human rights watch has called on thailand to allow a young saudi woman fleeing her home country to continue her journey to australia. rahaf mohammed al-qunun is trapped in bangkok. she believes her family will kill her for speaking out on social media, as well as renouncing islam. further talks are being held to try to end the partial us government shutdown, but president trump says he has little expectation of a breakthrough. he has indicated he will not drop his insistence on getting the government to approve the funds needed to build a wall along the southern border with mexico. the 76th annual golden globe awards has started in los angeles. leading the film nominations is vice, a biopic of the former us vice president dick cheney, and among the contenders for leading actress is the singer lady gaga for a star is born. now on bbc news: alastair leithead takes the second part of an epic journey from the atlantic ocean to the far reaches of the congo river.

he explores how history has shaped the congo of today and uncovers the lesser—told stories of this beautiful if troubled country. you may find some scenes in this programme disturbing. the congo flows from the heart of africa. it is one of the world's great rivers. we are on a journey from the atla ntic rivers. we are on a journey from the atlantic ocean from the furthest reaches of the democratic republic of the congo. in part one, we went hunting with pygmies, who described how brutally their ancestors were treated at a belgian colonisers. and we visited what's left of the former

president's luxuryjungle we visited what's left of the former president's luxury jungle palace, we visited what's left of the former president's luxuryjungle palace, to learn how postindependence leaders stole from their people. now, we are going deep into the largest ra i nfo rest going deep into the largest rainforest outside the amazon, in search of endangered wildlife. it is amazing. into the mining heartland, to see what huge riches lie below the soil. and to go into the danger zone, to find out how war and disease still tear away at this country. from here, you cannot find anybody. they start going, all of them. they disappear soon. we began our trip at the ocean, and

navigated around the first stretch of powerful rapids, it's chaotic capital city, kinshasa, heading up the river, twice crossing the equator, too here to see the fishermen of kisangani. these fishermen use the whitewater to help them with their catch. from an early age, they learn how to use the deadly currents to check their

nets, secure their ropes and survive the raging rapids. these huge wicker baskets trap the fish. so when the water's really high, there are hundreds of these guys out here, with hundreds of these nets, pulling in huge fish. the water is not as high at the moment. you can see how dangerous it is today. imagine when this is in full flood, it is crazy. they are brought up from little kids to do this, and they do it very skilfully. every young boy has to go through the ritual of learning to swim, of understanding the twists and turns of the current. it is his first plunge into a tough life on the river. it was touch and go, but

eventually we made it to safety. from here, the main river channel turns out, but we are going to keep going. the worst affected part of the country is the east, far from the country is the east, far from the capital and close to neighbouring uganda and rwanda, and their designs on the mineral wealth of this side of the congo, and restart in goma before heading even further into trouble. this city is home to a towering active volcano. this region is the epicentre of wars which have raged for the past two decades. millions of people died in

the fighting, and in the humanitarian crisis that followed. scores of armed groups are still active in this region today. you have these local conflicts that often displace hundreds of thousands often displace hundreds of thousands of people, and there is an active ebola outbreak. welcome to the eastern congo, and this is where things are starting to make going to start getting dicey. the violence he started after the genocide in rwanda in 1994, as rwandan troops followed the killers over the border. rebels backed by the neighbours marched on the east and kept going. by may 1997, mbutu was out ofjustice was turned his enforcers. his successor was a rebel leader, the warlord turned statesman. but just was a rebel leader, the warlord turned statesman. butjust a year later, rebel soldiers supported by rwanda and uganda launched a rebellion against kabila. swift

regional diplomacy and the offer of mining rights brought in zimbabwean, angolan and namibian support to drive out the rwandan backed forces. it turned one country's crisis into a regional war. over the years, millions died. millions more were forced from burned homes. despite a peace deal, militants splinted and spread. after his father's assassination in 2001, joseph kabila took over as president. the violence continues today. we are flying with united nations peacekeepers, into one of the most dangerous parts of the country, in north kivu. we are

an patrol with us, with the united nations forces here, going under into quite a dangerous area. and there is ebola nearby, and also there is ebola nearby, and also there is ebola nearby, and also there is a very strong militant group here that over the last few days has killed probably dozens of civilians. the group is called the adf, they are a group who have been around for 20 years, and they are living in the forest. there is huge impenetrable forest just to living in the forest. there is huge impenetrable forestjust to the east of this area. they act in there, they do hit—and—run attacks, they kill civilians, they target un vehicles like this one, and they target the local democratic republic of congo forces as well. so we are going to a village, we are going to get out and walk around, see what happens, wejust get out and walk around, see what happens, we just —— theyjust want to show that they are here. first of all, the un malawian troops chat to

the locals, just to get an idea of what is going on. whether it is dangerous or not, and to show their presence in the area. from here, you cannot find any. they will disappear here soon. so we cannot find any. they will disappear here $00". so we are cannot find any. they will disappear here soon. so we are just meeting one of the community leaders here by the translators have said that basically there know about it from here on in, further up to this side, because of the militants in the area. it is also weird because kids around me would only shake hands, and we can't touch anybody, we have been given strict instructions not to touch anybody because of the risk of ebola in the area. the un is in popular here, people are suspicious of soldiers particular from western countries. they are wondering how can the enemy crossed all of this bush and reach the town and start killing people, just bear in the town. so for them, they are feeling bad because they have suffered a lot. it is best not to hang around

too long. after a short patrol around the town, it was straight back to base. it is hard to get much done when safety is such an issue, and they are only on the ground for and they are only on the ground for a short period of time. the un funding has been cut, and they are taking a new approach to getting forces with tougher rules of engagement out to the most dangerous places. it's a difficult balance for the commander. we have only two ways to really protect civilian population. this is to be able to deploy preventative lee, to arrive in the villages before the armed groups is one. and the second one is to go after the armoured groups which are posing threats to the civilian population. the spokesman for the government says it wants the un outa for the government says it wants the un out a 2020. a whole un. what would happen if you left? un out a 2020. a whole un. what would happen if you left7|j un out a 2020. a whole un. what would happen if you left? i believe that the un is making a difference here, because the state is not

present in many areas of this country. there are remote areas here where we don't see the presence of the state. so if we left the area, i believe that the situation, the environment, could worsen very quickly. the situation here is already worsening. with increased attacks and the spread of ebola across this part of the country. much of the eastern congo is in a state of conflict and instability. historical tensions across this whole region often spark terrible violence, as happened in our next stop, kalemi, down on the shores of lake. when situations worsen in the

drc, this is what happens. people get forced from their homes into camps. two years ago, a get forced from their homes into camps. two years ago, a row get forced from their homes into camps. two years ago, a row over sharing a bowl of forest caterpillars sparked violent clashes between pigmeat and other ethnic groups. —— pygmies. between pigmeat and other ethnic grou . —— ' between pigmeat and other ethnic groups. —— pygmies. inflamed by the politicians, it displaced 750,000 people. they are queueing up to make sure they are on the list for cash payments due to be given by the un the following week. aid workers czech names to make sure they don't get too little or too much of what they are entitled to. there are still many of these camps scattered

across the town after the ethnic —based violence erupted into a brutal tit—for—tat attacks. it is still too dangerous for most to go home, and terrible things were done by both sides. we met estelle. one morning, the war came to her village without warning. she was abused by them. they killed a woman and three men in front of her. it took estelle two months to walk

200 kilometres to escape the fighting. she now has little to feed her five fighting. she now has little to feed herfive children. the fighting. she now has little to feed her five children. the four—year—old twins died here. these hillsides are dry and exposed. the wind can whip up dry and exposed. the wind can whip upa dry and exposed. the wind can whip up a small fire in no time, and there is little water to spare. it is not surprising people panic, a nearby camp was recently burnt to the ground. life is tense and desperate. everyone's on edge. just about surviving. but the slightest thing can spark a fight. this was over those burnt possessions. across

this country, there are 14 million people who need aid just to stay alive. 5 million people have been driven from their homes by fighting. we could have gone to so many places, but we've come here, where hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their villages, to live in these kinds of camps or in local communities. they've been attacked and targeted, in an ethnic fight, treated brutally and sadistically. there are scores of armed groups across this country. it is usually about strongmen wanting more power, but it's also about a government that doesn't have control these places. that has always been the story of the congo. it was built that way. violence and suffering is burned into its dna. so much so that it is sometimes hard to see beyond. but in a young, vibrant, and beautiful country there is hope. travelling

towards the furthest reaches of the river, we are going to explore the rich mining regions of katanga. but first we go into the national park. it's and were critically endangered species, the eastern lowland gorillas. there are many gorilla families scattered throughout this forest, but many four have been habituated and they‘ re forest, but many four have been habituated and they're not afraid of humans and do not attack. they are who we are looking for. it is the time of year that the gorillas feed

on bamboo. we are following where they have left behind. just ten minutes you. just ten minutes. -- yue. we spent probably a couple of hours now in the jungle, cutting through places where they have been eating the bamboo shoots. i think we are getting close. a couple of times we have heard them. the guys are still trying to pick up the trail. after three hours we got our first glimpse, just a few metres ahead. there's another one as well. that is

the silverback. the young ones caught us by surprise, coming so close. the masks we are wearing protect the gorillas from our germs. it's amazing. there are probably fewer than 5000 eastern lowland gorillas left, and a fraction of the land they used to inhabit —— in a fraction. being comfortable with humans allows

visitors to come to help pay for the conservation, but it's risky for them, with poachers and militant groups in the area. but since the jungle is not dangerous, they are feeding leaves, fruit, bamboo. not dangerous for our gorilla here in kahuzi biega national park. and after they are all in here in the congo, the gorilla family, it is very important. it's a truly magical and unique experience. but, again, there's that struggle between preserving nature and using the

country's resources for economic growth, when people are so poor. the congo's mineral wealth is a freak of nature. it's earth is packed with metal ores like copper, coltrane, and cobalt, gold, diamonds, uranium, with vast seems in this part of africa. the colonisers extracted and exploited. many bullets of the first world war came from congolese metal. and the uranium for the bombs that ended the second came from here. coppel was the key commodity, but what was once thrown away as a byproduct of that process has become its most valuable asset, cobalt —— copper. cobalt was worth nothing until it became a key ingredient in

electric car batteries. 60% of the world's supply is found in this part of the congo. once the law has been broken up it's a chemical refining process. sulphuric acid in the shoot thatis process. sulphuric acid in the shoot that is leaches out different metals. it burns your nose and throat. electrolysis transforms the liquid into sheets of copper. as the cobalt heads elsewhere to be dried and packed. so this is the final product. this is 35% cobalt. it will be refined further, but this is what they export from here. you can see they export from here. you can see the green colour. this is basically what goes into your electric car battery, stops it from catching fire. this is double in price in the last couple of years. that's a much in demand it is. wealth like this should transform a country, but the exploitation continues, by big businesses and for personal gain. we have a lot of resources. and these

resources have been pall mall addiction. but at the same moment, the same resources, if we can really manage them fairly well and stop people to be adjusted to loot without transforming at least partially here, we can make a. is it corruption that has eaten away at the wealth of this country? yes, corruption is one of the challenges which we have two deal with. and the corruption, also, is a bad habit we have inherited when we got independence. the bad habits have to be fought. and it is one of our main programmes. we can't say that we have one, but still we are trying, really, to finish it because we

can't maintain being a very rich country with a very poor people. this can't be accepted at all. one man has dominated congolese politics for 18 years, joseph kabila. after delaying elections were two years, he announced he would not be standing, but with some opposition leaders having been barred from the vote. questions remain about the country's commitment to democracy. for a long time now, a strong voice of opposition has come from the pews of opposition has come from the pews of the catholic church, as peaceful protests have been met with violence. many critics have been forced underground, which is why we had to secretly meet a couple of young activists from a group called struggle —— struggle for change.

senden skinns. this man was jailed for six months for leading illegal protests. -- is for six months for leading illegal protests. —— is meant here. they arrived separately. they were nervous. and we had to do the interview quickly. it is dangerous here to speak as openly as this. political change is in its early stages and the majority hope new

leadership will be for the better. but the huge potential —— that the huge potential of the congo will be finally realised. this journey up the congo river has shown us just how beautiful and how huge a country visitors, how richard hughes in so many ways —— country it is, how rich it is in so many ways. history has been crawled to the democratic republic of the congo, exploited by the early european explorers, by belgium and is called king, and through the last six decades of greedy congolese leadership and war —— rohrl king. but its river could power africa, is minerals could lift the nation from poverty, its young people could transform it the glittering beating heart of africa, rather than out of its dark and stereotypical image. —— rather than that. if you'd like to take an even

more immersivejourney that. if you'd like to take an even more immersive journey up the congo river in virtual reality, visit bbc .com/ virtual reality to find out how. hello there. it's fair to say the weather's been very dull over the past few days. but all that is about to change. we've got more energy coming in from the atlantic, a deep area of low pressure rushing to the north of scotland, that's beginning to pick up the winds for northern areas. still to the south, high pressure, a few breaks in the cloud means a chillier start here and maybe some fleeting sunshine. rain is moving southwards across scotland, northern ireland, into north—west england and north wales. then behind it, sunshine for northern ireland in the afternoon, scotland, away from the north and north—west, where it turns wet again and the winds continue to howl. should be a mild day, widely11—12 degrees. but that's not the story. it will be a windy day. windier than we have seen for quite some time. gales across scotland, gusts of 70 mph or more in northern scotland, that could lead to some travel disruption. but the real strength of the winds comes around the back of that deep

area of low pressure, it stays very windy during the evening, the first part of the night, and then the low rushes away toward southern scandinavia and takes away the worst of the winds with it as well. but the wind direction changes for tuesday, we get more of a north or north—westerly wind. that means it's going to be a bit colder. but it does mean there's more sunshine on the way. most places on tuesday will be dry with some sunny spells. we will see a few showers coming into north—eastern scotland, running down these north sea coasts into east anglia, where the winds could be touching gale force for a while. but lighter winds further west. however, temperatures are back into single figures for most areas. so it gets chilly overnight where we have the clearer skies in this central slice of the uk. so a touch of frost early wednesday. more cloud keeps the temperatures up for eastern parts of england. it will feel cold in the wind, there'll be one of two

showers on wednesday. out to the west, we've got this gradual encroachment of air from the atlantic, so that means cloudier skies. it means thickening cloud to bring rain and drizzle into northern ireland, later into western scotland. ahead of it, temperatures 4—5 degrees. probably the coldest day of this week. maybe a frosty start to the midlands, to the south—west of england, some sunshine for a while. you can see how the cloud is just spilling in on that north—westerly breeze. we're bringing in some milder air, yes, and temperatures of 9—10 degrees in scotland and northern ireland. we're back to high pressure again later on in the week and with that sort of position, we're pulling in air from the atlantic. it means a lot of cloud, but at least temperatures will be a little bit higher as well. but it will be on the breezy side. to sum up the week, a windy start, cold air putting in midweek with more sunshine, then it clouds over later, still a little breezy, but also a bit milder. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers

in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: a young saudi woman fleeing to australia is stranded at bangkok airport, where she says her passport has been seized. she tells the bbc she can't go back home. i don't have rights in saudi arabia, and my family treat me so bad. they will kill me. as the government shutdown in the us continues into its third week, president trump says he has little expectation of a breakthrough in the latest talks. the hollywood awards season is underway. winners so far at the golden globes include christian bale. theresa may warns the uk will be in unchartered territory if mps reject the deal to withdraw from the eu.