hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. president trump says is is defeated in syria and orders the complete and rapid withdrawal of us troops there. but republican senators say that's a huge mistake and a win for the russians and iran. the eu lays out in stark terms what a no—deal brexit might mean as it publishes its contingency action plan. a newspaper investigation claims facebook handed over the data of millions of its users without their consent — the latest scandal to hit the social media network. and we're in rio as brazil's supreme courtjudge issues a ruling that could free former president luiz inacio lula da silva from prison. america is pulling its troops out of syria. all 2000 will be gone in just over three months. here's the president's

justification. not everyone agrees. republican senator lindsey graham, "isis is not defeated in syria." and here's another republican, marco rubio. the decision to withdraw an american presence in syria is a colossal, in my mind, mistake, a grave error that's going to have significant repercussions in the years and months to come. now that the us is going to withdraw from syria, we have basically turned the country over to russian and to an even greater extent iran. here's the context. russia and iran both back the syrian regime of bashar al—assad. iran sees it as a crucial ally in the region.

it will hope this american withdrawal makes it easier to establish supply routes through iraq and syria to the militant group his hezbollah in lebanon. for its part, russia will find it far easier to exert influence over the situation in syria with america gone. and then there are the kurds. us troops have largely been stationed in kurdish—controlled territory in northern syria. here marked in green. indeed, a kurdish—american alliance played a major role in driving is out of the area. but turkey was always uncomfortable with this. it sees the kurds in syria as an extension of kurds who are fighting for autonomy in turkey and has already threatened to attack kurds in territory where there are also american troops. all of which is being observed with concern in europe, in particular in brussels. i asked barbara plett—usher

in washington about the president's reasoning behind the move. well, he has defined it as having defeated the islamic state group and he said that is the only reason we had troops there. and he seems to be defining it in terms of territorial control. because the group has been pushed out of almost all the territorial they had seized in 2014, it's only really clinging to 1% in the corner of syria, so he says we have won the war. now his administration defines it quite differently. they keep talking about the enduring defeat of isis, which is actually code for a longer—term military presence which would enable the areas liberated to be stabilised and people to come back and measures to be taken so the islamic state could not regroup and make a comeback and also for other goals that the administration has like countering the presence of iran

in the country and helping to bring forward a peace agreement giving the us some leverage in the peace agreement. that is how they have been talking, trying to convince mr trump of the need to keep troops there. he has from the beginning said he wanted a rapid exit and suddenly this week he decided he would make that announcement. it seems actually without having consulted with anyone who actually has to take the measures and the moves to carry out this decision. but i guess and you will know about this much better than me, but this is not just a military decision, there are diplomatic and geopolitical consequences of which the president does not seem as interested as perhaps some other members of his administration or people within america's diplomatic operation. yes, he has defined it quite narrowly as having quite narrowly as having pushed the islamic state out of the territory it gained, whereas the other geopolitical issues, and you heard marco rubio referring to them a bit of there,

is the influence of the us in the region and being a counter to adversaries such as russia and iran in syria. and ok, the united states has not a big opponent, 2000 troops, but it is supporting local allies which gives it sort of control over about a quarter of the country. if you point out that presence, what sort of leverage do you have? and how are you heard at the table if there are peace talks, that sort of thing? now it should be said that we're not quite sure where this is going. the president has sent this tweet, there has been this in the white house. taking this administration by surprise, upended their strategy. they are now scrambling to try and figure out how to fit this

into their strategy. we did not even know if it will happen because we have not heard any concrete details yet about what will take place. but it certainly is an example of how president trump approaches for policy, which is in a very disrupting and disorienting way. 100 days til brexit, and preparations for no deal are at full tilt in the uk and at the eu. in today's package, we have adopted 14 measures in a limited number of areas to which in the case of a no—deal scenario would create major disruptions for our citizens and our businesses. and we're aware these measures on their own would not be sufficient, so this is an exercise in limiting the damage. the eu also says uk citizens who've lived in an eu member state for more than five years will receive resident status. but there's not a lot of positive news. we've more warnings on what no deal will mean for trade. transport of goods will be delayed because of the need for checks on all uk livestock exports and the application of customs duties and taxes on goods moving between the uk and eu. financial services operators in the uk lose the right to provide their services in the 27 eu member states and eu pet passports issued to owners in the uk will no longer be valid. and the list goes on.

many ramifications detailed by the eu. here's adam fleming in brussels. obviously there's loads of flights between the uk and the eu every day. they want to maintain that basic level, so they are going to do legislation so that british airlines can fly into and out of the eu. they will not be able to operate flights within the eu though and that power will last for a year. when it comes to british truckers, they will still be able to bring goods from the uk into the eu for a period of nine months if there is no brexit deal after march 2019. before then, they will have to apply for some very limited scarce permits. so that is giving them a bit of a grace period to adjust to that. when it comes to financial services, the eu has looked at all the bits in the banking industry and financial services world

that it needs to protect in a no deal scenario. and it has come up with a couple of quite narrow things, like the clearing of derivatives and has said, "fine, we will now use our procedures where we recognise, the eu recognising you, the uk's, financial services regulations as the same so that that trade can continue. in some cases for a year and in some other cases for two years. that's the eu. the uk is also preparing for no deal. philip hammond says the uk treasury has put aside £42 billion for brexit costs. that's over $5 billion. he says this is what a responsible government should do. critics say the responsible thing to do would be to rule out no deal. but the government is not doing that. meanwhile, medicines are being stockpiled and 3500 soldiers are on standby to help government departments. this, remember, is forsomething the uk may choose to do. and in fact, some mps are enthused by the possibilities.

that's not entirely in sync with the five key business groups that published a statement today saying they are horrified by infighting in westminster and that the idea of a managed no—deal is not credible. what happened at parliament earlier is unlikely to have improved their mood. i know it's the christmas season and the pantomime season, but what we see from the labour front bench and the right honourable gentleman, he's going to put a confidence vote — "oh, yes he is!" "oh, no, he isn't!" i've got some news for him. i've got some advice for the right honourable gentleman, look behind you! they're not impressed, and neither is the country! i wonder what you think

jeremy corbyn said there. due to speculation over what he said. some are suggesting he said stupid woman. 0ne bbc producer says, "i just showed evelyn glennie, the famous percussionist, the footage ofjeremy corbyn in the commons. she's deaf and can lip read. she wasn't aware of the story and her interpretation of what he said was ‘stupid woman'. she says she's very certain." but lots of other people say his account is credible. this is it. during prime minister's question time today, i referred to those who i believe were seeking to turn a debate about the national crisis facing our country into a pantomime as "stupid people". mr speaker, i did not use the word "stupid woman" about the prime minister or anyone else and am completely opposed to the use of sexist or misogynist

language in absolutely any form at all. let's speak to nick and westminster. there were a few areas when this was not letting everything there. despite the fact that brexit is one of the biggest thing to happen in a generation in the uk, this was the big talking point of the day. perhaps a sign of some mps having a lot of pent—up frustration at the moment because that big brexit vote leslie did not happen. the route frankly has not really gone anywhere. jeremy corbyn denies that he says stupid woman. i love conservatives have insisted that is what he said. i am not sure where this goes from here, not sure he goes any further. but the main attention i am sure will start to return to brexit quite soon. meanwhile in downing street,

theresa may met with leaders from wales and scotland to discuss her brexit deal. this is what the scottish first minister had to say about it. we cannot be in a situation where it is a bad deal or no deal. there are other alternatives. 0ur mps have a responsibility to play their part in trying to get to a better position, which they are doing, and part of the reason for putting in the no—confidence motion in the government is firstly to hope that it passes and we get rid of this government, but if it doesn't pass, to take awayjeremy corbyn's excuse for not backing a second eu referendum. we are not happy to watch the clock simply being run down. let's bring nick backend. in the last hour, amber rudd a cabinet minister has told the media she can see a plausible argument. that feels like a moment.

i think it is. recall the government policy is another referendum will be divisive and undermine faith in democracy. to be clear, amber rudd does not want another referendum. she thinks it should be avoided and people do not want to be asked the question again and it is up to politicians to get all that and find a consensus. politicians to get all that and find a consensus. but she has told robert tested on the programme tonight that if no consensus can be found in parliament, the argument for another referendum becomes plausible. she is not saying she backs it. she is saying it is plausible and that is important because there are a lot of people in parliament who have been arguing that for a long time. but even saying there is a logjam in parliament, no majority for anything. so eventually we will have to go back and asked the people. i must say about six months ago when this was starting to hit the headlines abet, it seemed like a pretty far out concept. more and more people are not talking about it

and it is not quite at stage where it is inevitable or anything like that. we had towards the end of last week tony blair saying he thinks it will happen. nigel farage even saying he is coming to the conclusion that it might be the most likely outcome. a cabinet minister tonight saying it is plausible is a very big moment. just wait there, nick, because there has been another brexit development in the uk today. the home office has announced their immigration plan for after brexit, when the uk will leave the eu's free movement policy. here are some key parts. it would scrap the current cap on the number of skilled workers such as doctors or engineers from the eu and elsewhere. low—skilled workers would have to apply for work visas of up to a year. and it includes a consultation on a minimum salary requirement of £30,000 for skilled migrants seeking five—year visas. 0ne

one of the questions to come out of this is if you put a cap at £30,000, a lot of autoworkers may not be able to comment. what is the government response? this is a white paper so it is open for discussion. the £30,000 cap is a proposal and i'm sure we'll hear a lot of those arguments over the next week from businesses, from the nhs and from politicians to about whether or not that it's too hot. what we have heard as he sat from a lot of fall todayis heard as he sat from a lot of fall today is the argument that if you are a junior doctor or somebody coming to certain levels of the civil service, the various levels of the job market in the uk, then 30 grand not actually all that much money. the government says it needs to change the immigration system. it has a promising to crack down on immigration as it sees it for some time. these are some proposals being put on the table after a long debate within government itself as to whether £30,000 cap is a good idea.

i suspect that debate has grown. thank you very much, nic. there are formal estimations of every single element of brexit available whenever you want on the bbc news website. inafew in a few minutes i have a report to plate from russia about the issue of poverty in russian and how that is impacting vladimir putin's popularity. a labour mp is facing a possible jail sentence after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice following a trial at the old bailey. fiona 0nasanya, who's been the mp for peterborough since 2017, lied to police to avoid a speeding charge. a labour spokesman said she has been suspended from the party and should resign as an mp. 0ur correspondent sophie long was outside the old bailey. one way or another, it does seem that her political career is now over. the labour party, as you said, has issued a statement. her neighbouring labour mp has also said she should stand down. now, it might depend

on the sentence that she received. if she's notjailed, then she could technically remain as an mp, but she has already lost the support of her party. if she's jailed for less than a year, then there could be a recall petition. and if she's jailed for a year or more, then she will automatically lose her seat and there'll be a by election pretty quickly. so potentially the end of what could have been a glittering political career, the woman who once said she dreamt of being britain's first black prime minister is tonight awaiting sentencing for perverting the course of justice. this is 0utside source live from the bbc newsroom. 0ur lead story is: president trump says is is defeated in syria and orders the complete and rapid withdrawal of us troops from the country. some of the main stories from the

bbc world service. south african police have issued arrest warrant for the former first lady of zimbabwe grace mugabe. it relates to an allegation that she assaulted a model in a johannesburg hotel last year. banksy has confirmed that a new piece of street art in wales is his. it appeared on two sides of a garage and shows a child appearing to be enjoying snow falling, with the other side revealing it's actually ash from a fire. the garage owner says he hasn't slept over fears it might be vandalised. this is a state—funded study on the standard of living in russia, one in five russians are living in poverty. that may or may not relate to vladimir putin's popularity, which is sliding. this is data from an independent russian polling organisation. his disapproval rating, in blue, is on the rise. another factor is may be protests from the autumn.

president putin was forced to back down on plans increase the retirement age. tieing some of these issues together, this is a report from sarah rainsford in irkutsk. five time zones from my scale, this isa five time zones from my scale, this is a sprawling siberian city of harsh realities. where the number of people in poverty has been climbing for five years. people in poverty has been climbing forfive years. he people in poverty has been climbing for five years. he does not earn much so he was looking forward to his pension at 60, not to retire but for extra cash. now the pension age has been raised. the russian president argued this day cannot go on funding the system with more people now living longer. translation: we had protest what they lead to nothing. nobody paid any attention at all. people cannot imagine what we needed them for. in

this country such resources. but here, men still die on average two yea rs before here, men still die on average two years before the new retirement age. at this shelter, or those who have fallen on hard times, staff say almost all have a drinking problem. in central city, life looks pretty good these days with western brands, new buildings, smart cars. but this was the first of several regions to elect a comment governor. perhaps it is no surprise that comment is politicians are beating probe vladimir putin once in places like this. places were concerned about prices, taxes and of course that pension reform are on the rise. it feels light russia's government is now squeezing the people for fonts and asa now squeezing the people for fonts and as a result, even the president's rating which was once sky—high is beginning to slide. vladimir putin's great russia talk chimed with a nation that felt

strong again and stable. in a freezing heart of siberia, the cracks in that message are starting to show. for the fourth time this year, the us federal reserve has raised interest rates by a quarter of a percent. they now stand at 2.5%. the rate rise was widely expected by the markets, despite president donald trump advising against the move. let's now get more on this from our business correspondent michelle fleury, who's in washington dc for us. what justification does whatjustification does the federal reserve offer for ignoring the president's advise? well, look, this was a robust defence of the american economy. the federal reserve essentially saying that it is still very healthy despite concerns being expressed by the president and also if you look at the markets recently by stock market swings. they said that if you look at the jobs market,

it is still continuing to strengthen. spending is still looking fairly robust. inflation is mild. they saw no reason as yet to be too worried. and i was also saying the federal reserve indicating it wants to plan further increases down the line. why is it that it seeks to preannounced these things before it confirms them? well, i think the idea given the sort of significance and importance of this move is to try and give people a enough time to prepare. so it has a huge impact here in america for consumers, for businesses if interest rates go up that means they're borrowing cost thereof. but not just here they're borrowing cost thereof. but notjust here in america. if you look at emerging markets for many of them have debt that is denominated in us dollars of that means you will become more expensive than to start servicing some of their debt. they'll be paying attention to this.

new —— you begin to see impact on the flow of capital, of money as people start to look at the us and say hang on, if interest rates are higher i might get a higher return my money and then begin moving cash around the globe. all of this signalling helps give people time to to prepare, and the fact they are going for to great heights, what they predict the moment next year, it isa they predict the moment next year, it is a sign that despite slowing global growth, they are still confident in the strength of the us economy. michelle, thank you. from washington to rome. after a stand—off that's lasted months, italy has agreed a budget with the european union. the eu didn't like the level of spending and borrowing that was planned. well, italy has agreed to reduce that, but not as much as the eu would have liked. this is andrew walker assessing the deal. actually blinking going on on both parts. the italian government has agreed to find 10 billion euros worth of savings from moderating some of its spending plans and by raising some additional revenue.

but at the same time, bear in mind, where we come from, this is a new government that took office earlier this and the figures they are aiming for for the budget deficit over the next few years are still larger than what had been agreed with the european commission by the previous government. so both sides have not moved in the european commission in the senior official at the commission who deals with the eurozone has described this agreement as borderline. so he will live with it. the world's second biggest initial public offering of the year took place earlier today. it's the japanese tech company softbank, and it raised nearly $23 billion in tokyo just for the mobile part of its business. the bbc‘s monica miller has more on softbank. this is notjust some eye—popping ipo or initial public offering. it could possibly be something that ends up changing your life. here is how.

one of the things softbank does with its cash is invest in future technologies and artificial intelligence. it is making robots to help humans in their homes, shops and even in schools. it also runs a $100 billion investment vehicle called the vision fund. led by softbank founder. he is pumping cash into companies transforming many aspects of everyday life. take transportation. together with toyota, he is investing in self driving vehicles that may one day act as hospital shuttles. 0r mobile retail shops. he is also backing ai and health care to do things like predict disease outbreaks. and i am back in a couple of minutes' time. good evening. would mild weather in

the forecast area home for the next few days, i do not think it will feel especially festive. i will take you somewhere much colder in a moment. but first of all, some very unusual weather across the northwest of the usa. you can see from the satellite and radar picture, cloud and rain, nothing unusual. but along one of the strives of wet weather, we spun one of the strives of wet weather, u one of the strives of wet weather, we spun up a tornado up and you can see from these pictures would come from fairly close in —— to seattle that we had some quite significant damage. and while tomatoes are fairly common across the usa as a whole, they are pretty unusual across washington state. in an average year, you can expect two or three tornadoes and only likely to get a tomato in december once every ten yea rs get a tomato in december once every ten years or so. hopefully not as violent as bad over the next couple of days but still some way and witty whether piling in the down to the southeast that we develop our next area of turbulent weather if you do

have travel plans that take you to the usa of the decimal of days, this is worth bearing in mind. yes, mild during thursday but this area of low pressure spending itself up and moving across the eastern seaboard as we head towards the weekend. some very wet and windy weather that could cause travel disruption and some flight delays is about racing in new york on friday and it stays quite unsettled further west in seattle. but now, let me take you into the deep freeze. cold air extending from the arctic down across the heart of central asia. now this is part of the world what we expected to get cold during wintertime but the numbers themselves, the temperatures can still be pretty shocking. the forecast for catholics on over that couple of days was sunny up part, some fog patches but have a look at this. -20 some fog patches but have a look at this. —20 in the capital and bear in mind that means the afternoon high, by saturday evening colder and ignite those temperatures will be

not far off —30 degrees. nothing as cold as that in europe but many parts of eastern europe struggling to get much above freezing and some fog patches here. in this stripe of what i would bring some rain and snow and then to the west of that, somewhat milder atlantic air. fairly brisk winds and blowing areas of cloud and ran across france and the low countries into germany. temperatures coming up compared to where they have been in recent days. eight or 9 degrees in frankfurt on thursday. berlin looking at similar temperatures right to the next five days with some rain at times and chilli for the time being further east in sofia. back home it looks quite mixed with some wind and rain at times. also some dry weather and generally staying mild and more details on that coming up in half an hour. i'm ros atkins. this is outside source. president trump says islamic state is defeated in syria and orders the withdrawal

of us troops there. republican senators say that's a huge mistake. the eu lays out in stark terms what a no—deal brexit might mean, as it publishes its contingency action plan. a newspaper investigation claims facebook handed over the data of millions of its users without their consent. and we'll report from rio. brazil's supreme court issues a ruling that could free former president luiz inacio lula da silva from prison. let's talk about another pr disaster for facebook. this one comes in the form of a new york times article which details how facebook is still sharing users data with around 150 companies. and they include some of

the biggest brands. the new york times says it allowed spotify and netflix to read, write and delete private messages. we got a response from facebook. it says it never gave others access to personal data without people's permission. and that there's no evidence that the data had been misused. though some would argue giving the access was misuse. either way, the stock market did not respond favourably. facebook‘s shares are down. and the company's not going short on advice. this from alex stamos, former chief security officer. he says... we will see if facebook takes this advice. we also have this from the

attorney general in the district of columbia, washington, dc. he says... we'll have to wait to see how that plays out, but we won't have to wait to know why facebook is doing this. data sales are big business. the new york times estimating american companies will spend around $20 billion on consumer data this year. laurence dodds is a tech reporter for the daily telegraph in san francisco. facebook is saying that everything that happens here, people give it permission to do. but that hinges on, i think, an idea of consent or an permission that doesn't gel with people actually knew about what they we re people actually knew about what they were using on the service. the fact that there's been so much widespread surprise and shock about the story isa surprise and shock about the story is a case that maybe the idea that at some point, technically they clicked, yes, let me ask that the service, deliver this service to me, they did not actually know what the implications of that were. on the

other side of the equation, presumably these are enormous brands caught up in the story, did know there were getting from facebook. that's, oddly, not clear. some of these companies have said weirdly, we do not ask for that access can we do not know we had access or in some cases we did not know that access was... that is a rather odd thing for them to say. if it's true, that shift the question two, why was all of this data being shared with all these companies who did not even know that they had access to it? and while the story, the reality is this isa pr while the story, the reality is this is a pr disaster for facebook, another pr disaster. a company increasingly embattled. it is. in particular, is potentially a regulatory disaster. it is unclear still the extent to which the

repeated privacy scandals for facebook, how much they are impacting the bottom line. what is clear is that the view of politicians in the us and regulators in the us has turned against facebook astonishingly rapidly this year. the eu has been pretty sceptical for a year. the eu has been pretty scepticalfor a while. it year. the eu has been pretty sceptical for a while. it looks like in the eu, regulation is what has helped slow facebook‘s user growth. the eu and usa remain it most lucrative markets. in the usa, privacy... good of a real impact on the bottom line. today, we have rad seeing the attorney general of washington, dc has said it is doing facebook for misleading this —— business practises. every day on outside source, we turn

to the biggest stories. we turn to brazil next. former president luiz inacio lula da silva may be released from prison. this brazilian supreme courtjudge says that prisoners who have appeals pending in court should be freed until that process has run its course. that could apply to lula, who's been in prison since april on corruption charges. julia carneiro in rio on whether thejudge had lula in mind. it is impossible to say. this decision has a more wide impact. thousands of people. this is the case for lula. he was sent to jail and his sentence was confirmed by an appeals court. he denies the charges, he denies the accusations.

he was appealing the decision. but he is in prison because of a decision by the supreme court that stated that people convicted of criminal offences should not ask us other appeals before they're sent to jailand other appeals before they're sent to jail and this was seen as a measure to reduce the impunity in the country and avoid cases that went on forever and ever with appeals that never ended. lula is now essentially going to be benefited by this decision, but we have no idea where this decision is going to end the. is it possible to estimate how long lula's appeal will take? it could go on for a very long time because there is one step after the other. but what this decision from today determines is that he can be immediately released if, of course, thejudge in hisjurisdiction is fossil for thejudge in hisjurisdiction is fossilfor his thejudge in hisjurisdiction is fossil for his arrest decides to do so. fossil for his arrest decides to do so. however, this has generated immediate reaction by prosecutors.

prosecutor general of appeal has appealed to the head of the supreme court to overturn this decision. it still possible that this was another initiative to try... that was seen asa initiative to try... that was seen as a possibility for lula da silva but could convey nothing of the decisions overturned. with us, julia. just want to show everyone this picture. rather bizarre process in support of lula. this was in rio. it is called christmas for free lula. one bit of evidence that her supporters, their commitment is quite something. it is. they thought this was a wow moment. they think he is unfairly arrested and that is what he says. he was... he says part

of the strategy, part of the political persecution. on the other hand, you have lots of anger. i was on twitter as well, with people using the hash tag "i'm embarrassed of the supreme court". while there is lots of hate towards lula and the workers party at the moment in brazil, and a big opponent of his about to take office, just 12 days away. it's an exciting political moment your. we started in san francisco, then onto rio. now into israel. israel has called on the un security council to act against the militant group hezbollah. it says it discovered four tunnels under the border between israel and lebanon and it claims they were dug by hezbollah, with the intention of carrying out attacks inside israel. hezbollah hasn't commented. we have heard from the un, which

confirms that two of the tunnels. though it says only two crossed the border. we also have this video showing israeli troops working during the last two weeks destroying the tunnels. and there's this statement from benyamin neta nyahu earlier today. i called all the members of the security council to condemn his —— condemn hezbollah comebacker to demand that lebanon stop allowing its territory to be used as an act of aggression and its citizens to be used as pawns. this has been discussed in new york at the security council. the israeli ambassador to the un used a number of charts to show the site above the

tunnels. nada tawfik is at the un. following all this. what are israelis try to get out of this other than highlighting the counties thomas? israel's ambassador to the un was pretty clear that he wants the security council to condemn hezbollah and also to put more pressure on the lebanese army to make sure that these tunnels are constructed —— are not contracted any more. he says israel presented precise locations of the origination of these tunnels in lebanon to you to fill, so they could investigate it, and he claims the lebanese army actually alerted hezbollah to that discovery so that they could hide the tunnels starting point and height the infrastructure around it. pretty tough claims there from the israeli ambassador. to try to

commence councilmembers who are not right now completely united in their condemnation of hezbollah. who within the security council context put the side of hezbollah were the lebanese army? you heard from several members of the council, including kuwait, and russia, and their concerns... they were concerned about the overall heightened tensions in the region. russia said they understood the concerns but that there was a mechanism within the peacekeepers to go through these disputes and that it did not really help the situation to raise angel security council meeting on this issue. the lebanese ambassador said that there was a double standard in the that while in the past four month there have been about 150 israeli violations of the un resolution, that they've sat in un resolution, that they've sat in un archives while israel to the security council meetings. this was

very much a politicized debate in that regard as well. i was going to ask you about that, nada. the perception that everyone thinks they know... perception that everyone thinks they know. . . to perception that everyone thinks they know... to go divide on the council. it varies on the issues we are talking about. it is very strong in his defence of israel. it called this meeting to highlight what they say should be a united council condemnation in reaction of hezbollah going forward, because they believe there can be no real piece, and a risk of another were breaking up because of hezbollah‘s military activities. on the other hand, there are those who don't agree with the... they believe the stability of the region is much a consequence of israel's actions and wa nt consequence of israel's actions and

want israel to kind of also abide by their part of this resolution. they claim that israel flies several reconnaissance missions over lebanon, they constantly hacked into the lebanese telecommunications systems. lots of grievances aired out in council today. nada, toxin. there is nada life for us in new york. —— thanks for talking to us. stay with us an outside source. the latest of alastair leithead's special reports from the drc. it appears it doesn't pay to be loyal. it turns out that millions of people who stay with companies for insurance and mobile phones for years are actually losing out, by around £900 a year. that's a verdict of the competition watchdog. more from simon gompertz.

the loyalty penalty can grind off your hard—earned cash without you noticing. nick near doncaster found he was paying more than £1000 a year more than he needed to for house insurance. we were paying £1929.82 a year. loyal for 21 yea rs, the cost had tripled. shopping around got him a policy for less than £500. it's an easy way for them to make more money, so they'lljust constantly put the price up. insurers say they're taking action against the loyalty penalty. the provider santander explains nick made claims, though he says he only ever got £200. at doncaster market nearby, such explanations from insurers, also mobile phone and broadband providers and banks, get short shrift. what would happen to you if you charged your loyal customers more than someone who just came in for the first time? i wouldn't last two minutes. so the competition watchdog is targeting companies who introduce price rises by stealth or impose

costly exit fees from deals, plus those who put up barriers to switching or cancelling and make you autorenew to get the deal, then roll it over at a higher price. it's an issue which infuriates people because it seems unfair, it seems underhand that prices should be allowed to creep up without you knowing. and it happens because big businesses are allowed to charge their long—standing customers more. today, we're promised there will be court action against the worst perpetrators and caps on excessive prices if they're needed. simon gompertz, bbc news, doncaster. outside source, live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is... president trump is pulling out all

us troops out of syria. he says the islamic state group is defeated. people in madagascar have been voting in a tense run—off election pitting two former presidents against each other. marc ravalomanana, and the man who ousted him in a coup, andry rajoelina, are fighting for top spot. bbc afrique. a newly discovered amphibian that buries its head in the sand has been named after donald trump, apparently in response to his comments about climate change. scientists say this creature is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and is therefore in danger of becoming extinct. and a baby in vanuatu has become the first person to be given a vaccine delivered by a commercial drone. unicef arranged for the drone to be flown some aokm across rugged mountains that would otherwise take hours to cross. about 20% of children in vanuatu don't receive important vaccinations because supplying them is too difficult. four days to go until the democratic

republic of congo's much delayed presidential election. we've got these pictures of very excited supporters of one of the opposition candidates. this is in kinshasa today. i should add this happened despite an official halt to campaigning in kinshasa because of security concerns. if the election runs smoothly — and unfortunately, that's quite a big if — it would lead to the congo's first democratic transfer of power. and all of this is going on with a long history of violence and recently, in a bola operated authorities say is hard to contain. these are congolese people being screened for the disease before crossing into uganda. alastair letihead's report from beni.

which is in the east of the country. we are flying with united nations peacekeepers into one of the most dangerous towns in the country, beni in north kivu. you're on patrol with us, with the united nations forces here, going out into quite a dangerous area. there is ebola nearby and also, there is a very strong militant group here that, in the last few days, has killed probably dozens of civilians. un troops meet local leaders to assess the danger and show they have a presence in the area. from here, you cannot find anybody. even the people who are there, just when it is four, they start going, all of them. the un isn't popular because, despite their guns, a militant group is still killing civilians. they are wondering, "how can the enemy cross all of this bush and reach the town and start killing people just there in the town?" they were out just a couple of hours. the un's trying to prevent attacks and take on the militants,

but they also need to protect themselves. it's a tough balance. for 20 years, they are here, so—called to stabilise the country. would you like them to leave? we want them to leave in 2020. you want the un to leave? in 2020, it must end. if we left the area, i believe that the situation, based on the current environment, could worsen very quickly. the situation is already worsening. the instability is forcing people to flee and allowing ebola to spread out of control. for two decades, war in eastern congo has forced millions of people from their homes. this is kalemie, further south. after two years fleeing ethnic violence, it's still too dangerous for these people to go home. terrible things were done to them.

estelle was captured by militants, her village burnt down. translation: another woman and i were tied up. every night, we were raped by the rebels many times. the ordeal was unbearable. there are scores of armed groups across this country. it's usually about strong men wanting more power. but it's also about a government that doesn't have control in these places. that has always been the story of the congo. it was built that way. so much so, it's sometimes hard to see beyond. but in a young, vibrant and beautiful country, there is hope. and of course, in the coming days, we will have coverage of the

election in the drc. this is carme forcadell. she's the former speaker of the catalan parliament. and she wants the european court of human rights to order her release from jail. she's there waiting to face charges of rebellion relating to the push for catalan independence from spain last year. you or member the referent happening. —— you will remember the referendum happening. this chart shows all potential voters in catalonia. grey — the turnout was low — a0%. but 90% of those who did vote supported independence. more importantly, the vote was declared illegal, but then the catalan parliament declared independence regardless. that led to carme forcadell and eight other catalan leaders being taken into jail while they await trial. the bbc‘s niall o'gallagher has spoken to her. in october last her, the parliament of catalonia voted to declare independence from spain. in the chair, was carme forcadell.

for discussing independent tour, she faces 73 years in jail. she's already been in prison since march, held ahead of a trial expected to begin in the new year. now the former speaker is asking the european court of human rights to free her. i have come to interview her after prison. —— after prison. i was not allowed to bring a camera so her words are spoken by an actor. prosecutors allege miss forcadell ignored warnings from the highest court and pressing ahead with the independence they will put the cata la n independence they will put the catalan parliament in breach of spain's constitution. a home, yellow ribbons search report

for carme forcadell and eight other cata la n for carme forcadell and eight other catalan leaders. her husband was... not everyone supports the yellow ribbon campaign. it's after midnight ina group ribbon campaign. it's after midnight in a group of activists are cutting them down. catala ns in a group of activists are cutting them down. catalans are deeply spent on independence and on the fate of the moving's imprisoned leaders. at the moving's imprisoned leaders. at the prison, they sing for carme forcadell. she knows they are there but from her cell, she cannot hear

them. carme —— mac or bbc world news. bye—bye. not long now till christmas. just days away. and we are a little bit more confident with the forecast for the actual day itself, so we'll have a look at that in a second. but let's talk about the run—up to christmas, if you like. not much change compared with what we've had in the last two, three days. really mild weather with some showers. and, in fact, if you look at this satellite image, you get a sense of the whole atmosphere in motion. big low pressure in the north atlantic here, sending these shower clouds in our direction, a breeze picking up as well. and this is all relatively mild air. i know it's blue on the maps here, but it's actually not that cold. it's this that we're watching here. even more mild air that's heading our way from the weekend. and temperatures could actually get up into the mid—teens,

believe it or not. so here's thursday's weather forecast. we've got these westerly winds blowing in the cloud and some showers, some of us getting more showers than others. but i think the south of the country, some southeastern areas, getting a better day on thursday compared to what we had during the course of at least tuesday and wednesday. 11 degrees in the south of the country, single figures in the north. now, friday looks pretty wet, doesn't it? we've got a weather front moving across the uk. a lot of blue here, so that's rain. this is actually rain very early on friday morning. in fact, the early hours of friday morning. and in fact, all of this would have been over us during the night, and then it sweeps out of the way. and by the time we get to lunchtime, the sun's out again across the southern half of the uk. and then once again, the showers come back. so, it's a bit of a seesaw going up and down, the weather. the north of the country, all the while through friday, looks pretty cloudy. now the all—important weekend. a lot of us, plans for this weekend, very busy weekend. looks like we are in between weather systems. so that means that the weather is not looking bad at all. a weak area of high pressure builds.

that means there'll be a little bit more sunshine around. yes, maybe a few showers in the northwest of the country. but on the whole, not a bad day on the way on saturday. 12 in london, ten in liverpool, nine newcastle and in glasgow. and then on sunday, that wedge of yellow colour that i showed you at the start of the forecast, that arrives, that really mild air. but with that, also a lot of cloud, some wind and some rain as well. so, a messy picture for many of us on sunday. after that really nice day on saturday, sunday is downhill. you can see all of the clouds. but look at the temperatures. 1a degrees. it's probably not going to feel like it because of the cloud and the rain. the north, however, still hangs onto those single figure temperatures. so, we're getting close to christmas now. this is monday. christmas eve. that low pressure, the leftover of sunday's weather, clears away towards the continent. the winds switch directions and we get a northerly... just a little bit

colder. the skies clear. maybe some sunshine around eventually in the afternoon. and with clear skies monday night, into tuesday, tuesday is christmas day. things could be a little bit nippy in the morning. we'll look at that in the second. just the run—up to christmas. very changeable with the wet and windy conditions. 25th, and onwards. we got high pressure across the uk. this basically means clearing skies. thatin this basically means clearing skies. that in turn means it will feel chilly at night, some frost, some fog in the morning, perhaps a little bit more unsettled. on the whole, it may actually feel relatively festive with some frost. that's the best we can do for now. the biggest shake—up for a0 years, says the government, as it unveils its post—brexit immigration policy. people from all over the world will be allowed to come and work in the uk based on their skills, rather than where they're from. we are absolutely not

closing our doors. we are simply making sure that we have control over who comes through them. also tonight — angry scenes in parliament as the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, appears to mouth "stupid woman" at the prime minister. they are not impressed, and neither is the country... mr corbyn later told mps he'd said "stupid people" — not "woman". as the government hints that the roll—out of universal credit could be delayed again, we look at the impact of welfare reforms in the north east of england. i didn't stop working because i'm lazy.