this is bbc news. the headlines at 12: police in new zealand are to charge a 26—year—old man with the murder of british backpacker grace millane who went missing in auckland last week sadly the evidence we have gathered to this point has established that this is a homicide. police fire tear gas on the streets of paris as anti—government protestors clash with officers in a fourth weekend of demonstrations. this is the scene live in paris, where ministers say the "yellow vest" movement opposed to fuel tax rises has been hijacked by "ultra—violent" protesters. we will talk to our correspondent live in the next few minutes. the work and pensions secretary, amber rudd, openly backs a plan b if mps reject theresa may's brexit deal. what happens if it is voted down,

and anything could happen, most of which they will not want to happen so which they will not want to happen so when they think about this deal, they need to weigh up the alternatives as well. six people have been killed and dozens injured after in a stampede at a nightclub in italy. and with climate change at the top of the un agenda, click asks if policy or technology will save the world — that's in half an hour here on bbc news. police in new zealand are to charge a 26—year—old man with the murder of 22—year—old british backpacker, grace millane. grace was last seen a week ago in the company of the man who has now been arrested. auckland police say they have not located her body. angus crawdord reports. fun—loving and family orientated, grace millane's parents

say her disappearance one week ago was entirely out of character and extremely hard for them to take. now they have been given the worst possible news. the evidence we have gathered to this point in the inquiry has established that this is a homicide. grace's family have been advised of this development, and they are devastated. police say a 26—year—old man will be charged with her murder when he appears in court on monday. grace arrived in new zealand last month, and had been staying at a backpackers‘ hostel in auckland. she was last spotted on saturday night entering a hotel in the city with a male companion who the police say had been with her during the evening. detectives have released pictures of jewellery they believe grace had with her, a necklace and a distinctive pink watch are both missing from her possessions and could help them find her body. grace's father arrived

in new zealand yesterday. when he spoke to the media, he was hopeful she could be found alive. but this is now a murder investigation. a man will soon be charged and the police search for grace continues. police have fired tear—gas on the streets of paris as protestors clash with officers in a fourth—straight weekend of anti—government demonstrations. these are the live pictures of the "yellow vest" movement — which began as a protest about fuel tax rises — but has attracted wide ranging support. 90,000 police and riot officers have been deployed across france, while tourist sites, shops and restaurants in paris, will remain closed. with me is agnes poirier, uk editor for the french magazine marianne.

you are not long back from france. what is the mood you have detected there? people taken aback by the skill of these protests and resistance? there are two answers. the first one, we're used to it so it's in our dna, we go about our daily and there are demonstrations all the time actually. the new thing is that even by french standards, it is that even by french standards, it is very violent for a protest and it has driven away hundreds of injured people, for my people died in accidents —— four people died in accidents. there are no leaders to the movement. there are some people

who are self appointed spokespeople, who are self appointed spokespeople, who have answered questions on french tv, and they say it is democracy, they're going to march on the champs—elysees and some have said the president will end up like jfk. a number of political leaders in france a responsible in the sense they are calling for more violent action and they are playing with fire. that is why it is unusual. it is easy to encourage this, it is much easier to bring it to a conclusion. what do you make of how the government has responded? they

we re the government has responded? they were taken aback but like most people in france. it's a very difficult protest to pin down and to understand what's going on. they also made their demands too late and they are now wishing they could talk to some of the representatives of the protest but for now, it's not a movement, it's an expression of angen movement, it's an expression of anger. hopefully it will come to a point when some delegates will be able to sit at the table and express their grievances in other forms rather than violent action. do you think police tactics have been effective? we find water cannons, stu n effective? we find water cannons, stun grenades, tear gas. we have seen armed officers in a number of

cities, not just paris, seen armed officers in a number of cities, notjust paris, yet the protests continue. protesting is a routine in france. it is out of the ordinary because you just asked for an authorisation and then the police know where the matches taking place and then as an organisation behind it like a trade union, social partners, the police. it's very safe political expression in france, but this is outside everything we've known and they refuse to play the democratic game, which is, in effect, an insurrection in spirit. the tax rise was planned before

emmanuel macron became president. nonetheless, he is the one leading it. the prime minister was wheeled out to make announcements this week. prime ministers are famously disposable in the french political system but ultimately he is the man asa system but ultimately he is the man as a present of fans who has to show leadership. in what direction you think his presidency has to go now? it is his personal style of politics. in a way, he hasn't used the institution the way french presidents normally use it. there is a government, there is a prime minister, there's the national assembly, there are senators and mps, but he sort of occupied all the space so

mps, but he sort of occupied all the space so in a privileged relationship, the president and the people, if you are in france, it's a very, very dangerous game to play. when things go wrong, they will be an expectation that you are the one to blame. we have been saying since the beginning, we do have a prime minister in france who is doing what it should have been doing. we're going to establish contact with our correspondent. hugh schofield is on the streets of paris. what is your sense of how things are today? not as bad as last week. quite clear impression. i don't know whether it is because police have worked. there is a different police tactic in operation now, they have been allowed onto the champs—elysees, protesters are moving up and down, not really

knowing what to do. i hope eventually they will begin to drift off. whether or not they have the same numbers is questionable as well. we're not talking about very large numbers year, three or 4000, so large numbers year, three or 4000, so those different aspects of today make it feel a little bit different from last week. that said, there are potential flash points up towards the arc de triomphe. we have seen the arc de triomphe. we have seen the small panics as the crowd comes piling down after the riot police set of tear gas canisters, there is a lot of abuse of right police, situations which could easily burst into something more violent but for now i would say the government is tentatively hopeful that the danger

has passed. he does not feel quite as dangerous as it did last week. has passed. he does not feel quite as dangerous as it did last weekm what we would you say the police tactics are different? they're going to be more mobile. last week the women standing positions up and down the champs—elysees —— last week they we re the champs—elysees —— last week they were standing in position. they are free to circulate but have also been stopped and searched more rigourously and there is much more mobile squads of right police who are going out and grabbing people and taking them off, which means there have been a lot of arrests. thank you, we'll talk to you again throughout the afternoon. if his sense turns to be correct and we have reached the peak point of the

protest a nd have reached the peak point of the protest and things start to dissipate, what's the political challenge that the government will still have to take, even of people at loftus treats? —— if people are off the streets? they now need to choose a democratic way of organising themselves. they need delegates and representatives. trade unions are there for them from the 0therwise democracy is in danger. it is your sense that there isa danger. it is your sense that there is a core injustice that the government will need to address. what we are seeing is, we are

ripping 30 years of public policies and we are seeing the lower middle—class squeeze now having the moment and saying, we can't take it any more. thanks very much. the work and pensions secretary, amber rudd, has become the first government minister to openly back an alternative brexit strategy if theresa may's deal is rejected by the commons next week. she said the so—called "norway plus" option seemed a plausible plan b — which would see the uk staying in the eu customs union with full access to the single market. let's explain what is meant by norway plus. a norway plus relationship means — like norway — the uk would remain in the single market but would have to allow free movement of people. the uk would still contribute to the eu budget and abide by many eu rules. norway is not in the customs union so the plus element means

being in a new customs arrangement to avoid a hard border in ireland. 0ur political correspondent matt cole explained why amber rudd is still backing the prime minister's brexit deal. yesterday, scattered across the country, different cabinet ministers and junior ministers try to sell the deal far and wide and that remains the official position and remains amber rudd's position. she says she fully supports theresa may's deal and says it is the best that could possibly be had, however, having said that, she has now opened the door on the question of plan b, something no other cabinet minister has done. she's not advocating a switch to a plan b, she would have to quit the cabinet otherwise, but by opening the door to it, we're getting an insight into the questions hanging over this week. what happens next? the question for amber rudd is, what are you doing

by floating this option? this is why she said she has had this discussion. i think it will get through but i know it's going to be difficult because a lot of people are still against it but the point about me discussing other alternatives is to remind people that it's all very well saying, i don't like this about the agreement i don't like that about the agreement. what happens if it is voted down? and anything could happen, there are a lot of things that could happen, most of which they will not want to happen, so they need to weigh up the alternatives when they think about this deal. so i think amber rudd is suggesting publicly at least that she's floating this idea of a plan b to put pressure on people that they should not want the chaos that could follow a rejection on tuesday, albeit it doesn't look like she will get away with that. is there a possibility that because she is pro—europe, it would involve allowing free movement?

we are told immigration is one of the issues which may push some brexiteers to say, if that is the option that people like amber rudd are going to be pushing, maybe it is better if i vote for theresa may? i think this would be such an unacceptable offer but so was the deal at the moment so i wouldn't see this turning to many heads in particular. it mayjust, perhaps not far brexiteers, but for others, there could be chaos. we will swap one problem for another potentially so maybe go with this one, but i think as things stand, it's going to be a tricky night on tuesday and a very interesting week to follow. the northern ireland secretary, karen bradley has written an open letter defending theresa may's brexit deal. ms bradley says the prime minister's agreement will protect the constitutional integrity of the uk. adding, the government has secured an outcome which avoids a hard border on the island of ireland, and a customs border down the irish sea.

miss bradley goes on to say the withdrawal agreement will allow the uk to take back control of its borders, money and laws. six people have been killed in a stampede at a nightclub in northern italy. the crush happened in the early hours of the morning near ancona on the adriatic coast. around 1,000 people were packed into the blue lantern nightclub for a rap concert. reports say that a pepper spray like substance was used — provoking a stampede. one of the emergency exits was blocked. in the crush to get out of the club, a railing collapsed, causing dozens of partygoers to fall. a man captured on cctv, who was believed by missing corrie mckeague's mother to be her son, has identified himself to detectives. corrie was 23, when he went missing after a night out in bury st edmunds in september 2016. police haven't released the footage but say they viewed it during their investigation

into the airman's disappearance. these are the last known images are of corrie who was last seen entering a bin loading bay, just before he disappeared. interserve, the construction and facilities management company, is reportedly in talks to secure its future after amounting debts of around half a billon pounds. the berkshire—based firm is a major uk government contractor, providing probation, cleaning and health care services, and is also involved in construction projects. the interserve board says it is focused on ensuring the company has the right financial structure to support its future success. a man who drove his car into a crowd of protesters during a rally in the us city of charlottesville has been found guilty of murder. 21—year—old alex fieldsjunior, was described by prosecutors as "a white supremacist", and was convicted on all ten charges he faced, including killing

32—year—old civil rights activist, heather heyer. prosecutors in new york have asked a judge to impose a substantial prison sentence on president trump's former lawyer, michael cohen. mr cohen has admitted tax evasion, breaking election campaign spending rules and lying to congress. his legal team say he should be spared jail because he's cooperating a british sailor, whose yacht was crippled by a ferocious storm during a round—the—world race, has been rescued. susie goodall was sailing alone when she ran into trouble 2—thousand miles off the coast of chile — leaving her stranded for days before a cargo ship came to her to aid. andy moore reports. safety at last. the cargo ship that rescued susie goodall used its crane to winch her on board.

she's reported to be uninjured and in good spirits. it was an ordeal that began 50 hours earlier when this distress call in the teeth of a ferocious storm. her yacht had lost its mast and water had to be pumped out. in one of the remotest places on earth, she had a long wait for help to arrive. she was tossed about, seasick, in a disabled boat, in heavy seas. it was a difficult rescue right to the end. the engine on susie's yacht kept cutting out as it manoeuvred alongside the rescue ship, the tian fu. and then the first news of success in a brief tweet. "0n the ship", she wrote, followed by three exclamation marks. in the time waiting to be rescued with a broken cooker, she said she'd been longing for a cup of tea. so it was no surprise that in the second message she said she had enjoyed a very good hot drink. her friends welcomed the good news

after an agonising wait. it was an absolutely huge relief, a massive relief, and i think everybody in our sailing community was just absolutely overjoyed by the news. susie is now on her way to chile. her dream of sailing solo around the world is over, for now, but at least she's safe. andy moore, bbc news. well, a little earlier i spoke to james instance, 0perations controller at falmouth coastguard, which first picked up susie goodall‘s distress signal, he explained how it came to light. the first indication that susie was in difficulty actually was picked up by race control on the morning when she reported there were rough conditions and it was really uncomfortable but it was at 11am on the 5th of december where we got an emergency signal from an emergency beacon, all the ships, all yachts in

the race have to carry emergency satellite beacons, and we received a signalfrom that. the only difficulty from one of these beacons is although it tells you that something is probably wrong and tells you who it is and where they are, it doesn't tell you what the problem is, so we immediately got in contact with race control to say we picked up this signal and then spent a very uncomfortable hour waiting for race control to get through on her satellite phone to be able to find out what the situation was so we're aware of where it was, the southern in the deep areas of the pacific, we know that something is probably wrong but we don't know what the situation is so it was great news she got back but then we had the difficulty of arranging a rescue. so you at least she was still on board the yacht, you knew she wasn't injured, but you knew

also that somehow she had to be rescued in a very remote part of the ocean. where would the nearest ships have been to her at that stage? she's 2,000 miles west of chile so you're in one of the most remote areas of the world. and you are nowhere near a main shipping lane or a main transport area. you would be looking for other yachts that are taking part in the race to be able to come to your assistance, but in this case, the closest one was already further towards south america and to turn back in those conditions would have been really difficult. the next yacht behind her was 780 miles so that wasn't possible. we liaised with the chilean authorities, the rescue authorities there were amazing and what they did. they did exactly what we would have done in

the uk, they put out a satellite broadcast to alert ships in the area and when we're talking about a 500 mile radius of where susie is to see what is around and then you've got to try and directly get in contact with those ships to get them to divert to go to their assistance and there were two that were contacted, one was 470 miles away and another vessel which was 385 miles away, so it's not like you're in trouble off the coast of cornwall or devon in the english channel where you can get a lifeboat and helicopter within half an hour, this is 48 hours at least of susie having to wait around, floating at sea in her badly damaged yacht, hoping it wasn't going to take on water and waiting for rescue. an eight—year—old boy took control of a car travelling at 60—miles—per—hour, after his mother blacked

out at the wheel. lauren smith had a seizure while driving near colchester. her son, ben, turned on the hazard lights and drove onto the hard shoulder before the car stalled. a rare scottish wildcat, born at chester zoo, has been captured on camera for the first time. bosses at the zoo say the female kitten, born in august, could offer a "lifeline for the species". wildcats, also known as highland tigers, are britain's rarest mammals and as few as 100 are estimated to remain in the uk. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. it isa it is a showery day, quite windy as

well across parts of the british isles. tomorrow is somewhat drier and sunnier and noticeably cooler. the reason why saturday is so u nsettled the reason why saturday is so unsettled is because we have low pressure over the british isles. a number of isobars on the chart, an indication of strong winds. the showers at times across other parts of scotland, england, northern ireland, prolonged. through to the small hours of sunday, further south, you might find the gusts and showers waking you up overnight. at least that combination of the wind and cloud keeps temperatures up. further north, the wind is not as strong. the skies are clear and temperatures will drop and cooler air is being fed towards us. that's why sunday is going to be a cooler a fair -- why sunday is going to be a cooler a fair —— affair. behind the showers,

they will be a lot of sunshine around, the winds are still quite noticeable across eastern areas, more in the way of showers towards the west. given the strength of the wind, despite the sunshine, it will feel noticeably cooler because the wind is coming at us from a northwesterly direction. maybe not just as strong as was the case in the previous 24 hours. through sunday night, the wind begins to ease. this sky is clear and fog the northern half of the british isles it isa northern half of the british isles it is a chilly night, temperatures close to or below freezing. further south, that will be not such an it should —— an it a bit of rain into northern ireland and western scotland. elsewhere, a dry day, not overly warm despite the sunshine, which becomes increasingly

hazy across western parts. that sets the scene for the forthcoming week. a battle between the mild air from the atlantic and some of the cooler airfrom the the atlantic and some of the cooler air from the continent. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: police in new zealand investigating the disappearance of the british backpacker grace millane say a man is to be charged with her murder. police have fired tear gas on the streets of paris — as thousands of anti—government protestors stage more demonstrations against the french president, emmanuel macron. the work and pensions secretary, amber rudd, has warned the country would be in "uncharted territory" if mps reject theresa may's brexit deal. six people, including five teenagers, have been killed and more than 100 injured, in a stampede at a nightclub in italy. sport now and a full round—up from the bbc

good afternoon. we're very close to kick—off in the first of the day's premier league matches. it's bournemouth against liverpool and the team news is thatjosh king will start for bournemouth in place of striker callum wilson. he's out with what manager eddie howe described as a "slight hamstring issue" and a "big blow". liverpool's james millner makes his 500th premier league