this is bbc news, i'm tanya beckett. the headlines: the president of fifa has expressed support for the lgbtq community and migrant workers, but hits back at western critics of the country's human rights record, accusing them of hypocrisy. i think for what we europeans have been doing in the last 3,000 years, around the world, we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people. rishi sunak is in kyiv meeting ukrainian president zelensky for the first time as prime minister — and pledges to continue the uk's support.

the head of the housing association responsible for the mouldy flat blamed for the death of two—year—old awaab ishak has been sacked. at cop27, the un climate agency publishes a draft proposal for a deal to tackle the issue of "loss and damage" that included creating a new fund to help countries cope with the cost of climate change. here is lucy hockings is in doha. hello and welcome to qatar where no matter how much the officials want the focus to be on football, the opening match kicking off injust21i

hours�* time, that is not what is happening. the controversy around this football world cup will not just go away. that was arguably made much worse today because the fifa boss gave an impassioned defence of qatar, its human rights record, its treatment of migrant workers, it stands on lgbtq plus people as well at a press conference here in doha. it was a remarkable. for the journalist in the room, they expect if your minutes of prepared remarks, instead of the god and our of him justifying all sorts of decisions that have been made —— instead of that, they got one hour. he defended qatar robustly as well. a sports editor was there listening in. earlier this week, the most powerful

figure in football was all smiles at a world cup legacy event in doha, but fifa has been heavily criticised for bringing the tournament here amid human rights concerns. and today at a press conference its president, gianni infantino, tried to hit back in an extraordinary monologue. today, i feel arab. today, i feel african. today, i feel gay. today, i feel disabled. today, ifeel a migrant worker. ifeel like them because i know what it means to be discriminated. but that was just the start. infantino then appearing to liken his own experience as a redheaded child of immigrants in switzerland to the plight of gay people in the middle east. as a foreigner, in a foreign country, as a child at school i was bullied because i had red hair.

qatar has been under mounting scrutiny, especially in europe, over its treatment of migrant workers and the lgbt community. infantino then turned on the critics. i think for what we europeans have been doing in the last 3,000 years around the world, we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years, before starting to give moral lessons. it�*s just hypocrisy. comparing qatar favourably to europe, where he pointed out that 25,000 migrants had died trying to get into the continent since 2014, infantino then addressed fifa�*s late u—turn when it announced beer at world cup stadia would be banned. i think, personally, if for three hours a day you cannot drink a beer, you will survive. gianni infantino intended just then to hit back against this tournament�*s critics amid a barrage

of negative headlines in the build—up. but after that remarkable hour and a half—long press conference on the eve of this tournament, once again the focus is away from the football. two weeks ago, infantino asked teams to stick to the sport. but after his words today, this world cup seems more politically charged than ever. dan roan, bbc news, doha. it is indeed. many people calling it the most controversial sporting event ever held. let�*s bring you the views of the guardian journalist, and author of the fall of the house of fifa, what did you make of 0f fifa, what did you make of infanta�*s speech today questioning it was just awfully cringe. the minute he — it was just awfully cringe. the minute he said _ it was just awfully cringe. the minute he said he _ it was just awfully cringe. tue: minute he said he feels it was just awfully cringe. tte: minute he said he feels like all those different disadvantaged people and are likely migrant worker, i

looked at what his current salary is as the president of fifa and it has 2 million swiss francs and itjust shows an awful lack of self—awareness. it is a real... there was a need for the president of fifa to give some kind of state sm in like speech today on the eve of the world cup, but —— statesman—like speech, but infantino has shown he is not a statesman. he has shown he is not a statesman. he has had a lot of time to prepare what he is going to say on the eve of the world cup, but to make comments that are so lacking in self—awareness is a major embarrassment and, as dan rohn said in that report, has just focused all attention on the issues that he is trying to deal with.— attention on the issues that he is trying to deal with. there has been a deep suspicion _ trying to deal with. there has been a deep suspicion of _ trying to deal with. there has been a deep suspicion of qatar- trying to deal with. there has been a deep suspicion of qatar ever - trying to deal with. there has been | a deep suspicion of qatar ever since they won the bid, but investigations have cleared them of those

allegations. can you take us back to the bidding process and explain what happened question i guess, i can do. it is a very well rehearsed story and there were investigations that fifa held and they found that there was no evidence of wrongdoing to the extent that the world cup should be taken of qatar. and obviously there are absolute billions of qatar has spent since then. they had to build a seven new stadiums and refurbish the one existing national stadium, plus build the billions and billions of transport infrastructure to host the world cup. i actually feel that because infantino�*s actual speech and remarks were so badlyjudged in so many ways can actually think that some of the points he was trying to make, which he has obviously got from the qatari hosts that he is

spending so much time with, i actually think there is some validity in those and it is actually a shame that he has expressed it in this way and they have got lost. in particular, i do actually think although it doesn�*t mean it�*s hypocritical for us to go to qatar and raise the issues of human rights and raise the issues of human rights and women�*s right, i do actually think it is important that we acknowledge some of these oppressive practices were directly introduced by the british when we were the colonial power in qatar and qatar only became independent in 1971, it is not in ancient times, 3000 years ago, and that does not mean issues should not be raised now, but there is basically no acknowledgement at all from us, britain, the british government, the british media, any kind of apology. there is a strong

argument for apologies, kind of apology. there is a strong argument forapologies, but kind of apology. there is a strong argument for apologies, but in fact we are barely aware of it.— we are barely aware of it. david, there are — we are barely aware of it. david, there are so _ we are barely aware of it. david, there are so many _ we are barely aware of it. david, there are so many people - we are barely aware of it. david, | there are so many people talking about sportswashing, but they�*re also talking about the reform of fifa and that being needed. and going forward that perhaps human rights should absolutely be a prerequisite before a world cup city or country is chosen. you actually can influence fifa? how can it be changed? —— who can actually influence fifa? changed? -- who can actually influence fifa?— influence fifa? fever is a self-governing _ influence fifa? fever is a i self-governing organisation influence fifa? fever is a - self-governing organisation and self—governing organisation and therefore it is a confederation —— fifa. the english football association and the welsh and home nations�* football associations are part of fifa. are they making the arguments publicly question my guess i think they�*re putting some pressure on when it comes to human rights, but the fifa corrupt members

who made the decision in 2010 for hosting the world cup in qatar in 2022, they also made the decision to put the 2018 world cup in russia and rfa, the english fa, was bidding to hold at the 2018 world cup to the same seat fifa people and did not want to hear about corruption in fifa at that time. and if you�*re a member, asked at the bbc to pull a panorama programme on the eve of the vote that was precisely raising the issue of fifa corruption, so we need to look closely at home. are we paying art, ourfootball paying art, our football associations paying art, ourfootball associations playing our part for better governance in these bodies, including fifa?— including fifa? david, very good to net our including fifa? david, very good to get your thoughts. _ including fifa? david, very good to get your thoughts. thank - including fifa? david, very good to get your thoughts. thank you - including fifa? david, very good to get your thoughts. thank you so i including fifa? david, very good to - get your thoughts. thank you so much forjoining us with some of the questions of course fail to be answered that everyone here continues to talk about. really, thatis continues to talk about. really, that is the feeling tonight. we have just witnessed some fireworks taking place across the harbour. they were

incredibly impressive. you can see behind me this was built to host over1 million world cup fans. people here say they�*re proud of what the country has achieved, excited to host people from all over the world, this world cup will open up the world, this world cup will open up football to a whole new legion of fans and to the region. and as the first arab and muslim country to host the world cup, they believe that they are completely deserving, but as we have seen with less than 24 but as we have seen with less than 2a hours before that first ball is kicked, there isjust so much talk still about the various controversies swirling around at the world cup. for now, it is back to you, tanya. lucy, thank you very much. rishi sunak has made his first visit to kyiv as prime minister, where he met with president zelensky and confirmed the uk�*s continued support. he said the uk will provide a £50 million air defence package for ukraine, including anti—aircraft guns

and technology to counter iranian—supplied drones. he told president zelenksy he knew it would be a difficult winterfor ukraine. it is deeply humbling to be with you in your country today. the courage of the ukrainian people is an inspiration to the world. in years to come, we will tell our grandchildren of your story, how a proud and sovereign people stood up in the face of an appalling onslaught, how you fought, how you sacrificed, how you prevailed. as prime minister of the united kingdom, i�*m proud of how we stood with you from the very beginning, and i�*m here today to say that the united kingdom will continue to stand with you. we will stand with you until ukraine has won the peace and security it needs and deserves, and then we will stand with you as you rebuild your great country. this year alone we have provided £2.3 billion of military support, and we will do the same

again next year. as you succeed in pushing back russian forces on the ground, your homes, your hospitals, your power stations are being destroyed by the air. so to help you defend yourselves, we are today providing new air defence support, including 120 anti—aircraft guns, radar and anti—drone equipment. we are extending our training for the ukrainian armed forces to include specialist expertise from uk medics and engineers, and we are stepping up our support to help you through the cold, hard winter ahead. rishi sunak. 0ur political correspondent pete saull gave us this update and said the visit was a surprise. for obvious reasons, for security reasons they probably didn�*t let us know about this visit in advance. borisjohnson made three visits to kyiv, and that was the case with him too, we didn�*t know this was going to happen,

but it�*s all about showing solidarity, isn�*t it? and saying that britain remains absolutely committed to its support to ukraine. rishi sunak has had a pretty important week domestically, with his chancellorjeremy hunt delivering the autumn statement, and jeremy hunt made it clear the reason why we�*re going to go through a difficult period as a country is, in his view, largely because of the global headwinds caused by the war in ukraine. interesting to note that rishi sunak, when he tweeted out the video of him arriving and meeting volodymyr zelensky, said that britain would be with ukraine until the end. so, a clear commitment there, regardless of the impact it might have on people�*s energy bills here in britain, that the prime minister remains absolutely still alongside president zelensky, still alongside president zelensky. but alongside this visit today, there is some funding that�*s been announced too, so a bolstering of the ukrainian air defence systems against what the prime minister described as the barbaric aerial assault that we have seen over the past week or so, indiscriminate attacks on ukrainian cities, perhaps in response to the capture by ukrainian forces

of the city of kherson. now, of course, one missile ended up on the other side of the border with poland, tragically killing a couple of people on a farm, and the nato secretary generaljens stoltenberg said earlier this week that they thought that was a ukrainian defence missile that had ended up in poland, so perhaps this is one of the reasons why britain wanted to give a little bit more support in that area so that ukraine has the best possible way of dealing with those aerial attacks from russia. his visit comes, of course, after the g20 meeting, and he was at pains there to rally support for ukraine, wasn�*t he? he was, yeah, he spoke in very strong terms about the need to continue to support ukraine, and he�*s also, we�*re told, meeting emergency responders in ukraine, dealing with some of the people on the front line of having to deal with those missile attacks in the city, in kyiv, and across the country, too — he said it was deeply

humbling to be in kyiv, and this air defence system, £50 million, 125 anti—aircraft guns and technology, dozens of radars, anti—drone electronic warfare capability. this comes on top of more than 1,000 anti—air missiles announced by the defence secretary earlier this month, but given the problems at home, i suppose, with rishi sunak, some questions over his judgment on appointments he made to his cabinet, and the autumn statement on thursday, which i think has been largely pretty well received, certainly by his own mps, a chance to strut his stuff on the world stage again, and this is something that perhaps was a criticism of borisjohnson, that he turned up in kyiv at times when he was really struggling with domestic problems, but here he is today and there will be very few people who will criticise him for turning up today, i would have thought. it has been widely suggested the russian�*s agenda is to string out this war as long as possible and wear down, perhaps, western support.

at a time when finances are strained at home, it does become increasingly difficult to find money to support it, doesn�*t it? it does, and at the end of the day western democracies rely on the support of voters, and voters are really starting to feel the impact of this — notjust the war in ukraine, and labour pointed out at the dispatch box was also about undoing some at the autumn statement on thursday that this was also about undoing some of the damage caused by the not—so—mini budget of 55 days previous. now, the government didn�*t admit that specifically, althoutheremy hunt admitting that mistakes were made previous to that autumn statement, it was all about dealing, he said, with these global factors, the world recovering from the covid pandemic and also having to deal with the inflation caused by the war in ukraine and the spike in energy prices, but the longer this goes on the more people are going to really struggle. we saw from various different think tanks poring over the autumn statement yesterday, they were all saying, look, this energy crisis will go on for some time, a recession predicted by the independent 0ffice for budget responsibility lasting 18 months, unemployment on the up, so all of this is going to put

strain on western leaders�* ability to convince their electorates they still need to be absolutely 100% committed to their support to ukraine, but rishi sunak sending a very strong message with that visit today. pete saull. the boss of rochdale boroughwide housing, the housing association which rented the home of two—year—old awaab ishak, who died due to the impact of mould in his home, has been removed from hisjob. an inquest into awaab�*s death in december 2020 found it was due to a respiratory condition caused by mould in the one—bedroom flat. the board of rbh said it wasn�*t tenable for gareth swarbrick to stay on. 0ur correspondent samantha nanda has more on this. gareth swarbrick, who was the chief executive of rochdale borough housing, the housing association that rented the flat to awaab ishak�*s family, he has now been removed by the board.

as little as 2a hours ago, yesterday, the board had given him his full backing. this is after a coroner concluded earlier in the week that the two—year—old had died in 2020 after exposure to mould in his home. his family had repeatedly raised the issue with the housing association, but no action was taken. in a statement today, the board of rbh, who had previously backed mr swarbrick, as i said, said they had removed him with immediate effect from his position as chief executive. they said they would now work to appoint an interim chief exec. of their decision to back mr swarbrick as little as 2a hours ago, they said their original instincts were for him to stay on to see the organisation through this difficult period and to make necessary changes, but they now recognise that this was no longer tenable. a government source has also responded to the removal of gareth swarbrick today. they have said that they are welcoming it, because of his profound failings as this chief executive of rochdale borough housing, but there are still some very

serious questions for the board to answer. government sources asked why they gave mr swarbrick their full backing after the coroner�*s report as recently as 2a hours ago, and also why they failed to answer basic questions about the state of their housing stock. the secretary of state for levelling up said he will continue to take a very close interest in rochdale borough housing and will stand up for tenants as necessary. earlier today, a vigil was held in rochdale for two—year—old awaab, where they welcomed the news of mr swarbrick�*s removalfrom post, but many of the people who attended have been asking why it took so long. negotiators at the cop27 climate summit in egypt are considering a draft agreement that includes payments to help developing nations deal with global warming. there has been long—standing opposition in the west to a so—called "loss and damage"

fund because of fears that china would not contribute. 0ur science correspondent, victoria gill, gave us her analysis from the summit. well, the peripheral event around these negotiations is just closing down around the negotiators, and we have just seen the latest version of a draft agreement, a proposed text that these countries could sign off on at some point in these overrunning negotiations, and it�*sjust a question of whether what is in that draft text could be something that every single party here could agree on. crucially, there is no mention of a phase down in fossil fuels, that was lost from the text earlier in the talk. the language on this 1.5 degree target that was set by the paris agreement, this threshold to limit the most dangerous impacts of climate change, the language on that has not been strengthened as much as major players like the eu would like to see. they have already threatened to walk away from these talks if they don�*t see that target being really affirmed in this agreement. it�*s still a case that this vexed

issue of loss and damage, of funding for the most vulnerable countries that are suffering the impacts of climate change — we saw those floods in pakistan earlier this year — that issue is still to be worked out, who pays into this fund for all of that loss and damage. there is criticism of the egyptian presidency, as well, for leaving these issues to the countries rather than really steering these negotiations from the top. so, it�*s still the case that these talks could collapse, but at the moment it�*s just a case of wait and see, the negotiations go on, already overrunning, and we willjust wait to see what emerges. victoria gill. a search has resumed for a woman who is thought to have been swept away into a river as torrential rain battered parts of scotland yesterday. the wet weather is continuing to cause disruption to travel — with roads and rail services affected. robert townsend reports. this was the scene in fife after heavy rainfall brought

severe flooding to parts of the road network. elsewhere, in dunfermline, commuters faced impassable conditions. whilst floodwaters also rose across parts of edinburgh. the past 2a hours have seen heavy rain and winds batter much of the east coast. residents, with the help of fire crews, tried their best to defend their homes against flooding, until the rising water levels proved too much. when the water started seeping through the floorboards, through the tiles in the bathroom, initiallyjust come all the way through, and itjust spread into the bottom level of the house. what can you do? put down towels? well, that�*s not going to help. it�*s happened before, and i mean, it�*s really upsetting because it�*s uprooting my family again. for some, the conditions brought devastation to property. i'm back at square one. all these floors are going to have to come up now. that partition's going to have to come out. the plaster boards. for others, it was an anxious wait to see if they�*d be spared the very worst of the weather.

i've got a nine—month—old son and so, you know, - when you've got a baby in the house, it's much worse worrying _ about where are you going to go, i and all the things you need to take for him and stuff. rail travel has also been severely disrupted, with cancellations and speed restrictions across much of the network. sailings to and from shetland have faced cancellations, with supplies on supermarket shelves now running low. drivers have been urged to avoid unnecessaryjourneys where possible, with some river levels still not thought to have reached their peak. what we are asking people to do is plan ahead, make sure themselves and the vehicle are prepared for the journey, take notice of the police scotland travel advice warning. with disruption expected to continue into the weekend, residents are being urged to follow official advice. robert townsend, bbc news.

the prime minister says he wants to make britain�*s streets safer for women and girls, following a number of recent high profile cases. rishi sunak said his eldest daughter reaching the age where she wanted to walk to school by herself "brings home" the dangers faced by women and girls. simon jones has more. the role of prime minister inevitably brings with it a high level of security. but on a personal level, it was when rishi sunak�*s 11—year—old daughter said she wanted to walk to school herself that he had to reflect on the issue of safety. he told journalists... there have been numerous walks, vigils and protests calling for change. this one was in honour of zara aleena. she was attacked by a stranger as she was walking home in east london injune. police said she had every right to be there, every right to feel safe. jordan mcsweeney was caught

on camera following her. yesterday, he pleaded guilty to murder. at the time of the attack, he had only recently been released from prison and his licence had been revoked by the probation service. in a separate case, raneem 0udeh and khaola saleem were killed in solihull in 2018. they didn�*t feel safe, they had asked the police for help. they were stabbed to death by raneem�*s estranged husband, janbaz tarin. this is him following them on a night out. west midlands police have failed khaola and raneem beyond imagination. they had so many opportunities to save their lives right up until the end. both were murdered while on the phone to the police begging for help. this is the moment tarin was finally arrested. yesterday, a jury at the inquest found earlier police errors materially contributed to the women�*s deaths. west midlands police have apologised. last year, the murder of sarah everard by a met police

officer prompted grief protests and a national debate officer prompted grief, protests and a national debate on women�*s safety. police say it�*s still rare for people to be abducted from the streets but have promised reform. rishi sunak said he is committed to putting more police officers on the streets and increasing the number of prison places. but labour has accused the government of taking an axe to the vital services that are supposed to protect us. simon jones, bbc news. rugby league star kevin sinfield has completed his gruelling endurance challenge of running seven ultramarathons in seven days, raising money for those affected by motor neurone disease. he was inspired by his friend rob burrows, who suffers from mnd. this was the moment he entered old trafford at half—time of the rugby league world cup final. a very special moment here at old trafford. heather small has just been singing search for the hero inside yourself. and, as she finishes, that man there, kevin sinfield,

who had so many special nights here at old trafford as a player, is now walking to the centre circle, having run an ultramarathon every day for the last week, so 40 miles a day, to raise money for motor neurone disease in the name of his great, great friend and leeds rhinos legend rob burrow, who is suffering from motor neurone disease. kevin sinfield, congratulations. you made it. yeah. yeah, thank you, sally. that team is incredible. i think you all know why. rob burrow, weir, stephen dalby, ed slater, the full mnd community, the full rugby league community have

got behind the mnd community. i can�*t thank you enough. kevin, you have done seven ultramarathons in seven days. you said you were just going for a run for a mate. what kept you going? that exact thought. it�*s all about friendship and the love for rob. cheering i know that everybody feels the same way that i do about rob burrow. he�*s an absolute champion and the burrow family have been so courageous and brave. we just want to be a great friend and if we can all try and be a bit of a better friend from time to time, i think we�*ll have a better place to live in. now it�*s time for a look

at the weather with matt. hello. the rain may have eased off but river levels have continued to rise and, through today so far, we�*ve still had severe flood warnings out from sepa across parts of eastern scotland, and there is still some more rain to come during the next 2a hours. not quite the extent of what we have seen of late. but it is coming in this evening across ireland, then into western scotland, wales, western england. some heavy bursts at times. it�*s going to turn a bit more erratic as it works its way eastwards so they will be some drier moments. but we could even see a bit of sleet and snow mixed in on the tops of the hills. temperatures will be a little bit up and down through the night, but by the end of the night most places will be around 5—8 celsius as we start sunday. cloudy and wet start, that rain falling on saturated ground in eastern parts of scotland, eastern areas of england as well. brightening up here quicker than it will do across eastern scotland. the sunshine will come out for most. far north—east aberdeenshire, parts of caithness and 0rkney may stay cloudy and damp all day long. away from that, though, western areas start dry and sunny but will see some showers.

some of those heavy and thundery. they will develop and work their way eastwards for the end