welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: president trump is pulling us troops out of syria. he says islamic state is defeated. defense chiefs and senior republicans say not so fast. if you're tired of fighting radical islam, i understand it. they're not tired of fighting you. the european commission sets out how it hopes to limit the most serious damage if britain leaves the eu without a deal. there has been a sharp increase in violence in indian—administered kashmir — more than 500 people killed this year. we have a special report. indian armed forces are fighting what are believed to be two, perhaps three militants who are hiding in there. this gun exchange has just intensified, but the operation has been going on all through the night, for the past 12 hours. cuba's baseball players are told they can now play professionally in the us and canada.

the ghost of christmas past. one of charles dickens's best—loved stories, a christmas carol, turns 175 years old. hello. american officials are saying all 2,000 us troops in syria have begun pulling out. they say the withdrawal will be completed within 100 days. president trump, revisiting one of his election campaign promises, declared on twitter: but his announcement seems to have taken the pentagon by surprise, contradicts recent assertions from the state department, and has been widely criticised by american allies and members of congress from mr trump's own party. barbara plett usher reports from washington, dc. donald trump promised to withdraw

american troops from syria during his presidential campaign, and he has been looking for a way to do that ever since. now, he is declaring "mission accomplished." the white house said troops would start to come home. it's true the us and its allies have pretty much expelled is from its so—called caliphate — the vast swathes of land it once controlled in iraq and syria. but even without territory, the militants remain a threat, and mr trump's sudden announcement has upended his administration's strategy to prevent them from making a comeback. just last week, his chief envoy said the military needed to stay and help stabilise war—torn areas of syria. i pressed him on that. but the point is the military commitment doesn't end with the end of the caliphate. that's absolutely right. and there's no timeline on it? no timelines. the president's top officials had

little to say about this sudden about—face, no details about a timeline, but senators from his party were quick to criticise. the decision to withdraw american — 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. isis is not defeated in syria and iraq. i was there just a few months ago. they've been incredibly hurt, and our troops there are an insurance policy against the re—emergence of isis in syria and iraq. and that's not all. a us pullout could endanger its local kurdish allies. they've been leading the fight against the islamic state group, but turkey sees them as terrorists, and has threatened to attack them. a withdrawal would also strengthen russia and iran's influence in syria, when us policy is to weaken it.

it seems the president made this decision without considered consultation with those who'd have to carry it out, so the pentagon and state department are scrambling to figure out how they can fit this into their syria strategy. it is not clear what actually is going to happen. what is clear is this is another example of president trump's disruptive and disorientating approach to policy. barbara plett usher, bbc news, washington. i spoke just now to firas maksad, director of the think tank the arabia foundation and a specialist on american foreign policy in the middle east. it seems christmas came early so to speak in moscow, tehran and ankara. however, us allies that have been lobbying hard now for a number of months to try to get iranian troops out of syria are left with this conundrum that it's actually the us that is leaving, not iran. so yes, this is a very difficult moment for us allies. it will probably have long—lasting repercussions in terms

of the trustworthiness of the us as an ally for those in the region. you wouldn't have to be too cynical to see it perhaps as a distraction tactic from mr trump's mounting legal and political problems at home. do you think that's unfair? well, i think there certainly is a domestic angle that many view as feeding into this decision. but the key moment here seems to be a phone call that president trump had with president erdogan of turkey on friday. turkey has been wanting the us to end its support for kurdish forces in syria for quite some time now. it sees them as a terrorist group. and frankly, president erdogan had done president trump a favour in the lead—up to the november election by releasing an evangelical christian pastor. that is crucial to support in the current political base. it seems president trump wanted to return the favour. president erdogan faces election this spring, and the kurdish issue is very important to turkey.

just briefly, on the domestic issues, suggestions are mr trump's core voters might not care that much about american foreign policy. they would be happy, though, to see american troops out of harm's way. yes, there's certainly that element too. president trump has long campaigned during his election is to get us forces out of the middle east. having us forces in that part of the world has never been a popular proposition in the united states. so in many ways, yes, this has been a long way coming. president trump had announced earlier in the year, in april, that he wanted to withdraw us troops. the foreign policy establishment in washington pushed hard against that, the pentagon, the state department, professionals at the national security council, but it seems trump never let go of that idea and was never comfortable staying in syria. let's get some of the day's other news: the us central bank,

the federal reserve, has again raised interest rates, despite repeated appeals by president trump. they have gone up by 0.25% to 2.5%. shares sank on that announcement. facebook has defended its conduct after the new york times reported that the company had given major technology companies more intrusive access to users‘ personal data than previously disclosed. in a seperate move, the attorney general in washington, dc is suing facebook for allowing cambridge analytica access to users‘ data without their permission. other states are considering similar legal action. brazil's chief prosecutor has filed corruption and money—laundering charges against president michel temer. he is accused of receiving illegal payments from companies who have had their licences to operate in brazilian ports renewed for 70 years. mr temer will lose immunity from prosecution when he leaves office at the end of the year, but has said he will prove his innocence. the european commission has set out how it hopes to limit what officials call the most significant damage from a no—deal brexit. if the uk reaches no formal agreement on leaving the eu,

european member states will still temporarily allow british airlines to operate flights into and out of the eu, but not within it. hauliers will be able to carry freight into the eu by road for nine months without applying for permits. for up to two years, regulations covering uk financial services would be recognised in a limited number of areas as equivalent to the european union's. and the commission is urging states to take a generous approach to the rights of uk citizens in the eu, as long as the uk does the same. 0ur berlin correspondentjenny hill reports on how a no—deal brexit might affect germany. in the festive capitals of europe, goodwill is in short supply. this the season to prepare for the worst. germany's small businesses uncertain how to prepare for no—deal,

when your british customers bring in 10,000 euros a month and expect delivery within two days of order. translation: we are not prepared. many businesses are not prepared. we have to do everything ourselves. we need information, to be actively briefed. instead, i fear the government is waiting and hoping for a soft brexit. britain's last—minute diplomacy dash yielded warm words but no concessions. angela merkel remains optimistic that the brexit deal will succeed, but she is now also making plans in case it doesn't. i believe germany's woefully unprepared. the government still says that it believes in the deal being ratified in the house of commons. well, looking at the political situation in the house of commons, we see no majority in the tories, and we have a prime minister who has to implement something that she probably doesn't even believe in. it's a little bit like theresa in wonderland, boris johnson as the march hare.

there is much at stake, not least for the german car industry. britain is its biggest export market. but, when the man who represents the industry sits down with angela merkel, he doesn't lobby for a softer approach to britain. first priority for us is that the remaining 27 member states stay together, and that we have — that has to be the first priority, and not making concessions that invite others to go the same way as the uk is going. brexit has stirred many emotions in the heart of germany — sorrow, frustration, confusion, and what the germans really can't abide, uncertainty. perhaps that is why so many here now want britain to either get on with it and leave, or even change its mind and stay. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. in the last hour, london gatwick airport has reopened, following a six—hour closure caused by two unidentified drones flying

near the runway. all flights in and out of britain's second—busiest airport had been grounded, with many passengers facing long delays. it is believed at least 20 inbound planes were diverted to other airports. officials at gatwick have apologised for any inconvenience, but said safety was the foremost priority. waiting passengers told the bbc they were angry about the drones, and the airport's response. they should know better, shouldn't they? should be jailed. that's ridiculous. how many mil... there's tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of passengers that have been delayed. it's absolutely ludicrous. but the main thing is gatwick has given no information. everything is shut. why haven't they got an information desk open? all these these people standing there, they haven't gone anywhere. the flight we're one, they're all standing there, not going anywhere. it's ridiculous. it's ridiculous, there were two

drones flying over the airport and the airport was shut for a good two hours now, i would imagine. the airport was shut for a good two hours now, iwould imagine. and the airport was shut for a good two hours now, i would imagine. and you would imagine there would be better security in place, and emergency action or something like that. there has been a sharp increase in violence in indian—administered kashmir in recent weeks. in fact, 2018 has been the deadliest year in the disputed region in a decade. more than 500 people have been killed, including civilians, security forces and militants. the area has long seen conflict between indian forces and armed insurgents, but this year the cycle of violence has intensified, with both sides becoming more active. the bbc‘s yogita limaye reports from indian—administered kashmir. gunfire behind the fog, a bustling neighbourhood, now a battleground. these sounds have become all too common in the region. a policeman leads us to safety as a bullet flies over us. indian armed forces are fighting what are believed to be two,

perhaps three, militants who are hiding in there. this gun exchange has just intensified, but the operation has been going on all through the night, for the past 12 hours. and it is these kind of operations that the armed forces have really ramped up this year. there have been more than 100 in just 2018 alone. a few hours later, it ended. six homes destroyed, three militants killed. scores have been shot down this year. firdaus ahmed mir died in a similar gun battle in november. demanding freedom from indian rule, thousands came to his funeral, as they do every time a militant dies. for his family, firdaus is a martyr, a son they're proud of. translation: it was his mission to fight for the people of kashmir. there are a lot of atrocities

committed against our brothers and sisters. he couldn't stand this. on the other side of this battle, more death, more grief. army man mukhtar ahmad malik was shot by militants when he was at home on leave. "kashmir is tired of this situation," his mother tells me. "it's better to bomb this place and finish it once and for all." there's been a sharp increase in targeted killings of security personnel in recent months. with the death toll mounting on both sides, i ask a senior policeman what they're achieving. we cannot sit and keep on watching militants with weapons roaming in villages, attacking people, and gaining ground. no, we cannot.

we just cannot afford to watch that. we have to act. caught in the crossfire, civilians like firdousa sheikh, a pregnant woman who was killed just outside her home. she leaves behind a family in despair, a daughter who is too scared to go out of the house now. in village after village, there are stories like these. in this trail of destruction, no family left untouched. yogita limaye, bbc news, in indian kashmir. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: how one republican mayor in texas is lighting up his party with renewable energy and an eye—popping christmas display. after eight months on the run, saddam hussein has been tracked down and captured by american forces. saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few

minutes, but they brought a formal end to 3.5 years of conflict, conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border was sealed and silent today. romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre in timisoara from leaking out. from sex at the white house to a trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed bill clinton his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines:

us forces are being withdrawn from syria, with president trump claiming the islamic state group had now been defeated there. the white house decision has been criticised by many. the european commission has published a series of measures to avoid major disruption if britain leaves the eu without a deal. cuba and the united states have reached agreement to allow cuban baseball players to play professionally in the us for the first time. traditionally, cuba has produced some of the world's best players, but until now they could onlyjoin major league teams in the us and canada if they defected. kim gittleson has the story. baseball, of course, is america's pastime, but the sport has long been popular in cuba as well, where even fidel castro was known to run the bases. but, for nearly five decades, those who made it to cuba's big league faced a difficult choice — stay in the country, earning sometimes as little as $50 a month, or defect to the united states, in the hopes of making it big in the major leagues. like yasiel puig, who made his way

to the los angeles dodgers via a human trafficker who subjected him to appalling conditions. it's situations like his that prompted america's major league baseball and cu ban authorities to reach this agreement. it states that cuban players above the age of 25, who've played in the cuban league for at least six years, will no longer have to defect from the communist country in order to play in the major league. translation: this is a secure way we have always dreamed off for our children and their families, and our athletes canjoin in any league in the mlb. officials say they've been granted government approvalfrom both us and cu ban authorities,

but some cuban americans, who want the us to continue to exert pressure on the communist country, have been angered. in a tweet, us congressmen mario diaz—balart called the agreement "shameful," adding he hoped that president donald trump would oppose the move. but in a country that can often seem like a blast from the past, officials said that they hope the new terms allow future cuban sluggers the opportunity to chase american home—run glory. kim gittleson, bbc news. japanese government sources say the country has decided to withdraw from the international whaling commission so it can resume whaling on a commercial basis. according to the kyodo news agency, tokyo said the move will be announced before the end of the year. ever since president trump pulled out of the paris climate agreement the focus has shifted to what states and local communities are doing to combat climate change. but you probably wouldn't expect to find a republican mayor in the state of texas leading the way. a majority of the people there voted for donald trump and it's a region where oil and gas reign supreme.

but as our north america correspondent aleem maqbool found — this christmas season is being lit with the environment in mind. when it comes to saving the planet, trump's america has come under fire for not doing enough, but one little town is trying to go against the grain, thanks in part to its mayor. so, here we are in georgetown, texas, on the beautiful town square not only in taxes, but the united states of america, i tell you. this is sort of what heaven would look like at christmas. but let me ask you, for an environmentalist, it doesn't like heaven, does it? it looks like it's a huge waste of energy. what's going on here? it's not, because we are 100% renewable energy, so all these wonderful lights, the whole downtown experience, is funded by wind and solar energy. as a republican from texas, he's an unlikely climate change superhero. but under his watch, this town has become the largest town in the us to switch solely to renewable energy companies. a windfarm in west texas and a massive solar park are the supplies of the town's power, but in the most conservative part of the country, the majority of people also voted

for this man. all of this, with the global warning and that — a lot of it's a hoax, it's a hoax, i mean, it's a moneymaking industry, ok? this little sandwich shop back in georgetown has now got its own solar panels, and it appears that having a president who says he's not convinced about man's contribution to climate change is inspiring individuals to do their bit. i mean, you have to start somewhere, and if you wait for someone else to do it it's never going to happen. you have to do it yourself. that's the mayor's feeling, too, but here in texas he's seeing a campaign against him by members of his own party. you have these special interest groups that really go out and promote oil and gas interests, and i'm not their number one guy right now, ok? they don't like i'm out there telling the truth had actually just putting the facts out there.

some of those critics say that's because he and others are disrespecting the heritage of the state and the country by demonising the fossil fuel industries. a lot of what this state has seen and prospered from, and what people have done for, you know, so long was oil. you know, you talk to people across the state and they say, "well, my grandpa was an oil man, and when someone says, ‘oil is evil,‘ i think, ‘my grandpa wasn't evil‘". holiday season excess in georgetown is at least powered by renewable energy, and the town is trying to show you can be conservative in america and still care about the environment. it‘s just that politics really doesn‘t make it easy. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in georgetown, texas. a christmas carol, one of the best—loved stories

by charles dickens, is 175 years old today. the story of scrooge, the miser who is forced to become compassionate by ghosts —— was written in condemnation of the child poverty that dickens saw around him. the first edition, published in december 1843, immediately sold out, and the tale has captivated people ever since. david sillito reports. # god rest you merry gentleman... "marley was dead. to begin with, there was no doubt whatever about that. the register of his burial had been signed by the clerk." a christmas carol. simon callow is at the moment performing it onstage twice a day in this, its anniversary year. i‘m holding this very gently because this is an original a christmas carol, published exactly 175 years ago and they all sold out within five days. and while it would be going too far to say dickens invented a victorian christmas, he certainly, for millions of us, defined what christmas should be.

he certainly gave christmas a meaning which it hadn‘t had before. he says, "it‘s the only time in the long calendar of the year that i know of that men and women open their closed up hearts freely and think of those below them as fellow passengers to the grave." a christmas carol, by charles dickens. who are you? what do you want? the story of scrooge and his night of ghostly encounters goes down through the generations. what do you want with me? much. there have over the years been 73 film and tv adaptations. and marking today‘s anniversary, a display at the london pall mall gallery. this lost portrait was rediscovered in south africa, much to the delight of charles dickens‘ great—great—great—granddaughter. this is what he looked like when he wrote a christmas carol. this is him at 31 years old. and the intensity of those eyes. when you think about the campaigning in this book, this is what dickens looked like when he was writing it. thejob now, raising the money to buy it for the dickens museum.

time perhaps for a bit of the spirit of a christmas carol. as tiny tim observed, "god bless us every one." david sillito, bbc news. the artist banksy has confirmed that a new graffiti piece that has appeared in south wales is one of his. the work — on the side of a garage in port talbot — has attracted a lot of interest. it shows a young girl apparently opening her arms in joy at some christmassy snow, but then, looking round the corner, reveals what‘s falling is more likely ash from a brazier, or industrial chimney. port talbot was a very industrial area, parts of it dramatically and visibly — polluted by local industry. banksy is known for his anonymous street art pieces, which appear unannounced in public places. hello there.

well, as you‘ve probably already heard, the run—up to christmas is set to be a fairly mild one, with ouraircoming in off the atlantic. now, it‘s not going to be completely settled, though. there will be quite a bit of cloud and also some rain or showers at times. but a little bit of sunshine, too. now, for thursday, we‘ve still got low pressure in charge of the weather. it‘ll be anchored to the north—west of the uk. and we‘ll have a fair old breeze blowing in from the west, and that will continue to feed in showers, most of them across southern and western areas early on thursday, the odd heavy one, with many central and eastern parts seeing the longer dry spells to begin thursday. wee‘ll have a split in temperatures. you get the showers, a bit more cloud. southern and western areas, then, temperatures around five to seven degrees. something a bit cooler, though, further north. around scotland, maybe a touch of frost in some of the glens, and maybe a little mist and fog, too. but, for thursday morning, it‘s going to be a largely dry and a bright one across many northern and eastern areas.

showers, though, will get going across the west, and they may merge together to produce some longer spells of rain, some of them could be quite heavy. and, again, it‘s going to be fairly blustery, particularly near southern and western coasts. mild in the south, 10—11 degrees. further north, these are pretty typical temperatures, in fact, for this time of year. now, as we head through thursday night, it stays quite breezy, quite showery. for a time, the showers ease down, and then we start to see some wetter and windier weather arriving across the south—west.

that‘s because this next frontal system will move into the southern half of the country during thursday night into friday morning. so it could be quite wet for some. but what it will do is import even milder air across the southern half of the country, as you can see, the yellow and orange colours there. so, although it‘s going to be a really drab start to friday, a lot of surface spray, standing water on the roads, that rain should eventually clear eastwards. although its northern extent may linger on across parts of northern ireland, northern england, maybe southern scotland. so a bit of a grey day here. sunshine will move in across england and wales. 11—14 degrees. the weekend, it looks like saturday will be the driest day with that ridge of high pressure. then these weather fronts move in on for sunday. i think it is a bit of a tale of two halves. one or two showers across northern and eastern areas to begin saturday. with that ridge of high pressure building in, should turn a little bit drier. winds a bit lighter, too, still coming in from the west, and we should see a good deal of sunshine around, particularly further south and east where you are. 10—12 degrees, mild in the south. 9—10 in the north. sunday looks wetter and windier and, as we head on into monday, could turn a little bit cooler in the north. this is bbc news.

the headlines: us officials say that all 2,000 american troops in syria have begun pulling out of the country. president trump‘s announcement has been heavily criticised at home and abroad. britain, a major ally of the us, questioned mr trump‘s assertion that islamic state militants in syria had been defeated. the us central bank, the federal reserve, has again raised interest rates, despite repeated appeals by donald trump not to do so. they have gone up by 0.25%, taking them to 2.5%. shares sank after the announcement. the european commission has published a series of contingency measures designed to limit any damage caused by a no—deal brexit. the measures include temporarily allowing british airlines to operate flights into and out of the eu, but not within it. now on bbc news, stephen sackur speaks to musician mark knopfler

on hardtalk.