a very warm welcome to bbc news with me mark lobel. here are our top stories: allez les bleus — but it wasn't plain sailing as france reaches the world cup final — where the defending champions will take on argentina for a showpiece final on sunday. translation: iwas scared until the first| goal and in the first half, it was a bit tense with the free kicks. translation: it is huge i and twice in a row, it's rare. didier deschamps becomes a legend even more than he is defeat ends the romantic notions of this tournament's surprise package, morocco going even further than they already had in becoming the first african country to reach the semi—finals. peru declares a state of emergency as supporters of the former president protest after he's impeached, and detained over corruption

allegations. south korean women fear they could lose their hard—fought gains on gender equality as the president threatens to close the ministry for gender equality. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. let's kick off in qatar where france has shattered morocco�*s hopes of becoming the first african and arab nation to reach the world cup finals. they put up quite a fight, dominated possession but a clinical france won two—nil. the defending champions will now meet argentina in the final this sunday. it's quite simply a salivating prospect for fans of football. both teams are hoping for their third world cup trophy.

let's start our coverage with olly foster in doha. what a final it should be on sunday between the reigning champions france, and lionel messi's argentina. the french winning 2—0 here in the second of at the el beit stadium against morocco. the moroccans have been the story of the world cup but it's the end of the road for them. the french took the lead very early on. theo hernandez with a scissor kick from a very tight angle after a kylian mbappe shot had deflected but morocco an overhead kick at the base of the post. france were always in the game here. they had seen morocco�*s progress throughout this tournament, finishing top of their group ahead of croatia and belgium, beating spain,

beating the portuguese, leaving cristiano ronaldo in tears so france were on their guard against morocco. it wasn't until later on that they scored their second goal inside the last ten minutes. the substitute with pretty much his touch of the game. he benefited from another mazey bit of work from kylian mbappe and it was his deflected shot that fell to him at the far post. randal kolo muani with his first international goal. france winning 2—0, even in injury time. morocco pushed for a goal they deserved at this historic march to the semifinals, the first african nation here, the first arab—speaking nation to get this far, that is at an end, although they will have to live with themselves because they have another match to play, the one no nation wants to play at the world cup, the third fourth play—off. they've got croatia on saturday and ijust hope for all

who made their way to qatar, after this incredible run that morocco have had, that they hang around they pack out the stadium to give morocco a truly great send—off. but our attention focuses on sunday as we look to the reigning champions, france, to see if they can make it back—to—back titles. no team has done that since brazil back in �*58 and �*62. or will it be a third title for argentina? france against argentina, it should be a brilliant final or, as we are going to call it, over the next three days or so, it will be messi against mbappe. as olly said morocco were never looked out of the match but they are out and that's led to heartbreak for moroccans. translation: it is huge i

and twice in a row, it's rare. didier deschamps becomes a legend even more than he is now, that is crazy, just crazy. that would be crazy, just crazy. translation: iwas scared until the first| goal and the first half was a bit tense with with the free kicks. the second half was slightly better but the rest of the match was complicated until we scored the second one and that was a relief but otherwise, it was tense. translation: i was from morocco so i'm a bit - disappointed, i think they play better than they did, but... i translation: the french deserve a third star - but the moroccans were strong, really strong. we are still happy and there you go. j long live france. as olly said morocco were never looked out of the match but they are out and that's led to heartbreak for moroccans. they were hoping for one more huge upset in this tournament. morocco's journey to the semis stunned just about everyone — they've only conceeded one goal — and that was an own goal.

that's of course before the game with france. mayenijones is in casablanca for us. they started off hopeful. as supporters in this historic cafe sang the national anthem, beaming with pride at being the first african nation to make it to a world cup semifinal. but soon they grew frustrated as the team struggled to score against france. while the match is coming to a close and fans are leaving the cafe, there is so much disappointment and frustration. supporters in this historic cafe were optimistic at first, but soon grew frustrated as their team struggled to score against france. unfortunately france scored since the beginning, we lost our captain in the first 20 minutes, but still we managed to fight, we managed to fight until the end.

all players, they played good. they really tried. but they were tired, a lot of games, a lot of stress of the whole game, the whole world cup. ithink... yeah, "dima maghreb. " that means "always morocco". across the city, people watched the game anxiously. this team has galvanised support across generations and in the wider african region. as the dust settles and they recover from the disappointment, moroccans may look back at the historical performance with pride. mayeni jones, bbc news, casablanca. so morocco's made their mark but all eyes are unquestionably now on sunday's final. i'm joined now by football expert, tim vickery to look ahead at what to expect. firstly, france and argentina last met in the world cup for that fight for the call final place. there was talk that

mbappe was the one to watch and it might be messi's last world cup. what has changed since france when that really encounter? are they progressed over the last four years? argentina after that world cup appointed a rookie coach had never taken charge of a senior team his life, i remember diego maradona saying, "have we gone mad, he is a nice lad but is not even fit to direct traffic let alone all team," and here we are four years later, argentina, this has been crucial, the whole room i'll expect the whole morale at the moment, they won the copa america, maybe was ill. matters brought an element of peace. —— they beat brazil. that has brought an element piece for messi's last dance, it is very between sometimes a wonderful party at other times it looks as if everyone on the stadium

the pitch is on the verge of a collective nervous breakdown. argentina would love this, it's been a real rollercoaster, a shock to arabia the first game, so one side you got argentina, with all this emotion, and on the other, you got a french side conscious of their own status of world champions, not fazed by the extraordinary noise that the moroccan fans meet a few hours ago. in a french side looking to make history because to world cup is in a row have been won by italy in a row have been won by italy in the 30s, brazil, 58 and 62 but the second one has never been one outside the team's wanted so france will make history if they win their third world cup on sunday. argentina will also win the third if they win and messi rises in the pantheon because then no—one can say he doesn't have a world cup winner �*s medalfor cup winner �*s medal for argentina. cup winner �*s medalfor

argentina. i cup winner 's medal for argentina.— cup winner 's medal for argentina. cup winner 's medal for araentina. ., ., ., argentina. i was going to ask ou argentina. i was going to ask you about — argentina. i was going to ask you about that _ argentina. i was going to ask you about that because - argentina. i was going to ask you about that because a - argentina. i was going to ask i you about that because a friend messaged me saying, messi, it's time for him to cement his legacy, put to bed the ridiculousness that our rinaldo fans but france only had 39% of possession in this match, how do you prepare to fight a team like that that have such little possession and yet are so clinical in finishing? france, they quite — clinical in finishing? france, they quite like _ clinical in finishing? france, they quite like this. - clinical in finishing? france, they quite like this. they i they quite like this. they played a little bit this way against england, they were uncomfortable at times in the game. don't remind us. i'm sorry, it's my right as well. where you go, i go. but they got such attacking talent. it's notjust mbappe. griesmann has beenin notjust mbappe. griesmann has been in some ways the most valuable player, giroud, and then there is mbappe. we are talking from a south american angle, mbappe is probably the

closest thing we've seen to the great pele and all these years since he hung up his boots, he is really an extraordinary player and detoured ——he tore argentina to pieces four years ago. is older, wiser, stronger, faster, is a huge question. the argentine defence hasn't been tested. certainly hasn't come up tested. certainly hasn't come up against anyone at this level of talent in the tournament so far. at of talent in the tournament so far. �* , ., ., far. a huge question for you tim, what — far. a huge question for you tim, what is _ far. a huge question for you tim, what is the _ far. a huge question for you tim, what is the score - far. a huge question for you| tim, what is the score going far. a huge question for you i tim, what is the score going to be on sunday? i'd love to see argentina do it but i'm only going to bet on that with your money, ifavour france going to bet on that with your money, i favour france for this one stop france will have too much, mbappe and co will be celebrating. we much, mbappe and co will be celebrating.— much, mbappe and co will be celebrating._ we| celebrating. we will see. we will find out _ celebrating. we will see. we will find out soon _ celebrating. we will see. we will find out soon whether. celebrating. we will see. we l will find out soon whether you are right or wrong. the government of peru has declared a thirty—day nationwide state of emergency, as supporters of the ousted president, pedro castillo, continue to block some of the country's main roads and airports. seven people — including five

teenagers — have been killed in clashes with security forces. mr castillo was impeached last wednesday for alleged corruption and detained after attempting to dissolve congress. for more on this let's cross live to lima now and speak to denisse rodriguez—olivari, she's a lecturer in politics at the pontifical catholic university of peru. thanks forjoining us after another 2a tumultuous hours in your country. do you think the government imposing this state of emergency from spreading behalf of the regions and spreading further into the capital. it will dampen the protesters. i capital. it will dampen the protesters-_ protesters. i think they're auoin protesters. i think they're going to _ protesters. i think they're going to be _ protesters. i think they're going to be mixed - protesters. i think they're| going to be mixed results. protesters. i think they're l going to be mixed results. i think it's probably going to control some of it, focused on the highways convert overall,

it will create a lot of discontent for many of the protesters. let's have in mind that a lot are based in the regions. so they are feeling like they are being shut down and they are not being heard. it's almost quite draconian to limit free movement. there is talk of curfews. how people where you are to all of this? terribly. in lima, where most of the violence has taken place, talking about spending another christmas, another new year's eve without the possibility of going to our relatives homes without being able to move freely. remember that peru had known of the most strict lockdowns during covid so it brings back a lot of bad memories. there was talk the roadblocks were blocking food and water supplies, the export of copper. is it something you recognise please that what people feel? actually,

according to the ministry, peru is losing up to the equivalent of £20 million daily because of these protests. it's quite a big bill over here. at these protests. it's quite a big bill over here.- these protests. it's quite a big bill over here. at the root ofthe big bill over here. at the root of the demands _ big bill over here. at the root of the demands of _ big bill over here. at the root of the demands of the - of the demands of the protesters is a changing congress, lack of rape there, allegations of corruption. how has this issue come to the boil? —— a lack of accountability. boil? -- a lack of accountabili . , , ., accountability. president dina boluarte would _ accountability. president dina boluarte would need - accountability. president dina boluarte would need to - accountability. president dina boluarte would need to get i accountability. president dina i boluarte would need to get two consecutive votes of confidence, a constitutional mechanism, but i don't think she will have enough time, even getting some confidence in getting some confidence in getting that denied. i would say more than half the demands are not visible.— are not visible. one of the thins are not visible. one of the things people _ are not visible. one of the things people are - are not visible. one of the things people are looking | are not visible. one of the i things people are looking for is early elections. how likely do you think elections could be

brought forward to maybe next year. brought forward to maybe next ear. ,, . , brought forward to maybe next ear, ,, ., , . ., brought forward to maybe next ear. ,, ., , . ., ., brought forward to maybe next ear. ,, . ., ., , year. she has declared that she is aimin: year. she has declared that she is aiming for — year. she has declared that she is aiming for early _ year. she has declared that she is aiming for early 2024. - year. she has declared that she is aiming for early 2024. they l is aiming for early 202a. they are even thinking about late 2023, but we have to be mindful of how the electoral calendar works. we need at least more than 100 days to plan because it is different from other countries, the electoral parties here, they kind of grow and participate in elections with their results a lot of people need to get some political organisations to be able to run for this election. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: why south korean women fear they could lose their hard—fought gains

on gender equality. 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 world news. the latest headlines — france will face argentina in sunday's showpiece world cup final — after a 2—0 victory over the tournament's surprise package, morocco. declares a state of emergency as supporters of the former president protest after he is impeached and attained over corruption allegations. following russia's latest barage of air strikes on ukraine — targeting the capital kyiv — in which ukranian officials say their air defences shot down 13 drones — us media is reporting that president biden is planning to send expensive patriot air defence missiles to ukraine. ukraine has been requesting further air defence support for some time. this would be a big boost to ukraine's defences but why

is this happening now? let's ask melinda haring — the deputy director of the atlantic council's eurasia center — who is in washington dc. melinda, if we could kick off on that point, why the us is proposing this now. there are two theories, many theories, but one is to get president putin to the negotiating table. the other is more driven by a fear of iran sending long—range ballistic missiles. what is your reading on this? thanks for the chance _ your reading on this? thanks for the chance to _ your reading on this? thanks for the chance to be - your reading on this? thanks for the chance to be here. i your reading on this? thanksj for the chance to be here. so your reading on this? thanks. for the chance to be here. so i think the theory about iran is likely accurate, but i would add one more theory as well. so yesterday we had a big donor conference in paris, and ukraine �*s needs to fight the winter are very long and russia has taken the fight from the battlefield to the skies since october, and the decisions to send the patriot metal system by washington is a very good

one. —— missile system. it is very good one but it is a recognition that ukraine needs this advent system in order for ukraine to survive the winter. so i think it is driven by a fear that the ukrainians may be to survive the winter. so i think it is driven by a fear that the ukrainians may resupply with more long—range cells but also a fear that ukraine will not be able to survive the winter if we don't step up its air defence systems now. ., _ , step up its air defence systems now. ., , ., ., now. you say it is overdue to help with _ now. you say it is overdue to help with the _ now. you say it is overdue to help with the problems - now. you say it is overdue to help with the problems over| now. you say it is overdue to i help with the problems over the winter but won't it take a long time to set up? how does it work to get the system in place? work to get the system in lace? . , work to get the system in lace? ., , ., ., , place? that is one of the big objections- _ place? that is one of the big objections. the _ place? that is one of the big objections. the ukrainians i place? that is one of the big i objections. the ukrainians have been backing for the system for a long time. we don't have lot of them and your right to say it is a long training period. quite an investment. the big objection that washington made over and over again as the ukrainians have not worked with something this sophisticated and the ukrainians have made this request more than once. ukrainians have shown they can

learn how to use the system is very quickly. learn how to use the system is very quickly-— very quickly. can they defend themselves _ very quickly. can they defend themselves very _ very quickly. can they defend themselves very effectively? | themselves very effectively? the claim came from dmitri midge vero is irresponsible and a loser, they don't take anything he says seriously and i don't think anyone does. he is the former president, and he is the former president, and he is a hot head. i don't think it speaks for anyone but himself. so i don't take it seriously, you have to remember germany as part of nato and russia is not looking for a fight with nato, it knows it would lose very quickly. is it knows it would lose very ruickl . , , , ., it knows it would lose very ruickl. , , �*, quickly. is this everyone 's worst nightmare _ quickly. is this everyone 's worst nightmare that - quickly. is this everyone 's worst nightmare that we i quickly. is this everyone 's i worst nightmare that we are having iran in economy grows and is, and if the us advent system is brought in and set up, —— kamikaze drones, and could this not be one of those never—ending conflicts of a proxy war on someone else public land? i proxy war on someone else public land?— proxy war on someone else public land? i don't think so. at some _ public land? i don't think so. at some point, _ public land? i don't think so. at some point, the - public land? i don't think so. at some point, the russians| public land? i don't think so. . at some point, the russians are going to run out of missiles on that point will come pretty soon. we have seen at least

eight barrages of missiles, and this is 80 to 90 missiles, and we are expecting another three to five before the russians run out. the question is will ukraine �*s electricity grid holder we don't know the answer to that question. i have asked a lot of technical specialists in key urbanity sort of a cat and mouse game. so putin cannot win on the battlefield. he is spent, his have spent, he has major problems with morale, with training, there will be a hard winterfor his with training, there will be a hard winter for his side, with training, there will be a hard winterfor his side, so they are hitting civilian infrastructure and they are trying to convince ukrainians to quit and leave and move to a safer place, and so far the ukrainians aren't moving. thank ou. for all its recent success, south korea has a dire record on women's rights. it has the worst gender pay gap of any wealthy nation country, and men dominate its boardrooms and politics. but rather than promising to tackle the issue — south korea's new president wants to close its ministry

for gender equality — leaving women fearing they could be about to lose their hard—fought gains. our seoul correspondent jean mackenzie has sent this report — there are details that some viewers may find distressing. many women in south korea are angry. the new president here has claimed structural sexism is a thing of the past. but you need only scratch the surface to reveal shocking discrimination. when eunice started herjob as a clerk at a major bank, she was told to make the lunch and wash the hand towels in the men's bathroom. they said, "this fell to me as the newest female member of staff." i said, "wouldn't it be better for the men to wash the towels in their bathroom?" but my boss said, "how can you tell men to wash towels?" i politely said no, but my boss got very angry and started

to torment me. south korea has the worst gender pay gap of all wealthy nations. but rather than promise to fix this, the president has courted young men who feel they're being disadvantaged by recent attempts to improve women's lives. "abolish the gender equality ministry," they shout here. the ministry supports women and those who've been sexually assaulted. and the president has agreed to close it. anna was raped by her professor at college. she credits the gender equality ministry with saving her life. translation: | went to - a hospital, which was supposed to support victims of crime. the doctor there heard my case and said i was delusional. it was heartbreaking.

five months later, i tried to kill myself. the gender equality ministry stepped in. it found her a place in a shelter, and supported her to pursue a successful prosecution. anna is now fighting along with more than 800 organisations to save the ministry. for months, i've been asking to interview the gender equality minister, but they've refused to sit down with us. can ijust... do you agree with the president, that there is no structural sexism in korea ? "there needs to be more women in politics and we must close the gender pay gap," she says. she goes on to explain how the current services will be protected.

but what about all the progress still to be made? that's what women are now worried about. how can korea fix a problem it won't even acknowledge? jean mackenzie, bbc news, seoul. there's more news on the bbc website, including the latest on deadly winter storms barrelling east across the us. a quote from a meteorologist who says it is a little larger than your average winter storm. keep up—to—date with all the news there and the places in america it is affecting both transport and people �*s ability to move around safely. you can reach me on twitter —

i'm @marklobel and from me and the rest of the team, thank you for your time. hello. this long spell of cold weather is not ending just yet. for the time being, we are still stuck in the deep freeze, this cold air that has been brought down from the north. but there are signs of a change in the outlook, through the weekend, and into the start of next week. a south—westerly wind starts to develop and that will bring something significantly milder. in fact, by monday, the southwest of england could see highs of 16 degrees. with that there will be some wind and rain at times. but in the short term, we stick with the cold and frosty feel to the weather. some icy stretches to start thursday morning, and a day of sunshine and wintry showers awaits. the icy stretches are where we've had the showers over recent houi’s. parts of northern ireland, the east coast of england,

but most especially the north of scotland. and here we will see frequent wintry showers of sleet and snow continuing through the day. some further accumulation of snow. some showers for northern ireland, briefly for west wales, and also for the east coast of england. again, those will have a wintry flavour. some of those showers will fall as snow. but for many other places, it is going to be a dry day, with plenty of sunshine, not helping the temperatures much, though, one to five degrees at best. through thursday nights, once against those temperatures will drop like a stone. there'll be further wintry showers, some further icy stretches, and, widely, we are looking at lows of “4 or —5 degrees. some places will get colder than that, and some fog is likely to affect some southeastern parts of england through the first part of friday. the other feature of friday's weather is this weather system, which is likely to bring a mixture of rain, sleet and snow across some central parts of scotland.

that could cause some disruption. it could certainly give rise to some ice. it's another cold day, but maybe not quite as cold, and that is a sign of things to come, because, by saturday, we start to shift the wind direction. we start to pick up these south—westerly winds. still some showers around, especially in the west and the northwest. some of those will still be wintry, but those temperatures beginning to creep upwards. but it's as we get into sunday that we see this big change. this frontal system driving its way in from the southwest. that will bring heavy rain, strong winds, perhaps some snow for a time, but, behind that, things will turn much milder.

adler this is bbc news. the headlines: france have reached the final of the football world cup, ending morocco's dream of becoming the first african country to win the trophy. the french team secured a 2—0 semifinal victory through goals from theo hernandez and kolo muani. the defending champions will now face argentina in sunday's final. a nationwide state of emergency has been declared in peru, where supporters of the former president, pedro castillo, continue to stage protests. mr castillo was impeached and detained for alleged corruption following his attempt to dissolve peru's congress. prosecuters are trying to jail him for 18 months.