this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top story: delays and diversions. gatwick airport warns passengers to expect more disruption because drones were flown over the airfield. president trump is pulling us troops out of syria. he says islamic state is defeated. we have a special report on the families who'll be kept apart at christmas time because of tough immigration income rules on spouses from outside the european economic area. in business, stock markets give the fed a thumbs down as it raises interest rates, despite warnings from president trump and slowing growth. that move from the us central bank sends the dow to its lowest close in more than a year. asian markets are following suit. we'll have full analysis in the business briefing. a warm welcome to the programme,

briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. with a day of disruption ahead for travellers at gatwick airport, we're asking about your christmas getaway. are you stuck somewhere or are your dreading yourjourney to your festive destination? get in touch, just use #bbcthebriefing. police in the uk are investigating reports of drones being flown near london's gatwick airport which led to all flights being suspended. passengers have reportedly been stuck on planes for hours and inbound flights were been diverted to other airports. andy moore has the latest from what's usually britain's

second—busiest airport. early this morning, gatwick airport was full of hundreds of people trying to rearrange flights orjust find a bit for the night. so we speak to the reception to get your taxis but back to the airport. the airport apologise to its passengers but said their safety was its foremost priority. all flights its foremost priority. all flights in and out of the airport had to be suspended after there were multiple sightings of two drones over the runway. over two dozen inbound flights were diverted to other uk airports. at gatwick, many passengers sat waiting on planes on the runway before finally being offloaded. ridiculous, it must being offloaded. ridiculous, it must be costing tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of pounds in delays. absolutely ludicrous. we we re

delays. absolutely ludicrous. we were travelling from glasgow to gatwick and then we were not able to land. after being held on the plane for a long two hours, we eventually got off back and got a bus, which took us here to gatwick. the problem of drones near airports is a worldwide concern. in the uk, the authorities say the number of near misses has trebled in the last three yea rs. misses has trebled in the last three years. there were 92 incidents last years. there were 92 incidents last year alone. gatwick will be hoping to operate as normal today but the christmas travel plans of thousands of people have been severely disrupted. andy moore, bbc news, gatwick. we will be looking at your tweets and keep you across that. many of you have been stuck on planes and

stuck there, you have been tweeting us. let us know what's going on. on other stories: american officials are saying all 2,000 us troops in syria have begun pulling out. they say the withdrawal will be completed within a hundred 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. 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's 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, where 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's 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. and for background analysis

of presidents trump's decison to withdraw us troops from syria, go to the the bbc website. you'll also find a feature on whether the withdrawal will cede influence in syria to russia and iran. that's all at bbc.com/news. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. 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 sueing facebook for allowing cambridge analytica access to users' data without their permission. other states are considering similar legal action. congolese police have fired tear gas to disperse stone—throwing opposition supporters in the capital, kinshasa, ahead of sunday's presidential election. the local governor had banned all campaign rallies in the city, citing security concerns. voters are choosing a successor to presidentjoseph kabila, who's been in powerfor 17 years. 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. the british parliament is due to sit for the final time this year before mps go away on their christmas break. brexit has dominated proceedings throughout 2018. when mps return to westminster in january, they will resume debate on prime minster theresa may's brexit withdrawl deal with a parliamentary vote planned for the middle of the month. at present, mrs may's exit plan does not have sufficient backing from mps. she says she's working to get assurances from the eu over

the controversial irish border backstop issue in order to persuade more mps to back her deal. meanwhile, her government has set out proposals for a new post—brexit immigration policy, and she has emphasised her detemination to take control of the uk's borders. they voted for change, they wanted us they voted for change, they wanted us to take back full control of our borders, and, for the first time in decades, we will be insuring its the uk government that sets the rules for who can come here. —— ensuring. later today, the polish prime minster, mateusz morawiecki, arrives in britian for his first visit. poles make up the largest group of eu citizens in britian. mr morawiecki is due to discuss post—brexit trade and prosperity with the prime minister at downing street before attending talks wth business and comunity leaders at lancaster house. that's on the agenda today. let's turn to our top business story,

there have been sharp falls on global stock markets after the us central bank, the federal reserve, raised the cost of borrowing for the fourth time this year. the move comes despite recent turbulence on financial markets and signs that growth is slowing, not to mention ongoing criticism by president trump, who wants cheaper borrowing to support the economy. nina trentman from the wall street journaljoins me now. nice to see you, nina. wasn't the fa ct nice to see you, nina. wasn't the fact they rose rates not the thing that spooked the markets, but what he said for the year ahead in the press conference? it's a cocktail of factors playing into the markets, its it's a cocktail of factors playing into the markets, it's difficult to tell the one core reason why markets are volatile. we've seen recent drops and then yesteryear‘s —— yesterday's sell—offs as well. drops and then yesteryear‘s —— yesterday's sell-offs as well. in terms of the rate rise, most people predicted that would happen... people expected a rate rise. it was

interesting to see whatjerome powell said after, saying he was expected only two more for next year, and also softened the outlook a bid for the us economy, which comes on the back of trade tensions between the us and china, of course, and a more uncertain global outlook for other major league economies the us is trading with —— major. there was a cautious tone, we always think they know more than us, what do they know what's ahead for the biggest economy? that's what led to a bit ofa biggest economy? that's what led to a bit of a sell—off, and that appears to be the mood for the market is heading into christmas. there's been a few things globally and internationally that have spooked markets. it's important to keepin spooked markets. it's important to keep in mind this comes after a very long time of very accommodative monetary policy, so there's people are doing and saying, well, the market has gotten used to bury a conditions and people aren't used to the fact that this is ending —— accommodative. it is a temper

tantrum ? accommodative. it is a temper tantrum? you yes, reflected in the comments by president trump as well —— yes, reflected in the comments by president trump as well. thanks, nina. you will be back with us later in the programme. it's getting close to christmas and many families are planning to spend the holidays together, but some can't. in the uk, if your spouse is from outside of the european economic area, you need to prove that you earn just over $23,500. it's left 15,000 children without one parent or the other. and now with brexit on the horizon, thousands of british families living in europe are worrying whether this policy will affect them too. olivia crellin reports. are you going to school today? yes. imiss you. are you going to school today? yes. i miss you. i miss you, miss you. tom sheldon has been living apart from his wife and adopted son for almost a year now. the couple missed their fourth wedding anniversary and

their fourth wedding anniversary and the sun turns six with his dad almost 7000 miles away. on my marriage certificates and the applications of may... it's because he's one of thousands of british people who married someone outside the european economic area and are unable to satisfy home office minimum requirements. it's taken a toll on his mental health. after three months of separation, i was breaking down in tears when i saw families together or hear music with, you know, references to families of children. for me that shouldn't be happening to me, you know? families like tom's keep in touch online, earning the nickname skype families. it means dinners over facetime, co nsta nt it means dinners over facetime, constant whatsapp messaging. one father even taught his baby daughter to learn how to crawl over video messenger, and we could be about to see thousands more after brexit. at the moment, non—european economic

area citizens wanting to join their british father orfamily area citizens wanting to join their british father or family in the uk can do so rather the —— via the surinder singh immigration route, this involves a british partner moving to the eu for at least six they can move to the uk together then without earning the £18,600 minimum. but with brexit, this could change. the home office told the bbc that surinder singh rights are not protected under the draft withdrawal agreement with the eu and anyone who comes via this route before december, 2020 will be able to apply to remain in the uk. people are still coming to terms and learning really what the brexit negotiations mean and what impact they will have on their lives. this particular issue is very niche, very complex but the ramifications could be significant. brexit may even mean that brits living in the eu and

married to a european citizen will also need to qualify financially if they want to return to the uk together. that uncertainty is worrying many. susie's been living in brussels for 18 years with her french partner and children and does not meet the minimum income requirement. she anticipates a time where she'll need to return to look after her elderly mother. icame mother. i came over here in 2000 as an eu worker, you know, travelling around as we could at that time. if somebody asked me at that time if you go it's a 1—way ticket, possibly i'd have thought differently about it. did you see your girlfriend today? just as the clock is ticking for british politicians to make a deal for the future of the uk, some british families feel like time is running out for them to to make a decision on their futures. olivia crellin, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: cu ba's baseball players

are told they can now play professionally in the us and canada. 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. you're watching the briefing. our headlines: delays and diversions — gatwick airport warns passengers to expect more disruption because drones were flown over the airfield. us forces are being withdrawn from syria, with president trump claiming the islamic state group had now been defeated there. the white house decsision has been criticised by many. 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 will allow future cuban sluggers the opportunity to chase american home—run glory. kim gittleson, bbc news. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later: we begin in moscow, where vladimir putin will hold his annual press conference, which, according to the kremilin, is a great opportunity for reporters to get barrier—free access to the russian president. then to ankara, where

iranian president hassan rouhani will meet his counterpart president recep tayyip erdogan and discuss syria in the turkish capital. and after that in new york, disgraced hollywood film producer harvey weinstein will appear in court for a procedural pre—trial hearing in his rape and sexual assault case. some of the other events taking place today. what is on the sports agenda? now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm tulsen tollett. coming up in your thursday sport briefing: the la clippers and dallas mavericks both look to get back to winning ways in the nba. west indies can wrap up a t20 series win over bangladesh later. and gareth bale scores a hat—trick, as real madrid move through to the final of the club world cup. the la clippers will look arrest their form slump in the nba which has seen them lose their last four matches dropping them down the western conference table.

they'll get their chance later on thursday when they hosts they'll get their chance later on thursday when they host the dallas mavericks. the mavericks themselves are coming off a run of three successive losses — the latest, this defeat against the conference leading denver nuggets on tuesday. the mavericks are two wins short of the clippers and, like the californians, are desperate to get back on track. west indies will hope to claim a t20 series win over bangladesh when they play the second match in dhaka later. the tourists crushed bangladesh in the first match on monday, winning by eight wickets, as shai hope hit the third fastest international t20 half—century. victory for west indies would go some way to taking something positive from the tour having lost both the test and one—day international series. in case you missed it, european champions real madrid are through to a third consecutive fife club world cup final after gareth bale scored a hat—trick in a 3—1win over kashima

antlers in abu dhabi. the welsh international picked up the three goals in an 11 minute spell either side of half time against the asian champions from japan, and they'll now face hosts al ain on saturday at the same venue. just great on a personal level to get the goals, but the most important thing, as i always say, is to help the team and, as i say, get into the final and a chance to win the trophy. tomorrow we will analyse the trophy. tomorrow we will analyse the competition and, yeah, get ready for the game. we know it's a difficult game and it's one we really wa nt difficult game and it's one we really want to win to lift the trophy and, jack, we look forward to it. manchester united have their caretaker until the end of the season — it's their former striker, ole gunnar solskjaer, who scored the winning goal in the champions league final in 1999. the 45—year—old will be joined by mike phelan as first—team coach, who was sir alex ferguson's former asssistant.

who was sir alex ferguson's former assistant. solskjaer is currently boss of the norwegian side, molde. their new season starts in march, and they've stressed that he's just on loan to united. arsenal have told the bbc they're investigating cctv footage after the tottenham midfielder dele ali was hit with a plastic water bottle that this steward picked up in his side's 2—0 league cup quarter final victory at the emirates stadium. it was son heung—min who scored the opening goal for spurs after 20 minutes, and alli doubled the lead on the hour mark before he was hit in the back of the head shortly after. now, when you're the son of one of the greatest basketball players ever, you must feel the pressure when you get on court. but when le bronjames's son bryce had a tough game, the los angeles lakers player gave him a good pep talk. you get too down on yourself for no reason. you've got the offensive rebound, right, down four, you've got the offensive rebound. so if

you're making shots, if you're missing shots, don't worry about it, kid. you played a hell off again, you don't have to worry about making shots or missing shots, all right? good job. i am shots or missing shots, all right? goodjob. iam proud shots or missing shots, all right? good job. i am proud of you, i am proud of you, man! you can get all the latest sports news at our website, that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, tulsen tollett, and the rest of the team that is your thursday sport briefing. thank you. 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, it 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. so, we are keeping an eye on what's

happening at gatwick airport because at nine o'clock last night wednesday evening, well, it was close, the ru nway evening, well, it was close, the runway was closed, so flights were being diverted because of two drones being diverted because of two drones being flown over the airfield, so the runway is still closed, there is no word from gatwick at the moment as to when it will reopen. and so far you can see here this is the gatwick airport twitter handle, and so far they say they do know when they will reopen, 55 have been diverted, so you can imagine the chaos. we have been asking you what your christmas getaway looks like, whether you are dreading the journey or if you are staying at home. but if you have been in touch. mark adams, your plans sound great. he says heading home to family to discuss, drink wine and relax. the house will be full of life with no schedule to keep. that sounds idyllic. keep your thoughts coming

in #bbcthebriefing, i will be back with the business stories in a moment. 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. today, low pressure is dominating the weather, anchored to the north—west of the country, feeding westerly winds and scattered showers. we start this morning on the corner note for northern and eastern areas where the skies are clear. with the cloud and showers, five to seven degrees. through the morning there will be a scattering of showers for eastern areas, these will clear away and in the afternoon the sunshine in north—east scotland and eastern england with showers to the west, some could be quite heavy. it will be quite blustery for southern and western coasts. temperature—wise, typicalfor

southern and western coasts. temperature—wise, typical for the time of year, although it will be a bit above average for the south, 10— 11 celsius. we look to the south—west, this frontal system will bring wet and windy weather to england and wales. it will sweep across england and wales, northern ireland, the extent of it is uncertain at the moment. it will affect the north of england and southern scotland. it will import even more mild airfor the southern half of britain. that will be quite noticeable. so a very wet start to friday. atrocious morning commute in fa ct if friday. atrocious morning commute in fact if you're heading to work. the rain should clear away and then there will be a handout for northern ireland and england. the sunshine will make a return to england and wales. it will be very mild here. 11- 14 wales. it will be very mild here. 11— 1a celsius. for scotland, six or seven with some sunny spells. for the weekend the high—pressure ridge will bring settled conditions for

saturday before the weather fronts move not saturday. so it's a tale of two halves. outbreaks of rain to start saturday and the ridge of high pressure should bring dry and sunny weather, although breezy with spells of rainfall for western scotland. single figures in the north, 10—12 in the south. sunday will be wet and windy with the weather fronts move through. and as we head into christmas eve, signs of it coming a little bit cooler from the law. —— from the north. this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. stock markets give the fed a thumbs down as it raises interest rates, despite warnings from president trump and slowing growth. plus, losing more friends on wall street. facebook shares slump as washington's attorney general sues the social media giant over data misuse. these are the markets trading in asia. lorgat backdrop forjapan, over 3%

lower. —— look at that drop. the dow closing at its lowest level in more than a year.