welcome to bbc news, i'm david willis. our top stories: mission accomplished for lionel messi. he leads argentina to world cup glory as they beat france in the final. jubilation in buenos aires at a first world cup win in 36 years. people tell me these past few weeks they have been offered the opportunity to dream again, to smile and be united. yes, this is a footballing nation, but it's when means so much more. we'll have reaction from both paris and buenos aires and look back on a world cup like no other. also ahead:

as the uk's high court prepares to rule on whether it's legal to send asylum—seekers to rwanda, we report from kigali. a warning from the canadian arctic, where polar bears are increasingly threatened by a warming world. elon musk asks twitter users whether he should stay in charge and promises to abide by their decision. after 29 days, 64 matches, 172 goals and countless broken dreams, the world cup in qatar has ended with argentina as champions. they beat france in a match which many have hailed as the best final ever, despite france's kylian mbappe scoring a hat—trick.

it means argentina's lionel messi, who scored twice himself, will end his international career as a world cup winner. we begin our coverage with this report from tim allman. don't cry for me, argentina, unless they are tears of joy. these were the scenes in doha after the south american team won the world cup for the third time. but despite the celebrations, they know it hadn't been easy. things started well enough for argentina after they won a penalty midway through the first half. up stepped that man, lionel messi, who did what he always does. and little bit more than ten minutes later, it was 2—0,

angel di maria finishing off a well—worked team goal. and that seemed to be that until ten minutes before the end, when france got a penalty of their own. kylian mbappe, competing with messi for the golden boot, converted from the spot. a moment later it was 2—2, kylian mbappe with his second of the match. argentina did pick themselves up off the floor, and in extra time they were ahead again — lionel messi again. but france are defending champions for a reason, and with a couple of minutes left, they got another penalty. kylian mbappe scoring a hat—trick for the first time in a world cup final since 1966. so to the dreaded penalty shoot—out, and the pendulum swung back in argentina's favour. it all came down to this, gonzalo scoring the decisive spot kick. glory for argentina, glory for lionel messi. is he now the greatest player of all time? well, pele says he deserves to win the world cup, so he must be pretty good.

that's what happened in doha, but for fans watching around the world, it was a rollercoaster ride. our correspondents were with both the french and the argentinian fans, and in a moment we'll hear from lucy williamson in paris. but first, with the winners, here is katy watson in buenos aires. celebration and relief after an epic final game. the joy people shared in the first half, the hope that argentina could win this easily, quickly turned to stress in the second. many were unable to watch the penalties by the end. this has been a personal crusade for argentinians — wanting to win a third world cup, yes, but wanting to win it for lionel messi, the finaljewel in the crown for their footballing legend after a glittering career.

translation: i've worn - the world cupjersey every year that i can remember. this year i decided not to wear one. this year i wanted to wait until they won so i could buy the new shirt with the third star. let's go, argentina! translation: i'm - feeling very emotional. my dad told me what it was like when we won in '86, and now i'm living this victory! this year has captured the imagination of millions of argentinians. this is a country that has been battered by economic crisis, but time and again, people tell me these last few weeks have offered them the chance to dream again, to smile and be united. this is a footballing nation, but the win means so much more.

as the sky over france darkened tonight, hopes began to dim. the winter chill spreading into homes, cafes and hearts. dismay at the french performance, grim silence at argentina's goals. it all changed at half—time with two rapid goals by 23—year—old kylian mbappe, and then a third. a penalty shoot—out took france within reach of the trophy, before argentina snatched it away. i'm so sad. i was sure we would win at the penalty, but at the end we lost, and i'm super sad. we had the opportunity to win, and unfortunately we wake up, but a little bit late. i'm very, very sad. but you have to remember that we won against england, which is, i think, the main thing of them all. three goals and a penalty shoot—out, and it still wasn't enough

to retain the trophy. france may no longer be champion of the world, but kylian mbappe is still the champion of france. well, joining us now from buenos aires is the argentinian journalist veronica smink. my my goodness me. what a game. describe the atmosphere there, if you would. it’s describe the atmosphere there, if you would-— if you would. it's been hours since the — if you would. it's been hours since the game _ if you would. it's been hours since the game finished, - if you would. it's been hours| since the game finished, and if you would. it's been hours i since the game finished, and i don't know if you can hear behind me, but people are still partying on. it was such a relief after so much stress, and notjust the last game. the whole month has been stressful. remember, argentina started losing against saudi arabia, the game that everybody thought would be the easiest they would face, and ever since then it's been suffering throughout. find been suffering throughout. and ou been suffering throughout. and you mentioned there's been a lot of stress. this has been, what, 36 years in the making. a lot of anticipation there in argentina, i imagine. ids. lot of anticipation there in argentina, i imagine. ds, and also ou argentina, i imagine. ds, and also you have _ argentina, i imagine. ds, and also you have to _ argentina, i imagine. ds, and also you have to remember. argentina, i imagine. ds, and i also you have to remember that in the last year, beyond football, argentina has had such a hard time. you know, inflation here has been above

25% for the last ten years, up almost 50% in the last five years, and it's almost 100% this year. people are having a really hard time. there is so much —— they so much needed this happiness. and it's going to last, i am sure people are going to celebrate four days. so it's been 36 years waiting for glory, all these years waiting for lionel messi to finally get his world cup, and finally get his world cup, and finally they have it. find finally they have it. and mentioning _ finally they have it. and mentioning lionel- finally they have it. and i mentioning lionel messi, finally they have it. and mentioning lionel messi, where in the pantheon of football greats does he stand, do you think? ~ think? well, everybody was sa inc, think? well, everybody was saying. you _ think? well, everybody was saying, you know, - think? well, everybody was saying, you know, he's- think? well, everybody was saying, you know, he's not| saying, you know, he's not maradona because he doesn't have a world cup, and now he does. i mean, a lot of people are saying married maradona is like the god in the sky, and messi, who by the way they call him the messiah, on account of his name, he is likejesus on earth. so now i think they are both perhaps equal, although different in their own way. i should point out, though, on behalf of the french fans watching this that in four

years' time, you won't have messi but france will have mbappe. messi but france will have mba e. ~ messi but france will have mbappe-— messi but france will have mba e, . ~' ., ., mbappe. well, i think one of the things — mbappe. well, i think one of the things that _ mbappe. well, i think one of the things that people - mbappe. well, i think one of the things that people are i mbappe. well, i think one ofi the things that people are so happy about is that this world cup showed that, yes, of course, we have what people here think is the best player in the world, but he had a whole team behind him, and a lot of these players are very young and will move on and be here in four years. so i think there's a lot of hope in the whole team, notjust messi. find whole team, not 'ust messi. and what new? _ whole team, not 'ust messi. and what now? plans— whole team, notjust messi. and what now? plans for a national holiday, perhaps, when the triumphant team gets back there to buenos aires?— to buenos aires? well, they'll be arriving _ to buenos aires? well, they'll be arriving on _ to buenos aires? well, they'll be arriving on monday - to buenos aires? well, they'll. be arriving on monday evening, so probably the celebrations, the official celebrations, are expected on tuesday. the president still hasn't announced a public holiday, but i wouldn't be surprised if he did announce it, and the celebrations are going to go on for a very long time. this is an early christmas present for many argentines. find many argentines. and we can look now _ many argentines. and we can look now at — many argentines. and we can look now at some _ many argentines. and we can look now at some live - many argentines. and we can | look now at some live pictures from buenos aires at the triumphant crowds there. there are thousands of them taking to

the streets of buenos aires. so, after, what, iipm the streets of buenos aires. so, after, what, ”pm at night there, will the celebrations carry on overnight, do you think? ., carry on overnight, do you think? . ., , ., , carry on overnight, do you think? . ., , ., think? idea. i mean, people do have to wake _ think? idea. i mean, people do have to wake up _ think? idea. i mean, people do have to wake up to _ think? idea. i mean, people do have to wake up to work- have to wake up to work tomorrow, but as you see, it is hours later and people are still here celebrating. they have suffered so long, they have suffered so long, they have waited for over three decades and they are going to celebrate. in the same will be tomorrow, when the team arrives. they are going to receive them like heroes, then on tuesday the official celebrations. the party is going to go on for a very long time. �* ., .., going to go on for a very long time. �* ., .. i. ., time. and veronica, you are wearin: time. and veronica, you are wearing the _ time. and veronica, you are wearing the national- time. and veronica, you are wearing the national search | wearing the national search there, so us, if you would, a little bit of that. look at that. very proud.- that. very proud. yes, everybody _ that. very proud. yes, everybody here - that. very proud. yes, everybody here is - that. very proud. yes, - everybody here is stressing - everybody here is stressing — many people wearing the number ten, as well. find many people wearing the number ten. as well-— ten, as well. and so a lot of celebration _ ten, as well. and so a lot of celebration over _ ten, as well. and so a lot of celebration over the - ten, as well. and so a lot of celebration over the next. ten, as well. and so a lot of| celebration over the next few days and weeks, and then the team comes back and what then? well, i think everybody is going to... you know, here it

is summer and everybody is going into summer holidays, so this wasjust the going into summer holidays, so this was just the perfect gift before christmas, and afterwards people are going to relax and enjoy the fact that they finally did it. they got it. they have been expecting this for so long, and for four years argentina is going to be the world champion, and people are not going to let anybody forget that. it are not going to let anybody forget that-— forget that. it is 'ust after 11 - m forget that. it is 'ust after 11m at forget that. it is 'ust after 11pm at night _ forget that. it isjust after 11pm at night there. - forget that. it isjust after 11pm at night there. have| forget that. it is just after. 11pm at night there. have a drink on us, if you well. many thanks forjoining us. mr; thanks for “oining us. my pleasure. _ thanks forjoining us. ij�*i pleasure. goodbye. the tournament may be over, but if you want to relive the best bits and put it all into context then there's only one place to go — the special section on bbc.com/news, or via the bbc app. let's get some of the day's other news: ukraine's president, volodimir zelensky, says power has been restored to nine million people after supplies were disrupted by russian missile and drone strikes on friday. meanwhile officials

in the southern city of kherson, which was recaptured from russian forces in november, say the area was shelled 12 times on sunday resulting in the deaths of two people. at least nine police officers have been killed in a bomb and gun attack in northern iraq. the bomb struck the police's convoy near the city of kirkuk on sunday. the group calling itself islamic state says it carried out the attack. north korea's state media service says the country carried out what it called an important final—phase test on sunday for the develpment of a spy satellite. pyongyang says it hopes to complete the development by next april. japan and south korea reported two missiles launches over the weekend, which they say would have breached a united nations ban. a 19—year—old man has been charged after four people died in the english channel on wednesday whilst trying to enter the uk illegally. ibrahima bah, of no fixed

address, is accused of facilitating the attempted arrival in the uk of people he knew or had reasonable cause to believe were asylum seekers. on monday the high court in london is expected to rule on the legality of the uk government's plans to send some asylum seekers to rwanda to have their claims processed and possibly to be resettled there. ministers say it is a way of discouraging people from risking their lives with people—smuggling gangs. but opponents say rwanda's human rights record means it is not a safe destination, particularly for members of the lgbtq+ community. our correspondent lebo diseko has been to the capital, kigali, and she sent us this report.

a familiar sunday scene in a church that is unique in rwanda, welcoming worshippers from the lgbt community. unlike in neighbouring countries, homosexuality is not illegal here. yet many people still face challenges. if you hide your identity, they can give you a job. but if they know your identity after, they say, "go, we can't work with you". this is not good. i think they don't know many things about us in this country. charities argue asylum seekers could be targeted because of their sexuality. the un says the system for assessing refugees

here in rwanda is not fair or efficient. people could be sent back to their countries, where they could face torture and, injune, they said it can take years for people to get a decision on their case. this asylum seeker was too scared to show his face or share his name. a year after arriving from ethiopia, he says he still can't work legally because his claim has not been processed. translation: they say we're poor and that - rwanda cannot keep poor people. i'm fighting to survive, and i tried to work and i don't want to stay there. i want to go to canada or australia. the government says the discrimination in all its forms is outlawed by the constitution and rwanda is welcoming to everyone. it questioned why the government still sends asylum seekers to rwanda, adding that his criticism seems inconsistent and many of the allegations are simply untrue. one refugee who has been successful here is this man.

he built a supermarket chain after arriving nearly 25 years ago. unlike many refugees, he got the money to start up a business. still, he says, rwanda offers opportunities as long as you play by the rules. coming here is a blessing to me. there is no restriction, there is no barrier. you can do whatever you want to. and to those will be afraid, what would you say? i don't know why they are afraid of rwanda, but i don't see anything to be afraid of here. this is a country that runs with enviable efficiency, but many say that just beneath the surface is a quiet sense of fear. the question for britishjudges is whether that fear is warranted. lebo diseko, bbc news, kigali. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we report from the canadian arctic, where polar bears are increasingly threatened by a warming world.

the world of music has been paying tribute to george michael, who's died from suspected heart failure at the age of 53. he sold well over 100 million albums in a career spanning more than three decades. the united states troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. the pentagon said it's failed in its principle objective to capture noriega and take him to the united states to face drugs charges. the hammer and sickle| was hastily taken away. in its place, the russian flag - was hoisted over what is now no longer the soviet union but the commonwealthj of independent states. day broke slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of pan am's maid of the seas, nosedown in the soft earth. you could see what happens when a plane eight storeys high, a football pitch wide, falls from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass in the town of shkodra,

where there were anti—communist riots ten days ago. welcome back to bbc news. will elon musk still be the head of twitter in the next nine hours? it's unclear, after the platform's owner tweeted a poll asking whether he should step down, and promising to abide by the results. this comes after a series of policy changes and account bans that have prompted a severe backlash from twitter�*s users. our news reporter azadeh moshiri joins us now. azadeh, it has been a chaotic couple of months, hasn't it, since he took over? how did we get to this point?— get to this point? that's a aood get to this point? that's a good point- _ get to this point? that's a good point. simply- get to this point? that's a i good point. simply because get to this point? that's a - good point. simply because when i sat down he initially i thought you and i would have a

chat about a new twitter policy or a sudden change but we are talking about whether he will still be ceo in the next eight or nine hours and, of course, he is still the owner but will he is still the owner but will he be manning the ship? shall we discuss how this all started?— we discuss how this all started?- he i we discuss how this all - started?- he initially started? please. he initially announced _ started? please. he initially announced a _ started? please. he initially announced a new _ started? please. he initially announced a new policy - started? please. he initially- announced a new policy change, that no longer would free advertising of other social media platforms be allowed on twitter and they gave examples, so if i were to tweet a picture i took on instagram with a link to instagrammed, that's ok because it is content but if other social media programmes were to pay to advertise on twitter, but is also ok, but if i were to tweet follow me on instagram, i could potentially get banned or suspended, and that's because i'm telling people to leave twitter and go to another form. that drew a lot of backlash.— lot of backlash. and how do they policy _ lot of backlash. and how do they policy change - lot of backlash. and how do they policy change lead - lot of backlash. and how do they policy change lead to i they policy change lead to where we've got to right now? in some ways, it's not completely out of the blue. last month he did say he always

planned to eventually pass on the reins to someone else but it does feel drastic and sudden after so much severe backlash off of one policy. you even had people like jack dorsey, a co—founder of twitter and a former ceo, tweet simply why? and it doesn't make sense. out of this is elon musk shoots from the hip when it comes to leadership and a lot of people are getting exasperated and so, he tweeted this poll, saying should i step down as head of twitter? i will abide by the results of this poll. a reminder, he tends to actually follow the results of his polls, he sticks to them, and so they could potentially be a leadership change in the next few hours. just to get a sense of his mindset, he tweeted in response to another user who said i would be happy to help and take over. he said you must like paying a lot. one catch, you have to invest your life savings in twitter and it has beenin savings in twitter and it has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy since may. still want the job?

bankruptcy since may. still want thejob? it bankruptcy since may. still want the job?— want the job? it will be interesting _ want the job? it will be interesting to - want the job? it will be interesting to see - want the job? it will be interesting to see what want the job? it will be - interesting to see what happens when that poll closes. one, thank you, indeed. —— azadeh, thank you, indeed. with just a day to go at the cop 15 summit on biological diversity, officials have published their draft proposals — and among them is a call for countries to take measures to protect at least 30% of the planet's land and coastal waters. that includes the sea ice — which is a vital resource for polar bears. the loss of that ice, in areas around hudson bay in the canadian arctic, is threatening the bear�*s survival, as our science correspondent victoria gill reports. in the hudson bay, the polar bears are waiting for the sea to freeze. sea ice that disappeared over the summer is reforming. this bear is testing it to see if it will take its weight. along with uk—based arctic scientist professor gareth rees, i connected with the polar bear research team

from their tundra buggy — an observation lab on tracks from which they can work and film. that is a live shot, uep. wow! so, that's happening just outside the window here. i'm absolutely fascinated to see where you are and what you are doing. so, they are slowly making their way to the coast - of hudson bay, and that allows us to come here as well in this| designated area outside . of churchill and just watch the bears until- the ice comes back. how do you see that responding to the impacts of climate change? looking over the last couple decades, we see it forms later and later. it breaks up earlier and earlier in spring. so, this season in between that is ice—free, where the bears are on land and can take advantage of the hunting opportunities, that season is getting longer and longer with warming. and just explain, why do the polar bears need the ice to hunt? they can either sneak up - on seals that have hauled out to rest or a polar bear might wait to dive into that seal. hole and grab the seal, so they really need that platform to give them the advantage. i and without that platform, as this footage the scientists

recently captured shows, a bear very quickly gives up the chase. in open water, the seal has the advantage. by 2050, scientists say this vast bay is likely to have more than 200 ice—free days peryear, pushing bears to the brink of starvation. these sea ice projections are strongly dependent on the temperature, and the temperature is really dictated by how much greenhouse gases we emit and accumulate in the atmosphere. so, there's this relationship between how much we emit, how warm it's going to get, and what it means for sea ice. and as warming approaches, a critical point here, polar scientists say russia's war in ukraine is preventing them from working in some of the most important parts of the arctic. it's absolutely essential that we collect data from all around the arctic. and we've got a big gap now in the russian arctic. it's half of the arctic and we're increasingly losing the ability to measure it and understand it. churchill, manitoba is often called the polar bear capital

of the world. and nations are gathered now in canada to reach an agreement to protect habitats like this. but in just three decades, it could be too warm here for the polar bears to survive. victoria gill, bbc news. and finally, if you like edible art around christmas, then feast your eyes on this. it's a competitive exhibition of creations based on gingerbread, the sweet—tasting biscuit, in the swedish capital, stockholm. on display — cottages, robots, and even a gingerbread pac—man, as well as some more traditional efforts. the competition was won by a design based on the pippi longstocking series of books — the house known as villa villekulla. and if anyone wants to find out if it tastes as good as it looks, they'll have to wait until the exhibition comes to an end injanuary. before we go, let's

go back to the party in buenos aires. you can see there hundreds of thousands of people have come out to join the celebrations after the amazing victory today. i've got some quotes from some of the fans, one of whom said "i simply cannot believe it, this is happiness for everyone for all these people today. it was our turn and the joy is ours." and of course 2 million people, it is thought, will be converging around that epic obelisk in central buenos aires is the party continues to rage into the night and if you want to, of course, relive the best bits of that amazing final, put it all into context, there is one place and one place alone you should go, and that's our website. or, of course, you can

download the bbc news up. from all of us here, many, many thanks forjoining us. we will be back in a short while with more news. hello. a completely different feel to the weather for the start of the new week. after our lengthy cold spell, things have been turning considerably milder. mild and windy through the day on monday with some outbreaks of rain — some of that rain on the heavy side at times. but starting temperatures for monday morning — 8 degrees in aberdeen, 1a degrees in plymouth — waking up to a completely different feel, but we will see a lot of cloud through the day and some outbreaks of rain moving sporadically eastwards. it may be that the skies clear in northern ireland just in time to bring some sunshine before the sun goes down. a few brighter spells elsewhere but it's going to be windy, particularly around western coasts — gusts of 40,

50, maybe 60 miles per hour in the most exposed spots — and temperatures in double digits for just about all of us, and it's quite a while since we've been able to say that! now, as we go through monday night, we will see further outbreaks of rain, particularly down towards the south. as the rain piles up in some southern parts, there is the risk of some flooding. clearer spells further north and west, some showers pushing into northern ireland and western scotland. still mild — not quite as mild for tuesday morning but still, a lot milder than it has been. so, for tuesday, the frontal system may linger across the south east of england for a little while. still low pressure in charge up to the north—west, so that will bring further showers, but there'll also be some spells of sunshine. so, where that weather front lingers close to south east england, it could mean that cloud and rain clings on for a little while. and then, we will see sunny spells. showers most plentiful across northern ireland and the western side of scotland, where it will be really quite windy. temperatures north to south 8—12 celsius — that is a touch above what we'd expect at this time of year. now, for the rest of the week,

we see weather systems lining up in the atlantic and taking aim, bringing further rain at times. it is looking quite unsettled through the week ahead. now, for the most part, it is going to stay mild but we are going to see some colder air close to the north of scotland. and as we head through the weekend, the christmas weekend, it may be that that cold air sinks a little further southwards for a time — there's a lot of uncertainty about that — but generally speaking, the week ahead will be mild, there'll be some rain at times, but it may turn just a little colder for some of us over the weekend.

this is bbc news. the headlines: argentina have won the world cup for a third time after beating france in the final in qatar. the game ended 3—3 and had to be decided on penalties. it was a personal triumph for lionel messi, who confirmed his position as one the game's greatest ever players. argentinians have been celebrating their team's victory in an outpouring of national pride. tens of thousands crammed into one of buenos aires's main squares to honour the players. it's the first time argentina have won the event since 1986, when diego maradona led the country to world cup glory. here in the uk, the high court is expected to rule on the legality of the uk

government's plans to send some