the case for his southern border wall. he outlined the scale of the humanitarian and security crisis and asked for more congressionalfunding. it was an election campaign promise that he insisted mexico would pay for. he has partially shut down the government leaving hundreds of thousands of employees without pay. after the president's address, a response was broadcast from the democrats. speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, and democratic senate leader chuck schumer did the honours. they accused the president of malice, and urged him to re—open the government as soon as possible. the uk government's narrowly lost a commons vote by mps who want to stop a no—deal brexit. the cross—party amendment to the finance bill was carried by a majority of seven, and attracted the support of 20 conservative mps. ministers say the change is minor and technical. a giant fatberg as big as a jumbo jet, or six double decker buses, has been discovered blocking a sewer in devon. made up of fat, wet wipes and grease, it was found near the sea in sidmouth.

south west water says it will take up to eight weeks to remove, as jon kay reports. sidmouth — a regency seaside resort where queen victoria played as a child. but lurking beneath the town, a 21st—century reality. there's another layer of fat down there. a sludgy mass of wet wipes and sanitary products, glued together with tons of kitchen and fat. discovered last month, it has grown over christmas. it's the biggest one i've seen. it's probably about right here. charlie found the fatberg when he was inspecting the sewers with his crew. what were you saying to one another when he kept going on and on? when does it end? when does it ever end? we took a few lights down there and we eventually saw the end of it. it is quite horrifying to see, actually. quite eery to see that these two big lumps arejust

sat there, waiting. so far they have only uncovered the tip of the fatberg. it'll be weeks before they get to the bottom. it lies beneath sidmouth‘s elegant espla nade, and is at least 64 metres. that is longer than the leaning tower of pisa laid flat, and even longer than a boeing 747. we tend to think of these being under big cities, not somewhere like sdimouth. we were surprised. we thought this was more something that you found in a bigger urban environment, but the fact is that the things that make up these fatberg, the fact that people put fat and oil and grease down their sinks or indeed flush wet wipes and other materials down the toilet, that goes on nationwide. the devon fatberg will be chopped up like the even bigger one found under east london two years ago. work starts next month and will take eight weeks. does it smell?

it probably does smell but obviously me being in the industry of two years i'm immune to that kind of smell. but as we break the fatberg up will be able to smell it because it'll give that vapour and that gas. something to look forward to then, isn't it? it is, yes. but holiday—makers should not see or smell anything grim in the months ahead. now on bbc news, with the bush patrols in malawi trying to stop a practice which threatens many species, our newsbeat team have this on the poacher hunters. it is 50—50 whether they'lljust stand back and run away or whether they'll charge straight at you. so you've always got to be sort of looking around for places you can go just in case they decide to charge. so it is pretty dangerous.

it's coming. man: your mission — patrol the park, be prepared to arrest poachers, and be prepared to assist with casualties. no matter where you are and whether you think we are losing or not losing the fight, is that the situation is not good. fuelled by greed, no matter what the cost. it's a problem with no easy fix. because most jobs out here don't pay well, whereas if they get a rhino horn, it is a pretty big payday. this is where poaching happens on the ground, but above us is a whole network of syndicates and cartels. i've never seen a rhino

up close before. a kilogram of rhino horn would go for £100,000. and now the british army has got involved in malawi, in trying to protect one of the world's most threatened species. most important for us is making sure our rangers on the ground are fully equipped and trained and in the best position to fulfil their duties to protect the area. when we leave for patrols, we celebrate that we have come back alive. we are going to attack the enemy. yeah. he needs to be stopped. two types patrol we are engaged in here, one is strict long patrol where the soldiers will go out with two rangers and work through mentoring them on various professional skills. commander will decide which way he wants to move. either left or right.

if he moves right...yeah? the others move left... he is now at the poacher, stop firing. position clear. the other bit where we are trying to learn as much as we can off these guys, is where we attach to the rhino trackers. they are sort of the park elite, they are proper bushmen, their field craft is phenomenal, they know everything there is to know about finding rhino, tracking rhino. black rhino are not docile, they are shortsighted, bad—tempered, they have very good hearing and a very good sense of smell. they are territorial and they don't like things in their area. they also know what humans smell like and they don't like the smell of human. you need to get close enough to them, stay down wind and get close enough to take a picture to confirm that it is the rhino you are after. i want you to check the ammunition states, casualties and equipment. yeah? that is one of the things we are emphasising, improving

communication, for clear reporting, primarily for medical or antipoaching purposes. control alpha nine, mike, india, gunshot wound. their appetite for this is immense, they are extremely enthusiastic, in all manner of stuff, in general with all the training we have been doing with them across—the—board, but particularly medical. hello, can you hear me.? if they don't respond, then you can test if they respond to your voice. here, pressing, hold my hand? he is able to respond to this. there are 1a british soldiers in all. this section in the majete reserve in the south of malawi. the situation then, it is near the end of the month, we are gedtting close to payday, we will expect an increased demand for bush meat, so whether that translates to increased poacher

activity in the south—east area, wait out. bear in mind that out this way there were two lions released this week, we've already had lion encounters in the north, those two lions that were released here are males, so the lion risk is very live during this patrol. one of the jobs, joining the experienced malawian rhino trackers. we are expecting maybe to encounter poachers, looking for the native rhino, so always we will be ready. these black rhino are some of the 2000 animals relocated here since 2003. we have to be armed because there are poachers in the area. but also, as a last resort, as an immediate threat to life through dangerous game. they also aren't that keen on humans. point of the patrol is to check the rhinos‘ health, see their general behaviour. the device around their neck tells the trackers what direction

they are in and how far away they are. it is within about 4—500 metres, but the problem is we are picking up the signal from an elephantjust to the north, and the elephant is known to charge as soon as it smells human. so we have to watch out as well. rhino trackers, they know the rhinos and they can telljust by looking at them if they are healthy or not. wind is a massive factor in this. you have always got to be going against the wind. and the wind can change pretty quickly and very subtly as well, without realising, so you get close to the rhino, and the wind changes. it's coming. slowly, slowly. it is 50—50 whether they will turn

back and run away or charge straight at you. so you have always got to be looking around for places you can go just in case they decide to charge. so it is pretty dangerous. it is. couple of months ago and experienced rhino expert was killed after being charged by one in nearby rwanda. (whispers) we have a clear vision of this animal. now he is going to get a photo. if he charge, we get up in the trees around here, for example, that one there is a good tree to climb. this one is also a good tree to climb. trees that have got a lot of branches, yeah. avoid to step on the... he is coming. what he said is we should not shake up, just stand still.

just stand still, not shaking like this, don't shake. then it's time to get out of the way, quickly. as a young boy i was wanted to work with animals, sort of veterinary kind of of work. then when i was growing up, there was a project with lions. after i'd seen the wildlife and what it's actually like out in the bush, ijust really really bit into it. as soon as this came across the table, across the army, i took it straight away. on a patrol that last days, chad trains the rangers on the skills of being a soldier.

we communicate mostly with hand signals, we try to minimise talking as much as possible. when we do end up talking it is a soft whisper, as a close unit. in turn the rangers show him how best to find the animals under threat, like lions, elephant and rhinos, in what is a challenging environment. you don't really have time to think. most of the time you are just concentrating on the environment itself. constantly looking, watching for dangerous game, anything that might sneak up on you. at the moment, there is not that many incursions into the park, but from what i understand, there has been a couple of incursions into the park, people walking in with dogs, there has been a couple of spears, they use after they have chased the animal with the dogs, they come in with snares, traps, they lay them along the animal trails, the waterholes. you put your foot in there and you're probably not going to get it back. they also come in with muzzle

loaders, that's an improvised weapon, normally made of metal plumbing parts, wire, elastic bands, anything they can get their hands on. they come into the park with those and shoot the animals, and if need be they can shoot us as well. if i was to come across a poacher in the community and i was introduced to him, i would ask his reasons for doing it, and what... what he thinks the consequences will be if he does get caught. it is a matter of if he gets caught, it's a matter of when he gets caught. and he will go to jail.

that is the hope, at least. the illegal wildlife trade is a big business, worth up to £17 billion a year. take rhino horn. it is more expensive than cocaine, heroin, or gold, at up to £50,000 per kilo. in the past 50 years black rhino numbers have dropped from 70,000 to 5500. the country's elephant population has halved from 4000 in the 1980s to 2000 in 2015. not only that, malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. historically people have poached to make a small bit of money or just to eat. translation: i became a poacher in 1995. we used to make guns, so we would go into the game reserve with our traditionally made guns and kill the animals. but there were different kinds of animals, which would include the hare, the antelopes,

and some hyraxes. we had so many challenges, we did not have food in our homes. so the only option was to go and poach into the game reserve. after we do that, after we kill the animals, we bring it here, we sell it, we would get a little income, and from there we could find something to eat. so that made us to go and do poaching. we faced a lot of problems when we were caught, they would beat us severely, and they didn't consider whether you were old, small, or very old. they would beat you and then if you survive, it is your luck. if you die, that is your fate. craig hay is in charge of the majete reserve, which is run by an organisation called african parks. it has three of them in malawi. in majete, in particular,

the poaching is low and on sustainable levels. majete, we haven't lost a rhino or elephant to poaching since african started managing majete, in partnership with the malawi government. in prior days, when it was still a lot of illegal activities and availability of firearms in mozambique, the threats may come from the west. and we deploy our rangers strategically around the reserve randomly so that there is no predictable cycles. we here are really on the ground level, so, you know, this is where poaching happens, on the ground, but above us is a whole network of syndicates and cartels and, you know, a whole trade of wildlife, and, you know, that's essentially what's driving the business. what's important for us is to make

sure that our rangers on the ground are fully equipped and trained and, you know, in the best position to fulfil their duties to protect the area. populations in africa are, you know, rapidly growing. i think malawi's population growth is about 3% per year. i think they say the population will double from 70 million — in about 2030 it should double in malawi, so clear signs there's already an immense pressure on the environment and, you know, with double those numbers it's going to be even more the case. so, you know, even more the reason to make sure that we protect these areas, so that, you know, those people in 2030 have, you know, a natural heritage to enjoy and to be part of, yeah. craig talks about a new threat, which has been completed to climate change, disease and weapons

of mass destruction — international organised crime. powered by an wealthy black market mostly in asian countries, like china and vietnam. for thousands of years, some believed the body parts from animals like tigers and rhinoceroses helped do things like cure cancer and improve your sex drive, which has never been scientifically backed up. then there's the illegal ivory trade as well. while majete looks totally wild, it's very controlled. the armed rangers and electric fence means most people have to pay to get in. however, because of that, there've been no rhinos or elephant poached for 15 years. but it's not always been like this. quite terrible here. i can assure you that we lost a few rangers, being shot at in cold blood, in the line of duty, and i think that wasn't pleasant at all. i think our families always, when we leave for patrols, i mean, when we come back they will celebrate that we've come

back alive, you know. and that was the kind of situation that was in most of the parks in malawi. you've seen communities coming here, you have seen that there is no poaching, you have seen that there is roads in the park, some infrastructure, some business enterprises. this is where we wanted the park to be. the idea is that, other than people sitting out there, expecting to harvest from the park, then they have alternatives of generating income. conservation has to have a holistic approach, i mentioned, and not only protecting wildlife for the sake of it, but there has to be a utility component in it. i think some models have been tried and they haven't worked. and this one basically, to us, is a model, is a model that is working. there's no doubt poachers

are being put off by these patrols, along with tougher sentences. yes, the money coming in through tourism is helping change attitudes. although, in zimbabwe and mozambique, poor communities still don't like that more cash goes into protecting the reserve for wealthy white tourists instead of them. the situation is very serious. are they losing the fight, not losing the fight? i think that, you know, it's hard to say. what do we base that on? but i think one thing we do need to think about is it's not simply about how many numbers of elephants or rhinos are being lost, or how many poachers are being caught and arrested, but the broader picture of what this poaching conflict means for conservation in these areas, both in an ecological and social sense. i think training and capacity building and building the skills of rangers is a great thing. i'm quite sceptical of the use of the military in training rangers, especially the use of a foreign

military that doesn't necessarily know the context in which they're operating, and that is not trained in conservation. at the beginning, you don't really know what to expect. like, i've never seen a rhino up close before. it's strange to see how big they are, and how fast they can move towards you as well. it's quite... quite frightening to start off with. where we're doing the rhino tracking, it's normally pretty dense and the grass is quite high, which is a problem. if you start breaking twigs and making noise, they'll come towards you. and, obviously, you only want them to come towards you on your terms. the rhino didn't charge this time, so it's safe to come down. crucially, though,

they got their pick. the relationship is great with the rangers. they're the experts out here in the bush. they know everything. you can spend as much time—out here as you like, but they've lived here all their lives. probably here — he wasjust there, looking at me, and matthews in a tree behind, and then he slipped her, and then he just turned round and ran off. come really close. you can get unstuck quite quickly out here if you don't really know what you're doing. yes, yeah, we have good pictures. this one. yeah, i think that's really successful, yeah. got everything we needed. we've seen two rhinos today, both in really good health. yeah, i think it's really successful. these areas, they're actually

really important to me. and i think they should be important to everyone for the future generations. killing animals... what's going to be left forfuture generations? just a bunch of pictures in a book. these british soldiers have been welcomed here, and the rangers say they have benefited. they are only here for a few months, though, so what about when they're gone? some people are shocked — they aren't aware how under threat

the rhino are. the first step is to make sure we don't lose more protected areas. the big worry is that organised crime could corrupt some of the key people fighting against them. people were relocated from the park, so did draw a bit of controversy. people were sort of unhappy that they left the land of their ancestors. i have a real concern that the future of conservation in africa is going to not take a step back to that hard, fortress—conservation model, but it's going to bring that model forward and intensify it. uk ministers have praised the armed forces for playing their part against what they've called a sickening and illegal industry. at times, you just want to be with yourfamily and... sometimes you just can't. but poaching is a problem far from being solved. and we can be asking,

does the british military have the background and the skills itself to train rangers beyond that hardline anti—poaching? hello there. high tides combined with brisk winds to give a little bit of coastal flooding across some parts of eastern england on tuesday. the of eastern england on tuesday. wind will still be a wednesday, the wind will still be a feature on wednesday, squeezing between this high pressure in the east and pressure from the west but the wind will not be quite strong at this stage. still feeling chilly across the eastern half of the uk but further north—west something a little milder starting to show hand. without some extra cloud into northern ireland at western scotland as the day wears on. the odd spot of rain elsewhere. a lot of dry weather with sudden spells of sunshine. showers across coastal parts of

eastern england along that risk wind. you can see this frontal system ringing patchy rain into north—west scotland but mild here. sunshine from aberdeen down to edinburgh and glasgow. thick cloud into northern ireland again, maybe the odd splash of rain. 20 of sunshine across england and wales, is buckling of shelves are some of those eastern coastal areas where the wind will still be quite brisk and temperatures struggle a little bit. during wednesday night we will see more and more cloud toppling in from the north—west where we keep hold of clear skies for longest in central parts of the uk, here we will see a touch of frost on friday morning but generally speaking many places, particularly towards the north—west, will be a few degrees above freezing. into thursday where we are coldest in the south with the best of the sunshine through the date and bright skies for north—east scotla nd date and bright skies for north—east scotland and north—east england.

generally cloud toppling in and the odd spot of drizzle. still chilly in the south but mild across the west. 10 degrees in belfast. we bring that milderair 10 degrees in belfast. we bring that milder air across the country as we go through friday. quite breezy, particularly in the north—west of the uk. a mixture of cloud and sunshine and temperatures of 8— 10 degrees. as we start the weekend it looks like the frontal system will head across northern parts of the uk. that should clear away for most of us by saturday so we are looking ata of us by saturday so we are looking at a lot of dry weather through the weekend. whether to be wild and —— mild and relatively windy. a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley.

our top stories: president trump addresses the nation, saying his controversial border wall is vital for america's security. this is a choice between right and wrong. justice and injustice. this is about whether we fulfil our sacred duty to the american citizens we serve. the democrats give their response, urging the president to re—open the federal government without delay. tonight and throughout this debate and throughout his presidency, president trump has appealed to fear, not facts, division not unity. mps inflict a brexit defeat on the british government,