this is bbc news. the headlines: the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has won the support of the house of commons for a second reading of his brexit bill. the vote brings britain nearer to departing from the eu at the end of january. hello and welcome to bbc parliament, now dominated by the conservatives, news, i'm reged ahmad. passed the bill with there have been more mass protests a large majority. in india over a controversial new citizenship law. at least six people have been killed in india at least six people have been killed as police tried to contain in the demonstrations. a further day of protests critics say the legislation about a new citizenship law. discriminates against the country's 200 million—strong muslim population, with many fearing they could become stateless. police used tear gas and batons, but denied firing on demonstrators. the law allows fast—track but the move by prime minister citizenship for religious refugees narendra modi is popular from neighbouring countries with his hindu supporters. but excludes muslims. from delhi, here is rajini vaidyanathan. is this a moment of reckoning for the world's largest democracy? as anger over a controversial

citizenship law intensifies, scenes of defiance, protesters ignoring cu rfews, police accused of heavy—handed tactics. hundreds of thousands across this vast and diverse nation have taken to the streets to oppose a law they say discriminates against muslims. it offers fast—track citizenship for illegal immigrants from three neighbouring countries, except muslims. the government says it is to protect religious minorities fleeing persecution. india prides itself on its secular principles, the right to equality for all citizens. but many fear that, by making religion a condition of citizenship, that core fundamental principle is now at stake. muslims say they are living in fear.

the government is planning to publish a nationwide register of citizens, in which everyone would have to prove they are indian. those who can't would be considered illegal immigrants, with only non—muslims afforded protection under the new citizenship law. "i don't trust the government," she tells me. "if they don't accept my documents, which prove i'm indian, then what will i do?" pressure is mounting on india's prime minister, narendra modi, but he still has huge support for his hindu nationalist agenda. tonight in delhi, a group of his supporters came out to defend the citizenship act. a lot of people are saying that it is against muslims, but it is not against muslims. it is only against — it is only for. it is not against anyone. it is for minorities in three neighbouring countries, pakistan, afghanistan and bangladesh, where islam is a state religion.

this week's large—scale protest represents the first real dissent against mr modi's government. some fear the country is inching closer to becoming a hindu state, and worry that india's secular soul is at stake. let's get some of the day's other news: 3.5 years after the uk voted to leave the european union, mps have resoundingly voted in favour of the government's brexit bill. the legislation now paves the way for boris johnson to deliver his promise that the country will no longer be a member state of the eu by the end of next month. the prime minister won the vote easily, with six labour mps backing the government. officials in russia say they have established the identity of the gunman who opened fire at the headquarters of the country's main security agency, the fsb. one fsb officer was killed on thursday, while a second has died from his wounds in the last few hours. another four people were wounded. the motive for the attack remains unclear.

poland's parliament has passed a law that makes it easier for the government to fire judges, despite a plea from the european commission to wait. under the new legislation, judges can be dismissed, fined or demoted for dissent, including questioning the legitimacy of newjudges chosen by a government—controlled body. a pioneer of international development who founded the world's largest non—profit organisation has died. sir fazle hasan abed was 83. he founded the bangladesh rural advancement committee, also known as brac, in 1972. it centred on helping small businesses, educating children, and teaching women about healthcare. now operating in 11 asian and african countries, brac is said to have lifted 150 million people out of poverty. two cruise ships have collided in the port of mexico's resort of cozumel.

the ships belong to the luxury cruise operator carnival corp, who said the stern of a 290—metre—long vessel was crushed when it hit a second cruise ship of a similar size. one person was slightly injured while evacuating a dining room, but the operator has said the seaworthiness of both vessels has not been affected. let's get more now on that vote in the commons for the government's brexit bill. here is our deputy political editorjohn pienaar. we're leaving — we're through the looking glass. everything looks the same, but nothing will be the same again. the last, lonely protester was there, fighting a cause that today became officially lost. the ayes to the right — 358. the noes to the left — 234. cheering. a thumping victory for borisjohnson‘s eu divorce deal. but from the start, today, his big win was guaranteed. he came with an appeal for unity, on his terms, to seek reconciliation in tones of triumph.

this is the time when we move on, and discard the old labels of leave and remain. in fact, the very words seem tired to me. and so now is the moment to come together and write a new and exciting chapter in our national story, to forge a new partnership with our european friends, to stand tall in the world, to begin the healing. this moment in history was his. 3.5 years after the referendum, the new pm felt strong enough to declare britain after brexit would set its own rules and standards, not follow the eu's. the very essence of the opportunity of brexit is that we will no longer outsource these decisions. with renewed national self—confidence, we will take them ourselves. and that is what worried his beaten rival. we warned before the general election the prime minister's brexit deal was a terrible deal for our country, and we still believe it's a terrible deal today.

this deal will be used as a battering ram to drive us down the path of yet more deregulation, and towards a toxic deal with donald trump, and... what is new in the withdrawal agreement bill? the pledge to match eu workers' rights, like other earlier compromises, has gone. ministers now say a new uk law will guarantee those rights. on child migrants, no eu obligation now to take in unaccompanied minors with british relatives, but the pm says the uk will go on taking them in. and no extended brexit transition. the law will require the uk is clear of eu rules by december 2020, with or without a deal. so the pm winning the brexit war doesn't mean peace. the snp sees brexit as a spur to independence. the people of scotland must have their say over their future, rather than the broken brexit britain that he wishes to impose upon us.

the election and brexit has left a bitter legacy, wounded brexiteers feeling vindicated, remainers defiant on their pro—european values. those values are now under threat from this trumpian, populist government, from right—wing populism, and bigots everywhere. we were told we were fascists, we were nazis, we're extremists. and what did we want? all we wanted was to honour the referendum. brexiteer ministerjacob rees—mogg kept a low profile during the election. not today. at last, we've got the result that we need. we will now get brexit, a majority of 124, and the sun is metaphorically shining. and look at this at the bottom of your screen — the uk's celebrity pm signing autographs for tory mps. so reason for celebration in government tonight. we will leave the eu by 31 january at the latest.

but defining and negotiating britain's future relationship with the eu, and the world, could be tougher and take longer than boris johnson predicts. no doubt who is in charge now, or whosejob it is to make brexit work. john pienaar, bbc news, westminster. the duke of edinburgh has been admitted to hospital in london for treatment for a pre—existing condition. buckingham palace says prince philip travelled from sandringham on the advice of his doctor. from norfolk, maria veronese reports. apart from the heightened security and press pack, the queen's arrival at king's lynn station at lunchtime was low—key — so low—key, in fact, that many of the passengers were unaware they had just shared their journey with the head of state. no, was she? well, that's why there's so much policemen and everybody. i didn't know she was riding. she was on the train, you've just missed her. i didn't get to see her, no.

but i did think she'd be there when we saw all the police. bless her heart, she's wonderful. she is truly wonderful. one family managed to give the queen flowers and briefly speak to her. when we came out, she just said, are these for me? how lovely, thank you very much. and what did you think of that? not many people get to meet the queen, do they? no, well, we were very lucky. soon after the queen arrived, it emerged the duke of edinburgh, who spends most of the time in sandringham, had this morning travelled on the opposite direction, to london. a palace spokesman said the 98—year—old had travelled to the king edward vii hospital by car and was receiving treatment for a pre—existing condition. lastjanuary, prince philip escaped with minor injuries after a car crash near the sandringham estate. it is traditional at this time of the year for the queen to oversee christmas preparations at sandringham before herfamily arrives on christmas eve. they will undoubtedly be hoping prince philip will be well enough to join them on christmas day.

the wife of a us diplomat is to be charged with causing the death by dangerous driving of the teenage motorcyclist harry dunn. the 19—year—old died in a road crash in northamptonshire in august, and shortly afterwards, anne sacoolas left for the us. she is now, however, refusing to return to the uk, citing diplomatic immunity. harry dunn's mother, charlotte charles, says this development is a huge step towards justice for her son. here is duncan kennedy. oh, ijust hope and hope that it's going to be the right choice today. harry's parents, charlotte and tim, travelled to london not knowing what today would bring. but, at the cps headquarters, they were told the main suspect was being charged with dangerous driving. harry's family have spent four months waiting to see if charges would be brought in his case. we really do feel it's one huge step towards that promise to harry,

and that in itself is one hell of an achievement, as a family, to have. and, as parents, we can't be any more satisfied with ourselves. harry's dad, tim, was also moved by today's events. bit speechless at the minute. i'm still in shock from the meeting, and, uh... i'm sorry. no, it's alright. anne sacoolas, here on her wedding day, has been interviewed by british police. she has been staying at a house outside washington. although there was no—one in today, her lawyers said... today's decision to charge anne sacoolas comes nearly four

months after harry died here on this road in northamptonshire. in statements through her lawyers, she has already admitted driving on the wrong side of the road. now, harry's family say it is time for her to return to britain. it was near this american air base the accident happened. harry was killed last august. two weeks later, anne sacoolas left the uk, claiming diplomatic immunity. last month, the family launched legal action against the foreign office for its handling of the case. they were so upset, they went to washington to plead for anne sacoolas to return. but the americans seemed reluctant, with the state department today expressing its disappointment over the dangerous driving charge. yet british lawyers say extradition is possible. i think they're extremely positive, because as far as i can see, every request that has been sent by the united kingdom to the us has been successful. harry dunn's family and their supporters have fought this case together, and have been

told the home office will launch extradition proceedings in the next week. his parents say they will now put up a christmas tree for the son they refuse to give up on. duncan kennedy, bbc news. this is bbc news. the headlines: borisjohnson‘s pledge to take the uk out of the eu at the end of next month has passed a significant milestone, after mps approved his withdrawal bill with a convincing majority. the duke of edinburgh has been admitted to hospital in london for treatment for what buckingham palace describe as a pre—existing condition. the new governor of the bank of england has been named as andrew the annual christmas getaway is well under way, but many travellers are being hampered by flooding. the m23 in west sussex was closed for several hours after being completely flooded. heavy rain has led to many parts of southern england being inundated, with roads and railways affected.

our correspondent tolu adeoye reports. across the south—east of england today, the evidence of heavy rainfall overnight, flooded roads causing disruption for drivers on one of the busiest travel days of the year. in buckstead, in east sussex, one couple told us how they were unable to leave their home because of the water. it was quite forceful, and it got up to the height of the brickwork there. you can see it. it got — it was about 18 inches, two feet deep, and when i was wandering around the garden trying to rescue things, obviously it was up over my knees, and quite strong. we are raised above ground, and we have three steps, but it was actually lapping the top, almost going over the top steps. so it was about three inches from the kitchen door. much of the disruption involved routes heading for gatwick, the country's second—busiest airport.

in west sussex, the m23 was partially closed after a nearby river burst its banks. and this is what the rain led to in surrey — a landslip near to guilford, causing major disruption along the main railway line. what i would like to do is to take the opportunity to say a massive apology to our passengers who have been disrupted, notjust as a result of guilford, but across the whole of the south—east. at this time of year, i know how important the railway is, and i can but apologise. i'm really sorry. the environment agency has issued about 80 warnings across england, where flooding is expected, as well as more than 200 alerts that warn of possible flooding. the big christmas getaway not off to the best start. tolu adeoye, bbc news. the new governor of the bank of england has been named as andrew bailey. he'll replace the current head mark carney, who'll step down in march after seven years in thejob. the bank is responsible for setting

interest rates every month, in an attempt to keep the cost of living stable. it also supervises the financial system, making sure it's well run, and that banks don't run out of cash. and it issues uk banknotes, as well as keeping safe the country's gold reserves. here's our economics editor, faisal islam. a changing of the guard at the institution responsible for our money and our banks. a new man taking over from mark karley as britain's most powerful unelected official — the 121st governor of the bank of england. the chancellor announcing the news at the treasury. we said that we were looking for a leader of international standing, with expertise across monetary, economic and regulatory policy. and in andrew bailey, we have found just that. mr bailey is a long—term veteran of the bank of england. at one point lending his signature to all banknotes as chief cashier. he was asked to head up the city watchdog, and there have been a series

of questions about whether his organization should or could have intervened earlier in mismanaged funds, saving schemes, and misbehaving banks, including from mps. are you too nice to bankers? i don't get up in the morning hoping that people will love me. don't become chief executive of the sna if you want to be loved. the bank of england resembles a fort for a reason, and notjust the gold in its vaults. the decisions made here really do matter. for avoiding recessions, for the value of the pound in your pocket, for steering away from bank crisis'. the decision to appoint andrew bailey as governor is meant to communicate stability, continuity and credibility. he'll be in charge here for eight years, and, yet, significant change could be on the way for the british economy within months. just as the new governor steps into his role, he's going to be faced with the immediate prospect of brexit. and that will mean a radical change in the way that the uk economy

trades with the rest of the world, not least with its biggest trade partner. big changes, such as brexit and trade wars, mean central bankers are under considerable political pressure. do you want this new governor to stand up to you and to the prime minister? i want him to uphold, vigorously, the independence of the institution. i think that it's critical. with the economy still sluggish, plenty of challenges ahead for the new man at the institution known as the old lady. faisal islam, bbc news. there are more catastrophic fire warnings in australia — with temperatures set to hit the mid—40s in parts of new south wales on saturday. prime minister, scott morrison, has apologised for being on holiday as the bushfire crisis worsens. this report from phil mercer. there's no end in sight to australia's brutal summer. many of the bush fires are unstoppable. they are easily started and spread quickly.

more lives have been lost and houses destroyed. in new south wales, 100 fires are burning, and the emergency services are stretched to the limit. the firefighting effort is a military—style operation. a squadron of water—bombing helicopters is supporting hundreds of boots on the ground. this is a giant air crane — a helicopter that is flying in to suck water out of the dam, to be used on the main fire front that's just over the ridge. and this sort of operation is happening time and time again. two volunteer firefighters were killed when a tree fell on theirfire engines south of sydney. the tragedy prompted australia's prime minister to cut short a holiday in hawaii. scott morrison has apologised for going overseas during a time of crisis.

it's just unfortunate that it's come at such an awful time, particularly for those living in and around sydney and new south wales. and it's just devastating to be here and seeing what's happening there, so i'm pleased to be returning. as the debate over the prime minister's leadership rages, so do the fires. for those on the front line, it's exhausting and dangerous work. it was scary. and, er, when you see flames come over the top of you, and it's that hot that you can feel the burning through protective clothing and masks, where you're actually breathing hot air and the air‘s hurting the back of your throat, it is hot. in south australia, a catastrophic warning has been issued, and emergency crews are battling 120 fires. parts of new south wales are bracing for similar conditions on saturday. officials say it would be a miracle if more homes weren't lost. residents in vulnerable areas have been told to leave — while they can. phil mercer, bbc news, bago, new south wales.

phil mercer, bbc news, bargo, new south wales. america's progress towards being able to return to putting its own people into space has hit a hurdle. nasa hopes the boeing starliner could be used to ferry passengers to and from the international space station — but a test flight in florida failed to go as planned. jonathan amos reports. and lift off for the starliner, a new era in human space flight. a new era perhaps, but notjust yet. boeing launched its starliner capsule on time from cape canaveral in florida, but the automated ship then failed to carry out its commands properly. when it came off the top of the rocket, it was supposed to fire its engines to increase its height. it did, but at the wrong time and for too long. the starliner put itself in the wrong part of the sky. it can no longer reach the space

station and will have to come home. the american space agency has been overseeing the development of the capsule. nasa has provided milestone payments to help boeing bring the vehicle into operation. and despite the setback, the agency is staying positive. if we would've had crew in there, number one, they would have been safe. to be very clear, our crew would have been safe. and in fact, had they been in there, we very well may have been orbiting or docking with the international space station tomorrow had they been in the spacecraft. so a lot of things went right today, and i want to be really clear, a lot of things went right and this is why we test and because we are now in orbit and because in fact elevating our orbit, we are going to get a lot more data and a lot more information in the coming days. so this is all very positive. nasa has not been able to launch its own astronauts to orbit nearly nine years. to orbit for nearly nine years.

when it retired the shuttles in 2011, it ceased to operate space vehicles. and it bought seats to the space station in russian capsules instead. nasa would rather spend its money handling rides on american—built space taxi services. another enterprise, the california space—x company, has already completed a test flight of its astronaut capsule. the dragon craft made a flawless trip to the orbiting lab in march. space—x looks set to start flying astronauts for real in the next few months. quite how far behind today's events put boeing is unclear. engineers will need to inspect the starliner when they get it back on earth. nasa is determined that it should have a choice of capsules in the future. boeing is certain to try again. christmas is coming — ready or not. all around the world — millions of children will be hoping for a visit from santa. some less well—off youngsters may miss out on getting a toy.

but a retired engineerfrom rome is determined to do something about that — as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. his name is guido but it may as well be to pet her. a former engineer with an italian airline, he now devotes himself to repairing and restoring toys. lots and lots of toys. anything up to 70 a day, in fa ct, toys. anything up to 70 a day, in fact, and it is all in a good cause stopped translation: take this one for example. some toy shops diverse the faulty toys that they cannot sell. this one, i have repaired it and it works now. and these new toys we send to hospitals. notjust hospitals. this charity also provides playthings to the children of refugees or kids whose parents have lost their jobs. of refugees or kids whose parents have lost theirjobs. any of refugees or kids whose parents have lost their jobs. any youngster who wants the moment ofjoy and a toy of their own. translation: we

call these objects really loved since they are loved twice. first by the parents of the children who donated them and then they are loved by the children who receive them. so we reuse objects and avoid wasting pavlasek. —— wasting plastic. we reuse objects and avoid wasting pavlasek. -- wasting plastic. they distribute around 20,000 toys a action figures, teddies, toys, dolls, guido tinkers away at the mall. his greatest reward he says other smiles on the children's faces. and i am sure the kids love it. time now for the weather. good morning. what a miserable week of weather it has been for many of us, with some relentless rain, and that has brought localised flooding. in fact, friday afternoon, these were fairly typical weather watcher pictures across parts of central and southern england in particular. in fact, by close of play on friday, there were over 90 flood warnings in force, and with more rain to come through the weekend, well, do go to the bbc weather

website for the latest updates on the flood warnings and also any met office warnings as well. over the next few hours we've got this miniature weather front which will enhance some showers, some of them heavy, with hail and thunder. windy conditions following on behind, before another weather front makes its presence felt by the end of the day on saturday. saturday morning, we start off with a few sharp showers still remaining. but they are easing away. the best of the sunshine perhaps on saturday, likely to be for the far north of scotland. slowly brightening up as well across parts of england and wales for a brief time, before yet more wet weather starts to push into the south—west by the end of the day. a cooler feeling in scotland, five or six degrees. double digits quite widely further south. that rain will continue to drift its way steadily east, but it is going to clear off into the near continent through the early hours of saturday night into sunday morning. then behind, with some clearer skies, it will be a chilly start in sheltered eastern areas of scotland, maybe a touch of light frost.

too much cloud further south and too much of a breeze for any issue. and still some bits and pieces of rain first thing on sunday morning. sunday will be quieter for many. a case of sunny spells and a few isolated showers. still quite windy across the exposed coasts of the south. 40—50 mile an hour gusts of wind not out of the question. cooler again in scotland, five or six, higher values of nine or ten further south. it looks as though that quieter theme is set to continue for a time. showers will ease away on monday and by tuesday, christmas eve, it will be drier and quieter. what on earth is happening, you may ask? it looks as though father christmas might be granting us our wish and giving us a brief lull in the weather story at the moment, with high pressure building on christmas eve into christmas day, which will quieten things down quite nicely. it means the chance of a white christmas is very remote indeed. but it does mean a good deal of dry weather in the forecast. so our christmas week looks like this. a showery start, drying up nicely on christmas eve and christmas day. the potentialfor more rain arriving late in the week. 00:28:58,594 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 take care.