welcome to bbc news — i'm mike embley. our top stories: russia labels turkey's invasion of syria "unacceptable" and warns against any attacks on syrian forces. the uk says negotiations with the eu to reach a brexit deal were constructive and will continue later. bulgaria's football chief resigns amid outrage over racist abuse of england players during a match in sofia. dutch police find a family of five who'd been locked away on a farm for almost a decade.

as the turkish military offensive in northern syria goes on, the pentagon has deployed fighter jets and helicopter gunships to warn off turkish—backed fighters who, a us official says, violated an agreement not to threaten retreating american ground troops. the russian government, which backs syria's president assad, has also warned turkey, saying it will not allow clashes with syrian forces. the turks have crossed the border into syria aiming to defeat kurdish fighters, long—time american allies who they regard as terrorists. this report from jon sopel. the extraordinary american retreat, in one selfie video. a russian wearing a new york yankees cap playfully shows us around a newly abandoned us military base in northern syria. the russians are gratefully filling a vacuum. and, as if to underline this major power shift in the middle east, just look at the welcome the united arab emirates were laying on this morning for the russian leader, vladimir putin, as they gave him the red —

well, blue — carpet treatment. but it is a very different picture on the ground in northern syria, where the turks continue their bombardment. and don't think it is just kurdish fighters that are the target. if you strike residential areas, then children who know nothing of this conflict will be its victims too. the fighting has prompted the uk to join some other european nations in suspending arms sales to turkey. in washington, the president has faced a barrage of criticism, and there are signs the pressure is beginning to tell, with tougher sanctions being imposed against turkey. we want to bring our soldiers back home. and we're being very tough on turkey and a lot of others. we're asking for a ceasefire. we've put the strongest sanctions that you can imagine, but they get a lot — we have a a lot in store if they don't have an impact. and the results of the pressure can be seen by comparing the difference in tone between donald trump last week and the vice president,

mike pence, last night. syrian defence forces have been a strong ally of the united states. they didn't help us in the second world war. they didn't help us with normandy, as an example... well, the united states of america did not give a green light to turkey to invade syria. but he said, "i want to go in, i want to go in." but he's been telling me that for 2.5 years. the president is very concerned about instability in the region. they're there, and we're here. we're many miles away. the ledger on donald trump for these past ten days is pretty harsh. he stands accused of betraying america's kurdish allies, of allowing islamic state to regroup, of creating a humanitarian disaster, of giving russia, syria and iran a major strategic victory. on the upside, he is bringing 1,000 us troops out of syria. but they're not coming home. they're being redeployed to iraq. a week of artillery fire, bombing and fighting has claimed the lives of many civilians, and prompted at least 160,000

to flee their homes, all the result of one phone call between president erdogan and donald trump. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. brexit talks between the united kingdom and the european union are set to continue on wednesday morning, with speculation increasing that a deal is imminent. downing street is playing down the reports. with a two—day summit of european leaders starting thursday in brussels, the chief eu negotiator has said details of any deal would have to be agreed... well, any time now. laura kuennsberg reports. a tired rub of the eyes — how much longer? while the politicians are still turning up, there is a chance of a deal. the talks are ongoing, we need to give them space to proceed, but detailed conversations are under way on the deal is still very possible. the dup were in downing street last night — are they on board? impossible to know now, though,

who will be on board. because a possible agreement, with compromises and concessions, has not been done. so, if the eu's negotiator looks exhausted by the process, he's probably not the only one. even if an agreement will be difficult, more and more difficult, to be frank, it's still possible this week. how many ways can you say, it's hard, you'll have to wait and see? reaching an agreement is still possible. 0bviously, any agreement must work for everyone. the eu—uk stand—off is over. the conversations are real about finding a solution, to solve the conundrum that centres on managing the irish border, when after brexit one side would be in the eu and one side will be out.

initial indications are that we are making progress, that the negotiations are moving in the right direction, but whether we'll be able to conclude a revised withdrawal agreement, which after all is an international treaty, in time for the summit on thursday, that's, as of now, unclear. reporters: are you optimistic about a deal, prime minister? can you you get an agreement by tonight, prime minister? will there be a deal tonight? the prime minister might be good at the meet and greet, today the chief of nato was the recipient of thejohnson grip and grin. whether a deal can be reached by tomorrow is just not known. it's not yes or no yet but definitely a maybe tonight. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. spain's acting government has criticised the clashes in the pro—independence protests in barcelona and other catalan cities. thousands have been demonstrating in barcelona over the long jail sentences for nine separatist leaders convicted for their role in the 2017 bid for independence.

damian grammaticas is there for us. so the police are moving in now, as you can see. down the street, they have just jumped out of a van and they have run up to clear the protesters from the placa de catalunya. a group of riot police just moved in there. now, the clashes have been going on for a couple of hours now, and this whole area earlier today, it was absolutely full of the protesters. they blocked the whole of the centre of barcelona here, this main shopping street, the placa de catalunya, through the heart of barcelona. they gathered here because just down this way is the central government offices. and as they moved in there, trying to break through the police lines, that's when the clashes happened. the police moved in with batons. they tried to push the protesters back. there were fights and scuffles, bottles were thrown, and the police eventually drove the protesters out, but not before they had

managed to set fires, as you can see, all the way down this area. the fire teams have been moving in to put out the fires as well. what has angered the protesters here so much, well, that was the prison sentences handed down yesterday to nine pro—independence leaders here in catalonia for organising the unauthorised referendum two years ago, and then the failed independence bid. those prison sentences delivered yesterday, up to 13 years each for the leaders of that pro—independence movement, that's what angered everyone here. the protesters here, what they are saying is that they're going to continue their action. they are calling for marchers to descend on barcelona from around the province, around the region this week, and for a general strike here on friday. let's get some of the day's other news

lebanon has asked for international help battling hundreds of forest fires that broke out on monday. the fires — said to be the worst in decades — started in the western mountains amid a heatwave and strong winds. lebanon's president has ordered an investigation into why the country's firefighting helicopters were out of service. in france, a bill which would allow single women and lesbian couples to get state—funded fertility treatment has been approved by the lower house of parliament. ivf treatment in france is currently restricted to heterosexual couples. political and religious conservatives plan to fight the bill in the senate. thousands protested against the legislation when it was proposed at the beginning of the month. a seven—storey residential building has collapsed in the city of fortaleza in north—east brazil. firefighters have rescued nine people and one body has been recovered from the rubble. it happened in the morning when most people would have been at work. brazilian media say residents had complained that the building was in need of repairs

and restoration. european football's governing body has opened disciplinary proceedings against bulgaria over the racial abuse of england players in a euro 2020 qualifying game in sofia. the match was stopped twice as monkey chants were heard and nazi salutes seen in the crowd. the president of bulgaria's football union resigned after the match. daniel sandford has this update from sofia. i think the bulgarian football authorities are in a state of shock. the head, if he had known what the consequences were of what happened last night, he that he would effectively lose hisjob, they would have done more about it. clearly this was a major miscalculation. they either thought the fans would not turn up, that is the fans who we re not turn up, that is the fans who were pulling these nazi salutes, they are a small group from a few clu bs, they are a small group from a few clubs, or they thought they would not do what they did or, perhaps,

they thought that uefa would not react the way they did. either way the head of the football has now lost hisjob the head of the football has now lost his job and sent a strong signal to other football associations across eastern europe it may mean that something gets done about this issue. hong kong's chief executive is due to deliver her annual policy address at the re—opening of the legislative council. carrie lam is expected to announce economic measures and also the official withdrawal of the extradition bill that's sparked months of protests. the original protest has expanded far beyond one piece of legislation and in recent weeks there've been more confrontations between protesters and police. live now to hong kong and to wu chi—wai, who is chairman of the democratic party and a member of the legistlative council. thank you for your time. i think we will hear from carrie thank you for your time. i think we will hearfrom carrie lam in 90 minutes or so. what could she say that would make a difference in the territory and what she most likely to take? the problem is she relies

on measures to solve the problem and that will not be successful because people can protest against the government and they are asking for their five demands which will not be addressed by kerry lamb. —— carrie lam. and as a result i can imagine the protest and social unrest will keep going for a long time if carrie lam will not resolve the problem politically. what do you make of the vote in the us house of representatives and general international pressure, does it help 01’ international pressure, does it help or make things worse from beijing's point of view? international pressure will help and in particular hong kong as an international city and we have a lot of international links. so when the international community puts sanctions and their

focus on the human rights issue in hong kong and whether whether the government will honour the one country to systems, that will put pressure on the government and as a result they need to consider the situation differently. ultimately, how do you see this ending? it is unlikely that bashan will ever grateful democracy to hong kong. and president xi was recently talking about bodies being crushed of the protests continue. the five demands, they are talking about... with our political reform package discussions. but in order to lay down the foundations it is important for the government to start with an independent enquiry commission in

order to look at the whole issues in particular, especially the government and the governors and the police brutality in the past month in order to lay down the foundation for further political reforms. hopefully we can speak to you again and we will hear from carrie lam hopefully we can speak to you again and we will hearfrom carrie lam in the next few hours. tank you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the duke and duchess of cambridge enjoyed transport on their trip to pakistan. parts of san francisco least affected by the earthquake are returning to life, but in the marina area where most of the damage was done, they are more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed.

in the 19 years since he was last here, he's gone from being a little—known revolutionary to an experienced and successful diplomatic operator. it was a 20—pound bomb, which exploded on the fifth floor of the grand hotel, ripping a hole in the front of the building. this government will not weaken. democracy will prevail. it fills me with humility and gratitude to know that i have been chosen as the recipient of this foremost of earthly honours. this catholic nation held its breath for the men they call the 33. and then, bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue, and chile let out an almighty roar. this is bbc news, the latest headlines:

gunfire as turkey's military offensive in syria continues — russia says it will not allow clashes between turkish and syrian troops. the uk says late night negotiations with the eu over brexit were constructive and will continue in the morning. the speaker of the us house of representatives has said the democrats won't yet call a full house vote to authorise an impeachment inquiry into president trump. the white house has been arguing that, because democrats have not held a vote, the inquiry is "constitutionally invalid". in the past few hours the vice president and the pentagon have refused to comply with a demand for documents. lets hear what nancy pelosi said at a news conference. there is no requirement that we have a vote, and so at this time we will not be having a vote. and i'm very pleased with the thoughtfulness of our caucus, in terms of being supportive of the path that we're on, in terms of fairness, in terms of seeking the truth, in terms of upholding the constitution of the united states.

live now to our north america correspondent david willis. where correspondent david willis. exactly does all of this now where exactly does all of this stand now and where do you think it is heading? it is interesting because there has been growing pressure from there has been growing pressure from the president and members of his discretion in recent weeks for some sort of vote. a vote of the full house of representatives on this whole issue of impeachment. publicans whole issue of impeachment. publica ns contends that whole issue of impeachment. publicans contends that without it, the process is illegitimate, even though there is no constitutional requirement for such a vote. well, today, congress resumed after a two—week reset and nancy pelosi got members of the democratic party together behind closed doors to discuss whether they should be a vote given this buildup of pressure for one and came out and said that they wouldn't be. there are thought to be some democrats who are shy at the moment of a roll call vote on this. they are unwilling perhaps to

put their head above the parapet until they hear more about the evidence that is unearthed or otherwise by the committees that are currently investigating mr trump. meanwhile, that impeachment enquiry continues apace. there has been a hearing this week from various members, of the former staff of the white house. it might be worried it exposes divisions in their own ranks was up congress has an oversight role, doesn't it? can it do that if it can't get the documents?m role, doesn't it? can it do that if it can't get the documents? it is interesting because it looks as though it might not be able to get the documents. mike pence, the vice president, the latest to say that sorry, he is not going to be handing over documents relating to that now notorious telephone conversation between president trump and his ukrainian counterpart vlodimeer zele ns ky ukrainian counterpart vlodimeer zelensky injuly ukrainian counterpart vlodimeer zelensky in july this ukrainian counterpart vlodimeer zelensky injuly this year. mr p citing against other things —— mr

mike pence citing other things. rudy giuliani, trump's personal lawyer, had also refused to hand over documents relating to that telephone conversation and indeed, the white house stance on this has been one of blanket non—cooperation. the chairman of one of the house committee is investigating this impeachment situation said tonight that that alone could constitute some sort of, if you like, obstruction, which could form the basis of an impeachment article for a vote later on in a few months' time. david, thank you very much for that. the parents of a british teenager who was killed in a crash involving an american diplomat‘s wife say they didn't get the answers they wanted from a meeting with president trump. tim dunn and his wife charlotte met donald trump at the white house to discuss the death of their 19—year—old son harry and demand that the woman allegedly responsible for the collision be

returned to britain. but the president told them that anne sacoolas, who left the uk on diplomatic immunity, would not be returning to the uk. she returned to the us soon after the crash in northamptonshire in august. a family being held by the us authorities after accidentally crossing the border from canada say they've been told they will be sent back to the uk in the morning. the connors family was arrested nearly two weeks ago. the bbc‘s chris buckler reports from pennsylvania. david and eileen connors and their baby are being held here at family residential centre in pennsylvania. this is some 2500 miles away from where they were first arrested. they we re where they were first arrested. they were say they were hold in canada and travel down the road in british claudia when they swerved to avoid an animal. they then went down an unmarked road and the next venue, they were being pulled over by police in washington state who said that they had illegally crossed over

into the united states was initially, they were held near seattle but they have since been transferred over here to pennsylvania and the conners are complaining about their conditions. ina complaining about their conditions. in a statement given to us by their lawyers, they say that they are frigid, cold and dirty as they are particularly concerned about their baby who they say has developed and eye condition. in a statement, immigration and customs enforcement agencies say that reports of abuse of english humane conditions are com pletely of english humane conditions are completely false but their lawyers have gone back into see them —— inhumane conditions. they are trying to ensure they release. the duke and duchess of cambridge have met pakistan's prime minister, on the first full day of their visit to the country. imran khan was a friend of the duke's mother princess diana. secunder kermani has this report — there are flashing images coming up. arriving by rickshaw, the royal couple pulled up at their last engagement of the day. a reception designed to celebrate the uk's links with pakistan. there was no mention

by prince william of britain's colonial history. but he spoke of the contemporary ties between the countries. the uk and pakistan share unique bonds, so it will always be in our best interest for you to succeed. earlier in the day, the trip kicked off with a visit to a school in islamabad. education, along with climate change, are amongst the issues the couple want to focus on in particular. they also met pakistan's prime minister, cricketer turned politician imran khan. british officials say this trip will focus on showing pakistan as a forward—looking country. and that is something many people here welcome. i mean, it is a great message to the world outside, to tell us how pakistan is a new country, we are up and blooming, and we are not what they portray us to be. the timing is really good. pakistan needs to improve its soft image. news archive: princess diana's visit attracted media attention... the tour has an added emotional significance for prince william, as he traces some of his late

mother's footsteps. princess diana made three visits to the country in the 1990s. here in pakistan, the hope is that this royal visit will encourage people to see the country in a more positive light — and to be more willing to come here themselves. secunder kermani, bbc news, islamabad. dutch police have discovered a family who spent nearly a decade hidden away on a remote farm, apparently waiting for the end of time. a father and his five adult children were found after his eldest son turned up in a local town. the bbc‘s tim allman has the story. the flat, endless countryside of the dutch province. a secluded farmhouse hidden away behind trees and bushes. no—one was really sure who lived here or what went on inside these walls. it was all a mystery until a young man walked into a local pub,

drank five beers and asked for help. translation: i could immediately see he was confused. he had long hair, dirty beard and dirty old clothes. it didn't make sense. when police arrived, they found his father and four siblings, living in arrived, they found his father and foursiblings, living in a arrived, they found his father and four siblings, living in a small space in the house that could be locked. it wasn't known if they were there voluntarily. he had been there a p pa re ntly there voluntarily. he had been there apparently alone for years, surviving on home grown vegetables and livestock. it is not clear if any of the children had ever gone to school or even knew that other people existed. officers wouldn't confirm speculation the family were waiting for the end of time. translation: but part of our investigation were to find out what people were doing exactly was not there are still many questions to which we have no answer local mass of the children's mother died some

time ago. the family had been taken to an undisclosed location and according to the police are given all care and attention. perhaps in the coming days and weeks, the truth will be told of their strange, hidden life. waiting for the world to end. tim allman, bbc news. before we go, we have pictures of north korean leader kim jong—un. we go, we have pictures of north korean leader kimjong—un. never seen him before astride a white charger amid snowy mountains. these pictures show chairman kim climbing the slopes of the country's spiritual home. the agency describes the visit is a great event awaiting importance. all officials accompany him are convinced they will be a great operation to strike the world with wonder again. that of course being interpreted in various ways by many north korean watchers. more on that and more on all the news on the

bbc website was up you can reach me and most of the team on twitter. thank you for watching. hello. we've got some fine weather heading our way. wednesday is expected to be a sunny and fresh day, clean air coming off the atlantic. but in the short term we have the overnight rain so early in the morning would be cloudy, wet and quite windy as well. this is the big picture, the satellite, you can see, the weather front here approaching ireland earlier on moving into western parts of the uk, all linked to the low pressure sitting out there in the atlantic. and this low pressure will be right on top of us during the course of thursday, friday and saturday and sunday and that means the outlook is looking pretty showery and blustery. but in the short term it's the weather front that's bringing the rainfall and quite breezy conditions as well. this is the rain through the early hours of the morning,

pretty much through the centre of the british isles. at times the rain will be heavy. not a particularly cold night, around 11 in the south and maybe eight degrees in the north. that weather front will eventually reach eastern parts of the uk early in the morning so you're most likely to catch the rainfall say from east anglia, lincolnshire in the north—east of england and eastern scotland early in the morning and then it's out of the way in the afternoon. you can see it's clear with pleasant conditions on the way. a little on the nippy side in scotland and northern ireland, around 13 degrees, but the winds will be light so not a bad day overall. and with the fine end to wednesday on the way as well. this is thursday's weather map so the low pressure i showed you from earlier on, edging closer. starting to roll into ireland and the wind will be strong as well. early on wednesday there will be a lot of sunshine around, particularly across central and eastern areas but quickly out towards the west, the winds will strengthen and the showers will rattle in, some will be heavy so steady with the brolly.

also hail and thunder is a possibility as well so it will feel chillier articularly across the western areas where the wind will strengthen. winds will then get stronger as we had through friday. the low pressure here has not moved a lot. with the showers churning around it, the overall weather pattern will not change. again, showers are expected, frequent across western and southern areas and along the south coast of england, winds could be in excess of 50 miles an hour in gusts, so a blustery end to the week on the way. through the weekend the winds will ease but the showers will continue. i don't want to write the weekend off because there will be sunshine around as well, it will be just changeable.

the headlines: as the turkish military offensive in northern syria continues, the pentagon deploys fighterjets to warn off turkish—backed fighters accused of violating an agreement not to threaten retreating american troops. russia, which backs syria's president assad, has also warned turkey, saying it will not allow clashes with syrian forces. brexit negotiations between the uk and the eu will continue later with downing street saying talks so far have been constructive. the continuation comes despite the eu's chief brexit negotiator having imposed a midnight deadline, but michel barnier is stressing the urgency for an agreement to be reached ahead of a 2—day summit of european leaders starting on thursday. the president of the bulgarian football union resigns after racist abuse against england players during a match against bulgaria in the capital sofia. uefa calls on football fans to wage war on the racists.