welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: to the right, 311, to the left to 293. more brexit trouble for theresa may — three big defeats for her government — but the british prime minister is insistent... the choice before parliament is clear. this deal, no deal, or the risk of no brexit. two senior republicans, briefed by the cia, now say they are certain the saudi crown prince ordered the killing and dismemberment of jamal khashoggi. stocks tumble on wall street as investors worry about the latest threats to the us economy — and relations with china. a u—turn for macron. the french president backs down in the face of protests. he's suspended new fuel taxes, but will it be enough? the mafia ‘boss of bosses‘ settimo mineo is arrested in sicily along with dozens of other suspects. hello.

in one day, the british parliament has inflicted a series of defeats on the government over brexit, which further weaken the prime minister's authority, and could give the house of commons far more say on britain's future relationship with the european union. the government was also forced into a climbdown over its refusal to release the full official legal advice it's received on the brexit agreement. ministers were found to be in contempt of parliament. all this drama just before theresa may opened five days of debate on her deal. nick watt reports from westminster. it was the day when parliament, to coin a phrase, took back control. the government has suffered a major defeat that could shape the nature of brexit and how britain is governed. the ayes to the right, 307.

noes to the left, 311. that was the first of three defeats. ministers declared in contempt of parliament after refusing to publish the full legal advice on brexit. labour said this was unprecedented in modern parliamentary history and had an immediate impact. we have listened carefully and we will publish the final and full advice provided by the attorney general to cabinet. and then in perhaps the most important moment of the day, mps gave parliament new teeth if the brexit deal is rejected. the ayes to the right, 321. noes to the left, 299. the ayes have it. mps would then be able to table alternative plans. it has been a0 years since the government lost

so many votes on one day. but ministers are wondering if this may help theresa may. one cabinet minister said to me that this is a wake up and smell the coffee moment for brexiteers. do they want to vote down the prime minister's deal and, after today, risk parliament voting for a much softer brexit? theresa may opened the brexit debate with an impassioned defence of her deal. but looking around this chamber, i know we can reach this moment. so i promise you today this is the very best deal for the british people. i ask you to back it in the best interest of our constituents and our country. and with my whole heart i commend this motion to the house. borisjohnson struggled to command the house. if we vote for this deal we will not be taking back control but losing it. i am very grateful to the right

honourable gentleman for giving way. he appears to be one of those who prefer the grievance to the solution. my right honourable friend has come up with a solution. what is his idea? one tory rebel on brexit. it means parliament is flexing muscle. parliament is beginning to say to the prime minister you need to get this deal through us and you have to listen to parliament. i think everybody, whether you voted leave or remain, it was always about parliamentary sovereignty. the inconvenience for the prime minister is that she lost her majority here in parliament as the parliament takes back control, she does not have a majority. which is why we encourage you to go for a free vote next week to respect that and to give every mp at chance to vote. a brexiteer thinks the government defeat should not be overblown. i would say parliament's teeth are not that sharp because the amendment only looks at the process,

bring that process into play if the government agrees to it and there is a negative as will as a positive because if, at the end of the day, this amendment leads to a vote on no deal, and it succeeds, that is the parliaments as we do not want no deal, that is a bigger constitutional crisis. and where do we go from here? one labour mp believes the vote today on brexit will kill off one option. i think no deal was always dead. dead in the water. there is no majority in parliament for no deal and i also think the government does not want to lead us down that path because it would be catastrophic. they have already said that we would need to stockpile medicine, but it will be very bad for the country and the economy. i don't believe for one minute that the government wants to leave the eu without a deal. a new parliament able to challenge

and even humiliate the government took shape in front of our eyes today. perhaps this will prove a mixed blessing for theresa may. she could find that the parliament has handed her a lifeline on brexit. nick watt reporting there. more on all the very latest for you on our website, including another possibly significant development — an appealfrom scottish politicians to a senior official of the european court ofjustice. his legal opinion, which the court tends to follow, is that a country which has decided to leave the eu can change its mind, during the exit process, without needing the consent of the other member states. that and more at bbc.com/news or download the bbc news app. let's get some of the day's other news. the us special counsel robert mueller has told a federal court that president trump's former national security adviser michael flynn should be given little to no jail time. michael flynn has been interviewed

as part of the investigation into whether the trump campaign colluded with russia during the 2016 election and has been co—operative — according to robert mueller‘s office. nato allies have officially accused russia of breaching a nuclear arms reduction treaty that dates back to the cold war. the us secretary of state has claimed the united states will withdraw from the intermediate—range nuclear forces treaty within 60 days, unless russia comes back into compliance. a delegation of houthi rebels has arrived in sweden, where peace talks with the yemeni government are due to get under way this week. a government delegation led by the yemeni foreign minister is due in stockholm on wednesday. the state department hailed the talks as a ‘vital first step‘. the governing body of world athletics has extended its ban on russia, imposed three years ago, because of a state—sponsored doping programme. the iaaf says its conditions for reinstatement have not been met — even though the world anti—doping agency voted in september to declare russia compliant. two senior republican senators have

emerged from a private briefing with the director of the cia to say they're now more certain than ever that the saudi crown prince had a role in the murder ofjamal khashoggi. the cia has concluded mohammed bin salman "probably ordered" the killing of thejournalist, who was also a prominent critic of the saudi government. but president trump has been far more equivocal. our north america correspondent peter bowes reports. gina haspel, donald trump's chosen director of the cia left senators in no doubt. behind closed doors she spelt out the agency's conclusions about the murder ofjamal khashoggi. that mohammed bin salman was responsible for the killing of the saudi journalist. mr khashoggi, a us resident and columnist for the washington post died inside the saudi consulate in istanbul in october. senator lindsey graham, a leading critic of mbs, as he is known, said the briefing confirmed his view that mohammed bin salman was culpable.

there is not a smoking gun, there is a smoking sort. you have to be wilfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organised by people under the command of mohammed bin salman and that he was intricately involved in the demise of mr khashoggi. the saudis have charged 11 people but denied the crown prince was involved. the us secretary of state insists there is no direct evidence to connect mohammed bin salman to the death of mr khashoggi. donald trump says the cia's findings are not conclusive and he has refused to condemn the saudi crown prince. the administration is looking increasingly isolated in its view. i have zero question in my mind that the crown prince, mohammed bin salman, ordered the killing, monitored the killing, knew exactly what was happening and planted in advance.

if he were in front of a jury he would be convicted. the briefing has only strengthened the resolve of senators to seek consequences for what they believe happened in istanbul. the next move will be a vote in the senate to end us military support for the saudi led war in yemen. share prices in the united states have fallen sharply amid fears of an economic slowdown. investors are also worried that talks between the us and china won't defuse the growing trade war between the two countries. on wall street, the dowjones index dropped by almost 800 points — or 3.1%. to explain more about what's happening — here's bbc business reporter — kim gittleson. spoke about an hour ago. we have a

recording that we would like to play to you. we have it. every time the market plunges you wonder why, what is it this time? this time it is the yield curve. i will give you the formal definition and an it in normal people terms. the formal definition of the yield curve and what everyone pays attention to on wall street is the difference in the yield that you get from the ten year treasury bond compared to the yield of the two year treasury bond. what is that mean? the idea is that if you're going to wait for your —— to get your money back, it is what happens when you buy a treasury bond, or if you have the compensatable for wetting a longer period of time. typically the way you get compensated more is at a high heel. the idea that you think the us economy is going to grow forever, as a result interest rates will be relatively high in the future, and yourok we relatively high in the future, and your ok we continue to get your money back. the problem is when that occurred in wurtz. when you are willing to actually get less money

in the long—term than in the short—term —— inverts. the idea is that you think that the economic future will not be that good. you will take any amount of money that is on offer. that is what we are seeing right now. he yield has not inverted, but it is getting closer to that —— the yield. that has concerned investors because it suggests they don't think that this us economic boom we keep talking about will be lasting for very much longer. it is complicated. you have made it as simple as you can. politicians need to pay attention to it. what has been the response generally? we have a politician, a president, in fact, who takes his performance to that of wall street. asa performance to that of wall street. as a result he has been tweeting not directly about what has been happening on wall street, but another concern for investors, which is this truce or maybe not truce between the us and china when it comes to the trade war. president trump not confirmed that anything had happened. he said he did believe

there would be a deal that would be struck soon, although he did warn that the us would be willing to impose more tariffs if china did not accede to its demands. we get a sense of what are filling on thursday. they are closed on wednesday. and the observance of president george hw‘s bush memorial service. we have seen that markets in asia are trading lower —— george hw bush's memorial service. in asia are trading lower —— george hw bush's memorial service. kim gittleson shedding light on compensated stuff. former president george w bush and his wife laura bush have paid their respects to his late father, who is lying in state in the capitol rotunda. the couple were accompanied by their daughters, jenna and barbara, and mr bush's brother, jeb. they shook hands and hugged members of the public who had come to the capitol to pay tribute to the 41st us president, who died on friday aged 94. he was also a world war two hero, and a head of the cia. a senior american official has made

a rare visit to eritrea. he met the president at a time when efforts are being made to end hostilities to an -- idiot being made to end hostilities to an —— idiot here and eritrea. the sanctions imposed in 2009 were lifted just last month. —— if you appear. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: from relativity to religion. albert einstein's so—called "god letter" sells at auction for nearly $3 million. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i am feeling so helpless that the children are dying in front of me and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical

leader of the hippie cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at 11am this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite number from dover. the latest headlines for you now from bbc news: theresa may's government suffers three defeats on her brexit agreement with the eu just hours into the first of five days of crucial debate on the deal. two senior us republican senators say they're now certain

the saudi crown prince is guilty of the murder ofjamal khashoggi. the french president, emmanuel macron, has suffered a major setback to his reform programme after agreeing to suspend a proposed fuel duty rise which had brought thousands of protesters onto the streets. the government said the increase would be postponed for six months. the demonstrators, who have become known as the yellow vest movement, have brought paris to a standstill for the past three weekends, with huge rallies which have turned violent. lucy williamson reports from the french capital. support for france's yellow vest protesters goes far beyond those standing in the cold. the solidarity at this roundabout in beauvais is sometimes deafening. three weeks after the movement's original stand against fuel tax rises, its aims and its divisions have broadened, but there's still widespread public support. last saturday in paris, hard—core groups and agitators joined in with tactics of their own. but the violence hasn't stopped

support for moderate protesters. and today, a government climb—down, a temporary freeze in three kinds of fuel costs. translation: no tax is worth jeopardising national unity. i am suspending these taxes for six months. we want to find just and effective ways to apply them. if we don't, we'll bear the consequences. president macron is accused by many here of behaving too much like a king, unwilling to compromise on his vision or listen to protests against it. but this movement, led by social media, with widespread support, has broken that pattern, and with it the notion of macron‘s absolute power. the protesters in beauvais today said the government's offer wasn't enough. this movement is now not just about taxes, but the cost of living,

the minimum wage and broader questions of inequality. translation: we need a total rethink of people's income. it's not just about the fuel tax. that's what sparked the movement, but behind that are several decades of social suffering. this movement brought together a range of people through social media, without a recognised leader or political group. some in the movement have been attacked for trying to negotiate with the government or simply for appearing to speak for the movement at all. benjamin cauchy says he received hundreds of death threats from fellow protesters after being described as a spokesman. yes, my life is in danger and i'm frightened, not only for my children. but i want to continue this strike. with fresh protests planned for saturday in paris, the government is trying to isolate the movement's hardcore. in the face of growing violence, a security problem is much simpler for them to deal with than a political one. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. ukraine says the russian blockade

of the azov sea has been partially unlocked a week after russian border guards seized three ukrainian navy boats off crimea. tensions have been running high between the two countries. ukraine said it feared a russian invasion. russia is preventing all ships from moving through. now, though, traffic through the strait has been partially restored. police in argentina have made their first arrest over the attack that led to the cancellation of the copa libertadores final — one of the most anticipated football games in the country's history. the game was postponed twice and will now be played in spain on sunday for security reasons. scientists are warning that some of the world's most unusual sharks and stingrays are on the brink of extinction because of threats such as commercial fishing. 50 species are on the list — including the biggest fish in the sea, the whale shark. experts say losing even one of those species would wipe out millions of years of evolutionary history. italian police say they've arrested

the head of the sicilian mafia, along with dozens of others, during raids in the city of palermo. it's thought settimino mineo had been chosen as the new godfather in may. the italian government called it one of the biggest blows to organised crime for years. lebo diseko has more. a dawn raid by police in the city of palermo, their targets men accused of being the top tier of sicilian mafia. in all, 46 alleged mobsters were arrested, including the man police say is the boss of bosses. settimo mineo, an 80—year—old jewller, is said to have been chosen as the cosa nostra's new leader in may. it is thought he was elected at a powerful summit of regional bosses known as the "cupola", some of whom were among those arrested. translation: the provincial commission had not met since 1993, when the former head of cosa nostra, toto riina, was arrested.

our investigation found it had been reconvened and moved from corleone to palermo. police gathered evidence on the suspects by tapping the phone of a senior member and carrying out secret surveillance. the suspects are accused of extortion, fire arms offences, arson and more. the interior minister matteo salvini said the arrests were an extraordinary intervention by police, who dismantles the new cupola of cosa nostra. and the deputy prime minister has called this a powerful blow against organised crime. lebo diseko, bbc news. a handwritten note about religion, penned by the nobel prize—winning physicist albert einstein, has sold at auction in new york for nearly $3 million. the so—called "god letter", written in german, was bought by a private collector. andy beatt reports. final call...

$2,400,000... sold! applause. polite applause at the sale of the letter by one of the 20th century‘s greatest minds, grappling not with science but the concept of religion. apologies to god, i think. laughter. the controversial note was written by the nobel prize winning scientist when he was 7a, just a year before his death. it is seen as einstein's clearest statement of his views on philosophy and the meaning of life... the physicist also muses on his ownjewish identity. written to the german philosopher, eric gutkind, it is seen as a key

statement in the debate between science and religion and it shows another side to the genius whose theory of relativity changed the way we understand the universe. last time the letter changed hands, in 2010, it sold for $400,000. the prize this time, including commission, nearly $2.9 million, twice the estimate. andy beatt, bbc news. it's one of art's most prestigious awards, and this year, for the first time, there wasn't a painting in sight. four films were shortlisted, and just a few hours ago charlotte prodger was declared the winner. this is herfilm, shot over the course of a year, and all on a smartphone. in a very personal work she explores issues such as gender and identity with the countryside playing a starring role. thejudges praised charlotte prodger for interweaving thoughts with landscapes.

many of her friends helped narrate the film, using her diary entries as a script. i wouldn't be in this room were it not for the public funding that i received from scotland for free higher education, and then later in the form of artist bursaries and grants to support not only the production of work but also living costs. applause. and also, i wouldn't be able to make art at all without the ever—generous, critical, emotional and material support of my friends, some of whom i have formal working relationships with, and some who aren't so visible. just briefly, the main story again,

the british government has suffered two major defeats in parliament before the five—day debate on the prime minister theresa may's brexiteer with ee you. mps agreed to give themselves a greater say on the sort of brexit if the house of commons rejects her deal next tuesday, as widely predicted —— eu. house compelled the government to disclose the advice given about the brexit deal, and has been held in co nte m pt of brexit deal, and has been held in contempt of parliament, a highly unusual step. much more for you any time on the bbc news website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @bbcmikeembley. thank you for watching. hello there.

yesterday was a lot colder for many of us and in fact temperatures dipped below freezing quite readily after dark across scotland, so we awake to a hard frost with freezing fog. for many, the cloud has rolled in over the last 12 hours, introducing a milder theme in southern areas but when that mild air comes into cold air we have seen some wintry issues over the hills of wales. they will move into the hills of northern england and perhaps the midlands, southern scotland for the rush. a hard frost in the north. that is where we got that area of transition where we could have icy conditions and some snow over the hills. further south it will be quite grey hill fog because we have a lot of low cloud. low—level fog will clear eventually in the north and then it is bright and dry for many of us, much more cloud through the day ahead with outbreaks of rain, hill snow for scotland in the afternoon because we hang on to that cold air. further south it is milder. that mild air will continue with us through wednesday night with yet more atlantic weather systems running in. this time they are dragging the mild air right across scotland as well so temporarily we lose that cold air

here through the course of thursday but we pick up the cloud. outbreaks of rain and that may ease for a time but there is more to come from the west later. there will be leaden skies for many. brighter perhaps in northern and eastern areas and it a mild day for scotland included northern ireland. however, the rain is the next developing area of low pressure and that could turn out to be a deep area of low pressure with potentially disruptive wind and it will pull in some cold air to northern scotland as well. a lot to think about for friday. there is more heavy rain, the potential for blizzards in the north of scotland and the risk of severe gales. gusts reaching 70 or 80 miles an hour. that is through the course of friday. from the start of friday

through to the end it looks like a windy day across the board. that area of cloud and rain in the north turns to snow over the hills and possibly wintry across the pennines as well, and a windy day throughout. there will be peaks in those gusts of wind and we could have more rain waiting for saturday. on friday it starts relatively mild but as we get the north—westerly winds temperatures will tumble once again. and this is the weekend. as we go through the weekend we have further areas of low pressure to come in, so it remains unsettled times and a windy picture. this is bbc news. the headlines: the british government has suffered three defeats in parliament over brexit. mps found the government in contempt of parliament for refusing to publish the full legal advice on the draft agreement. mps then voted to give themselves a greater say on the next move on britain's future relationship with the eu. in washington, dc, two senior republican senators have emerged from a private briefing with the head of the cia to say they are now more certain than ever

that the saudi crown prince ordered the murder of jamal khashoggi. thejournalist, and prominent critic of the saudi government, was killed and dismembered at the saudi embassy in istanbul, in october. share prices in the united states have fallen sharply, because of fears of an economic slowdown, and doubts about talks between washington and beijing intended to defuse trade tensions. the dow jones index closed down 3% lower.