welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: touchdown confirmed! nasa celebrates a perfect landing on mars, as the insight mission sends back its first image of the red planet. it is a very, very nice looking picture. it looks pretty flat, which makes ourjob very easy to do. and it's time to get going! a warning for britain, as president trump says the brexit deal could damage us—uk trade. ukraine imposes martial law, after sunday's naval clash with russian warships off the coast of crimea. tears of joy for the families reunited after indonesia's recent earthquake and tsunami. and paying tribute to bernardo bertolucci, director of last tango in paris and the last emperor, who's died aged 77. nasa's insight probe is not

the first to land on mars, but it does carry the greatest of expectations — unlocking the mysteries of how mars was formed and by extension, the origins of earth. insight touched down earlier after a perilous descent through the red planet's atmosphere. it was soon delighting nasa engineers back on earth, as our science correspondent, victoria gill now reports from california. touchdown confirmed! after a six—month journey and a perilous descent, relief and joy at mission control.

i am over the moon, it's incredible. this is my first mission, i still feel nervous, like i don't know, the adrenaline is still going through me, but we're on mars, insight worked, it was a soft landing, everything was perfect, which is so rare, and now ijust want more data, i want to see what is happening on mars! nasa's insight lander plunged through the martian atmosphere at 12,000 mph, touching down slowly and safely to send its signal home. and here are the first pictures it's sent of its new home. insight will carefully examine its surroundings so scientists can select exactly where to place scientific equipment. we're going to give mars its first checkup in 4 billion years, and we're going to do that by deploying the first seismometer to the surface of mars ever, and that'll measure quakes, and then we will deploy a thermal mole to dig into the surface and measure the thermal gradient to take mars‘ temperature. as insight studies the deep interior

of mars robotically, it'll be sending data back here to mission control in california, and people here will use that data to work out exactly how rocky worlds like earth, mars and the moon actually formed 4.5 billion years ago. they lovingly call this the centre of the universe. ok, you guys ready? here we go! back in the 1970s, astronauts drilled into the moon to take its temperature and study its structure. it is going right in! almost 50 years on, now the same analysis can finally be carried out on mars. a two—year mission begins, building a picture of the hidden depths of the red planet. victoria gill with that report from california. let's get some of the day's other news. mexico has called for a full investigation by the united states into the use of tear gas against hundreds of migrants who forcefully attempted to cross the border on sunday. 42 people were arrested by us border patrols afterjumping over the fence that separates the two countries. the incident prompted the us to close the border

for several hours. the british academic convicted of spying in the united arab emirates, matthew hedges, is said to be flying home, just days after being sentenced to life imprisonment. earlier, the uae government announced that he'd received a presidential pardon, but insisted that his conviction for spying was sound. he and his family have denied the charges. the former trump campaign aid, george papadopoulos has failed in his legal attempt to delay the start of his two—week prison sentence. mr papadopoulos pleaded guilty last year to lying to federal agents investigating alleged ties between russia and the trump campaign. us prosecutors say paul manafort, president donald trump's former campaign chairman, has breached a plea bargain agreement by lying to the fbi. the special counsel investigating alleged russian meddling in the us election said the breach meant there was now no reason to delay sentencing. in august, manafort was convicted

of financial fraud relating to his work as a political consultant in ukraine. president trump has intervened in the brexit debate, warning that theresa may's deal with the eu may make it harder for britain to trade with the united states. downing street insisted the agreement will allow britain to have an independent policy, meaning it can sign a new trade agreement with the us. 0ur washington correspondent danjohnson told me more about president trump's reaction. well, he certainly wasn't saying anything to be helpful to theresa

may. she's looked like a prime minister without many allies in the uk at the minute, and she certainly hasn't found one today over the other side of the atlantic. she, of course, hopes that after brexit, the uk can form good, strong free—trade agreements with countries around the world, but the us will be one of the biggest and most important partners that an independent uk would be hoping to trade with. well, these comments from donald trump today saying that the sort of withdrawal agreement she has negotiated, that she is now pursuing, may not allow trade with the us, will certainly come as a blow. and this is notjust an accident that donald trump has intervened in this way, not the first time he's cast doubt over the way the prime minister was negotiating brexit. well, this is what he said when he was asked earlier today what he thought of the current brexit withdrawal deal. sounds like a great deal for the eu, and i think we have to do this... i think we have to look at seriously whether or not the uk is allowed to trade because, you know, right now, if you look at the deal, they may not be able to trade with us and that wouldn't be a good thing. i don't think they meant that, i don't think that the prime minister meant that and hopefully she'll be able to do something about that, but right now,

as the deal stands, she may not — they may not be able to trade with the us. now, we don't know how closely donald trump has actually read the withdrawal agreement. how much of the detail he's across, but he seems to have picked up that the tone of the agreement is that there will be closer ties between the eu and the uk for some time to come, not just through that transition period to the end of 2019 and 2020 but perhaps even beyond that, especially if the issues around the northern ireland border can't be sorted out. are so that's the sort of thing that he's picked up on, that he believes may make trade with the us more difficult, and we understand that donald trump has got his own links with people on the brexit side in the uk, so it seems like he's fairly well informed. he's certainly taken a strong view that the current format of brexit won't be good for uk us trade. danjohnson in washington there.

ukraine has declared martial law in part of the country, after the seizure of three of its naval ships by russia. the measures will be introduced on wednesday and, for now, will be focused on tightening security. russia claims it has acted legally, but ukraine says it's the latest in a series of provocative acts in recent years. 0ur moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg reports. off the coast of crimea, russian border guards on collision course with the ukrainian navy. the russians target a tug boat. the hint is less than subtle. later, russian forces shoot at, then seize the tug, and two other ukrainian vessels. this apparently a mayday from a ukrainian sailor as the russians storm his boat. a russian replies. the vessels were towed

to russian—controlled crimea. 23 ukrainian servicemen have been detained. after the dramas at sea, the political battles over who's responsible. moscow's reaction — don't blame russia. 0fficials here have been presenting what happened as a ukrainian provocation in russian territorial waters. well, ukraine rejects that, and insists this was an act of aggression against its navy. 0n the streets of kiev, they agree. "death to russia", he shouts. protests and pyrotechnics outside the russian embassy. ukraine's president, petro poroshenko, called for 30 days of martial law in parts of the country. meanwhile, at the united nations, this warning for moscow. the united states will

maintain its crimea—related sanctions against russia. further russian escalation of this kind will only make matters worse. to some, the incident is a reminder ofjust how dangerous the russia—ukraine conflict is. the war continues to be live, and the war could escalate any moment, while endangering the relationship between russia and the west. at sea and in the sky, russia has sent a clear message to ukraine and to the west — don't mess with moscow. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. and there's plenty more detail on our website, including a background feature on ‘why the clash is fraught with risk for the world'. that's all at bbc.com/news — or download the bbc news app. general motors has announced plans to halt production at five factories

in north america and cut more than 111,000 jobs. the move follows slower car sales and rising costs, partly caused by tariffs on imported steel introduced by president trump. the us carmaker is to focus on its line—up of trucks and electric and self—driving vehicles. david cohen, a professor of political science at the university of akron, he explained how important general motors was to the overall economy of ohio. much of northern ohio is built on heavy manufacturing. and auto jobs and the other companies that depend on those auto jobs, like parts suppliers, are heavily dependent on the big automakers, not only domestic, but also foreign, within the state of ohio. so general motors, when they announced that they are going to be

closing the lordstown plant, in the youngstown area, that's a huge blow to north—eastern 0hio, because you have so manyjobs that are not only directly impacted by that, by the people who work at lordstown, but also on the other companies in the supply chain that are dependent upon that plant and supplying parts for those cars. the economics of the automotive industry are complex, so how much responsibility can we put at the door of the white house and president trump's trade policies? certainly donald trump and white house policies are partially to blame — they're not completely to blame. part of the blame goes to the american consumer, whose tastes have changed over the years. and now two thirds of the cars that were sold in the united states last year were trucks and suvs and crossovers, as opposed to sedans. the lordstown plant produces the chevy cruz, which is a compact

car, and so it's not that profitable a carfor gm to be making. however, you know, donald trump, when he was campaigning, and in office, has initiated a trade war with not only competitors to the united states, but also allies, including canada and mexico. and the trade war, steel, tariffs that he has imposed on steel, according to general motors and other automakers, has jacked up the prices of those vehicles and the raw materials. general motors blames $1 billion lost in revenue because of the trade war. so how will that affect president trump in ohio, which of course is such a crucial state in the presidential elections? well, ohio is not only a crucial state, it's a must—win state. no republican has ever won the presidency without winning the state of ohio.

so i think this is very damaging, especially if indeed gm does go ahead and shutdown that plant in 2019 like they have promised. ohio is crucial, michigan is crucial, michigan is also going to be losing one plant from gm, wisconsin, you know, other industrial midwest states that are crucial to donald trump's re—election cannot afford to have these large plants going out of business and tens of thousands of workers losing theirjobs. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: he directed iconic films like the ‘last emperor', we look back on the life of bernardo bertolucci. 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 world news. the latest headlines: nasa has successfully landed a probe on the surface of mars, sparking jubilation at mission control. president trump has warned britain the brexit deal could damage us—uk trade, in a fresh blow to prime minister theresa may. it's two months since a powerful earthquake

and tsunami hit the indonesian island of sulawesi. hundreds of children were separated from their families and more than 2,000 people died, with large areas being declared mass graves. but as rebecca henschke reports, in recent weeks, there have been some extraordinary family reunions with their missing children. five—year—old jumadil is reunited with his mum, a week after they were separated by the powerful quake and tsunami. translation: when he saw my face, he started crying and hugged me so tight. he didn't want to let go, he was so scared. his grandfather shows me where jamadil was playing on the beach that day. "building sand castles here", he says, "not knowing what was about to happen." mobile phone footage filmed from here captured

the moment when the huge waves hit the bay of palu and rushed through shops and homes and mosques. jumadil‘s family searched for days in the rubble, looking for his body. it was a post on social media that led them to him. it's believed he was carried away by a police officerjust in time. translation: it's just extraordinary that he survived. it's just an absolute miracle. social workers have reunited more than 1a children with their parents. three weeks after the disaster, victory is meeting his family, just when they'd almost given up hope. translation: at the hospital, we opened bodybag after bodybag, but we didn't find him. it turns out that he saw us on television and he cried out, "that's my mum ! " a student had found him washed up in the rubble and had taken him back to her town to care for him.

he's moved to another city with his parents. schools here are not back to normal yet, and his grandma wants him to be safe. jumadil has to go back to the beach each afternoon to help his mum. translation: he is still traumatised. if the lights go off, he gets very worried and runs into my arms. he gets flashbacks. a whole generation here is traumatised. this healing workshop a chance for children still living in tents to forget for a while what happened. with minor quakes still being felt here, they also recite songs about how to stay safe if another big one strikes. rebecca henschke, bbc news, palu. president macron is due to address the french people later,

with a speech on energy and environmental policy. it follows days of protests over increases to the price of petrol and diesel, brought in as part of the government's green taxes. meanwhile, the french finance minster has warned about the impact of the sometimes violent protests on the economy, as lebo diseko reports. these are the scenes that president macron has likened to a war zone. nationwide protests against fuel hikes now into their second week. this weekend saw violence on the champs—elysee, the so—called yellow vest protesters clashing with police. stones were thrown, barricades brought down and water cannons were used in. shots on the iconic strip were forced to board up their windows. those that didn't risked being vandalised. now the

finance minister is warning about the cost to the economy. translation: in terms of large retail outlets, the drop in revenue was 35% on the first day of the protests a nd was 35% on the first day of the protests and 18% last saturday. during the week, it was down between 8-15% in during the week, it was down between 8—15% in all of the large retail outlets. the government blames all the right gangs for the violence in paris, but the movement behind the protests has no formal structure or affiliation, and that might make it harder to quell the popular support its gained. demonstrators said president macron is out of touch with ordinary people and some are even calling for him to resign. the president is due to address the nation late on tuesday, and he's made it clear that he won't back down on the green taxes that led to the fuel increases. as businesses count the cost of the protests, it's difficult

to see where the room for compromise might be. lebo diseko, bbc news. italy's interior minister, matteo salvini, has taken the controls of an army digger to personally start the demolition of a villa built illegally by a mafia clan. mr salvini, enthusiastically wearing his white hard hat, said it was worth being a minister just to get the chance to flatten a mafia property. at least one million bees are suspected to have died of poisoning in a wine—producing area of south africa. an insecticide used by wine farmers is thought to have killed the insects on a farm in the cape town area. 0ther honey bee farmers in the area have also been affected, but it is still unclear how many of the insects have died. a syrian man who spent some seven months living in an airport in malaysia has been granted asylum in canada.

hassan al—kontar‘s plight garnered global attention when he began posting regular videos from kuala lumpur international airport. he spent the last two months in a malaysian detention centre and his canadian sponsors sought to have his case expedited. he is scheduled to land in vancouver shortly. the italian film director, bernardo bertolucci, widely regarded as one of the giants of world cinema has died after a long illness. he was 77. his career spanned more than half a century and his films included the iconic last tango in paris and the last emperor. lizo mzimba looks back on his life and achievements. look! this was perhaps bernardo bertolucci's masterpiece. the last emperor, the true story of pu yi, only a small child when he became china's last imperial ruler. it swept the oscars,

winning nine academy awards, including best film and best firector for bertolucci himself. including best film and best director for bertolucci himself. the historical epic, years in the making, was also a movie—making milestone. it was the first film allowed to be shot in beijing's forbidden city, something the director felt was essential for his vision. i couldn't find another place like the forbidden city. this is an incredible, amazing, huge place. i mean, hollywood never dare to build a set like this one. years before, his early film the conformist had been an influence on directors like spielberg. he went on to make one of the most controversial films of the 1970s. last tango in paris shocked

audiences with its sexual content. before her death, actress maria schneider said the way the director and her male co—star, marlon brando, decided to film one scene made herfeel as if she'd been assaulted. bertolucci denied this, saying she was aware in advance of the violent nature of the scene in question. in recent years, he'd been in ill health but still travelled the globe, doing everything from being celebrated with a star on the hollywood walk of fame to being presented with an honorary palme d'0r at the cannes film festival. he'll be remembered as one of cinema's greats, much of whose work is as powerful today as when it was first experienced by audiences. italian film director bernardo bertolucci, who's died at the age of 77. the white house has released a glitzy video to show off 2018's christmas decorations.

this year's theme is american treasures and honors the unique heritage of america according to officials. the layout was designed by the first lady, with the official tree dressed in more than 500 feet of blue velvet ribbon. holiday decorations celebrating the country's national symbols, including the bald eagle are seen in the state dining room. throughout the month of december, the white house will host more than 100 open houses and many receptions. you're watching bbc news. i'm duncan golestani. dojoin you're watching bbc news. i'm duncan golestani. do join us you're watching bbc news. i'm duncan golestani. dojoin us again you're watching bbc news. i'm duncan golestani. do join us again soon. bye— bye. hello there. well, we certainly started off the working week on a pretty chilly note for most of us, didn't we?

if it was too much for you, i can offer you something just that little bit milder. but unfortunately, it comes at a price, turning increasingly wet and windy over the next few days. let's take a look at the main culprits. it's these areas of low pressure pushing in from the atlantic, and they will move across the uk a little bit later on today, and they will bring some extremely wet weather at times, but also some mild weather. so we lose that easterly flow that has been coming in off the north sea. the winds swing round to a south—westerly, coming in with that area of low pressure, drags in the milder air. but the winds will be gusting to gales or severe gales over the next couple of days. we start off, though, with a little bit of patchy mist and fog around. but as the breeze picks up, that'll help lift that. a chilly—ish start, as you can see, with temperatures into low single figures first thing. but it won't be long before that cloud and rain starts to move into the south—west. so it's going to be a wet start across cornwall and south wales, and into northern ireland as well. slow improvement here for you as we go into the afternoon.

let's take a look at the finer detail for this afternoon and see what's in prospect. there's the brighter weather starting to push into cornwall through the afternoon. double figures, but some heavy rain into the south—west, across wales, the midlands and stretching up into the north of england. the rain shouldn't arrive into the east of england, so here it should stay dry and relatively bright. but we'll see most of the rain starting to ease out of northern ireland as we go through the afternoon. it stays relatively dry, windy with it across much of scotland. by the end of the day, you can see that rain starting to show its hand across the south—west. so, that moves through overnight. the next area of low pressure moves through. and thenjust look at the isobars squeezed together. that's where the strongest of the winds are going to be across the southern flank of that area of low pressure. so we could see gusts of winds in excess of 60mph in exposed coasts, maybe higher, and it will bring some heavy rain particularly through northern ireland, south—west scotland and north—west england. although the rain is lighter in nature further south, it's still going to be pretty windy with it as well. in terms of the feel of things,

i did promise you something a little bit milder. double digits, in fact, mid—teens for many. but when you factor in the wind and the rain, it's probably not going to feel very great out there. and it's not long before we see another area of low pressure moving in, bringing some heavy rain. this time, the emphasis is across central and southern parts of england on thursday. so, wet and windy again to the south on thursday. something drier, brighter and a little less windy by the end of the week. this is bbc news. the headlines: nasa has successfully landed a probe on mars. there was jubilation at mission control in california, after it survived a dramatic seven—minute plunge to the planet's surface. it's already sent back its first image from the red planet, kicking off two years of scientific discovery. president trump has suggested britain's brexit agreement with the eu could leave it unable to negotiate a free—trade agreement with the us.

his comments, two weeks before a crucial vote in the british parliament, are a fresh blow to prime minister theresa may. ukraine has declared martial law in part of the country, after russia's seizure of three ukrainian navy ships. it follows a naval clash in the kerch strait, off the coast of crimea, which was annexed by russia in 2014. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.