i'll be back with the late news at 10:15. now on bbc one, time for all the news where you are. this is bbc news. the headlines at six. police investigating the drones at gatwick search a house in west sussex, following the arrest of a man and a woman from crawley. meanwhile, the airport has so far run a full service today — but passengers continue to suffer delays and cancellations. it's horrible. it goes against your human rights, doesn't it? a row over the money for donald trump's border wall — results in a partial shutdown of the us government. retailers pin their hopes on "super saturday" to boost christmas shopping sales in what's been described as unprecedented levels of discounting after a disappointing year for the high street. also coming up this hour: transforming the lives of hundreds of babies while still in the womb. surgery for unborn babies

with spinal defects is to be made routinely available on the nhs in england. and crystal palace have beaten manchester city in the premier league. we'll have the latest on that and all the rest of the day's sport in sportsday in half an hour. good evening. a man and a woman are being questioned by detectives, in connection with the "criminal use of drones," near gatwick airport. the suspects are from crawley in west sussex and police are searching a house in the town. sitings of drones over the last three days led to the cancellation or delay of a thousand flights, affecting more than 140—thousand passengers. today the airport has remained open but a backlog of flights has meant continuing problems for travellers. jenny kumar reports.

tonight, police activity at a house near gatwick airport. officers have searched inside the property and examined the vehicles parked in the drive. this comes after sussex police confirmed last night that a man and a woman had been arrested in connection with illegal drone activity. at gatwick today, vogt have been getting back to normal after three days of disruption, but there is a backlog to clear up and frustration amongst passengers. we fly off today to france skiing in the apps —— alps. taking the giveaway properly for first white christmas and it has been really anxious times for us. i only had a couple of weeks at home so it has cut my trip short by a day which is really upsetting when you don't get to see family and friends that often. i was really sad about it,

but i'm just excited to be on the ground and back home. it is not ideal. we are not happy we don't have a very long holiday so it is frustrating to miss out and it seems rather stupid this incident had to happen at all. the disruption caused widespread chaos affecting a thousand flights and 150,000 passengers. today, six flights have been cancelled, but the airport hopes to run the majority services. one estimate is that the disruption is costing airlines around £15 million as they refund customers and make arrangements for others to get to their destination in time for christmas. what is the very latest on the investigation?” christmas. what is the very latest on the investigation? i am standing outside the house that has been subject of police investigation this afternoon. earlier there were a number of police vehicles and officers. some more detail has emerged about the two people that have been arrested. they are up 47—year—old man and a

54—year—old woman, and police say they are both from crawley and they say their investigations are ongoing and they are appealing to the public for any and they are appealing to the public for a ny releva nt and they are appealing to the public for any relevant information that can help with their inquiries. little bit of respite for travellers today, gatwick has remained open through day. it has. there have been a small number of cancellations, some delays for passengers. i spoke to some who are feeling very frustrated about their experiences, but others said they were really please with the way that things have been dealt with by their respective airlines. there have been some good news for around 900 stranded transatlantic passengers. tonight, norwegian has hired a plane which carries around a50 people and it will be flying tonight from gatwick to new york and doing a return journey tomorrow in the early hours of tomorrow morning, so it seems

that the nightmare before christmas for some is finally coming to an end. indeed, let's hope so. thank you for that. a partial shutdown of the us government has come into effect, after congress and president trump failed to resolve their differences over the budget. mr trump, who has to sign off any deal, has refused to approve short—term funding, unless $5 billion is made available for a wall along the border with mexico. the top us official in the fight against the islamic state group has quit over president trump's decision to pull troops from syria, reports say. brett mcgurk had planned to leave his role in february but brought his departure forward. before mr trump's announcement he had insisted that the us would continue working against is in syria. our washington correspondent, chris bucklerjoins us now. first of all, on the partial government shutdown, senators have been trying to come to an agreement.

any sign of a resolution? yes, judging from the first comments that have been made in the senate in the last hour or so we have heard the republicans basically saying this is a matter between the president and the democrats, and that they need to find a solution between them and the democrats have said if you really wa nt to democrats have said if you really want to stop this government shutdown and reopen the parts of government that have been closed down, then frankly, mrtrump, government that have been closed down, then frankly, mr trump, you had to abandon your wall. it gives you a real sense that if anything they're you a real sense that if anything they‘ re really far apart, you a real sense that if anything they're really far apart, and there isa they're really far apart, and there is a sense this could well roll on beyond today, perhaps into january. as really all that's been talked about at this point between republicans and democrats have been a sum of $1.6 billion. the president wa nts a sum of $1.6 billion. the president wants $5 billion, and he doesn't seem to want to compromise in any way. he says he wants this wall, he wa nts way. he says he wants this wall, he wants the border between mexico and america. it is something he promised, and as i speak he is in the white house having a working

lunch, holding discussions about that very subject, but there is a risk for him. there could well be political blame, it is going to land on one of two parties, either the democrats were donald trump himself. indeed, although a little earlier this month he suggested he would be willing to take the flack for a shutdown, but to add it to his problems, another resignation. yes, and this is another important resignation and another important one because it again puts the focus one because it again puts the focus on president trump's foreign—policy. this week of course he announced he was pulling us troops out of syria. that led to the resignation of the defence secretary james mattis. there is someone else who is going 110w there is someone else who is going now as well and it's another important position. it is the us special envoy to the coalition, the global coalition that is fighting isis, and he has been very clear in saying that he is going because he has strong disagreements to president trump and his plans about

syria. however, the president himself doesn't seem to be backing down, he has pleaded only in the last few minutes or so that as far as he's concerned, he is making the right decision and that the troops are coming home. but it give you an idea that again, the president is fighting with those who are in some ways closest to him, and that includes some republicans in congress. as we see tension over the government shutdown is affecting around 800,000 federal employees. those are people who will either be told not to come to work or alternatively have to go to an essential job alternatively have to go to an essentialjob or not know whether or when they will be paid. as we see that all playing out, there are already tensions between republicans in congress and mr trump, because they are worried about his foreign—policy. they are worried about his idea that isis is in some way being defeated, it is simply not right, and they believe there needs to bea right, and they believe there needs to be a stronger foreign approach and perhaps general mattis or

perhaps brett mcgurk have something to say on this issue which perhaps they are experts in rather than the president. chris, thank you very much indeed. kristen a very windy washington. thanks. —— chris it in a very windy washington. retailers hoping for a last minute rush of christmas shoppers on so called "super saturday," may be disappointed. footfall on the high street is down again this year, with figures showing trading this festive season, may have already peaked. sarah corker reports from leeds. #j°y #joy to # joy to the world, the lord has come. with three days to go until christmas, minute —— millions of us are hitting the high street to back those last few presidents. in leeds today shoppers were certainly getting into the festive mood. we are trying to get things online but then you cannot feel it and touches that we are coming here because you get the atmosphere and to meet the two days before christmas when eve ryo ne two days before christmas when everyone is out getting shopping done, it is quite nice to come out and see everybody. it is actually quite stressful. i am in such a bad

mood. cannot find anything i want, i should have prepared but it happens every year. why have you lifted to the last—minute? every year. why have you lifted to the last-minute? it is my last minute, christmas eve is the last minute. i have seven grandchildren, so burying from nine months to 23 yea rs so burying from nine months to 23 years old. you have all the food to _ family. yes, i years old. you have all the food to _ family. yes, expected to nicknamed tuber many |amed tuber many retailers ber on many retailers befm ~ , on that any retailers befm ~ , on that last retailers befm ~ , on that last retaile| rush ~ , on that las difficult| rush ~ , christmas lat las difficult| rush ~ , christmas on las difficult| rush ~ , christmas on theiifficult| rush ~ , christmas on the highilt| rush ~ , christmas on the high street m. .. . to christmas on the high street. prices are being slashed to boost sales and shift stock. 2018 has been one of the toughest years on record for retailers who have been squeezed by rising costs and online competition. today is normally the busiest day for christmas shopping in the lead up to christmas, but this year the situation is slightly different and consumers are feeling less confident around what the future is holding so they have been raining back in spending so consequently football —— football,

basketball the volume of activity and people going to destinations is lower than last year. even for internet retailers, sales this season have been lower than expected. but one thing people are splashing out on today is turkey and all the trimmings. it has been nonstop since 6:30am. we're here 5:30am. so, it may still be one of the busiest shopping days, but this year more than ever, the high street has lost some of its sparkle. two teenagers have died in a road crash, involving a suspected drink—driver. two vehicles collided on the lincoln bypass in the early hours of this morning. the occupants of a blue ford mondeo, were pronounced dead at the scene. one man is being questioned by police. four stowaways found on a cargo ship in the thames estuary — have been detained under the immigration act after the vessel's crew was threatened. the grande tay—ma left

nigeria 11 days ago. the group are thought to have armed themselves with iron bars, forcing crew members to retreat to the bridge of the ship. no one was injured. surgery to repair the spinal cord in unborn babies is to become routinely available on the nhs from next spring. nhs england says carrying out the procedure during pregnancy — will help correct spina bifida —— a condition where bones don't form properly — leaving the spinal cord exposed. our medical correspondent fergus walsh has more. this hospital in belgium has trained british doctors do carry out surgery to repair spinal defects during surgery. now families do not need to go abroad for treatment. thank you very much. spina bifida develop during pregnancy when the bones of the spine do not form properly.

this can cause a bolt from which spinal fluid this can cause a bolt from which spinalfluid leaks this can cause a bolt from which spinal fluid leaks out. this can cause a bolt from which spinalfluid leaks out. the condition can cause a range of lifelong health issues such as paralysis, bladder and bowel problems and affect rain development. the delicate surgery happens at around 26 weeks pregnancy. the loop is open and the ba by‘s pregnancy. the loop is open and the baby's nerve tissues are pushed back into the spinal cord, which is then closed. the pregnancy continues for another three months. this must be my another three months. this must be b. another three months. this must be my baby. hello! this is bibi aisha from belgium, meeting the british surgeon who directed her spina bifida when she was in the room. doctors expect she will walk normally. —— in the womb. to pregnant women in the uk have had the surgery this year, now it'll be routinely available in england, a combined team of london —— at london's university college and great ormond street help 310—20 babies each year. —— hope to treat

10-20 babies each year. —— hope to treat 10—20 babies each year. the headlines on bbc news... police investigating the drones at gatwick search a house in west sussex, following the arrest of a man and a woman from crawley. meanwhile the airport has so far run a full service today — but passengers continue to suffer delays and cancellations. a row over the money for donald trump's border wall —— results in a partial shutdown of the us government. a british warship has arrived in the black sea in response to russia's seizure of three ukrainian navy vessels and their crew last month. the defence secretary, gavin williamson, says the presence of the royal navy will send a strong message to moscow. our defence correspondent, jonathan beale has more. land, now also occupied by russia.

but here's the —— here to visit a royal navy warship dropped —— stopped in the ukraine's port of odessa. a likely armed —— lightly armed survey vessel, or what moscow called a spy ship. it is meant to send a clear message. what we're saying to russia, what we're saying to the president —— president putin, they cannot continue to act with no regard or care for international laws or international normal —— norms. this is why he is intervened. in november, a ukrainian tug boat was rammed by a russian vessel, shots were fired, at the accompanying flotilla walker entering. to do what we can do, working with you to make sure that yourfamilies are working with you to make sure that your families are back home with

you. 24 ukrainian soldiers are still being held. these, they're anxious relatives waiting for news. the uk defence secretary listened to their pleas for help. they have even sent a letter to the queen. victor hasn't heard from his wounded son since he was captured. he says i feel pain, i feel helpless. we are looking for the support of britain to get them released. the presence of this royal navy warship here in odessa is to provide ukraine with reassurance in the face of what they see as russian aggression. but britain is not looking for a confrontation with russia. and this warship is not expected to sail through the strait. does anyone else want one? the defence secretary in this this is not a provocation, but a show of solidarity. the crew of hms echo will be here for christmas. and

other british warships will be returning next year. a sixth consecutive saturday of protests by the yellow vest movement is beginning in france. in paris, which has seen violence in recent weekends — some demonstrators are gathering along the champs elysee and other locations in the city. the number of people turning out has fallen recently — in part because of concessions made by president emmanuel macron. a tenth person has died after a driver crashed into the back of a lorry at a yellow vest roadblock yesterday near the southern city of perpignan. rail workers at two companies have been staging fresh strikes today in the long—running dispute over guards on trains. members of the rail, maritime and transport union on south western railway and arriva rail north have walked out for 2a hours. northern said very few of its services would run after 5 o'clock this afternoon — and south western said a reduced service would operate.

home ownership among 25—3a year olds — has risen for the first time in 3 decades — according to new research by the resolution foundation. the think tank, which focuses on people with lower incomes, warned that first—time buyers still face barriers to getting on the housing ladder. our business correspondent, joe miller, has more. backin back in the 1980s, around half of the young britons owned a home, and in the decades since, the number of first—time buyers under 35 has dropped dramatically to just 25%. but there is good news at last. a small rise of almost 3% in those able to get on the property ladder. the resolution foundation which crunched the numbers says tweaks to stamp duty and longer mortgages helped, but it is the banks which made the biggest difference.

after the financial crisis, lenders took the decision to rein in credit and take less risks and now they're taking a bit more and being a bit more generous with first—time buyers in terms of the loans they give them. also, house price growth has slowed significantly over the past few years. tthe foundation says the recent rise equally to 190,000 more young families who have their own home this christmas. but the good tidings are not evenly spread. while yorkshire, scotland in the northwest of england saw strong growth, the number of under 35 discerning property —— owning property declined in the northeast and east midlands, and there is no popping of champagne corks just yet. the think tank says renting is still the norm for the overwhelming majority of young people. joe miller, bbc news. nhs england has invested £300,000 to fund dozens of so—called "drunk tanks" —— with the sole aim of taking the pressure off hospitals and emergency services during the festive season.

our correspondent, chi chi izundu, spent the night with westminster council in london —— to see what measures they've put in place. a little too much christmas spirit, a hangoverfor the a little too much christmas spirit, a hangover for the nhs. a little too much christmas spirit, a hangoverforthe nhs. on a little too much christmas spirit, a hangoverfor the nhs. on a friday and saturday night up to 70% of visits to a&e are alcohol related. would find a lot of people will go out drinking and had not made any arrangements on how to get home and they're stuck at aam in temperatures of —5 wearing jeans and a t—shirt, sobbing down the phone saying i'm getting hypothermia and i cannot get home, please help me. and a solution could be drunk tank, or alcohol recovery services on the streets, helping those in need. nhs england has invested £300,000 in drunk tanks ina bid has invested £300,000 in drunk tanks in a bid to ease the pressure on hospitals and emergency services over the festive period. this one in central london's soho is bolstered by angels, volunteers who make sure those who have had a little too much get the help they need. kitted out

with water, flip—flops and setbacks, they have even set up a triage area to treat the more serious cases like matthew's partner. especially at this time of year people do have too much christmas spirit and end up needing some help, whether it be alcohol orjust getting too carried away, maybe having fights or getting hurt and having something there to look at the wall making sure they're having a good time and that they can get home safely i think it's actually invaluable. supervised areas where revelers who have overindulged have already been used in places like manchester, newcastle, exeter, northampton and blackpool. a report into whether drunk tanks are genuinely easy —— easing pressure on front line staff is not expected until next year, and whilst emergency staff want pa rtygoers to have whilst emergency staff want partygoers to have a good time, they won the festive cheer to be less of a stumble home. —— they want the festive cheer. (pres) church attendance in the uk has been in steady church attendance in the uk has been in steady

decline in recent years — but not in cathedrals. they're actually bucking that trend —— with a 13% rise in attendance in the last decade. 10 million of us visited a cathedral last year. our religious affairs editor, martin bashir, has been to lichfield in staffordshire, to find out why 20 thousand people have made the trip in the run up to christmas. choral singing if wise men followed a star, then what would they make of this? a laser light show at lichfield cathedral in the run—up to christmas. £6 for adults, £a for children, and it's a sell—out. inside this medieval cathedral, 22,000 doves float above the nave. modern technology telling the ancient story of peace on earth. you could see for miles as we walked in and it draws you in. absolutely brilliant. i think it's really good to come and see something like this locally. the spectacular light show is also having an impact here.

that's £8.80 altogether. a recent study found that cathedrals give a £200 million boost to their local high streets. with all the light shows and all their events, basically it's bringing in a lot more people into lichfield which is great for the bars, the restaurants and shops. attendance at lichfield is up 25% and while they are reluctant to attribute this to any single cause, the dean says that cathedrals have worked hard at improving their product, combining the tranquillity of a sacred space with the stimulus of modern media. what has any of this to do with the message of a saviour who is christ the lord, born at christmas? well, the message of the angels wasjoy. "i bring you news of great joy." when you look in the face of a newborn child, you experience joy, and it's that spirit

of non—anxiety, of joyful freedom, that we want to put people in touch with. the light of the world has certainly come to the midlands. martin bashir, bbc news at lichfield cathedral. a resident of a norfolk village got a surprise, when they found an unexpected visitor in the back garden, a baby seal. the pup was four miles inland when it was discovered, in terrington st clement. it's believed the three—week—old male seal ed up in the drainage system, looking for food. —— ended up. a rescue centre is feeding and monitoring him, before he's released into the wash estuary. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas hello, today is probably the better day of the weekend for most parts of the country. we have sunshine and a few scattered showers around too.

this was a picture taken earlier on in the day but one of our weather watchers, you see blue sky around there. they're the remainder of this weekend there'll still be sunshine on and off, equally a bit of rain at times, particularly on sunday across the southern half of the uk. the best of the weather tomorrow will be found further north. back to the here and now, what we have is a small ridge of high pressure in charge of our weather today, waiting out in the atlantic in the wings, low pressure which will be driving tomorrow's fairly soggy weather for us. to the rest of this afternoon into the evening most showers across the northwest of scotland, pushing towards the north easing for a wild through tonight and largely dry first half of the night particularly across central and eastern areas but you'll notice the rain working in from the west during second half of tonight. a soggy start the sunday morning for northern ireland, wales, northwest england, central and southern england too. hold for scotla nd southern england too. hold for scotland in northeast england with a touch of frost first thing in the morning and the odd foggy patch possible too. tomorrow will feel very different than today because we have these fronts moving in from the

west, bringing the cloud and the rain too. still mild in the south, certainly you will wake up to quite a lot of wet weather across the bulk of england, wales and northern ireland too. some rain in the south fairly light and patsy for a time, more persistent rain north but heavy working into southwest england once again during the afternoon. scotland seeing the best of the dry, bright weather with plenty of sunshine, especially north of the central belt. temperatures around 6—8 in the north, 12-13, belt. temperatures around 6—8 in the north, 12—13, still very mild for this family are further south. heading on through into christmas even now and we will start to see high pressure building. still this fairly stubborn front which will be lingering in the southwest on christmas eve on monday, that'll bring a bit of rain to parts of southern england, southwest england, south wales too. largely dry for the rest of the country and there'll be sunshine, but some mist and fog patches in prone spots during the morning could be quite slow to clear, lingering nearly all day for some of us to where you do see those misty, foggy patches lingering temperatures a degree or two about

everything but it'll be mild or further south. with high—pressure still in charge for christmas day it is looking largely dry, some patchy, ross and bob and fairly cloudy skies too. goodbye. —— some patchy fog and frost. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. police investigating the drones at gatwick search a house in west sussex, following the arrest of a man and a woman from crawley meanwhile the airport has so far run a full service today — but passengers continue to suffer delays and cancellations. a row over the money for donald trump's border wall results in a partial shutdown of the us government retailers pin their hopes on ‘super saturday‘ to boost christmas shopping sales — in what's been described as unprecedented levels of discounting, atfer a disappointing year for the high street surgery for unborn babies with spinal defects is to be made routinely available on the nhs in england hello and welcome to sportsday,

with me olly foster and jeanette kwa kye. hello there, these are our headlines this evening. manchester city are stunned at home, the champions beaten by crystal palace, are the omens good for liverpool? manchester united are playing right now, with ole gunnar solskjaer in the dugout, the caretaker has made a bright start, they are winning at cardiff and there's a big night ahead for british boxing, but with two fights on at the same time... the fans have to make a choice to which 50,000 watch one and

250,000 watch the other, both sides lose 2050 fans. also coming up in the programme... exeter chiefs move to the top of rugby union premiership..with a big win over the champions saracens. and we'll tell you about the retired swedish