this is bbc news. i'm sally bundock with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. one step away — defending champions france and the tournament's surprise team, morocco, prepare to go head—to—head for the right to play argentina in sunday's world cup final. the top gear presenter freddie flintoff is air—lifted to hospital after an accident while filming the bbc motoring show. a watershed moment for the gay rights movement in the united states, as president biden signs into law a bill giving federal protection to same—sex and inter—racial marriages. today's a good day! cheering.

a day america takes a vital step towards equality. torrential rain strikes portugal for the second time in a week — causing severe flooding in over a dozen districts. we have two warehouses and they are completely flooded. one of them was 70 centimetres of water. we have a lot of damage. and, we meet the members of a british swimming club, trying to encourage more people from black and asian communities to take the plunge. hello and welcome to the programme. breaking news because we are receiving news from ukraine,

from the capital kyiv, in the last hour there have been last taking place in the capital city. taking place in the capital ci . ~ , , , ., taking place in the capital ci .~ ,, , ., ., , city. witnesses who have been s-ueakin city. witnesses who have been speaking to — city. witnesses who have been speaking to reuters _ city. witnesses who have been speaking to reuters said - speaking to reuters said explosions were heard in the early hours of this morning. there were no immediate official confirmation of the blast in the emergency services maps show the capital in the region surrounding it has been under air region surrounding it has been underair raid siren region surrounding it has been under air raid siren alerts are for about 20 minutes now. the mayor of the city is warning as well that there has been a lot of attacks and that air defence systems were at work. that is the governor of the kyiv region. we will connect with our team based in the capital shortly to bring you more detail when we can do thatis you more detail when we can do that is the situation in the ukraine. argentina are one game away from winning theirfirst world cup in more than 30 years. they knocked croatia out

in the semi—finals in qatar, winning by three goals to one. lionel messi scored the opener and was instrumental in setting up the second and third goals, sparking scenes ofjoy outside the stadium. argentina's opponents will be either france or morocco who face each other later. the final takes place on sunday. tom brada reports. morocco's fairytale run to the semifinals is electrified the foot falling world. they've already made history by becoming the first african or arab team to make the last four of the tournament, but they will be hungry for much, much more. ~ ,, �* more. translation: rocco remains are _ more. translation: rocco remains are only _ more. translation: rocco remains are only team - remains are only team in this tournament. it is a great pride brass africans. —— morocco. i am very confident, i think they will beat france. it am very confident, i think they will beat france.— will beat france. it is tantalising _ will beat france. it is tantalising on - will beat france. it is tantalising on many. will beat france. it is - tantalising on many levels was up tantalising on many levels was up on the one hand you have the current with superstar striker kylian mbappe leading the line,

taking on one of the tournament's underdogs. translation: this is great news. we will be able to go much further in this world cup and it will be really great. i can't wait to see the final. but there is a historical edge, too. on theirjourney through the competition, morocco has defeated a succession of european powers. oldham, spain and portugal. now they will aim to overcome france. a country which controlled the north african nation more than four decades in the 20th century. i haven't slept well. i packed my luggage and went to the airport. i wish our team success against france, and why not write our name in history? whoever wins will take on argentina claimed a 3—0 victory over croatia on monday. it was a title of the talisman �*s. luka modric pitted against leo massey. it was leonardo —— lien

or messy who did it. the door but —— jawdropping moment was in the 69th minute when he toyed with one of the stars, put it —— pulling away in the penalty area and serving it up on a plate for his elated teammates. it is this foot falling sorcery which morocco france will to contain. if not, then lionel messi stands a good chance of adding a world cup to his already extraordinary trophy cabinet. tom brada, bbc news. let's cross live to doha now and speak to french football journalist julien laurens. lovely to see you. it is such a big day for you, for france, for all of the fans, but let's first of all talk about that game last night. croatia, argentina. it was a nail—biter, wasn't it? i was watching on the edge of my seat. i wasn't it? i was watching on the edge of my seat.- wasn't it? i was watching on the edge of my seat. i was at the edge of my seat. i was at

the stadium _ the edge of my seat. i was at the stadium and _ the edge of my seat. i was at the stadium and i _ the edge of my seat. i was at the stadium and i have - the edge of my seat. i was at the stadium and i have to - the stadium and i have to say it was extraordinary to be there, to see with your own eyes, that kind of form by messi, and the stadium was full of argentina fans as well. there must be 40,000 or 45,000 here in doha and yesterday the stadium was all a light blue and white. it was incredible. the singing, the chanting. seeing messi and that form, maybe some of the greatest performances we have seen in the world cup maybe since maradona, always —— also for argentina. maradona, always -- also for argentina-— maradona, always -- also for araentina. ., ., ., ., ., argentina. you say maradona and pele and players _ argentina. you say maradona and pele and players of _ argentina. you say maradona and pele and players of old. - argentina. you say maradona and pele and players of old. for - pele and players of old. for this, for two, this is a challenge to win. it this, for two, this is a challenge to win. it will -- he will be 36 _ challenge to win. it will -- he will be 36 in _ challenge to win. it will -- he will be 36 in the _ challenge to win. it will -- he will be 36 in the summer- challenge to win. it will -- he will be 36 in the summer and | will be 36 in the summer and this is the last one. for the

first time maybe a really good run. a balanced team. the rest was a bit wonky. this time it is all good and if he doesn't win it now on sunday and i don't think he will win it again so he has got a meeting with history for sure on sunday. with history for sure on sunday-— with history for sure on sunda. . ~ ., ., sunday. talking of a meeting with history. _ sunday. talking of a meeting with history, we _ sunday. talking of a meeting with history, we have - sunday. talking of a meeting with history, we have that. with history, we have that today with morocco versus france. for morocco this is huge, in the semifinals, for north africa, for africa, this is massive, isn't it? it north africa, for africa, this is massive, isn't it?- is massive, isn't it? it is a fairytale _ is massive, isn't it? it is a fairytale story _ is massive, isn't it? it is a fairytale story if _ is massive, isn't it? it is a fairytale story if you - is massive, isn't it? it is a fairytale story if you want | is massive, isn't it? it is a i fairytale story if you want in this world cup that nobody really expected. we knew they were talented that it is a difference between being talented and going all this way to the semi—final and maybe to the final and maybe winning, like you said. no other african team ever qualified for a quarter—final. no moroccan team have ever gone that far, no arabic team either. it is a huge surprise, it is a miracle, they have shown against spain,

portugal, germany, that they can compete with the best that they will have another run tonight. they will have another run toniaht. �* ., , tonight. and we will all be extremely _ tonight. and we will all be extremely nervous - tonight. and we will all be i extremely nervous watching tonight. and we will all be - extremely nervous watching this game. you in particular! what you think the outcome will be? kylian mbappe is one who everyone is conscious of, but the stadium will be packed with moroccan fans. they are in force there?— moroccan fans. they are in force there? yes, they are, numbers — force there? yes, they are, numbers as _ force there? yes, they are, numbers as well. _ force there? yes, they are, numbers as well. also - force there? yes, they are, numbers as well. also the l force there? yes, they are, - numbers as well. also the ones who have been travelling since the last few days. it is going to be incredible and i do feel like being in morocco. the french will have to be very strong and very patient as well because morocco have the best defence in the tournament was not they defend, really, really well. if kylian mbappe is on form and i think... but we thought the same about spain and portugal and morocco qualified every time. they have been amazing and defied all the

odds. , . ., odds. they have indeed. so what do ou odds. they have indeed. so what do you think _ odds. they have indeed. so what do you think sunday _ odds. they have indeed. so what do you think sunday will- odds. they have indeed. so what do you think sunday will look - do you think sunday will look like? is it france? argentina? do you daresay? i would love for the moroccans to see their team go into the final and going one step again closer to the world cup stopped i think france will be too strong tonight, they will qualify and we will have a messi and kylian mbappe final. four years ago when france 14—3, this time it could be the final, it could be messi's last ever international, last ever world cup game, as we said before. and france could win back to back for the first time in 60 years. nobody says brazil in 1962 won the world cup back to back. , . , , ., ~ ., back. julian, we will speak to ou back. julian, we will speak to you once _ back. julian, we will speak to you once again. _ back. julian, we will speak to you once again. thank - back. julian, we will speak to you once again. thank you i back. julian, we will speak to i you once again. thank you again for your analysis on how things are going in qatar. let's get some of the day's other news. the authorities in the democratic republic of congo now say at least 120 people have been killed in floods in the capital kinshasa. there are reports of homes

collapsing and major roads underwater. the government has declared three days of national mourning. the founder of the collapsed ftx cryptocurrency exchange, sam bankman—fried, has been remanded in custody in the bahamas after being accused of one of the biggest financialfrauds in us history. the us authorities have filed civil and criminal charges against him. he'll face an extradition hearing in february. a woman accused of killing her two children then hiding their bodies in suitcases has entered not guilty pleas at a court in new zealand. the woman, who hasn't been publicly identified, was extradited from south korea last month. peru's defence minister says the armed forces will take control of key infrastructure such as airports as protests continue against the ousting of the former president, pedro castillo. earlier, a court rejected an appeal by mr castillo to be released following his detention on charges of rebellion and conspiracy. figures released later

are expected to show that the rate of inflation in the uk slowed down in the year to november, compared with the year to october. analysts believe the rise in the cost of living will be 10.9% — down from 11.1%. what does that mean in terms of what the bank of —— bank of england will do next? is affecting most people's bank balances across the uk. we will have that discussion with the leading economists in our izdhar �*s coverage and also looking at the strike action. —— in today's business coverage. all of that will be talked about in around 20 minutes' time. the former england cricket captain, andrew �*freddie' flintoff — who now presents the bbc�*s top gear — has been involved in a crash while filming the show. he's having treatment in hospital.

it's understood that his injuries aren't life threatening. our reporter, mark lobel has been following the story. mark, what more can you tell us? , ~ ., ., us? sally, we know that the accident _ us? sally, we know that the accident happened - us? sally, we know that the accident happened on - us? sally, we know that the i accident happened on tuesday morning at the aerodrome in surrey. that is the test track. the 45—year—old, freddie flintoff, the father of four, was not travelling at high speed at the time of the accident and as you said, the injuries are not said to be life—threatening to stop in fact, the bbc has released a statement, the producers of top gear, and they said they were crew medics attending the scene immediately and further details will be released in due course and on social media for this pioneer of diversity on the pitch. there were lots of messages for him to have a speedy recovery.— speedy recovery. they are wishinu speedy recovery. they are wishing him _ speedy recovery. they are wishing him well, - speedy recovery. they are wishing him well, as - speedy recovery. they are wishing him well, as we . speedy recovery. they are | wishing him well, as we all are, but as you say that is all we know at the moment in terms

of how he is doing and his recovery prospect �*s. this is a programme that is extremely popular. many people watch it worldwide. but it is high risk. we watch them do all sorts of stunts, don't we?— we watch them do all sorts of stunts, don't we? that is right and they have _ stunts, don't we? that is right and they have been _ stunts, don't we? that is right and they have been lots - stunts, don't we? that is right and they have been lots of - and they have been lots of accidents in the past. most notably richard hammond, one of the former presenters in 2016, on a rocket car crash was up i think it was travelling around 288 mph. he ended up in a coma in leeds and recently was describing the fact he could remember what he was thinking during that coma. he remembered a dream, he said, when he was approaching a tree in the lake district, part of the lake he knows well, and he was approaching this tree and it felt like he was a naughty teenager and he felt like he could continue to walk around the tree and suddenly turned around and it was at that moment that his wife believes that she told him, she had asked permission to scream at him in the hospital she started screaming and that is when he

came back. he thought that would be the last thought. he also blamed the morphine for this incredible dreaming that he had. he this incredible dreaming that he had. , , ., , he had. he sustained serious head injuries. _ he had. he sustained serious head injuries. exactly. - he had. he sustained serious head injuries. exactly. he- he had. he sustained serious| head injuries. exactly. he has head in'uries. exactly. he has had head injuries. exactly. he has had those _ head injuries. exactly. he has had those injuries _ head injuries. exactly. he has had those injuries since - head injuries. exactly. he has had those injuries since then. j had those injuries since then. it was the same airfield that three years ago letty flintoff had another accident —— freddie flintoff. he was on a motorised bike. he walked away from that unharmed. many people are hoping that they will be the same result from this latest accident. same result from this latest accident-— same result from this latest accident. ~ , . �* ., accident. absolutely. we're all wishinu accident. absolutely. we're all wishing him — accident. absolutely. we're all wishing him well. _ accident. absolutely. we're all wishing him well. thank - accident. absolutely. we're all wishing him well. thank you, i wishing him well. thank you, mark, for bringing up to speed on that. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the british swimming club — trying to enourage more people from black and asian communities to take the plunge. 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: a watershed moment for the gay rights movement in the united states — as president, biden, signs into law a bill giving federal protection to same—sex and inter—racial marriages. the top gear presenter �*freddie' flintoff has been air—lifted to hospital after an accident while filming the bbc motoring show. we're also reminding you of the news we are hearing from from the capital city kyiv, explosions, the governor of the region saying our defence of at work, there is no immediate official confirmation over the number of lasts but emergency services saver capital and region surrounding, having received air raid alerts, that is happening in kyiv at the moment. president biden has signed into law a bill which gives federal protection

to same—sex and interracial marriages in the united states. democrats secured the passage of the legislation weeks before surrendering control of the house of representatives to their republican opponents. speaking at the signing ceremony at the white house, the us president said it was an historic day. today's a good day! a day america takes a vital step toward equality, toward liberty and justice, notjust for some, but for everyone, everyone! we are creating a nation where decency, dignity and love are recognised, honoured and protected. so, how significant is this legislation? here's our north america correspondent, peter bowes. it means in practice that there is now federal or country wide recognition of same—sex and interracial marriages.

it was prompted — and it may seem like there was a rush to get through congress — it was prompted by the decision of the supreme court early this year to deny the constitutional rights of women in this country to have an abortion. there have been some concerns that the supreme court, a conservative leaning supreme court, could at some point in the future make a similar decision that would essentially overturn a previous decision, giving the rights of same—sex couples, interracial couples, to get married. it was interesting that there was bipartisan support for this bill. now a law, that is all of the democrats and enough republicans to get it passed as a law. torrential rain has battered portugal for the second time in a week, causing severe flooding in lisbon and 13 other districts. the red alert has now been reduced to orange,

but residents are still being advised to be cautious and not to leave home unless absolutely necessary. wendy urquhart reports. from the air, the extent of the flooding is clear to see. the flatlands around lisbon are submerged and the water is seeping into every crevice of the city. in some places it is thigh deep, roads, tunnels and bridges are cut—off and homes and businesses are completely waterlogged. hundreds of residents have been forced to evacuate their homes and many others are stranded. but they will have to be patient, the emergency services are dealing with more than 1400 calls for help in lisbon alone. translation: we have | two warehouses and they are completely flooded. one of them with 70cm of water.

we have a lot of damage and it is recurrent. we just do not know what to do anymore. translation: it wouldn't matter how many water pumps _ we had here. with the high tide and this amount of water, we still would not be of able to avoid this. for the second time in less than week, locals are clearing debris, water and mud from their homes and businesses. the authorities insist work on a five—kilometre drainage tunnel to prevent flooding in the future will begin soon but that won't be soon enough for residents of the capital because more rain is forecast later this week. wendy urquhart, bbc news. the first in a new generation of european weather satellites has been launched, which meteorologists hope will allow them to better predict violent storms. the satellite — meteosat—12 — took off from french guiana on an ariane rocket. it will monitor the atmosphere across europe, the middle east and africa, when fully operational, sending huge amounts of data back to earth. the multibillion—dollar system includes a camera to detect lightning, which can indicate violent wind gusts, heavy rain and hail. it replaces technology that is

more than twenty years old. the physical and mental health benefits of swimming are well known but — at the moment — not enough people from black and asian communities are taking the plunge. just 5% of black adults and 20% of black children in england are regular swimmers. the black swimming association has been working hard to reverse that trend — and now it's picked up a national lottery award for project of the year. miriam walker—khan has been finding out more. only 5% of adults from african, caribbean and asian communities in england swim. the black swimming association was set up to change that and to make the sport more diverse. now the work they are doing is award—winning. work they are doing is award-winning.- work they are doing is award-winning. work they are doing is award-winninu. ~ , ., award-winning. we started off as for strangers _ award-winning. we started off as for strangers essentially, i as for strangers essentially, you had one person to diverse acquire the aquatics sector make sure people like us where

water is safe and knew what to do when they're an emergency in the water so to grow so quickly over the last 2.5 years, it's just fantastic. the sector wasn't doing enough and we believe there was a space available for these types of conversations and perspectives to be heard stop so what other conversations that need to be have what other barriers or stereotypes that mean there are so few black and asian people is swim. myths about bone density, people are better at running, land sports, modesty issues particularly for south asian women. these are serious valid issues. it's not something you can go, never mind that, just get in the water, things we need to unpack and help people move past to get in the water. find and help people move past to get in the water. and although swimming _ get in the water. and although swimming competitively - get in the water. and although swimming competitively and i get in the water. and although l swimming competitively and for fun is a huge part of the work, there is also a more serious issue. according to the world

health organization, the risk of drowning is higher in ethnic minority communities. learning how to swim — minority communities. learning how to swim and _ minority communities. learning how to swim and be _ minority communities. learning how to swim and be safe - minority communities. learning how to swim and be safe in - minority communities. learning how to swim and be safe in the | how to swim and be safe in the water is a life—saving skill. knowing what to do if you are a friend of yours are in water and are in danger can save a life, no you to call, whether that's the coastguard or the fire service, depending on which part of the country you are in, can also contribute to saving a life small this knowledge, trying to raise awareness of, can make a difference between somebody coming home and somebody not coming home and somebody not coming home. coming home and somebody not coming home-— coming home and somebody not coming home. when we get adults in the water _ coming home. when we get adults in the water learning _ coming home. when we get adults in the water learning to _ coming home. when we get adults in the water learning to swim, - in the water learning to swim, and you — in the water learning to swim, and you talk about people who had serious trauma, like nearly downing — had serious trauma, like nearly downing -- _ had serious trauma, like nearly downing —— drowning, but their face _ downing —— drowning, but their face in — downing —— drowning, but their face in water, was having a shower. _ face in water, was having a shower, it'sjust about face in water, was having a shower, it's just about water familiarisation, feeling comfortable in the environment and understanding what it feels like and — and understanding what it feels like and eventually they do adapt _ like and eventually they do adapt in a place with our learning _ adapt in a place with our learning to swim. it�*s

adapt in a place with our learning to swim. it's clear that the — learning to swim. it's clear that the bsa _ learning to swim. it's clear that the bsa is _ learning to swim. it's clear that the bsa is changing . that the bsa is changing people's lives and the fact that the public voted for this award shows just how much their work is valued. before you go — we heard from the streaming giant netflix today. it says the first three episodes of prince harry and meghan's series — released last week — racked up more viewing time in its first week than any other documentary on the platform. more than 28 million households watched it. more episodes of the series are hitting netflix on thursday. the prince and princess of wales have released their official christmas card image. prince william and catherine are pictured here walking with their children on a sunny day in norfolk this year. it has become an annual tradition for the royals to reveal which of their favourite photographs they have chosen for the cards. there are more images on a website so do take a look.

let's remind you what is currently going on in the capital of ukraine, kyiv, as we've mentioned explosions were heard in the early hours in the capital city, reporting the capital city, reporting the capital in the region has been under air capital in the region has been underair raid siren capital in the region has been under air raid siren alert now for at least an hour, the governor of the region is saying air defence systems were at work. of course, we have our team based in the capital with them. next year on bbc news, we have got all the top business. we will have the final meeting of the year. you central bank has been aggressive in raising rates. what will you do today. here in the uk strike action is well under way. we'll be talking about the impact of the economy and also the wiggle

room the uk government has if any to raise the pay of public sector workers. all that coming up sector workers. all that coming up in a moment. hello there. after the coldest night of the year on tuesday night, some parts struggled to get above freezing, for example, in glasgow, it was —5 celsius all day because of the fog, and it was barely much more than —2 celsius in edinburgh, well below the average. and that cold weather stays with us throughout the day on wednesday and thursday. there's just the hint, though, that by the time we get to the weekend, something milder may well come back in off the atlantic. but plenty of winter hazards between now and then. widespread harsh frost and ice risk, widespread snow showers, freezing fog once again to watch out for. and we've got this band of rain with inland sleet

and snow in the south, and you can see that stretches across much of southern england. a blast of northerly winds continues to bring snow showers in across the north and the east of scotland. one or two filtering down the north sea coast as well and into northern ireland, but bitterly cold, minus ten over the snowfields and, of course, clearly icy where we've had the showers, where the showers continue, see through the day in eastern areas. but blizzards in the north, gusts of 60—70 miles an hour for the far north of scotland, northern isles, those showers just keep coming. in the south, hopefully this area of rain, sleet and snow will pull away, but leaving things very treacherous and icy, and temperatures will do well to get, again, a couple of degrees above freezing. one or two snow showers for northern ireland, but plenty of sunshine here, add on that brisk wind, particularly in the north and east, and it will feel colder still, colder than those temperatures will suggest. then as we go through the night and into thursday, we pick up quite a lot of cloud in southern areas.

we've still got those showers and low pressure moving down the north sea, enhancing those showers for northern and eastern areas. but, again, really cold overnight, possibly less fog on thursday morning, although there could be some in the south in particular because we've got a stronger wind. but those ease off again, thursday sees the showers mostly in the north and in the east. we're watching out towards the atlantic for friday. so do stay tuned to the forecast. but some good spells of sunshine take temperatures marginally a little higher. but we could have a quite persistent spell of snow in the north on friday and something milder potentially into the weekend, as we've talked about, but with it, there'll be a transient spell of snow as well. so to keep up to date on the temperatures where you are, you can head to the app. the warnings are on the website, too.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. with food prices rising faster than at any time in 45 years we'll look ahead to the latest uk inflation data. in the us, inflation is coming down but it's still over 7% year on year and consumers are feeling the pinch. like, through the reef. it is insane. gas prices are, like, awful. —— through the roof. so what will the us central bank announce later today? will it ease up on rate hikes as hoped? no bail for ftx fraud suspect sam bankman—fried — american prosecutors say extradition proceedings are under way.