this is bbc news. i'm mike embley with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. president trump dismisses his top cyber security official, chris krebs — who denied there was evidence of fraud in the presidential election. and the president orders cuts to troop numbers in afghanistan and iraq — but stops short of outright withdrawal. as fighting continues in ethiopia, thousands flee across the border into sudan. in thailand, more violence on the streets of bangkok as protesters demand changes to the country's constitution. water cannon is laced with chemicals, you can really smell the tear gas in it.

breaking news this hour, president trump has fired the director of the us cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency, chris krebs, because of what the president claims were failings in the electoral system. writing on twitter he said: "the recent statement by chris krebs on the security of the 2020 election was highly inaccurate... here's our washington correspondent lebo diseko.

it's quite incredible really, that the president of the united states of america, a country that represents democratic values right around the world, would fire the head ofan the world, would fire the head of an agency because they released a statement contradicting his claims that the election was unfair or fraudulent and just to be clear, the statement that was released, wasn't just clear, the statement that was released, wasn'tjust that agency which is part of the department for homeland security, it was in conjunction with a number of other organisations and groups including the secretaries of state, they are the people at state, they are the people at state level but are in charge of the election, people from the election voting machinery industry and also election security industry as well, not only did they find that it was the most secure election ever, they also said that there is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed bolts, or was in any way compromise, those are the claims that donald trump is made. also claims that have not been stood up in court, there

have been several court cases oi’ have been several court cases or attempts to take these allegations to court around the country and not been stood up at all. chris krebs has responded on twitter, he has said on allegations that the election systems were compromised, 59 security experts all agree in every case in which we were aware, these claims had either been unsubstantiated or technically incorrect. given what the president is still claiming, given that he not conceding, given that he not conceding, given the sackings and the moves he is making, there must be quite a lot of nervousness about what else he is planning? i think about what else he is planning? ithinka about what else he is planning? i think a lot of people have not been in the situation before where you are just not sure what the president might do next and in this particularly vulnerable period, this period between presidents transition period that should be happening, in which donald trump is repeatedly refusing to acknowledge and is actually blocking his administration from talking to the biden

incoming team, from giving them security access that they need and those key security briefings that they need as well and we had the side ofjoe biden earlier on today, getting security briefings from experts but they don't have security clea ra nce, but they don't have security clearance, they don't have that classified information that he needs. so it really is quite something. as you can tell, i am sometimes lost per speech, lost for words, really. watch this space. donald trump had threatened to bring all american troops home by christmas. he's not going quite that far — but he will reduce the us military presence in iraq and afghanistan before he leaves office. so let's look at that plan in a bit more detail. at the moment there are 3000 soldiers stationed in iraq — 500 of them will be pulled out. the draw down looks much more meaningful in afghanistan, where two thousand of the 4,500 us troops will be withdrawn. they are part of the nato force in place to support what is a fragile government. the acting defense secretary, christopher miller, made the announcement at his first news

conference. together, we have mourned the loss of more than 6,900 american troops who gave their lives in afghanistan and iraq. and we will never forget the more than 52,000 who bear the wounds of war and all those who still carry its scars, visible and invisible. in light of these tremendous sacrifices and with great humility and gratitude to those who came before us, i am formally announcing that we will implement president trump's orders to continue our repositioning of forces from those two countries. i think defence secretary christopher miller there. there has been pushback from the generals and from the nato secretary general who warned of a "high price" if us and allied forces leave too quickly. that view is echoed

by senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, who rarely criticises the president. a rapid withdrawal of us forces from afghanistan now would hurt our allies and delight, delight the people who wish us harm. violence affecting afghans is still rampant. the taliban is not abiding by the conditions of the so—called peace deal. the consequences of a premature american exit would likely be even worse than president 0bama's withdrawal from iraq back in 2011. ethiopia is claiming that its defence forces have made sweeping military gains in its northern tigray region and are marching on its capital. insurgent regional forces say they're putting up resistance. the united nations is warned that a full—scale humanitarian crisis is unfolding as the conflict escalates with nearly 30,000 people fleeing the conflict there since the start of november. 0ur senior africa correspondent

anne soy reports. the way to safety is fraught with great risk here. these are ethiopians from the northern region of tigray. two weeks of fighting between the local government there and the national army has forced them to flee. they are arriving in their thousands every day in sudan. translation: we came with the clothes on our backs. i don't know where my husband is. i have been looking for him for five days. translation: i don't know, but there was heavy fighting and many people died. after that, they told us to leave, so we fled. everyone did. they don't mind that the barren lands of eastern sudan have little to offer. they build makeshift shelters in which they can finally sleep in peace. aid is slow to come.

the sheer size of the arrivals is really overwhelming the humanitarian response over there. it's kind of a call on humanity, whoever is listening, because a country like sudan who already has nearly a million existing refugees, this is an additional shift in the refugee numbers, and they will also need international support in this. these are some of the few pictures coming out of tigray. the national army says it has taken control of the western side. the state broadcaster showed what they say are celebrations in one newly liberated town. with the communications blackout there, it's difficult to independently verify reports from the region, and the government has rejected calls for mediation. we don't need any mediation until we bring the ringleaders to court, because any mediation would incentivise

impunity and unruliness. and so, the onslaught continues. the federal government says it's making the final push for the regional capital mek‘ele after a three—day deadline to surrender passed, but there's doubt it can quickly subdue the war—hardened former rulers of ethiopia who govern tigray. as with every conflict, the real losers are the civilians whose lives have been disrupted and continue to be threatened with little help coming their way. anne soy, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. tropical storm iota has brought widespread flooding to central america as it moves west across the region. the storm has crossed into honduras from nicaragua where rivers have burst their banks and tens of thousands of people are in shelters, people who are still recovering from hurricane eta just two weeks ago. there's concern about a lack of food and drinking water. argentina's president

alberto fernandez says he's presenting a bill to congress to legalise abortion — a campaign promise that was delayed by the pandemic. the measure will help save thousands of women dying every year in botched illegal abortions. it is currently allowed only in cases of rape, or if the mother's health is in danger. francisco sagasti has been sworn in as peru's new interim president — the country's third head of state in under a week. the 76—year—old engineer and academic will lead peru until the presidential election next year. last week, president martin vizcarra was impeached over bribery allegations, which he denies — a move that sparked protests across the country. police in bangkok have used water cannon and tear gas against protesters trying to get close to parliament, where debates are taking place on amendements to the constitution. thailand has seen months of demonstrations demanding reform, and the resignation of the prime minister. jonathan head reports from bangkok. shouting.

in thailand, a military—backed government is battling young protesters who want a proper democracy. shouting continues. they've been campaigning for months for a fairer political system, but also for a monarchy that respects the rules. today, that battle got rougher and wetter. crowd clamours. well, these protesters are now trying to pull away at this concrete barricade to make a way through, and they are spraying water cannon. it's laced with chemicals, so you can really smell the tear gas in it. these protesters want to get through to parliament because that's where the reforms they're demanding are supposed to be discussed. they're worried that a parliament dominated by the military—backed party, their reforms are just going to be swept aside. that's why they're staying put.

and you can see how determined they are. clamour continues. for a moment, they vanished in clouds of tear gas. but didn't retreat far. though a few were overcome. coughing. they've shattered a taboo against even talking about the monarchy. but they're up against the old men of thailand's parliament, and they've ruled out any discussion of the king. he's at the heart of this conflict. cheering. these days, king vajiralongkorn is often seen on royal walkabouts, raising his profile. but he's spent most of this year at a luxury hotel

in germany and has been accused of accumulating excessive wealth and power. many thais, though, still believe that their king is above criticism. yellow—shirted loyalists came out to confront the protesters and to insist that thailand must stay as it is. well, it's all over for today, but the protesters are promising to come back again, as they have for the past 4—5 months. in asking for a monarchy that's accountable and a military that stays out of politics, they believe they're making reasonable demands. but they're up against a state which doesn't even believe these things can be discussed. the gap between both sides is yawning and not getting any closer. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... the boy scouts of america, already facing bankruptcy, now overwhelmed by thousands of claims of sex abuse.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines... president trump has sacked his top cybersecurity official, chris krebs, for issuing statements in defence of the integrity of the recent elections. and the president is to halve troop numbers in afghanistan and iraq, in a move that has been criticised by both republicans and democrats. more than 90,000 alleged victims of sexual abuse within the boy scouts of america have come forward to claim compensation from the organisation. the claims were filed ahead of a deadline on monday evening. abuse within the youth organisation, which has more than 2—million members, came to light in 2012, when the los angeles times published thousands of internal files revealing decades of misconduct. in a statement,

the organisation said: it added: dan gilleon is a civil rights attorney — who is involved in the case against the boy scouts of america. there has been hundreds of sex abuse cases against the organisation in decades but why so organisation in decades but why so many organisation in decades but why so many new organisation in decades but why so many new claims injust organisation in decades but why so many new claims in just the past few years? mostly because here in the united states the vast majority of states have passed laws allowing people who are older, a lot of my clients are older, a lot of my clients are in their40s, are older, a lot of my clients are in their 40s, to bring lawsuits right now seeking compensation, it's something that our country has recognised is just that our country has recognised isjust an that our country has recognised is just an awful thing and we need to allow these people to

come forward, you know, later in their lives and pursue these claims because as kids, they are scared to death when the stuff is happening to them, they are told if they tell anybody they are going to pay a price, notjust them, their family, and so they stay quiet and suffer and suffer and suffer. and, you know, we recognise the horror, the horrible lives that these people have to lead and when they finally are willing to come forward, often times, the law has said too late, too bad, go away. so, for example, in california where i am, the cases, we had to file a lawsuit before the victim was 26 years old, recently the legislature, like a lot of other states in the us, said no, let's go ahead and raise that age so we can bring cases up to when people

are a0 years old, victims. but they went even further and said for the next three years, there is not going to be a statute of limitation so that's why you have seen a flood of these cases and now, the boy scouts are coming forward saying we are coming forward saying we are going to help them file claims. of course filing claims in bankruptcy court, these are filing claims in a bankruptcy court because they have gone ahead to the federal government and have asked for relief from all these obligations and listen, they have known about this for a long time, a long time and the boy scouts have builtjust immense trust and reputation of being just absolutely undeniably the thing in the pinnacle of what it is to bea in the pinnacle of what it is to be a good person. they did that for decades and decades, at some point, if you wanted to go into any level of

leadership, you'd better become a boy scout, and eagle scout, put that thing on your resume, they betrayed that trust and they betrayed that trust and they covered up what they knew to be rampant sexual abuse by leaders and now they are finally paying the price and i don't like the fact that they are acting like they are being the good guys now and helping the good guys now and helping the victims pursue claims. they are doing that because they have to and they are actually asking the government for a little bit of help in processing is. thank you so much for that. we will speak again. thank you. as security is stepped up in the mediterranean, more migrants are heading to spain. ten times as many migrants — over 16,000 — have left africa's west coast for spain's canary islands this year, compared to a year ago, despite enormous risks to their lives. as refugee centres there become increasingly packed, hotels are being used to house new arrivals during

the pandemic, which is also causing concern amongst locals, as mark lobel reports. celebrating from their hotel room with a view of europe, waiting for their new life to begin. translation: icame translation: i came here by boat from senegal stop i have seen many dead bodies, many problems, but my family doesn't have any money or to live. hotel housed thousands of refugees were tourists once slept. translation: we have plenty of space. the tourists that are here most behave very well. the surge in migrants crossing the atlantic to this holiday island hollows tighten security on other routes in the mediterranean. some say it is putting a new strain on the island. we go, we

go. this local fisherman says coronavirus means local terrorists have gone but an influx of migrants is worse. he calls it a different world. spanish tv reported 500 migrants were rescued at sea on tuesday alone, despite four in every 100 people who attempt the journey drowning according to the international migration organisation. translation: the southern tip of the silent is very close to 15 countries that live in poverty. that's not news, but we cannot handle it any more. this was no joy island parade in grand canary over the weekend. with demands for a more human reception for migrants. the living conditions at the sport had been described as inhumane and crowding is making them worse. politicians have pledged to build more migrant centres and resume the repatriation of migrants who do not qualify for refugee status.

with an added urgency to act in case further arrivals fuel local far case further arrivals fuel localfar right case further arrivals fuel local far right groups or scare off foreign tourists. a spanish businessman, who acted as a go—between to secure protective garments for the uk's national health service staff in the pandemic, was paid more than 27 million dollars of taxpayers' money. the consultant had been in line for millions more according to court documents in florida seen by bbc news. as our special correspondent, lucy manning, reports the legal papers also reveal the american supplier of the ppe called the deals "lucrative". designer jewellery from a miami company is some way from the uk's struggle to get protective equipment. but the owner of miansai moved from pendants to ppe during the covid crisis, winning uk contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds. the owner, michael saiger, says he had business connections in china and court documents from america show

just how lucrative his new venture has been. notjust for him but the man he paid to help him, a spaniard called gabriel gonzalez andersson. the two men fell out, prompting a court case in miami. the legal documents open the lid on just how british taxpayers' money was being spent. gabriel andersson was, the court documents make clear, to help with product sourcing, logistics and quality control. the contract says that when the department for health and social care got the ppe, andersson would then be paid what was described as a consulting fee. byjune, saiger had successfully delivered two ppe shipments to the uk. for helping with that, gabriel andersson was paid a consulting fee of $28 million. that's about £21 million. the court documents say saiger‘s contracts with the government were lucrative and mr andersson did very well from them. the uk put in more orders.

there were three more contracts agreed which would yield yet more money for the subcontractor gabriel andersson. a dealfori million boxes of gloves, the consulting fee was more than $1.5 million. for another contract for 3 million boxes of gloves, the fee was more than $3.5 million. and a final contract for 10 million gowns for the uk government, and andersson would get $16 million. but it is claimed andersson didn't fulfil his role in these contracts and it led to delays delivering the ppe to nhs staff. the campaign group the good law project is planning to challenge the government in court over the deal. i don't blame saiger for making these vast profits. if government is handing out free money, then by all means stand in line. the real criticism that is to be made here is of the huge profits that government allowed to be generated.

in a statement, saiger said, "at no time have we ever used any middlemen. the department of health said, "we have been working tirelessly to deliver ppe, delivering more than a.9 billion items. in august, the bbc revealed the government bought 50 million masks that couldn't be used in the nhs and it is likely to face more criticism tomorrow when the spending watchdog publishes its report into how ppe was purchased. lucy manning, bbc news. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — i'm @bbc mike embley.

thank you so much for watching. hello. the very mild air that's been with us for the past few days is going to get swept away, and we're set to see a real change in weather type through the course of wednesday. it's going to be windy with some rain moving eastwards, and behind that, some colder air moving in, too. it's all down to this area of low pressure with its trailing cold front here, which is moving its way eastwards. lots of isobars on the map, indicating strength of the wind as well. still very mild out there. in fact, first thing wednesday, the temperatures well in double figures, teens for most of us. more typical, really, these temperatures of daytime highs. now through the day, we've got some initial heavy rain across western parts of britain and northern ireland, western scotland, too. the rain will edge its way slowly eastwards. something really persistent for the northern isles and also for western parts of scotland as well. but it becomes a little bit more patchy as it heads

across eastern england during the course of the afternoon. so, cloudy ahead of that, with a return to some showers behind it and a drop in those temperatures. we are back into single figures in the west late on wednesday. now, wednesday evening, that's when the winds are really going to be picking up, particularly for parts of scotland and northern ireland, western fringes of england and wales, too. further showers moving south and across scotland, those showers will be wintry, even down to low levels, first thing for thursday morning. so certainly colder air moving in. you can see those northerly wind arrows and blue colours that are going to be spilling further south, a colder air mass across the uk as we head on into thursday. a bump of high pressure is going to be squeezing away most of the rain, but we've still got some pretty windy conditions, especially in the east. so, gales possible for eastern scotland, down the east coast of england as well. some sunshine for most places through the day on thursday. one or two showers dotted around here and there, and they could be wintry across parts of scotland, in particular over the higher ground. it's certainly much colder than recent days. largely in single figures for most of us. we may welljust get 10—11

degrees across parts of wales and the south west of england. but it doesn't stay cold for very long because by the time we get to friday, we see more cloud and outbreaks of rain working into the west. the breeze coming in from the south—westerly direction once again. so, many of us back into double figures by the time we get to friday, and it's looking fairly unsettled through friday. into the weekend, it's a little bit up and down, quite breezy through the day on saturday. cooler but brighter for most of us. some sunny spells by sunday. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines:

president trump has sacked his top cybersecurity official, chris krebs, for issuing statements defending the integrity of the recent elections. in a tweet, the president accused the director of the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency of having made a ‘highly inaccurate' statement in relation to the poll. and the president has decided to halve the number of us troops in afghanistan and iraq before he leaves office. he stopped short of a threatened full withdrawal. the move has faced criticism from both republicans and democrats who fear it will damage fragile peace talks with the taliban. as fighting continues between ethiopian federal forces and tigrayan insurgents in the north of the country, thousands of refugees have poured over the border into neighbouring sudan. the un says they are urgently in need of food and fuel, but a communications blackout in the region means

there is limited access.