations we need. crazy. it was, yeah, very bad that we had to stop. but it was not the idea, the idea was very good.

i am now in my 80s and i want that in towns in the world, this system should be used and i am now designing a special car and it looks very good. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. i'm @aaronsafir. full coverage of the upcoming brussels summit on the bbc website. no major changes for sunday for most of us. the south of the country will have better weather. saturday was

not great. we had cloud, outbreaks of rain. sunday looks brighter. the big picture. the airflow coming from the east this evening tonight. it is not desperately cold but cold enough that temperatures will struggle over the next day or so. tonight a fair bit of cloud across the country, tending to dry out eventually in the south. a few clear spells across western areas and we might get some frost. temperatures in towns and cities between three and six celsius. tomorrow, across western areas, western scotland, northern ireland, wales, some sunshine and a bright day but eastern areas could be cloudy with one or two showers, but i expect a much better day in the south. more sunshine or at least more dry weather around through the afternoon. temperatures single

figures with the wind is blowing out of the east. 0n figures with the wind is blowing out of the east. on monday, the last of the quieter days, a big low—pressure system in the atlantic and another just off the screen. 0n system in the atlantic and another just off the screen. on monday it sta rts just off the screen. on monday it starts off quiet, light winds in the morning, probably frost first thing, some mist and fog in places. you can start to see unsettled weather winding up in the atlantic, pushing towards western areas of the uk late on monday into the early hours of tuesday. monday looks fine and dry for many of us. with this change to the weather comes much milder air, it will feel milder but the wins will be stronger and we will have rain. the big low—pressure system approaches through tuesday night and another one just to the south will rattle through the uk through the week as well. temperatures will pick up week as well. temperatures will pick up but the wind, gale force winds

and outbreaks of rain. this is bbc world news, the headlines: theresa may is in brussels for last—minute talks with european commission presidentjean—claude juncker ahead of sunday's brexit summit which is expected to formally sign off the agreement. police in paris have clashed with protesters demanding president macron drop his plan for fuel tax rises. the cost of diesel has risen significantly over the past 12 months, as part of the president's drive against pollution. the start of one of the biggest football matches in argentina's history has been postponed by an hour after a bus carrying the boca juniors team was attacked by rival fans. the final of the copa libertadores between two buenos aires—based clubs will decide who becomes the next south american champions. and nicolas roeg, the director of films such as the man who fell to earth and don't look now, has died at the age of 90.