this is bbc world news today. i'm tanya beckett. our top stories... facing fraud charges in america. a top executive from chinese telecoms giant, huawei, appears in court in canada, accused of breaching sanctions against iran. angela merkel‘s successor, germany's christian democrats choose her protege, annegret kramp, as her replacement. team trump picks william barr to be the new us attorney general — a job he last did 25 years ago. he'll oversee the russia investigation. there is no one more capable or more qualified for this role. he deserves overwhelming bipartisan support. french students clash with police as the country prepares for more anti government protests this weekend. and as the un declares more than half of the world's population now have access to the internet, we find out how one of the world's least connected countries, cuba, is trying to get online.

hello and welcome to world news today. a top executive in the chinese telecoms giant huawei has appeared in court in canada where she was told she faces fraud charges in the united states. meng wanzhou is the daughter of the company's founder — and also huawei's chief financial officer. she now faces prosecution in the us, for allegedly trying to get round sanctions on iran. let's speak to michelle fleury who's live for us in new york. what more can you tell us about these charges? she has been appearing ina these charges? she has been appearing in a packed court in vancouver. this is a bail hearing it is worth pointing out. any extradition attempts will be a

separate court date. but we have learned so far is that meng wanzhou faces charges of fraud in the united states for allegedly misrepresenting huawei's relationship with the hong kong company. apparently between 2009-2014, the kong company. apparently between 2009—2014, the court heard that huawei apparently used nikon to do business in iran, that is despite us sanctions and a us band. she is also accused of lying to banks about the use of this covert subsidiary, putting american banks at risk of huge fines. we have heard reports over the last three days that part of the reason usjustice over the last three days that part of the reason us justice officials learn about this is because a court—appointed monitor of hsbc actually flagged up a potential transaction word of the two are linked we don't yet know. the justice department has declined to comment at this stage. of course

this time in a significant because of the trade spat between the us and china. you're talking about a huge company in china. exhibit as similar to apple. this is a company that is very high—profile. its daughter, the woman who was arrested, her father is the founder of the company as well as her being the chief financial officer. they are very big players in the market for 56 technology and that roll—out, not just in china but around the globe. so this is a big smack in the face to china. for the us, they have been concerned about this company for a number of years now on national security grounds. i think that is one of the areas of contention between these two countries, they sit down for trade talks. it is hard to see how this will make talks go smoother when you have got the situation going on. so far china has

not said too much. they have asked for the release of mr negative, but beyond that they have not cited to the trade talks. but it is hard to see how you can separate this out given the concerns in the us about the national security issues raised by this company. i don't get the impression that china is very happy about it at all. quite angry and sad. of course she could be facing quite a lengthy sentence. yes. we we re quite a lengthy sentence. yes. we were hearing from lawyers in the court in canada that she would face charges of conspiracy to defraud multiple financial institutions. i suspect this has to do with how she represented the relationship between the companies. all of this carries a maximum sentence the companies. all of this carries a maximum sentence of 30 years for each charge. apparently our reporter was in the courtroom and reported that there was actually gasped when i was read out. in response, her lawyers have said that she is not a flight lawyers have said that she is not a flight risk as the prosecution have

tried to betray her. they have said she would never reach a court order because it is a question of dignity and self—respect. she wouldn't want to embarrass huawei or china itself. as for the fraud claims, they say they plan to contest this and that they plan to contest this and that the evidence is skeletal. thank you very much. joining us from new york. angela merkel‘s protege annegret kramp—karrenbauer has been elected the new leader of germany's governing christian democrats. the 56—year—old who's known as akk, won the most support in two rounds of voting by party delegates in hamburg. the closest other candidate was friedrich merz, a fierce critic of mrs merkel. mrs merkel had received a standing ovation earlier after delivering a farewell speech at her party conference. she'll remain as german chancellor until the end of her fourth term in 2021. jenny hill has more from hamburg. annegret kramp—karrenbauer is in a

name that exactly trips off the tongue. it is why germans refer to their as akk, but it is a name to remember because you're going to hear a lot of it. she is notjust been elected here as leader of the cdu, she is also now widely considered to be in effect and just let him waiting. she was the preferred candidate of angela merkel post—op she was the preferred candidate of actually the wider cdu party. she is seen as a continuity candidate, someone was likely to continue mrs merkel‘s brand of centrism. she shares a lot in terms of violent politics with mrs. merkel, although commentators are painted to point out she tends to be rather more decisive and rather more approachable, rather more direct. she has got a lot of work on her handsif she has got a lot of work on her hands if she wants to wind back voters to the cdu and she is going to have to answer to whims of this party which are concerned by the rise of populism, by the rise of the far right afd, by the success of the german green party, losing voters. she will have to deal with those who

thought that angela merkel popped my migration policies were rather too much. she is also going to have to deal with those who would like to ta ke deal with those who would like to take this party back to its conservative roots. she's got a lot of work on her hands, she will be sharing power with angela merkel, the two women have worked together before. she has been the party's general secretary for some time. but today i think she struck a chord with most people in this room. she said she really wanted the party to come together. translation: i accepted this vote and thank you for your confidence. i thank you from the bottom of my heart. especially friedrich merz for this fair competition that we have conducted. the big question today is what does all this mean for angela merkel. the suggestion is that perhaps at some point there could be a snooze transition of power between mrs merkel and new chancellor candidate. mrs merkel herself has said she would like to stay until the end of her time in 2021. today

she really wished a huge amount of power to annegret kramp—karrenbauer. most people in this room still hope the chancellor —— that still hold the chancellor —— that still hold the catholic and very high esteem and very high affection to believe that it and very high affection to believe thatitis and very high affection to believe that it is likely she won't survive asa that it is likely she won't survive as a german catholic until the end of her time. studio: jenny hill. felix dane from the konrad adenauer foundation says it's unlikely we'll see drastic changes in policy under akk. there is a mere relief that this whole debating is coming to an end. we now how the new bishop will look like and we know who will be the leader of the barley and potentially even the next chancellor of germany. the second is i think there will be drastic changes when it comes to policies. the values angela merkel andindeed policies. the values angela merkel and indeed the entire cdu share on europe, on international affairs, all that remains to be fairly similar between angela merkel and annegret kramp—karrenbauer. but i think it would've also been fairly between the other candidates. so i

think we won't see just changes of style, but that is more or less about it. she is a very person who can listen very well. we have already delegations visit with certain members. she is very much a listener. and then able to take action. i think that if the style which is very good. she also wind to germany and had sort of a some tour, a listening tour as she called it. she travelled all over the country to small towns, big and had town hall meetings. she is drawing her conclusions from those meetings. i think she is hacked a good earfor the basis not of the cdu along of the basis not of the cdu along of the country itself. but when it comes to be policies i think she comes to be policies i think she comes from this southern borders of france from germany. she has a clear link to be relationship that is coming after to her. she is more of the old west german style. she has clear views on the european values

and the core of europe as it were. she also highly regrets that the uk's leading the european union —— leaving the european union. i would say she is not to try to foster a very good relationship between the uk and germany. and european union after brexit. new leader of the christian democrats in germany. let's head to the us, where president trump hasjust announced two new recruits to his administration. he's chosen a former fox news journalist, heather nauert, to take up the role of us ambassador to the united nations. and — possibly even more crucially — he's nominated william barr to take up the role of attorney general, replacing jeff sessions. here's the president speaking about his decision... i was also thrilled to announce earlier today that i am nominating william barr to take the helm as i

new attorney general. he is an outstanding man. he previously led as attorney general under george a stu bby as attorney general under george a stubby was following this unanimous confirmation by the united states senate. during his tenure, he demonstrated an unwavering adherence to the rule of law, which the people in the to hear. there is no one more capable or more qualified for this role. he deserves overwhelming bipartisan support. i suspect he will probably be getting. one of the task facing mr barr, if his nomination is confirmed as donald trump expects, is how much influence he can have on the russia probe led by the special counsel robert mueller, a point i put to eric ham, who is a political analyst in washington. you wonder how much impact can he have on investigation that already is in his 18th month. i think one of the bigger questions that are still yet to be answered is what does this

mean for rod rosenstein, who is actually overseeing this investigation from its inception. so i think these are questions that will need to be answered. and also i think it is an important note that this was a nomination that was foisted upon the president. many of my sources here in washington told me that he was very comfortable with matthew whitaker amid the current acting attorney general, and that many republicans were actually concerned about max whittaker‘s at the attorney general‘s office. that is why we see the president making this move now. well, it wasn't co mforta ble this move now. well, it wasn't comfortable with jeff sessions though. that absolutely certain. he was not. in fact, we have never seen such a contentious relationship between the president and a sitting attorney general. especially when here in washington, there has always been this invisible wall that separated the white house from the attorney general‘s office because you never want politics to have an

influence on justice being that it out. so what we saw take place between the president and his former attorney general is something that we have really seen take place in this nation. so what do you make of the new us ambassador to the un and how that changes the fabric of his administration? is going to change a lot. one thing that we do know, this pic is both secretary of state mike pompeo and the national security adviserjohn bolton want this position downgraded from a cabinet level position to just a regular position. so it would no longer be a cabinet level role. that is always up cabinet level role. that is always up to the discretion of the president, and we have seen that ta ke president, and we have seen that take place in the obama administration with this and that his ownership, we have seen this in bush 41 hunt administration. given you had nikki haley who had enormous star power, in fact many soccer and

still do see her as a potential presidential candidate. so she brought an enormous amount of star power whereas i think heather nauert, i think there will be enormous questions about her ability to serve as an executive in this role, but also given her lack of foreign—policy experience, i think there will be tremendous concern about her ability to navigate the space. very briefly, the turbulence with his administration continues. at almost this is style. is it not, room is aboutjohn kelly, his chief of staff? we see this take place in this administration since he got there, i think this is something that the president finds on and i think the president actually relishes this type of chaos. again thatis relishes this type of chaos. again that is why he was elected. he was seen as a that is why he was elected. he was seen as a change agent and as a chaos agent. paris will be in semi—lock down on saturday over fears of more street violence as anti—government protests continue. but that's already started today.

in dramatic scenes, student protesters have clashed with police. they have been blocking access to high schools around france in protest against education reforms. large scale security measures are being put into place around france for the weekend. close to 90,000 police will be deployed across the country along with 75,000 emergency and security personnel. extra security and armoured vehicles will be in the capital as the demonstrations — dubbed the yellow—vest protests — have broadened beyond a fuel tax rises to general dissatisfaction with president macron. bbc‘s lucy williamson is in paris as people prepare for the weekend. the samson lee saves again preparing for battle. the consumer paradise, twinkling behind bars. reminders of last week's violence still scrawled on some of the walls. translation: it would be smart to close. i've lost a lot of money. of my fellow shopkeepers and myself. if

enough. almost 90,000 security forces are being deployed across the country and tourist sites including the louvre and the eiffel tower are closed. the government is released a video and social media protesting is a right, it says, but attacking property or the state is not. translation: include pacifists with good intentions but also people who have been radicalised, it would've by extremist groups and who want to topple the republic. last saturday saw the worst violence here in decades. what began as a protest over fuel tax rises has turned decades. what began as a protest overfuel tax rises has turned into a lea d e rless overfuel tax rises has turned into a leaderless movement that includes many violent and extremist groups. tonight, the city is bracing itself. the heart of france's economic and political life has become a target for those who feel they have lost touch with both. the threat tomorrow is from extremist groups and violence saboteurs, but the dissolution such as poor working families across france. lucy

williamson, bbc news, paris. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come... the sports news, the england cricketer ben stokes is find dirty thousand pounds for a fight outside a nightclub. —— £30,000 fine. this is bbc world news today. i'm tanya beckett. the latest headlines. a top executive from chinese telecoms giant, huawei, appears in court in canada — on charges linked to skirting sanctions on iran. germany's christian democrats have picked annegret kramp karrenbauer as their new leader. she's now the favourite to take over as chancellor from angela merkel. ports in the english channel could face disruption for up to six months if the uk leaves the eu without a deal, according to the british government. it's being described as a worst case scenario after analysis of likely traffic flows if customs checks are delayed. meanwhile, ministers have travelled across the uk today

to try to convince the public to get behind the prime minister's brexit deal. here's our deputy political editorjohn pienaar. today, around almost every corner, you would see a minister on a mission, dozens of them, ordered out to defend and sell mrs may's brexit compromise, to make what may be a last stand to save her brexit plan, even save the prime minister herself. among ministers, many privately believe the government should delay the big vote next tuesday, rather than face a crushing defeat. for now, they are making their case around the country, hoping mps listen to worried people and businesses. they will hear those voices saying, we want it sorted, we want this deal accepted because we need to move on as a country both to negotiate a good trading deal for a future with the eu and to deal with the pressing domestic agenda of the nhs, schools, housing and all the other things people want their politicians to focus on. and now tougher warnings from the government of the danger of ending up with no brexit deal at all. up to six months of delays

at dover for cross—channel traffic, emergency plans to fast—track and fly in medicines if supplies run short. but the brexiteers are coming. they are calling it all a scare story and they are convinced the rebellion will not melt under pressure. no chance whatsoever. it seems to me they would be better off talking to people and finding out what people want, not preaching to them. but are you worried that theresa may's deal may be the hardest brexit available? you can't be serious. it's not brexit. it's not even brexit in name only. any other brexit deal would be better than what she is putting on the table. labour is hoping it ends up the big winner if the decision goes back to the people. we have put forward a new approach which we are hoping mps in all political parties will vote for. if they do, that will enable us to go off with a strong mandate to negotiate with european partners. if that doesn't happen, in the interests of the country, we have to be prepared with fall back positions and that is a general election or, if we can't get that, than other options. here, behind the posturing

on the campaigning, the private talk is about power. the tea rooms and corridors have been humming with the sound of plotting and scheming. for some, it's about how to take control of brexit. for others, it's about how to grab the keys to number ten. talk to anyone, parliamentary newbies or political veterans, and there is one thing on which everyone can agree. no one has seen or lived through times quite like these. asi fani has all the sport. thank you. ben stokes and ourselves are free to play again for england. an independent commissioner imposed suspensions on the pier which they have a reserved. still. not guilty ofa have a reserved. still. not guilty of a freaking quarterly of this after a fight outside the club in september 2017. both players will also find. hales was pay seven and

half thousand pounds ben stokes £30,000. formatting when captain thinks stokes has served as punishment and it is time to move on. i think he regrets the incident hugely. he knows that he got the mic has got to change a little bit, i think he knows that he has to change the way he is a little bit. since he has come back into the team in that test match in nottingham after the case, i've seen a cricketer that obviously is exceptional. i've seen in person, we the only heard from trevor bayliss after the tour of sri la nka trevor bayliss after the tour of sri lanka that the way he has behaved has been active very. i hope that carries on now, and any other issue around his behaviour off the field. i will say that he will get quite a long time away from the game. he knows he has got to just change himself a little bit. but i think it is the right decision. jose mourinho is the right decision. jose mourinho is staying at manchester united. his agent says that rumours that he will leave old trafford are totally untrue. rumours that united have beenin untrue. rumours that united have been in contact with continental

line—up mauricio pochettino are also unfounded. unitedly fulham on saturday. they have not one activity per milik since november in their performances have been criticised for being too negative. mourinho says there will be no excuses for a better performance this time. gas for a bad performance this time. better performance this time. gas for a bad performance this timelj say to you a few weeks ago speaking about the december month, no defeats. that is a reality. good fights. the spirit. butjust one victory against young boys and three draws. in many points. but fulham is the same. they need points. draws. in many points. but fulham is the same. they need pointsm draws. in many points. but fulham is the same. they need points. it is a game that has had the eyes of the world upon it for many of the wrong reasons in recent weeks. two of the biggest clubs in football history, river plate and boca juniors go head to head in south america's version of the temp easily. it will not take

place in their home of one virus after an attack on the boca juniors tea m after an attack on the boca juniors team bus. instead it is taking place image or this weekend which is where we find our reporter. when i was coming here i thought to myself, is this still as big a mess it was? because i was confident in billing as the biggest club match in the world of 2018. and i think it was. in buenos aires. but the atmosphere is needed here so far. but it is still a huge game for the players. carlos said that he will swap all the trophies he has won in his career to win this match. what happened in point of service two weeks ago was a huge embarrassment and cost for same for argentinian football. by playing it here, it suggests that they think there isn't a single city or a single stadium and the whole of south america that can host this match. and that is hugely embarrassing upon the governing body of stuff american football. nobody wanted to come

here. it is a better option than doha with was the initial favourite destination. but it is strange and it is bizarre. and the build—up has been muted precisely because we are not in south america. their imager ahead of the final. and that is the sport for now. thank you. and that is it for me. thanks forjoining us. this is bbc world news. good evening. it has been a pretty u nsettled good evening. it has been a pretty unsettled day. stormy in the far north of the country but things are starting to quiet them down albeit

slowly. the area of low pressure is still sitting across the former. one. you can see how many isobars over the southern flank a close the winds are still very much a feature over the next few hours. still we could see gusts of winds 50—60 mph. some of those showers very persistent as well. it is going to bea persistent as well. it is going to be a blustery and into friday i must certainly. that is worth bearing in mind some of those showers are starting to push that a little bit further east. elsewhere the showers are few and far in between. it should be a relatively quiet night to come. quite windy across england and wales. if you isolated showers. temperatures are holding up quite widely. we're going to see around 5-8d. we widely. we're going to see around 5—8d. we start off saturday morning ona 5—8d. we start off saturday morning on a slightly quieter note. the winds will still very much be a feature. as we go to the morning we will still have plenty of frequent showers pushing him further west. sunday looks like being the driest of the days through the weekend, but it could be a little bit cooler with the winds coming from the north. on saturday, a quiet start. at the early bird will get the best of the web as the showers start to gather

pushing in from the west, merging together for longer spells of rain for a time. eastern areas of seeing fewer showers. highs values of 9-13d. it is fewer showers. highs values of 9—13d. it is a subtle change in the feel of the weather. that is because the winds are starting to push down from the north. as we go through the night we could see gusts of winds across the channel coast of the southwest. 50—60 and possibly strongerfor a time. there southwest. 50—60 and possibly stronger for a time. there will be a frequent rest showers being driven out from the north of the country. first thing on sunday morning, we could see some showers across england and wales. we are not expecting them to last. they will ease away. the northerly winds take over, a dryer and brighter afternoon for most of us. but it is a noticeable dip in the field to the weather. 6—7d in the north, nine — 11 getting colder as the day goes on. sunday night into monday morning, we keep those clear skies. if few scattered showers out to the west. those clear skies in the air coming from the north, that is going to allow those temperatures to fall

away. through scotland, the north of england, we will see low single figures and a touch of frost to greet us first thing on monday morning. worth bearing in mind, it is going to be a chilly start to the new working week. this is bbc world news, the headlines. a top executive from chinese telecoms giant, huawei has appeared in court in canada, on charges linked to breaching sanctions on iran. meng wanzhou is accused of conspiracy to defraud multiple financial institutions. germany's christian democrats have chosen annegret kramp karrenbauer as their new leader. she's a protege of angela merkel and is now a strong candidate to take over as chancellor too. us president donald trump has announced william barr will be the next attorney general, a job he last did 25—years—ago. he'll oversee the muller investigation into allegations that russia meddled in the 2016 election. there's been violence between french students and police as the country