this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top story: a warning for britain, as president trump says the brexit deal could damage us—uk trade. right now if you look at the deal, they may not be able to trade with us 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 the prime minister meant that and hopefully she will be able to do something about that. spiralling tensions over sunday's sea clash between russia and ukraine. we talk to the commander of the ukrainian navy. france counts the cost of nationwide protests against fuel price rises. president macron prepares to address the nation. in business, general motors says it will close factories and slash thousands ofjobs in north america, as it looks to save money and keep up with its rivals. a warm welcome to the programme,

briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and we'd love to get your view on the latest intervention from president trump, warning theresa may's deal with the eu may make it harderfor britain to trade with the us. is he overstepping the mark and attempting to swing opinion in the same way former president barack obama did before the referendum 7 tell us what you think, just use #bbcthebriefing. well, downing street has rejected donald trump's suggestion that

theresa may's brexit deal will make it harderfor the uk to reach a trade agreement with the us. let's listen to what the president had to say. 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. danjohnson is in washington for us. dan, good to see you. of course, a lot of reaction to what he had to say. give us more detail on his comments. it sounds like the

president is wary of this deal and the prospect of it leading to greater uk— us trade at least in the short term. the provisions of this withdrawal agreement are that during the transition period and perhaps even after that, beyond 2020, the uk would still be closely aligned with the eu customs union mainly because of the northern irish issues. it depends how long it takes to resolve thoseissues depends how long it takes to resolve those issues about trade across the northern irish border with the republic as to when the uk could properly fully, finally leave the customs union, as was promised. then the uk could enter into broad free—trade agreements with other countries. the president has foreseen that won't happen any time soon under the latest version of the agreement that theresa may negotiated. this is not the first time he sounded this warning. he has been a vocal critic of "soft

brexit". he was talking about the possibility of a hard brexit, he said it would be a clear break for the uk, it would enable free—trade agreements with more treaties. he aligned himself with brexiteers before. they will take heart from this. another instance where theresa may looks like she is without an ally. we will leave it there. thank you,. —— thank you dan. -- thank you dan. he has aligned himself with the likes of boris johnson, nigel farage. we will discuss this in further detail later in the programme. now, let's talk about happening in ukraine. it 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. the bbc‘s jonah fisher has been speaking to ukrainian navy commander admiral ihor voronchenko. he began by asking if he knew

the whereabouts of the vessels and the 23 men taken by russia. translation: two ships and one tugboat are in kersch now. three servicemen are in hospital in kerch. another 21 were taken to different cities. we don't know their whereabouts right now. we know that they will hold a court hearing where they will hold a court hearing where they will hold a court hearing where they will decide on a preventative measure for my men. when we last spoke a couple of months ago you told me that azov would not be another crimea. can you still go into the azov sea? will you be sending your ships through the kerch straights? is it off—limits to ukraine? translation: straights? is it off—limits to ukraine? translationzli straights? is it off—limits to ukraine? translation: i will tell you this, we will fight for hours

about land till our last breath. we will do all the cancer as in that land remains alice and our sea remains ours. we will take all measures to protect our country —— oui’s. measures to protect our country —— ours. your president says there has to be martial law in this country because he has seen intelligence documents which suggest that russia is preparing for a land invasion of ukraine. you are the head of the navy, have you seen those documents and how serious is the threat in your view? i haven't seen those documents, but i have seen some and i know about the situation in certain areas. they are indeed increasing their military effort vote in crimea, in eastern ukraine and on the eastern borders. they are relocating and rotating russian military officers in the army corps of the so—called donetsk republic. we need to be prepared for a sudden

attack. what difference will martial law make? we can take higher level measures to make the ukrainian military combat ready. we can mobilise the troops, boost our defence industry and engage the population into defence. we have a wider range of measures to repel the potential aggression. that was admiral ihor voronchenko speaking with jonah that was admiral ihor voronchenko speaking withjonah fisher. let's ta ke speaking withjonah fisher. let's take you to france. french president emmanuel macron is due to address the nation 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 brought in. shops 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 and 18% last saturday. 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. more now on our top story, which is that president trump says the brexit deal could damage the us— uk trade. bev shah, chief executive and founder of city hive, joins me now. it is an agent of call for change in the cultural sector. good morning. great to have the on the programme.

timing is everything. mps have to make a choice on the brexit deal, with this deal in parliament next week and we already know the odds are stacked against theresa may and oui’ are stacked against theresa may and our president trump has put in his comments, as it were. yes, basically he has handed the brexiteers a tool to hit mrs may on the head even more. it is not unexpected, though, that mr trump would make these comments. at the end of the day, he's always been on the side of hard brexit. he has always thought we should make a clean breakfrom brexit. he has always thought we should make a clean break from the eu. the nuts and bolts of the deal state that you can have independent trade deals. i think from what he was saying, he felt it was unclear whether you could. there is the g20 summit this weekend, where mrs may is going to spend time trying to persuade the world leaders. it is an indicator of how world leaders are feeling about the uk that the

japanese pm abe is not coming to the uk as planned. shinzo abe, yes. but also as well it really reminded me when i heard his comments from former president barack obama speaking before the referendum in the uk on our membership of the european union when he said the uk could go to the back of the queue when it comes to trade if we decide to leave the european union. that backfired big—time, didn't it, someone say backfired big—time, didn't it, someone say for the then prime minister david cameron? these kind of interventions don't always help, do they? no, we have always known it was very naive to think we could just go out and negotiate these trade deals. they take years and yea rs trade deals. they take years and years and, having been in the eu force of long, we don't have the skills base to actually go out and negotiate these trade deals. so it's probably very likely that if we don't keep our allies like the us happy they are not going to keep

dell might want to hand over a deal that we want. -- they might not want. that's not president trump anyway. and there is so many moving parts at the moment in this whole game of thrones of the eu and brexit and everything going on so we have to see what happens between now and december 11. indeed. and anything can happen. we shall see what the outcome is. bev, thank you for now. bev will be back with the news briefing later on. let's move on now. the final election of this year's midterms takes place in the us state of mississippi. the republican candidate's comments about public hangings, for which she has apologized, have brought back memories of lynchings and made race the dominant issue. her opponent hopes to become the first african american candidate to hold a statewide office for more than a century. chris buckler reports. the politics of modern america can

feel change to the past. and what is undeniably an ugly history. at the national memorialfor undeniably an ugly history. at the national memorial for peace and justice, they make a point of remembering. there are 800 steel monuments hanging here. one for every county. each one engraved with the names of the black men, women and children killed in racist attacks. i had no idea of the amount of mentions that went on with white superiority. it is amazing how ingrained it is even today. even today? even today, yes. i look at what's going on and what the racists in mississippi, the senator... he is talking about cindy hyde—smith, who is standing for senate in today's run—off election in mississippi and who made these comments.

the parallels with lynchings have made raise an issue in a campaign where she is facing mike sp, an african—american candidate.“ where she is facing mike sp, an african-american candidate. if this comment was twisted and it was turned into a weapon to be used against me, a political weapon. turned into a weapon to be used against me, a politicalweapon. -- espy. well, no one twisted your comments, because the comments were, you know, they can out of your mouth. normally, republicans would regard this as a pretty safe seat, but the controversy over cindy hyde—smith's comments have made this a much tighter battle. it is why donald trump is in mississippi holding not one but two rallies on the eve of the election. many who came to see the president said they regretted cindy hyde—smith's choice of words, but not everyone. there is a difference in a public hanging and a difference in a public hanging and a lynching, and this narrative that

has been draw about her use of the term public hanging. she is referring to a lawful execution. and the way she made her comment, if a gentleman invited her to a public hanging, she would be on the front row. but we don't have public hanging. we need to, we need to. some say in america has still to face up to its past. at the national mom or you will, there are hundreds of steel monuments lying in the grounds, waiting to be cleaned and put up in each county where lynchings took place as a permanent reminder of that history. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: kenya hosts the first global conference on tackling plastic pollution, but the scale of the problem is daunting. even here at the blue economy conference, when they serve you food, what do they served in? you guessed it. it is going to take a

lot more than words to solve the plastic of them. —— problem. 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. you're watching the briefing.

our top story today: president trump has warned britain the brexit deal could damage us—uk trade, in a fresh blow to prime minister theresa may. it has become one of the great environmental causes of recent years. plastic pollution's effect on the world's oceans has dominated the news agenda. now kenya is hosting the first global conference on the so—called blue economy, looking for ways to utilise the ocean's resources in a sustainable way. the southern nigerian city of port harcourt has long suffered from pollution from oil spills, but plastic is a growing problem. the bbc‘s mayeni jones went there to find out why. welcome to nigeria's garden city,

port harcourt was once known for its lush green landscape. now, illegal oil refineries and unofficial dumps lined the banks of the river. the smell is quite intense. you have a smell is quite intense. you have a smell of fumes, rubbish, it can see there are a few animals and pigs and there are a few animals and pigs and there is a community living right next to this everyday. and our plastic pollution is also affecting their livelihoods. this menu is to make a good living, but not any more. “— make a good living, but not any more. —— this man used to. ten rivers are thought to be responsible for 90% of the plastic

that ends up in the world's oceans. eight are that ends up in the world's oceans. eightare in that ends up in the world's oceans. eight are in asia, the other two in africa. this is the creek that flows through the whole of port harcourt and empties out into the river. individuals are trying to make a difference, raising awareness and picking litter they can only do so much. we are bringing individuals in the advocacy and some that are into cycling also that helped to collect some of this, but it is enormous, it is enormous. so individuals, the government has not yet have a direct policy for plastic. —— does not. plastics it is one of the issues being discussed at the blue economy conference in nairobi this week. the past decades, almost 35 years so, we

are sung almost entirely to plastics, because it is cheap. 0ne of the things to do is to realise that it of the things to do is to realise thatitis of the things to do is to realise that it is actually not that cheap, that it is actually not that cheap, that it is actually not that cheap, that it comes at a cost, that plastics are not low cost, it is just that the cost gets luzon to marine environments, coastal environments, and the cost impacts on all of our health and well—being. and just to show you the scale of this problem, even here at the blue economy conference, when they serve you food, what they served in? you guessed it. it is going to take a lot more than words to solve the plastic problem. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. it —— now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm tulsen tollett. coming up in your tuesday sport briefing: manchester city are among a host of clubs in champions league action later. ronnie 0'sullivan gets his uk snooker championship defence under way. and the new york knicks look to make it four nba wins in a row. we're in for a feast

of champions league football later, with holders real madrid, bayern munich and manchester united all in action. pep guardiola has every reason to be happy, as his manchester city travel to lyon and need just a point to secure their place in the last 16. the premier league champions have recovered from a sluggish start. after losing at home to lyon, they've won three in a row. we are playing at a high level, score a lot of goals, and we are going to do that tomorrow but away. never i think in my career have i won the three games away in champions league, never. it was nine yea rs champions league, never. it was nine years in champions league, or ten yea rs, years in champions league, or ten years, whenever i think i was able to win three games away it may be, so we will be an exception in our situation tomorrow. this man could be about to make yet more history. snooker‘s uk championship begins on tuesday — the sport's second—biggest ranking event. ronnnie 0'sullivan won it last year and is aiming for a record seventh title. he was the tournament's youngest champion when he was just 17 years old.

that was 25 years ago, and incredibly, he's still one of the favourites. now, so far this season, they've faced an uphill battle in the nba, but the new york knicks are finally finding some form. they travel to detroit later as they aim for their fourth win in a row. their victory over memphis at the weekend — one of the best teams in the west — will be a big confidence boost. in case you missed it, ireland rugby union coach joe schmidt will step down after next yea r‘s world cup and will be replaced by this man here, defence coach, andy farrell. schmidt has taken the team up to second in the world rankings, while 43—year—old farrell was also a dual code international with england in his playing days, before he was england defence coach up until the 2015 world cup. his new appointment will be his first head coach role. england held their nerve to beat sri lanka by 42 runs in the third test. it completes their first ever whitewash there. kusal mendis hit a superb 86 to frustrate the tourists, and it briefly looked

like sri lanka might pull off an unlikely run chase, but the wickets then fell. jack leach removed suranga lakmal, as sri lanka were all out for 284. the most enjoyable thing about it is that it has been a complete squad effort. i said at the start that was going to have to be the case and all of the guys have come in and performed, the guys who are playing in theirfirst two in performed, the guys who are playing in their first two in these conditions or being senior players that have really taken to that tag and stepped up and set an example to the young guys. it is, all round, it has been very enjoyable and very impressive as well. thanks to social media, we get to see behind the scenes like never before in sport. the england and wales cricket board released this video after england's historic series whitewash. joe root, who we just heard from, is leading the celebrations in the dressing room.

and what a difference 12 months makes. after being heavily beaten in the ashes, england are a team in form as they head to the west indies in the new year. nice to see. you can get all the latest sports news at our website. that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, tulsen tollett, and the rest of the team, that is your tuesday sport briefing. we asked for your comments at the beginning of the programme and as ever, you have not held back. today, we are discussing donald trump's intervention when it comes to the deal the uk has brokered with the european union in terms of our exit and you suggested that the brexit agreement could threaten the us uk trade deal going forward. we wanted to know what did you make of that intervention, well, many of you actually in favour of donald trump this morning, would seem. we have got david whitley who says i think there is not a problem with this, unlike the bbc, trump calls as he

sees it. he is in southampton in the uk, thank you david for your comments. we have another one, and he says he is smelling blood, by propagating division. he was the worst outcome for all parties, except trump. he knows harder brexit will weaken the eu and the uk and the us will win. more generalities pipe politicians with no hard facts alternatives given. we have got mark, who says that he feels this insta nt mark, who says that he feels this instant intervention on the part of donald trump giving his view is not damaging at all. he says it is funny how the bbc loves barack 0bama's intervention but not keen on donald trump did in his opinion. bbc did not like either, we are just reporting on the facts as they happen. thank you for all your detail and your comments. see you in a minute. —— moment.

good morning. there's a change to come to the weather, but i'm not sure you're going to like it, because the cold air is now being replaced by something a little bit milder, but unfortunately, pretty stormy over the next couple of days, with some wet and windy weather to come. it's all moving in over the atlantic. you can see these areas of low pressure starting to push towards the uk. they'll arrive a little later on today. so we are going to start off on a relatively quiet note, and on a chilly note, it's worth bearing in mind, with a little bit of patchy mist and fog. in fat, temperatures over the next few hours will be sitting into low single figures. but the breeze will pick up, that is going to lift the mist and fog quite promptly, and we'll see the rain moving on from the west. that will introduce something a little bit milder through the day, but wet as well. the heaviest of the rain looks likely to be into the south—west of england and wales, and northern ireland first thing in the morning. so let's take a look at that in a little more detail. it will move through at

quite a pace, actually. so some brightness pushing through into the south—west later on. the rain will sit across parts of dorset, up into wales, the midlands. but look at this, the south—east, east anglia, to the east of the pennines will stay dry during daylight hours. rain into the lake district, into northern ireland, fringing south—west scotland as we go through the afternoon. and by the end of the afternoon, for the bulk of scotland, it will finish off dry, pretty windy with it, but the rain arrives through the night. so one front pushes further east, it is going to be replaced by yet another. and there's quite a squeeze on the isobars, and that denotes where we will see the strongest of the winds, so gusts in excess of 60 miles an hour, maybe more, and some of the rain will be quite heavy through northern ireland, south—west scotland, north—west england. a little more showery in nature further south, but nevertheless, still pretty windy with it as well. so not a particularly pleasant day, i suspect, as we go through wednesday. in terms of the feel of things, it will be milder, noticeably milder, but when you

factor in the wind and rain, i'm not sure whether that will be an issue for you. so as we move into thursday, more wet weather, this time pushing in from the south. so it looks as though england and wales will see the heaviest of the rain likely. not a pleasant day on thursday. getting slightly showery in nature further north. but hopefully by friday we will see the winds and the rain easing. this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. general motors says it will close factories and slash thousands ofjobs in north america, as it looks to save money and keep up with its rivals. and talking tough — president trump says he is likely to go ahead with an increase on tariffs imposed on chinese goods from the start of next year. and on the financial market, a mixed day emerging in asia as traders get their heads around the latest trade threats from the us president.