welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: britain's parliament prepares for an historic vote on the proposed brexit deal. the prime minister urges her critics to give it a second look. donald trump calls claims he worked for russia a big fat hoax, after two separate media investigations raise new questions about his links to moscow. protests over soaring fuel prices turn deadly as zimbabwe grapples with its worst shortages in a decade. a0 years of data reveals the shocking acceleration of antarctica's melting ice. it could be a threat to millions. britain's prime minister, theresa may, has warned there is a risk of there being no

brexit at all if mps vote down her withdrawal deal in the house of commons on tuesday night. she said it would be letting the british public and democracy down if mps didn't back the agreement. letters from european leaders intended to provide fresh reassurance about the temporary nature of backstop arrangements have been dismissed by northern ireland's dup and many conservative brexiteers. it is expected that mrs may will suffer a heavy defeat. this report is by our political editor laura kuenssberg. many photo opportunities. how many polite conversations? many more than the number of minds she has changed for some weeks now. tomorrow, parliament will give its verdict on the prime minister's brexit compromise. this is what a last—ditch plea sounds like. i think the british people are ready for us to move on, to move on beyond division and come together.

that is the chance that mps of all parties will have tomorrow night, and for our country's sake, i urge them to take it. thank you. you say this is a good deal, but you know the majority of your colleagues simply disagree with you. at this late stage, do you really think you have a chance of changing their minds? i have seen mps, when i've spoken to them, who are now — who recognise the importance of the decision that is being taken, and saying they will support the deal, whereas perhaps in the past they had some doubts about it. you've given away so many things... even on a soggy monday, morning there is heat in the arguments outside. you've just given them 125 million, to the eu, you clown. i'm really annoyed, and i had to come down today. i had to come down. it's disgusting, listening to them. she should do it off her own back. we voted to leave, we leave. end of.

if we leave without a deal, or her deal, we are going to be in dire straits. whatever deal goes through will continue this war between brexit and no brexit. this might not feel like a grand occasion, but these are some of the most important hours in theresa may's career. it is no surprise she has come to leave—supporting stoke, but she is speeding back to parliament, where her real problem lies. most backbench brexiteers heading to work have real fears about the deal, worrying we'll be stuck in a close bind with the eu. but, despite months of rows, some might still be prepared. as i told the prime minister when she phoned yesterday, and as i've told every constituent, i will listen to the debate very carefully. i — indeed, i intend to participate in it this afternoon, and tomorrow evening, when it's over, i will make my decision. see you soon, cheerio. i just want to say thank you.

my pleasure. but eurosceptics are not making friends by compromise, dozens of them including former cabinet ministers like him are dead set against theresa may's agreement. you have to balance the undoubted but manageable short—term risk with our — what i think would be devastating economically. this is not for six months or a year. this is for our children. a smaller gang of theresa may's own mps believe the way out might be another referendum. if there is no majority, and parliament is as deadlocked as we think it is, then it may make sense that, although we don't want it, that we consider going back to the people with a new referendum. and there were not many fans for her new promises. booing a letter from the eu which vows to do everything possible to avoid the so—called backstop, the arrangement to avoid a hard border in ireland. the eu will not want this backstop to come into force and the exchange of letters today makes clear that

if it did they would do all they could to bring it to an end as quickly as possible. so i say to members on all sides of this house, whatever you may have previously concluded, over these next 2a hours, give this deal a second look. today's letter is nothing more than a repetition of exactly the same position that was pulled more than one month ago. it categorically does not give the legal assurances this house was promised, and contains nothing but warm words and aspirations. there needed to be legally binding changes to the withdrawal agreement in order for it to have any chance of getting through this house. remember, for the prime minister this is a compromise, keeping close ties with the eu after brexit to preserve the economy, but taking charge here of issues like immigration. but, with only 2a hours to go, this place is a frenzy. long lists of mps putting forward ideas of their own. the trouble is, none of the rival groups agree. yet if, or likely when, the deal goes down tomorrow night, it will still be for the prime minister to make the next move. laura kuenssberg, bbc news.

a little earlier, our political correspondent iain watson gave this update from westminster. theresa may met her own members of parliament tonight. most of them thought she gave a pretty good performance, but in terms of substance, she didn't necessarily make any of them change their minds, if they were sceptical towards her deal. so she's still facing defeat. so what we'll see, most likely, in the next 2a hours are attempts to diminish the size of the defeat, including an amendment that would try to some extent mitigate the fears around the northern ireland backstop, this attempt to avoid a hard border in northern ireland. there will be an attempt to try to say, look, this should come to an end by the end of 2021. the snag is the european union has not negotiated that, and has

resisted negotiating that, but if this was successful, and helps to get a deal over the line in parliament, theresa may could return to brussels and say, are you prepared to live with this in order to get this deal through, to get brexit to happen, according to the pre—agreed timetable? but it looks as though at the moment, even that will not succeed. there are too many of her own politicians who are sceptical, who still believe that, in terms of international law, that britain would effectively be kept far too close to eu regulations after we leave the eu, unless this issue of the northern ireland backstop is struck out, or there are guarantees from brussels. you will see a range of things coming forward in the next 2a hours to try to get this deal either over the line, or to diminish the size of the defeat. but so far, from where we're looking tonight and from talking to members of parliament, it still looks as though the prime minister is on course for a defeat, and potentially, possibly, a challenge to her government by the opposition. the president of the united states has found himself having to deny that he has ever worked for the russians.

two separate investigations in the us media have posed new questions about his ties to moscow. the fbi, it is reported, began an inquiry into mr trump when he fired its director james comey, and the president has also been playing down a story that he confiscated the notes of his own interpreter after a meeting with vladimir putin. fresh challenges for him, as significant parts of the government remain closed for the 24th day. jane o'brien reports. open warfare in washington is the norm these days. but at least the first winter snowball fight on the national mall was good—natu red. elsewhere, the mood is ugly. reports of an fbi investigation into the president's relationship with russia have led to a fresh flurry of questions, prompting this reaction. i never worked for russia, and you know that answer better than anybody. i never worked for russia. not only did i never work for russia, i think it's a disgrace that you even asked that question, because it's a whole big fat hoax. it's just a hoax. the allegations brought a tirade of tweets at the weekend, a distraction by any measure,

as the longest government shutdown in us history entered its fourth week. the freezing weather has underscored the frosty relations between congress and the white house. divided over mr trump's demands for wall funding on the mexican border. so far, he hasn't declared a national emergency that would release the money, and with talks stalled, there are scant options to reopen the government. the government remains shut down for one reason and one reason only. the democrats will not fund border security, our safety, our national security. around the country, the partial shutdown is biting. there have been long lines at some of the nation's biggest airports, including atlanta, because unpaid security workers are calling in sick in large numbers. others don't know how long they can hold out. this notion that government employees are ok with what's going on, that's a lie, ‘cause i can tell you,

no—one‘s ok with it. washington feels increasingly like a city under siege, and with politics paralysed, americans around the country are wondering how they can dig themselves out. let's go live to our correspondent in los angeles. everybody has said it, but it is still extraordinaire, isn't it, that the president of the united states should have to deny that he is a russian agent. it is unprecedented. it's never happened before that a us president should face allegations like this, and what is interesting is the president's reaction initially. facing a question from a friendly interviewer on the fox news network at the weekend, didn't actually answer the question. he later tweeted about this, but it wasn't until he was questioned coming out of the white house on monday morning that he categorically denied that he was an agent for russia, describing it as a

big fat hoax and saying that it was essentially outrageous that he issued even faced such questions. —— he should even faced such questions. as you were saying in that report, two newspaper reports talking about the investigation starting after james comey, the fbi director, was sacked a couple of years ago, and the washington post also describing the washington post also describing the incident where allegedly president trump physically took the notes from the translator after a meeting with president putin. this was a sideline meeting at the 620 meeting in hamburg a couple of years ago. so you might say anecdotal evidence. it's got to be said that there's been no hard evidence that is being presented by the new york times, who broke this story, of any collusion, or indeed of the president taking direction from russia. well, there may or may not be more to come on that. peter, just bring us up—to—date on relations between between the us and turkey, obviously two very important players in the world. the background, the

president decides to pull us troops out of syria, that abandons the kurds, long—time us allies. very important fighters, very effective fighters, of course, against the so—called is, and puts the kurds at risk of attack from turkey, which sees them as terrorists. there is movement on that, whereas the movement? well, the movement's being ina movement? well, the movement's being in a couple of directions. at the weekend, the president seemingly out of the blue tweeted that he would devastate turkey economically if they hit the kurds. the president is being very protective over those kurds, those syrian kurdish fighters, who as you say have been working with us forces in syria against is, and he said that he would hit turkey economically if essentially any harm came to those kurds. that seemed to take a lot of people by surprise in his own administration. mike pompeo, the secretary of state, currently in the middle east to discuss this issue, asked what it meant, he said you how to after president what it means.

president trump has since spoken to president trump has since spoken to president erdogan of turkey and he seems to have pulled back on the rhetoric, and this discussion seems to be about the establishment of a safety zone, a security zone, in northern syria, the goal of which, as far as president trump is concerned, will to protect those kurds in the area, which is what mike pompeo is trying to achieve on his trip. so once again, you see the president going out on a limb, surprising some people, taking a ha rd surprising some people, taking a hard line, but then stepping back when a negotiation has to take place. thank you very much for managing to some that sum that lot up. tens of thousands of people have held rallies across polish cities to mourn the mayor of 6dansk, who was stabbed at a charity event on sunday and has died in hospital. he had been in office for 20 years. his attacker blamed the mayor's

former party, civil platform, for falsely imprisoning him. kim 6ittleson reports. daylight candles, sang songs and shed tears. just a day after this square shed tears. just a day after this square was shed tears. just a day after this square was filled with supporters of poland's biggest charity, it is now the site of one of the country's biggest tragedies. on sunday, pawel adamowicz, the city's meth, was set to open a charity concert. when a 27—year—old man suddenly ran on and stabbed him. the mayor was rushed to hospital, where he underwent five hours of surgery. as news of his injuries spread, hundreds of 6dansk residents lined up to donate large. u nfortu nately, residents lined up to donate large. unfortunately, doctors could not save his life. translation: there we re save his life. translation: there were 21 litres of blood used during surgery, were 21 litres of blood used during surgery, but in vain. the attack was carried out with such fury and the wounds were so carried out with such fury and the wounds were s0 severe carried out with such fury and the wounds were so severe that it was

impossible to save pawel adamowicz. after his death was confirmed, mourners rallied against hatred. poland's former president blamed the rising political polarisation for the attack. translation: week people cannot stand it. all kinds of sick people take such steps, and it is politics that has to be blamed. the entire political system is guilty, that such an incident occurred. donald tusk, the current president of the european council, who is from 6dansk, shed tears and issued a promise to his friend. translation: today, dear pawel, i promise that we will protect our 6dansk, poland and europe against hatred and contempt, from all of us. i promise you.

6ood—bye, pawel. from all of us. i promise you. good-bye, pawel. polish police say they are continuing to investigate how the attacker access the state, but for now, the residents of 6dansk had a simple message for the man who had a simple message for the man who had served their city for decades. thank you. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: saying yes to the dress. why the demand for luxury bollywood bridal wear is soaring in britain. day one of operation desert storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attacks since the second world war. tobacco is america's oldest industry, and it's one of its biggest, but the industry is nervous of this report. this may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. there is not a street that is unaffected. huge parts of kobe were simply demolished, as buildings crashed into one another. this woman said she'd been given no help and no advice by the authorities. she stood outside the

ruins of her business. tens of thousands of black children in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the country's new multiracial government and enrolled at formerly white schools. tonight sees the 9,610th performance of her long—running play the mousetrap. when they heard of her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonight's performance, but agatha christie would have been the last person to want such a thing. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: it is crunch time for theresa may, as an historic vote on her brexit plan looms. donald trump denies working for russia, after media reports pose new questions about his relationship with moscow. antarctica is losing 6

times more ice each year than a0 years ago. the latest data suggests sea levels could increase dramatically in the coming centuries. scientists at the university of california irvine and the netherlands utrecht university have found the east antarctic ice sheet is thawing much more than previously thought. professor eric rigno is one of the study authors and a glaciologist at the university of california irvine. professor, good to talk to you and thank you for your time. this study is so significant because you have s0 is so significant because you have so much data going back a0 years, there is no doubt. yes, it is very important to establish a long—term record of the antarctic rather than focusing on a few years. and we've given an overview. what is a more detailed picture? it is that we detect a massive loss from specific

sectors of antarctica, some of which we knew very well, antarctic peninsular and west antarctica and others we know not as well, the east antarctic sector facing the indian ocean, which has been losing mass. for decades. and this, as i understand it, is more than anybody previously suspected. it's more than has been reported. east antarctica isa has been reported. east antarctica is a bit more challenging to study, it's a big continent, most of the interior doesn't change that much. the changes are localised along the coastline and in a particular part of east antarctica which sits close to warm waters. why is it so serious? what could it mean for sea levels ? serious? what could it mean for sea levels? it means the sectors that are sort of awake in responding to climate change right now in antarctica, not just the climate change right now in antarctica, notjust the peninsular and west antarctica, the multiple mirror of sea level rise is

potentially. and how soon? that is the big question, we don't know how soon but we are sort of waking up a sleeping giant and we can report from this data, but the giant is awake. is there anything at all to be done about it? absolutely. this is sorted the experiment that we don't to run until the end, to see just what happens. this is another warning sign that we should take very seriously the abolition of the antarctic continent and it's not limited to a few sectors but it's a large share of antarctica that is at sta ke large share of antarctica that is at stake here with the potential for multiple sea level rises in the future so this is another call to control climate change, curb carbon emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and bring back the climate system to something a little bit more stable for us. professor,

s0 bit more stable for us. professor, so much to talk about. we will be back to this one. thank you for that. there have been widespread protests in zimbabwe, over an announcement by the president, doubling the cost of fuel. thousands have taken to the streets, saying they can't afford the price hike to more than $3 a litre. it's the latest in a series of economic problems since robert mugabe was forced to step down from the presidency in november 2017. from the capital, harare, shingai nyoka reports. zimbabwe is boiling over yet again. sparked, as in the past, by a deepening economic crisis. over the weekend, fuel prices more than doubled in the country with more than 80% unemployment, the reaction was furious and protest. amid the tensions, the president left the country to russia on a a—nations tour. many believed he should have remained to make sure the problems they are experiencing are temporary.

you are chosen by the people. the people are suffering. people have been quiet for so long. zimba bwe's economy has struggled for decades. the legacy of robert mugabe's misrule. president mnangagwa blames foreign currency shortage and increased demand. they don't get enough us dollars but we are exporting diamonds and gold, platinum, lithium, where is the money going? if i don't manage to put it in my car on my bike, i cannot go to work. it affects my pocket, i have kids and it also affects my kids. after ousting robert mugabe from power over a year ago and promising to bring prosperity, scenes like these are a reminder to some of how little has changed. officials in the thai capital, bangkok, have fired water cannon into the hot tropical air and hosed down streets

as authorities handed out masks in a bid to combat air pollution which has been blanketed by smog since saturday. the agriculture ministry was also preparing to seed clouds to try to clear the air. pollution in bangkok has reached unhealthy levels before, usually during the dry season between january and march, but it doesn't normally hang around too long. now do you want to look like a bollywood star on your big day? the demand for luxury indian bridalwear is increasing in the uk, partly because of social media. photos of bollywood stars tying the knot have inspired brits to want the same, and top indian designers gathered in london this weekend for a wedding show. this from haroon rashid of bbc asian network. luxury indian bridal wear has never been more in demand. thousands of british asians filled a swanky mayfair hotel to meet the men and women behind the designs and to discuss the possibility of wearing something similar to the stars. the last four months has been chaotic, we have

had several weddings. then priyanka chopra and nickjonas's wedding. bollywood and fashion has worked together many times to create fashion awareness and many people benefit at the grassroots level. many people getjobs done and that's exciting. some of these designer outfits are as expensive as western luxury labels and seen by the majority of british asians they were as unaffordable and exclusive to the elite. the bride is very clear on which design she wants for a specific function, and i think that is a phenomenal change. they have taken this torch to get the originals from india. people have been talking about brexit but i have not seen any downfall in people spending for couture at all. a lot of the indian designers have closed the gap for people able

to get the replica because they have gone down on pricing. but it's notjust affordability that's changed, but also an increase in access, whether that be in person or on the internet. the moment a celebrity wears you, within minutes everyone gets to know, and within minutes we have requests on instagram and e—mail. i've had the good fortune of dressing the likes of beyonce, sophie turner, she's lovely. it's amazing that social media connects you to the consumer directly with no time lost at all. the brides spent a fortune at the show with designers tailoring hundreds of off the rack pieces for british asians wanting that extra bit of glamour for their big day. more on that on the website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. hello.

by the end of this forecast we will be talking about something much colder, but in the short—term it's relatively mild. west or south—westerly winds across the uk. the cold air is behind this cold front and that'll be sinking its way south and eastwards as we go through wednesday and into thursday. but on tuesday, the front is draped across the north of scotland, the heaviest and most persistent of the rain here pulling its way slowly northwards through the day. further south, mainly dry, a lot cloud, there may be drizzle particularly for western hills. a few breaks in the cloud mainly east of high ground, and it's quite a breezy day for tuesday. this is an idea of wind speeds, average wind speeds through the afternoon. but it will mild, temperatures between nine and 11 celsius. the cloud will be fairly stubborn across much of the uk through tuesday evening, and will start to thicken. outbreaks of rain soon arriving into south—west scotland, northern ireland, sinking its way down into parts of northern england, maybe the far north of wales

and parts of south—west england by dawn on wednesday. further south, mainly dry, still a lot of cloud, still mild. temperatures not much lower than five or six celsius. but as we go through wednesday, this cold front continues to slide its way south and eastwards. as its name suggests, behind it is some colder air. some rain on the front itself, and behind it some showers, which will be wintry over scotland, mainly over higher ground but some of that snow could get down to lower levels as we head down towards the central belt. outbreaks of rain across central and south—east england through the afternoon. behind it, some spells of sunshine. much colder feel across scotland, four or five celsius, just about hanging onto milder conditions across southern south—east england, nine or 10 here. but that front finally clears away as we go through into thursday morning. we pick up a brisk north or north—westerly wind, that's going to feed further wintry showers across, and that's going to lead to some icy stretches first thing on thursday morning, particularly across scotland and northern england. further south, still having a lot of cloud, and for a time some milder conditions. but not for long. by thursday, that cold air

digs in across the uk. it will feed some wintry showers down across eastern coasts, but for most some crisp sunshine, but a much colder feel on thursday. temperatures not much higher than six or seven celsius. now, as we go into friday, under clear skies, a widespread frost across the uk, a really cold start to the day on friday, but for many crisp with some sunshine. however, there is a front to the west, could be just sliding its way eastwards, bringing more cloud, some outbreaks of rain for western fringes. a chance, as it bumps into the cold air, you could see a little bit of snow. but for many, dry with sunshine on friday but feeling much colder. bye— bye. this is bbc news. the headlines: theresa may warns there is a risk of there being no brexit if mps vote down her withdrawal deal during a crucial vote on tuesday. it is expected that the prime minister will suffer a heavy defeat. donald trump has dismissed claims that he worked for russia as a big fat hoax. two separate investigations

in the us media have posed new questions about his ties to moscow. violent protests have turned deadly in zimbabwe after the government more than doubled fuel prices to tackle widespread shortages. hundreds of people have been arrested. now on bbc news: monday in parliament.