i'm samantha simmonds with bbc world news. our top story: the us says its forces have killed the leader of the so—called islamic state group, abu bakr al—baghdadi, often described as the world's most wanted man. president donald trump says he was killed during an operation by us special forces in syria. he said that al—baghdadi had blown himself up in a tunnel, killing three of his own children. a state of emergency has been declared across california as wildfires continue to spread, whipped up by strong winds. nearly two hundred thousand people in the north of the state have been ordered to leave their homes. and this story is trending on bbc.com. the lost rennaisance painting sold at auction for 26 million dollars. the work by cimabue had been hanging undiscovered for many years in a kitchen in france. that's all. stay with bbc world news. more on our web site

bbc.co.uk/news and the news app. now on bbc news, live to singapore for asia business report. brexit uncertainty as european union is set to decide on how long to expand the uk's exit deadline. we will look at how this is impacting businesses. argentina's next president will challenge alberto fernandez to win the next election. how the rising cost of living was a keyissue how the rising cost of living was a key issue for voters. good morning, asia. hello, world. iam glad key issue for voters. good morning, asia. hello, world. i am glad you could join us for another action packed version of asia business

report. starting with brexit, the european union is expected to announce today or tomorrow how long it is willing to extend the uk's deadline for leaving the block. this is after it was agreed in principle to agree written's exit beyond the end of the month. what does this mean? joining me now for all the details as my colleague and business report at mariko oi. a lot of enterprise are concerned about this. indeed, rico. this decision on the brexit deadline is a key issue for many companies because it will mean that britain will avoid leaving the eu without a deal. that has been one of the biggest concern is currently facing many businesses. and according to the institute of directors in the uk, more than half of its members would prefer to have another referendum or a general election in order to avoid that outcome. meanwhile, british mps are

considering the prime minister's called for a general election in december. boris johnson called for a general election in december. borisjohnson says he wa nts to december. borisjohnson says he wants to hold a vote on the 12th of december if the eu offers a brexit delay until the 31st of january but he needs the support of two—thirds of the house of commons and it is not clear whether he has enough support for the move. meanwhile, industry body, the federation of small businesses, is calling for radical action to tackle the economic impact of the uncertainty around brexit but i think it is fair to say that uncertainty will continue for some time. uncertainty and many key decisions to be made over the next few days. thank you for that update, my colleague and business reporter mariko oi. well, hong kong is now on its fifth month of protest which have hit the economy hard. and one of the city's most prominent banks unveils its quarterly numbers in a few hours time. they broke their silence on

the demonstrations in august calling for a peaceful resolution. peter mcguire talked about how the hong kong protest and the ongoing us china trade while will impact the bottom line of hsbc. we're looking ata bottom line of hsbc. we're looking at a pre— tax of ii% washout in virus but a washout in revenue. it hasn't been a strong quarter and moving forward it will be tougher, i think probably going into the next quarter into quarters and three quarters out. it will certainly have an impact in the long run. tough next quarter and the following quarters and you have chairman mike tucker and acting ceo noel quinn under pressure to basically show investors how the bank plans to manage these issues while still boasting growth in asia which makes up boasting growth in asia which makes up more than 70 pet that 70% of its revenue. we are understanding what impact it has as far as bankruptcies

in hong kong. that is a strategic move but the issue at hand is what goes on as far as negative rates and low interest rate environment and learning capacity for banks globally. is the strategic move cost—cutting? will that globally. is the strategic move cost—cutting ? will that be reinforced? you could see a job cut and they could be more across these quarters moving forward so job cuts area quarters moving forward so job cuts are a way to move and ahead count to construct balance sheet so this could be as far as hsbc and many other banks, cutting headcount globally. there are reports that hsbc made stock trading in some developed western markets and attempt to sell its french retail bank which will definitely lead to thousands of layoffs. exactly right.

companies re— strategise and they see arms of their business that are not performing and in turn, they move on those. sever the ties, sell it off ata move on those. sever the ties, sell it off at a loss or again, and primarily focus on those other parts of the business that are showing up side. we are going through a large paradigms shift also with the introduction of virtual banks that are introduction of virtual banks that a re really introduction of virtual banks that are really competing against the mainstay, the large banks and the established, the 1865 banks that started 150 yea rs established, the 1865 banks that started 150 years ago that was peter mcguire and his take on the hsbc quarterly earnings. they will be released on about three hours time. on business use, china's communist party elite will be holding their first full gathering in nearly 20 months from today. the bitter trade while with the us is sure to be a major topic of discussion along with the country's slowing economy and the country's slowing economy and the protests in hong kong. this patient then that space venture backspace richard branch and is ready to launch not interspace but on the euro stock exchange. we set

to start trading on monday. the move follows virgin's merger with the publicly listed silicon valley holding company. opposition leader in argentina alberto fernandez is on track to win the elections. the soaring cost of food has caused a surge in —— and poverty and hunger ina surge in —— and poverty and hunger in a country that was once hailed as the richest in latin america. a part of the population are now living in poverty as their salaries are not enough to cover the basic cost of living. the bbc‘s south america correspondent has more from one of cyrus. putting food on the table, not just for themselves but cyrus. putting food on the table, notjust for themselves but other —— dozens notjust for themselves but other —— d oze ns of notjust for themselves but other —— dozens of other families. the place relies entirely on donations by the government that government and

nothing he goes to waste. —— buenos aires. this woman and her mother set it up to cater for 70 local children. today they are saving over 200 meals notjust of the children but to all their relatives. translation: meat, fruits and vegeta bles translation: meat, fruits and vegetables are very expensive. we can barely afford any sort of healthy food for our smooth —— soup kitchen. mostly we can serve people processed food like pasta, rice and wheat. the problem is widespread. one study suggests a third of all children in argentina now eat in a soup kitchen all day. that once a day. argentina is one of the largest food exporters but a state of food emergency has been declared meaning from next year the government will be obliged to spend more in soup kitchens in places like this. argentina is an agricultural

powerhouse and exports beef, milk and soy beans. but internally, prices are skyrocketing. the result is more poverty. one in every three argentinians today cannot afford to pay for the basic cost of living. many now live on the streets. pay for the basic cost of living. many now live on the streetslj pay for the basic cost of living. many now live on the streets. i eat only what people give me. if not, i don't eat. sometimes it is a cookie ora don't eat. sometimes it is a cookie or a yoga it but i prefer to give it to my children so they eat it and i put up with the hunger because i am a grown up. put up with the hunger because i am a grown up. argentina's recession is expected to last well beyond this year. at expected to last well beyond this yea r. at least expected to last well beyond this year. at least with the new food emergency bill, people can expect more soup kitchens like this to alleviate hunger. and before we go, here is a quick look at the markets and asia—pacific shares are in positive territory in mid—morning trade. this is in line with wall

street which soared to a near record high in hopes that washington and babe — bgm are moving to finalising a trade deal. —— beijing. happy holidays. i i'm rico hizon. goodbye for now. this is bbc news. the top stories this hour: the us says its forces have killed the leader of the so—called islamic state group, abu bakr al—baghdadi, often described as the world's most wanted man. and a state of emergency is declared across california as wildfires continue to spread whipped up by ferocious winds. in other news, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of barcelona in support of spanish unity.

it follows protests by supporters of catalan independence on saturday, that ended in violent clashes with police. sarah rainsford reports. today, they raised the spanish national flag today, they raised the spanish nationalflag in barcelona alongside the catalan colours. catalans who insist they are spanish, too, and will stay that way. but two years on from an independence vote and nine of its members in prison, this is a society deeply divided. some have even lost friends for the —— for the issue. people think we are against catalonia but we are not against it, we love spain. people haven't been out on the streets in these numbers since the referendum but they say they want to be here to make sure their voices heard and to make it clear that not everyone here in

catalonia wants independence. but last night, this same street was in flames. after a crowd of independent supporters were charged by police. they fired rubber bullets to scatter the crowd after being pelted with paintand the crowd after being pelted with paint and bottles. there were ugly scenes after a much bigger and peaceful rally. hundreds of thousands in the streets insisting on their rights to split from spain and calling for those they call political prisoners to be freed. passions are heated on both sides. today's pro unity rally called for healing the divide but no—one can agree here. hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme:

iam i am tulsen tollett, mine from the major—league world series, where the houston astros are the washington nationals. game five of this series is poised at two a piece. the kick that sent the springboks to another rugby world cup final. pollard pinpoint perfect placekicking to set up a showdown with england. and another record for tiger woods. he winds injapan as well. hello, and thanks for joining he winds injapan as well. hello, and thanks forjoining us on sport today. it is game five of baseball's world series. tulsen tollett is at nationals park in the us capital. looks like the houston astros are running away with it? well, the astros are 4—0 at the top of the fifth inning. alvarez with a two run home at the top of the second, and

carlos correa also with a two run home at the top of the fourth innings. so right now the astros look like they are on their way to a 3-2 look like they are on their way to a 3—2 series lead. game six of course goes back to houston in texas on tuesday. perhaps the biggest thing to come out of all this is aj hinch, maybe he has got to be a john day martin of the washington nationals. he had jose keady who came in as picture in game four and sydney outstanding job. jared cole has come back for this one and of course mugshots had an injury issue and had to pull out. joe frost comes back into the team for this one. at this stage the astros are on course to match what the new york yankees did backin match what the new york yankees did back in 1996. they lost their first two home games of the series against the atla nta two home games of the series against the atlanta braves, but then came back and won the next three on the road, and they won game six to take the series by 4—2. at the moment, the series by 4—2. at the moment, the astros are on target to do just that, and then go back home and possibly when a second world series in three years. let's go over and

have a word with a few of the washington supporters, and just see what is going on. you are live on bbc news. everson idea on how you think things are going tonight? it is obvious we not going washington's way. not yet, but we are hoping for a turnaround tonight. how do you think it is going to turn around? hopefully pitching or hitting, i don't know. anything, really. the last time this happened, a team coming back on 23 on the road was the new york yankees in 1996, so it isa the new york yankees in 1996, so it is a tough thing to do. as a season, though, regardless of what has happened here, is a season, considering we were 19 and 31, how do you rate the year? a wonderful year but it doesn't mean anything if we don't finish! we've got to finish. got to finish strong. what do you need to do this evening? score some runs. get some more runs going. we need some offence. 44,000 people then hear marks, and i can tell you, donald trump, the president of the usa was on