this is bbc world news today. our top stories: the united states and iran have carried out a rare prisoner swap — coming despite heightened tensions between the two countries. questions raised about russian interference in the british election after the leak of sensitive trade documents. and a controversial audience with pope francis for malta's embattled prime minister. firefighters in australia say a fire burning near sydney is now bigger than the city's metropolitan area.

hello and welcome to world news today. iran and the united states have carried out a rare exchange of prisoners despite the tensions between them. it involved massoud soleimani, an iranian scientist arrested in the us after allegedly violating trade sanctions. he was swapped for an american academic, xiyue wang. he'd served three years of a ten—year sentence in iran for spying and served three, a charge he denied. trump thanked iran for what he called "a very fair negotiation" and said it showed the "two countries can make a deal together". more from our washington correspondent chris buckler. both iran and the us have made the most of this brief thaw in their relationship. the iranian foreign minister even pictured himself with massoud soleimani.

the professor on the right was arrested a year ago in chicago for allegedly violating trade sanctions. and as he made his way back to tehran, the us posted a photograph of xiyue wang starting his own journey home. the princeton university academic was charged with spying in iran more than three years ago. since then, his family have made several public appeals for him to be allowed to return to his wife and son. he was barely three when my husband left home for his research. and he is now six. he missed him for half of his life already. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, tweeted that he would not rest until every american detained was back home. the prisoner exchange does mark a rare moment of an easing of tensions between the countries. at one stage this year, washington and tehran appeared on the verge of serious conflict,

following the attacks on tankers in the gulf of hormuz and the shooting down of an american drone. now they have shown they can negotiate, but on more substantive issues, it does not mean that they are ready to talk. here's donald trump speaking a little earlier. actually, i think it was a great thing for iran, i think it was great to show that we can do something. it might have been a precursor as to what can be done but we have our hostage back, we have been trying to get him back. joining me now for more on this is camelia entekhabifa rd, who is the editor in chief of the independent, persian. thank you for speaking to us. let's start with why. why is this happening right now? thank you for hosting me. we have

to say, it is so much increase in the past few months for the situation in iraq, yemen and in iran. there should be both sides trying to reduce the tension and seeing this prisoner swap, more than anything is a message that both sides are willing to reduce the tension but from the arabian side they want to pursue and find a way to negotiate with americans. the travel of mr zarif for the past weeks back and forth... this prisoner exchange has been held by the regional country and if iran is willing to change some of its behaviour in the region

as trump said he was willing to negotiate with the iranians and if they're looking for a back channel they could negotiate, you're talking about a reduction of tension but just last year we had a situation where iran was being accused of shooting down us drones so what has changed because relations have been quite frosty? nothing has really changed. even a few minutes ago, the defence minister of the us having a press c0 nfe re nce over defence minister of the us having a press conference over a fresh attack against american air base in iraq and they are not clear if missile fired were from iranians or any iranian proxies but they said it would be investigated by the americans. the tension is high in the region. nothing has been changed of iranian attitude, even they come

more aggressive towards protesters. they were shouting their life had been changed and... nothing has been changed, for the government, for the regime, they can't escape this and the americans are pressing them against the sanctions. if there's was only by one side, since both sides have released a prisoner there isa sides have released a prisoner there is a little gap, we are not sure if that would go so progressive to become a negotiation between them but at the same time there is no other way for both sides to reduce the tension. we haven't had more other incidents in the persian water from the ships incident you

remember... so sorry to interrupt but we will have to leave it there. thank you very much forjoining us from new york. questions have being raised about russian interference in next week's uk election after possible links emerged between russia and leaked documents detailing trade discussions between the united states and the uk. the papers were used by the opposition labour party to claim the conservatives will include the nhs in any deal with the americans after brexit, which they've denied. the documents appeared on the online discussion forum, reddit, which said they were linked toa campaign originating from russia. this report from our political correspondent, ben wright, contains flash photography. elections are about defence as well as attack. this morning, boris johnson was in stockport, saying the tories would provide more grassroots football funding in england. but today there are also questions about what role russia might be playing in this

election. these censored, blacked—out reports. this leaked government document detailing initial trade discussions between the uk and the us was highlighted by labour. the american message board company, reddit, said it was posted online by an account linked to a campaign originating in russia. i do think we need to get to the bottom of that. as far as i'm aware, we have not yet established the truth about that. but i certainly think that that document, whatever it was intended to prove, did not prove what jeremy corbyn and the labour party hoped that it would prove. jeremy corbyn was out campaigning in wales this morning. labour has said publishing the trade document was in the public interest and argues that the government should release a parliamentary report into russian involvement in the brexit referendum and the last election. the prime minister has answers to give, which he refuses to do, about russian donations to the tory party, or the report that he is sitting on about russian interference in british politics. of course there should be no

interference in our british political system by donald trump or the russians. experts admit they still do not know exactly how the documents got into the public domain. one of the possibilities is that this was the leak of uk government documents by some kind of foreign actor and that is not the only hypothesis but it is one of them but that is a very worrying hypothesis because it looks like official documents have come up online and we don't yet know how that happened. this campaign is now in its closing stages, a final chance for the parties to pick holes in their opponent's arguments and drive their core messages home. while team johnson feels like it has the advantage, this unpredictable election is farfrom over. ben wright, bbc news, in stockport. a huge bush fire that's burning out of control near sydney may take weeks to put out. the mega—blaze, north of sydney stretches for sixty kilometres and is bigger than the city itself. almost a hundred fires continue

to burn in the drought—hit state of new south wales. phil mercer reports. the authorities are warning that some of the bushfires in eastern australia are too big to put out and will only be extinguished by heavy rain. there are 100 blazes in drought—hit new south wales, half are burning out of control. they can be unpredictable and fast moving. residents and animals have been forced to flee as walls of flame many metres high bore down on their communities. at any time it mightjust come over the side so we are just going to leave. more than 2,000 firefighters, many of them volunteers, are on the ground in new south wales. their task, with the crisis now into its fifth week, is exhausting and unrelenting. it is dangerous, too. a water bombing helicopter has crashed landed but the pilot escaped with only minor injuries. sydney is again shrouded in a toxic, smoky haze blown in from

nearby bushfires. health warnings have been issued and many weekend sporting activities have been cancelled. there are hazardous conditions in queensland, too. parts of the state are blanketed in smoke and about 45 blazes still rage. bushfires are common in australia but scientists believe this year they have started earlier and have been more intense due to global warming. malta's embattled prime minister joseph muscat has had a private meeting with pope francis at the vatican, despite demands for it to be called off. mr muscat has been accused of obstructing the police inquiry into the murder of the journalist daphne ca ruana galizia more than two years ago. today, police have summoned his former chief of staff, keith schembri, for further questioning about the case. with me is mike sanders, europe regional editor

of bbc world service. how did the meeting play out back and multi? there's a lot of opposition, people wrote to the paper saying it was a propaganda exercise in behalf of mr muscat and it was unwise to go ahead but the vatican made it clear that this was a private visit, a visit with his family is, his wife michelle and his children and it had been planned for months, well before mr muscat promised this week that he would resign in january promised this week that he would resign injanuary in the wake of all the scandals and chaos that are going on around the murder of daphne caruana galizia going on around the murder of daphne ca ruana galizia who going on around the murder of daphne caruana galizia who was blown up by a car bomb back in october 2017.“ it is public and are, as any of it working? possibly not. it has to be remembered that malta is very tribal in its politics. there is a very

strong support for the labour party which mr muscat heads, he won the election very clearly in 2013 and 2017 and mr schembri, the man who has been rearrested today, was seen as the mastermind of those elections, a very strong political operator so that support has not been dwindled at all and there have been dwindled at all and there have been a very strong protests and demonstrations in favour of mr muscat, despite everything that has gone on. with mr schembri being called in by the police again today, where is this investigation heading? police wanted to talk to him about some testimony given in court this week by a man named melvin theuma. it is alleged that mr theuma was the middleman who was the go—between the mastermind who commissioned this car bomb that killed daphne caruana galizia, or the man who paid

for it, allegedly. and three other man who we re allegedly. and three other man who were accused of actually planting the bomb and setting it off. the prime minister said he would step down in january prime minister said he would step down injanuary but are the protesters willing to wait that long? no, i don't think so. the protests are still continuing. this week we saw the start of a long—awaited public enquiry into the murder and daphne caruana galizia's family have been given very damning evidence in that enquiry which is stinging about many of mr muscat‘s closest colleagues and indeed mr muscat himself although there is no direct link which has been produced so direct link which has been produced so far between mr muscat and the murder. thank you very much for coming on tonight. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: manchester united beat manchester city, denting their rivals' premier league title

hopes. thht and all the other day's sports news injust a moment

this is bbc world news today. the latest headlines: the united states and iran have carried out a rare prisoner swap — coming despite heightened tensions between the two countries. and questions raised about russian interference in the british election after the leak of sensitive trade documents. witness history now and we re remembering the impact a british coal miner's son had on the world of art. during the 20th century henry moore revolutionised the world of sculpture, changing the way the human body was seen and setting his works in natural landscapes. by the 1970s he was the most famous sculptor in the

world. the work of henry moore has been seen in almost every country in the world. he has made a staggering total of something like 900 sculptures, many of them immense, as well as thousands of drawings and nearly 1000 graphics. i mean, i can't believe, because his work seems so comfortable, that there was this feeling that it was dangerous, that it was outrageous that he would defile youth. his first exhibition was in 1928. already, his work was causing controversy. the art schools that he was in understudying in ——and studying in, called his work, you know, ugly and disgusting ugly and disgusting and that he fed ona cesspit. what took people back was a manner of expression that emphasised the sexual nature of his subjects

and rejected the realistic treatment of the human figure. it was considered to be primitive, decadent and savage in a way it was, he wanted to arise and as the deepest forces and instincts. a great deal can still be done with three—dimensional forms as a means of expressing what people feel about themselves and about nature and about the world around them. my father and his generation looked rather to ethnographic works, what they call primitive works. my belief is that no matter what advances we make in technology and in the controlling of nature, the real basis of life is is human relationships. it is through them that we are happy or unhappy. in 1950, his daughter mary, who had been born during the war, was then four years old and had a great source of pride. our home and his studios were kind of interchangeable.

he had a few basic subjects that he couldn't help from returning to again and again. one of them was the reclining figure. what was the particular significance of that? it may be that it connects the human figure with landscape more easily than what a standing figure could end landscape is one of my great obsessions. another one was the mother and child. i have done many mother and child sculptures. most of them have been this idea of the larger form and relationship with the smaller form and the protective sense and the sense of gentleness and tenderness. moore remains a countryman at heart, his studios are surrounded by fields, hedges and woods. he is happiest seeing his

sculptures in the open air. there was an exhibition in florence in 1972 which was a remarkable exhibition and it was a first in many, many ways. moore assembled in the fort and on the ramparts nearly 200 sculptures and 100 drawings. the big sculptures in the open air, each one cited by moore himself, were what made this exhibition unique. one would have had to travel the world to see so much at any other time. his father was very worried, he thought that people wouldn't go. tourism, back in the 70s, wasn't quite such a big deal. actually getting to places was much harder. in the end, it was a fantastic success. something like 400,000 visitors. i think they need to be set outside. i always want to go up and touch them but, you know, you can go up to them and run

your hand around them. i mean, he wanted sculpture to be part of everybody‘s life and experience and enrich their lives and we should go on fighting that fight. ben croucher has all the sport. manchester city have vowed to ban anyone found guilty of racist abuse after manchester united players said they were targeted during the manchester derby on saturday. the club are working with police to identify any individuals involved. as for the football, united surprised city by winning 2—1 at the etihad 00:21:38,1000 --> 00:21:39,698 stadium. it leaves pep guardiola's side 1a points behind leaders liverpool. marcus rashford and anthony martial scored united's goals. we will remember this. we look so dangerous when we get the ball and go forward and we are playing against arguably the best team for

it is just the preparation for this team, the way they can change things tactically and it is not easy to analyse them but they are an unbelievable team and to get a result, to defend like we did and to create as many chances as we did in the first half, i thought we should have been three or four up, the first half, i thought we should have been three orfour up, some good goalkeeping. that result means city are 1a points adrift of liverpool who won 3—nil at bournemouth.alex 0xlaide chamberlain, naby keita and mo salah on his one hundredth premier league appearance were on the scoresheet forjurgen klopp's side. professionally it was controlled. we really had to control the game, obviously bournemouth felt more and more secure and lost two players for an injury and any chance we had to bring it

over the line so... everton — under caretaker boss duncan ferguson — surprised chelsea 3—1. tottenham thrashed burnley 5—nil with son hueng min scoring a goal of the season contender. watford and crystal palace was goalless. in europe on saturday, bundesliga leaders borrissua moenchenglabach beat bayern munich 2—1. bayern are 7th. jadon sancho scored twice as dortmund were fortuna dusseldorf. in spain, real madrid were 2—0 winners over espa nyol. barcelona are currently 4—1 against mallorca. world player of the year lionel messi has already scored twice. in italy, juventus can return to the top if they beat third place lazio. currently 2—1. ding junhui has beaten fellow chinese player yan bingtao 6—2 to reach the final of the uk snooker championship in york. ding hasn't won a major title since 2011 but raced

into the lead against yan, building a 3—0 lead. yan managed to fight back to trail 4—2, but that was as close as he got and ding wrapped up a 6—2 victory. he'll play 2004 champion stephen maguire, who beat mark allen 6—nil. henrik stenson has won golf‘s world challenge in the bahamas after tournament host tiger woods' challenge fell away. woods held the lead early in the final round but could only find one birdie on the back nine to finish 4 shots behind stenson. the swede eagled the 15th to take him to 18 under par, a shot clear of spain'sjon rahm. don't worry. we've not forgotten about the boxing. anthonyjoshua and andy ruinunior in that colosal heavyweight rematch is taking place right now in saudi arabia. they are in the second round. you can follow that one blow for blow on the bbc sport website. that's all the sport for now. thank

you. if you think you are getting into the christmas spirit, i doubt you to challenge this family. the christmas spirit has most certainly arrived at one house in germany. thomas and susanne jeromin have spruced up their saxony home with a remarkable 350 christmas trees. decking the halls began in august, with tens of thousands of baubles and over 300 strings of lights used in the process. no two trees are the same, this year's themes include superheroes and star wars. not content with their current record, the family is aiming to squeeze 500 trees into their home in the coming years. i don't know about you but one tree is enough trouble for

me. a reminder of our top story, iran and the united states have carried out a rare exchange of prisoners despite the tensions between them. it involved massoud soleimani, an iranian scientist arrested in the us after allegedly violating trade sanctions. that's it for world news. there is a strong jet stream across the atlantic and that is picking up deepening areas of low pressure heading to the uk and it will be a windy few days will stop the strength of the wind is likely to have some impact but at times a country by heavy rain, will the warnings you can see online. today we have seen this a cloud spilling in from the atlantic for top it has brought some heavy rain, to the hills of western scotland and it has wrapped around an area of low pressure out to the west. at the same time as this rain on that weather front is moving same time as this rain on that weatherfront is moving into same time as this rain on that weather front is moving into the same time as this rain on that weatherfront is moving into the uk, the winds are strengthening, that has been happening over the past few

hours and we are all going to get a speu hours and we are all going to get a spell of wet and windy weather for a time overnight, just that rain sweeping down towards the south—east. clearer skies following behind that and plenty of showers towards the north—west. in the north and western scotland, through the irish sea, gust may be 60 mph to the end of the night. all helping to keep those temperatures on the mild side was not a windy day to come on sunday, we are looking at a day of sunshine and blustery heavy showers. not too many showers for the eastern side of england, perhaps by the west there will be more frequent, emerging at times to give longer spells of rain in northern ireland, west of scotland in the north west of england. attach wintry as well. scotla nd of england. attach wintry as well. scotland and northern ireland, still possibly 13 but the winds will be picking up even here. we start to see storm atiyah getting that bit closer. essentially it is a squeeze on the isobars. notjust over

ireland but over the irish sea and into the south—west, gusts of 70 miles an hour through the evening and into the night. that will slowly ease during monday is a suite of high pressure comes in and the stronger winds, they are likely to continue for longer down the eastern coast of england and scotland through the north sea. gale is here, so through the north sea. gale is here, so showers are for a while, those will ease off and then we will see things calming down, winds gradually easing, most places will be dry and sunny foot of a little chilly at perhaps and some cloud and patchy rain arriving in the afternoon. more wet and windy weather to come. the next weather system are driving in during tuesday during tuesday and tuesday night, that will bring some heavy rain, likely to bring some storms again as well.

this is bbc world news. the headlines: donald trump has thanked iran for what he described as very fair negotiations which led to a rare exchange of prisoners between the two countries. iran released an american phd student. in return, the us freed an iranian scientist. a huge bush fire that's burning out of control near sydney may take weeks to put out. the mega blaze, north of sydney, stretches for 60 km and is bigger than the city itself. air strikes on rebel—held territory in the syrian province of idlib are reported to have killed 20 people. a market was hit in the village of balyoun.

it was targeted by russian warplanes, which support forces loyal to president bashar al—assad. it's emerged that a saudi air force trainee who shot dead three people at a military base in florida apparently posted online comments critical of us involvement in foreign wars hours before the shooting. at ten o'clock, tina daheley will be here with a full round—up of the day's news. now on bbc news, our world. in 2016, pakistani social media sensation qandeel baloch was murdered — the victim of a so—called honour killing. as the court prepares to deliver its verdict, hani taha, who has followed the story in two previous 0ur worlds, returns to qandeel‘s home town. a warning — the programme has adult themes right from the start.