this is bbc news. i'm james reynolds. our top stories: clashes between police and protesters in paris during demonstrations against a proposed security law. turkey condemns the assassination of iran's top nuclear scientist and calls for his killers to be held accountable. the head of ethiopia's military says the army has entered the regional capital of tigray. and jumping for joy with a young woman who's become the first professional transgender footballer in argentina's top division. hello and welcome to bbc news.

french riot police have clashed with protesters in paris after a day of demonstrations across the country. tens of thousands of people joined marches to protest against a new law, restricting the right to publish images of police. it comes after a video emerged of three officers beating a black music producer in his studio. our correspondent lucy williamson reports from paris. police are always a target at protests like this. today, they were the reason for them. the edges of a peaceful march through paris frayed by clashes between hardline groups and the police. water cannon and tear gas following the path of the unrest. among the buildings set on fire, one belonging to the bank of france, an anarchist sign scrawled on the wall outside. tensions have risen quickly here, thanks to a small group of agitators. most of this march has been peaceful, but this new law banning the malicious dissemination of police

identities has touched a raw nerve in france. translation: they have created a bill that would forbid us from filming, while we are filming unbelievable things. so, here i am in the street for my freedom, as you can see written on my mask. translation: obviously, the ban on recording audio and video of the police and not to be able to film what happens, that's obviously an attack on press freedom, simply put. a video of music producer michel zecler being beaten in his studio by police has sparked a furious reaction in france. recorded by a security camera and published on social media this week, many are asking whether it would ever have come to light under the new law. four police officers are now being investigated. last night on social media, president macron said the attack on michel zecler was unacceptable. "these images make

us ashamed" he said. mobile phone cameras trained on police lines today reflected the placards calling on people to film them as part of the protest. the last time so many people gathered for a protest here, it was to defend the right to publish blasphemous cartoons. after months of lockdown and curfew because of coronavirus, france has shown this year that it will tolerate restrictions on many things, just not on freedom of speech. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. turkey has condemned the assassination of iran's top nuclear scientist. iran's president hassan rouhani has blamed israel for the killing of mohsen fakhrizadeh and he says the country's nuclear programme will continue. the scientist was shot dead on friday when gunmen ambushed his car in the town of absard, east of the capital tehran. israel has not commented, but it had previously accused the scientist of masterminding a covert nuclear weapons programme. here's our diplomatic

correspondent paul adams. angry protests once more on the streets of the iranian capital, people here in no doubt about who was behind friday's killing. the father of iran's nuclear programme is now being treated like a martyr, his assassination the subject of headlines and debate. attacks like this have happened before. ten years ago, israel carried out a campaign which killed four other nuclear scientists. but the death of mohsen fakhrizadeh poses a dilemma for iran's leadership — retaliate or bide their time? the supreme leader ali khamenei said the perpetrators, and those who commanded them, will be pursued and punished. but iran knows the next american president wants dialogue, not confrontation — hence a more cautious response from the country's pragmatic president. translation: this savage act shows that our enemies feel

that global conditions are changing, and it's important for them to make the most of the remaining few weeks that they have to create uncertain conditions in the region. but our brave nation is smarter than to fall into the trap of zionists. but pressure is mounting. iran has yet to retaliate for the death of qasem soleimani, killed by a us drone strike in january. iran's recent progress in its nuclear programme may have triggered this attack — a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it's also likely to make joe biden‘s difficultjob — coaxing iran back into negotiations — that much harder. paul adams, bbc news. today marks another record high for the number of covid hospitalisations in the us. according to the covid tracking project, there are now more than 91,000 people in hospital, and that number has been rising almost every day since late october. the current surge of the outbreak is showing no sign of slowing down and on friday, the number of people infected by the virus

surpassed 13 million. 0ur north america correspondent david willisjoins me now from los angeles. david, take us through the significance of these latest numbers. highly significant, james. as you mentioned there more than 91,000 americans now hospitalised and off that total, more than 18,000 are in intensive care. it is an indication of the surge that we have been talking about in coronavirus cases here over the last few days. you mentioned the grim figure of 13 million total cases here, which we passed yesterday. i am bamboozle a new perhaps with figures here. let me break this down ina figures here. let me break this down in a somewhat simpler terms —— bamboozle ling you. 50 americans are dying an hour here because of covid—19 and the hospitalisation rate is of huge concern because of the way the trend is going, this could put a major impact on the

country's healthcare put a major impact on the country's healthca re resources, james. 50 people dying an hour really makes it, gives us an idea of the scale. you are in los angeles where you measures we re los angeles where you measures were brought in on friday and were brought in on friday and we talked about that in previous bulletins. what is it like when you step out into the street? very eerie. very quiet. absolutely quiet deserted. this is the first time in 20 years i can remember and those i have spoken to say the same thing. and those new measures that you mentioned, due to come into effect on monday, will basically prohibit public and private gatherings outside of the home, and they come into effect on the back of further restrictions that were announced a couple of days before that will impact outdoor dining. basically, there will be no more outdoor dining, restau ra nts be no more outdoor dining, restaurants here for the next few weeks at least. these affect the area of la county, los angeles of course is the

second largest city in the united states, la county is the most populous county in america, home to about 10 million people, so a lot of people being impacted by these new measures, james. how might the covid policy from joe biden differ to donald trump's? he has made it priority number one, joe biden. he says from the get go he will be looking to tackle this. he has already set upa to tackle this. he has already set up a coronavirus task force which is preparing behind the scenes to implement measures. of course the big concern for joe biden, the big challenge if you like, will be getting the vaccine out. once it becomes available to as many people as possible. the hope is that following a meeting at the food and drug administration, the body that regulates these sorts of things, on december 1a, that some samples of the new vaccine could be at large in the next few weeks. but getting everybody here vaccinated or at

least those who choose to do so could take until the springtime at the very earliest, james. david willis, thank you so much. the ethiopian prime minister says government troops are in control of the capital of the tigray region mekelle after a three—week campaign against the local leadership. there's been no independent confirmation. tigray‘s leader has indicated his forces would fight on. the development follows heavy bombardment of the tigray capital. this was the announcement by the ethiopian army's chief of staff. translation: we planned how to take control of mekelle without any damage. and this afternoon, we control mekelle fully. abdullahi boru halakhe is a horn of africa analyst. he's in washington. thank you so much forjoining us. thank you so much forjoining us. is this an actual victory

or is it simply a blackout and we don't know what is happening? it is really difficult at this stage to authoritatively establish what is going on inside the country because of the information blockade, block out, phone lines and internet and everything has been shut, so it is going to be very difficult but the point is, militarily, there was no way that tplf could in any way be able to withstand and if european army attack and the step from here is the important one because you know, we are having at least 500,000 people, civilians, in mekelle and how that would be negotiated will be very important in the next few days and weeks. the ethiopian prime minister ipea made once permanent central government control of the dicko region —— abby ahmed. is that possible? —— covid region.

region —— abby ahmed. is that possible? -- covid region. it is impossible because the 1995 multi ethnic federal constitution does not allow for that and there is the logic behind that. throughout its history, ethiopia has always been ruled through a centralised system but does not work well for the majority of the ethiopians and the reason the ethiopians and the reason the tplf, when they came into government, allowed for that was, you know, the federal nature of the constitution will act as a pressure valve in a country that has 80 different ethnic groups so moving everything to a centralised platform and controlled from addis ababa in the name of unity does not work and if anything it will lead to disintegration. you said the tplf did not, had not the capacity to fight the ethiopian government troops centrally? will it now run an insurgency?

that is what is most likely going to happen. and that suits them because conventional military are very good at air, sea, conventionalfighting. military are very good at air, sea, conventional fighting. but you know, if you consider the region, which is fairly mountainous, if you consider tplf which is fairly, which is a group that, you know, came into power on the back of an insurgency, suits them well. and in any insurgency the centre of gravity is with the people and then the second element is the time though something that the prime minister does not have because the people living in the tigray region now, despite the failings of tplf, will mostly likely support them and in terms of time, time of the essence here, his home and office ends october five that he does not have a lot of time between now and the elections that need to be held. when was the last time you are able to speak to anyone in covid? not

after the fourth of november when the oppression started. it has been very difficult to verify any information coming from that region. abdullahi boru halakhe, thank you so much forjoining us. let's get some of the day's other news. thousands of people have again demonstrated across poland in opposition to a near—total ban on abortion in the country. poland already has one of the strictest abortion laws in europe but they were made tougher last month when abortions on grounds of severe and irreversible foetal defects were ruled unconstitutional. at least three people have been killed in sardinia after heavy rain caused flooding and rivers of mud on the mediterranean island. two people are also missing in the north—central town of bitti. strong winds and rain have affected the island since friday, cutting off power and forcing some people to evacuate. more than 150 people have been arrested at an anti—lockdown demonstration in london. many protesters were not wearing face masks and refused police requests to go home. protests are currently not permitted under lockdown rules in england.

the european union's chief negotiator michel barnier has held another round of post—brexit talks in london, with time running out to complete a trade deal before britain's transitional alignment with the eu ends. that's on december 31. significant differences still have to be resolved over fishing, competition regulations and governance. the uk and france have agreed to double the number of officers patrolling french beaches in a bid to stop migrants crossing to england. the british home secretary priti patel and her french counterpart gerald darmanin said they wanted to make the route across the english channel unviable. the uk government has been under pressure to close off the route after 8,000 people used it this year. simonjones reports. destination dover. despite commitments by both britain and france to stop these dangerous crossings, the attempts have continued.

now, britain will give france £28 million — some to pay for extra french officers to patrol the beaches and their equipment. the home office won't say how many patrols there will be but it is being described as a major uplift. people are putting their lives at risk and sadly, we have seen fatalities this year in the channel and we have to stop that. here at the home office, this new agreement is being described as significant but there have been a number of deals over the past couple of years with britain and france pledging on each occasion to work more closely than ever before, but the number of people arriving has continued to go up. so far this month around 700 migrants have reached the uk in small boats, which brings the total for this year to more than 8000 people, more than four times the figure for last year, but officials say that a greater proportion are now being thwarted. groups supporting refugees say the uk needs to provide a safe and legal way for asylum claims to be made from abroad. we must learn that shutting the door in people's faces doesn't make this

issue go away. and it's about time the home secretary took a fresh approach to this situation which accepted that you are not going to stop people from making this crossing. and the un refugee agency says in the context of european migration, the numbers reaching the uk are manageable. simon jones, bbc news. you are watching bbc news, the headlines: clashes between police and protesters in paris, during demonstrations against a proposed security law. turkey condemns the assassination of iran's top nuclear scientist and calls for his killers to be held accountable. the archbishop of washington dc has been made the first african—american cardinal in the catholic church. wilton gregory was confirmed by the pope at a ceremony in the vatican. the archbishop is known for being outspoken on many issues, including sex abuse scandals. christopher white is national correspondent for the national catholic reporter. he joins us from new york. thank you so much forjoining us. thank you so much forjoining us. the catholic church in

america has been hit by a scandal in recent years. what is the significance of wilton gregory's appointment as cardinal? well, wilton gregory was tapped in 2019 to come to washington, dc at a time when it was really ground zero for the sex abuse crisis, you know, but here they had just been to archbishops of washington that have been implicated in a cover—up of the abuse itself, and he came in with a mandate for healing, he has been a long—time leaderfor for healing, he has been a long—time leader for catholic bishops, he was president of the bishops conference in 2002, during the first wave of the abuse crisis. and in the final act of his life he is once more tasked with cleaning up house. let's look at this latest set of cardinals more generally. the pope onset of the clergy that he wanted shepherd's who smelled of sheep. that is cardinals pass the smell test? cardinals come from all over the world, pope francis has made it clear that just

the world, pope francis has made it clear thatjust because you come from a traditional location where there has been a cardinal, but does not mean you are entitled to a cardinal‘s red heart, seven today's ceremony he named cardinals from brunei and rwanda, places that have never had cardinals before. i think for pope francis, putting the spotlight of the global church in places where they typically haven't ha rd where they typically haven't hard significance or a voice is a key priority of this papacy. idid a key priority of this papacy. i did some of the numbers. pope francis has now pointed 57% of the cardinal electors. it is his college now. how will that affect the future direction of the church? well, they will eventually select his replacement, when pope francis either stepped down or dies, they will be the ones that go into the sistine chapel and vote for the next pope. and by selecting this majority of the current batch of cardinals, he gets to make a lasting impact on the church by reflecting his

past priorities investment he has selected to receive red hearts. internationally, we hearts. internationally, we hear less conferences than we did in the first year or two of his papacy. is that because he settled down and is doing what he wants to do, is that because he wants to do, is that because he got stuck, why is that? no, i think this pope, certainly he should things up when he arrived on the scene, caused a splash. —— shook things up. he has continued with that agenda, an agenda that has been close to the poor and the vulnerable and those in need, one that elevates those on the margins. but to a certain extent i think we have got used to it, because thatis we have got used to it, because that is what the world has come to expect of pope francis. now, he has had a quiet year in some respects because of the covid lockdown. this is a pope who became a bit of a jet setter, and he has been stuck in rome, like so many of us, at home. but i think as soon as lockdown restrictions are lifted we will see him back on the road again. that explains it. christopher white, thank you. a pleasure. nigeria's president muhammadu buhari has condemned what he called the senseless killing of more than a0 farmers in the north—east of the country.

he said the whole of nigeria had been shocked by the attack in borno, which was carried out by suspected boko haram islamist militants. local officials said the migrant labourers were harvesting rice when the attack took place. 43 bodies have been recovered. six other farm workers are thought to have been abducted. the bodies of the victims have been taken to zabarmari village ahead of a burial. voters in switzerland will decide later on whether or not to make businesses financially and legally liable for human rights violations or environmental damage. if the swiss vote in favour in the referendum, it could impose some of the world's strictest corporate responsibility rules and would affect the country's supply chains everywhere. recent polls indicate a slim majority supports the initiative to amend the swiss constitution, which was launched by an alliance of 130 non—governmental organisations. boxing, and two of the legends of the ring — mike tyson and royjonesjunior —take part in an exhibition bout in a couple of hours' time in los angeles. it's over 15 years since iron mike last fought competitively. the former world heavyweight

champion is now 5a years old. indeed, he and his opponent have a combined age of over a century. royjones is a former four—weight world champion and was once the best pound—for—pound fighter in the world. let's speak to the daily telegraph journalist gareth davies, who is a boxing writer. my my first thought about this fight, what a fight for 1990, not 2020! is this really a spectacle worth paying attention to? good morning, james. i think it is, in many ways. as you rightly say, mike tyson was the undisputed heavyweight champion between 1987 and 1990. roy was the best pound for pound fighter in the world 20 yea rs pound for pound fighter in the world 20 years ago. our two old men. it is an exhibition round,

and this bizarre ruling from the california state athletic commission is that there are to be no knockouts in the bout. quite how mike tyson does not go for the knockout, i don't know. it is the circus, in many ways. but there are so many rubber neck clinics, and the audience for this, i watching it because it is my duty, if you like. i think we will see two old men in the ring after two old men in the ring after two rounds, and i think both hands will be raised afterwards andi hands will be raised afterwards and i think it will be a bit of fun. i think it's generated interest during the covid lockdown online, because mike tyson was getting in shape, and i think it is a nostalgia fight more than anything else. you talked about that plan for neither man going in for the kill, even if they could. i remember mike tyson's most famous printable quote, everybody has a plan until they get punched in the head. what happens when that happens? well, if either man lands early on in this bout, the other guy is going to be in trouble. i

don't know, maybe they will hold each other up if they want to get to the end of the round. boxing is a is serious business, they have 12 ounce gloves, as i say. neither man must get heard tonight, because it would be a travesty if they do. but as the danger in this, because they have a combined age of 105 years old, both over 50. we have to see it has a bit offun, 50. we have to see it has a bit of fun, fingers crossed that nobody gets hurt. this is the modern age that we are in, they are freakshow modern age that we are in, they are frea kshow fights modern age that we are in, they are freakshow fights and that is what we are watching tonight. and your prediction is that both hands are raised at the end. would you go for a win on points, and accidental knockout, no context, a boutonniere? what is the result? anything could happen. we always say to expect the unexpected and boxing. i suspect mike tyson will bow out after two rounds, and they will actually give us a kind of

tickling exhibition, when fighters do not truly fight. fingers crossed that nobody gets seriously hurt tonight. fingers are crossed. it has been a pleasure speaking to you. thank you. a young woman has become the first transgender footballer to be allowed to play professionally in argentina's top division. mara gomez has signed a contract with the women's team villa san carlos, and is expected to make her debut next week. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. mara gomez says football saved her life. for years, she's been playing in local leagues in buenos aires. but now she's going professional. 0n social media, she posted a picture of herself signing a contract with her new club, the first trans player to reach this level in argentina. in a statement, she said: the role of trans women

in sport is controversial, with critics accusing them of having unfair biological advantages. but the authorities say that mara's testosterone levels are low, and her coach insists other players in the team are physically stronger than she is. argentina has been a pioneer in trans rights. legislation in 2012 gave people the right to self—identify. mara hopes she will serve as an inspiration to other transgender people, and — who knows? — score a few goals while she's at it. tim allman, bbc news. there is room in argentina for a new maradona. a reminder of our top story. french riot police have clashed with protesters in paris after a day of demonstrations across the country. protesters are angry ata country. protesters are angry at a new law restricting the right to publish images of the police. it comes after nvidia emerged of three officers a p pa re ntly emerged of three officers apparently beating a black music producer in his studio. you can reach me on twitter —

i'm @jamesbbcnews. hello there. sunday looks like being a dull and gloomy sort of day for many places. there was some sunshine on saturday. in kent and here in sussex, the temperature reached 1a degrees. with some sunshine in scotland, a lot colder here, though, only 3—4 in central areas after a frosty start. and sunday sees a frost in many parts of scotland to start the day, particularly in the north east, could be down to —5. it'll be milder to start sunday for northern ireland, england and wales because we're underneath this blanket of low cloud, so misty, murky weather for most of the day. it could brighten up a little bit across western parts of wales, perhaps into northumberland. it won't be as wet in northern england. more cloud comes into western scotland, but there'll still be some sunny spells for eastern scotland. and temperatures in a range 7—11 degrees, with the higher temperatures more likely across western parts of the uk. some changes, though, as we head into the evening and overnight because

the breeze picks up towards the north west, the cloud thickens and we start to push in some rain as well. now, that means it's going to be a much milder night across scotland, and as we head into monday morning, it should be frost—free. but we start with a lot of cloud. however, the weather will change a little bit because all that mistiness will get pushed away as these weather fronts push their way southwards with a little bit more of a breeze as well. most of the rain will be affecting scotland, northern ireland, pushing into the high ground in north—west england and wales. there won't be much rain heading its way southwards into southern england in the afternoon. and through the afternoon, we could actually get some sunshine as the rain clears from scotland. here, it'll turn a little bit cooler. 0therwise quite mild with that patchy rain, temperatures 10—11 degrees. now, that weather front pushes southwards out of the way, but willjust hang around a bit into the western side of the uk by tuesday morning. but in between those weather fronts, we've got

a northerly breeze. that's bringing in some clearer skies overnight, dropping the temperatures in eastern scotland and north—east england, so a frosty start here. and it will be a cold day for these parts as well because the cloud then starts to topple in again across scotland, and we'll see the crowd increasing in wales, western parts of england. sunshine for most of the day, though, i think, for the midlands, east anglia and the south—east. temperatures 8—9 degrees. 0ut towards the west where there's more cloud, maybe making ten in northern ireland. but it does turn chilly everywhere later on in the week. not only that, the winds will pick up and it turns much more unsettled.

this is bbc news. the headlines:

french riot police have clashed with protesters in paris after a day of demonstrations across the country. protestors are angry at a new law restricting the right to publish images of police. it comes after a video emerged of three officers apparently beating a black music producer in his studio. turkey has condemned the assassination of iran's top nuclear scientist. iranian president rouhani has blamed israel for the killing of mohsen fakhrizadeh and he says the country's nuclear programme will continue. israel has previously accused mr fakhrizadeh of masterminding a covert nuclear weapons programme. the archbishop of washington, dc has been made the first african—american cardinal in the catholic church. wilton gregory was confirmed by the pope at a ceremony in the vatican. the archbishop is known for his outspokenness on a range of issues, including sex abuse scandals.