this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. us basketball star brittney griner is about to arrive back home after being released from a russian jail in a prisoner swap with a notorious arms dealer. the uk's chancellor prepares to announce a major overhaul of the country's financial sector — they're expected to include looser rules on banks and their staff, introduced after the financial crisis in 2008. major disruption to christmas postal deliveries as more than a 100,000 royal mail staff walkout across the uk — after the latest talks to resolve their pay dispute broke down. president putin has promised to carry on attacking ukraine's

energy infrastructure as russian missile strikes have left millions of people without electricity in the country. and at the world cup, argentina fans get ready to cheer on their team as they meet netherlands in qatar later, for a place in the world cup semifinals. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. us basketball star brittney griner is due to land back on american soil after being released by russia in a prisoner swap. she's due to touchdown in san antonio in texas and will then travel to a medical facility for health checks. the 32—year—old was arrested in february at a moscow airport

for having cannabis oil in her luggage and sentenced to nine years in a penal colony in august. she was swapped for viktor bout who was serving 10 years of a 25 year sentence for arms dealing. with the story, here's our north america editor sarah smith. still in the dark, brittney griner doesn't know why she's being led onto a plane. this footage, released by the russian authorities, shows her being given the news. do you know where i'm heading to? no. no? no. you're flying back home, to the us. she is safe, she's on a plane, is on her way home, after months of being unjustly detained in russia. here on the tarmac in abu dhabi, the handover. brittney griner, in the red jacket, being released, and swapped for a notorious russian arms dealer, viktor bout.

the basketball star had been detained in russia since february, when she was arrested at an airport in moscow for trying to smuggle vape cartridges containing marijuana into the country. something she described as an honest mistake. i understand everything that's being said against me, the charges that are against me, therefore i pled guilty. after that guilty plea she was sentenced to nine years injail and last month was moved to an extremely harsh labour camp. viktor bout, the russian arms dealer known as the merchant of death, has been in jail in america since 2011. he's now also free man. the white house offered to swap bout for ms griner and paul whelan. he's an american who is being held on charges of espionage which the us says are false. russia refused to include mr whelan in the exchange. brittney griner has become a real cause celebre in the us and herfreedom is being celebrated but the president is being

criticised for releasing a man as clearly dangerous as viktor bout. brittney griner�*s wife campaign tirelessly for her release. it's a happy day for myself and my family so i'm going to smile. brittney griner will soon arrive back in america after ten months in russia. sarah smith, bbc news, russia. a major overhaul of the uk's financial sector will be announced by the chancellor today, in a bid to boost growth. at a speech in edinburgh, jeremy hunt will introduce more than 30 regulatory reforms — including a loosening of rules on banks and their staff introduced after the financial crisis in 2008. but critics say it could be dangerous to forget the lessons of the past. earlier i got the thoughts of the banking analyst frances coppola. i think there's been quite a feeling in the city for quite a long time

now that the regulation, the heavy regulation since the financial crisis, has maybe gone a bit too far and tied banks down a bit too much. particularly some of the smaller banks, there has been quite a lot of pushback from challenge banks such as santander and virgin money, who say that some of the rules as applied to them are onerous. it's some of those rules they are talking about relaxing, ring fencing rules, for example, that applied to challenge banks, they will be relaxed enabling them to compete better with high street banks. there has also been lobbying to water down other rules such as the personal responsibility on senior managers. i personally have reservations about that because i think senior managers should be taking personal responsibility for their decisions. i am also disturbed by, perhaps more disturbed by the framing of this, which is about growth and competitiveness and the mooted idea that regulators will be tasked

with fostering growth and competitiveness. to me that is not what regulation is about. let's take one of the first points, just how competitive is london at the moment for investment? i think we have to be completely honest and say london at the moment is falling behind on competitiveness. and the reason is the form of brexit that we had which didn't pay sufficient attention to the concerns of financial services companies. and we are seeing businesses move away from london. we are seeing for example potentially the loss of companies to the european union and we are seeing other effects as well. we shouldn't ignore that. there has been quite a lot of damage and there is more damage going forward. we certainly shouldn't be using regulatory reforms as a form of compensation for the damage that has done to the financial services industry. we need to be taking steps to deal

with the problems caused by brexit. we are talking about the financial sector. who is actually going to benefit here? those right at the top, those within the sector. when and how will that trickle down to us, the public? we should remember that the financial services sector is a major driver of economic growth for the uk and has been for a long time. we want to have more economic growth and more money in our economy. we do need to prevent further damage to the financial sector and we need it to be competing internationally and we need it to be providing good and safe and quality services to our domestic businesses and to households as well. regulation kind of tries to square all of that and there is an argument that in the last decade it has gone a bit too far towards making everything safe and hasn't paid enough attention to actually making, helping the economy grow.

and maybe some rebalancing of aspects of regulation is a good idea because of that, but it really shouldn't be going towards watering down the safety of ordinary people's deposits and businesses�* activity, to foster risk—taking at the top end. frances coppola. let's get more now on our top story — brittney griner, the basketball star jailed in russia, due to arrive back in the us very soon after moscow and washington arranged an exchange of prisoners. let's speak to cbs correspondent jarred hill in new york.

what more do we know about the deal that was done to release her? this has been months _ that was done to release her? ti 3 has been months in the that was done to release her? ti 1 has been months in the making. we know the us secretary of state antony blinken had been in direct contact with russian officials over the summer trying to get both brittney griner and another american, paulwhelan, back on american, paulwhelan, back on american soilfor top american, paulwhelan, back on american soil for top yesterday we learned that according to american government officials, the deal to free brittney griner only materialised in the last few days. russia agreed only to releasing brittney griner in particular. it had to be in exchange for russian arms dealer viktor bout. as the secretary of state described it, it was a one or none offer from russia. what is set to happen to her when she arrives? she what is set to happen to her when she arrives?— she arrives? she will be landing in texas, she arrives? she will be landing in texas. and _ she arrives? she will be landing in texas, and she _ she arrives? she will be landing in texas, and she will— she arrives? she will be landing in texas, and she will go _ she arrives? she will be landing in texas, and she will go to - she arrives? she will be landing in texas, and she will go to an - she arrives? she will be landing in texas, and she will go to an army| texas, and she will go to an army hospital therefore medical evaluation. this is standard procedure for americans coming back from this type of foreign detention where there might have been trauma

or torture. there will also likely be some kind of information debrief and then brittney griner�*s wife has been waiting to be reunited with her after all these months. what been waiting to be reunited with her after all these months.— after all these months. what sort of reaction has — after all these months. what sort of reaction has there _ after all these months. what sort of reaction has there been _ after all these months. what sort of reaction has there been to - after all these months. what sort of reaction has there been to the - after all these months. what sort of reaction has there been to the storyj reaction has there been to the story in united states? i reaction has there been to the story in united states?— in united states? i think by and larae in united states? i think by and large there _ in united states? i think by and large there has _ in united states? i think by and large there has been _ in united states? i think by and large there has been a - in united states? i think by and large there has been a lot - in united states? i think by and large there has been a lot of. in united states? i think by and i large there has been a lot of relief from americans at how brittney griner is now out of russian custody and back in the us. this has been a touch point particularly in the sports world and among black americans as well. but we have seen criticism, most vocally from republican politicians, chiding the biden administration for the deal that was brokered for not getting both brittney griner and paul whelan home and agreeing to free the so—called merchant of death in order to get brittney griner back to the us. �* ,, to get brittney griner back to the us. 3, to get brittney griner back to the us. cbs correspondent jarrod hill, thank yom — postal workers at royal mail have begun a wave of strikes

in the run—up to christmas, in a row over pay and conditions. the walkouts involving 115,000 workers will hit letters and deliveries across the uk. members of the communications workers union are planning another wave of strikes on the 11th, 1ath, 15th as well as the 23rd, and 24th december — some of the busiest days for pre—christmas deliveries. the royal mail brought forward the final deadline for deliveries with the last day for second class post now on monday 12th december and for first class post the deadline is next friday, the 16th december. david ward, general secretary of the cwu, was asked how much longer their strike action can go on for. this is a fight forjobs. it's a fight for their livelihoods, and it's a fight for the services that our members are proud to deliver, and have been delivering for years and years.

royal mail is a company, one of the greatest companies in the uk. and there's no other way of saying this, this is being destroyed in front of our eyes in the name of modernisation. and what we won't agree, and i want to be absolutely crystal clear on this, what we will not agree is that as our members get sacked, and we are talking about thousands upon thousands ofjob losses, we are talking about compulsory redundancies. we are not going to agree that royal mail replace those workers with self—employed drivers, with new entrants on 20% less pay, terms and conditions, and with agency workers, around 11,000 that they want to keep on all year. now, if the company want to move this forward, it's not unreasonable for us to say that we wantjob security at a time when they are employing all those other people. surely your viewers will understand that this is a just fight for the service.

that was david ward, the general secretary of the union, the cwu. royal mail operations director rick mcaulay was at one of their sorting depots in central london and spoke to our correspondent zoe conway about the negotiations. there will be another three days this week at acas, the chief exec leading negotiations to try and give the cwu the opportunity to understand the critical need for change in the network and call off the strikes. it's disappointing they didn't take that opportunity. royal mail really is at a crossroads, losing £1 million a day. despite that we are putting 9% of pay on the table for our employees. which the cwu dispute. yeah, they can dispute it all they want, that's the offer. it's a 9% pay deal for employees over an 18 month period. it's £400 million of pay. we are trying to find the balance between that pay

and how we afford it, which is about change, and it's about modernisation. you can see that all around you in the sorting office. many, many more parcels, and we need to evolve the network so we can compete in winning parcels. you as a company have been saying the smaller the business, the smaller the workforce. you are losing a lot of money, you say. at what point do you just drive this modernisation through? at what point do you, with or without the union, just push this through? are we nearly at that point now? to be really clear, we want an agreement. we do want an agreement. but there is no agreement in sight. that's up to the cwu. we think there is a good offer on the table that's a balance of pay and change. and the change is about royal mail. we've been here 500 years and it's a wonderful business and it can have a wonderful future, but only if it does what customers need. seven day parcel network, posting late into the evening, and next day delivery.

that does mean change and we understand change is difficult for colleagues but it's a change that will deliver the job security that's important to the union and employees. if more strike dates were announced injanuary, which could likely happen, what do you do? this has to come to an end. are you just going to drive this through? we are seeing more colleagues coming to work. so we keep the network running during strike days. the 11,000 colleagues in work during the last strike days, that's people voting with their feet. the union have not given them the opportunity to have a vote on the most recent offer and we bring additional resource in so we can keep the network running for our customers and we will continue to do that. we hope the cwu will reflect on the offer we have put on the table and give it to members to have a vote on. ricky mcaulay, thank you. as you can see, this is a bitter dispute with five more strike days to come. no end in sight. president putin has promised to carry on attacking ukraine's energy infrastructure.

russian missile strikes have left millions of people without electricity in ukraine, where winter temperatures are often below zero. he said growing global criticism would not interfere with missions in ukraine. 0ur correspondent hugo bachega gave us this update from kyiv. the ukrainians have been saying that this is how russia is responding to military defeats on the battlefield, by attacking civilian sites and civilian infrastructure in cities away from the front lines, and i don't think president putin's comments will come as a surprise here. the authorities have been saying that russia is likely to continue targeting civilian infrastructure, accusing russia of weaponisation winter. weaponising winter. and as you can see, it is cold. temperatures here in kyiv and across the country are now below freezing, and you have potentially tens of millions of people across the country facing very difficult conditions, without heating, without electricity and, in some places,

even without water. and some western officials have been saying that these attacks could amount to war crimes, because of the destruction that has been caused to this country's civilian infrastructure. but again, president putin yesterday saying that criticism, this criticism will not stop the attacks that have been carried out by russia. so we've seen that russia has been using missiles, but also iranian—made drones to carry out those attacks. and later today, the biden administration is expected to announce more sanctions targeting russia, specifically related to these drones that have been used by russia. and we had an update earlier this morning from the uk defence ministry, saying that russia is likely to have received a new supply of those drones, again, that have been used to attack this country's energy infrastructure. that was hugo bachega in ukraine. we will stay in the region.

firefighters are battling a huge fire at a shopping centre in moscow. video footage showed several explosions, before flames engulfed the mega khimki mall, on the outskirts of the russian capital. one person has been reportedly been killed in the fire. local media says arson is being considered as a possible cause. the uk's passport office is being urged to "learn lessons" from the massive backlog in applications earlier this year and to prepare for similar levels of demand in 2023. the spending watchdog, the national audit office, has been looking into this year's problems which saw tens of thousands of people face long waits for their passports to be renewed. tributes have been paid tojet black, one of the founding members of the punk rock band the stranglers, who has died aged 8a. the drummerfeatured in many of the band's hits, including golden brown,

and no more heroes. bassist and co—frontmanjj burnel described him as a force of nature and an inspiration. in a watershed moment for the gay rights movement in the united states, the house of representatives has voted in favour of same—sex marriage. the right will be protected nationwide, once president biden signs the bill into law. nomia iqbal reports. this is a real watershed moment for gay rights movements in the us. so at the moment, same—sex marriage is protected nationwide, due to a supreme court ruling in 2015. however, if that ruling was overturned, then same—sex marriage, the right to same—sex marriage, would be left to the individual states, in the same way that has happened with abortion rights, following the overturning of roe v wade over the summer.

now, when roe v wade was overturned, at the time, one of the supreme courtjustices, clarence thomas — who was in favour of roe v wade being overturned — basically said, in his concurring opinion, that other privacy based rights, such as same—sex marriage, could be reconsidered. and so that caused democrats to move swiftly, to try and codify same—sex marriage. and so now they've done it. and the important thing to note here is that it got bipartisan support. it got majority support in the house and the senate, by both parties. and that's. .. that's really important, it's really significant, because it shows just how much, you know, views have changed culturally on an issue such as same—sex marriage, which was once upon a time really, really contentious. the other thing to point out here is that this is rightfully here is that this is likely going to be the last significant legislative accomplishment that the house democrats make before the house republicans take over next year.

the uk, italy and japan have announced they willjointly develop a next generation fighter jet by 2035. the new tempest fighter jet will use artificial intelligence and can operate without a pilot on board. prime minister rishi sunak says the joint venture aims to create thousands ofjobs in the uk and strengthen security ties. mr sunak will launch the first major phase of the programme this morning during a visit to raf coningsby, in lincolnshire. joining me now is professor michael clarke, associate director of strategy and security at exeter university(0s at exeter university. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. isn't thisjust thank you forjoining us on bbc news. isn't this just a larger drone? news. isn't this 'ust a larger drone? ., , , , ., drone? no, because the principle behind it, a _

drone? no, because the principle behind it, a sixth _ drone? no, because the principle behind it, a sixth generation - behind it, a sixth generation aircraft, is that one tempest aircraft, is that one tempest aircraft that would have one or two pilots in it, would then control a little air wing of five or six robotic aircraft. it is more than just a drone. it is like an air wing all of its own. it's similar to what is happening in the maritime sphere where other drone ships now as we saw the ukrainians attack sevastopol harbour with an entire drone ship. the same thing is happening on the battlefield with drone tanks, controlled by one tank with a crew in it. this is the direction in which warfare is believed to be going in the 2030 and 2040s. where one active unit, aircraft or tank controls a number of robots connected to it.— controls a number of robots connected to it. ., . , connected to it. how much input will there be from _ connected to it. how much input will there be from humans? _ connected to it. how much input will there be from humans? it's- connected to it. how much input will there be from humans? it's all- connected to it. how much input will| there be from humans? it's all about human interaction. _ there be from humans? it's all about human interaction. essentially, - there be from humans? it's all about human interaction. essentially, a - human interaction. essentially, a crew on the ground with a pilot in the air will then actually work out how to deploy effectively on air wing of four or five different

tempest aircraft. that's the ambition. whether it will work out that way we will have to see. when you watch all the whizzy videos produced on these things, that's what the idea behind it is, that one pilot can control five or six different aircraft all doing different aircraft all doing different things. so different aircraft all doing different things.— different aircraft all doing different things. different aircraft all doing different thins. �* , , different things. so it's the number of aircraft that _ different things. so it's the number of aircraft that can _ different things. so it's the number of aircraft that can be _ different things. so it's the number of aircraft that can be controlled. . of aircraft that can be controlled. i was about to ask you, why would you do this and what's the difference between going on autopilot? difference between going on aut0pilot?— difference between going on autoilot? ' . , ., autopilot? the difference is having autopilot? the difference is having a human being _ autopilot? the difference is having a human being in _ autopilot? the difference is having a human being in the _ autopilot? the difference is having a human being in the loop - autopilot? the difference is having a human being in the loop and - a human being in the loop and having, as it were, a force multiplier. the theory is you don't just have single aircraft with people in them, but aircraft that can control other aircraft. it allows you to multiply the force, and if you can afford it then in theory you can produce a lot of aircraft over a target or an area of battle which can all do different things. it's a great idea if it can be worked out. it is based on not

just robotics but artificial intelligence and it can process a lot of material.— intelligence and it can process a lot of material. professor clarke, in terms of _ lot of material. professor clarke, in terms of the _ lot of material. professor clarke, in terms of the uk, _ lot of material. professor clarke, in terms of the uk, italy - lot of material. professor clarke, in terms of the uk, italy and - lot of material. professor clarke, i in terms of the uk, italy and japan, what do you make of that relationship and strategically what do they all gain from this? we may rain in do they all gain from this? we may gain in international— do they all gain from this? we may gain in international partnership. . gain in international partnership. there will be fratricide between what we are producing and what the french, german sent spanish will produce and they will cancel each other out and we won't have any. that is always a possibility. in theory, because we are now a brexit country, it makes a certain sort of sense to have a relationship with a country like japan, which is certainly very sophisticated in its technology. so a link bridge with italy, japan and the united kingdom and maybe even with sweden eventually might turn out to be a good linkage if it can be made to work but we are talking 15, 20 years down the line.—

down the line. does this make financial sense? _ down the line. does this make financial sense? it _ down the line. does this make financial sense? it will - down the line. does this make financial sense? it will cost . down the line. does this make financial sense? it will cost a i financial sense? it will cost a treat financial sense? it will cost a great deal- — financial sense? it will cost a great deal. the _ financial sense? it will cost a great deal. the germans - financial sense? it will cost a great deal. the germans and financial sense? it will cost a - great deal. the germans and french are spending about 100 billion euros on it eventually. we have committed about £6 billion, 2 billion of our own and each of the other partners, italy and japan have committed about 2 billion. it is affordable if you choose to afford it but it will be immensely expensive and take ten or 15 years to produce. the one thing you can guarantee is it will cost a great deal more and take a great deal longer than is being advertised at the moment.— at the moment. professor michael clarke, fascinating _ at the moment. professor michael clarke, fascinating conversation i at the moment. professor michael i clarke, fascinating conversation and thank you, from exeter university. back to the news that a major overhaul of the uk's financial sector will be announced by the chancellor today, in a bid to boost growth. our business correspondent marc ashdown is here with me. he can talk us through, first off...

good morning. you are far too chirpy. what is being planned? to chirpy. what is being planned? trr give a bit of context, one financial sector representative described the city as jurassic park, sector representative described the city asjurassic park, full of old dinosaurs in dire need of a shake—up. we are promised the biggest shake—up in 30 years, since margaret thatcher's famous big bang, if you cast your mind back to i'm old enough, i'm sure you're not. 1986, the big bang, the deregulation of financial services to try to kick—start growth, credited by most as starting the decade of growth, decades of growth we saw. what are they planning? they are trying to reverse a lot of the safety nets put in place post—financial crash in 2008. we can all remember that, of course. the problem is where it was deemed to be too lax so the government bailed out big banks to the tune of billions of pounds but they demanded a big tightening up because of that. banks were forced to play it more safely and had to

separate the money we put in, all our mortgages, deposits, the domestic side of things, and the riskier investments and the exposed a lot of that money to the stock exchange, for example, and that was unpicked. they were told they couldn't do that any more and they need much bigger safety nets and ring fenced domestic money for example. the feeling is now they can unpick a bit of that and give them more freedom and allow them to use that money and better ways to make that money and better ways to make that growth. also, bankers themselves, there has been a cap on their bonuses recently. there was after the financial crash with more onus put on individuals and a lot more responsibility and they could face sanctions, fines and even prison if they were seen as being too risky. the plans to unpick some of that and give them more to help the sector grow and we are promised a turbocharger of growth. what the sector grow and we are promised a turbocharger of growth.— a turbocharger of growth. what is the reaction _ a turbocharger of growth. what is the reaction been? _ a turbocharger of growth. what is i the reaction been? underwhelming. marraret the reaction been? underwhelming. margaret thatcher _ the reaction been? underwhelming. margaret thatcher wasn't _ the reaction been? underwhelming. margaret thatcher wasn't big - the reaction been? underwhelming. margaret thatcher wasn't big bang l margaret thatcher wasn't big bang really was a big bang. the previous chancellor kwasi kwarteng had big plans and we never got to see it

come to fruition. they are still playing at a bit safe. banks and investment firms have got used to the new rules and are working with them well and certainly were not crying out for the reform. the government are billing it as brexit freedoms and the eu were looking at a lot of this anyway, it has to be said. there is a definite feeling london has fallen behind, losing its to places like paris, amsterdam, frankfurt, vying as a competition european hub. frankfurt, vying as a competition eur0pean hub-— european hub. what are the challenges? _ european hub. what are the challenges? to _ european hub. what are the challenges? to give - european hub. what are the challenges? to give a - european hub. what are the challenges? to give a bit. european hub. what are the challenges? to give a bit of| challenges? to give a bit of context. — challenges? to give a bit of context. big _ challenges? to give a bit of context, big firms - challenges? to give a bit of context, big firms listing i challenges? to give a bit of. context, big firms listing here challenges? to give a bit of- context, big firms listing here are trying to attract talent and get firms to list on the london stock exchange rather than the usa and wall street. taking deliveroo, for example, the big delivery firm, whizzing food around the world. they listed here in london, at 2.70 a share, the public were buying them and they shot up to £4 but today they are trailing at 80p, 90p, so it

isn't going well. they are not the only one with a lot of big tech firms falling flat on their face. there is a feeling that the uk doesn't get big tech like wall street does. how will you encourage big firms to invest here? deregulating does create more risk so could we go back to the pre—2008 crash and have the culture where risks are taken and it could be storing up trouble for the future as well. a . storing up trouble for the future as well. . a ., storing up trouble for the future as well. . ~ , ., ., ,, storing up trouble for the future as well. . m ., . ~' white mix breaking news coming to bbc news. a serving metropolitan police officer, pc rupert edwards, has been charged with two counts of rape in connection with alleged incidents in south london and surrey earlier this year, the force said. a statement released via the metropolitan police. pc rupert edwards has been charged with two

counts of rape in connection with alleged incidents that took place in south london and surrey. we will have more than when we get it. the canadian singer celine dion has revealed she has been diagnosed with a rare, incurable disease. it's affecting her movement and her voice, which has forced her to reschedule next year's tour of europe and the uk. wendy urquhart reports. # near, far, wherever you # near, far, whereveryou are... celine dion has topped the charts all over the world and her songs have won countless awards, but her lifestyle is about to change drastically. the 54—year—old fought back tears on thursday, as she told her 5.2 million instagram followers that she is suffering from stiff person's syndrome, sps, a rare neurological disorder with autoimmune disease symptoms which affects around one in

a million people worldwide. unfortunately, the spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when i walk, and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way i'm used to. celine dion was due to tour in europe and the uk in spring next year, but fans will have to wait a bit longer to hear their favourite songs live, while she concentrates on getting better. but cancelling those concerts is clearly breaking her heart. i have to admit, it's been a struggle. all i know is singing. it's what i've done all my life.

and it's what i love to do the most. celine is working with a team of doctors and gaining the strength to carry on from her family. but she had this sweet message for herfans. i love you guys so much and i really hope i can see you again real soon. celine dion. we are going to take you to the united states now. i appreciate this is quite dark. hopefully, you can make out that jett has touched down. from san antonio in texas. where the two—time olympic gold

medalist is due to land. brittney griner. the swap was arranged after months of talks and during heightened tensions between the us and russia over the invasion of ukraine. but she was involved in a swap with the russian arms dealer viktor bout. republican congressional leader kevin mccarthy said releasing him is putting american lives at risk. we expect that brittney griner will disembark and be taken for health checks and she will meet her family and her wife who we have seen in bbc news with president biden yesterday when he announced she was on her way back home. he was thanked by cherelle and us officials for

securing her release and said she was looking forward to having her back. i think it has definitely come to a standstill. we can see some of the official cars and vehicles on the official cars and vehicles on the runway. the steps have come down. some of the staff, i think, the air crew on board the jet, have also just the air crew on board the jet, have alsojust come down the air crew on board the jet, have also just come down those steps. and brittney griner is expected to also disembark shortly. now, the swap itself took place in abu dhabi with, as i said, the arms dealer viktor bout. russian state tv has been very quick in praising president putin, saying bout�*s life is onlyjust beginning. he has served a ten year cover ten years of a 25 year sentence, but had already served 1a

years in detention —— ten years of a 25 year sentence. some of that was served in thailand. to remind you why she was in prison, a penal colony. a basketball star, she was arrested in russia for carrying cannabis oil. and that's why she was serving her sentence in this penal: colony, arrested back in february of this year. so it has all come quickly for the public, but in terms of getting to this point, it has taken months of discussions, i quickly want to point out one criticism has been that the prisoner swap should have also involved another american citizen, paul whelan, also being detained by russian authorities. he is in prison serving a sentence for alleged spy offences. but thatjet, we understand, has brittney griner on

thatjet understand, has brittney griner on that jet which understand, has brittney griner on thatjet which has touched down in san antonio, texas. you are watching bbc news. now, let's talk about the weather. as temperatures plunge all over the uk, thousands of people on the lowest income will receive a £25 cold weather payment. it is paid once in a seven—day period, and residents from over 300 postcode districts will get it. joining me now is peter smith, director of policy at national energy action. thank you forjoining us in bbc news. £25, does that go anywhere near helping those who need help? well, it is a welcome amount and people might remember universal credit was reduced by broadly an equivalent figure. but it has not increased, that amount hasn't increased, that amount hasn't increased for over a decade now and,

increased for over a decade now and, in that period, we know that energy prices have broadly doubled since then and by next april, we know that they will approximately be about triple what they were when that £25 limit was set. so it is not providing the amount that is necessary. in addition to that, the cold weather payment by virtue of how it works is paid in arrears and you don't know on the fourth of the fifth day of a really cold spell whether you will receive that amount. so it is welcome, but there are challenges in terms of that scheme and it won't be fully sufficient to offset this cold spell. sufficient to offset this cold sell. , , ., sufficient to offset this cold sell,�* , ., ., sufficient to offset this cold sell. , ., ., ,., spell. just how bad are things at the moment _ spell. just how bad are things at the moment for _ spell. just how bad are things at the moment for those _ spell. just how bad are things at the moment for those on - spell. just how bad are things at the moment for those on low i spell. just how bad are things at i the moment for those on low incomes and having a warm home? itruieiiii the moment for those on low incomes and having a warm home?— the moment for those on low incomes and having a warm home? well we are heafina and having a warm home? well we are hearing terrible _ and having a warm home? well we are hearing terrible stories _ and having a warm home? well we are hearing terrible stories for _ and having a warm home? well we are hearing terrible stories for people i hearing terrible stories for people delivering advice in direct support to vulnerable? within national energy action. people feel they have no choices other than either reduce their energy consumption to a point

they know themselves is damaging their health and well—being or they are facing the prospect of getting into unmanageable levels of debt in the new year. but we are particular concerns at the moment with households in northern ireland. unlike the rest of great britain, they have not received the level of support that the uk government has made available. they are still waiting for the energy bill support scheme which provides a £400 rebate from everybody else's villa great —— across great britain at the present time and there are delays with putting in place the protection by the energy price guarantee, limiting prices at £2,500 on average. for those households in northern ireland, we optically concerned about this latest cold spell and the impact of this energy crisis. 50 about this latest cold spell and the impact of this energy crisis.- impact of this energy crisis. so we have been talking _ impact of this energy crisis. so we have been talking about _ impact of this energy crisis. so we have been talking about those i impact of this energy crisis. so we have been talking about those on| impact of this energy crisis. so we have been talking about those on low incomes, but i imagine within that group, there are going to be some very vulnerable people, who are the

top priorities?— top priorities? yes, physically those households _ top priorities? yes, physically those households that - top priorities? yes, physically those households that live i top priorities? yes, physically those households that live on| top priorities? yes, physically i those households that live on low incomes and also have medical health conditions which can be badly exacerbated by living in a cold home. we know respiratory illnesses like copd or circulatory problems like copd or circulatory problems like strokes or people with weak hearts are much more prone to repeated hospital admission if they do live in cold conditions. and unfortunately, we're already seeing evidence that the health service is so gummed up withjust evidence that the health service is so gummed up with just routine issues and peaks in seasonal demand that those households with medical conditions are being exposed to much more prolonged issues waiting for treatment, only to be sent back into the conditions making them ill in the conditions making them ill in the first place, so again, it is a very difficult situation and always puts more pressure on our health service staff at a time when they are really struggling anyway. peter

smith, sorry to interrupt, head of policy at national energy action, thank you for your time. us regulators are trying to block microsoft from buying the firm activision blizzar, which is behind games such as call of duty and candy crush. it's because of a concern over competition. the regulators worry that the $69 billion deal would mean activision blizzard's games would stop being available on non—microsoft gaming consoles. let's speak to our gaming correspondent, steffan powell. soa so a bit more detail regarding this deal, has it come as a surprise? hat deal, has it come as a surprise? not reall , deal, has it come as a surprise? not really. there — deal, has it come as a surprise? iirrt really, there have been a lot of whispers about this and a lot of disquiet in the ftc with the deal for a while and you have mentioned the competition and markets authority in the uk has also raised questions about this and is investigating. potentially, should this deal go through, it would be

the biggest deal in video gaming history by some distance, $70 million, around £60 million. if you put that into context in terms of other industries to show the power of the games industry. it is a long time ago, over a decade ago, but when disney bought marvel, the makers of the superhero movies, that was worth $4 billion. and when facebook bought instagram in 2012, that was $1 billion, so this is a $70 billion deal, so massive in scope, so the level of scrutiny is matching it. essentially, there is a lot of politics at play in the states, there are many democrats on the ftc and they are concerned about monopolies, especially in the technology sector, so they are taking this fairly seriously, which is why it will now be decided by a court in the us as to whether or not this deal can go ahead. like you have mentioned, essentially, it comes down to competition. there is a concern that if microsoft owned

these mega franchises like call of duty, which has over 70 million players worldwide playing its current title at the moment, if you had owned those games, you could potentially restrict access to those titles for people who don't own an xbox console. sony playstation had been unhappy about the deal because they say, hang about, if all these titles have become microsoft exclusive, that puts them in too much of a powerful and prominent position on the market so it is unfair, and that is how we have ended up in the situation. 15 unfair, and that is how we have ended up in the situation. is there a precedent _ ended up in the situation. is there a precedent for _ ended up in the situation. is there a precedent for that _ ended up in the situation. is there a precedent for that happening i ended up in the situation. is there l a precedent for that happening with tech companies?— a precedent for that happening with tech companies? well, on this scale in the gaming _ tech companies? well, on this scale in the gaming industry, _ tech companies? well, on this scale in the gaming industry, there i tech companies? well, on this scale in the gaming industry, there is i in the gaming industry, there is not, that —— this is fairly new ground for the gaming industry, there has never been a deal of the scope before. should the deal go through, microsoft would become the third biggest player in the games market. there is a company that originated from china that is the market leader at the moment, then

you have sony who produce the microsoft consoles and other games, and you would have microsoft in third place, should this deal go ahead. so that is a concern for some of the people looking into this, the fact this is new ground, it has not really be seen before. and with the sector that changes so rapidly all of the time, the way the competition affects players and people at home who spend their hard earned money on these games is always changing as well and trends change quickly, so trying to keep up with that is very difficult which is perhaps why some people in the ftc are trying to slow this process down and look at what this process down and look at what this will mean long—term. as for microsoft and activision blizzard who won the deal to go through and they signed the agreement earlier this year, they are quite frustrated because what they are saying publicly is this deal would be good for competition and they have already made overtures to some other companies like nintendo to work with them in the future. it is quite murky, it is quite complicated, but

what it does mean is there is a degree —— degree of uncertainty for gamers while this plays out. if i am a call of duty player, if i love playing call of duty, there is uncertainty as to what devices i will be able to play that game in the future, so people are waiting with baited breath to see what will happen with this decision which will now go ahead in front of a judge in the us in the coming months. steffan powell, the us in the coming months. steffan powell. thank— the us in the coming months. steffan powell, thank you _ the us in the coming months. steffan powell, thank you so _ the us in the coming months. steffan powell, thank you so much _ the us in the coming months. steffan powell, thank you so much for - the us in the coming months. steffan powell, thank you so much for that, l powell, thank you so much for that, thank you. the american actress selma blair became a household name, after starring in box—office hits such as cruel intentions, legally blonde and hellboy. after years of suffering from fatigue and speech disturbances, she was finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018. selma has been named one of the bbc 100 women for 2022 and, in this exclusive interview with sophie long, she reveals how

the disease brought her acting career to a halt, and her reaction when she was given the diagnosis for the first time. when the doctor told me the night of the mri that i had ms, i cried. what i had had a name, and it was an amazing comforting feeling, even though i don't wish disease on anyone, but it was a huge comforting feeling to know there was a whole community of chronic illness, or ms. of chronic illness, or ms. so i did not at all feel like, this is the end of the world for me. i felt this was the beginning for me of understanding, and that there would be some healing coming soon. you know, i do have a dog as a partner that can help me with a lot of, like, the counterbalance, or just for balance. i have my son. i have a cane. i have an alinker bike, if i want to take a long walk. i have all these little aids to help with my balance issues. what impact do you think ms has had on your career? i know that my own ms took my career down. i had to stop working. disability was affecting me

and taking me out of the workforce. and when i talked about it, there was so much support, but i never got a job again. and i'm not bitter about that. i don't know how much i've said, "oh, my god," i'm willing. and i do want to go back to work. how would you describe hollywood and the entertainment industry's relationship with people who have challenges like the ones that you are experiencing? there are so many incredible stories and people and things that need to catch up and need to represent, so i'm really happy to be just a visible ally. some people might see me as someone with a disability, some people might not, and that's not for me to judge. that's for whoever wants, you know, whatever encouragement i might offer. my mother... your memoir — again, super candid. you had dependency on alcohol, you got drunk at a very early age. just tell us a little bit

about that and how that sculpted your life, really. i wanted to write a book for the little selmas out there that are afraid. let's take the stigma out of not just, you know, saying, like, you have to say you're fine all the time, because saying "i'm fine" all the time is what made me drink in a bathroom, you know, at the age of nine, until i'd pass out. if there were any conversation that people could start having with each other over the great shames of their life, the things they felt they got themselves into and had to keep to themselves, and that shame kept creating unhealthy habits, then that was the least i could do. and that was selma blair speaking to us earlier. let's turn to the world cup. excitement is building up for the england versus france game on saturday, but the first quarter—finals take place later on friday. brazil will play croatia.

and this was the scene in doha on thursday evening — plenty of argentinian fans in evidence. they have a name for the pre—game festivities — banderazo. it looks like quite a lot of fun. it isa it is a big party. their team plays the netherlands for a semi—final spot on friday. here's our sports correspondent john watson in doha. hello from doha. we are in al wakrah, just outside the england team hotel, as they prepare for their quarterfinal against france, which comes tomorrow. we have two huge games today, though — brazil in action against croatia. brazil having demonstrated why they are the favourites to go on and win the world cup. it could be a sixth world cup win for them, as they take on croatia, who i think will offer the toughest test for them so far at this world cup, having come past japan on penalties to book their place in the last eight. we see argentina taking on the netherlands. so many historic matches

between these two in the past. think of that 1978 world cup final, which argentina won. the netherlands, as we know, have been to three finals at the world cup. they have never won it, have they? what a big step they could take to try and ensure they can at long last win the biggest prize in world football. no easy task against lionel messi's argentina, of course. how many more world cups will lionel messi play in? many saying this will be his last chance at winning the world cup. we see the other two quarterfinals played tomorrow, in this, a world cup of firsts, isn't it? here we are, just a stone's throw from the beach here in al wakrah. it seems astonishing, doesn't it, at this time of year we see a world cup playing out. but there are no room for mistakes now as we edge ever closer to that world cup final to come on the 18th of december. for a lookahead to that second

game taking place today, the netherlands versus argentina, let's speak to the sports journalist at the athletic, raphael honigstein. thank you forjoining us on bbc news, so netherlands versus argentina, i was looking at the probability of who would win and so far, people are giving it to argentina, what are your thoughts on that? i argentina, what are your thoughts on that? 4' �* ., ., that? i think argentina are the sliuht that? i think argentina are the slight favourites _ that? i think argentina are the slight favourites because i that? i think argentina are the slight favourites because of i that? i think argentina are the | slight favourites because of the messi factor and other players they have upfront that can make a difference. but the netherlands have proven themselves to be a very difficult team to play against. this is not the shimmering, brilliant 0range of yesteryear, this is a quite functional, quite defensive side, with the manager louis van gaal who has formed a real unit, unlike the past where you had big egos fighting for each other, this is a team that is unified, slightly less entertaining and exciting for all of that, but better when it comes to getting results, that's why there is not a lot in it, but most

people probablyjust give argentina the slight edge. bud people probably 'ust give argentina the slight edge.— people probably 'ust give argentina the sttght edge.— the slight edge. and the next one, croatia versus _ the slight edge. and the next one, croatia versus brazil. _ the slight edge. and the next one, croatia versus brazil. again - the slight edge. and the next one, croatia versus brazil. again goingl croatia versus brazil. again going to the americas and people are saying brazil may well walk it. well, i don't know about walking it because croatia have proven themselves so adept at staying in games, they have made the final of course four years ago, beating the odds again and again. and they are the kind of side that because of their passing ability, resilience, mental toughness, they don't lie down easily. but brazil have been one of the most convincing teams, they are very strong defensively, very good in attack, good in midfield as well, one of the more complete sides. and they are the huge favourites, along with france, to win the tournament outright, that's why most people but brazil and i would agree with that. maybe not a comfortable win, but a brazil win would be a huge upset at this

world cup —— but anything other than a brazil win. world cup -- but anything other than a iztrazilwin-— a brazilwin. morocco taking on portutal a brazilwin. morocco taking on portugal tomorrow _ a brazilwin. morocco taking on portugal tomorrow and - a brazilwin. morocco taking on| portugal tomorrow and england a brazil win. morocco taking on - portugal tomorrow and england versus france, wow! portugal tomorrow and england versus france. wow!— france, wow! indeed, it is a shame almost this — france, wow! indeed, it is a shame almost this game _ france, wow! indeed, it is a shame almost this game comes _ france, wow! indeed, it is a shame almost this game comes so - france, wow! indeed, it is a shame almost this game comes so early i france, wow! indeed, it is a shame| almost this game comes so early in the competition, only in the quarterfinals, we would love to see it play out earlier, england have been one of the best sides in recent years, going pretty close in both the world cup and last year's euros under gareth southgate and the question is, can they take that extra step and beat a bone fide top team which perhaps has eluded them a little bit in those two runs? france, the holders, they are slight favourites, they have kylian mbappe, who is certainly having his eye on being if not the best player in the world at this tournament, he has scored amazing goals already, real candidate for the boot for the leading goal—scorer in the competition and it will be very difficult to keep him at bay. that's why france would be seen as slight favourites, but england are very

good, they have their own quality up—front in harry kane and the players around him and they tend to defend really well at this stage of the competition. so this is going to be a classic, hopefully, but i think france mightjust edge it. i am france might 'ust edge it. i am sor to france might 'ust edge it. i am sorry tejump’— france mightjust edge it. i am sorry to jump in. _ france mightjust edge it. i am sorry to jump in, there - france mightjust edge it. i am sorry to jump in, there is i france mightjust edge it. i am sorry to jump in, there is no i france mightjust edge it. lam sorry tojump in, there is no extra time with me or yourself, but rafael honigstein, thank you very much indeed, thank you. there's a lot coming up. a british world war veteran has finally been presented with a medal that she should have received almost seven decades ago. ann marie allen was a plotter at raf northolt during the war and was instrumental in the pin—pointing of aircraft during the battle of britain. earlier this week, aged 98, ann marie received her medal. cheryl dennis was there. 0h! i can't tell you how wonderful it is to be back here. it's 67 years since leading aircraftsman anne marie allen was last here.

it gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the royal air force, to present you with your medal after all these years. a really, really wonderful day. thank you. a proud moment, only 70 years late. thank you so much. oh, that's lovely. thank you. i shall treasure that. you were eligible for this seven decades ago. yes! how do you feel to be finally receiving that? well, actually, i don't think i deserve it, really. i mean, when i was demobbed, the last thing i thought about was i'd get a medal. i never even thought about a medal. and what will you do with the medal? 0h, i'll wear it. wear it! sleep in it! it was here at raf northolt, in london, where anne marie worked for the women's auxiliary air force. her role, locating ourfighter pilots, supported our

air defence system. this room is the birthplace of that system. you felt you were bringing them home safely, you know? 'first radar reports tend toward the probability l of the targets being fighter airfields southeast - and east of london.�* memories of wartime britain and her late husband, anne is living history. he would have been very proud of me, i'm sure. i'm sure he's looking down from heaven and saying, "well done, anne marie!" as the years go by, so the number of people who lived through world war two dwindles. assuming not all medals take 70 years to be claimed, it's thought anne—marie could be one of the last from that war to be given. cheryl dennis, bbc news, raf northolt. we salute you, we will take you live to texas and the united states, that

is san antonio airport, carrying brittney griner. she has been released as part of a prisoner swap with the american arms dealer. more on this right here on bbc news. hello there. it was another very cold start this morning. less so across scotland, where we have had more cloud. cloud should be breaking across central southern areas, to give some sunshine. more snow showers continuing in the north. a lot of cloud and a few wintry showers for northern ireland, and heading over the irish sea into parts of north—west england and wales. but the cloud should be breaking in east anglia and the southeast, and any wintry showers here moving away. another cold day, even with the sunshine around, those temperatures are going to be typically 2—4 degrees. many places will still be dry into this evening and overnight. some more snow in northern scotland. and probably more wintry weather coming in to not just northern ireland, but more of north—west england, more of wales, and perhaps the southwest as well, so these western areas seeing icy conditions, so too across northern scotland. and again, there will be

a widespread frost. temperatures could be as low as —6 or —7, as we've seen over the past few nights. into this weekend, it stays cold. it may not be quite as cold at night because we're going to find more cloud around. that could lead to some lingering freezing fog, making it feel particularly cold during the day. and of course, there is still going to be some wintry showers. again, mainly across northern parts of scotland, it may be a bit drier and a bit brighter across northern ireland, but some further wintry showers coming into westernmost parts of england and wales. many other parts of england and wales may well be dry with some sunshine. one or two freezing fog patches in the morning. a bit slow to clear across southern areas. and we could see temperatures struggling again to around two or three degrees. a little bit less cold perhaps across the western areas, where we see those showers. now, it's low pressure coming to sit across the uk this weekend, bringing in some showers and some more cloud, and that northerly wind is getting cut off by that low pressure, but we're still in cold air. so we've got the risk perhaps of more mist and fog, freezing fog as well, across england and wales, and maybe a few wintry showers

coming into southeastern parts of england and across east anglia. fewer showers across northern scotland, perhaps, some sunshine here and across northern ireland. but again, the risk of freezing fog is there more widely, i think, on sunday. as a result, some places are likely to remain below freezing. and that could be a problem that continues into the early part of next week. still going to be in cold air, temperatures well below average for this time of year, and there will be some more frost around as well. now, no doubt the details are going to change over the coming few days. keep up to date on our bbc weather app.

this is bbc news. i'm luxmy gopal. the headlines at 11. major disruption to christmas postal deliveries as more than a hundred thousand royal mail staff walkout across the uk — after the latest talks to resolve their pay dispute broke down. we are not going to agree that royal mail replace those workers with self—employed drivers, with new entrants on 20% less pay, terms and conditions. ., a, , entrants on 20% less pay, terms and conditions. ., , ., ., conditions. royal mail is at a crossroads, _ conditions. royal mail is at a crossroads, losing _ conditions. royal mail is at a crossroads, losing day i conditions. royal mail is at a crossroads, losing day but i conditions. royal mail is at a i crossroads, losing day but despite that we _ crossroads, losing day but despite that we have put 9% of pay on table for our _ that we have put 9% of pay on table for our employees. the chancellor prepares to announce a major overhaul of the uk's financial sector. they're expected to include looser rules on banks and their staff,

introduced after the financial crisis in 2008. millions of people start to receive £25 cold weather payments as the met office issues several, severe weather warnings. and at the world cup, england gear up for their huge match against france tomorrow, as brazil and argentina are both in action today in the first two quarter—finals. good morning and welcome to bbc news. with just over a fortnight to go before christmas — there's major disruption to postal services across the uk this morning — as staff at royal mail have begun a wave of strikes.

it's in a row over pay and conditions. the walkouts involving 115,000 workers will hit deliveries across the uk. members of communications workers union are planning another wave of strikes on the 11th, 14th, 15th as well as the 23rd, and 24th december — some of the busiest days for pre—christmas deliveries. the royal mail brought forward the the final deadline for deliveries with the last day for second class post now monday 12th december and for first class post the deadline is next friday 16th december. david ward, general secretary of the cwu, was asked how much longer their strike action could go on for? this is a fight forjobs. it's a fight for their livelihoods, and it's a fight for the services that our members are proud to deliver, and have been delivering for years and years. royal mail is a company, one of the greatest companies in the uk. and there's no other way of saying this, this is being destroyed in front of our eyes in the name of modernisation.

and what we won't agree, and i want to be absolutely crystal clear on this, what we will not agree is that as our members get sacked, and we are talking about thousands upon thousands ofjob losses, we are talking about compulsory redundancies, we are not going to agree that royal mail replace those workers with self—employed drivers, with new entrants on 20% less pay, terms and conditions, and with agency workers, around 11,000 that they want to keep on all year. now, if the company want to move this forward, it's not unreasonable for us to say that we wantjob security at a time when they are employing all those other people. surely your viewers will understand that this is a just fight for the service. royal mail operations director rick mcaulay says the organisation must evolve to have a future and are prepared for any possible strike action injanuary.

so we keep the network running during strike days. the 11,000 colleagues in work during the last strike days, that's people voting with their feet. the union have not given them the opportunity to have a vote on the most recent offer and we bring additional resource in so we can keep the network running for our customers and we will continue to do that. we hope the cwu will reflect on the offer we have put on the table and give it to members to have a vote on. what will it take for the stale mail to end? _ what will it take for the stale mail to end? h— what will it take for the stale mail to end? �* ., ., ., ., to end? a lot. you have heard the two sides and _ to end? a lot. you have heard the two sides and they _ to end? a lot. you have heard the two sides and they are _ to end? a lot. you have heard the two sides and they are as - to end? a lot. you have heard the two sides and they are as far- to end? a lot. you have heard the| two sides and they are as far apart as ever —— a stalemate. they have been meetings at the conciliation service and there is no sign that they are getting near an agreement, and this dispute has actually moved on quite a lot now. it's not even just about pay, it's about terms and conditions, even the whole future of the royal mail. you heard jacob

ward, and the union is convinced it is now fighting for the future of the royal mail rather than having a decent pay rise for its members. royal mail are convinced they have to change because of the changing nature of postal deliveries and they are now more of a parcel disservice than a letters service, and it's going to take a massive change —— parcel service. but you are right, as this dispute, like most of the other disputes will continue into the new year. fiend other disputes will continue into the new year.— other disputes will continue into the new year. and on that note, we've seen _ the new year. and on that note, we've seen strike _ the new year. and on that note, we've seen strike action - the new year. and on that note, we've seen strike action across l we've seen strike action across various sectors. is there much in the way of similarity with this, or is this particularly distinctive? no, i think there are similarities. the other big running dispute at the moment is on the railways and that is also about terms and conditions and job losses as well as pay, and again, they are going backwards on that, the rmt this week and said that, the rmt this week and said that they are further apart than everin that they are further apart than ever in getting a deal. the other

big dispute which is going to emerge next week, big time, is the nhs dispute and we will have the amazing site next week of nurses on picket lines, and that's notjust about pay, it's about staffing levels in the nhs which looks like is getting really crisis levels now, so there are similarities, but there are seven or eight, way more than that, disputes which are now rumbling on and it's getting really serious, actually. people keep saying we are in a winter of discontent but we are already in the middle of the biggest outbreak of industrial action for decades and it's going to get worse. 0f decades and it's going to get worse. of look specifically at the postal workers action, we see its more noticeable to the ordinary public than any time of year and there is already a backlog of post. so what can people expect to see in terms of the knock—on effect to their post in

the knock—on effect to their post in the long term? i the knock-on effect to their post in the long term?— the knock-on effect to their post in the long term? i think they will see the long term? i think they will see the christmas _ the long term? i think they will see the christmas cards _ the long term? i think they will see the christmas cards won't - the long term? i think they will see the christmas cards won't be i the christmas cards won't be delivered on time. you said that the royal mail has already brought forward the last posting dates, and next monday is now the last recommended posting dates for second class mail, a week today for first mail and i class mail, a week today for first mailand i think class mail, a week today for first mail and i think it's pretty clear that they will not be to clear the backlog. we see people posting viewers every day on social media is of massive backlogs of mail outside sorting and delivery offices, not even inside and i think there is no way on earth all the letters will get delivered and it's going to continue. we are saying that this dispute is nowhere near being resolved and it willjust continue and the backlog will get worse and the future of the service will probably now be in doubt unless something happens. what probably now be in doubt unless something happens.— probably now be in doubt unless something happens. what do you think that ro al something happens. what do you think that royal mail — something happens. what do you think that royal mail bosses _ something happens. what do you think that royal mail bosses might _ something happens. what do you think that royal mail bosses might have i something happens. what do you think that royal mail bosses might have in i that royal mail bosses might have in terms of scope to meet some of the demands? because of course they are saying they are losing more than £1

million a day. saying they are losing more than £1 million a day-— million a day. yes, well, as far as the union — million a day. yes, well, as far as the union is _ million a day. yes, well, as far as the union is concerned, _ million a day. yes, well, as far as the union is concerned, they i million a day. yes, well, as far as the union is concerned, they have definitely got scope. they don't have to sack 10,000 workers and they don't have to talk about not delivering letters on a saturday and the union is adamant that the workers who will be let go, or sacked,in workers who will be let go, or sacked, in their view, are going to be replaced by cheaper agency workers, so as far as the union is concerned, the royal mail can stop doing all of that and then they can get talking about pay, but as i said, at the moment, even that kind of discussion isjust said, at the moment, even that kind of discussion is just not happening. do you think there has been a change in approach by the management or the view of the management since the royal mail became privatised? yes. royal mail became privatised? yes, definitel . royal mail became privatised? yes, definitely. and _ royal mail became privatised? yes, definitely. and does _ royal mail became privatised? yes, definitely. and does that _ royal mail became privatised? yes, definitely. and does that play i royal mail became privatised? yes, definitely. and does that play a i definitely. and does that play a art in definitely. and does that play a part in these — definitely. and does that play a part in these negotiations? i i definitely. and does that play a i part in these negotiations? i think it ossibl part in these negotiations? i think it possibly does. _ part in these negotiations? i think it possibly does. the _ part in these negotiations? i think it possibly does. the union - part in these negotiations? i think it possibly does. the union is i it possibly does. the union is hugely critical of senior management

of the royal mail, and that never happened before it was privatised, so yes, i think it does make a difference. the cw you still believes the royal mail should be nationalised and that is still the policy, and i think things might have been a lot different if that hadn't happened. the royal mail are adamant they have to change. their senior leaders will tell you they have to change the way they operate and changes the word. they are saying it is change for necessity, for good, and the union are saying it is change, but it is changeable bad for their workers and the public as well. ., ., bad for their workers and the public as well. ., ,, , ., ., bad for their workers and the public as well. ., ~' ,, ., ,, as well. thank you for your analysis. — as well. thank you for your analysis, alan _ as well. thank you for your analysis, alan jones, i as well. thank you for your i analysis, alan jones, industrial analysis, alanjones, industrial correspondent for pa media. a major overhaul of the uks financial sector will be announced by the chancellor today, in a bid to boost growth. jeremy hunt will use a speech in edinburgh to set out more than 30 regulatory reforms — including a loosening of rules on banks and their staff introduced after the financial crisis in 2008. but critics say it could be

dangerous to forget the lessons of the past. earlier i got the thoughts of the banking analyst frances coppola. i think there's been quite a feeling in the city for quite a long time now that the regulation, the heavy regulation since the financial crisis, has maybe gone a bit too far and tied banks down a bit too much. particularly some of the smaller banks, there has been quite a lot of pushback from challenge banks such as santander and virgin money, who say that some of the rules as applied to them are onerous. it's some of those rules they are talking about relaxing, ring fencing rules, for example, that applied to challenge banks, they will be relaxed enabling them to compete better with high street banks. there has also been lobbying to water down other rules such as the personal responsibility on senior managers. i personally have reservations about that because i think senior managers should be taking personal responsibility for their decisions. i am also disturbed by,

perhaps more disturbed by the framing of this, which is about growth and competitiveness and the mooted idea that regulators will be tasked with fostering growth and competitiveness. to me that is not what regulation is about. let's take one of the first points, just how competitive is london let's speak to our international business correspondent theo leggett critics have called it a race to the bottom, so what is the incentive to these plans? the bottom, so what is the incentive to these plans?— bottom, so what is the incentive to these lans? ., , these plans? the government says it is time for a — these plans? the government says it is time for a review _ these plans? the government says it is time for a review of _ these plans? the government says it is time for a review of banking i is time for a review of banking regulation and some of the rules in place at the moment were put in place at the moment were put in place for very good reason in 2008, 2009 in the wake of the financial crash but they might be considered

owner is in today's world and among the roots being reviewed is the ring fencing of retail banking, that sort of bread—and—butter day—to—day banking, taking deposits and giving out mortgages and loans and the ring fencing of that from investment banking, which is much riskier, international corporate star. the feeling is for some banks and your contributor mention smaller banks that these rules are owner sam could be reviewed. the counterargument is that the are there for a reason and it cost the government a huge amount of money, a little over a decade ago to bail out banks that had got into trouble and to protect the financial system to stop people being left without banking services to stop the meltdown in the banking sector so there is an argument going on. there are other arguments as well over, for example, the government has said in the review it once to look at giving the prudential regulation authority on the financial conduct authority a secondary mandate, a

mandate to promote international growth. these regulators, at the moment, their principal mandate is to protect financial stability and protect the integrity of the financial system, so is that always going to be the same thing as promoting growth, possibly not, so they could be a contradiction there and these are the kind of discussions that the package is likely to bring into the open. fiend likely to bring into the open. and theoles likely to bring into the open. and peoples memories of the 2008 financial crash will still be relatively strong. it wasn't that long ago. what is the risk that by taking these rules away now, financial stability will be susceptible to a similar sort of shock? it susceptible to a similar sort of shock? , , ., ~ susceptible to a similar sort of shock? , , ., ,, ., shock? it depends what kind of regulatory _ shock? it depends what kind of regulatory change _ shock? it depends what kind of regulatory change comes i shock? it depends what kind of regulatory change comes out i shock? it depends what kind of| regulatory change comes out of shock? it depends what kind of- regulatory change comes out of the review. remember, it is a review. but the rules were put in place for a reason, and put in place to ensure whatever happens in the investment banking sector, whatever happens in the more risky banking sector,

people's everyday banking activities, their ability to gain access to finance, to get loans and be able to pay off the loans, is not challenged by a wider malaise. what we saw in 2008 and 2009 was a chain reaction through the banking sector and it began with us mortgages that were not being repaid and those mortgages have been packaged up into investment products that have been bought and sold all around the world, so nobody really knew who was holding onto these products and how much the liabilities were and as a result of that, people became, banks became reluctant to lend to one another and credit dried up in the financial system and that filtered down to businesses and consumers. that is what this kind of regulation was designed to prevent, a chain reaction to keep the high risk banking isolated from the day—to—day banking, so if you had a major relaxation of the rules, there would be that kind of risk coming back, but we don't know exactly what kind

of deregulation is proposed. this is a review and it could be it's a more minor review that encompasses the feelings of smaller banks who find that they are expected to abide by the same rules as big a financial structures, so we will have to wait. the devil will be in the detail on this one. x; :: ., ~ the devil will be in the detail on this one. ;::: ., ,, the devil will be in the detail on this one. as ., ~ ., the devil will be in the detail on this one. ;::: ., ,, ., , , .,~ this one. 30, thank you for speaking to us. the uk, italy and japan have announced they willjointly develop a next generation fighter jet by 2035. the new tempest fighter jet will use artificial intelligence and can operate without a pilot on board. prime minister rishi sunak says the joint venture aims to create thousands ofjobs in the uk and strengthen security ties. rishi sunak has been speaking in the last hour. let's hear more of what he had to say. it's great to be here at raf coningsby in lincolnshire, and we are making an incredibly important announcement today. we are one of the few countries in the world that

has the capability to build technologically advanced fighter aircraft and that's important, because it means we can keep the country safe from the new threats we face and it also adds billions to our economy and supports tens of thousands ofjobs across the country but is also good for our international reputation and today's example, today we are partnering with italy and japan, two of our closest allies, to build this next generation of aircraft that will keep our country safe and it's something we can all be very proud of. ~ ~' ., something we can all be very proud of. ~ ~ ., ., ,., something we can all be very proud of. ~ ~ ., ., ., , of. we know there are some military ersonnel of. we know there are some military personnel who _ of. we know there are some military personnel who are _ of. we know there are some military personnel who are on _ of. we know there are some military personnel who are on standby i of. we know there are some military personnel who are on standby to i personnel who are on standby to possibly have their christmas leave cancelled to help with strike action. aside from calling on soldiers, is there anything you can do at this late stage to head off strike destruction, or do people, in honesty, need to start making alternative plans for christmas right now?— alternative plans for christmas ritht now? ., , ., , right now? the government is always ttoin tot right now? the government is always going to try and _ right now? the government is always going to try and act — right now? the government is always going to try and act fairly _ right now? the government is always going to try and act fairly and - going to try and act fairly and reasonably which is why we accepted in full the recommendation of the

independent bodies that advise the government on the appropriate levels of pay in the public sector. but what i'm not going to do is ask ordinary families up and down the country to pay an extra thousand pounds per year to meet the pay demands of the union bosses. that wouldn't be right and it wouldn't be fair. what i am going to do is make sure! fair. what i am going to do is make sure i minimise disruption to peoples lives and make sure we protect lives, and that is what we are working on right now, with resilience and contingency plans but also looking at tough new laws that will help us do that, but you are right. we are here at an raf base today and i have the opportunity to say thank you to some of our armed forces personnel because many of them will miss christmas to help us deal with the disruption from strikes, whether that is manning border post or driving ambulances and we all owe them an enormous debt of gratitude. you and we all owe them an enormous debt of tratitude. ., ., of gratitude. you mention the new laws ou of gratitude. you mention the new laws you spoke — of gratitude. you mention the new laws you spoke about _ of gratitude. you mention the new laws you spoke about in _ of gratitude. you mention the new laws you spoke about in the i of gratitude. you mention the new i laws you spoke about in the commons, to quote, protect the lives and livelihoods of the british public against strike action. what new laws? do you have any detail or timing?

laws? do you have any detail or timin: ? ~ . laws? do you have any detail or timin. ? . ., laws? do you have any detail or timinu? ~ ., ., , timing? we are looking at everything riaht now at timing? we are looking at everything right now at pace _ timing? we are looking at everything right now at pace but _ timing? we are looking at everything right now at pace but my _ timing? we are looking at everything right now at pace but my priority - right now at pace but my priority will be to protect lives and menace prize —— minimise disruption on peoples lives. 50 people in the government are trying it's best to act reasonably which is why we accepted in full the recommendations of independent bodies who make recommendations to the covenant about pay settlements in the public sector and often those pay settlements have been higher than what many people in the private sector are receiving but the government accepted them in full, to be reasonable and fair, but it's right now that we also look to minimise disruption on peoples lives which is why we are looking at tough new laws. sen; which is why we are looking at tough new laws. ,, , ., . which is why we are looking at tough new laws. ,_ in ., ., ., ~' which is why we are looking at tough new laws. w, ,, ., ., ., ~' ., new laws. say you are looking at everything- _ new laws. say you are looking at everything. what _ new laws. say you are looking at everything. what are _ new laws. say you are looking at everything. what are we - new laws. say you are looking at everything. what are we talking | everything. what are we talking about. it was widely briefed that you could be looking at emergency workers being banned from strike action. yes or no, is on the table? i won't get into the detail because we are looking at all options but my priority is to be reasonable and thatis priority is to be reasonable and that is what we will continue to do but also make to sure we can protect lives and minimise disruption to peoples lives. that is my focus and

thatis peoples lives. that is my focus and that is what we will work on doing. last thing. the new banking rules have been unveiled today to cut red tape introduced after the financial crisis in 2008 and there are people out there who will say this is a prime minister who used about four investment banks now making life easier for investment banks. are you being recklessly? —— used to work for investment banks. the being recklessly? -- used to work for investment banks.— being recklessly? -- used to work for investment banks. the uk has and alwa s has for investment banks. the uk has and always has had _ for investment banks. the uk has and always has had a _ for investment banks. the uk has and always has had a robust _ for investment banks. the uk has and always has had a robust set _ for investment banks. the uk has and always has had a robust set of- always has had a robust set of regulations for the financial services sector and it's important to do but it's important to make sure the industry is competitive. there are 1 million sure the industry is competitive. there arei million people sure the industry is competitive. there are 1 million people employed in financial services, not just there are 1 million people employed in financial services, notjust in london and the city but spread across the country, edinburgh, belfast, leeds, bournemouth and we want to continue creating jobs across the uk stop today's reforms will be in the industry remains competitive and we can create more jobs but this will always be a safe place where consumers will be protected. place where consumers will be protected-— protected. the prime minister s - eakin . protected. the prime minister speaking about _ protected. the prime minister speaking about the _ protected. the prime minister speaking about the new - protected. the prime minister i speaking about the new tempest fighter jet.

our defence correspondent jonathan beale is with me where are we likely to see the jet being used and how will it be used? first of all you can see the aircraft behind the prime minister, which was the typhoon jet and it's meant to replace the typhoon jet, and the first is meant to fly in 2035 and it is meant to be an aircraft that can go in what the military would call contested airspace, in other words behind enemy lines where there are air defences and its design is meant to be stealth, so harder to spot on radar, like the f 35. the theory as this could potentially fly without a pilot on board and could carry hypersonic weapons and could maybe operate with wingmen, essentially with other aircraft being operated from the same aircraft or swarms of drones and a lot of this is pipe dream stuff. but we are looking at what the next generation fighter jet should be, but it should be one as far as they are concerned that can

replace the typhoon i'm going to any enemy airspace. but these are expensive projects. expensive pro'ects. absolutely. and that was part — expensive projects. absolutely. and that was part of _ expensive projects. absolutely. and that was part of the _ expensive projects. absolutely. and that was part of the reason - expensive projects. absolutely. and that was part of the reason the - expensive projects. absolutely. and that was part of the reason the uk | that was part of the reason the uk joined with italy and japan for it, but why not other countries, because of course, france, germany and spain are working together on their own, so why did we go with italy and japan? so why did we go with italy and ja an? so why did we go with italy and jaan? ., . so why did we go with italy and jaan? ., . , ., , japan? so, france, germany, spain were already _ japan? so, france, germany, spain were already in — japan? so, france, germany, spain were already in partnership. - japan? so, france, germany, spain were already in partnership. the . japan? so, france, germany, spain were already in partnership. the us dominates, essentially, any sort of cooperation that it does with other countries and just be clear, this does not preclude the us being somehow involved. japan has issued a statement saying they will cooperate with the us as well as the uk and italy, but you need partners. these, to give you an idea, the f 35, the most recentjet to give you an idea, the f 35, the most recent jet developed to give you an idea, the f 35, the most recentjet developed by mainly the us and the uk contributed to the programme and so did other countries, but that was the most

expensive defence project ever undertaken by the pentagon, $1.5 trillion are notjust a department of building thejets and maintenance, but they are very, very expensive and therefore you cannot do this on your own. the uk has been working on the project since 2018, spending £2 billion and has earmarked £10 billion for the programme and that money will be eaten up pretty quickly. i5 programme and that money will be eaten up pretty quickly.— eaten up pretty quickly. is there a sense of diplomatic _ eaten up pretty quickly. is there a sense of diplomatic benefits - eaten up pretty quickly. is there a sense of diplomatic benefits as i eaten up pretty quickly. is there a l sense of diplomatic benefits as well as economic and financial benefits of teaming up with italy and japan? i think there are geopolitical reasons to team up with japan. this is significant in thatjapan has not teamed up on a major defence contractor with european countries before like this. it has worked with the us and will to work with the us. you know, this is in the background, the context of britain looking more, tilting towards the indo—pacific region. we saw the carrier strike group go through, and we've seen

british troops training with japanese defence forces, and to be honest, after the second world war, japan was not engaged militarily because of its history, but now is more worried about an assertive china and is looking at its relationships. and then you have a submarine deal between the uk, us and australia, so this all plays into that looking more broadly than just a european and atlantic region. it's important for that and it's important forjobs it's important for that and it's important for jobs finally. so it's important for that and it's important forjobs finally. so one of the main reasons why the uk is so keen to push ahead with this programme is to secure and also create thousands ofjobs in the british aerospace industry, and they were worried that after typhoon and the f 35 that there was nothing in the f 35 that there was nothing in the pipeline and they needed something to keep the jobs going. jonathan, thank you. a serving metropolitan police officer has been charged with two

counts with rape. pc rupert edwards was arrested on suspicion of rape in september. the charges relate to alleged offences in lambeth and surrey against two women in their twenties and thirties. pc edwards, who has been suspended from duty, will appear at westminster magistrates' court later. rescue teams are searching for three people missing from a fishing boat off the island ofjersey. the vessel is believed to have sunk early yesterday morning after colliding with a cargo ferry. robert hall reports. in port and visibly damaged, the freight ferry commodore goodwill is a regular visitor to the channel islands, travelling the route from portsmouth to jersey and guernsey with passengers and supplies. yesterday morning, on calm seas, she turned south intojersey�*s wide st 0uen�*s bay en route for st helier. an online tracking app captures the sequence of events that unfolded. ahead of the goodwill, is thejersey trawler l'ecume ii. the two vessels converge.

the moment of collision is clear. the goodwill then turns back to retrace her course. and by now, an urgent call to the coastguard has brought lifeboats racing to the scene, followed by a small fleet of fishing boats anxious to join the search, fearful that one of their own may have been involved. a large number of local fishing vessels have also been helping with the search. i'd like to express my thanks to them. we also have deployed drones, beach lifeguards on jet skis and honorary police officers on the beach. the vessel is believed to have sunk in approximately a0 metres of water, which will require specialist diving resources to examine. as the tide fell, the worst news was confirmed. one of the fishing vessels had spotted the lost trawler using its underwater radar. among the missing was experienced and respected local skipper michael michieli. jersey's fishing family, and those of their french neighbours, shared shock and disbelief. fishermen will rally together, and they do rally together, regardless of nationality.

we have seen this in previous incidents. it's good to see the boys all out on the scene. it was one of our fishing vessels that located the wreckage on the sea bed around 9am this morning. they had been there since before daylight. the underwater survey, and the search for the missing, were due to continue into the evening. meanwhile, the marine accident investigation is gathering pace, and the question it has to answer is how tragedy overtook two vessels and two crews so familiar with these waters. robert hall, bbc news, channel islands. the uk's passport office is being urged to "learn lessons" from the massive backlog in applications earlier this year and to prepare for similar levels of demand in 2023. the spending watchdog, the national audit office, has been looking into this year's problems, which saw tens of thousands of people face long waits for their passports to be renewed.

brittney griner, the basketball starjailed in russia for cannabis oil possession, has arrived back in the us after moscow and washington arranged an exchange of prisoners. ms griner�*s freedom came in return for the release of viktor bout — a notorious russian arms dealer nicknamed "the merchant of death" — who'd been serving a jail sentence in the us. the deal was signed off by president biden, leading to criticism that he could have helped other americans detained in russia. tom brada reports. this is the moment the basketball star, brittany griner, finally landed back in the us can. home after more than 290 days of detention in russia. just last month she was sent to a penal connelly. so she was sent to a penal connelly. 50 her sudden freedom came as a surprise. this footage released by the russian authorities shows her being given the news. [30 the russian authorities shows her being given the news.— the russian authorities shows her being given the news. do you know where we are _ being given the news. do you know where we are heading _ being given the news. do you know where we are heading to? - being given the news. do you know where we are heading to? no. -

being given the news. do you know where we are heading to? no. you| being given the news. do you know. where we are heading to? no. you are flying back home. to _ where we are heading to? no. you are flying back home. to the _ where we are heading to? no. you are flying back home. to the us. - where we are heading to? no. you are flying back home. to the us. so - where we are heading to? no. you are flying back home. to the us. so the i flying back home. to the us. so the us. the flying back home. to the us. so the us- the us — flying back home. to the us. so the us. the us government _ flying back home. to the us. so the us. the us government secured - flying back home. to the us. so the i us. the us government secured missa gfinefs us. the us government secured missa griner's release _ us. the us government secured missa griner's release through _ us. the us government secured missa griner's release through an _ griner's release through an exchange. she was exchanged for a notorious arms dealer, viktor bout, widely known as the merchant of death and the pair briefly crossed paths on the tarmac at abu dhabi. mr viktor bout had been usjailfor 12 years. i was after the trade was complete, he was back in moscow. brittany griner was arrested at a moscow airport back in february for the compassion —— possession of cannabis oil cartridges and later sentenced to nine years injail. her wife celebrated the news of her early release.— wife celebrated the news of her earl release. ., ~ , ., , , early release. thank you, everybody, for our early release. thank you, everybody, for your sunport- _ early release. thank you, everybody, for your support. and _ early release. thank you, everybody, for your support. and it _ early release. thank you, everybody, for your support. and it is _ early release. thank you, everybody, for your support. and it is just - early release. thank you, everybody, for your support. and it isjust a - for your support. and it isjust a happy day for me and my family, and i'm going to smile right now. the basketball star's team—mates praised her character. {lift basketball star's team-mates praised her character-— her character. off the court, she is such a kind. _ her character. off the court, she is such a kind, nice, _ her character. off the court, she is such a kind, nice, giving _ her character. off the court, she is such a kind, nice, giving person, l such a kind, nice, giving person, always— such a kind, nice, giving person, always willing to give a helping hand _ always willing to give a helping hand and willing to help someone in

need, _ hand and willing to help someone in need, whether it's giving someone a free meal_ need, whether it's giving someone a free meal or— need, whether it's giving someone a free meal or a ride. need, whether it's giving someone a free meal ora ride. she is need, whether it's giving someone a free meal or a ride. she is honestly one of— free meal or a ride. she is honestly one of the — free meal or a ride. she is honestly one of the most generous people i know _ one of the most generous people i know. �* ., , ., , know. but there has also been criticism- _ know. but there has also been criticism. some _ know. but there has also been criticism. some are _ know. but there has also been criticism. some are concerned| know. but there has also been - criticism. some are concerned that president biden sanctioned the release of a man with as dangerous a track record as viktor bout. others are angry that he left another us citizen behind. this is paul whelan, an american currently held on suspicion of spying. the white house had originally offered to swap viktor bout for brittany griner and mr whelan but russia flatly refused. for now, many americans will be celebrating the basketball star's return. after ten months in russian custody, she is finally back on home turf. now look at the weather forecast with darren. hello there. it's another cold day today. sunshine for many, mind you, and more sunshine developing in central southern scotland, away from snow showers in the north. quite cloudy, though, for northern ireland. a few wintry showers here.

and moving out of the irish sea into north—west england and north—west wales. the showers and cloud across south—eastern parts of england moving away. a cold day again, 3, 11 degrees typically across many areas. temperatures dropping quickly overnight. more snow across northern scotland, some wintry showers in northern ireland and more widely across more western parts of england and wales, so icy conditions likely here, and again with that snow in northern scotland. and once again, there will be a widespread sharp frost. temperatures could be —6 or —7, as we've seen of late. some more snow to come across some northern parts of scotland, turning drier and brighter in northern ireland, with some further wintry showers across more western parts of england and wales. other parts of england and wales probably seeing some sun. could be one or two freezing fog patches across areas that could linger into the afternoon. another cold day, with temperatures again, three or 11 degrees. hello, this is bbc news with luxmy gopal. the headlines... major disruption to christmas postal

deliveries as more than 100,000 royal mail staff walk—out across the uk — after the latest talks to resolve their pay dispute broke down. the chancellor prepares to announce a major overhaul of the uk's financial sector — they're expected to include looser rules on banks and their staff, introduced after the financial crisis in 2008. millions of people start to receive £25 cold weather payments as the met office issues several severe weather warnings. and at the world cup — england gear up for their huge match against france tomorrow, as brazil and argentina are both in action today in the first two quarterfinals. sport, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's sarah. good morning — so the world cup quarterfinals begin today, with brazil taking on croatia and argentina coming up

against the netherlands later. but the buildup for england fans is on, with gareth southgate aiming to take the team to the semifinals for the second world cup in a row. of course, standing in their way are the reigning champions, france. southgate though has been planning for this moment for some time. we have done a lot of study of france over the last few years. they were world champions and we wanted to see exactly what had caused them to see exactly what had caused them to be world champions, a good insight into them. they have evolved insight into them. they have evolved in changed through that period, so it has not always been definitive, they have lost a few players coming into this tournament does well, so what they have considered their best team has changed slightly in the last few months. there's been a lot of praise from the players about how southgate has been managing this side. midfielder kalvin phillips believes southgate is not given enough credit

for thejob he has done — and james maddison, who has yet to feature for england in qatar, as he's been overcoming a knee injury — has been enjoying his time in the camp. it would be unbelievable if we could go and win it, that would be what dreams are made of. like i have always said, it sounds cliched, but when you are a little kid, when you are watching the world cup for england, that is the pinnacle, what you dream of, so to be here is an honour and privilege, you dream of, so to be here is an honourand privilege, it you dream of, so to be here is an honour and privilege, it is a great of lads as well. i thinkjackett said in the press not long ago it is almost like a group of brothers and thatis almost like a group of brothers and that is the view it has got, the team is so tight and that is one of our strengths. well, this morning france have been speaking to the media — with coach didier deschamps saying england have no weaknesses and captain hugo lloris saying that this england team are now full of experience in tournament football.

if you click at the english squad, they were semifinalists at the world cup, runner—up in the last euros, and there is real progression and i believe this team is getting mature and ready to compete for trophies. they were a bit unlucky at the vast euros. they were very close but they are here to win. average attendances in the women's super league have increased by 200% after england won the euros in the summer. crowds attending the women's championship are also up by 85%, according to kelly simmons, the director of the women's professional game. the wsl record of 47,367 was set at arsenal's game against tottenham at emirates stadium in september. this weekend the ethiad hosts the manchester derby. to the cricket now — pakistan debutant abrar ahmed has

had a dream start for his country. he took seven wickets to dismiss england for 281 on the opening day of the second test in multan. ahmed finished with 7—114 — that's the second—best debut by a pakistan bowler. ben duckett and ollie pope led the scoring for england. in reply they are 87—2. england, on their first tour of pakistan since 2005, lead the three—match series 1—0 after winning the first test in rawalpindi by 7a runs. that's all the sport for now. thanks, speak to you later. more now on one of our main stories, the chancellor's plans for a major overhaul of the uk's financial sector. he's going to be setting out the measures in a speech in edinburgh today.

let's speak to ian fraser, he's a financial journalist and author of shredded: inside rbs, the bank that broke britain. thank you forjoining us. what do you think the consequences could be of these proposed changes, this planned overhaul. mr; of these proposed changes, this planned overhaul.— of these proposed changes, this planned overhaul. my fear is they could actually _ planned overhaul. my fear is they could actually lose _ planned overhaul. my fear is they could actually lose in _ planned overhaul. my fear is they could actually lose in regulation l planned overhaul. my fear is they | could actually lose in regulation to the extent that we have another financial crisis. back in about 2000 to gordon brown and tony blair decided to lower the regulatory bar and effectively embarked on a regulatory race to the bottom. in response to something which was a us act designed to ensure that your behaviour and there is fraud in the us. the us instituted a tougher regime and britain responded by ignoring its regulatory regime and despite a huge part in what we saw in 2008 which was a massive banking

crash which in the uk it was more severe than it was in many other markets because we had such a weak light touch, limited touch financial regulatory regime, so my fear is whatjeremy hunt is now doing has some parable to what gordon brown did back then in terms of loosening the regulations to try and make the city more competitive but actually giving rise to a lot of very bad practices, potentialfraud, potential abuse of small businesses, for the exploitation of customers that we saw in the build—up to the crash in 2000 and out and that we could have a repeat performance of that. . ., , ., ., that. can i read you what the chancellor _ that. can i read you what the chancellor has _ that. can i read you what the chancellor has said _ that. can i read you what the chancellor has said about - that. can i read you what the i chancellor has said about these changes? he said the changes would secure the uk's status as one of the most open, dynamic and financial services hubs in the world, what is your response to that? if

services hubs in the world, what is your response to that?— your response to that? if you are basing your _ your response to that? if you are basing your regulation _ your response to that? if you are basing your regulation on - your response to that? if you are basing your regulation on being i basing your regulation on being competitive with other regimes, the danger is you will actually want to introduce regulations which make it easierfor things to introduce regulations which make it easier for things to happen which probably should not happen. international competitiveness is all very well but if you go too far down that road, you go towards being a centre where dangerous and risky practices which shouldn't really be happening become prevalent. i think thatis happening become prevalent. i think that is what happened in london in the build—up to 2008 with things like aig financial products, infinite rehab of the in which was possible in london but not in the us, so you are essentially opening the door to dangerous or fraudulent practices which are harmful to your economy because they could lead to a major financial crash as we saw in 2008. .,, ., ., _, , 2008. those who are welcoming these lanned 2008. those who are welcoming these planned changes _ 2008. those who are welcoming these planned changes say _ 2008. those who are welcoming these planned changes say that _

2008. those who are welcoming these planned changes say that it _ 2008. those who are welcoming these planned changes say that it will - 2008. those who are welcoming these planned changes say that it will be - planned changes say that it will be useful for smaller banks for whom the regulations are particularly cumbersome, and that it will unlock growth and that the conditions now are different from the way they were prior to the 2000 financial crash adds a policy chairman of the city of london corporation chris hayward said these are exciting proposed changes and will help lead to growth. changes and will help lead to urowth. ., , ., changes and will help lead to urowth. ., , growth. there are some positives, it is not all bad- _ growth. there are some positives, it is not all bad. getting _ growth. there are some positives, it is not all bad. getting rid _ growth. there are some positives, it is not all bad. getting rid of - growth. there are some positives, it is not all bad. getting rid of prips i is not all bad. getting rid of prips are potentially attractive. there are potentially attractive. there are areas where the treasury is moving on the right lines but what i would say is true of the key things which are the senior managers regime which are the senior managers regime which followed an extensive parliamentary commission on standards led byjohn tory mp and lord lawson, the senior manager of the regime was a very good reform

because it encourages top management of banks to actually take more responsibility for their own actions and therefore it encourages responsible behaviour on the part of top executives within the banking sector. that i think will be removed or diverted. the ring fence was designed as a direct response to the banking crash of 2008. it basically separates retail or utility banking from casino or investment banking and is designed to ensure banks behave in a more prudent way particularly with regard to the deposits of ordinary high street customers. both of these were very sensible reforms, both of them followed long and detailed commissions which the coalition government of the day set up and in one case the independent commission one case the independent commission on banking, the other the parliamentary commission on banking standards, and they were designed to protect consumers and protect the

economy and they were very sensible reforms in my view, sojust to suddenly get rid of these is not particularly wise on the part of jeremy hunt. particularly wise on the part of jeremy hunt-— jeremy hunt. thanks for your thourhts jeremy hunt. thanks for your thoughts and _ jeremy hunt. thanks for your thoughts and analysis. i jeremy hunt. thanks for your thoughts and analysis. ok, i jeremy hunt. thanks for your i thoughts and analysis. 0k, thank ou. it's one of the biggest challenges facing the health care system — how to improve home care support so that hospital beds are kept free for those who need them most. in manchester, one organisation says it's pioneering a new way of working — that helps ease the pressure on nhs services. our health correspondent, dominic hughes, has been finding out more. it's the first call—out of the day for manju and kara. so, we're going on to see stephen now. stephen's had a fall yesterday. manju will do a medical and physical assessment. i had a look at his medical records and it looks like he has parkinson's. kara, a pharmacist, will check out stephen's medication.

hello, sir. how are you? stephen lives alone, so as well as confirming there are no medical issues, they are making sure he can carry on living independently. that's an antihistamine. how about going up and down the stairs? i'm 0k, just about, yeah. we'll have another rail put up here over here, 0k? yeah, because i need it. yes. stephen's fall might have led to a visit to a&e. drinka bit more, 0k? i know, yeah. but in manchester, what's known as the local care organisation, is now picking up cases that may not need that level of intervention. what we noted there was that there were side effects which caused him to be drowsy. it's something he is aware of, particularly when he combines certain medication for pain etc, and he walked at the same time, that drowsiness made him have that fall. so getting there quickly and having the most impact, each interaction with the patient

is really important to prevent that deterioration. so the work you've done, that has essentially stopped him going into hospital? 0h, definitely. and also made sure that he is medically stable and can be at home. we've got helen, i a lady in a care home. back at base in north manchester, the local team — nurses, social workers, pharmacists all working alongside each other — are running through their cases. if they decide she is going home, then, we're ready. so the team are having their morning meeting. it's still early in the day but they've already got a lot of cases on the go, and they are set for a very busy day. we would consider ourselves to be an admission avoidance service, so we're trying to prevent ambulances being called in the first instance. when an ambulance has been called, we're taking referrals directly from the ambulance service, and we respond within one or two hours, depending on need. that's an alternative to a&e. you like being photographed, don't you? no, don't go underneath.

last year, eric slipped in the shower. he was stuck there for five days until he was rescued. the local care organisation found him this new flat with on—site care, should he need it. it keeps eric independent. i'd sooner live in a tent than go in a care home. instead of the traditional nursing home, which is like god's waiting room, you get shoved in, nobody visits you, nothing happens and you just wait for death. and i don't believe in waiting for death. doorbell. afternoon, mohamed. how's things? part of the development is dedicated to helping get people discharged from hospital. mohamed broke his leg and his existing flat wasn't safe. so he's staying here for a few weeks while more suitable accommodation is found. i am really grateful for the team who helped me and put me in this apartment.

even if it is for a short time, but i am so happy for that, to help me for my condition. this whole scheme has needed the council and the local nhs to integrate completely, a significant financial and political commitment. what it provides is a real community offer that is able to pull and support people to come out of hospital as soon as they're ready, and the offers that we have now across manchester for people mean that we can make real inroads into some of the pressures the nhs is experiencing. working together to deliver care at home and avoid visits to hospital. this all sounds simple, but it could be the key to keeping the nhs going through some tough months ahead. dominic hughes, bbc news, manchester. the headlines on bbc news... major disruption to christmas postal

deliveries as more than a 100,000 royal mail staff walk—out across the uk — after the latest talks to resolve their pay dispute broke down. millions of people start to receive £25 cold weather payments as the met office issues several, severe weather warnings. and at the world cup — england gear up for their huge match against france tomorrow, as brazil and argentina are both in action today in the first two quarterfinals. the duke and duchess of sussex have spoken of press intrusion, and how they met, in the first episodes of their new documentary. the netflix series includes more details about the challenges they've faced — but there are no major new revelations. our royal correspondent, sarah campbell reports. prince harry and meghan... much anticipated, and in the end the bombshell revelations didn't come. it was still headline news across the world. three episodes across three hours, their story, with previously unseen personal videos and insights.

familiar themes were expanded upon, including the suggestion that media coverage of meghan had racist undertones, which prince harry said he had to explain to his family. so it was almost like a rite of passage. and some of the members of the family were like, "right, but my wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? "why should you get special treatment? "why should she be protected?" and i said, "the difference here is the race element." the couple have carefully controlled images of their two children, but they both feature in the series. here's a young archie being introduced to his late grandmother diana. she too is a current theme. direct comment concerning members of the royal family didn't feature prominently, but meghan did reflect on her first meeting with catherine, princess of wales. i was a hugger, i've always been a hugger. i didn't realise that that is really jarring for a lot of brits. i guess i started to understand

really quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside. there's been no comment from any member of the royal family. yesterday king charles carried out engagements in london in what has been a busy week. but he will know there is more to come. so far the series has taken viewers up to may 2018, and the build—up to their wedding. what came next, the split from the royal family and the reasons behind their move to california, will be dealt with in the final three episodes due for release next thursday. sarah campbell, bbc news. there were 2.4 million viewing figures for that episode. to china now — where two young men are in the middle of an epicjourney which few have ever completed — running the length of the great wall of china.

more than 21,000 km of it — that's more than 13,000 miles. as stephen mcdonell reports — it means taking on the equivalent of a marathon every day for six months — through deserts, mountains and forests. on the quietest parts of the great wall, in all conditions they are running. two young men, half british half chinese completing a marathon a day along the entire length of this phenomenal structure. we day along the entire length of this phenomenal structure.— day along the entire length of this phenomenal structure. we are doing this to fulfil our _ phenomenal structure. we are doing this to fulfil our childhood _ phenomenal structure. we are doing this to fulfil our childhood dream i this to fulfil our childhood dream of running the great world. thea;r of running the great world. they have trained _ of running the great world. they have trained for— of running the great world. they have trained for years, - of running the great world. they have trained for years, to traverse what actually series of walls. it is a gruelling undertaking.- a gruelling undertaking. doing something _ a gruelling undertaking. doing something like _ a gruelling undertaking. doing something like this, _ a gruelling undertaking. dr? “1; something like this, something very difficult to build strength and character. this is a nice bit of wool. ,, . ., character. this is a nice bit of wool, ,, . ., ., character. this is a nice bit of wool. ,, . ., .,g , character. this is a nice bit of wool, ,, . ., ., . , ., wool. so spectacular. forjimmy and tomm , wool. so spectacular. forjimmy and tommy. they _ wool. so spectacular. forjimmy and tommy. they have _ wool. so spectacular. forjimmy and tommy, they have been _ wool. so spectacular. forjimmy and tommy, they have been linked i wool. so spectacular. forjimmy and tommy, they have been linked to i wool. so spectacular. forjimmy and | tommy, they have been linked to the great war by the family. we

tommy, they have been linked to the great war by the family.— great war by the family. we have been coming _ great war by the family. we have been coming to _ great war by the family. we have been coming to the _ great war by the family. we have been coming to the great - great war by the family. we have been coming to the great wall i great war by the family. we have l been coming to the great wall from great war by the family. we have i been coming to the great wall from a very early age. me from the age of four, and tommy from when he was zero. they covered the great wall and that is an understatement. what you see at the tourist sites, it is onl a you see at the tourist sites, it is only a tiny _ you see at the tourist sites, it is only a tiny fraction _ you see at the tourist sites, it is only a tiny fraction of this. in i only a tiny fraction of this. in 1988 there father relied on the hospitality of locals were his own great will run, which the bbc reported on at the time. he stayed in china, got married, now his sons are following in their dad's footsteps. starting in the far west where the ancient world was made from rammed earth. they will finish on the north korean border. they passed their family's place and checkin passed their family's place and check in with their dad. he has filled them with great wall knowledge since they were kids. it has been invaluable in getting them through this epic run, through the remotest of areas, even dodging zero cove dalot dance.—

cove dalot dance. constantly reminding — cove dalot dance. constantly reminding ourselves, - cove dalot dance. constantly reminding ourselves, to i cove dalot dance. constantlyj reminding ourselves, to soak cove dalot dance. constantly i reminding ourselves, to soak the journey— reminding ourselves, to soak the journey and the landscape, the people. — journey and the landscape, the people, the experiences. the thing that's never— people, the experiences. the thing that's never ceases _ people, the experiences. the thing that's never ceases to _ people, the experiences. the thing that's never ceases to impress i people, the experiences. the thing l that's never ceases to impress when you visit the grateful is how it goes on and on, off into the distance, seemingly forever, and you wonder what it is like on the next ridge or over next valley. these two know exactly what it is like because they have been there. we know exactly what it is like because they have been there.— they have been there. we hope to insire they have been there. we hope to inspire especially _ they have been there. we hope to inspire especially young _ they have been there. we hope to inspire especially young people i they have been there. we hope to inspire especially young people toj inspire especially young people to find their own right of passage. just before christmas they will have completed something that very few have, so they say they will need a new adventure. this week the central american country of honduras announced it would legalise the morning after pill — but — only where the woman requesting it had been raped.

honduras has one of the most restrictive female reproductive rights in the world — with abortion illegal under all circumstances — and the emergency contraceptive pill has been banned since 2009. women face jail sentences of up to six years for suspected termination of pregnancy. that's created a black market in abortion pills. as part of our bbc 100 women series, our gender and identity correspondent megha mohan went to honduras to investigate. laura is 25 and two months pregnant, and with little means to provide for a child, she's actively looking to terminate her pregnancy — even if that means taking illegal and risky decisions. women's rights groups say

hondurans like laura are turning to men likejose, who illegally buy and sell prescription medication that is misused for abortions. how much do you sell the pill for? you were showing me some of the text messages that you were getting from women earlier, and they're asking you for medical advice as well, how best to proceed, but you're not medically trained. do you worry about having that responsibility of giving women advice, when you're not qualified to give them advice when it comes to abortions?

across town, at honduras's largest public hospital, dr carolina deals with the complications from illegal abortions on a daily basis. for today... six. six today? seven. seven today? mm—hm. her colleague tells me that even in critical cases, their hands are tied. this month, the country's health minister, jose manuel matheu, agreed to provide the morning—after

pill for victims of rape. but as it stands, these reforms will not help women like laura. megha mohan, bbc news. there is more on our website. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren. hello there. it was another very cold start this morning, less so across scotland where we've had more cloud. but the cloud should be breaking

across central southern areas to give some sunshine, more snow showers continuing in the north. a lot of cloud and a few wintry showers for northern ireland and heading over the irish sea into parts of north west england and wales. but the cloud should be breaking in east anglia, the south east and any wintry showers here moving away, another cold day. even with the sunshine around, those temperatures are going to be typically two to four degrees. many places will still be dry into this evening and overnight, coming in to notjust northern ireland but more of north west england, more of wales and perhaps the southwest as well. so these western areas seeing icy conditions, so too across northern scotland and again, there will be a widespread frost. temperatures could be as low as minus six or minus seven as we've seen over the past few nights. into this weekend it stays cold. it may not be quite as cold at night because we're going to find more cloud around that could lead to some lingering freezing fog, making it feel particularly cold during the day. and of course, there's

still going to be some wintry showers again, mainly across northern parts of scotland, maybe a bit drier and a bit brighter across northern ireland. but some further wintry showers coming into westernmost parts of england and wales, many other parts of england one or two freezing fog patches in the morning, a bit slow to clear across southern areas. and we could see temperatures struggling again to around two or three degrees, a little bit less cold, perhaps across some western areas where we see those showers now, it's low pressure that's coming to sit across the uk this weekend, bringing in some showers and some more cloud. and that northerly wind is getting cut off by that low pressure, but we're still in cold air. so we've got the risk perhaps of more mist and fog, freezing fog as well across england and wales and maybe a few wintry showers coming into south eastern parts of england and across east anglia, fewer showers across northern scotland, perhaps some sunshine here and across northern ireland. but again, the risk of freezing fog is there more widely, i think on sunday. as a result, some places are likely to remain below freezing and that could be a problem that continues into the early part of next week.

still going to be in cold air, temperatures well below average for this time of the year and there'll be some more frost around as well. now, no doubt the details are going to change over the coming few days. keep up—to—date on our bbc weather app.

this is bbc news. i'm luxmy gopal. the headlines at midday major disruption to christmas postal deliveries as more than 100,000 royal mail staff walkout across the uk — after the latest talks to resolve their pay dispute broke down. we are not going to agree that royal mail replace those workers with self—employed drivers, with new entrants on 20% less pay, terms and conditions. royal mail is at a crossroads, losing £1 million a day, but despite that, we have put 9% of pay on the table for our employees. the chancellor prepares to announce a major overhaul of the uk's financial sector. they're expected to include looser rules on banks and their staff, introduced after the financial

crisis in 2008. millions of people start to receive £25 cold weather payments as the met office issues several, severe weather warnings. and at the world cup — england gear up for their huge match against france tomorrow, as brazil and argentina are both in action today in the first two quarter—finals. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. with just over a fortnight to go before christmas — there's major disruption to postal services across the uk today — as staff at royal mail have begun a wave of strikes. it's in a row over pay and conditions. the walkouts involving 115,000 workers will hit deliveries across the uk. members of the communications

workers union are planning another wave of strikes on the 11th, 14th, 15th as well as the 23rd, and 24th december — some of the busiest days for pre—christmas deliveries. the royal mail brought forward the the final deadline for deliveries with the last day for second class post now monday 12th december. and for first class post, the deadline is next friday 16th december. david ward, general secretary of the cwu, was asked how much longer their strike action could go on for. this is a fight forjobs. it's a fight for their livelihoods, and it's a fight for the services that our members are proud to deliver, and have been delivering for years and years. royal mail is a company, one of the greatest companies in the uk. and there's no other way of saying this, this is being destroyed in front of our eyes in the name of modernisation. and what we won't agree, and i want to be absolutely crystal clear on this,

what we will not agree is that as our members get sacked, and we are talking about thousands upon thousands ofjob losses, we are talking about compulsory redundancies. we are not going to agree that royal mail replace those workers with self—employed drivers, with new entrants on 20% less pay, terms and conditions, and with agency workers, around 11,000 that they want to keep on all year. now, if the company want to move this forward, it's not unreasonable for us to say that we wantjob security at a time when they are employing all those other people. surely your viewers will understand that this is a just fight for the service. royal mail operations director rick mcaulay says the organisation must evolve to have a future and are prepared for any possible strike action injanuary. so we keep the network running during strike days. the 11,000 colleagues in work during the last strike days,

that's people voting with their feet. the union have not given them the opportunity to have a vote on the most recent offer and we bring additional resource in so we can keep the network running for our customers and we will continue to do that. we hope the cwu will reflect on the offer we have put on the table and give it to members to have a vote on. alanjones is industrial correspondent for pa media. i asked him what will it take for this stalemate to end. a lot. you have heard the two sides and they are as far apart as ever. they have been meetings at the conciliation service, acas, and there is no sign that they are getting near an agreement, and this dispute has actually moved on quite a lot now. it's not even just about pay, it's about terms and conditions, even the whole future of the royal mail. you heard dave ward, and the union is convinced it is now fighting for the future of the royal mail rather than having

a decent pay rise for its members. royal mail are convinced they have to change because of the changing nature of postal deliveries and they are now more of a parcel service than a letters service, and it's going to take a massive change. but you are right, as this dispute, like most of the other disputes will continue into the new year. and on that note, we've seen strike action across various sectors. is there much in the way of similarity with this, or is this particularly distinctive? no, i think there are similarities. the other big running dispute at the moment is on the railways and that is also about terms and conditions and job losses as well as pay, and again, they are going backwards on that, the rmt this week and said that they are further apart than ever in getting a deal. the other big dispute which is going to emerge next week,

big time, is the nhs dispute, and we will have the amazing sight next week of nurses on picket lines, and that's notjust about pay, it's about staffing levels in the nhs which looks like is getting really to crisis levels now, so there are similarities, but there are seven or eight, way more than that, disputes which are now rumbling on and it's getting really serious, actually. people keep saying we are in a winter of discontent but we are already in the middle of the biggest outbreak of industrial action for decades and it's going to get worse. if we look specifically at the postal workers action, it's more noticeable to the ordinary public than any time of year and there is already a backlog of post. so what can people expect to see in terms of the knock—on effect to their post in the long term? i think they will see the christmas cards won't be delivered on time. you said that the royal mail has

already brought forward the last posting dates, and next monday is now the last recommended posting dates for second class mail, a week today for first mail and i think it's pretty clear that they will not be to clear the backlog. we see people posting pictures every day on social media of massive backlogs of mail outside sorting and delivery offices, not even inside and i think there is no way on earth all the letters will get delivered and it's going to continue. we are saying that this dispute is nowhere near being resolved and it willjust continue and the backlog will get worse and the future of the service will probably now be in doubt unless something happens. well the uk is bracing itself for more strike action across several industries, including railway workers, nurses and ambulance services. speaking at an raf base in lincolnshire, rishi sunak was asked if people need to start making alternative plans for christmas right now?

we are looking at everything right now at pace but my priority will be to protect lives and minimise disruption on peoples lives. so people in the government are trying it's best to act reasonably which is why we accepted in full the recommendations of independent bodies who make recommendations to the covenant about pay settlements in the public sector and often those pay settlements have been higher than what many people in the private sector are receiving but the government accepted them in full, to be reasonable and fair, but it's right now that we also look to minimise disruption on peoples lives which is why we are looking at tough new laws. rescue teams are searching for three people missing from a fishing boat off the island ofjersey. the vessel is believed to have sunk early yesterday morning after colliding with a cargo ferry. robert hall reports. in port and visibly damaged, the freight ferry commodore goodwill is a regular visitor to the channel islands, travelling the route from portsmouth to jersey and guernsey with passengers and supplies.

yesterday morning, on calm seas, she turned south intojersey�*s wide st ouen's bay en route for st helier. an online tracking app captures the sequence of events that unfolded. ahead of the goodwill, is thejersey trawler l'ecume ii. the two vessels converge. the moment of collision is clear. the goodwill then turns back to retrace her course. and by now, an urgent call to the coastguard has brought lifeboats racing to the scene, followed by a small fleet of fishing boats anxious to join the search, fearful that one of their own may have been involved. a large number of local fishing vessels have also been helping with the search. i'd like to express my thanks to them. we also have deployed drones, beach lifeguards on jet skis and honorary police officers on the beach. the vessel is believed to have sunk in approximately 40 metres of water, which will require specialist diving resources to examine. as the tide fell,

the worst news was confirmed. one of the fishing vessels had spotted the lost trawler using its underwater radar. among the missing was experienced and respected local skipper michael michieli. jersey's fishing family, and those of their french neighbours, shared shock and disbelief. fishermen will rally together, and they do rally together, regardless of nationality. we have seen this in previous incidents. it's good to see the boys all out on the scene. it was one of our fishing vessels that located the wreckage on the sea bed around 9am this morning. they had been there since before daylight. the underwater survey, and the search for the missing, were due to continue into the evening. meanwhile, the marine accident investigation is gathering pace, and the question it has to answer is how tragedy overtook two vessels and two crews so familiar with these waters. robert hall, bbc news, channel islands.

a major overhaul of the uk's financial sector will be announced by the chancellor today, in a bid to boost growth. jeremy hunt will use a speech in edinburgh to set out more than 30 regulatory reforms — including a loosening of rules on banks and their staff introduced after the financial crisis in 2008. but critics say it could be dangerous to forget the lessons of the past. i'm joined now by vicky pryce, who's chief economic adviser at the centre for economics and business research and former joint head of the uk government economic service. thank you forjoining us. first of all, what is the impact going to be of the reforms on the economy? i think a lot will depend on how they are implemented. there is no doubt the government is concerned they are losing in terms of their reputation of the city of london and the attraction of it to places like paris and amsterdam. this has been a

long standing ambition of the chancellor when he was chancellor, rishi sunak now prime minister, of course, to ease regulations in the financial sector in order to be able to compete perhaps more fairly in the view of the chancellor since we left the eu, because there are now the possibilities of a change in regulation because of brexit. whether it will do anything major to the economy is a different issue and among practitioners there are concerned that what we are going to be introducing is more risk to the financial sector again and having forgotten, possibly the lessons of the financial crisis, especially when we are talking about and the intention of easing constraints on that have implemented a splitting if you like and may be ring fencing the retail and commercial banking operations. what had been termed as

casino banking which was believed to have caused problems in the financial crisis. deregulating will perhaps attract more interest in the city and perhaps will allow more money to flow into particular sectors of the economy including infrastructure along the lines described by the chancellor but what we may see is an increasing risks, the regulator will have to be careful when they look at the financial regulations are doing under any new regime that might emerge. under any new regime that might emerre. under any new regime that might emerre, ., . , ~' , under any new regime that might emerre. . . , ~ , . emerge. the balance is key. on which side will things _ emerge. the balance is key. on which side will things are _ emerge. the balance is key. on which side will things are because _ emerge. the balance is key. on which side will things are because people i side will things are because people will be worried about what might happen if things are back to what they were before the financial crisis of 2008.— they were before the financial crisis of 2008. absolutely. and there is considerable _ crisis of 2008. absolutely. and there is considerable worry i crisis of 2008. absolutely. and l there is considerable worry about there is considerable worry about there is considerable worry about there is worries about lending to various companies and what the bank

of england is doing right now... i’m of england is doing right now... i'm sor to of england is doing right now... i'm sorry to interrupt you because we need to say good buyers to viewers on bbc one and you are watching bbc news. apologies for the interruption, we had to say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. but i will let you pick up on the answer, please. let you pick up on the answer, lease. , let you pick up on the answer, lease. w ~ ., w let you pick up on the answer, lease. , l .w w . let you pick up on the answer, lease. , l .w w, . please. yes. what is concerning as we are in a — please. yes. what is concerning as we are in a situation _ please. yes. what is concerning as we are in a situation where - please. yes. what is concerning as we are in a situation where during | we are in a situation where during covid we had an increase in public—sector and private—sector debt, because the institutions and the government authorities and central banks were trying to encourage growth of the economy again and prevent a real collapse which would have been the case otherwise because of covid. so what we are seeing now is central banks are raining and quite a lot of their spending they had done before —— raining in. liquidity being drained

from the market and interest rates going up, so we have this announcement now about deregulation to ensure there is more flowing into the economy or lending being done and at a time where there is concern. there is some logic to it and the emphasis on the government is to ensure there is more investment going on, and by changing the regulations to allow investment for insurance companies to happen means the europeans have done this as well. and it's not like we are outliers. and regulatory change probably makes sense but there are risks involved but one real worry is the requirement in the regulation and then it will be for the

regulatory is to make sure they are mindful of international competition and encouraging deregulation and there is a lot of concern and a lot of people have written against that and signed letters about this and i was concerned about and it's the implantation that will matter and we can say lots of things and encourage perhaps the central banks and regulators to behave in a certain way and there will still be concerned by the regulators on how some of the things i'm fermented. thank you so much for your thoughts and analysis. major disruption to christmas postal deliveries as more than a hundred thousand royal mail staff walkout across the uk — after the latest talks to resolve their pay dispute broke down.

the chancellor announced a major overhaul of the financial sector including looser rules on banks on their staff introduced after the financial crisis in 2008. millions of people start to receive £25 cold weather payments as the met office issues several, severe weather warnings. let's ta ke let's take a look at the sports news now and let's go back to sarah at the bbc sport centre. the world cup quarter—finals begin today, with brazil taking on croatia and argentina coming up against the netherlands later but the build up for england fans is on, with gareth southgate aiming to take the team to the semi—finals for the second world cup in a row. of course, standing in their way are the reigning champions, france. southgate though has been planning for this moment for some time. we've done a lot of study of france over the last few years. they were world champions and we wanted to see

exactly what had caused them to be world champions, if you like. and a good insight into them. they have evolved and changed through that period, so, it's not always been definitive. they've obviously lost a few players coming into this tournament as well, so what they have considered their best team has changed slightly in the last few months. well this morning france have been speaking to the media — with coach didier deschamps saying england have no weaknesses and captain hugo lloris saying that this england team are now full of experience in tournament football. if you look at the english squad, they were semifinalists at the world cup, runner—up at the last euros and there is a real progression. and i believe that this team is getting mature and ready to compete for trophies now. they were a bit unlucky at the last euros and came

very close, but they are here to win now. average attendances in the women's super league have increased by 200% after england won the euros in the summer. crowds attending the women's championship are also up by 85%, according to kelly simmons, the director of the women's professional game. the wsl record of 47,367 was set at arsenal's game against tottenham at emirates stadium in september. this weekend, the ethiad hosts the manchester derby. to the cricket now — pakistan debutant abrar ahmed starred on day one of the second test against england in multan. he took seven wickets to dismiss england for 281. with the ball, ahmed finished with 7—114 — the second—best debut by a pakistan bowler. ben duckett and ollie pope led the scoring for england, the only two to get past 50. then in reply captain babar azam made 50 off 57 balls —

the hosts are 107—2 at close of play. so they trail england by 174 with 8 wickets remaining. england are on their first tour of pakistan since 2005, and lead the three—match series 1—0. that's all the sport for now. the uk, italy and japan have announced they willjointly develop a next generation fighter jet by 2035. the new tempest fighter jet will use artificial intelligence and can operate without a pilot on board. prime minister rishi sunak says the joint venture aims to create thousands ofjobs in the uk and strengthen security ties. joining me now is tobias ellwood, conservative mp and chair of the house of commons defence committee. we have just lost him. we havejust lost him. very we have just lost him. very careless of him. we have misplaced tobias ellwood for the moment but we will go back when we can to talk about the new fighter jet.

go back when we can to talk about the new fighterjet. but go back when we can to talk about the new fighter jet. but for go back when we can to talk about the new fighterjet. but for now let's talk about the weather. as temperatures plunge all over the uk, thousand of people on the lowest income will receive a £25 cold weather payment. it is paid once in a seven—day period, and residents from over 300 postcode districts will get it. this is what peter smith told us earlier. it isa it is a welcome amount and people might remember that universal credit was reduced by broadly an equivalent figure, but it has not increased, the amount has not increased to over a decade now and in that period we know that energy prices have broadly doubled since then and by next april we know there will be approximately triple when the £25 limit was set, so it isn't providing the amount necessary and in addition to that the cold weather payment is paid in arrears and we do not know on the

fourth or fifth day of a cold spell whether you will receive the amount. it is welcome, but there are some challenges in terms of that scheme, and it won't be sufficient to fully offset the impact of this cold spell. offset the impact of this cold sell. ww offset the impact of this cold sell, ., ., , ,, offset the impact of this cold sell. w, .w w ,, ., spell. that was peter smith from national energy _ spell. that was peter smith from national energy action. - spell. that was peter smith from national energy action. we i spell. that was peter smith from national energy action. we have | national energy action. we have managed to go back to tobias ellwood, conservative mp and chair of the house of commons defence committee and we can speak to him now. thank you forjoining us. with france, germany and spain working together on their own design, why have we chosen to partner with italy and japan? have we chosen to partner with italy and ja an? w have we chosen to partner with italy and ja an? , .w have we chosen to partner with italy and jaan? , w, ww, .w and japan? these are important allies we need _ and japan? these are important allies we need to _ and japan? these are important allies we need to work - and japan? these are important allies we need to work with i and japan? these are important allies we need to work with and | and japan? these are important i allies we need to work with and this is a really exciting announcement by the prime minister and an important one as well. it confirms the uk's long term defence and security capabilities as the fourth—generation retire, it will also keep the uk at that cutting edge of aerial and ground to air

combat, retaining an important technological advantage over china and russia, and it will be a major boost for uk companies as well, not just bae systems who make the main body, rolls—royce on the engines, but all of the smes who contribute and this will provide tens of billions to the british economy, so i'm pleased to learn of this announcement but you touch on something quite important, there is a rival combat air system being built as well and we will have to see if these projects merge or somehow coalesce into the future, but right now, really good to see the raf getting its first semi—autonomous plane that can be used with a pilot or can be used on its own. w, w, w, i its own. you mention the money saved beinr its own. you mention the money saved being brought — its own. you mention the money saved being brought into _ its own. you mention the money saved being brought into the _ its own. you mention the money saved being brought into the economy i its own. you mention the money saved| being brought into the economy money is on peoples minds and everyone is counting pennies, and a project like this is not cheap, is it? it is counting pennies, and a pro'ect like this is not cheap, is mi this is not cheap, is it? it is not. but we have _ this is not cheap, is it? it is not. but we have to _ this is not cheap, is it? it is not. but we have to bear _ this is not cheap, is it? it is not. but we have to bear in _ this is not cheap, is it? it is not. but we have to bear in mind, i this is not cheap, is it? it is not. | but we have to bear in mind, and this is not cheap, is it? it is not. l but we have to bear in mind, and i have to say this again and again and again, we are entering a new era of

insecurity where authoritarian states are meaningless harm and trying to cause problems to our economy. we have lent into the globalisation and so for the supply chains have been broken or interrupted and that will affect our economy. look at what is happening with grain not getting out of odesa today so it's important we are able today so it's important we are able to provide the necessary security, and that includes tilting over to the indo—pacific where so much trade comes around. this is why tying up with japan is interesting. mi comes around. this is why tying up with japan is interesting. qiigi with japan is interesting. all of that notwithstanding _ with japan is interesting. all of that notwithstanding how- withjapan is interesting. all of that notwithstanding how much is a nation are we spending on this and how much will it cost us? we nation are we spending on this and how much will it cost us?— how much will it cost us? we will have to see _ how much will it cost us? we will have to see and _ how much will it cost us? we will have to see and we _ how much will it cost us? we will have to see and we put _ how much will it cost us? we will have to see and we put in - how much will it cost us? we will have to see and we put in a i how much will it cost us? we will. have to see and we put in a couple of billion and there will be more announcements as the project advances. clearly if more countries, on—board as we with the f 35, then the individual platform becomes

cheaper, around £100 million or so, but ultimately, as i stressed, this will allow us to make sure we stand up will allow us to make sure we stand up to potential adversaries but this is what russia and china are doing now and this new aircraft with sophisticated weaponry will fire hypersonic missiles and it's built to operate drones and they are looking at laser cannons, so this is a very exciting but important advance that we have seen from the aria. ii advance that we have seen from the aria. i w, advance that we have seen from the aria. , w, w w, advance that we have seen from the aria. i w, . w, w w, aria. if you could tell us more about the _ aria. if you could tell us more about the jobs _ aria. if you could tell us more about the jobs you _ aria. if you could tell us more about the jobs you anticipate | aria. if you could tell us more i about the jobs you anticipate would be created by this. in terms of a ballpark figure, how much are we anticipating the spend will be on this and what kind ofjobs are we hoping we will see in return? i mentioned bae systems will be the lead company and rolls—royce will make the engines again but we will be working with the italian aerospace giant leonardo and mitsubishi will contribute from the japanese side and other countries might come in and britain is

committing £2 billion to the project and that will take is up to 2025 and more money will need to be put forward but we are one of the most successful defence exporting nations in the world and number two at the moment, so if we get this right, we can sell this important platform to other countries as well.— other countries as well. thank you for our other countries as well. thank you for your thoughts _ other countries as well. thank you for your thoughts on _ other countries as well. thank you for your thoughts on that, - other countries as well. thank you for your thoughts on that, mr i for your thoughts on that, mr ellwood and glad we were able to get to you in the end. tobias ellwood, conservative mp and chair of the house of commons defence committee. santander has been fined over gaps in its money—laundering controls which open the door to financial crime. the financial watchdog said the bank failed to properly oversee and manage the system is aimed at verifying information provided by business customers. the bank said it was "very sorry" for the failings and had taken action.

brittney griner, the basketball starjailed in russia for cannabis oil possession, has arrived back in the us after moscow and washington arranged an exchange of prisoners. ms griner's freedom came in return for the release of viktor bout — a notorious russian arms dealer nicknamed "the merchant of death" — who'd been serving a jail sentence in the us. the deal was signed off by president biden. leading to criticism that he could have helped other americans detained in russia. tom brada reports. this is the moment the basketball star, brittany griner, finally landed back in the us, home after more than 290 days of detention in russia. just last month, she was sent to a penal colony. 50 her sudden freedom came as a surprise. this footage released by the russian authorities shows her being given the news. do you know where we are heading to? no. you are flying back home. to the us. the us government secured miss griner's release through an exchange.

she was traded for a notorious arms dealer, viktor bout, widely known as the merchant of death, and the pair briefly crossed paths on the tarmac at abu dhabi. mr bout had been in a us jailfor 12 years. hours after the trade was complete, he was back in moscow. brittany griner was arrested at a moscow airport back in february for the possession of cannabis oil cartridges, and later sentenced to nine years injail. her wife celebrated the news of her early release. thank you, everybody, for your support. and it is just a happy day for me and my family, so i'm going to smile right now. the basketball star's team—mates praised her character. off the court, she is such a kind, nice, giving person, always willing to give a helping hand and willing to help someone in need, whether it's giving someone a free meal or a ride. she is honestly one of the most generous people i know. but there has also been criticism. some are concerned that president biden sanctioned

the release of a man with as dangerous a track record as mr bout. others are angry that he left another us citizen behind. this is paul whelan, an american currently held on suspicion of spying. the white house had originally offered to swap viktor bout for brittany griner and mr whelan, but russia flatly refused. for now, many americans will be celebrating the basketball star's return. after ten months in russian custody, she is finally back on home turf. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren. this week's weather has been such a shock to the system. it this week's weather has been such a shock to the system.— shock to the system. it certainly has. shock to the system. it certainly has- winter _ shock to the system. it certainly has. winter has _ shock to the system. it certainly has. winter has arrived - shock to the system. it certainly has. winter has arrived with i shock to the system. it certainly has. winter has arrived with a i has. winter has arrived with a vengeance so we have more of those sharp frosts and snow flurries for some of us in the forecast over the next few days and not everywhere is going to be seeing snowfall, but very cold air at the moment and temperatures this afternoon no

higher than two or 5 degrees but struggling to get above freezing. more snowfall to come in the evening in northern scotland parts of northern ireland and wales in the south—west some icy stretches and her could be snow for bodmin and exmoor. temperatures falling as low as —6 to start your saturday so a very cold start to the weekend, more snow across northern and eastern scotland and further rain and snow as well. dry weather elsewhere and temperatures struggling to freezing or perhaps up to 6 degrees but sunday will be a cold day with a lingering, freezing fog for much of england and wales and there could be some rain, sleet and potentially heavy snow in the south—east but we will firm up on that in the next couple of days. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines...

major disruption to christmas postal deliveries as more than 100,000 royal mail staff walk—out across the uk — after the latest talks to resolve their pay dispute broke down. the chancellor is announcing a major overhaul of the uk's financial sector — they're expected to include looser rules on banks and their staff, introduced after the financial crisis in 2008. millions of people start to receive £25 cold weather payments as the met office issues several severe weather warnings. and at the world cup — england gear up for their huge match against france tomorrow, as brazil and argentina are both in action today in the first two quarterfinals. let's turn to the world cup now, because the antipation is building ahead of some very big games as the quarterfinals get under way in qatar. later this evening, the netherlands

face argentina, but before then, in just over two hours' time the first of today's games will kick off when brazil take on croatia. let's get some thoughts from both sides ahead of kick—off. i'm joined by the sports journalist alex holiga in zagreb, and the south american football expert tim vickeryjoins us from rio de janiero. alex, what are your thoughts on how creation will do? it is alex, what are your thoughts on how creation will do?— creation will do? it is a massive came creation will do? it is a massive game for _ creation will do? it is a massive game for croatia _ creation will do? it is a massive game for croatia to _ creation will do? it is a massive game for croatia to be - creation will do? it is a massive game for croatia to be in i creation will do? it is a massive game for croatia to be in the i game for croatia to be in the quarterfinals for the second time in a row, but brazil is not something i had four years ago, it is much stronger. i don't think there is much optimism to be found in croatia right now. much optimism to be found in croatia riaht now. ww much optimism to be found in croatia riaht now. w, , . , w right now. that is realistic if

pessimistic— right now. that is realistic if pessimistic approach! i right now. that is realistic if pessimistic approach! can i | right now. that is realistic if i pessimistic approach! can i get right now. that is realistic if - pessimistic approach! can i get your thoughts on what alex has said? for brazil it has been a couple of decades of not having the success they would have wanted, so now are you feeling more confident? it has been 20 years _ you feeling more confident? it has been 20 years of— you feeling more confident? it has been 20 years of hurt _ you feeling more confident? it has been 20 years of hurt and - you feeling more confident? it has been 20 years of hurt and every i been 20 years of hurt and every campaign— been 20 years of hurt and every campaign since 2002 has ended when they came _ campaign since 2002 has ended when they came up against a european side in the _ they came up against a european side in the knockout stages as they do today _ in the knockout stages as they do today. because of the pandemic and the nations league, the way europe now organises its football it has been _ now organises its football it has been almost impossible for brazil to play a _ been almost impossible for brazil to play a european opposition and since the last— play a european opposition and since the last world cup it was one visit to the _ the last world cup it was one visit to the czech republic more than three _ to the czech republic more than three years ago. so there is an element — three years ago. so there is an element of the unknown to this but i agree _ element of the unknown to this but i agree with _ element of the unknown to this but i agree with alex, this is a brazil side, _ agree with alex, this is a brazil side, they— agree with alex, this is a brazil side, they were surprised at this stage _ side, they were surprised at this stage by— side, they were surprised at this stage by belgium four years ago, but looks less _ stage by belgium four years ago, but looks less likely this time. it is a brazil— looks less likely this time. it is a brazil side — looks less likely this time. it is a brazil side that looked to be strong

favourites — brazil side that looked to be strong favourites for this game but i bring some _ favourites for this game but i bring some good — favourites for this game but i bring some good news for alex. i did a television — some good news for alex. i did a television over here yesterday with the former— television over here yesterday with the former arsenal striker eduardo silva a _ the former arsenal striker eduardo silva a croatian international, he was born— silva a croatian international, he was born in— silva a croatian international, he was born in rio, lives in rio, but today— was born in rio, lives in rio, but today he — was born in rio, lives in rio, but today he is— was born in rio, lives in rio, but today he is croatian, so at least you have — today he is croatian, so at least you have his support for this game. that is— you have his support for this game. that is very— you have his support for this game. that is very nice to hear. he would have been more supportive had he got the chance to play in brazil against brazil eight years ago. this is something he still resents with the coach. �* ww something he still resents with the coach. �* w, . , w, . , coach. i'm glad that brought a bit of a smile to _ coach. i'm glad that brought a bit of a smile to your— coach. i'm glad that brought a bit of a smile to your face _ coach. i'm glad that brought a bit of a smile to your face because i coach. i'm glad that brought a bit of a smile to your face because it| of a smile to your face because it was quite sad seeing you peel so gloomy about your team's prospects. just realistic stop right there must be something where you think given how they have performed they have got a chance? croatia have shown

they can stifle the opposition. i don't think it is playing to their strengths but if croatia will have any chance they will have to take this game to extra time and penalties. i don't think they are capable of winning this in normal time. just a difficult decision, how do you approach a game like this, if you open up it does no good, if you park the bus still no good, so i don't know what approach they are going to take today but i believe they will look to stifle the opposition in midfield and to defend in a really disciplined and mobile manner. 50 in a really disciplined and mobile manner. so perhaps if brazil doesn't score up until 60 minutes or so, things will turn for the better stuff like that is the glimmer of hope i was after. how likely do you

think it might be that they could be no goals scored and they would have to go to penalties? it is no goals scored and they would have to go to penalties?— to go to penalties? it is unlikely. we were trying — to go to penalties? it is unlikely. we were trying to _ to go to penalties? it is unlikely. we were trying to boozed - to go to penalties? it is unlikely. we were trying to boozed up i to go to penalties? it is unlikely. | we were trying to boozed up alex to go to penalties? it is unlikely. i we were trying to boozed up alex and you have shut it down. iloathe we were trying to boozed up alex and you have shut it down.— you have shut it down. who knows? the croatia — you have shut it down. who knows? the croatia team _ you have shut it down. who knows? the croatia team is _ you have shut it down. who knows? the croatia team is worthy - you have shut it down. who knows? the croatia team is worthy of i you have shut it down. who knows? the croatia team is worthy of huge l the croatia team is worthy of huge respect _ the croatia team is worthy of huge respect. they are a very experienced midfield _ respect. they are a very experienced midfield who know how to read again. if there _ midfield who know how to read again. if there is _ midfield who know how to read again. if there is a _ midfield who know how to read again. if there is a way these players, the midfield, _ if there is a way these players, the midfield, modric and heritage, they will find _ midfield, modric and heritage, they will find a _ midfield, modric and heritage, they will find a way to try and stay in the game — will find a way to try and stay in the game pot, but they don't have a great _ the game pot, but they don't have a great deal— the game pot, but they don't have a great deal of physical intensity. i am very— great deal of physical intensity. i am very impressed with their centre back who _ am very impressed with their centre back who looks like a real class act, _ back who looks like a real class act, but — back who looks like a real class act, but i — back who looks like a real class act, but i think brazil will come at them _ act, but i think brazil will come at them with— act, but i think brazil will come at them with so much and with so much physical— them with so much and with so much physical intensity, this is a brazil side that— physical intensity, this is a brazil side that presses the opposition more _ side that presses the opposition more than any brazil side has done before _ more than any brazil side has done before. richarlison is the symbol of

the side _ before. richarlison is the symbol of the side in — before. richarlison is the symbol of the side in many ways, the last line of the _ the side in many ways, the last line of the attack but also the first line of— of the attack but also the first line of defence putting defenders under— line of defence putting defenders under pressure, making them uncomfortable. two of the goals they scored _ uncomfortable. two of the goals they scored against south korea in the last round — scored against south korea in the last round came from him putting pressure — last round came from him putting pressure on, so i think it will be difficult — pressure on, so i think it will be difficult for _ pressure on, so i think it will be difficult for croatia to hold brazil at bay _ difficult for croatia to hold brazil at bay if — difficult for croatia to hold brazil at bay. if they can, as alex said, the clock— at bay. if they can, as alex said, the clock is— at bay. if they can, as alex said, the clock is ticking away and the clock— the clock is ticking away and the clock becomes ally of croatia, not the ally _ clock becomes ally of croatia, not the ally of — clock becomes ally of croatia, not the ally of brazil. my fear for them in extra _ the ally of brazil. my fear for them in extra time is that the experienced players, modric and perisic— experienced players, modric and perisic won't last extra time, they will removed against japan, so maybe croatia _ will removed against japan, so maybe croatia pulls like best hope is to sneak— croatia pulls like best hope is to sneak a — croatia pulls like best hope is to sneak a goal before the end of 90. but brazil— sneak a goal before the end of 90. but brazil are strong favourites. we want to but brazil are strong favourites. want to talk but brazil are strong favourites. - want to talk about the fans, how much does it mean to croatia to have come this far, alex? it is

much does it mean to croatia to have come this far, alex?— come this far, alex? it is difficult to say because — come this far, alex? it is difficult to say because they _ come this far, alex? it is difficult to say because they achieved i come this far, alex? it is difficultj to say because they achieved this four years ago, they played in the final, so this is an unusual situation for a nation like croatia, to be again in the way of repeating this massive success but football is a huge deal in croatia and every game, especiallyjames against game, especially james against brazil, game, especiallyjames against brazil, massively important. football is in the blood for brazilians, what is the excitement like? �* , brazilians, what is the excitement like? �* y , , brazilians, what is the excitement like? �* y ,, . brazilians, what is the excitement like? ~ , ,, . , brazilians, what is the excitement like? ~ , ,, w, , . like? anything less and winning is a disaster, anything _ like? anything less and winning is a disaster, anything less _ like? anything less and winning is a disaster, anything less than - like? anything less and winning is a disaster, anything less than gettingj disaster, anything less than getting to the _ disaster, anything less than getting to the final. the pressure is on brazil~ — to the final. the pressure is on brazil. maybe a little glimmer of hope _ brazil. maybe a little glimmer of hoe. ww .. brazil. maybe a little glimmer of hoe. ww ~' brazil. maybe a little glimmer of hoe. ., . and you'll be able to catch both of today's quarterfinals games as and when they kick—off,

live on bbc one. more now on the cold weather — as temperatures plunge all over the uk, thousands of people on the lowest income will receive a £25 cold weather payment. this is on top of the £400 discount all households are receiving on their electricity bill this winter. in northern ireland, households are yet to receive any of the support payments due to the political deadlock at stormont. people in northern ireland were promised and extra £200. assembly members have not governed for 10 months. let's speak now to peter mcclenaghan, director of infrastructure & sustainability at consumer service — a non—departmental public body which provides free advice and support for northern ireland residents. thank you forjoining us. explain to us what is a situation facing people in northern ireland when it comes to heating oil? in northern ireland when it comes to heatina oil? w, in northern ireland when it comes to heating oil?— heating oil? northern ireland is a very different _ heating oil? northern ireland is a very different market. _ heating oil? northern ireland is a very different market. two i heating oil? northern ireland is a very different market. two thirdsj heating oil? northern ireland is a i very different market. two thirds of people in northern ireland use home heating oil delivered to your house

by tanker and you have to buy it in bulk, at least 300 litres of storage tank in your back garden. the home heating oil consumers haven't received government support as yet, there have been delays to the roll—out of that support, and people are struggling right now. the prices of home heating oil are about two thirds higher than what they would have been pre—pandemic. it is an unregulated field, so prices can jump up unregulated field, so prices can jump up and down daily frankly and it is really quite challenging for people right now who are sitting at home in cold homes and worrying about affordability. just home in cold homes and worrying about affordability.— home in cold homes and worrying about affordability. just for people who don't use _ about affordability. just for people who don't use that _ about affordability. just for people who don't use that heating - about affordability. just for people who don't use that heating oil i about affordability. just for people who don't use that heating oil and | who don't use that heating oil and don't know what the market is like what are the prices like, how expensive and unaffordable can it be? w, ww , expensive and unaffordable can it be? w, . , , , . w, be? you generally buy heating oil in either three — be? you generally buy heating oil in either three or _ be? you generally buy heating oil in either three or 500 _ be? you generally buy heating oil in either three or 500 litre _ either three or 500 litre deliveries. you use, the average

person uses about 1800 litres a year, which means your annual average bill is higher than a belfast gas bill would be at the moment. it is probably lower than what a customer would be paying for the gas price in gb, but still very high and we also have challenges of affordability, you have to buy it in bulk which creates challenges if you have a low income and not a lot of discretionary outcome, and we have more people in northern ireland who are in that position, the lowest quota of earners in northern ireland are research shows only have £25 of discretionary income on a weekly basis, and that is a real challenge for them. that means we on the whole have a population who are struggling with that bit more than in england

at the moment. we with that bit more than in england at the moment.— with that bit more than in england at the moment. we are hearing that those discounts _ at the moment. we are hearing that those discounts that _ at the moment. we are hearing that those discounts that were _ at the moment. we are hearing that those discounts that were supposed | those discounts that were supposed to be available on treating people yet. have you heard any cases, you must be hearing from people who are absolutely desperate. the must be hearing from people who are absolutely desperate.— absolutely desperate. the consumer council helped _ absolutely desperate. the consumer council helped set _ absolutely desperate. the consumer council helped set up _ absolutely desperate. the consumer council helped set up a _ absolutely desperate. the consumer council helped set up a hardship i council helped set up a hardship scheme for people last year to get some additional support for people who are really in difficulty. the feedback from that was people were telling us they are so great to get their support because they were in positions they weren't able to put heat on in their homes at all and they were having to go to neighbours or the family, and parents to watch the children and have a shower, other people telling us that children were buying them vouchers for christmas to pay for their heat because they simply couldn't afford to, so we are looking at the position this christmas where people might have to go without presence altogetherjust might have to go without presence altogether just to might have to go without presence altogetherjust to be able to afford to heat their home. it is quite

worrying and quite tough for a lot of people and there is a whole cohort of people in northern ireland who have never struggled before and because of the price of energy are feeling the pinch now and having to consider ways to budget, be more energy efficient because of the situation here.— situation here. that is really shocking- — situation here. that is really shocking. for _ situation here. that is really shocking. for people i situation here. that is really i shocking. for people watching, situation here. that is really - shocking. for people watching, what is your advice? if shocking. for people watching, what is your advice?— is your advice? if you can't take ener: is your advice? if you can't take energy efficiency _ is your advice? if you can't take energy efficiency steps - is your advice? if you can't take energy efficiency steps if i is your advice? if you can't take energy efficiency steps if you're not doing so already it is important you do that, try to use a little bit less energy and that will obviously cut your bills. in northern ireland the other really important factor is there is still a really competitive market particularly with electricity so you can save yourself hundreds of pounds a year if you're on a high tariff by switching from a high energy tariff to a lower more competitive tariff and the consumer council website has a tool to enable you do that. council website has a tool to enable you do that-—

the headlines on bbc news... major disruption to christmas postal deliveries as more than 100,000 royal mail staff walk—out across the uk — after the latest talks to resolve their pay dispute broke down. the chancellor is announcing a major overhaul of the uk's financial sector — they're expected to include looser rules on banks and their staff, introduced after the financial crisis in 2008. millions of people start to receive £25 cold weather payments as the met office issues several severe weather warnings. not enough help is being offered to help people better insulate their homes — that's the warning from some charities and businesses. government grants to help people make these changes won't be available until the spring and the scheme has been criticised for not going far enough, hannah miller reports. 78—year—old audrey is living injust one room of her home.

she has several health issues, including arthritis and poor circulation, but says this is the only way she can manage to keep warm. i can't really afford to keep warm, only this way. so i'm going to have tojust lie in bed. audrey lives in what's been identified by friends of the earth as one of the country's coldest neighbourhoods, where low energy efficiency and low incomes combine to put health and well—being at risk. the charity wants to see more government intervention to help people insulate their homes. i can't afford to get the jobs done anyway. it makes you fed up being really isolated and cold, especially the cold. i've never known cold like it. and i have been doing this for a few years, because i know i can't afford the prices before. so now they've gone up more, it's terrible, really. so it's going to help you identify the cold spots in your house.

in london, waltham forest council started loaning out thermal imaging cameras, so residents can see where they're losing heat. blue and purple means it's cold. those most in need will get money to better insulate their homes. shall we have a little look inside? and as gary faces his first winter in his new property, it's helping him to see what improvements he could make. it's really noticeable, i think. when i look at the door, i the contrast in the colours, like, most of it's orange, but down the bottom - and in the corners of the door it's quite dark blue. so there must be quite a lot of cold air seeping through. i i think there's a bit of a gap i between the frame and the door. seeing all the images now, i'm like, oh, actually- there's all these . little bits and bobs. potentially, i can look at ways to try and, you know, either block somei of the cold air coming in, - orjust look at different options. so yeah, i think it's really good. the government's recently expanded a scheme that works with energy suppliers to install insulation, but for many households it won't be available until next spring. and the boss of one of the country's biggest diy stores is calling for a rethink.

do you think that scheme as it stands is fit for purpose? not really. it's not simplified enough and it's just putting another person in, a bit of bureaucracy, and i don't think it's really solving the grassroots problem that we've got. this is a big issue that's going to be with us for a long time. we need to get to the root causes here, and i think we need to create a fundamental step change in the uk that it's cool, chic — i don't know what the up to date word is — to make your house energy efficient. and as people brace for icy temperatures this weekend, many may wish they'd taken action like that much sooner. the duke and duchess of sussex have spoken of press intrusion, and how they met, in the first

episodes of their new documentary. the netflix series includes more details about the challenges they've faced — but there are no major new revelations. our royal correspondent, sarah campbell reports. prince harry and meghan... much anticipated, and in the end the bombshell revelations didn't come. it was still headline news across the world. three episodes across three hours, their story, with previously unseen personal videos and insights. familiar themes were expanded upon, including the suggestion that media coverage of meghan had racist undertones, which prince harry said he had to explain to his family. so it was almost like a rite of passage. and some of the members of the family were like, "right, but my wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? "why should you get special treatment? "why should she be protected?" and i said, "the difference here is the race element." the couple have carefully controlled images of their two children, but they both feature in the series. here's a young archie being introduced to his late grandmother diana. she too is a current theme. direct comment concerning members

of the royal family didn't feature prominently, but meghan did reflect on her first meeting with catherine, princess of wales. i was a hugger, i've always been a hugger. i didn't realise that that is really jarring for a lot of brits. i guess i started to understand really quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside. there's been no comment from any member of the royal family. yesterday king charles carried out engagements in london in what has been a busy week. but he will know there is more to come. so far the series has taken viewers up to may 2018, and the build—up to their wedding. what came next, the split from the royal family and the reasons behind their move to california, will be dealt with in the final three episodes due for release next thursday. sarah campbell, bbc news. the american actress salma blair became a household name after starring in box—office hits such as cruel intentions, legally blonde and hellboy. after years of suffering

from fatigue and speech disturbances, she was finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018. salma has been named one of the bbc 100 women for 2022 — and in this exclusive interview with sophie long she reveals how the disease brought her acting career to a halt — and her reaction when she was given the diagnosis for the first time. when the doctor told me the night of the mri that i had ms, i cried. what i had had a name, and it was an amazing comforting feeling, even though i don't wish disease on anyone, but it was a huge comforting feeling to know there was a whole community of chronic illness, or ms. so i did not at all feel like, this is the end of the world for me. i felt this was the beginning for me of understanding, and that there would be some healing coming soon. you know, i do have a dog as a partner that can help me with a lot of, like, the counterbalance, or just for balance. i have my son. i have a cane. i have an alinker bike,

if i want to take a long walk. i have all these little aids to help with my balance issues. what impact do you think ms has had on your career? i know that my own ms took my career down. i had to stop working. disability was affecting me and taking me out of the workforce. and when i talked about it, there was so much support, but i never got a job again. and i'm not bitter about that. i don't know how much i've said, "oh, my god, i'm willing", and i do want to go back to work. how would you describe hollywood and the entertainment industry's relationship with people who have challenges like the ones that you are experiencing? there are so many incredible stories and people and things that need to catch up and need to represent, so i'm really happy to be just a visible ally. some people might see me as someone with a disability, some people might not, and that's not for me to judge. that's for whoever wants, you know, whatever encouragement i might offer. my mother...

your memoir — again, super candid. you had dependency on alcohol, you got drunk at a very early age. just tell us a little bit about that and how that sculpted your life, really. i wanted to write a book for the little selmas out there that are afraid. let's take away the stigma out of notjust, you know, saying, like, you have to say you're fine all the time, because saying "i'm fine" all the time is what made me drink in a bathroom, you know, at the age of nine, until i'd pass out. if there were any conversation that people could start having with each other over the great shames of their life, the things they felt they got themselves into and had to keep to themselves, and that shame kept creating unhealthy habits, then that was the least i could do. to china now — where two young men

are in the middle of an epicjourney which few have ever completed — running the length of the great wall of china. more than 21,000 km of it — that's more than 13,000 miles. as stephen mcdonell reports, it means taking on the equivalent of a marathon every day for six months — through deserts, mountains and forests. on the quietest parts of the great wall, in all conditions, they're running. two young men — half—british, half—chinese — completing a marathon a day along the entire length of this phenomenal structure. we're doing this to fulfil our childhood dream of running the great wall. they've trained for years, to traverse what are actually a series of walls and battlements. it's a gruelling undertaking. doing something like this, something very difficult, builds strength of character. oh, this is a nice bit of the wall, isn't it? check that out.

so spectacular. and you've been here a few times... forjimmy and tommy lindesay, they've been linked to the great wall by their family. so we've been coming to the great wall from a very early age. me, from the age of four, and tommy, from when he was zero. they say they call it the great wall, and that's an understatement. what you see at the tourist sites, it's only a tiny, tiny fraction, a fraction of it. in 1988, their father relied on the hospitality of locals for his own great wall run, which the bbc reported on at the time. he stayed in china, got married. now, his sons are following in their dad's footsteps. starting at the far west, where the ancient wall was made from rammed earth. they'll finish at the north korean border. they'll pass their family's place at jiankou and check in with their dad. he's filled them with great wall knowledge since they were kids.

it's been invaluable in getting them through this epic run, through the remotest of areas, even dodging zero—covid lockdowns. constantly reminding ourselves that, you know, just to soak the journey in, to soak the landscape, the people, the experiences in. the thing that never ceases to impress when you visit the great wall is how it goes on and on, up into the distance, seemingly forever, and you wonder what it's like on the next ridge or over in the next valley. well, these two know exactly what it's like because they've been there. so, we hope to inspire especially young people to find their own rite of passage. just before christmas, they'll have completed something that very few have — so, they say, they'll need a new adventure. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, in the mountains outside beijing.

a british world war two veteran has finally been presented with a medal that she should have received almost seven decades ago. ann marie allen was a plotter at raf northolt during the war — and was instrumental in the pin pointing of aircraft during the battle of britain. earlier this week, aged 98, ann marie received her medal. cheryl dennis was there. 0h! i can't tell you how wonderful it is to be back here. it's 67 years since leading aircraftsman anne marie allen was last here. it gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the royal air force, to present you with your medal after all these years. a really, really wonderful day. thank you. a proud moment, only 70 years late. thank you so much. oh, that's lovely. thank you. i shall treasure that.

you were eligible for this seven decades ago. yes! how do you feel to be finally receiving that? well, actually, i don't think i deserve it, really. i mean, when i was demobbed, the last thing i thought about was i'd get a medal. i never even thought about a medal. and what will you do with the medal? 0h, i'll wear it. wear it! sleep in it! it was here at raf northolt, in london, where anne marie worked for the women's auxiliary air force. her role, locating ourfighter pilots, supported our air defence system. this room is the birthplace of that system. you felt you were bringing them home safely, you know? 'first radar reports tend toward the probability l of the targets being fighter airfields southeast - and east of london.�* memories of wartime britain and her late husband, anne

is living history. he would have been very proud of me, i'm sure. i'm sure he's looking down from heaven and saying, "well done, anne marie!" as the years go by, so the number of people who lived through world war two dwindles. assuming not all medals take 70 years to be claimed, it's thought anne—marie could be one of the last from that war to be given. cheryl dennis, bbc news, raf northolt. now it's time for a look at the weather. there could be some snow falling and

icy conditions. a bitterly cold night ahead. temperatures dropping to around minus six but subzero wherever you are. through the day on saturday expect some lingering freezing fog reports of reasoning and in particular. more showers around irish sea coast and more snow. top temperatures between freezing and six or seven. it will feel cold with a lingering freezing fog. sunday a little dry weather and further wintry showers across northern scotland and coastal areas but it could be some rain, sleet and snow moving into south—east. it will be a cold day, just above freezing.

the biggest overhaul of banking regulation for 30 years. the government says it wants the uk to be among the most competitive financial sectors in the world. critics say the changes risk forgetting the impact of the financial crash 14 years ago, but the prime minister says there will be safeguards. today's reforms will mean that the industry remains competitive. we can create more jobs, but of course this will always be a safe place where consumers will be protected. we'll have the latest on the proposals and find out what they mean for consumers. also this lunchtime... the american basketball star brittney griner arrives back arrives back in the us after a controversial prisoner swap. more than 100,000 royal mail workers begin a wave of strikes

in the run up to christmas, with millions of pieces of post already caught in a backlog.