welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories — chief of staffjohn kelly is the latest member of donald trump's administration to leave the white house. shock at the un climate talks after the us, russia and others object to a major scientific report on global warming. a fragile order is restored to the streets in france, hundreds are arrested in the 4th weekend of anti—government protests. and, the story of the "girl in the mosaic" as she finally re—joins the rest of her family in a display in turkey. donald trump is searching for a new chief of staff after announcing that john kelly will leave the white house

at the end of the year. the retired marine corps general was first homeland security secretary before stepping up to the chief of staff job last year. the president says a replacement will be announced sometime over the weekend — but the news has highlighted yet again the frequent senior staff changes at the white house. russell trott reports. if you want to get things done and impose discipline then who better to fill the role of the president's chief of staff than a retired marine corps general? john kelly fitted the bill but telling the president things he may not want to hear resulted in a difficult relationship. sojohn kelly will be leaving at the end of the year and i appreciate his service very much. john kelly fitted the bill

but telling the president things he may not want to hear resulted in a difficult relationship. although i read it all the time, consistently, i'm not quitting today. i don't believe thatjust talk to the president, i don't think iam being talk to the president, i don't think i am being fired today. and i'm not so i am being fired today. and i'm not so frustrated in this job that i'm thinking of leaving. also nominated for a new role is a—star army general mark merely to be the next chairman of the next chief of staff. there is to be a new ambassador to the united nations. according to one washington think tank, the trump white house has had the highest turnover of senior level staff of the five —— last five presidents. the revolving door, it seems, will keep on turning. scientists and delegates at a un climate conference in poland

have expressed alarm, after it failed to incorporate a key scientific text, which outlines how to limit the affects of climate change. the ipcc report on the impact of a 1.5 degree temperature rise — was released in october. but now the us, russia and saudi arabia have objected to the conference ‘welcoming' it. caroline rigby has more. chanting: wake up! wake up! as delegates met inside the conference centre, thousands marched outside, demanding politicians wake up to the threat of climate change, voicing concerns that time is running out. we need to do something now, we need action right now. not tomorrow, not in 11 years, but now. and yet another spanner in the works — one which threatens to derail progress on tackling global warming. in october, the un's intergovernmental panel on climate change detailed the importance of keeping global temperature rise

to under 1.5 celsius. in a major report, it warns we have just 12 years to halve carbon emissions or risk significant and dangerous changes to our world. and despite being commissioned by this very un climate body at its conference in 2015, efforts to recognise the report's significance have run into difficulty. saudi arabia, the united states and russia have refused to welcome the text, merely wanting to take note of it instead and without finding an acceptable compromise, un rules meant it had to be dropped. this is far from just semantics. it has the potential for major consequences and is further evidence of the growing divide between countries who want rapid political action and those who do not. it's an important report. it should be part of the package that is moving forward but again, it's up to the world leaders and the negotiators to take this

issue seriously and to show that they are committed to tackling climate change. the decision to reject the text has caused outrage among delegates but against the backdrop of this coal mining town, all may not be lost. many at the summit are now pinning their hopes on ministers who arrive on monday to work towards the reinstatement of the report. caroline rigby, bbc news. we can go live now to washington and talk to professor michael mann, a climatologist and geophysicist at pennsylvania state university. us, russia, saudi arabia and kuwait. why are they objecting? thank you for having me on. we have seen this story before. a small number of bad actors who in essence are conspiring to prevent the implementation of an agreement where there is otherwise

support among the rest of the world's nations. in this case, the conclusion that we need to keep warming below 1.5 celsius and that requires substantial reductions in carbon emissions over the next ten oi’ carbon emissions over the next ten or 12 years. we have to bring them down by about 50% within the next 12 yea rs if down by about 50% within the next 12 years if we are going to stabilise a warming below that dangerous level of warming and here you have the united states, of course the trump administration which has been very cosy with fossil fuel interests, they appointed a trump and the former ceo as exxon mobil to be his former ceo as exxon mobil to be his former secretary of state. clearly those interests are running the trump administration. saudi arabia of course driven by foss —— fossil fuel interests and then russia who has a half $1 trillion deal with exxonmobil to mind the remaining oil

reserves in russia. you have three actors conspiring, some might say colluding, to basically get in the way of this very important agreement. the ipcc report recommended some are far reaching changes, especially in the way we use our energy. it was quite profound at the time. isn't this the report heating up against reality? there are a couple of countries here like saudi arabia and kuwait, their entire economic model, arguably, is fossil fuels. yes but there are countries that have historically been fuelled either fossil fuel industry that recognise that there isa industry that recognise that there is a transition under way. we are leaving the age of fossil fuels. those countries that get on board with the greatest economic revolution of this century, renewable energy revolution, are the ones that are going to succeed going

forward. at this point, those countries have to decide if they are going to get on board with this transition, with this economic revolution, or if they are going to get left behind at the station and u nfortu nately, get left behind at the station and unfortunately, a small number of countries, the trump administration of course currently controlling us policy. russia and saudi arabia are instead focused on their own short—term financial interests at the expense of the larger interests of this planet. some might observe from this that making a difference is going to require unprecedented global corporation. if these countries fail to accept this report at the end of this climate talk how can these countries even be held accountable? can anything be done? well, the idea behind the paris accord was a so—called name and shame approach to exerting pressure

on the various participating nations which is to say, if you don't do your party you will be shunned by the world community. that's the sort of pressure that now has to be brought to bear on the trump administration, on russia and saudi arabia because they are attempting to conspire to spoil an agreement, an agreement that is necessary for stabilising warming below catastrophic levels. right, there is a still more to go with the climate conference so a still more to go with the climate conference so we a still more to go with the climate conference so we will have to see what happens. and we're covering the climate talks in depth on the bbc news website. there are updates from the talks in poland plus background on why they're so important for the future of the planet. that and more at bbcnews.com — or download the bbc news app. the french authorities say anti—government protests which brought thousands of people onto the streets in recent weeks are now under control. the latest demonstrations focused on paris, have seen clashes with police and hundreds of arrests, but the trouble has been smaller scale than before, as the bbc‘s

lucy williamson reports. they called it a protest. at times it looked more like a game of urban war. groups of protesters fanned through the capital's streets today. from the arc de triomphe to republique, boulevards once built to open the veins of the city filled with tear gas, burning vehicles, and riot police. on the champs—elysees this morning, the mood was largely peaceful. protesters arriving here from across france caught up inafamiliardance of conflict with police. police are just pushing the protesters back down out of this side street onto the champs—elysees. they've been pushing them up and down this street all morning and the tension is starting to rise. the police were well prepared for this confrontation, with armoured vehicles, new tactics, and bag searches — seizing gas masks and helmets and anything that could be used against police. the tear gas, far stronger

than usual, took many protesters by surprise. and rapid reaction squads marked out by orange armbands were stationed among the protesters to spot trouble and make early arrests. translation: we have to stay vigilant because there are still rioters out there. thank you to everyone who called for peace. now is the time for dialogue and to reunite the unity of the nation. that dialogue has already begun and must continue. despite the violence of previous protests, this movement still has the backing of many voters in france. its members proud of their lack of leadership and the diversity of their support. sylvie is a far—left supporter. herfriend, christophe, is a fan of the far—right.

they say the gilets jaune have united different people against president macron. translation: that is what macron does not like, that we are united. he has brought back solidarity among the french. we are united in combat for now. after that, who knows? but this movement is already splintering into two kinds of protest — one that looks towards a new political programme and a violent wing, opposed to any negotiation. it is hard to exclude and even harder to control. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. china has warned canada that there will be severe consequences if it doesn't release huawei's chief financial officer meng wanzhou. ms meng was arrested in vancouver a week ago following an extradition request from the united states. authorities there have accused her of fraud in connection will alleged breaking of american sanctions on iran. china's foreign ministry has summoned canada's ambassador, calling the arrest ‘extremely nasty‘. professor paul evans is from the institute of asian research at the university of british columbia in vancouver and an expert on relations between canada and china. he says there are several ways that

china could try to pressure canada. the pressure could come in several forms and i think it is very likely that there will be not a tit—for—tat retaliation in any way but some limitations on incoming chinese investment into the country and also reduction of research and development funds that huawei and other chinese companies are putting here. they are pushing... this is something that puts canada in the middle of a crossfire between the united states and china. to some extent, china understands the pressures but also the rules that control extradition proceedings between the us and china. and finally this is a very difficult issue for huawei because canada is one of the countries still considering major huawei investment in our 56 system.

so there is a natural reaction to this at the same time the calculation may be to wait and see how the hearings move and then the extradition hearings that will start sometime shortly thereafter. you talk about crossfire between china and the united states. i want to hear if canada is a victim in all of this, that really this is about china and the united states. i don't think this is a situation that ottawa wants to be in the middle of. we have not yet determined exactly how far we want to join the united states in its decoupling

from particular sectors in china. ottawa would have preferred this not to have happened but it was locked into place by our security agencies in cooperation with americans. and under the due process of law in canada, our political people did not get involved. i think it is fair to say that no—one in ottawa wished this kind of controversy to take place right now on canadian soil. in terms of china's internal politics, it is there an element —— is there an element of china trying to save face? it will, in this particular case, because i think the fear is that this could be a precedent for other kinds of arrests and extradition proceedings, notjust in canada, but in several other countries as the trump administration is ramping up its conflict and trade war. but underneath it,

it is really a technology war. this opens up the possibility of many kinds of activities like this. and that will escalate things very seriously on the us—china front and catch a number of other countries like canada in the crossfire of what is a very unfortunate and fast deteriorating situation. professor paul evans, thank you very much for your assessment on all things huawei. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: a museum lifting the lid on belgium's colonial past comes under attack for showcasing stolen treasures. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here, standing in more or less silent vigil, and the flowers have been piling up.

the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former president of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila. she's facing seven charges of tax evasion. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: president trump says his chief of staff, john kelly,

will be leaving his post by the end of the month. dismay at the un climate talks after several countries include —— including the us and russia reject a major report on global warming. theresa may has warned that britain would "be in uncharted waters" if her deal with brussels is voted down on tuesday. in an interview with the mail on sunday, mrs may has suggested that defeat could lead to a labour government. her work and pensions secretary, amber rudd, has become the first government minister to openly discuss an alternative brexit strategy if the prime minister's deal is rejected in the commons. our political correspondent iain watson reports. you know what it's like in the run—up to christmas. you'll be told that great deals are available, but you're tempted to wait for the january sales. and one cabinet minister is telling mps that if they don't like the prime minister's brexit deal, then a different one

could come onto the market. amber rudd supports theresa may's deal. she says it's the best option, but if it's defeated... if the house is not going to support no deal, it needs to come forward with an alternative deal. and i have seen that there is a lot of support for norway plus in the house of commons, there's a certain amount of support for a people's vote. nobody knows what would happen. people should think very clearly, if they're not going to vote for the government's withdrawal agreement, whether they would actually prefer those alternatives. so, what does she mean by norway plus? like norway, the uk would be outside the eu, but with access to the single market. we would have greater control of our agriculture and fishing industries. and the "plus" bit — unlike norway, we would be inside the customs union, or something very like it, to avoid a hard border in ireland. but there'd be very few restrictions on freedom of movement and we would pay into eu budgets. now, you don't need me to tell you that we are living in extraordinary political times —

and here's another example. cabinet ministers are expected to sing from the same hymn sheet, and notjust at this time of year. yet amber rudd is speaking openly about the defeat of her own government and setting out her preferred plan b. now, she doesn't want the prime minister to resign, but theresa may's authority is looking less deep rooted. but some senior conservative figures say we don't have to be like norway or have another referendum if theresa may's deal is defeated. instead, we could leave the eu without a fully—fledged deal. we should seek to put in place some ad—hoc temporary arrangements with the agreement of the european union, which would minimise and perhaps even eliminate any disruption at the border on the 30th of march next year. there's not much festive cheer at westminster. the prime minister and amber rudd say the brexit deal will bring certainty. but some sceptical conservative mps believe pushing on with next week's vote would simply be a gift to the opposition. iain watson reporting there.

let's get some of the day's other news. police in new zealand have said they will do everything they can to try to find the body of the missing british backpacker, grace millane. a 26—year—old man is due to appear in court on monday charged with her murder. brazil's president—elect, jair bolsonaro, has defended himself against tax evasion allegations. authorities found more than $300,000 had flowed in and out of an account of an aide to his son. mr bolsonaro says it was a mistake that it wasn't included in his tax return. russia's most famous human rights activist has died. lyudmila alexeyeva was 91. she spoke out against the soviet regime forjailing writers, and organised aid to families of political prisoners. after a period in exile, she returned to russia to resume her activism. belgium's royal museum for central africa opens its doors to the public again on sunday after being shut for several years of renovation. it's home to many treasures,

though there is controversy surrounding much of what it holds. rebecca hartmann reports. artwork, statues and stuffed animals will once again be available for visitors to see in the africa museum. many of these treasures on display were plundered during belgiam's ruthless colonial rule. swathes of central africa were run as a private royal estate by belgian king leopold ii. the museum began as a showcase of their treasures. but in the past five years, it has been revamped to make its exhibits more critical of belgian's brutal colonial past. —— belgiam's brutal colonial past. translation: we were often called the last colonial museum in the world, so we wanted to change that. we wanted to look at contemporary africa, but at the same time, take a more critical look at the colonial past. it's estimated that around 90% of africa's material cultural heritage is in museums outside of the continent. so, for many, the renovation does not go far enough. translation: from our point of view,

we don't care if the museum is renovated or not, if it reopens or not. what interests us is restitution, because there's no decolonisation without restitution. the debate over returning artefacts has raged for years. but it is only recently that the former imperial powers have started to address the requests. president macron urged that artefacts stolen by france should be returned after commissioning an independent report. and several european museums, such as victoria and albert museum in london, have said that treasures like these, taken from ethiopia by the british, could be returned to africa on a long—term loan. we're willing to talk about restitution within certain conditions. like, we need to establish the ownership, who owns it. clearly, the moral ownership is with the country. but does it mean that everything that was acquired in the colonial period is legal or not? so, that needs to be discussed further.

whatever happens, after five years out of the public view, it's hoped that these artefacts will gain a wider audience. rebecca hartmann, bbc news. now to a museum that's managed to repatriate its missing treasure — fragments of one of turkey's most striking mosaics dating back to the time of alexander the great have returned home. half a century ago, they were plundered and smuggled to the united states, as gail maclellan reports. haunting and ancient — the 2000—year—old image of the gypsy girl whose piercing stare has become the symbol of a city in southern turkey. she lived in a mosaic, pieces of which were looted in the 1960s and smuggled to the united states where they were bought by bowling green state university in ohio. 20 years ago, archaeologists excavating the city of zeugma, destroyed in the third century, discovered the mosaic and the theft of the fragments. the smuggled pieces had been on display at the university, and after five years of talks,

an agreement was reached and they were returned to turkey. now, the fragments have gone on temporary show at the zeugma mosaic museum in the place where the city flourished under greek and roman rule before it was destroyed. later, they'll be pieced together, back into their original place in the mosaic, and the gypsy girl will finally be reunited with herfamily. gail maclellan, bbc news. before we go, let's remind you of oui’ before we go, let's remind you of our top story. president trumps as his chief of staff will leave his job at the end of the month and he has told reporters his replacement will be announced in the neck few days, highlighting the turnover we have seen of the white house senior staff in recent times. much more on oui’ staff in recent times. much more on our website. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @regedahmadbbc. good morning.

saturday was a windy, showery day for many of us, and there's still plenty of showers to come, with the winds still remaining a feature. but they are slowly going to ease over the next few hours, and for the bulk of us on sunday, it will be a dry one with sunny spells, but noticeably cooler. now, the strongest of the winds over the next few hours will slowly start to ease, but we still could potentially see gale—force gusts in places and a rash of showers to come. one of the reasons why they're going to ease away is a change of wind direction, starting to push that little frontal system further south in the early hours of sunday morning. introducing some colder air behind it, the wind direction coming from a north—westerly. so, we could have some early showers, they will ease away and it's an improving picture as we go through sunday. clearer skies and, yes, some sunny spells coming through.

a few showers into north wales and northern ireland during the afternoon, maybe one or two for the western isles, not as windy as the last few days, but you have to factor in the direction of the wind, because that's just going to make it feel cooler out there. 6 to 7 degrees in the north, we might just see 11 down in the south—west. overnight sunday night, we keep those clear skies and the winds falling lighter still. so, temperatures are likely to fall away, particularly in the northern half of the country. scotland, northern england, we will see temperatures falling below freezing in rural spots, and a frost first thing. a chilly start generally across the country. a cold start to the new working week, but a dry, bright one, again, some sunshine coming through, just a few isolated showers out to the west. this is going to be the trend as we move into the week. so, the best of the drier, sunnier weather is likely to be sheltered eastern areas, but that's where the coolest of the weather is going to be. 4—6 degrees, 10—12 the high further west. this is going to be the theme. to the east, we're always

going to be dragging in this colder air from the near continent, but the west wants to drag back this milder air and the south—westerly winds, and that could also bring more unsettled weather with it. so, we see this again on tuesday, a southerly wind drives in this weather front, and further east, the drier the brighter, but the colder the weather is likely to be. 4—6 degrees again the high, 10—12 into the south—west. and it does look as though further ahead, we start to see that milder weather pushing its way in. as that bumps into the cold air, it could get a bit tricky with some wintery weather to higher ground. this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump says his chief of staff, john kelly, will leave his post at the end of the month. he told reporters he would decide on general kelly's replacement within the next few days. as chief of staff, he was widely seen as bringing discipline to the white house. there's dismay at the un climate talks after the us, russia, saudi arabia, and kuwait objected to a major scientific report on global warming.

the report recommends that carbon emissions be halved over the next 12 years to keep the global rise in temperatures 1.5 degrees celsius. around a thousand people have been arrested in france, after a day of anti—government demonstrations by the so—called ‘yellow vest‘ protestors. there was heightened security as thousands of people gathered in towns and cities across the country for the fourth successive weekend of protests. those are the latest headlines.