welcome to bbc news — i'm mike embley. our top stories... 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 in 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.

hello. 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... 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 of an agency because they released a statement contradicting his claims that the election was unfair orfraudulent and just to be 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 level that 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 votes, or was in any way compromised, those are the claims that donald trump has made. also claims that have not been stood up in court, there 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 have either been unsubstantiated or are technically incorrect. donald trump had threatened to bring all amerian 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 2,000 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. that was the acting defence secretary christopher miller. 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. let's speak to sethjones — a senior advisor at the center for strategic and international studies. he is an afghanistan specialist. good to talk to you, thank you for your time. it is a cut of 2000 troops actually that significant? it is significant in the sense that the us is only going to be able to focus only going to be able to focus on counterterrorism operations, it's really going to have to cut back its train, advise and

assist mission which means the afg ha n assist mission which means the afghan government is the one going to feel the brunt of this, its national security forces, its army and police which are going to see much of your training assistance and advice. i think that's where we will see it in the state of the war. the afghan government as a whole is hardly stable at the moment, how damaging could it be? i think what we will see is a major taliban offensive in early 2021. i mean, this time of the year, violence levels easily declined somewhat because afghanistan goes into winter, especially in the mountainous areas. i would expect the taliban to come out with a vengeance in 2021 and start to attempt to retake cities with a much lower international presence. to be clear, you think that will happen because of this move by president trump? i think it's certainly in part, i also think what we are seeing now is stalled peace negotiation so at

the moment, we have no success peace negotiations, we have us and partner forces that are going to be leaving afghanistan. i think this is an open avenue for the taliban, we still, it should be clear, they are still committed to establishing an extreme islamic emirate in afghanistan and still, as the un report found in the summer, continues to have close relationships with al-qaeda and other terrorist organisations. yet it is already clear there is considerable resistance to this move from the nato secretary general but also from american generals. presumably it could just be reversed by president biden? it is possible although during the 0bama administration vice president biden supported what he called counterterrorism light approach in afghanistan which was a much more reduced footprint than what 0bama did

which is surge forces, i was there in us special operations at the time. so it's not out of the question that biden will continue to keep a fairly limited presence in afghanistan. what effect would that have, do you think? again, i think part of this hinges on where the peace process goes, if we get a revamped peace process under president biden and it looks like there is a potential avenue for a deal between the afghan government and the taliban, well that is a totally different situation. if we don't see a deal possible, we don't see a deal possible, we don't see anything close to cooperation on key parts of the deal, then i think even under a light biden footprint, we are likely to see taliban advances on cities. seth, very interesting to talk to you, thank you very much. thank you very much.

ethiopia is claiming that its defence forces have made sweeping military gains in its northern tigray region and are maching 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. as security is stepped up in the mediterranean, more and more people are trying to migrate to spain. despite the enormous dangers of the crossing,

ten times as many people — at least 16,000 — have left the west coast of africa for spain's canary islands this year, compared to a year ago. as refugee centres there become increasingly packed, hotels are being used to house new arrivals during the pandemic. that is also causing concern, as mark lobel reports. celebrating from their hotel room with a view of europe, waiting for their new life to begin. translation: i came here by boat from senegal. i have seen many dead bodies, many problems, but my family doesn't have any money or anywhere to live. hotel owners now house thousands of refugees where tourists once slept. translation: we have plenty of space. the tourists that are here are not hindered. most behave very well. the surge in migrants crossing

the atlantic to this holiday island follows tightened security on other routes in the mediterranean. some say it is putting a new strain on the island. we go, we go, we go. this local fisherman says coronavirus means local local tourists have gone but an influx of migrants is worse. he calls it a different war. 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 0rganisation. translation: the southern tip of this island is very close to 15 countries that live in poverty. that's not news, but we cannot handle it any more. this was no joyous island parade in gran canaria over the weekend. with demands for a more humane reception for migrants.

the living conditions at this port 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 right groups or scare off foreign tourists. mark lobel, bbc news. kenya's government has ordered an investigation into the theft and sale of babies following a bbc investigation into the trade. the announcement came after a bbc documentary exposed underground networks that steal children from homeless mothers and sell them on the streets. a government minister said those responsible would face the ‘full force of the law'. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the spanish businessman paid over £20 million of british taxpayers' money for his role in securing protective garments for nhs staff.

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. 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. 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. 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 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 4.9 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. south australian authorities are introducing a range of new coronavirus restrictions to deal with the latest cluster of cases. state premier steven marshall has described the measures as a "circuit—brea ker". pubs, restaurants, cafes and most shops will close for six days. schools and universities will shut. and from midnight, mask wearing will be mandatory across the state. now, before we go, a christmas tree is meant to be a symbol of hope, celebration and joy. but the unveiling of the rockefeller center christmas tree in new york has been met

with criticism on social media. its bare, spindly branches appear to be something charlie brown would pick out. others say it's the perfect embodiment of 2020. the tree itself pushed back on the criticism — sort of — saying in a blog—post... "good lord. ijust got here. can you give me a minute to spruce up?" do you see what they did there? a reminder of our top story. president trump has sacked his top cybersecurity official for having issued statements in defence of the integrity of the recent elections. the president accused christopher krebs, the director of the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency, of having made a ‘highly inaccurate' statement in relation to the poll. more for you anytime on the bbc website and on our twitter feed. thank you 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. now on bbc news, panorama. just talking to meg and naomi tonight, you really get a sense i'm afraid someone is going to hidden in the back of the head. joe biden has been elected president. but donald trump and his supporters won't concede.

prove it, prove that