you're watching bbc newsroom live — it's11am and these are the main stories this morning: selling the deal — theresa may sends 30 ministers out across the uk to persuade local communities that her brexit deal is the best option — ahead of tuesday's vote in the commons. if you look at this deal in the round, it delivers on the referendum result in a way that support the economy, allows close trading ties with europe and then will allow us to get on to all the other brilliant things this country can do. a bbc investigation finds black and arab academic staff at the uk's top universities earn a quarter less than white colleagues. grace is a lovely, outgoing, family orientated daughter. grace has never been out of contact this amount of time. the father of a british backpacker missing in new zealand — appeals for help to find his daughter.

police say grace millane was last seen at an auckland hotel with a "male companion". a rise in cash machine robberies — attacks on atms nearly double in four years — with thieves using explosives and ram raids to steal money. and with christmas just around the corner — what's more environmentally friendly — a real tree or an artificial one? good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. with just days to go until mps in the house of commons decide whether to back theresa may's brexit agreement, senior ministers across government are making a renewed push to convince the public that it's the best deal available. it comes amid continuing anxiety in downing street that nearly 100 conservative backbenchers could rebel against the government next week. let's have a look at this

morning's developments. the prime minister has deployed 30 government ministers to visit schools, hospitals and businesses across the uk today, as she attempts to sell her brexit deal. rebel backbenchers have dismissed a possible compromise over the deal‘s most controversial element — the northern ireland backstop. the suggested amendment — which would mean parliament would have to approve the decision to trigger the backstop — has come under criticism from the dup and brexiteers alike. and health secretary matt hancock has moved to reassure the public that medical supplies would be protected in the event of a no—deal brexit, saying planes could be used to fly in drugs, and medicines given priority access through gridlocked ports. we can talk about all these developments with our political correspondent, jonathan blake. hello again. let's talk first of all

about these 30 ministers heading out around the uk to try to sell theresa may's deal. will that make any difference when it comes to how mps are voting on tuesday? cabinet ministers can shake as many hands as they like and have as many photos taken as they like, which they will, in all parts of the uk today but in reality it is mps now that will take the next big decision in the brexit process on tuesday, when parliament votes to back or block theresa may's brexit deal. it really is mps, that the government ministers need to be convincing at this point because as you said there are still dozens, particularly conservative mps, who we re particularly conservative mps, who were stating their intention to vote against the deal. what you are seeing today is an attempt by the government to demonstrate that they store have faith injuries may‘s

plan, but it is what the country, as far as what theresa may has said, wa nts to far as what theresa may has said, wants to happen in terms of people saying to her that the government should get on with brexit, and eight reassertion of that argument that the strongest hand ministers have to play now is that it is this deal potentially no deal or no brexit at all. they are saying to mps, you might not like everything in the deal but it is the best you're going to get. there is a certain amount of dismay and disbelief among mps, particularly conservatives here at westminster, that government ministers are doing this and not spending more time talking to them and hearing about and trying to address their concerns with the deal. the health secretary, matt hancock, is one of those who will be out and about today and acknowledge that it out and about today and acknowledge thatitis out and about today and acknowledge that it is a challenge to convince some mps to come on board. well, clearly there are some

colleagues who disagree with the details of the deal, others who are calling for a second referendum. i think if you look at this deal in the round, it delivers on the referendum result in a way which supports the economy, allows close trading ties with europe and then will allow us to get onto all the other brilliant things this country can do, like the £1 billion that we're putting into the nhs today, into a&es around the country, mental health facilities and some of the most cutting—edge hospitals that there will be in the world. sol think everybody should get behind the deal. last night a plan emerged by some backbench mps to put forward an amendment, something mps would vote on the forward the verdict on theresa may's deal, to allow parliament more of us say when it

comes to taking the decision as to whether to enter the controversial backstop arrangement. that is something agreed between the eu and uk to avoid a hard order in northern ireland if a trader can't be done by the end of december 2020. but that was quickly dismissed by arlene foster, leader of the dup, who to reason they relies on four votes in parliament and also some senior conservative brexiteer is as tinkering around the edges and something that really won't make any difference. their argument being that it difference. their argument being thatitis difference. their argument being that it is written in the withdrawal agreement, a legally binding treaty between the eu and uk, that either the backstop will have to kick in order transition period will be extended and further negotiations will happen. there is really only so much parliament can do to influence that. the health secretary has also been talking about the supply of medicines in the event of no—deal brexit. it is an area that many people are hugely concerned about. what reassurances has he been able to offer? he has been talking about some of the government's contingency plans to ensure that medical supplies don't run low in the event

of no—deal brexit, weather might have to be extra border checks on goods and people passing through. here's what he had to say. well, we need to make sure that in all eventualities there is a unhindered flow of medicines for people who need them. that work is ongoing. there is further details that we are releasing today, including about how we will prioritise medicine if there is a blockage at the border. i'm confident that if everybody does what they need to do, then we can have that unhindered flow of medicines, but the best way to avoid a problem in this area is to support the prime minister's deal, because under the deal that she has agreed with the european union, we will have that unhindered flow of all goods, and we will be able to leave the european union, deliver on the referendum result and continue the close ties and close trade unhindered with the european union that people want to see. the argument again there are from

the health secretary that the government is taking all necessary precautions to mitigate the effects ofa precautions to mitigate the effects of a no—deal brexit, and that is one of a no—deal brexit, and that is one of the most powerful arguments they can make now, to try to convince those mps who they might be able to bring on board with the deal that the alternative really is too drastic to contemplate, either crashing out of the eu without a deal in place or brexit not happening at all. if parliament asserts control, as we have seen, if theresa may's deal is blocked next week, when mps thought, to assert its will on what the government would do next. that has been seen as a way of, in effect, ruling out no deal because if there is one thing most mps can agree on it is that the uk should not leave the eu without a deal. look out for a cabinet minister or government minister in a

town near you today, but it is quickly, after that, that the debate will return to westminster after the weekend when two remaining days of debate on theresa may's you'll continue on monday and tuesday ahead of that vote on it on tuesday. for obvious reasons, parliament, commons not fizzing today, many of those mps out and about. —— not sitting today. 0ver out and about. —— not sitting today. over the weekend, do we know if we can expect to hear more from theresa may? she has been front and centre at selling this deal. she has been. reflecting on what couple of conservative mps were saying yesterday, some members of the cabinets have been conspicuous by their absence in terms of this big sales pitch that the prime minister is undertaking for her deal. we saw her going to scotland, northern ireland and wales last week, beating

mps here at westminster. cabinet ministers have spoken in public and giving interviews about the deal but there is a feeling among conservatives that they haven't been doing it in a particularly full throated way. i think it will be interesting as we get closer to that deal, whether they ramp up their arguments or take a step back, perhaps sensing defeat it has the working assumption at westminster at the moment is that theresa may is going to lose the vote on tuesday. it's just about the margin of defeat that she suffers. most conversations now you have with people or about what happens after that. we will have to wait and see, there are still several days to go. i'm sure we haven't heard the last of theresa may or other members of the cabinet in terms of making the case with the deal between now and then. thank you very much. i'm nowjoined by mark dayan, policy analyst at nuffield trust, an independent health think tank. when you have these images of planes

being chartered to bring in medicines, priority access for lorries through gridlocked ports, it sounds almost unreal. how worried are you that that could be what happens? de sound bite drastic actions and i think a lot of people will wonder why we need this because it is not like we will be banned from bringing medicines in from the eu. suddenly there would be a huge amount more paperwork at the border, you would have to fill in declarations, inks checked against multiple different standards and it wouldn't necessarily be automatically legal to the same extent to get medicine from europe and bring it to the uk. the worry is that that would cause big delays and also potentially services in the uk, including the private sector, won't be able to cope with that volume of stuff and there will be an element of chaos leading to very unpredictable delays. that is what underpins the kind of stinking that

has brought us to ideas like chartering flights and stockpiling. u nfortu nately i chartering flights and stockpiling. unfortunately i agree with that line of thinking. you have the paperwork issues and the uropathy elements, you have then the issue at ports in terms of physically moving supplies of medicines. —— the bureaucracy elements. dover handles majority of medicines coming into the uk. that's right. we should notjust focus on the short—term issues of how we get medicine into the country, something in the longer term i have been looking at is the question of what this extra paperwork, extra storage, extra hoops to jump through, what will both do put the costs of these medicines to the nhs? by my calculations, this could drive costs up calculations, this could drive costs up as much as 2.3 billion perry dear, a really big chunk of the budget. —— paire year. dear, a really big chunk of the budget. -- paire year. so many things to consider. in terms of the

roots medicines come through, that needs to be looked at, presumably. planes can only take a certain volume of medical supplies, there are issues with refrigeration. tell us are issues with refrigeration. tell us about your concerns in your research. all the bills are absolutely right. i would zoom out and said, chartering flights, booking extra storage which we know the government have started doing, and building stockpiles in the uk to see us and building stockpiles in the uk to see us through a difficult few months are all sensible steps and i support them. but no country has ever done something like this before, just suddenly last. that makes it difficult to judge exactly how extensive these problems might be. what they might affect. 0ne thing you haven't mentioned yet, and i'm not sure what's being done but it really concerns me, is what about medicines and medical devices we produce in the uk but rely on getting ingredients or components or a machine part from europe or an expert from europe coming and

topping? what about those? what if that can't keep functioning in the way it does today? —— and experts helping. what are your concerns that if the uk exits the eu with some sort of deal, you still have concerns about the passage of medical supplies and medicines? having a deal should head of those immediate issues around getting things in, partly because it will give us a long transition period we re give us a long transition period were not much changes, leading us able to set up services in the uk in the public and private sector, that they are ready to deal with more as they are ready to deal with more as they might have to. but you are right that it will deal with all the wider problems brexit causes. based on us wider problems brexit causes. based on us being sped apart from the european market. even the prime minister's deal, it is around leading the single market and that will be felt keenly about medicines. even though we might not see this as

a problem with supply, we would still see costs for medicines going up, even with a brexit deal. thank you. and you can here more about brexit at 11.1i5am as the business team travel around the nations and regions to find out what businesses think of theresa may's deal the headlines on bbc news... theresa may sends 30 governement ministers out across the country in a push to win over critics of her brexit deal, ahead of tuesday's vote. a bbc investigation finds black and arab academics at the uk's top universities earn a quarter less than white colleagues. police in new zealand continue to search for missing british backpacker grace millane who was last seen six days ago at an auckland hotel. in sport, ben stokes and alex hales should find out today if they will face further punishment after the

fight outside a nightclub in bristol last year. they are both charged with bringing cricket into disrepute. arsenal say they'd will remind players of responsibilities after a group are pictured a p pa re ntly after a group are pictured apparently —— apparently inhaling laughing gas. 0sei mourinho says there will be no excuses when manchester united play fulham tomorrow. united have not won in the premier league since november. more on those stories after 1130 am. a bbc investigation has found that academics from ethnic minority backgrounds are being paid up to a quarter less than their white colleagues at some of the uk's top universities. research into pay at ‘russell group' universities also found that the salary gap nearly doubles for women from bame backgrounds. the association said it was unable to comment on recruitment practices. rianna croxford reports. these are some of the best universities britain has to offer the world. but not if you're an ethnic

minority academic. a bbc foi found academics from black and arab backgrounds earn around £15,000 less on average. the gap is smaller for asian and chinese academics. but then it gets even bigger for ethnic minority women. if you are, for instance, a woman of colour, not only do you experience an ethnic penalty within the labour market, you also experience a gender penalty. so they're even more disadvantaged than women. many were too afraid to speak publicly, they felt frustrated, ignored, that they were overqualified or underpaid. 0ne lecturer told me that she felt like a third class citizen. another used the term "cheap labour". this person has been working at leeds university for three years. she believes her experience wasn't taken into account. i know people who have come from nonacademic backgrounds and they've come and got better paying and higher grade jobs, which makes me sometimes question, did i make the right choice to come

to this country, because it's like throwing 18 years of my life into the bin. in response, leeds university said they pay ethnic minority and white staff a comparable level for the same level of work. the government is currently consulting on ethnicity pay reporting. this may go some way to breaking down these barriers, and restoring value to people's lives. rianna croxford, bbc news. the father of a british tourist who's gone missing in new zealand has made an emotional appealfor help in finding his "outgoing, fun—loving" daughter. grace millane, who turned 22 on sunday, has not been in contact with her family since the 1st of december and concerns are growing for her welfare. in a press conference in auckland, david millane urged anyone who may have seen her to get in touch. we last had contact with her on saturday the 1st of december. and as a family, we have been extremely concerned about her welfare.

grace is a lovely, outgoing, fun loving, family—oriented daughter. grace has never been out of contact for this amount of time. she's usually in daily contact with either her mother, myself, her two brothers, members of the family on social media. i would like to take this opportunity to be appeal to anybody who has seen, spoken to or come into contact with grace over the last few days. and to come forward with any detail, no matter how small, and contact the investigation team. the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, has insisted his government had no involvement in the arrest of a top executive from the chinese telecoms giant huawei. meng wanzhou is due in court in canada today for a bail hearing. she was arrested in vancouver at the request of the us —

apparently in connection with an investigation into alleged violations of sanctions against iran. the arrest has caused outrage in china and provoked market turmoil yesterday, amid fears it could exacerbate the trade war between washington and beijing. here's our correspondent, stephen mcdonnell. chinese tech giant huawei is today at the forefront of global trade tensions, and the drama will play out in canada in the coming hours, when a senior executive appears in court. chief financial officer meng wanzhou was arrested in vancouver while in transit, and reportedly faces extradition to the united states following alleged breaches of washington's sanctions against sales of technical equipment to iran. if this is the reason for her to be taken into custody, the chinese government says it is still being given no explanation for it from either canada or the united states. claiming such detention without a reason is a human rights violation.

translation: i can't discuss the details of this case here but what i can tell you is that after learning about it, we've made solemn representations to canada and the us. we've demanded that both parties immediately clarify the reasons for this detention and that they immediately release the detailing to protect that person's legal rights. the company has also issued an open letter to its suppliers and partners saying it, too, has received very little information regarding her detention. adding that it strictly abides by all international laws. but according to canada's prime minister, this is all a routine extradition procedure. i can assure everyone that we are a country of an independent judiciary and the appropriate authorities took the decisions in this case without any political involvement or interference, as must be the case. however this is a case, obviously, before the courts

upon which there is a publication ban and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further. however, the timing of this us request to have a senior chinese executive arrested seems extraordinary, coming as it does at the beginning of a 90—day truce in the escalation of the trade war. 0ur correspondent stephen mcdonell reporting there — and he's been giving us more reaction from beijing. it is just it isjust some it is just some source of appearance we re it is just some source of appearance were a date further dates. also this could go on for months. because if she appeals against the decision, there is some talk amongst legal experts that it could take years. imagine this is all going on just as china and the us are trying to work their way through this huge trade disputes. it couldn't have come at a worse time. it is only adding to tensions between these two giants.

there's a number of countries and businesses have excluded the company from public procurement practices, what are they so worried about? yes, and the latest we are hearing is from japan. the chinese government, via the foreign ministry, hasjust said it is very concerned by the decision from the japanese government to not allow government businesses to buy certain huawei equipments. this all goes back to, for example, the decision in australia to not allow huawei to build a five g network because security agencies, especially the circle of five guys, have advised governance that huawei cannot be trusted because it is too close to the government here, that you can build in back door ways of spying by allowing huawei to build your communications infrastructure. huawei argues that it is a private company completely separate from

government. but it hasn't stopped countries paying attention to that advice from various security agencies. it is all pretty much being led by washington. the number of cash machine robberies in the uk has nearly doubled in the last four years, according one of the biggest atm operators. ‘cardtronics' says there were more than 720 attempts to steal cash last year. less than half were successful. our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz, has more. two thieves, their faces covered, getting ready to blow up a cash machine using gas. this is the explosion from the inside. the number of raids has been accelerating. there were 400 attacks in 2014, by last year, the annual total was 722, nearly double. in almost half the cases, theives don't get the cash, but that doesn't stop them trying. in this raid, in a cotswold village, a stolen digger was used to smash the local banks machine. tougher policing in cities has

pushed the ramraiding gangs into the country. last month, another machine ripped out in south lanarkshire, the smaller the neighbourhood, the more serious the impact. atm crime is not a victimless crime. it is an attack on a local community, it means that people can't get money out of the cash machine. often you will find the shop is damaged, which damages that business as well. there has been a spate of cash machines being blown up using gas and more ramraids. cardtronics says the uk has more attacks than anywhere else in europe. it wants harsher sentences and better surveillance. the mobile network ‘02‘ says all of its data services have been restored. the company said a review will be carried out to discover why 32 million uk customers were unable to get online yesterday. our correspondent, jon donnison, has more. for many these days, life without a fully—functioning

smart phone is almost unimaginable. the cameras might have been working at this christmas market in manchester, but for 32 million 02 customers, not much else was. we've not been able to use facebook. the thing is, i don't think you can send messages on imessage either. train times, to get us home. just not good, basically. in london, bus arrival screens which work off the 02 network were also out of action. a first world problem, you might say, but also very much one of our time. it's a digital catastrophe of the 21st century. we are out of internet, out of services, out of our loved ones neraby, out of capacity of payments. the 02 network owned by telefonica said the problem was a global one and down to equipment supplied by the telecoms firm ericsson. we know it's a software issue. it's impacted an ericsson component, which has impacted

networks across the globe injapan, in china, and of course here in the uk. 02 says services should be back to normal this morning and that it will be carrying out a review with ericsson. the question is now being raised as to whether customers might be able to claim compensation. the american actor and comedian kevin hart has stepped down from hosting the 2019 oscars after past anti—gay tweets were revealed. however after three days of controversy over the historical tweets, he apologised to the lgb community and said he would withdraw because he didn't ‘want to be a ‘distraction‘. now it's time for a look at the weather. quite windy at the moment across

many parts but particularly the northern areas of the uk that we have the gaels, severe gales currently. heavy rain has been moving south—eastwards and is now clearing from the far south—east. sunny spells and showers following behind what's the rain will continue to pile in across western scotland and northern ireland. temperatures dropping through the afternoon to quite chilly later on. strong winds continuing across northern ireland and scotland. if you're travelling this evening, there could be disruption because there could be gusts of up to 70 mph in exposed western parts of scotland. through tonight, low pressure brings the strong winds, continuing in the north—east. elsewhere some clear spells, showers moving in, temperatures up at about eight to 11 celsius. full the weekend, still quite windy. particularly saturday night in the south—west of the winds. showers on saturday but

drier, chillier and sunnier by sunday. hello, this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines: selling the deal — theresa may sends 30 ministers out across the uk to persuade local communities that her brexit deal is the best option ahead of tuesday's vote in the commons if you look at this deal in the ground, and kidnappers on the referendum result in a way that supports the economy, allies are close trading ties with you look, and then will allow us to get onto all the other brighton things this country can do. a bbc investigation finds black and arab academic staff at the uk's top universities earn a quarter less than white colleagues. chris is a lovely, outgoing, fun loving, family orientated daughter.

race has never been out of contact for this amount of time. the father of a british backpacker missing in new zealand appeals for help to find his daughter. police say grace millane was last seen with a male companion at an auckland hotel six days ago. a rise in cash machine robberies — attacks on atms nearly double in four years — with thieves using explosives and ram raids to steal money. and with christmas just around the corner, what's more environmentally friendly, a real tree or an artificial one? and coming up we'll hear what business leaders make of theresa may's brexit deal as our business team travel around the uk. time for a look at the sport now. good morning. we're going to start with arsenal, who say they'll "remind players of their responsibilities", after a group of them were pictured apparently inhaling laughing gas. this is the front page of the sun this morning, cctv pictures from a private party which show a number of players with balloons in their mouths.

the paper says the balloons were filled with nitrous oxide, which it's not illegal to be in possesion of. the pictures are from august, before the current premier league season began. jose mourinho says there'll be no excuses when manchester united play fulham tomorrow. united haven't won in the premier league since november and their performances have been criticsed for being too negative. mourinho says they need the points after a run of draws. its been confirmed thatjordan nobbs, the england and arsenal midfielder, will miss next summer's women's world cup. she had surgery on monday to repair a damaged knee ligament. england manager phil neville said they're "disappointed a player ofjordan's ability and importance" will not be part of their team for the tournament in france. ben stokes and alex hales should find out today if they'll face any further punishment after that fight outside a nightclub in bristol last year. stokes was found not guilty of affray in court earlier this year, but has spent the last couple of days in front of a cricket

disciplinary panel alongside hales. they're both charged with bringing cricket into disrepute. joe root meanwhile has agreed a new contract with his county, yorkshire. the england captain's signed a new three year deal. 1a sports have been given a share of a £3 million funding pot from uk sport, in the run up to the 2020 tokyo olympics and paralympics. weightlifting, wheelchair rugby and skateboarding are among those who'll get the money. 0ur sports correspondent natalie pirks has been to a skatepark this morning to find out more. skateboarding is a brand—new sport for talk your 2020. they have a little bit of money, alongside sports like wheelchair rugby. we're not talking millions here, but for them and other sports like archery and badminton, they had their funding stripped after the, so this could make a real difference to

them. iam could make a real difference to them. i am joined could make a real difference to them. iamjoined by could make a real difference to them. i am joined by the chief executive of uk sport, liz nicholl, and bya executive of uk sport, liz nicholl, and by a british surfer, and they are going to have chat to me the 110w. are going to have chat to me the now. i have the sport ‘s been chosen? it is new money for government, and a new opportunity for sports that have not had funding over recent years, and it is a fantastic opportunity for athletes to get what they need to be able to qualify for tokyo, the support to get to the right events. how much will this money mean to you going forward to tokyo? it is a huge step in the right direction for surfing. being included in the olympics is huge. this funding just takes it to that next level for us, just means that next level for us, just means that preparations are heading the right direction. we have two

qualifying rounds, and beagle be much better prepared. critics will say that going gets 32 million, for example. this is a drop in the ocean, isn't it? well, it says, but we need to develop a system where there is going to be throughput of athletes, not just for the there is going to be throughput of athletes, notjust for the next games, but also for paris 202a. it is investing in a system. this is investing specifically in athletes and this journey for the next 2a months. wonderful. and it hard work. next year, because that is when the qualifying events for the olympics begin. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. the two sides in the yemeni war started a new round of peace talks yesterday, in sweden. conditions in the country are said to be desperate for civilians. the un estimates that around 22 million people out of a population of around 27 million are in need of humanitarian aid. elizabeth palmer reports.

the stakes couldn't be higherfor yemenis. like tiny amani, covered in sores from advanced malnutrition. her father describes conditions at home as a desperate, with so little food that amani is now in intensive care. she is just one victim of a war that has left 1a million people facing starvation. the fighting here has raged on and off since 2015. at least 10,000 civilians have been killed in what boils down to a regional power struggle. on one side are houthi militias, backed by iran. on the other, the yemeni government and a coalition of arab militaries led by iran's arch rival, saudi arabia. and saudi arabia is in turn backed by the united states, which has supplied vital

intelligence, as well as billions of dollars worth of sophisticated weapons. in august, a saudi air strike hit a school bus, killing a0 yemeni children. the missile is widely believed to have been an american—made laser—guided bomb. we can talk now to george graham, director of humanitarian policy & advocacy at save the children. thank you for coming along. save the children has released its new food insecurity survey on yemen. what does the survey show? the figures come from an independent survey experts have put together looking at the exact impact the starvation crisis in yemen on the civilian population. 120,000 children are described as being in catastrophic 01’

described as being in catastrophic orfamine like described as being in catastrophic or famine like conditions. that is another 120,000 adults. this is incredibly severe. it is entirely predictable. the point we were making anfamine predictable. the point we were making an famine like conditions is that a big part of the problem in yemen is getting fit supplies in, because it does not produce much of its own thread, so the problem is getting food supplies in. exactly. historically, they depend on imports, but the major ports are blocked, the airport in the c day has been blocked. getting fit in his hugely difficult. also, infrastructure in the country has been said really damage. their small capacity to grow their own crops has been severely damaged. these factors have combined to make it really difficult forfamilies have combined to make it really difficult for families to feed their children. and i'm looking at this, which says even with humanitarian

aid, many people have not been meeting their daily food needs for some time, but evidence of starvation, death and destitution. that illustrates just how difficult a job humanitarian teams are having there. exactly. there rte sites to there. exactly. there rte sites to the story. on one hand, humanitarian aid is making a huge difference. i was in the country and i saw the incredible impact, and about some cats who have benefiting hugely, but others who are not benefiting at all. it was aid is being blocked, because access challenges mean it is very ha rd to because access challenges mean it is very hard to reach them. given that, had important at this current talks got under way yesterday in sweden to your hopes of actually doing more with that age? they are absolutely vital. everybody is pinning their hopes on the success of these tiles, but nobody is being unrealistic. there is a field that the parties to the conflict may be paying politics,

that the going through the motions, but when push comes to shove, are they going to cease asela it is, will be open access, while they decide not to attack the major port? because if they do not take those steps, we know, guaranteed, tens of thousands of children are going to die. why do the parties to this conflict is not want to provide that access for it? they are trying to wina bore, access for it? they are trying to win a bore, so the cd civilian population as legitimate collateral damage. that is not acceptable. even war has rules, but as long as they feel they can get away with taking decisions, and plummeting practices that have the predictable consequence of starving children, they will continue to do so. this is by international pressure is salty. theyis by international pressure is salty. they is supporting one side of this

conflict, so it has responsibility at the un security council for drafting linkup resolutions that can push the parties to make them take this more seriously. we are looking for the government to step up. and if these talks fail, i would remind oui’ if these talks fail, i would remind our viewers of the un estimates. advent 22 million people out of a population of 27 million in need of humanitarian aid. that is astonishing. if this current talks fail, what happens next? there is a risk that both parties of the conflict revert to the hottest type of war, that is the continue to caption the main city, which only last month was being bombed and shelled, and our staff were having to hide in shelters. if the conflict reignites, the devastation for this volume population will be enormous. that is why it is so critical that these talks succeed, and there is

international pressure on the countries to de—escalates. international pressure on the countries to de-escalates. thank you very much for talking to us. in france, around 90,000 police are to be deployed across the country, as well as armoured vehicles in paris, amid fears of further street violence and demonstrations. the protests began about fuel tax rises but have broadened to included anger over living costs, pensions and president macron's performance. georgina smyth has more. france on yellow alert. burnt out cars, violence and vandalism, scenes not to be repeated this weekend, according to the french prime minister. addressing the senate and announcing almost 90,000 brits on the ground, almost 90,000 boots on the ground, edouard philippe called for calm while reminding protesters of parliament's decision to drop the fuel tax rises that ignited the protests in the first place. but some demonstrators were not impressed. translated: the only person who has the power is the president, so the president has to stand in front of the people of france as the father of the nation.

that's his role, to be the keystone. but he has to speak to the french people from the gut and with his heart. discontent has only grown around the country since the protests began in mid—november. anger now extends to high living costs, marginalisation felt in rural areas, and grievances felt by ambulance drivers, pensioners and students. this group of protesters in western france blocking access to a refinery have set up camp for the long—term. translation: the decision made yesterday is pointless. it's just hot air. it's what we call magic dust in these parts. it's just meant to hypnotise the people. but people aren't naive, and people are still angry. a list of more than a0 demands have been issued to the government, and some of paris's most iconic sights will be closed on saturday amid fears of further street violence. the man appointed

by the government to carry out a review of britain's railways, has told the bbc the system is flawed and in need of reform. in his first broadcast interview about the issue, the former chief executive of british airways, keith williams, says public trust has been lost after periods of severe disruption. our transport correspondent tom burridge has more. when problems hit, lake on october on main roads between the west of england and london, the destruction cabbages. a rail system is at bursting point. pretty much everyone says fundamental reform is needed, so on says fundamental reform is needed, soona says fundamental reform is needed, so on a visit to manchester and preston, where overcrowding and punctuality are persistent problems, the man in charge of finding solutions told us the trust of passengers had been lost. keith williams, the former boss of british

airways, is running a review on behalf of the government, but he insists he has been open—minded.” am independent, and all options are on the table for me. i think we should look at everything, and our job is to come up with a recommendation for the government to ta ke forward. recommendation for the government to take forward. you will look at the balance between public and private? we will look at everything. mr williams also said investment should be prioritised to regions like the north of england, and he said the complexity of the system and lack of accountability rte issues he will address. —— rte issues he will address. in a moment we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news. theresa may sends 30 governement ministers out across the country in a push to win over critics of her brexit deal, ahead of tuesday's vote. a bbc investigation finds black and arab academics at the uk's top universities earn a quarter less than white colleagues. police in new zealand continue to search for missing british backpacker grace millane who was last seen six days ago

at an auckland hotel. in the business news: the markets recover after big falls on thursday. financials, consumer stocks and oil companies all helped life the index. companies all helped lift the index. the rises in europe follow modest gains in asia. the price of oil fell again as investors await details of any cuts in production from opec. annual growth in uk house prices slowed to its lowest rate for six years, with property values barely changed from a year ago. the halifax, part of lloyds banking group, the uk's biggest mortgage lender, said prices rose by 0.3% in november compared with a year earlier. meanwhile berkeley group, which makes homes, with a focus on london and the south—east, has reported 25% drop in profit for the first half of the year. the house—builder says the london and south—east market lacked urgency ahead of brexit.

today in business, we are going to be taking you around the uk for a closer look at how brexit will impact businesses around the country. we start with wales where our correspondent james williams is looking at the potential impact of brexit on one of wales' biggest exports. well, i am at the mart of recovery you can see it isn't she did. i am told they are going for a good price at the moment, mainly because of the drop of the price because of the referendum. in this welsh speaking heartland, this is an economy of the local people, and a way of life. it is an industry that has been reliant on the european union for many yea rs, on the european union for many years, because of the agricultural

subsidies, the common agricultural policy, and because of the welsh bmp policy, and because of the welsh lamp that is exported, 90% plus goes to the eu market. what does this most embolic of welsh industries make up theresa may's brexit deal. welcome to the programme. broadly speaking, what do you make of the deal? anything that will put any friction in the trade be currently have got the european union is going to bea have got the european union is going to be a problem. biggest fear is falling out with out to deal, because that would mean we would face the world trade organisation talents, which could mean 40 to 60% tariffs on top of the price, so that means it would be completely unpalatable for us. we produce a very expensive product already, and that would mean that we would be completely and project ungritted ——

uncompetitive but our competitors. the prime minister wants a free —— eight tariff free relationship. argue concerned that might change. of course we are, because a shelf life is relatively short, or that any added costs onto the cost of bmp any added costs onto the cost of lamp is good to be a problem for us. the uk government wants to strike a free—trade deals with countries across the world after brexit, new zealand being one of those. that is obviously a major competitor. yes, it was a nice that we have trade with india foglamps. we have five million people in the ee that are familiar with the product and ask for the product, so losing that market will not be substituted by

making traders with our competitors, he will not be buying lamb, or other countries across the world that alan knob —— added that consumers of welsh lamb at present. it is a lifeline for many industries in this area. going forward, it is the last government who needs to devise a policy for the industry, and that has been quite controversial so far. it is getting the balance right between environmental concerns and the production of food, which is a difficultjob to the production of food, which is a difficult job to boss government have got to do. it is a big challenge for them, because the subsidies help support the reduction of welsh lamb, and it also supports the wider community, and of course the wider community, and of course the welsh language, which is important in this area. thank you very much forjoining us. lastly, the prime minister was any wales. broadly, she was given a warm

welcome, but this is what matters for the prime minister ahead of the vote on tuesday. of the 40 welsh mps, only six have said that they are going to back her deal. we will be sending reports from across the country throughout the week. that's all the business news. with christmas just around the corner what kind of tree should you buy? a real fir or a plastic fake? but what impact does this have on the environment in long run? and should you go real or reusable? the bbc‘s lora jones explores. it is the ultimate christmas decoration and british people but what impact does the christmas tree have on the environment? should you go fake or fir. first, the natural tree. around 7 million chrismas trees

are bought in the uk each year, with three quarters being grown here. it takes up to 12 year to grow a typical christmas tree. during this time, it has a positive impact on the environment because it absorbs carbon from the atmosphere and nitrogen from the soil. but once it is chopped down it starts releasing emissions back into the atmosphere. transporting a tree can contribute to its overall carbon footprint, so buying a treat locally grown can help keep its carbon footprint down. but the biggest potential environmental impact for a natural christmas tree comes from its disposal. if it ends up in landfill, its carbon footprint will be higher. because organic matter, which decomposes away from oxygen, produces methane, a greenhouse gas contributes to global warming. it is better if your treat get incinerated or compost it. that can reduce its carbon

footprint by up to 80%. you can find out from your local council what happens to it wants to throw it out. if you have the space, you can buy a potted christmas tree which you can keep over the next year and use again next christmas. what about a plastic christmas tree? here, the biggest impact comes from production. artificial trees are usually made out of a combination of metal and plastic. the production and process of which can significantly increase the tree's carbon footprint. most artificial trees are made in china, which means they have to be packaged and ship to the uk. the good news is you can reuse a plastic tree. how many years do you have to keep it to have a lower environmental impact? experts think it is about ten years, but that it is a rough estimate. it depends on the size of the tree. if you do decide to throw out your plastic tree, it is most

likely to end up in landfill as it's not currently recyclable. overall, your choice of christmas tree has a small impact on your annual carbon footprint. to give you a better idea, driving 12 miles in an average sized petrol car produces as much greenhouse gases as buying and natural tree. if you get an artificial tree, it is equivalent to driving 135 miles. of course, there are other factors you might want to consider. but, in terms of environmental impact, reuse for artificial trees and disposal for natural trees are just two factors you might want to keep in mind. china has launched what it's calling a giant panda culture alliance. a downing street prospect has said the meaningful foot tony blair

directed deal will go ahead as on tuesday. you might remember yesterday morning there was some speculation that the vote might be delayed, and some are suggesting to theresa may that it should be delayed, but yes today people said it will be going ahead, and downing street have again reiterated that it will go ahead harder tuesday the 11th, next tuesday. that's meaningful vote. interesting that it has been emphasised again today by downing street. the spokesperson also confirmed that the prime minister has no intention of extending article 50. china has launched what it's calling a giant panda culture alliance. it's aimed at stabilising the breeding of one of the world's most vulnerable species, along with protecting habitats. which is home to a number of panda breeding programmes. this week, panda twins which were born in an austrian zoo, were flown to sichuan to be

resettled now it's time for a look at the weather. hello, i will get onto the weather ina hello, i will get onto the weather in a moment, but it is really quite windy for now. we have severe gales across the far west of the uk. it is linked to a deep area of low pressure. if you look at this satellite image, you can see the cloud here on the north—west of scotland. the isoba rs cloud here on the north—west of scotland. the isobars are close together, and that means we have strong winds. throughout the rest of today and into the evening, across scotla nd today and into the evening, across scotland and northern ireland, tales of severe gales, so destruction likely. for the rest of today, we still have rain for the rest of england. sunny spells developing across many areas, but showers

moving end across western areas. most of them will be across northern ireland and scotland, with a bogey heavy and persistent. as i mentioned, those winds will continue. gusts of perhaps 50 or 60 mills bremer. and some blizzards over the tops of the mountains. temperature wise, they will drop us a afternoon goes on. seven to 10 degrees are typical of ideas. it will remain windy, particularly on saturday night in the south—west of england. there will be showers on saturday, but it will be drier, brighter and chillier by sunday. this is the weekend. it starts off tried, but rain spreads through northern ireland and scotland, northern england, wales and the south—west. some sunny spells across the north—east of scotland, temperatures around nine to 13 degrees, but still quite blustery.

the winds will strengthen further towards the south—west. it was crazy asa towards the south—west. it was crazy as a barrister. we noticed that be switched the wind direction to northern lake, so—called air filters its way in as we go through sunday. a noticeable drop in temperatures for sunday. initially, rain across england and wales, but that will clear to the side. in the afternoon, plenty of blue skies and sunshine developing, saw a much more settled data on sunday. those temperatures are starting to come down on sunday, and it will feel colder with the northerly winds throughout the afternoon. in the meantime, watch out for the strong winds, especially in the north—west of the uk, weather they be some destruction to your travel. you're watching bbc newsroom live — these are today's main stories:

selling the deal — theresa may sends 30 ministers out across the uk to persuade local communities that her brexit deal is the best option, ahead of tuesday's vote in the commons if you look at this deal in the round, it delivers on the referendum result in a way that support the economy, allows close trading ties with europe and then will allow us to get on to all the other brilliant things this country can do. a bbc investigation finds black and arab academic staff at the uk's top universities earn a quarter less than white colleagues. grace is a lovely, outgoing, family orientated daughter. grace has never been out of contact this amount of time.

the father of a british backpacker missing in new zealand appeals for help to find his daughter. police say grace millane was last seen with a male companion at an auckland hotel 6 days ago. a rise in cash machine robberies — attacks on atms nearly double in four years — with thieves using explosives and ram raids to steal money. and with christmas just around the corner, what's more environmentally friendly — a real tree or an artificial one? good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. with just days to go until mps in the house of commons decide whether to back theresa may's brexit agreement, senior ministers across government are making a renewed push to convince the public that it's the best deal available. it comes amid continuing anxiety in downing street that nearly a hundred conservative backbenchers could rebel against

the government next week. let's have a look at this morning's developments. the prime minister has deployed 30 government ministers to visit schools, hospitals and businesses across the uk today, as she attempts to sell her brexit deal. rebel backbenchers have dismissed a possible compromise over the deal‘s most controversial element — the northern ireland backstop. the suggested amendment — which would mean parliament would have to approve the decision to trigger the backstop — has come under criticism from the dup and brexiteers alike. and health secretary matt hancock has moved to reassure the public that medical supplies would be protected in the event of a no—deal brexit, saying planes could be used to fly in drugs, and medicines given priority access through gridlocked ports. our political correspondent jonathan blake said the ministers

deployed to drum up support for theresa may may have their work cut out. cabinet ministers can check as many hands as they like and have as many photos taken as they like, which they will do, in all parts of the uk today, but in reality it is mps now that will take the next big decision in the brexit process on tuesday, when parliament votes to back or block theresa may's exit deal. it really is mps the government ministers need to be convincing at this point, because there are still dozens, particularly conservative mps, who are stating their intention to vote against the deal. what you are seeing today is an attempt by the government to demonstrate that they still have faith in theresa may's plan, but it is what the country, as far as theresa may has said, wants to happen in terms of

people saying to her about the government should just get on with brexit, and a reassertion of that argument, the strongest and ministers have to play now, is that it is this deal or potentially no deal or no brexit at all. they are saying to mps, you might not like everything in it, it might not be perfect in your right but it is the best you're going to get. there is a certain amount of dismay and disbelief among mps, particularly conservatives, here at westminster, but government ministers are doing this and not spending more time talking to them and hearing about and trying to address their concerns with the deal. the health secretary, matt hancock is one of those who will be out and about today and acknowledged this morning that it is acknowledged this morning that it is a challenge to convince some mps to come on board. and then will allow west to get onto

all the other brilliant things this country can do, like the billion pounds that we're into the nhs today, into a these around the country, mental health facilities and some of the most cutting—edge hospitals there will be in the world. everyone should get behind the deal. what can the government do to convince mps further? last night a plan emerged by some backbench conservative mps to put forward and amendments, something that mps would vote on the four the verdict on theresa may's deal, to allow parliament more of us say when it comes to taking the decision as to whether to enter the controversial backstop arrangements. that's something agreed between the eu and uk to avoid a hard border in northern ireland, if they trade deal can't be done by the end of december

2020. but that was quickly dismissed by arlene foster, leader of the dup, who theresa may relies on four votes in parliament that also some senior conservative brexiteer is, as tinkering around the edges and something that won't make any difference. they argued that it is written in the withdrawal agreement, a legally binding treaty between the eu and uk, but either the backstop will have to kick in order transition period will be extended and further negotiations will happen. and there is really only so much parliament can do to influence that. and in an interview with the bbc, brexit secretary stephen barclay had this to say on whether mps would vote for may's deal. we are making the case to colleagues across parliament and across parties. what is really coming through in constituencies like this one is the strong view of business that they want the certainty of the deal and not be uncertainty of no deal and not be uncertainty of no deal or no brexit, and that is why

we are making the case to colleagues across parliament that this is a way of honouring the referendum results, bringing through things such as the skills —based immigration policy, putting an end to the common agricultural policy, sending money to europe, and people voted for the referendum, but doing so in a way that protects jobs and response to the concerns of manufacturers and others across the business community who once you ensure that we have a deal that gives us the confidence and certainty moving forward. the health secretary, matt hancock, has confirmed that medicines could be given priority access through the ports in the event of a no—deal brexit. the likely impact of delays will form part of an update in the event of a no—deal brexit. the likely impact of delays will form part of an update on contingency planning by whitehall departments, which is being released today. our health editor hugh pym is here. let's pick up on that area of a node deal scenario that matt hancock was

talking about earlier. what is your ta ke talking about earlier. what is your take on the level of preparedness for about in terms of getting medicines into the uk and what the key concerns are? there is a lot going on in the nhs and pharmaceutical industry making contingency plans in the event they know deal. which of course is just a possibility and no more than that. but plans do have to be made, assuming there will be disruption at channel ports. 90% of medicines and drugs that are imported from the eu come through dover. a lot of planning has been going on. the industry has been asked to build up six weeks of supplies in the uk to ensure continuity of medicines apply. but their association has said that more is needed, they want more cooperation from government on other issues. medical devices, there isn't so much of a stockpiling yet. they have asked the government to ensure that supplied through alternative routes, through ports, and matt hancock and brad today

there would be priority lanes to get medicines on lorries, into british ports other than dover. —— confirmed today. there remain several u na nswered today. there remain several unanswered questions and more detail will be forthcoming in due course. what are those questions? one of them is supposed six weeks is not enough, how much more might be needed? secondly, enough, how much more might be needed ? secondly, how enough, how much more might be needed? secondly, how much disruption will be be at towel ports? new government guidance is expected on that. and the issue of supply through pharmacies. we liked a bit more today about what promises would be expected to do if there are shortages, which is to give patients alternative drugs to what has been prescribed. —— what pharmacists would be expected to do. this causes many people extreme concern. can we expect much more detail in that guidance later on? i think it will be guidance to all departments. this is the assumption about how much

disruption there might be but it is a lwa ys disruption there might be but it is always being said by the health secretary that this issue is for the pharmaceuticals industry as patients really should not worry. his line is if everyone does what they are expected to do, medicines will come through. some patients are still a little concerned and want more detail. thank you. a bbc investigation has found that academics from ethnic minority backgrounds are being paid up to a quarter less than their white colleagues at some of the uk's top universities. research into pay at russell group universities also found that the salary gap nearly doubles for women from bame backgrounds. the association said it was unable to comment on recruitment practices. rianna croxford reports. these are some of the best universities britain has to offer the world. but not if you're an ethnic minority academic. a bbc foi found academics from black and arab backgrounds earn around £15,000 less on average. the gap is smaller for asian and chinese academics. but then it gets even bigger

for ethnic minority women. if you are, for instance, a woman of colour, not only do you experience an ethnic penalty within the labour market, you also experience a gender penalty. so they're even more disadvantaged than women. many were too afraid to speak publicly, they felt frustrated, ignored, that they were overqualified or underpaid. one lecturer told me that she felt like a third class citizen. another used the term "cheap labour". this person has been working at leeds university for three years. she believes her experience wasn't taken into account. i know people who have come from nonacademic backgrounds and they've come and got better paying and higher grade jobs, which makes me sometimes question, did i make the right choice to come to this country, because it's like throwing 18 years of my life into the bin. in response, leeds university said they pay ethnic minority and white staff a comparable level

for the same level of work. the government is currently consulting on ethnicity pay reporting. this may go some way to breaking down these barriers, and restoring value to people's lives. oxford and cambridge universities accept more students from just eight private schools, than from almost 3,000 english state schools put together, according to research by social mobility charity, the sutton trust. they say more needs to be done to attract students from a wide range of backgrounds. oxford university said it's aware it must work harder. cambridge said more support should be made available to pupils before they choose their a—level subjects. and just after half past twelve i'll be talking to naomi kellman, who specialises in the recruitment of graduates from a diverse range of backgrounds and who also founded target oxbridge — an organisation that helps to improve the representation of black students at oxford and cambridge universities. ukip‘s leader in scotland,

david coburn and the former ukip leader paul nuttall have both resigned from the party in protest at the decision to give tommy robinson a job as an adviser. mr nuttall, who's a member of the european parliament, said the appointment was a ‘catastrophic error‘. mrcoburn said ukip had been "infiltrated" by english nationalists. the party is now left with just 9 of the 24 meps it elected in in 2014. the company hoping to become the first to reach a 1,000 mile per hour land vehicle has announced it will be ending the project after attempts to find furtherfunding failed. project bloodhound was an effort to produce a car capable of reach above supersonic speeds at ground level. it had run out of funds in october but was seeking £25 million of investment to continue its ambition to produce a jet—powered car capable of breaking the 760 mile per hour record set in 1997.

more on today‘s main stories coming up on newsroom live here on the bbc news channel, but now we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. the headlines on bbc news... theresa may sends 30 governement ministers out across the country in a push to win over critics of her brexit deal, ahead of tuesday‘s vote a bbc investigation finds black and arab academics at the uk‘s top universities earn a quarter less than white colleagues. police in new zealand continue to search for missing british backpacker grace millane who was last seen six days ago at an auckland hotel. arsenal say they‘ll “remind players of their responsibilities“,

after a group of them were pictured apparently inhaling laughing gas. this is the front page of the sun this morning, cctv pictures from a private party which show a number of players with balloons in their mouths. the paper says the balloons were filled with nitrous oxide, which it‘s not illegal to be in possesion of. the pictures are from august, before the current premier league season began. jose mourinho says there‘ll be no excuses when manchester united play fulham tomorrow. united haven‘t won in the premier league since november and their performances have been criticsed for being too negative. mourinho says they need the points after a run of draws. isaid to i said to you a few weeks ago, speaking about the december month, and no defeats, that‘s a reality. good fights, good spirits. butjust one victory and three draws. we need

points. but phil is the same. they need points. —— full hand. it‘s been confirmed thatjordan nobbs — the england and arsenal midfielder — will miss next summer‘s women‘s world cup. she had surgery on monday to repair a damaged knee ligament. england manager phil neville said they‘re "disappointed a player ofjordan‘s ability and importance" will not be part of their team for the tournament in france. ben stokes and alex hales should find out today if they‘ll face any further punishment after that fight outside a nightclub in bristol last year. stokes was found not guilty of affray in court earlier this year, but has spent the last couple of days in front of a cricket disciplinary panel alongside hales. they‘re both charged with bringing cricket into disrepute. joe root meanwhile has agreed a new contract with his county yorkshire. the england captain‘s signed a new three year deal. and have a look at this from the nfl overnight. this is derrick henry running the entire length of the pitch to score a touchdown for the tennessee titans against the jacksonville jaguars. 99—yards in all.

impressive stuff. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more for you in the next hour. almost 90 thousand police are to be deployed across france this weekend and there‘ll be armoured vehicles in paris — as the demonstrations — dubbed the yellow—vest protests — have broadened beyond a fuel tax to general dissatisfaction with president macron. hugh schofield joins from paris. hello to you. president macron might have hoped that by putting off the fuel tax increase he might have taken some of the heat out of the situation but apparently not. no, certainly not in the immediate term.

the feeling is that what he has offered came too late and is too little. the yellow vests are emboldened and radicalising. there is every reason to fear that tomorrow‘s protests in paris will be just as bad, if not worse, than last week. this massive deployment of the security forces on the streets of paris, 8,000 out, something never seen for many years, plus these armoured vehicles, is a real sign that... they fear that this is getting out of control. words have been bandied around in france of civil war and coup d‘etat, insurrection, which capture, not the be realistic but capture what is in people‘s minds. the situation is very chaotic and dangerous. there is the danger of more violence notjust in paris and elsewhere. resident macron must be very aware of the

image this sends around the world as well and not a good one. absolutely. i don‘t think that is the top of his priorities at the moment, because that would be getting through this. it has come up on him so suddenly, the protest movements. one month or so ago he still seemed to be riding pretty high. his opinion polls were not great but his whole programme for him was on course. internationally he had this wonderful image which belied slightly the way in which we have seen at home. in the space of about two weeks, may be the last few days since last saturday, that has come crashing down. he has not appeared in public since last saturday‘s terrible violence in paris. his entourage are telling the french press that he is maybe not a changed man butan press that he is maybe not a changed man but an extremely worried and angry man. and a man utterly preoccupied by the immediate task of getting france back to some kind of more peaceable frame of mind. there

isa more peaceable frame of mind. there is a real risk, in his analysis, which goes like this, a real risk of this spinning out of control. he wa nts to this spinning out of control. he wants to get it back under control which is why tomorrow will be crucial. to what extent do the people behind the yellow vest protest, and those coming to the demonstrations, reflect a wider viewing france with regard to president macron‘s programme as what people feel about the cost of living in france? the people who will come tomorrow will be the real hardliners. from last week with the terrible violence, the numbers were few. a few thousand. tomorrow i suspect it will be a few thousand as well. these are not huge marches like we have seen on union protests, it is not like that. but the ones who want to fight come up to paris. if things get completely out of control tomorrow and it is a really terrible day, which god forbid people are killed, for example, i

think there will be a sense of the country having to pull itself together and move away from the brink. up until this point, what has been noticeable is the tolerance of the violence that there has been on the violence that there has been on the part of people who broadly support the yellow vest movements. people say they disapprove of violence but are quite understanding of why that violence has taken place. saying things like, without the violence, would we ever have been listened to? there is a source of tolerance of violence. if it goes a stage further, and we see bloodshed, god forbid, again, that might change but we are not at that point yet. the theory is that we have to get to that point before we pull back. president macron has backed down on the fuel tax issue, is he likely to back down any further? it depends of course on what direction. the yellow vests is

a totally formless group of people. where they ever to get together around a table and tried to draw up around a table and tried to draw up a list of demands, it is very impossible to satisfy people who won‘t put up a list of demands. thank you very much for that. that update from paris. the father of a young british backpacker missing in new zealand has made an emotional appealfor help in finding her. david millane said his family is "extremely concerned" about his daughter grace, who was last seen in auckland on saturday. she came to new zealand to look for adventure. but grace millane is now at the centre of a major police search. today, herfather david landed in auckland, desperate to find his daughter. we last had contact with her on saturday 1st december. and as a family we‘ve been extremely concerned for her welfare. grace is a lovely, outgoing, fun—loving family—orientated daughter. grace has never been out of contact

for this amount of time. she‘s usually in daily contact with either her mum and myself, her two brothers, members of the family on social media. grace was last seen on saturday night, just hours before her 22nd birthday. the police have called hours of cctv footage through auckland‘s city streets and have found footage of her being accompanied into a hotel. it has now been six days since grace was last seen. at this point, we hold great fears for her safety. we've now had the last known sighting of grace at 9.41pm on saturday ist december at the city life hotel with a male companion. police have identified this man and he has been spoken to. grace‘s family say she had been bombarding them with photos of her adventures.

until she disappeared, she was travelling with british bank cards, which has made it harder for the police in new zealand to trace any spending. as they appeal for more information, officers say there is no evidence of foul play, but that they hold great fears for grace‘s safety. hywel griffith, bbc news. the number of cash machine robberies in the uk has nearly doubled in the last four years, according one of the biggest atm operators. ‘cardtronics‘ says there were more than 720 attempts to steal cash last year. less than half were successful. our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz, has more. two thieves, their faces covered, getting ready to blow up a cash machine using gas.

this is the explosion from the inside. the number of raids has been accelerating. there were 400 tax in 2014, by last year, the annual total was 722, nearly double. in almost half the cases, theives don‘t get the cash, but that doesn‘t stop them trying. in this raid, in a cotswold village, a stolen digger was used to smash the local banks machine. in this raid, in a cotswold village, a stolen digger was used to smash the local bank‘s machine. tougher policing in cities has pushed the ramraiding gangs into the country. last month, another machine ripped out in south lanarkshire, the smaller the neighbourhood, the more serious the impact. atm crime is not a victimless crime. it is an attack on a local community, it means that people can‘t get money out of the cash machine. often you will find the shop is damaged, which damages that business as well. there has been a spate of cash machines being blown up using gas and more ramraids. cardtronics says the uk has more attacks than anywhere else in europe. it wants harsher sentences and better surveillance. some breaking news, a 19—year—old

has been jailed for three years at luton crown court after making bogus bomb threats to hundreds of uk schools, and in addition sparking a security scare, and airport security scare. this is 19—year—old george duke: he has beenjailed for three yea rs duke: he has beenjailed for three years after making bogus bomb threats to hundreds of uk schools. —— cowan. and also sparking a bit more detail about the background to this, the bogus bomb threats caused the evacuation of more than 400 schools in the uk. this was back in march when he e—mailed the schools to warn about an explosives threats. he was sentenced days later but then the following month set another batch of

e—mails to schools in the us as well. —— as well as the uk while he was under investigation, claiming that type bombs had been planted premises. —— paper bulbs. in august, he became involved in the suggestion that a flight hijacker had taken over a united airlines flight. edwina the uk and san francisco. —— between the uk. he posed as a worried father claiming his daughter had contacted him from the flight to say that her plane had been hijacked. in the last shot while at luton crown court, 19—year—old george from watford has been jailed for three years for making those bogus threats. the chief financial officer of chinese technology giant huawei is due in court in canada later on friday for a bail hearing. she was arrested in vancouver at the request of the united states.

american media say her arrest is related to an investigation into possible violations of sanctions against iran. the company has described the action as unreasonable — and in a letter to suppliers said the business will continue as usual. our beijing correspondent stephen mcdonnell reports. chinese tech giant huawei is today at the forefront of global trade tensions, and the drama will play out in canada in the coming hours, when a senior executive appears in court. chief financial officer meng wanzhou was arrested in vancouver while in transit, and reportedly faces extradition to the united states following alleged breaches of washington‘s sanctions against sales of technical equipment to iran. if this is the reason for her to be taken into custody, the chinese government says it is still being given no explanation for it from either canada or the united states. claiming such detention without a reason is a human rights violation. translation: i can't discuss

the details of this case here but what i can tell you is that after learning about it, we‘ve made solemn representations to canada and the us. we‘ve demanded that both parties immediately clarify the reasons for this detention and that they immediately release the detailing to protect that person‘s legal rights. the company has also issued an open letter to its suppliers and partners saying it, too, has received very little information regarding her detention. adding that it strictly abides by all international laws. but according to canada‘s prime minister, this is all a routine extradition procedure. i can assure everyone that we are a country of an independent judiciary and the appropriate authorities took the decisions in this case without any political involvement or interference, as must be the case. however this is a case, obviously, before the courts

upon which there is a publication ban and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further. however, the timing of this us request to have a senior chinese executive arrested seems extraordinary, coming as it does at the beginning of a 90—day truce in the escalation of the trade war. now it‘s time for a look at the weather. hello. some very wet and windy weather in the forecast. the wind strongest for northern ireland and scotland. courtesy of low pressure out towards the north. some brighter spells but also a scattering of showers. and in parts of scotland. temperature is taking a dip and what we have seen this morning, as we go

through this afternoon. this is rush hour, and you can see those gusts. around 70 or 80 mils grubber in a few sports, and we could see some big plays and destruction to transport, so do take care if you‘re heading out. tonight, there will be further showers working their way towards the east. the winds will tend to ease slightly in the north, and temperatures will be in the south. as we move into the weekend, it will be chilly. the little bit chillier as we move into sunday. goodbye. hello, this is bbc newsroom live.

the headlines: selling the deal — theresa may sends 30 ministers out across the uk to persuade local communities that her brexit deal is the best option ahead of tuesday‘s vote in the commons. if you look at this deal in the round, it delivers on the referendum result in a way that support the economy, allows close trading tries with europe and then will allow us to get on to all the other brilliant things this country can do. a bbc investigation finds black and arab academic staff at the uk‘s top universities earn a quarter less than white colleagues. grace is a lovely, outgoing, family orientated daughter. grace has never been out of contact this amount of time. the father of a british backpacker missing in new zealand appeals for help to

find his daughter. police say grace millane was last seen at an auckland hotel with a male companion. a rise in cash machine robberies — attacks on atms nearly double in four years — with thieves using explosives and ram raids to steal money. the universities of oxford and cambridge accept more students from a handful of private schools than almost 3000 state schools put together. that‘s according to figures from a social mobility charity. the health secretary matt hancock has confirmed that medicines could be given priority access through the ports in the event of a no—deal brexit. the likely impact of delays will form part of an update on contingency planning by whitehall departments, which is being released today. i‘ve been getting reaction from mark dayan, policy analyst at nuffield trust — an independent health think tank. just an expected will go on in the

event of a no—deal, suddenly there will be a huge amount of raw paperwork at the border. things have to be checked against multiple different standards, and it wouldn‘t necessarily be automatically legal to the same extent to get medicines from europe. that will cause big builders, but also cause services in the uk, including in the private sector, and it will be set up to deal with that kind of stuff, and there will be an element of chaos. and that i think is what underpins the kind of thinking that has brought us to ideas of chartering flights and stockpiling. there is obviously the paperwork issues, and you have the issue at ports in terms of physically moving supplies of medicines. and over, i think i‘m right in saying, handles the vast majority of medicines coming into

the uk -- majority of medicines coming into the uk —— dover handles. majority of medicines coming into the uk -- dover handles. that is quite right. in the longer term, we have a question of what all this extra paperwork, all these extra storage, or the extra hoops, what would it do for the costs of medicines to the nhs? by my calculations, on an annual basis, they could drive costs up by 2 billion to 3 billion. that is huge. there are so many things to consider when looking at this one area. in terms of the routes that medicines come in, that needs to be looked at, presumably. planes can on this take a certain volume of medical supplies, of course. there are issues of refrigeration. all of those are absolutely right. i would soon out and say, chartering flights, baking extra stories, which we know the government has started

doing, and building stockpiles to see us through the difficult months, those are all sensible steps and i support them, but we need to remember that no country has ever done something like this before, just suddenly left a market that has been part of for 40 years. it makes it very difficult to judge how extensive these problems might be. we have not mentioned, and i am not sure what is being done with it, but what about medicines and medical devices that be produced in the uk, but what rely on an ingredient or component or machine parts from europe, an expert coming in? what are we going to do about those, and what if it cannot keep functioning in the way it does today? what are your concerns in the event the eu leaders were 30 deal. having a deal

should head of those immediate issues, and parts of giving us back a long transition period that not much changes, and that should make us able to set up services in the public and private sector so they are ready to deal with what they have to, but you‘re absolutely right that it will not deal with the wider problems that brexicosis this us being split apart from the european market, because even the prime minister‘s deal, will be felt quite keenly in medicines. my estimate would be that even though we might not see the problem with supply, we would still see costs for medicines, even under brexit with a deal. —— cost for medicines go up. oxford and cambridge universities accept more students from just eight private schools than from almost 3,000 english state schools put together, according to research by social mobility charity, the sutton trust. they say more needs to be done to attract students from a wide range of backgrounds.

oxford university said it‘s aware it must work harder. cambridge said more support should be made available to pupils before they choose their a—level subjects. here to discuss this is naomi kellman, founder of target oxbridge, an organisation that helps to improve student diversity at oxbridge. he went to oxford, i understand, and you came from a state school? yes, i went to a state school for my gcses, and a grammar school from my e—forms. and a grammar school from my e-forms. how supportive was the grammar school? the comprehensive school mentioned oxbridge to me, but did not have a big issue are sending people, so therefore i moved to a school that had a better case today, because i understood you needed access to understanding of the process , access to understanding of the process, and i got that from the school, which was really helpful.

how much does that explain this gap both oxford and cambridge? how much it is down to the understanding of the application process and the assistance given at that stage?” think it is significant. the reason of spreads give personal one—on—one support to students is to emulate that support that the schools get. they get told what to read, get help making calls, preparing for tess, and they get mock interviews. they get support the whole way through. and of course has to be that belief from the students themselves that they can win a place at one of these use of our cities, so tell us about your experience. at first i did not think i would be going off to oxford. my parents had not been to university, and i am the eldest of six girls. i didn‘t think i was rich enough. i knew that lots of white

people went to oxford, and i mixed heritage. i didn‘t know that i was the sort of person who would end up there, but luckily the school i went to knew i had the great and thought i should give it a shot. i didn‘t know that i would make it, but i did, andi know that i would make it, but i did, and i hope i can pass that on. how many students has target oxbridge helped get the universities? ieuan rugby have helped 81 so far, and we have 100 going to interview over the next while, and be very excited about that. we talked about what students need to do, but what more do oxford and cambridge did today?” need to do, but what more do oxford and cambridge did today? i know they have expanded summer schools, which is really good, but i think targeted worker groups and areas that are struggling with be helpful, the one and one person as support that will help students, by giving them access to really helpful resources. we

mentioned and the introduction that cambridge is seeing more support should be made available to students before they choose their subjects. what do they mean by that? top universities are looking for facilitating a—levels, who history, maths, science is, and students don‘t always know that. i do agree that students who get that advice, i would be really keen to gap that is changing year ten and you love them. you have made a point about the misconceptions about how much it cost to study, and that that does not cost more than any other university, but why is that this mistake about those universities, and if you could sum up the difference between applying for them and applying for only universities, what would you say it is?” and applying for only universities, what would you say it is? i think the mistake comes from not knowing anyone who has been, and once you

connect them with normal people who have done it, that mistakes as to follow way. if you want to apply there, it is about really understanding the subject you are replying to, and really doing your research. it is about going outside the curriculum, which students do not always know about, and preparing for the entry test in advance. and when you see the figures, that could be really operating for some people, couldn‘t it? be really operating for some people, couldn't it? , and the reason be set target oxbridge alp is to stop that. there are great programmes to help people, and students should try not to be put off. take the opportunities, go along and see the university for yourself and take the decision. great to talk to you. very interesting. the man appointed by the government to carry out a review of britain‘s railways has told the bbc the system is flawed and in need of reform. in his first broadcast interview about the issue, the former chief executive of british airways, keith williams, says public trust has been lost after periods of severe disruption.

our transport correspondent tom burridge has more. when problems hit, like in october on main roads between the west of england and london, the distruption can be huge. our rail system is at bursting point. pretty much everyone says fundamental reform is needed, so on a visit to manchester and preston, where overcrowding and punctuality are persistent problems, the man in charge of finding solutions told us the trust of passengers had been lost. keith williams, the former boss of british airways, is running a review on behalf of the government, but he insists he is begin open—minded. i am independent, and all options are on the table for me. i think we should look at everything, and ourjob is to come up with a recommendation for the government to take forward. you will look at the balance between public and private? we should look at everything. i think we should look at the balance of it, yes. mr williams also said investment should be prioritised to regions

like the north of england, and he said the complexity of the system and lack of accountability are two issues he will address. the headlines on bbc news: theresa may sends 30 governement ministers out across the country in a push to win over critics of her brexit deal, ahead of tuesday‘s vote. a bbc investigation finds black and arab academics at the uk‘s top universities earn a quarter less than white colleagues. police in new zealand continue to search for missing british backpacker grace millane who was last seen six days ago at an auckland hotel. the mobile network 02 has said it‘s working out how to make a goodwill gesture to its customers after a technical hitch left tens of millions of people unable to access data on their smartphones yesterday.

the firm says it will be in touch with customers later today. the problem was finally resolved earlier this morning, and the company says it‘s now investigating what went wrong, as our correspondent, jon donnison, reports. for many these days, life is to fully functioning smartphone is almost unimaginable. their cameras might have been working at those christmas market in manchester, for 32 million 02 customers, not much else was. we have not been able to use facebook. i don‘t think you can send messages either. or train times to get us on. not good, basically. in london, bass and rival schemes which work of the network were also out of action. if as bold problem, you might say, but also very watch one of our time. it is a digital

catastrophe in the 21st—century. yellow to have internet, i tell services, out of our loved ones nearby, out of capacity for payment. the 02 network said the problem was a global one, and don‘t take equipment supplied by ericsson. we not it is a software issue which has impacted and ericsson component which is impacted networks across the globe, in china, japan and here. 02 said services should be back to normal tomorrow, and it will be carrying out to the view with ericsson. the question now is that whether customers will be able to claim compensation. the international medical charity medecins sans frontiers says it has been forced to terminate life—saving rescue operations in the mediterranean carried out by its ship the aquarius. msf said it comes after what it called a sustained campaign by the italian government and other european countries to smear and obstruct aid organisations trying to save the lives

of vulnerable people at sea. sophie long reports. your lifejackets, take them off, people, if you must. let‘s go. the number of people attempting to cross the mediterranean has fallen, but the journey remains as dangerous as ever. three, two... medecins sans frontieres says, with its partner organisation, sos mediterranee, it‘s rescued or helped more than 80,000 people over the past four years. but in recent months, as men, women and children continue to embark on the world‘s deadliest migration route, the charity‘s its licence revoked and its crew accused of criminal activity, accusations the aid organisation categorically denies. msf is bitterly critical of european governments. it says they‘ve failed to provide enough dedicated rescue capacity of their own and then actively sabotaged the efforts of others

trying to save lives in the mediterranean. it says european countries have violated international law by refusing to allow those rescued at sea access to safe ports, and have instead enabled the forced return of thousands of them to detention camps in libya. it says eu governments have created a climate that discourages ships at sea from carrying out their obligations to rescue people in distress, and that now it‘s been forced to terminate its own vital sea rch—and—rescue work, it will result in more avoidable deaths that will go unwitnessed and unrecorded. sophie long, bbc news. as we‘ve been hearing, the number of cash machine robberies in the uk has nearly doubled in the last four years, according one of the biggest atm operators. cardtronics says there were more than 720 attempts to steal cash last year. less than half were successful.

well, i spoke to ron delveno of the atm industry in europe and asked him if the rise in criminal incidents could affect the number of atms in the uk. we used to have over 70,000 in the uk, and the latest figures i saw say that we have now at 65,000. part of that is atms being attacked, but part of it is a bank branches closing, and the atms that are in those branches being taken away, so this is a very serious issue. we can‘t afford to lose any atms through crime, because we‘re losing enough through bank closures and atms being removed from those branches. to what extent do you hear from the public saying, look, we don‘t have access to our cash, to cash in our area, particularly in more remote areas, rural communities and so on? oh, it‘s a huge issue, because now that the branches have gone, the bank branches have gone, and they have taken their atms with them, often there is only one independent atm in a village or small town, and if that

gets hit by criminals, then it could be miles, maybe nine or ten miles to the nearest atm where people can get cash. that is serious for the community, especially people who can‘t travel, and also for the businesses, because they lose money, because they don‘t do business any more, because there is no cash in the community. and i know you have some very specific thoughts on the disincentives, if i can put it that way, that the justice system gives out for people who have found guilty of committing this crime. well, we should take a very serious attitude towards this crime. it is a crime against communities, notjust a crime against atms and property. obviously, when explosives are involved, life is at risk as well. people can get killed, and there are sentences available that mean that these criminals can go to risen for 15, 18 or 20 years or more. but you think the punishment currently is inconsistent, don‘t they? it is inconsistent. in some courts, we are seeing people get six or eight year sentences, in other courts, 18 year sentences. and obviously, there‘s a huge difference. so, we need consistency there.

we also need more police resources. now, i know everybody says that about police resources, but we need more police resources devoted to this crime, because it is a very serious crime. it is depriving people their livelihoods, in some cases, and it is threatening communities all around the country, so we need to see this addressed as a serious crime in every instance, and then when the criminals are caught, as they almost always are, eventually, they need to go to prison for lengthy sentences. the american actor and comedian kevin hart has stepped down from hosting the 2019 oscars after past anti—gay tweets were revealed. the announcement that he would host the ceremony was made only on tuesday. however, after three days of controversy over the historical tweets, he apologised to the lgb community and said he would withdraw because he didn‘t want to be a distraction. with christmas just around the corner, what kind of tree should you buy, a real fir or a plastic fake? millions of us buy christmas trees each year, but what impact does this

have on the environment in long run? and should you go real or reusable? the bbc‘s lora jones explores. it is the ultimate christmas decoration, and british people buy millions of them every year. but what impact does the christmas tree have on the environment? and should you go fake or fir. first, the natural tree. around 7 million chrismas trees are bought in the uk each year, with three quarters being grown here. it takes up to 12 year to grow a typical christmas tree. during this time, it has a positive impact on the environment because it absorbs carbon from the atmosphere and nitrogen from the soil. but once it is chopped down it starts releasing emissions back into the atmosphere. transporting a tree can contribute to its overall carbon footprint, so buying a tree that‘s locally grown can help

keep its carbon footprint down. but the biggest potential environmental impact for a natural christmas tree comes from its disposal. if it ends up in landfill, its carbon footprint will be higher. because organic matter, which decomposes away from oxygen, produces methane, a greenhouse gas contributes to global warming. it is better if your treat get incinerated or compost it. that can reduce its carbon footprint by up to 80%. you can find out from your local council what happens to it once you throw it out. if you have the space, you can buy a potted christmas tree which you can keep over the next year and use again next christmas. what about a plastic christmas tree? here, the biggest impact comes from production. artificial trees are usually made out of a combination of metal and plastic. the production and process of which can significantly increase the tree‘s carbon footprint. most artificial trees are made in china,

which means they have to be packaged and ship to the uk. the good news is you can reuse a plastic tree. how many years do you have to keep it to have a lower environmental impact? experts think it is about ten years, but that it is a rough estimate. it depends on the size of the tree. if you do decide to throw out your plastic tree, it is most likely to end up in landfill, as it‘s not currently recyclable. overall, your choice of christmas tree has a small impact on your annual carbon footprint. to give you a better idea, driving 12 miles in an average sized petrol car produces as much greenhouse gases as buying and natural tree. if you get an artificial tree, it is equivalent to driving 135 miles. of course, there are other factors you might want to consider. but in terms of environmental impact, reuse for artificial trees and disposal for natural trees

are just two factors you might want to keep in mind. an update regarding the british seller suzy pudong haematology about the little earlier. her but was severely damaged in a storm. she was awaiting rescue. we are seeing reports that a cargo ship is alongside the boat, 2000 miles of track the coast of cape horn, and that hopefully have rescue is underweight. she is the youngest competitor in the golden globes race. she is also the only woman in the race, but unfortunately higher but was seriously damaged in bad weather, and it looks like, with that cargo ship alongside her, that hopefully her rescue will follow. that news juice hopefully her rescue will follow. that newsjuice coming hopefully her rescue will follow. that news juice coming into us.

china has launched what it‘s calling a giant panda culture alliance. it‘s aimed at stabilising the breeding of one of the world‘s most vulnerable species, along with protecting habitats. the alliance was launched in sichuan province, which is home to a number of panda breeding programmes. this week, panda twins which were born in an austrian zoo, were flown to sichuan to be resettled. in a moment it‘s time for the one o‘clock news some wet and windy weather in the forecast. the wind is strongest in the north, so for northern ireland and scotland, with gales or severe gales, there is a potential to destruction to transport, so if you‘re heading out, keep an eye on you‘re heading out, keep an eye on you by the forecast. low pressure in the north well edge is words, and the north well edge is words, and

the isobars very tightly packed across the uk, but strongest in the north. this is firstjabber, and the temperatures will take it up on what this this morning. so quite heavy bursts, but wind gusts for northern ireland and scotland, perhaps 70 or 80 mils carraro in some axe was. there is a potentialfor some big waves, so potential for destruction to travel. as we go through to note, that area of low pressure gauges eastwards, with chimeras in the north and west, and the rest staying dry with clear spells in the east. temperatures cooler in the south only have been, and went on the north—eastern slightly. that being said, it looks windy as we head into the weekend. saturday brings for the showers, and it will come drier and chillier on sunday. on saturday, it

sta rts chillier on sunday. on saturday, it starts off a sunny spells, but also show worse for northern and western areas. we will see cloud and shelby epics of rain pitching in from the south—west. another windy day to come, with temperatures in maximum of 13 celsius in the 30s. asmir saturday night into sunday, they will be further showers, and as we moved through the night, we will pick upa moved through the night, we will pick up a north—westerly breeze, and we can see is quy is on the isobars in the south—west of england and southern wales. we could see gusty winds, of 60 to 65 mph work in the early hours on sunday. on sunday, experiment of dry weather. there will still be a few show worse, particularly in northern and western areas. temperatures a little cooler than they were yesterday. jabber is on saturday, drier but cooler on sunday. theresa may‘s brexit deal.

the brexit secretary is among those trying to win over critics, as mps prepare for their historic vote on the deal next week. the government warns a no deal brexit would mean six months of chaos at out ports. there are emergency plans to fly in medicines and fast—track them through the docks. we need to make sure that in all eventualities, there‘s unhindered flow of medicines for people who need them. that work is ongoing. there‘s further details that we are releasing today, including about how we‘ll prioritise medicines if there‘s a blockage at the border. we‘ll have the latest from westminster. also this lunchtime....