this is bbc news i'm geeta guru—murphy. the headlines at 11:00: a saudi teenager whose efforts to escape her family gained worldwide attention arrives in canada where she's been granted asylum. protesters in london demand a general election and an end to austerity — ahead of a crucial week in the house of commons. three people are killed in a powerful explosion in central paris caused by a gas leak at a bakery. almost 50 others are injured. prison sentences of less than 6 months in england and wales could be scrapped under plans being considered by the ministry ofjustice. and at 11:00 we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers anne ashworth from the times and john rentoul from the independent — stay with us for that. —— at 11:30. good evening.

a saudi teenager whose efforts to escape her family gained worldwide attention, has arrived in canada where she's been granted asylum. last week rahaf mohammed al-qanun, who's 18, barricaded herself in a hotel room at bangkok airport, to resist deportation. she said she feared she'd be killed by her relatives because she'd renounced islam. her family have said they only care about her safety. neda towfeek reports from toronto. rahaf al-qanun arrived with a smile as she took the first steps into her new life. rahaf, how does it feel to be in canada? she was escorted out by canada's foreign minister, chrystia freeland, who was on hand to welcome her and to pass on flowers from one of ra haf‘s supporters. after chronicling her ordeal on social media, she chose this moment, now safely in toronto, to let another speak on her behalf. she wanted canadians to see that she's here, that she's well, and that she's very, very happy to be in her new home.

although she did comment to me about the cold. it's been a whirlwind journey for rahaf al-qanun. it's extraordinary that just a few days ago she was an unknown teenager and now she has commanded the attention of the world's media and reignited a debate about the treatment of women in saudi arabia. rahaf al-qanun had been trying to reach australia by way of thailand when her passport was confiscated and she was told she would be deported. the 18—year—old barricaded herself in an airport hotel room and sent out fevered tweets saying that she feared her family would kill her for renouncing islam. i'm not leaving my room until i see unhcr. i want asylum. within a day, the campaign #saverahaf went viral, piling on international pressure. thai immigration police initially said her case was a family matter but reversed course and placed her in the care of the un's refugee agency.

after a review, unhcr said she was a legitimate refugee. her family has denied any abuse. saudi arabia and canada have been on bad terms ever since 0ttawa criticised riyadh's arrests of women's rights activists in a tweet months ago. ra haf al-qanun‘s resettlement will likely exacerbate the already tense relations between the two countries. nada tawfik, bbc news, toronto. hundreds of people have marched through london today, demanding a general election and an end to austerity. it comes ahead of a crucial week in the commons, when mps are widely expected to reject theresa may's withdrawal deal with the eu. 0ur political correspondent chris mason has more. chanting: tories out! central london this afternoon and left wing campaigners take to the streets. theresa may must go! people have seen brexit's an absolute mess, the shambles the government is making of it,

but what is the most important thing is to get a general election because then people can have a say on everything. have you got a spring in your step at the moment? absolutely. absolutely, yes. you don't come out here two weeks after christmas to plod around town, do you? you come for a reason and the reason is to get rid of this government. securing a general election isn't straightforward but the shadow chancellor was also here to make the case for it. the only solution to austerity, the only solution to tackling the threat that brexit poses, is a general election and the election of a labour government. this demonstration here wasn't primarily about brexit but this gathering, like others, is about seizing a political opportunity, seeing that the government is likely to lose on its plan for leaving the european union on tuesday, and so making the most of pressing for what want instead. —— what they want instead.

170 miles north in sheffield, another crowd with a cause, this one wanting another eu referendum. but, what would be the question? the obvious question to ask is about the two deals, the two propositions that are actually on the table. one is for the government, and people may or may not like it, it's very uncertain, but it's there, and the other deal is the one we already have with the eu, which in my view is a much better one, but let the people decide. the government's implacably opposed to delivering what people here want and its supporters are still trying to sell its plan. clearly there are a lot of people coming out who are complaining about the deal for one reason or another but i still think it's the only game in town — it's the thing that gets us out of the political institution, stops us paying so much money in, ends freedom of movement, and that's why i still encourage people, if they want certainty, this is the way to do it. today was peaceful, for the most part, but this isolated incident,

scuffles between rival protesters, was a reminder of the tension and anger swirling around our politics. chris mason, bbc news. a man has been released on bail after being arrested in connection with incidents in westminster earlier this week. james goddard was detained by officers this morning near st james‘s park tube station in westminster, on suspicion of a public order offence. last week a number of mps raised concerns about safety in westminster. three people have died and nearly 50 others were injured by a powerful explosion at a bakery in the centre of paris. police suspect a gas leak caused the blast. 0ur paris correspondent, lucy williamson reports. 0n the site of a local bakery, around the corner from the folies bergere, residents faced a charred and empty shell. the force of the gas explosion was felt in districts several miles away. along rue trevise, the blast shattered windows, blew out doors,

and sent locals and tourists into the street, straight from their beds. translation: when i walked past the entrance i heard a huge explosion. i was hit by the debris. it's dry now and i've washed off a bit but there was a lot of blood on my neck and my head, too. 200 firefighters were called in to help those trapped by the blast. among those whose lives they saved was a colleague, buried for almost two hours beneath the rubble. but two other firefighters died. translation: firefighters were dealing with the blaze. the explosion is probably from a gas leak. it has had a very heavy toll on civilians, but also on firefighters who were on site. helicopters waited near the opera house to evacuate the wounded, some of whom are still in a serious condition. the explosion is being treated as accidental but there's a risk of further fires and emergency work will continue all weekend. a crisis centre has been set up to house and care for the area's new homeless.

this smart and lively part of paris, packed with bars and theatres, looks very different tonight. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. there have been more mass anti—government protests across france. police in the capital fired water cannon and tear gas at so—called ‘yellow vest‘ demonstrators as scuffles broke out near the arc de triomphe. thousands of officers have been deployed across the city, which has previously seen street clashes. groups of protesters gathered on and around the champs elysees, the scene of disturbances in recent weeks, many of them calling for macron to resign. small groups broke away from the designated route and threw bottles and other projectiles at the police. the partial shutdown of the us government has become the longest on record, now on it's twenty—second day. president trump is refusing to sign measures to pay all federal

employees because democrats in congress won't include funding for the wall he promised on the border with mexico. 0ur north america correspondent david willis gave us this update from washington. this is a sign of the dysfunction. the president is in the building behind me but congress is nowhere to be seen. it is in recess until monday afternoon. as he tends to do when he gets a bit bored, the president has been tweeting, as you say. in response to claims that he doesn't have an end to the shutdown, he says he did. he says, "i won the election and i promised safety and security for the american people will stop about —— elections have consequences." he is also on the record saying that democrats formed the bulk of those currently involved in this government shutdown. meanwhile, all the buildings are around me are in darkness. many

people are trying to work out how to make ends meet and it is snowing. washington's winter of discontent may just be getting washington's winter of discontent mayjust be getting started. ministers are being warned that a proposal to scrap prison sentences of six months or less will only work if there is more investment in the probation services. the government says short sentences are less effective at cutting re—offending than community penalties. it's thought thousands of offenders in england and wales could be affected every year under the plans. chi chi izundu reports. "long enough to damage you and not long enough to heal you," that's how the prisons minister rory stewart described those serving sentences of six months or less in today's telegraph newspaper. annually, there are some 30,000 offenders in england and wales, who have committed crimes like burglary or shoplifting, who this could affect. but realistically, because of turnover,

at any one time it would free up around 3,500 prison places. we should not be using prison for these people. we should be turning their lives around and giving them support, dealing with their drug addiction, their homelessness, and getting them to make amends for the wrong they've done. that's really good for victims, it's good for the taxpayer and it will ease pressure on the prisons. in a statement, the ministry ofjustice said it's exploring potential alternatives and is yet to reach any conclusions. 0vercrowding in prisons like this one is a big problem in the uk, and the worry is, according to the government, that rehabilitation and reform won't happen. in fact, these prisons will turn one—time offenders into career criminals. this idea would need legislation to make it a reality and mps know promising to cut prison sentences is rarely a vote winner, and although prison reform groups have welcomed the idea, there are calls for better funding of every element of thejudicial system. i wouldn't say that the rehabilitation side works. it patently obviously doesn't. but what needs to happen is that prison needs to be made to work. and that means investing in prisons so that the conditions are better, so that there is rehabilitative activity all day, every day,

when they're there, and we maximise the chances of them not coming back. a similar scheme in scotland has beenjudged a success and is being extended to sentences of 12 months. simplyjailing offenders has doubled the prison population since the 90s and the government suggests reform of the offender isn't enough. they also have to look at the system. chi chi izundu, bbc news. well, six months‘ jail is the maximum sentence a magistrates court can hand down for a single offence. a short time ago i spoke to the chairman of the magistrates association, john bache, and asked him about the problems with shortjail terms. the existing guidelines are clear that prisons sentence should only be

given when deemed in avoidable. any proposed presumption against short prison sentences is unlikely to make a major difference because magistrates already use custody only asa magistrates already use custody only as a last resort. the problem that we have is that magistrates haven‘t got great confidence in community sentences and we have to sentence them that some way. but we would encourage the government to do is to ensure the community sentences are available throughout the country and rfs is and that magistrates know what they are sentencing people too. —— and are effective. what they are sentencing people too. -- and are effective. can you tell us -- and are effective. can you tell us what is the problem at the moment? we don't know what we are exactly sentencing two. for instance, if you give an unpaid work, you give somebody 120 hours of unpaid work, we have heard reports that the offender can breach that sentence and not be brought back to

court. there was a time when we were encouraged not to engage directly with the community rehabilitation companies that actually carry out the sentence. that has now changed and hopefully we are going to be able to have direct medication with the community rehabilitations companies and is therefore... what are the most successful forms of committee sentencing in your view and do you think they can work to rehabilitate people who have offended? 0h, arisen a question they can work. but they need to be available. —— there is no question they can work. there are are some excellent programmes that if the magistrates haven‘t got access to them, then obviously they are not greater sentence them to programmes that they don‘t understand or don‘t know are available. we need to ensure that the necessary programmes

are available throughout england and wales and we need the probation service to give us good presentence reports to explain what options we‘ve got and to explain the benefits of the various programmes. we are very keen to get community sentences rather than custodial sentences rather than custodial sentences if we can but we need to know that proper community sentences are available which are going to be effective and be shown to be effective. the other thing we are asking for is the power to monitor sentences so that we can see a fenders, say six or eight weeks after the offence has been committed —— see offenders. and to make sure they are carrying out the sentence and that it is being carried out. first of all, provide effective community sentences throughout england and wales and secondly, to give magistrates and judges the

power to review and monitor offenders at a certain time after passing the sentence. do you think this will also need more cash? some have said this is just motivated by prisons that over full, not money, relu cta nce prisons that over full, not money, reluctance to bring more —— build more than capacity and if you are going to change policy, you need to put more investment into this follow—up services? put more investment into this follow-up services? i think you will need more investment. but everybody knows how expensive prison is and i‘m quite sure that any investment in community sentences is going to be far less costly than keeping somebody in prison and what‘s even more important is going to be far more important is going to be far more beneficial to the offender. punishment, prison does that. the others include rehabilitation which is very important. the community

sentences are far more likely to rehabilitate the offender than prison. magistrates really do use prison. magistrates really do use prison as a last resort. the headlines on bbc news. a saudi teenager whose efforts to escape her family gained worldwide attention arrives in canada where she‘s been granted asylum. protesters in london demand a general election and an end to austerity — ahead of a crucial week in the house of commons. three people are killed in a powerful explosion in central paris caused by a gas leak at a bakery. almost fifty others are injured. sport and time for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. premier league leaders, liverpool, are seven points clear at the top of the table after a 1—nil win over brighton. mo salah scored the only goal from the penalty spot in the second half. it‘s a return to victory

forjurgen klopp‘s men after back—to—back defeats in the league and fa cup. we could have done, like always, done better but i am fine because the target is to win here and it is so the target is to win here and it is so difficult. it is not easy. is a nice situation for the opponent and if they get something it is a big surprise and we had to perform and deliver and we did that in away that was more than deserved. elsewhere arsenal were beaten by west ham — slowing their chase of a top 4 finish. there were important games at the bottom of the table too. fulham lost to burnley. cardiff and huddersfield played out a goalless draw that doesn‘t help either side. southampton‘s 2—1win over leicester city takes them out of the relegation zone. and watford came from behind to beat crystal palace 2—1. second—tier manchester united will travel to women‘s super league leaders, arsenal in the continental league cup semi—finals. the draw was made earlier.

arsenal are the current holders, while women‘s championship leaders united are making their debut in the competition. chelsea host manchester city in the other tie. the games will be played on the 5th and 6th of february, with the final at sheffield united‘s bramall lane later that month. it‘s been an excellent day for irish rugby in the european champions cup with ulster beating racing 92 to put them on the brink of a quarter final place after a 26 points to 22 win. leinster also beat toulouse while edinburgh had an historic win over toulon. newcastle though are out of the competition — patrick gearey reports. they used to call this the ravenhill raw but now ulster stadium is officially known as the king span. would ever you name it, you can hear it. especially when robert went over on his european debut against racing

92. the next came from tyrone. jacob stockdale‘s smile summed up of the‘s start. the dreamlike state bastard the 20 minutes before a brutal wake—up call. still, of the respondents indicate kick into the path of stockdale. surely a try. fate and physics abandoned him but the smile remained. racing 92 reduced the gap to six points at the break but perhaps stockdale knew something. this time the ball bounced for him. whether celebrations too early? racing 92 came back and once it‘s brilliant try was converted they will one make behind. they were one behind. 0n they were one behind. on a day when these men actually stood up. to the south of france for winter sun. strictly a business trip for the newcastle bow and two needed victory to in europe but there was no negotiation with the team who scored seven tries under cloudless skies. thousand miles from home for newcastle. edinburgh came even

further without welcome. it is a call to the local warriors from the mountains you see, toulon obliged and the break. that‘s what makes edinburgh did afterwards even more remarkable. the performance was epitomised by this incredible try. jamesjohnston epitomised by this incredible try. james johnston made to epitomised by this incredible try. jamesjohnston made to pay. the win worth rating 500 miles and then another 500 more. england‘s charley hull has won her second european tour title — she won the ladies 0pen in abu dhabi by a single shot. the 22—year—old had a 3 under par final round of 69 to win the title whihc is her first victory for over two years. england‘s jodi ewart shadoff finished injoint third place. that is all the sport for now. bad weather has wreaked havoc across europe, with power cuts, roads blocked, trains services cancelled and schools shut.

the situation is particular severe in austria, where 7 people have been killed the past week, and 2 hikers have been reported missing. 500 soldiers have been drafted in to clear roads and roofs in the most heavily affected areas. bethany bell reports from the austrian alps. the little town of annaberg is blanketed in white. like many mountain regions in germany and austria, it is experiencing unusually heavy falls of snow. these sensors are there to protect houses from avalanches. the authorities are struggling to remove the snow. these volunteer firefighters are working to clear the roof of annaberg‘s primary school. stefan 0bermeister from the lower austrian fire brigade says they need to ensure the building is safe enough for children to enter. the big problem is that the snow

is very heavy so we have about 3.5 metres on the roofs. and that‘s the big problem. because if the weather is changing and the snow gets heavier, the big problem is that the roofs crash down and so it is very dangerous for the people who are living here. cars have been buried under several metres of snow. and it is a constant struggle to keep paths and roads clear. in neighbouring germany, the army is helping to clear away snow. several areas have been declared disaster zones. and there is more snow on the way. the risk of avalanches remains very high. bethany bell, bbc news, annaberg in the austrian alps. and in the us, a massive snow storm is headed towards washington, after heavy snowfalls in the mid west. the storm is forecast to affect

an 1800—mile stretch of the us from colorada to the mid—atla ntic. it‘s already caused several road deaths in missouri and has covered iowa, illinois, indiana and ohio with deep snow. thousands of motorists have been stranded and hundreds of flights cancelled. promotional deals on unhealthy snacks placed at supermarket tills could be banned under new government proposals. the department of health has said offers for high—sugar, high—fat foods linked to childhood obesity should be restricted. it said the number of children classed as seriously obese is at a record high and it‘s now consulting on its plans. and using credit cards for gambling could be also be facing a ban. in a bid to target addiction, culture secretary, jeremy wright, will meet banks and bookmakers ahead of a review by the gambling commission next month. the move would affect billions of pounds worth of bets a year. the nominations for this year‘s brit awards

have been announced. solo artists dua lipa and anne—marie have each earned themselves four nominations. whilejorja smith and jess glynne have recieved three and two nods repectively. it‘s only the second time in brit awards history that more women than men are up for the night‘s biggest prize, album of the year. the wreck of a world war one german submarine is gradually resurfacing on a beach in northern france after decades of being buried in the sand. shifting sand off wissant, near calais, is exposing the remains of the uc—61 which was stranded there injuly 1917. it is now becoming a tourist attraction again, although the local mayor warns it may only be a fleeting visit. since december, two sections of the submarine have been visible at low tide. and we‘ll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewersjohn rentoul chief political commentator at the independent and anne ashworth, associate editor at the times — that‘s coming up after the headlines at 11:30. now it‘s time for a

look at the weather. we are looking at the snow in austria and over the next two or three days there is another 1.5 metres of snow going into the mountains they. a high avalanche risk at the moment, very high over the next few days. dangerous conditions continue there while we continue our relatively mild winter. a mild day today with temperatures reaching 12 degrees in strathallan. average at this time of year is six so average at this time of year is six so it has been much warmer than it should be. 0vernight we will see the rain pushing southwards into northern ireland in northern england but it will be mild and blustery kind of right. temperatures, 8— 10 celsius, warmer than it should be during the day at this time of year. sunday charts, a few weather fronts with a—week—old front pushing south across england and wales and then the seclusion in scotland bringing outbreaks of rank and behind that a

cold wintry areas that would not too far away. sunday will be a cloudy day through england and wales, rain pushing southwards bright guys in the afternoon with the mix of such under sheldon of the, lengthy spells of rain across the north of scotland and wherever you worry will be a blow we end of the kind of day with lustre reconditioned through the afternoon and some big temperature contrast building in. committee should be similar to those of today, 11- 12 should be similar to those of today, 11— 12 degrees widely but notice the gets cooler northwards and cold in shetland. cultivates we have seen in winter. may well see some wintry showers are singing he, shallots with a bit of sleet and snow mix in as well the week ahead is often going to stay on the mild side. is some rain around, heavy in the highlands of scotland in particular and brisk wind but it will see much colder later in the week ahead. for monday we will have a cold start in scotla nd monday we will have a cold start in scotland and north—east england with a sharp loss, early morning sunshine but then it turned cloudy with them

showers in the north and west of the uk. western and southern areas have the relatively mild air, colder across the north and east with temperatures in the week barely getting above freezing. in the middle of the week we get a push of arctic winds pushing southwards that replaced the mild westerly wind that we have the time being. all of us will see a sharp drop in temperature on thursday. 0r below normal in places but as well as a cold arriving we see more in the way of sunshine and those sunny conditions and cold conditions will then last true to the end of the weekend into net weekend as well. we will see something of a change in the whether you just have to wait a little thursday for most of the cb changed too much colder weather. that‘s your latest forecast. hello. this is bbc news with geeta guru—murthy. we‘ll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment withjohn rentoul and anne ashworth first the headlines. a saudi teenager whose efforts to escape her family gained worldwide attention has arrived in canada where she‘s been granted asylum. hundreds of protesters have marched through central london

demanding a general election and an end to austerity ahead of a crucial week in the house of commons. a man has been released on bail after being arrested in connection with incidents in westminster earlier this week. james goddard was detained by officers this morning on suspicion of a public order offence. last week a number of mps raised concerns about safety in westminster. two french firefighters and a spanish tourist have been killed in a powerful explosion in central paris caused by a gas leak at a bakery. nearly 50 other people were injured. at prison sentences of less than 6 months in england and wales could be scrapped under plans being considered by the government. ministers think it could reduce re—offending. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow.

with me arejohn rentoul chief political commentator at the independent and anne ashworth, associate editor at the times.