this is bbc news. i'm sally bundock, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the european parliament has been engulfed in a corruption scandal, following allegations that qatar bribed eu officials. more than 30 years after the lockerbie disaster, the accused bomb—maker is charged at a court in washington. britain's nhs offers to sequence the entire genetic code of newborn babies to screen them for genetic disorders. all andjoining up — bts starjin begins his mandatory south korean military duty.

a very warm welcome to the programme and we began in brussels today. the european parliament has been engulfed in a corruption scandal, with allegations that qatar bribed eu officials to try to win influence. the president of the european body said the assembly would be launching an internal investigation over the allegations, and so far belgian police have arrested and charged four people. azadeh moshiri reports. possible corruption at the centre of europe. it is an astonishing investigation. police searching through homes and offices in brussels, seizing hundreds of thousands of euros in cash, some even found in a suitcase in a hotel room. investigators had already

suspected the gulf state of buying influence in parliament with cash and gives stop kata denies it is involved in any wrongdoing. —— denies it is involved in any wrongdoing. -- qatar. the police have charged and arrested several people. one of them is eva kaili, and elected european parliament vice president. this is a speech she gave just last month qatar on�*s human rights record. gave just last month qatar on's human rights record.— human rights record. they o-ened human rights record. they opened to _ human rights record. they opened to the _ human rights record. they opened to the world. - human rights record. they opened to the world. still| human rights record. they - opened to the world. still some here according to discriminate them. they bully them and accuse anyone who talks to them of engaging in corruption but still they take their gas, still they take their gas, still they take their gas, still they have the companies profiting there. she still they have the companies profiting there.— profiting there. she has been flat-out expelled _ profiting there. she has been flat-out expelled from - profiting there. she has been flat-out expelled from her. flat—out expelled from her party in greece and stood down from her eyes presidency. it is

art of from her eyes presidency. it is part of the _ from her eyes presidency. it is part of the iceberg _ from her eyes presidency. it 3 part of the iceberg on top of the water but it is a bigger part underwater and we have seen that investigations are continuing. seen that investigations are continuing-— seen that investigations are continuinu. ., ., , continuing. there are now calls for a complete _ continuing. there are now calls for a complete overall- continuing. there are now calls for a complete overall of - continuing. there are now calls for a complete overall of the i for a complete overall of the ethics system as the scandal threatened the halls of european power and legitimacy of all its institutions. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. we can now speak to suzanne lynch who is politico europe's chief brussels correspondent, where she joins us from now. this is turning out to be an enormous scandal erupting in the european parliament? it really is. i think over the last few days, russell's has been gripped by the scandal. it broke on friday night when we heard these arrests were taking place across the city. in fact, we have now been told by prosecutors that this investigation has been ongoing

forfour investigation has been ongoing for four months. yesterday evening, further raids by authorities. we do not know if some documents seized are related to other meps but we understand that we have four people in custody, injail people in custody, in jail here in brussels, awaiting a court hearing most likely scheduled for wednesday.— hearing most likely scheduled for wednesday. when you think about the timing _ for wednesday. when you think about the timing of— for wednesday. when you think about the timing of all- for wednesday. when you think about the timing of all this, - about the timing of all this, right in the middle of the world cup with qatar alleged to be in the thick of all this, your take on how this is being interpreted right now. it is your take on how this is being interpreted right now.- interpreted right now. it is a very bad _ interpreted right now. it is a very bad timing _ interpreted right now. it is a very bad timing on - interpreted right now. it is a very bad timing on the - interpreted right now. it is a very bad timing on the eu. | interpreted right now. it is a l very bad timing on the eu. at the moment it is embroiled in a

tense stand—off with one of its members, hungry back about alleged rule of law failings. so it is now very difficult for the year when it is lecturing other countries or member states about standards and there is a corruption scandal and alleged bribery charges in the heart of one of its institutions. —— hungary. even the a few people you say it is a few bad apples orjust one meps, the fear is this is going to target the reputation of the eu and how could a bribery scandal of the scales, hundreds of thousands of euros in found, how was this allowed to happen within an institution. the? how was this allowed to happen within an institution.— within an institution. they say the will within an institution. they say they will do — within an institution. they say they will do a _ within an institution. they say they will do a thorough - they will do a thorough investigation but confidence to the having that? we investigation but confidence to the having that?— investigation but confidence to

the having that? we now have a criminal investigator, _ the having that? we now have a criminal investigator, criminal i criminal investigator, criminal charges by the belgian police but there are now questions about the eu way of regulating itself. it has received criticism by transparency groups, the lack of and overarching ethical group. it is european commission, counsel, parliament and they have different ways of regulating themselves when it comes to transparency. european parliament has been something of a laggard. does not the same standards. now the pressure is on for the european commission president ursula von der leyen to put a power and will behind creating a body that would act as a deterrent. some people here are shot that an mep, a prominent mep, a group mep, very well—known, one of 14 vice presidency, that she felt in a

position, if it is proven, to be able to again be involved in this kind of a scandal that is what people are very at here. suzanne lynch, thank you for giving us more decal on the story. and just to say that qatar have denied all allegations levelled against it as far as the story is concerned. more details on our website. the libyan man accused of making the bomb that destroyed a us passenger plane over lockerbie, in southern scotland in 1988, has appeared in court. the explosion killed 270 people. abi agila masud is alleged to have been a member of libya's intelligence service. us prosecutors say he won't face the death penalty. our north america editor sarah smith has this report. abi agila masud was told in court what the charges against him are and that he could face life in prison if convicted. he's accused of making the bomb that killed 270 people when it blew up pan am flight

103, over lockerbie in 1988. two years ago, that then us attorney general, william barr, announced formal criminal charges against masud. why is it important that masud is brought to the us and tried in american court? in an american court? from a policy standpoint, i think it's important to let it be known that if you attack americans, you are going to be brought to justice, even if it takes 30 years. when we learned in november of 1991, when we came to the determination that this was the libyans that carried out the attacks, my own personal view was that it was not enough just to go and seek to try the individual agents who were acting on behalf of libya. obviously the intelligence service doesn't go off on its own and do these things. so i felt we had to take direct action against libya and i felt that we should establish the precedent at that point that if you attack, if you engage in this kind of mass atrocity, terroristic

attack on the united states that you will be signing your own death warrant. while masud was in custody in libya on separate charges, he confessed to his part in the lockerbie attack. are you convinced there is enough evidence to guarantee a conviction? that is the standard we use in the department ofjustice which is we don't bring charges unless we feel we have admissible evidence sufficient to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that the individual is guilty. we know there was an interview he gave that to libyan law enforcement in which he described his involvement in the lockerbie bombing. do you have evidence beyond that? have you seen evidence beyond that? i can't get into talking about the evidence i saw while i was attorney general, and i certainly don't know what evidence has been developed in the subsequent time. but there is additional evidence? we did spend time developing additional evidence beyond his interview with libyan law enforcement. abi agila masud will appear

in court again on the 27th of december. a full criminal trial will not begin until next year. sarah smith, bbc news, washington. police in the bahamas have arrested the former head of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange, ftx. they said sam bankman—fried had been detained as a result of criminal charges being filed in the united states. a police statement said washington was likely to seek his extradition. ftx filed for bankruptcy protection last month, exposing investors to possible losses of billions of dollars. we'll have more on this in our business coverage in about 20 minutes' time. for the first time in its history, the nhs will offer to sequence the entire genetic code of newborn babies. 100,000 healthy babies will be included in the trial, which will screen them for hundreds of genetic disorders. with more, here's our medical editor fergus walsh.

nine—year—old i went is full of energy now but used to be unable to walk as a result of a rare genetic condition. it took his parents years to get a diagnosis and the medicine he needed. i diagnosis and the medicine he needed. .,, diagnosis and the medicine he needed. _, ., diagnosis and the medicine he needed. ., ., needed. i lost count of how many doctors _ needed. i lost count of how many doctors and - needed. i lost count of how many doctors and consults| needed. i lost count of how. many doctors and consults we went to see and how many tests they did on him. forfollowing a half years the doctors could not tell us really what to expect. not tell us really what to exect. . not tell us really what to meet-— not tell us really what to exect. ., ., . __ expect. that diagnostic odyssey onl and expect. that diagnostic odyssey only and that — expect. that diagnostic odyssey only and that when _ expect. that diagnostic odyssey only and that when i _ expect. that diagnostic odyssey only and that when i when's - expect. that diagnostic odyssey only and that when i when's and taia genetic code was sequenced — — | taia genetic code was sequenced — — i when. and his parents knew what was wrong with him. it was like winning the lottery, it was better than that — lottery, it was better than that because we know there was a treatable pathway. we know that we — a treatable pathway. we know that we could get him support and he — that we could get him support and he could attend a mainstream school with the support _ mainstream school with the support and have a full and fulfilled _ support and have a full and fulfilled life. it was

incredible.- fulfilled life. it was incredible. ,, �*, ., ., fulfilled life. it was incredible. ,, h ., ., ., incredible. she's not going to like this a _ incredible. she's not going to like this a little _ incredible. she's not going to like this a little bit. _ incredible. she's not going to like this a little bit. this - incredible. she's not going to like this a little bit. this is i like this a little bit. this is our newborn _ like this a little bit. this is our newborn screening - like this a little bit. this is our newborn screening is. like this a little bit. this is - our newborn screening is done now. the heel prick blood tests which this five month old is having. it screens benign genetic disorders including cystic fibrosis. while gene sequencing identify around 200 conditions. — — whole chino sequencing. i conditions. - - whole chino sequencing-— conditions. - - whole chino sequencing. i think it sounds fantastic to _ sequencing. i think it sounds fantastic to catch _ sequencing. i think it sounds fantastic to catch babies - sequencing. i think it sounds fantastic to catch babies that could potentially be ill a little bit later so early. the voluntary _ little bit later so early. the voluntary study _ little bit later so early. the voluntary study will - little bit later so early. the voluntary study will involve 100 thousand healthy newborns who will have their entire dna mapped, looking forjean disorders that emerge in early childhood. if disorders that emerge in early childhood-— childhood. if you can avoid harm i picking _ childhood. if you can avoid harm i picking those - childhood. if you can avoid - harm i picking those conditions up harm i picking those conditions up late and reduce the pressure on families but also that the health system. there is

enormous potential here and in some cases these conditions when the intervention is there, it may save children's life. dna sequencing is to be prohibitively expensive and time consuming no longer. it is possible because machines like this can map out dna more than 3 billion letters of code faster and cheaper than ever before. , ., ., , before. there you go, there is a medicine. _ before. there you go, there is a medicine. the _ before. there you go, there is a medicine. the treatment - before. there you go, there is a medicine. the treatment for the rare thyroid _ a medicine. the treatment for the rare thyroid disorder - a medicine. the treatment for the rare thyroid disorder costs just a few p a day but makes a massive difference to him and his family. we massive difference to him and his family-— massive difference to him and his famil . ~ ., ., ., ., his family. we are moving onto multiles his family. we are moving onto multiples of — his family. we are moving onto multiples of ten. _ his family. we are moving onto multiples of ten. gene - multiples of ten. gene sequences _ multiples of ten. gene sequences does - multiples of ten. gene sequences does raise l multiples of ten. gene - sequences does raise questions identifying children at high risk of cancer later in life but the research team say they will only look at treatable

childhood conditions where early diagnosis may prevent serious harm. ——jean i'm sequencing. fergus walsh, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news — still to come: and then there were four. we look ahead to the first of the world cup semi—finals — as argentina faces croatia. cheering and singing saddam hussein is finished, because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes but they brought a formal end to 3.5 years of conflict — conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border was sealed and silent today. romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre

in timisoara from leaking out. from sex at the white house to a trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteeing bill clinton his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. this is bbc news — the latest headlines: the european parliament has been engulfed in a corruption scandal following allegations that qatar bribed eu officials. women in iraq have been facing rising levels of domestic abuse, with cases of gender—based violence seeing an 125% increase between 2020 and 2021, according to the un. in the kurdistan region, women who feel trapped in abusive households often see suicide as their only way out. the bbc has been granted rare access to one of the main hospitals for burns in iraqi kurdistan, where many

women are treated for self—inflicted burns. bbc arabic�*s carine torbey has the story. women. some are burned so badly. they do not make it. this is the biggest hospital for burns in the kurdistan region. they have treated thousands of patients. most women admitted here so they caught fire by accident but the medical staff told me they identify factors that say otherwise. it is often a suicide attempt. this woman set

herself on fire two years ago. she tells me she felt trapped in an abusive marriage and an unsupportive family. her scars are a constant reminder. the hardest thing _ are a constant reminder. the hardest thing to _ are a constant reminder. the hardest thing to do _ are a constant reminder. tie: hardest thing to do is to are a constant reminder. ti2 hardest thing to do is to try and burn yourself that you do not die. i cry every night and day because i ask myself why did i do this to myself? i did not get anything out of it. i asked her what she felt at that moment. translation: i asked her what she felt at that moment. tuna/mom- moment. translation: i was scared but — moment. translation: i was scared but i — moment. translation: iwas scared but i saw _ moment. translation: iwas scared but i saw no _ moment. translation: i was scared but i saw no way - moment. translation: i was scared but i saw no way out. i scared but i saw no way out. setting oneself on fire as a common practice among women in kurdistan. , , ., ., kurdistan. they use heating oil available in _ kurdistan. they use heating oil available in most _ kurdistan. they use heating oil available in most houses. - kurdistan. they use heating oil available in most houses. thel available in most houses. the head nurse says it is a form of protest. translation: women in our society suffer _ protest. translation: women in our society suffer from _ protest. translation: women in our society suffer from many - our society suffer from many

pressures. they suffer mental and physical abuse. so when they find no relief they set themselves on fire.- they find no relief they set themselves on fire. she has been working _ themselves on fire. she has been working here - themselves on fire. she has been working here for - themselves on fire. she has been working here for overl themselves on fire. she has l been working here for over 20 years. many of the women she has treated didn't make it. as young as 16. families in iraq have suffered years of economic instability and war. experts said his left a normalisation of violence against women. this is not an easy place for women. things have improved in recent years but it is still a daily struggle for most of them because of conditions and social boundaries. back in the hospital, this 16—year—old told me she burned herself for making bread. the stories of the women in this hospital have had a lasting impact on her. and now that her own scars are

healing she wants to become a psychologist. dedicated to helping women overcome their trauma. to the us now, where reports suggest there's been a major breakthrough in the field of nuclearfusion. scientists at this federal lab in california say they may have found a way to generate more energy than the amount they put in. nuclearfusion works by combining, rather than splitting, atomic nuclei. hurdles do still remain but this net energy gain could bring the world one step closer to an abundant source of clean energy. here's anna erickson, professor of nuclear and radiological engineering at georgia tech with more on this breakthrough. fusion fascinates everybody because it is so mysterious but it is all over the place, the sun works with fusion, so it's the most natural thing, but it's difficult because in fusion you put two nuclei together and they are positively charged so if you try to put two magnets together, they tend to repel each other, it can be difficult. same with nuclei, you have

to put a lot of work into make them come together so the nuclear forces take over. once you achieve that, once the two nuclei are close enough, they fuse, hence the word fusion, and that energy is released. and more amounts than traditional fission energy. so why is it so difficult? fission and fusion were discovered at almost the same time in the 1930s. ten years later we had the atomic bomb and nuclear power plants operating on this basis. breaking things is easier than putting them together. fusion still remains ahead of us, so this is a great breakthrough but it's a step forward. thousands of rail workers are beginning a strike across the uk today. the strikes, called by britain's largest rail union, the rmt, will see picket lines at major stations and cancelled or disrupted journeys.

the latest round of rail strikes comes as the uk is experiencing a wave of industrial action on a scale not seen since the 1980s, fuelled by energy and food price hikes. we'll have more on this in our business coverage on to qatar, we're less than 2a hours away from the first semi—final at the world cup where croatia meet argentina. lydia campbell has more. three weeks ago in qatar 32 nations all had the dream of lifting the world cup. one by one they fell away and now just four remain. argentina, croatia, morocco and france are just one match away from the chance to play for football's list prize. on tuesday, argentina face croatia as leonor massey looks to prolong what would be his final world cup. it has been 36 years since

argentina last won the trophy. one fall year before that when mac was born. but there are a few teams to have the resilience of croatia. they are tough to break down and ruthless in a penalty shootout. if you want to beat them you'd better do it before it gets to that. and they can take confidence from their last meeting, a win over argentina on the way to the world cup final. translation: we have faith that everything _ final. translation: we have faith that everything will - final. translation: we have faith that everything will go i faith that everything will go well. it is not easy to get here. we had to play many games but since the world cup in russia we are doing well. there has been no _ russia we are doing well. there has been no story _ russia we are doing well. there has been no story quite - russia we are doing well. there has been no story quite like - has been no story quite like the moroccan story at this world cup. they have already made history by becoming the first african country to make it to this stage of the competition. and the heartwarming moments like these have become iconic. they have already defeated belgium spain

and portugal on their way to the semis but next up will be their biggest challenge yet. france are the reigning champions and are attempting to do something that has only happened twice before by winning back to back world cups. to stop them, morocco will have to do. the top goal scorer, mbappe who was always capable of the unbelievable. the final is nowjust one game away. missing out now can crush away. missing out now can crush a nation. but only two can remain to play for optimum glory. the eldest member of the south korean boyband, bts, is starting his mandatory military duty on tuesday. jin is the first member to enlist since the group went on hiatus this year. the hugely popular group say they'll re—form in several years' time after all seven members have completed their national service. here's katie silver.

jin, the oldest member of bts has entered compulsory literary service breaking hearts across korea and around the world. he posted this photo of his newly acquired buzz cut. the caption, it looks cuter than i expected. with south korea technically still at war with its northern neighbour, all able—bodied men are required to serve for at least 18 months and must enlist by the age of 28. last year the band was given a special exemption to defer their service for two years. officials said they increase the value of the national brand. but now, withjin reaching 30 years old the time has come. he has begun five years training at a boot camp near the north korean border before he will be signed to a frontline unit. his other band members are to follow. it has

left many wondering what the future hold for their favourite band and can it survive this hiatus? translation: it band and can it survive this hiatus? translation: it was an active grouo _ hiatus? translation: it was an active group starting _ hiatus? translation: it was an active group starting with - hiatus? translation: it was an active group starting with jin - active group starting withjin and i am aware that all the other members are going to do their military service. i am a little worried that the break will be prolonged. translation: i saw lots will be prolonged. translation: i saw lots of _ will be prolonged. translation: i saw lots of articles _ will be prolonged. translation: i saw lots of articles about - i saw lots of articles about the military duty of bts and i realise they are finally going and now i also think about how well it can be maintained if one member is missing. translation: iii one member is missing. translation:— one member is missing. translation: in fact as a representative _ translation: in fact as a representative artist - translation: in fact as a representative artist of. translation: in fact as a | representative artist of our country i think it is unfortunate that they are going to have a break of several years sitting on the other hand it is a mandatory duty as a citizen of our country. so after doing it well i hope he can be reunited again with the other members. for can be reunited again with the other members.— can be reunited again with the other members. for the army of bts fans it _ other members. for the army of bts fans it will _ other members. for the army of bts fans it will be _ other members. for the army of

bts fans it will be a _ other members. for the army of bts fans it will be a long - other members. for the army of bts fans it will be a long 18 - bts fans it will be a long 18 months to see if the band will come back together. and business news is next. see you in a moment. hello there. for many of us, the cold weather will last for the rest of this week and we had some sunshine on monday, but it was a really cold start to the day. temperatures in royal deeside, braemar got down to minus 15.7, the lowest temperature recorded in the uk for over a year. and after such a cold start to the day, temperatures only got up to minus 9.3 in braemar. that made it the coldest day for over a decade, according to provisional data from the met office. the cold weather has been brought in by an area of high pressure over greenland. that's losing its grip. heading into the weekend there are signs of something of a change across south—western areas, with some of us seeing a return to milder weather.

before we get there, over the next few hours we could have a few issues around with ice patches around particularly for northern ireland, northern and eastern scotland, down the eastern side of england. mist and fog also causing problems in north—east england, the midlands, wales, lincolnshire. visibility in a few spots down to 100 metres in places. we sometimes see some of our lowest temperatures at about nine o'clock this time of year. that temperature overnight low record in braemar is under threat. it has certainly been very cold over recent hours. throughout the day there will be a fair bit of sunshine, the brighter fields generally through east anglia and south—east england, but still some further showers falling as snow across northern scotland to watch out for. cold for just about everyone, but we are watching the weather system just move into the english channel. we might even see a bit of winteriness from this, something we are keeping close eye on. away from that, looking at the weather picture into the middle part of the week, we will continue with those cold northerly winds, bringing lots of snow showers to northern areas of scotland. and as the winds pick up here, we are looking at some blizzards and drifting up over the high ground, and elsewhere wednesday will bring a largely fine and sunny day, a few showers coming down our coastal areas at times. some of these could be wintry. but for most it's a sunny

but really cold kind of day, with temperatures not changing a great deal through the rest of this week. we are looking ahead later in the week and moving on into the weekend for that change to milder weather conditions. the transition might bring some rain and some snow for one or two of you for a time and eventually south—westerly winds will bring milder air. it looks like the change will head in in time for the weekend. you can find out more about that where you live by looking at the bbc weather app on android or apple.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. wages are rising fast, but at what cost? as rail workers begin fresh strike action we look at employment pressures here in the uk ftx crypto boss sam bankman—fried is arrested in the bahamas, facing us criminal charges. the price still isn't right! eu energy ministers meet again to try and agree on a cap on the price of gas and will wales become the latest destination to levy a tourist tax? for residents it's the last chance to have their say.