this is bbc news. our top stories... buckingham palace issues a formal apology after a senior member of the royal household is accused of making racist remarks to a black, british reception guest. donald trump's tax returns are handed to a democratic—led, congressional committee following last week's supreme court ruling. south africa president president cyril ramaphosa is facing the threat after a report finds he may have breached anti—corruption laws. democrat, hakeem jeffries

is elected to succeed nancy pelosi — becoming the first black american to lead a major party in the us congress. at least two people have been killed and dozens are missing after a landslide on a highway in southern brazil. musicians and fans pay tribute to christine mcvie, the hugely successful singer—songwriter with fleetwood mac, who's died at the age of 79. and the best thing since sliced bread — the humble french baguette is awarded unesco cultural heritage status. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. a member of the buckingham palace household has

resigned and apologised after she repeatedly asked a domestic abuse campaigner where she "really came from". ngozi fulani, who's black, says her conversation with lady susan hussey, during a reception hosted by the queen consort was a "violation". lady susan had served as a lady in waiting for queen elizabeth, for more than 60 years, and has now stepped aside with immediate effect. nicholas witchell reports, and a warning there is some flash photography coming—up. buckingham palace yesterday afternoon. a reception to highlight the issue of violence against woman hosted by the queen consort. standing next to camilla was ngozi fulani. she is chief executive or sistah space and a prominent advocate for survivors of domestic abuse. also at the reception was lady susan hussey, she was a lady—in—waiting for the queen and waiting

for more than 60 years and was a senior member of the royal household. according to ms fulani, the following conversation took place between the two women. another guest at the reception

heard the exchange. it made us feel like perhaps were not welcome and don't belong here. you can be pretty sure a white woman wouldn't be on the receiving end of a line of questioning like that. buckingham palace said it took the whole incident extremely seriously. it went on... lady hussey has given years or second or she said nothing further about the incident. ngonzi fulani seen talking to the queen consort yesterday has accused buckingham palace of being racist. it all amounts to an uncomfortable reminder at the

start of prince william and catherine's visit. william's spokesman has said racism has no place in british society and it was right that lady's hussey had stepped aside. a short time ago the prince of wales launched celebrations for the earthshot prize, which is his initiative to tackle climate change. take a listen to what he had to say. 60 years ago, presidentjohn f kennedy's moonshot speech laid down challenge to american innovation and ingenuity. "we choose to go to the moon," he said. "not because it is easy, but because it is hard." it was that moonshot speech that inspired me to launch the earthshot prize with the aim of doing the same the same for climate change as president kennedy did for the space race. the us treasury has made available documents containing former president donald trump's

tax returns to a congressional committee. mr trump has long argued that the investigation is politically motivated. 0ur correspondent peter bowes has more on what can be done with the documents. they can analyse these documents to see what kind of methods donald trump has been using to, as we understand, pay relatively little in taxes over the years in question. some six years of documents have been handed over. of course, this follows a long legal fight by the president to keep them under wraps. this really goes back to 2016, when donald trump first stood for the white house. he became the first president in four decades not to hand over his tax documents. and during the time in office for him, he was successful in that. things changed whenjoe biden became president, and there was more pressure on the former president to hand over these documents. he used every legal tactic,

it seems, in the book to keep those documents private. it went to the highest court in the land, the supreme court, and they ruled just last week. the ruling went against donald trump. the court said, without offering any comment, that the treasury had to hand them over to the house ways and means committee which is involved in an investigation, looking at where tax officials are properly auditing presidential candidates and whether any new legislation is needed. so, that that investigation is about more than donald trump, but this has become about donald trump in large part because of the way in which the issue has been but of course as well because people are simply curious as to why donald trump has insisted for all of these years that these documents, these tax returns be kept private. will americans see them, do you think? will they become public? i think that is quite likely.

there is not a mechanism where the house ways and means committee has to make the documents public, but they will be scrutinising them over the next few weeks, and time is against them to do that. republicans take control of the house of representatives injanuary. we have got christmas approaching, so really about three weeks for this particular committee before it's dismounted and the republicans take control of all of the committees. so, a tight schedule to go through all of the detail in these documents, but a lot of people believe that the findings will eventually be made public. an independent panel in south africa has found that president cyril ramaphosa may have committed serious violations of the constitution linked to a burglary at his farm. he's now facing the threat of impeachmentjust two weeks before the anc meets to decide who their new leader will be. gail maclellan reports. it was a robbery at cyril

ramaphosa's farm, phala phala in limpopo, in 2020 that set this in motion. after an estimated $4 million in cash hidden under sofa cushions was stolen by robbers who fled into namibia, a former security chief accused the president of trying to hide the theft, and also prompted allegations of money laundering. the president denied any wrongdoing but, following an outcry, an independent panel was set up to investigate. their report suggests that the president should face further scrutiny. underlining the seriousness of the situation, one of the panel — former chiefjustice sandile ngcobo — said any moves to impeach the president must be based on firm evidence. dragging the president before an impeachment process is a huge decision. it cannot be done

on flimsy grounds. there has to be something tangible that you can hold onto before you take that decision. the speaker of the national assembly set out the next steps. the house will consider the report, its findings and recommendations, and adopt a resolution through a simple majority vote, whether a further action by the house is necessary or not. cyril ramaphosa — who has consistently parliament may choose not to proceed to impeach bid for re—election. gail mcclellan, bbc news.

what an incredible blessing to be able to continue to rely on the life experiences, the wisdom, the leadership instincts, the skills, the talent and ability of speaker pelosi, leader hoyer and jim clyburn. it is a blessing that we embrace. we stand on their shoulders and look forward to continuing to get things done for everyday americans. at least two people have been killed and dozens are missing after a landslide on a motorway in southern brazil. rescue workers say bad weather and the remote location are complicating the search effort. sylvia lennan—spence reports. the torrent of mud came rushing

down a steep hillside they are using drones with heat—detecting cameras to try to find survivors, but bad weather and the remote location are hampering the search. the national weather service is now issuing further heavy rain warnings

for multiple states. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster other people in los angeles. britain from continental europe _

through the final obstacle. this is bbc news, the latest headlines... racist remarks to a black british reception guest. christine mcvie — the hugely successful singer and songwriter who was part of the rock band fleetwood mac — has died at the age of 79. the band sold more than 100 million records worldwide — making them one of the most successful groups ever. david sillito reports.

fleetwood mac and don't stop. the song bill clinton chose as his campaign anthem. # just think what tomorrow will do _ # don't stop thinking about tomorrow- and the songwriter, christine mcvie. she'd been part of the british blues scene in the 60s with the band chicken shack and also as a solo artist before joining mick fleetwood and her husband, john mcvie. she had a gift for writing hits. # tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies - little lies, everywhere, you make loving fun, the band's best known songs were her work but she tired of the endless touring. # you can go your own way # go your own way # -

there was a long break but she rejoined the band in 2014. # and i love you, i love you, i love you — # like never before. fleetwood mac has had many ups and downs but their success owed much to the songwriting skill of christine mcvie. in a statement, the band said, we were so lucky to have a life with her. earlier i asked music journalistjim farber about what set christine mcvie apart. first of all, she was a triple threat, she was a master songwriter, a distinct singer with a timbre and tone like nobody else, and she was a great musician, great keyboardist, she brought a sound of the group,

she helped changed the group from what had originally been a blues group to a much broader—based pop and folk rock kind of group when they started breaking in america in the 1970s. and it's important to know that, at the band's peak in the �*70s, the most famous part of the band, when they were generating hit after hit, and there were three songwriters in the group, also stevie nicks and lindsey buckingham at that time, and she was generating more hits than any of them. if you look at their greatest hits package with 16 songs, eight of the songs on there, half of the songs on there are written or co—written by christine. i saw as well she wrote songbird, which is one of my favourites. in 30 minutes, which boggles the mind, that it is now part of music history. but also, that they had such a tumultuous time in the band. you say they were high for a lot of making of it, and yet it turns out one of these albums that i think many people would agree is one of the best albums ever written.

definitely. i mean, this was an album that famously came out of incredible turmoil, all the relationships in the group were breaking down, and yet they used it for fuel. mick fleetwood has talked about it that he was almost a coach, saying, yes, we had these horrible things happen, but let's use it, let's use it as our inspiration to write songs at a level because, as you know, very often when you're in pain, it can bring out wonderful things in creative people, it can bring them to a new level of their talent. and what about her, if we can think about christine as well, away from fleetwood mac, what sort of person was she? i know she was working up until really in the past few years as well, continuing pushing musically. tell us a bit more about her life. she was a very modest person, i met her a few times,

but other people who knew her quite better, everyone talks about the fact that she was not particularly impressed by fame, but also, not annoying about it. sometimes people, when they run from fame, they get really snotty, but she never seemed like that, she was very down to earth. she was someone you could say never really sought the spotlight per se, but the spotlight came and found her, there was no way she was not going to be in the spotlight, given her talent. she wanted to make music, she didn't necessarily want to be famous. and it was a short illness that she suffered? yes, i don't know anything more. there was an interview that she gave in the last year to rolling stone where she talked about some terrible pain in her back. it hasn't been reported yet specifically what led to her death.

in the world cup, argentina and poland will progress to the last 16 from their group. australia are also through to the knock—out stage for the first time in sixteen years, alongside the current champions, france. they had to stay until getting on to four in the morning in melbourne to cheer them on. joining me from doha. tracey holmes is a sports journalist from abc australia the celebrations have been continuing for quite some time. they were celebrating across doha are as well. there were 3000 australians in doha and i pretty much expect that most of them were at the game. you could hear cheering every time australia got the ball. and then, of course when they

scored that goal, it will be remembered for all time is the lucky goal because it is quite historic that they have one two group matches. they've never done that before. and neither have they progress like this with an australian born coach. football competes with three other codes of football in australia, so it is a real moment. and when the sports men do well, their nation always galvanises. i do well, their nation always galvanises-_ do well, their nation always aalvanises. . , ., ., galvanises. i was reading that it is the fifth _ galvanises. i was reading that it is the fifth most _ galvanises. i was reading that it is the fifth most popular- it is the fifth most popular sport. there is a lot that comes before. and you allude there to the football in various iterations in australia. do you think this will make a difference? yes, it will, but one _ will make a difference? yes, it will, but one of— will make a difference? yes, it will, but one of the _ will make a difference? yes, it will, but one of the things - will make a difference? yes, it will, but one of the things i - will, but one of the things i was saying in one of the interviews i did last night, we have to get over this idea that they only support soccer ruse when they are winning. it is called the world game for a reason. the whole world plays it. in the pecking order, we

are not very high up, and that's why it is so remarkable to beat denmark ranked tenth in the world and get to the stage of the world cup. but people do love the soccer ruse and they play because people do recognise it is the world game, and as much as we say we love underdogs in australia, we love underdogs in australia, we love underdogs that win. every time they win, the whole country comes together and celebrates. is it played widely in primary schools? it is it played widely in primary schools? , �* , ., is it played widely in primary schools? , �*, ., ., schools? it is. it's one of the most competitive _ schools? it is. it's one of the most competitive sports - schools? it is. it's one of the most competitive sports at l most competitive sports at junior level. coach graham arnold has been on and on about it. we tend to lose players, of course. they tend to go overseas and what have you. sometimes we lose touch with that pathway. he is saying. you do succeed, of football to succeed in that australia and the way that it could, because

we do have a grassroots group to pick from in both men's and women's football, then something needs to be done about that pipeline. graham has developed this team by working with the young guns from the olympics, and he is basically pulled them through into the senior team. pulled them through into the seniorteam. so pulled them through into the senior team. so it is a very young team with a few experienced heads mixed in. well, best of luck against argentina which will be coming up. they did have that shot glasses well, so let's see what happens. there are arguably few things more quintessentially french than the baguette. and yet, the loaf has been in decline in recent years, with many traditional bakeries struggling to stay afloat. but now there's something to celebrate, as unesco has added the baguette to its "intangible cultural heritage" list. tom brada reports. the humble french baguette, a towering icon among continental baked goods, is currently the toast of the town.

the crusty loaf was voted onto a prestigious unesco's list under the title artisanal know how and culture of baguette bread. and to this day, it remains a key part of french identity. translation: you buy bread, you talk to someone, you meet people. all of this creates a social link at a time when the world is increasingly virtual without contact. baguettes take their place on the intangible cultural heritage list alongside other important traditions like truffle hunting in italy and handmade christmas tree decorations in the czech republic. the exact origins of the lengthy loaf aren't known. some say the bread was ordered by napoleon because it would be easier for soldiers to carry. that can't be proven. but the baguette, as we know it today, was only officially named in 1920. it was then that strict rules about what classed

as a baguette were put in place, standardised at 80 centimetres long and 250 grams in weight, translation: shaping the touch of the dough by the baker. all that is a skill that you've been learning for years. it often takes ten years to really know your subject. yeah, the bread sings when it comes out of the oven. the baguette has struggled in recent times with hundreds of artisanal bakeries closing down each year. but unesco's decision has struck a chord with french society. president macron captured the mood of the nation, posting this picture along with a simple message. "250 grams of magic and perfection in our daily lives." tom brada, bbc news. the us president, joe biden, first lady, drjill biden and host l.l coolj braved the cold to turn on the lights of the 100th

national christmas tree near the white house. five, four, three, two, one. here we go. the tree lighting ceremony dates back to christmas eve in 1923 when president, calvin coolidge lit up a 48 foot fir tree. hello again. wednesday brought us some big weather contrasts once again. now, we had some fog that lingered all day around the scottish borders, and where that happened, temperatures in places actually stayed below freezing all day, whereas across the south west of england we had some pleasant sunshine, it was quite mild — 12 degrees in cornwall, 13 in the isles of scilly. right now, fog is becoming our next concern. we've got quite dense patches of fog across southern areas of england with the risk of some fog developing across wales, the midlands, east anglia — and for a time, as well, northeast england, so it might be worth allowing a little bit of extra time for your commute to work during the first part

of thursday, because i think some of that fog is going to be quite dense with visibility down to 100 metres or so. and some of the fog willjust lift into low cloud and mist and could loiter all day in one or two spots. otherwise, a lot of dry weather across england and wales with some sunny spells developing. some damp weather to start the day across eastern scotland, but the rain then tends to move into northern scotland later in the day. and for northern ireland it brightens up. notice again, the mildest weather will be across the north—west of the country — 12 degrees in stornoway — whereas across england and wales typically temperatures around about seven to nine degrees. we've got a similar mix of weather around on friday — again with some mist and fog patches to start the day — and then again it's a day where we'll see quite a bit of cloud, but some sunny spells developing here and there. 0ur temperatures not really changing too much across england and wales — again, about seven to nine — still mild for northern ireland and western scotland. now, taking a check on the weather picture into this weekend, easterly winds are going to start to strengthen and what that will do is bring us some thicker areas of cloud

and we'll see some patches of mostly light rain moving in, so you could see some damp weather just about anywhere, but it's the winds that you'll notice and it will start to feel a little bit colder, as well. however, into next week, that's when we're expecting the weather to turn much colder still. you see, an area of high pressure is going to develop in greenland and what that's going to do is it's going to shove these northerly winds southwards, with polar air moving its way across the uk, really dumping the temperatures. and for some — particularly over the hills — you may well be looking at the first sign of winter. yes, there is the potential for some winter snowfall into next week. still some way off — we'll be firming upon the details over the next few days.

this is bbc news, the headlines... one of prince william's godmothers has resigned from the royal household. lady susan hussey apologised after she repeatedly asked a domestic—abuse campaigner where she really came from. ngozi fulani — who's black — says her conversation with lady susan during a buckingham place reception left her feeling violated. the us treasury has made former president donald trump's tax returns available to a congressional committee. the move follows a supreme court ruling last week that cleared the way for the democratic—led panel to access his returns. mr trump has argued that move is politically motivated. south africa's president, cyril ramaphosa, is facing the threat of impeachment after an independent

panel found he may have violated his oath of office. he has been accused of having covered up a burglary at his