welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: houthi rebels in yemen say they're beginning to pull back from a key port — as part of a un—backed ceasefire deal aimed at delivering vitalfood aid. on the eve of a critical presidential election in the democratic republic of congo — candidates fail to agree over how to avoid violence on polling day. with more than 200 people arriving in the past two months — the uk government defends it's handling of the increase in migrants crossing the channel. hello and welcome to bbc news. yemen's houthi rebels say they have begun to withdraw from the key stretegic port of hodeidah —

as part of a ceasefire to allow in urgently needed food aid. the houthis control most districts of hodeidah — including the port — through which most food and humanitarian aid enters yemen. a un team arrived in the city last week to oversee the ceasefire. here's our arab affairs editor sebastian usher with more. it is a small sign of hope in yemen. the apparent implementation of the first stage of a hard—won deal on hodeida, agreed to at un—sponsored talks earlier this month. houthi rebels say they are pulling back from the port, which is the key lifeline for some 1a million yemenis. a houthi spokesman said control of the port was being handed to the coast guard, in line with an agreement reached in sweden. the houthis now expect the pro—government side to start its redeployment away from areas of the city of hodeida its forces have taken

in their recent offensive. the man leading the un mission monitoring the ceasefire, patrick cammaert, was on hand. he is due to hold a meeting on new year's day with representatives from both sides, to discuss the next stage. the security situation in hodeida remains shaky. sporadic firing from both sides has marred the truce which came into effect earlier this month. the city is functioning. in the countryside, some have taken refuge in makeshift camps, doing their best to ward off the threat of famine, just like many millions of theirfellow yemenis. it is yet another sign of how vital it is for the hodeida deal to work and give momentum towards a wider resolution of the conflict. the head of the electoral commission in the democratic republic of congo has said that rival candidates in sunday's presidential elections have refused to sign a statement which spells out terms to avoid violence during the polling. during talks held in the capital, kinshasa — emmanuel ramazani shadary,

candidate of the ruling coalition, told journalists he had put his name to paper to avoid bloodshed. but opposition figures said they would not endorse the peace pact, because officials had rejected changes they had suggested to the text. the run—up to the election has been marred by violence — particularly after the postponement of the election in three areas. the vote is already two years late and has been forced on presidentjoseph kabila by popular and international pressure. he's been in power since 2001. the country currently has the largest deployment of un peacekeepers in the world. the bbc‘s reality—check team has been investigating why they are there. the democratic republic of congo has one of the largest united nations peacekeeping missions in the world. over 15,500 soldiers and police, as well as 3,000 civilians, are involved.

as the country holds long—delayed national elections across this vast, unstable nation, we ask: why are the peacekeepers there? and when will they leave? millions have died in the country's civil conflicts over many decades, in a country with continued instability and a broken infrastructure. un peacekeepers were first deployed in 2000, to help maintain a fragile ceasefire between rival factions. since then, as their mandate has grown, they have greatly helped the peace process in the country. but despite this, violent incidents continue. the cost of the peacekeeping mission has also risen dramatically, and currently stands at well over $1 billion a year. it is also costing the lives of peacekeepers. in order to fully understand what's going on in the country, though, you have to look below the surface. the drc is a country rich in natural

resources worth trillions of us dollars, and much of the conflict is centred around mining areas. both government and rebel forces seek to maintain control of the most lucrative areas. and foreign mining operations extracting minerals seek stability and protection. un forces operate in these unstable regions, maintaining a fragile peace. so, with the violence still continuing and rebel groups still operating, when might the peacekeepers be able to leave? i don't think the un mission will wrap up any time soon. i think it will probably wrap up in the next decade and a half, and that is because you have instability in the eastern part, but also the issue of security throughout the drc is very volatile. many congolese people are disappointed by the un mission because despite their presence, security has far from improved. the drc government has also repeatedly said the mission should leave by 2020, and a new un

resolution this year called for all parties to form an exit strategy. pressure is building for a withdrawal of the un forces, but it is far from clear what impact their departure will have on the fractured country. the uk government has insisted that it's working "very effectively" with france, to tackle an increase in the number of migrants crossing the channel in small boats. more than 200 people have arrived since the start of november and there have been calls for more patrol boats off dover. earlier the immigration minister held talks with border force officials. richard lister reports. you're iranian? you have to be desperate to make this journey. these migrants were picked up

crossing the channel earlier this month. 0thers arrived yesterday — part of a growing number using ill—equipped boats to flee war zones, persecution and poverty. in dover today, the immigration minister met border force officials to consider their response. the home secretary, sajid javid, cut short his christmas holiday to tackle what he is declared a major incident. the government says french cooperation is vital. what we want to make sure is that we continue to work with the french, so that people are prevented from leaving beaches in northern france, to make sure that we are providing joint operations, both in terms of intelligence and policing. the number of migrants heading for these shores is minuscule compared to the million or so who tried to cross the mediterranean three years ago. but the figure is rising — up from about a dozen or so who successfully crossed the channel last year to more than 220 who have made the crossing since the beginning of november alone.

so why the sudden surge? in the autumn, french police intensified efforts to clear migrant camps around dunkirk and calais, leaving large numbers of people looking for ways to leave france. secret filming by the bbc a few weeks ago revealed that people smugglers have now become increasingly organised in helping migrants cross the channel. translation: a boat, it will cost you £3,000—4,000. it is border force vessels like this one that have to intercept them. there is only one on active patrol here at the moment, and some say there should be more. there is no resilience within border force. we've got no spare capacity to increase and put resources into trying to stop this, trying to deal with these large numbers as they arrive. we are stripped to our bare bones. there is nothing more that border force has got to give. the government is weighing up

whether deploying more patrol boats would deter migrants and save lives, or if it would give these desperate people more of an incentive to make the crossing. richard lister, bbc news, dover. the comedy actress, dame june whitfield, has died at the age of 93. she was best known for her roles in the bbc comedies absolutely fabulous and terry and june as well as starring in a number of carry on films. her career began in the 1940s and she was still working up until a couple of years ago. sarah campbell now looks back on her life — in entertainment. kiss me, kiss me, bite me! bite me! i can't, dear, i'm a vegetarian! in a career spanning seven decades, june whitfield played alongside some of british comedy‘s greatest talents. what's it like, living in the jungle? well, it's... drums play.

it's rather dull and boring, really. i realised very early on that i was never going to play the glamorous, you know, leading lady roles. and serious roles, i always thought, ooh, i'd better not do that. they might laugh at me. and laugh they did. as a comedy performer, she first found fame on the radio in the 1950s, appearing in take it from here oppositejimmy edwards. but june whitfield's unfailing ability to conjure characters seemingly at the drop of a hat saw her become a foil for benny hill and frankie howerd. in the 1970s she teamed up with her regular comedy partner, terry scott, in terry and june. hello, darling. i'm having awful trouble deciding what to give you tonight. well, you can start on an explanation. i'm talking about food. what about eating out? what about the garage? 0h, i'd much prefera restaurant. # wheels on fire.

but, to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known as edina's mother in ab fab. inside of me, there is a thin person just screaming to get out. just the one, dear? and, even in old age, she continued to delight audiences on programmes like radio's news huddlines. a versatile and reliable performer to the end. and, in a statement, shane allen, the controller of bbc comedy paid tribute to the actress saying june whitfield was the north star of british comedy. her spectacular career is unparalleled in its longevity. mike grady worked with damejune for five years in the bbc comedy

last of the summer wine and hejoins me now from devon. a sad occasion, but i wonder if you can tell me what it was like working on set with june whitfield? can tell me what it was like working on set with june whitfield? she was a thorough professional, of course, she would come up that may come up from rada as a young woman had got into the rapidly system and she had done all the things we had done. she was kind of very famous, very young, because of take it from here. she was a huge name already when i was growing up. so to meet her was meeting a legend. she didn't behave

like the legend, she didn't act out being a legend, shejust turned up knowing her lines, knowing the situation, knowing how to be amiable, how to be in a company, as she was saying earlier in that interview, she never considered herself as the ingenue, the leading lady. and she certainly never behave that way. she was great company, good fun to be with. we had a lot of good fun to be with. we had a lot of good times together. it was generally a very happy company. and she came into something that was already and established —— and established show that had been going for 30 years. and the people they arejust for 30 years. and the people they are just welcomed her with open arms. nobody was surprised, in the last couple of years, when she was made a dame. because she was of that class. she had worked with nault howerd, she had worked withjudi

dench, she had worked with 0scar wilde, she had a tremendous cv behind her —— noel coward. she was unassuming and professional. i am really sorry she is gone. we used to talk a lot about football. she was very involved with wimbledon afc, which if he knewjune was quite proper, wimbledon afc was the crazy gang and pretty crazy they were, too. on the idea of her being involved with them is a wonderful comedy in itself. our reporterjust made the point that she played alongside some great talents, she was in ensemble casts like yours, i wa nt was in ensemble casts like yours, i want it with a talented she had been born later or were starting out now, do you think she would have her own show? undoubtedly. she could sing

and dance. she could do all the things that concert parties would require an variety would require. as well as doing sketch shows. i think she was probably the best of all be people play margaret thatcher that we had, and there were some good ones. and in a very unassuming way wyn—daeg she decided, they were looking for a margaret thatcher soundalike, and she did not really push yourself forward, —— one day she decided. shejust push yourself forward, —— one day she decided. she just became margaret thatcher. and they were like eureka, we have got her. so for the next few years she was margaret thatcher on that show and many other people. she was a great impressionist. really lovely to get your memories of damejune whitfield. mike grady speaking to us

from devon. this is bbc news. the headlines: houthi rebels in yemen say they are beginning to pull back from a key port as part of a un—backed ceasefire deal aimed at delivering vital food aid. fellow entertainers pay tribute to dame june whitfield, who has died at the age of 93. the actress was best known for her roles in the british sitcoms terry and june and absolutely fabulous. british police have acknowledged that some of the sightings of drones over london's gatwick airport may have been devices belonging to the force. an estimated 140,000 people had their travel plans ruined before christmas as experts tried to find the illegal drone operators. police say they have not yet found the drone that caused the runway closure. gatwick airport is offering a large reward for any information leading to the arrest of those responsible. 0ur correspondent andy moore has been following the story. last weekend, police said they found

a damaged drone near the perimeter of gatwick airport, and they thought this may well be the drone that had caused problems for about 140,000 people. well, today giles york said that in fact two drones have been found near the airport, but he was ruling both of them out of police enquiries. again last weekend, a senior officer from the force said there was a possibility there were no drones over gatwick. mr york said today that was not the case. he said, "i'm absolutely certain that there was a drone flying throughout the period that the airport was closed." now, he also said, for the first time, i believe, that police drones were launched to survey the area, to search for suspects. he said they could have caused some confusion. 115 sightings of this rogue drone, at least 93 of them credible, say the police, but no video footage. a man has died and 23 people have been taken to hospital after a minibus overturned

in the scottish borders. the accident happened between carfraemill and gordon just before 11:00am this morning. 0ur scotland correspondent catriona renton sent this report from the scene. this was the scene facing emergency crews responding to reports of a minibus that overturned. it happened just before 11:00am this morning. the minibus had been travelling from newtongrange to kelso, with 23 adult passengers on board, plus the driver. it is believed they were on an annual day out to the races. the minibus overturned on this stretch of road between the tiny villages of carfraemill and gordon. one man was pronounced dead at the scene. his next—of—kin have now been informed. the other passengers and the driver were taken to various hospitals for treatment. police initially declared the collision a major incident. as evening fell, the minibus was loaded onto a recovery truck. officers have asked for anyone concerned about loved ones

to get in touch. an horrific accident, just days after christmas — what should have been one of the happiest times of the year. catriona renton, bbc news, in the scottish borders. it has been revealed that more than £100 million has been spent on extra capacity on ferries to ensure the delivery of critical goods in the event of a no—deal brexit. the ships have been chartered by the department for transport to ease congestion at dover and allow more lorries through other ports. here is our business correspondentjoe miller. it might not look like much now, but if the uk leaves the eu in march without an agreement, and dover turns into a parking lot, this port will play a vital role in getting emergency medicine to british shores. in the run—up to christmas, the department for transport quietly awarded three shipping groups lucrative contracts to provide up to 500,000 tons a month of additional freight capacity.

the french firm brittany ferries and danish company dfds got the bulk of the money, with deals worth around £47 million each, while a small british start—up got £14 million. five uk ports, including plymouth, poole and felixstowe, will benefit from additional traffic, as will portsmouth. in offering this safety net, we will be helping to provide the essential goods and services that people in the uk rely on. so yes, it's very good news for us, but it's also good news for the uk. this is the no—deal brexit contingency plan — predominantly french and danish vessels making dozens of additional trips across the channel each week, and taking thousands of lorries with them. but the shipping industry is already saying that extra capacity along the english coast won't help solve the problem of delays to critical goods because of new customs checks. anti—brexit campaigners say public money is being wasted

on an entirely preventable scenario. the whole purpose of brexit is supposed to be to bring back control to britain, and then we have an imaginary national emergency, and the government's got to turn to european companies to sort out their problems for them. the department for transport says it has other no—deal preparations in the offing. but insists the government hopes the day it needs to use them never arrives. joe miller, bbc news, portsmouth. siberia may be the last place you would expect to find cutting—edge cryptocurrency mining, but conditions in the remote russian region are ideal, and when our moscow correspondent sarah rainsford travelled to irkutsk, she discovered some surprising characters involved in mining for bitcoins. meet marina — a babushka who mines for bitcoins on her siberian porch. "here's the machines that make

a noise, and make me money", she tells me. as those machines whir and mine for virtual currency, marina has been converting that to real cash to top up her pension. it is no wonder she takes care of the things. she has travelled all over europe on the money. translation: they said to me, "marina, why don't you buy some mining machines?" i said "ok", and i don't regret it. the machines paid for themselves in eight or nine months. and marina has been putting the hot airfrom her machines to good use. "you can dry the washing here, and make dried tomatoes, like in italy", she says. "the dried pumpkin is pretty tasty, too." and she is not the only miner in irkutsk. you might not immediately think of siberia as a high—tech hub,

but the conditions here are ideal for mining bitcoins. there is cheap power from a hydroelectric plantjust up the river here, and there is the harsh climate itself. it can drop to —40 here in the depths of winter — perfect for cooling all those mining machines. that is why, when yuri's karaoke bar was struggling, his family got into bitcoins in a big way. they are cryptocurrency pioneers here. that includes yuri's mother, valeria. irkutsk, it's a crypto capital of russia. for this business, you don't need to be a great specialist, because it's an easy system. you only put your computers in the electricity and the internet. valeria's miner is here at the family farm. there are gaps in the racks now, where clients removed their machines when the bitcoin‘s value crashed, but valeria hasn't abandoned her dream. translation: i want some

money i've earned myself, and i want a lot of money. when the bitcoin is worth a million, like my sons say, then i'll be able to leave my grandchildren a very large inheritance. it is a dream drawn big here, of a new gold rush, this one for virtual cash, and the babushkas of siberia are leading the charge. sarah rainsford, bbc news, irkutsk. a puppy has been saved from a frozen lake by a police diver in turkey. the rescuer feared the worst, but said it was miracle that she survived. let's take a look. new year's eve is fast approaching, and one of the biggest celebrations takes place in new york, where they have been rehearsing. confetti blew across the crowds in times square, but it was just a practice run for the big bash itself, and the confetti went everywhere. let's hope the strong winds subside

before the real thing. —— times square. now the weather, with sarah keith—lucas. hello. we've had some fairly quiet weather over recent days, with high pressure mostly in charge. has been a little bit wet and windy across some northern parts of the uk, but this picture was taken on saturday afternoon by one of our weather watchers in sterling. and i think as we head through the next couple of days, the last few days of 2018, that mostly dry theme will continue. fairly cloudy, certainly mild. there will be a bit of rain, mostly across the northern half of the uk, particularly for parts of scotland over the next few days. we've got a weather front which is just pushing its way west to east over parts of scotland

and england at the moment, but it's high—pressure largely dominating. a fairly chilly start to sunday morning, especially across some southern and eastern parts where we have the clearer skies for longest overnight. so we start with a lot of cloud, some drizzly outbreaks of rain, particularly in the north and the east. now, most of that rain will clear. it'll linger longest for the northern isles. best of the sunshine will be for eastern scotland and eastern england. further west, thicker cloud is likely to bring a little bit of drizzle, perhaps some low cloud and mist over the hills in the west, too. but temperatures 10—12 degrees — still relatively mild for this time of year. and then we keep that reasonably mild and largely dry theme through the course of sunday evening, and overnight too. still a bit of light rain and patchy drizzle for some northern and western parts. clearer skies for a time towards the east. so i think monday morning, this is the dawn on new year's eve, we should see largely frost—free conditions, but perhaps some fairly chilly weather first thing across some eastern areas with those clearer spells. now, looking through the day

on new year's eve, monday, high pressure well and truly in the driving seat. we have got weather fronts to the far north—west and tighter isobars here. breezy conditions for northern and western scotland with a bit of patchy rain too. but for much of the uk, new year's eve monday is looking pretty much the same as the last few days — largely dry, a fair amount of cloud, and the best of any sunny spells will be for eastern counties of england and eastern scotland. temperatures ten or 11 degrees for new year's eve on monday. if you've got plans to see in the new year overnight, most of us should stay dry. fairly cloudy conditions, but there could be a spot or two of rain, particularly across part of scotland, perhaps northern ireland too. this is courtesy of this fairly weak weather front slowly slipping south as we head into new year's day but for most of us, high—pressure still in charge of the weather. so a largely dry, still mild picture on new year's day, but then things are turning colder and a little more wintry as we look ahead into the first week of 2019. bye— bye.

this is bbc news.