welcome to bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: a congressional committee in the united states has voted to release the tax returns of former president donald trump. ukraine's president goes to washington. us media reports volodymyr zelensky is to pay an official trip to america. a 97—year—old german woman is found guilty for her part in the deaths of more than 10,000 people during the holocaust. in a further erosion of women's rights in afghanistan, the taliban government bans women from university education. a sea of celebration. hundreds of thousands take to the streets to welcome home argentina's world cup winners.

ever since announcing his run for president, donald trump has refused to make his tax returns public. despite not being legally obliged to for decades, it's been convention that presidential hopefuls are transparent on their earnings and how much of that goes back into the public purse. but donald's trump's fight for privacy has now run out, with a us house committee ruling to release details of the former president's filings from 2015 to 2021, the years when he was running for president and serving in the white house. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes has more on the significance of this decision. this is very significant because this is something that donald trump has been objecting to for many years now. it really goes back to 2016 when he first stood for the presidency. he did not reveal his tax returns then, as many other presidential candidates have

done over the years, and he has continued to refuse to do that, and in more recent months he has said that this has been part of a political witch—hunt that he said the democratically controlled committee, this is the ways and means committee in the house of representatives, had been politically motivated to try to get those tax returns made public, and, of course, we are in the final few weeks of democratic control of that committee, and the decision at the end of the day was made, it seems, along party lines. so, with the democrats on that committee voting to make public donald trump's tax returns from the six years that they had requested. the republicans have been objecting to this, insisting that this could in future be used as — they have put it — a political weapon against other politicians. so, what it means is in the next few days — and it could take a few days — those tax returns will be

released with some redactions. in other words there will be certain areas that will be blacked out to hide any personal, confidential information of mr trump, but by and large most of the information will be made public for accountants across this country to read and to analyse and try to figure out and answer the question you posed — why has donald trump been so strongly opposed to the release of these returns? well, earlier, i spoke to us political analyst max kutner and asked him to give us some background to the controversy over donald trump's refusal to release his taxes. this has been a dream of democrats and trump opponents since 2016 when trump was running for presidential election. this is, as you said at the beginning of the programme, this is something that all presidential candidates typically do. it is voluntary, they don't have to do it, but they release their tax information. trump, in a lot of ways, broke with convention,

including by not releasing his taxes, and this became an important part of the 2016 election, and since then this has been a goal, and it seems like this goal has finally been realised. now, we do know some tax information from leaked information through the press in recent years, we know that trump has largely avoided paying taxes, we know that his taxes show some years of financial losses, so this is going to presumably build on that information. this is a really big deal for people who have wanted to see this information for years now. is there any specific information that people are looking for, or is this a fishing expedition? there is a number of things these tax returns could tell us. there is whether trump has given to any charities, there is indications as to how much he is worth, and, of course, he is said to have for years exaggerated his worth so we can finally get some answers on that. we can also see if he indeed

has been avoiding paying taxes, as that previous reporting as indicated, and then a piece of information a lot of people are eager to see is whether he has had any loans or been loaned to or taken out loans from foreigners, foreign individuals or foreign nations, and, of course, there is so much reporting out there on the president's ties, and particularly business ties, with foreign nations like russia and nations in the middle east, and so i think that that is a piece, especially the russia piece, the people are really going to be looking for here. mr trump has already announced his intention to run for presidency again in 202a. how could this potentially impact on that? as much as the house ways and means committee democrats say this is not political, it is for a legislative purpose, democrats are presumably going to be using this in 2024 and pointing to whatever information comes out — if there is tax avoidance, if there is lending

with foreign governments. what i am really interested to see is whether any republican challengers to trump, what they do with this information, like florida governor ron desantis who is presumably, or thought to be, going to be potentially challenging trump. so, will any republican challengers jump on board with this information? that is something i am really going to be looking out for. media organisations in the us are reporting that ukraine's president volodomyr zelensky will visit washington on wednesday. the ukrainian leader is expected to meet president biden and congressional leaders in what would be his first overseas trip since russia invaded his country ten months ago. well, earlier, ispoke tojohn herbst, a former us ambassador to ukraine and asked how significant he felt this visit was. well, it will be zelensky�*s first trip outside of ukraine since moscow's february invasion, and, of course, ukraine has performed stunningly in defeating thus

far putin's efforts to take large sections of the country and taking back sections that he did take, and that is because of strong american support, but strong more in quantity and less in quality. so, we are anticipating that president biden and president zelensky will be meeting to discuss issues around the war face—to—face. do we know what each man might want to get out of that meeting? well, i think both agree that this is an opportunity to demonstrate strong coordination between the two countries, strong american support for ukraine in dealing with putin's aggression, but we know that what zelensky really wants are the longer—range artillery which the us has refused to provide which would make it easier for him to protect his soldiers and to stop russian offences and take more territory, and we know that president biden wants to show his support for ukraine, even as he seems reluctant to send those more advanced

weapons. the us has given more than $18 billion in aid to ukraine since russia invaded. is it likely to promise any more? that is a lot of money. i think that we will see comparable assistance going forward. the administration understands it will be a great defeat for the west, for the united states, for democracy, if putin were to win in ukraine, and considering the cost of the united states of such a russian victory, the cost of what we're paying right now with substantial aid is relatively small. the ukrainians have taken down a good part of russia's army, and that is very much of the security interest of the west and the united states. 0n the security front, in the last 2a hours, president zelensky has been in bakhmut — that a key target of russia's on the front line. now he is going to washington, and as you mentioned his first trip out of the country. is he confident that his country is winning this war? i think ukraine is winning the war, and again, american

and western support, nato support, eu support, has been critical for ukraine in gaining the upper hand on the battlefield, but at the same time, his trip to bakhmut was a way to show russia and the the russian people that moscow that claimed it was going to take bakhmut by the end of september has failed to do so. but again, zelensky could win this war faster, regain his territory faster, if we provided the tanks, the longer—range artillery, the jet fighters that ukraine desperately needs. what does the us get out of this? well, putin is coming notjust for ukraine. he is coming for all the states that used to make up the soviet union, which includes three nato allies, so putin wants to destroy the security system in europe that has guaranteed peace and prosperity for many decades. we have a vital interest in stopping it, so the money we give to ukraine is not

a gift to the ukrainians. it is a vital defence of american and western interests. john herbst. let's get some of the day's other news. the owner of twitter, elon musk, says he will resign as chief executive of the social media company as soon as he finds someone foolish enough to take thejob — as he put it. this latest move by the billionaire comes three days after a majority of people taking part in an online poll voted for him to step down as head of the company. the founder of collapsed crypto exchange ftx, sam bankman—freed, has signed extradition papers in the bahamas and will now be flown to the us to face a range of criminal charges. mr bankman—freed was arrested last week in the bahamas after federal prosecutors in new york filed an eight—count indictment including allegations of fraud and conspiracy. two people have died and at least eleven injured after one of the most disruptive earthquakes to hit the us state of california in years. the 6.4 magnititude tremor

jolted the state's northern coast before dawn on tuesday, damaging homes and roads and leaving tens of thousands of people without power. a thai sailor missing from a naval ship which capsized on sunday, has been pulled alive from the water 41 hours after the ship sank. rescuers have recovered six bodies, but a search is continuing for a further 23 sailors who are still missing in the gulf of thailand. the navy�*s chief of staff said he believed some are still alive. in afghanistan, the taliban has ordered an indefinite ban on university education for the country's women. the order was signed by the minister of higher education, further restricting women's access to formal education, three months after thousands of girls and women sat university entrance exams across the country. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri reports. the taliban takeover meant only

one thing for the women and girls of afghanistan. there they would lose their freedoms, education, theirfuture. more than a year later, the direction of travel has been cemented. women no longer have access to university. this unacceptable _ access to university. this unacceptable stance - access to university. this unacceptable stance will| access to university. this - unacceptable stance will have significant consequences for the taliban and alienate the taliban from the international community and denied in the legitimacy they desire. there have been — legitimacy they desire. there have been a _ legitimacy they desire. there have been a steady _ legitimacy they desire. there have been a steady stream . legitimacy they desire. there | have been a steady stream of setbacks. in march the taliban broke the commerce to reopen secondary school for girls. two months later women were forced to fail faces as well is here. in september the women's affairs ministry was disbanded, and last month women are barred from parks, gyms and swimming in the capital. it’s from parks, gyms and swimming in the capital-— in the capital. it's another very troubling, _

in the capital. it's another very troubling, troubling i in the capital. it's another- very troubling, troubling move, and it's difficult to imagine how the country can develop, can deal with all of its challenges that it has, without the active participation of women in the education of women. . ., ~ , women in the education of women. . . ~ , women in the education of women. . ., ~ , ., women. it all hearkens back to | the 90s, that was the last time the 90s, that was the last time the taliban enforced its authoritarian regime, and this is afghanistan today, the only place on earth where women do not have a right to their full education. leaving little room for hope. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. roya rahmani served as kabul�*s ambassador to the us from 2018—2021. she's now a women's rights advocate and senior advisor to the atlantic council. thank you for being with us has afghanistan gone back to the 19905 afghanistan gone back to the 1990s when it comes to women's rights? 1990s when it comes to women's

ri . hts? , , rights? yes, indeed it is already _ rights? yes, indeed it is already creeping - rights? yes, indeed it is already creeping up - rights? yes, indeed it is already creeping up to l rights? yes, indeed it is. already creeping up to the rights? yes, indeed it is- already creeping up to the same level of the draconian regime and the oppression they were exercising back then. as we just heard on the report, the step—by—step they are just getting there, there is not much else. i getting there, there is not much else-— getting there, there is not much else. ~ . , , much else. i think many people anticipated _ much else. i think many people anticipated this _ much else. i think many people anticipated this may _ much else. i think many people anticipated this may have - anticipated this may have happened sooner or later, as it happened sooner or later, as it happened sooner or later, as it happened sooner than you expected? i happened sooner than you “netted?— expected? i wouldn't necessarily _ expected? iwouldn't necessarily say - expected? i wouldn't. necessarily say sooner expected? i wouldn't - necessarily say sooner than we expected, because of the way the taliban has been acting as continuously looking at the international unity move and what they can get away with and they have been continuously adding to this, as they started the restrictions, imposing the same sort of restriction level by level on women, we could see that coming, it's no surprise it is coming, it is the very

same group that ruled afghanistan in the 1990s, that have come back and have taken over. ., , , have come back and have taken over. . , , ,., over. there has been some reaponse — over. there has been some response from _ over. there has been some response from the - over. there has been some - response from the international community the response one may have expected, statements of condemnation and not much more, what can the international community to do to push back against the taliban? well, what the international community can do first and foremost is to put the question to themselves and ask what is their threshold of acceptance of this kind of violation, this tragedy, of this abuse that is going for afghanistan. as they decided they were fatigued, and it was 20 years and it has been too long and they wanted to end that, and then it was handed over to the taliban, which they completely take it as a victory and they continue to sit right on this wave, thinking that whatever they can do, they can

get by because the international community is visibly accepting them in a way that they have to deal with them because there is no other option. they continue to show their real faces option. they continue to show their realfaces more option. they continue to show their real faces more and option. they continue to show their realfaces more and more, every single day. and i think we have seen enough of their real face by now, we have seen enough of their realface by now, and we have seen enough of their real face by now, and the international community needs to have this question answered honestly and directly to themselves, what is that threshold, are they going to put up with this kind of abuse and oppression to what level? i think it is getting to the top, but what will be the next thing that they would be willing to do under the circumstances, that they have all these other preoccupations, and what would that be? because other than that, by empty condemnation and statements nothing is get a change, as we have seen so far. what you think that threshold would be, the uk and the us

have largely washed their hands of afghanistan, russia is preoccupied elsewhere, china has other priorities. what do you think would pull these other countries back into the discussion? figs other countries back into the discussion?— discussion? as i said, this is a question — discussion? as i said, this is a question they _ discussion? as i said, this is a question they need - discussion? as i said, this is a question they need to - discussion? as i said, this is a question they need to get| a question they need to get together and honestly answer. what would that be for them to think differently and to seriously think of a solution for the situation? i do not think that the country is at this point are seriously thinking of finding a solution and raising the cost of that solution. so under the circumstances, the very first thing again i am saying is they must have that honest conversation within themselves and among themselves. for the --eole of and among themselves. for the people of afghanistan _ and among themselves. for the people of afghanistan and - people of afghanistan and especially for women and girls, where do we go from here? well, the women _ where do we go from here? well, the women of _ where do we go from here? well, the women of afghanistan - where do we go from here? well, the women of afghanistan have . the women of afghanistan have been doomed from the very first day that this group took over.

like, the flagship of conduct is oppression of women. the war in afghanistan have not ended, there is no peace. people sometimes put the question to me and say is it a safer place? well, if you call a prison a safer place, it might be. it is definitely a prison for women, and much worse in fact. the women of afghanistan are sentenced to this prison without knowing whether they have a way out or not. so it is as dire as it could get. they have stripped them of hope, if there was any left. qm. have stripped them of hope, if there was any left.— have stripped them of hope, if there was any left. 0k, we will have to live — there was any left. 0k, we will have to live with _ there was any left. 0k, we will have to live with that, - there was any left. 0k, we will have to live with that, we're i have to live with that, we're out of time unfortunately. thank you very much for sharing your insights with us. appreciate it.- your insights with us. appreciate it. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: don't cry for me, argentina.

and why would they, when they're celebrating a world cup victory? 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 says 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 commonwealth i of independent states. day broke slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of pan am's maid of the seas, nose down 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 shkoder, where there were anti—communist riots ten days ago. this is bbc news. in germany, a 97—year—old woman has been convicted of complicity in the murder of more than 10,500 people during the holocaust. irmgard furchner worked as a secretary at the stutthof camp, in what is now poland. she was given a two—year suspended jail sentence. caroline hawley reports. wheeled in to hear the verdict against her, the end of what could be one of the very last holocaust trials,

irmgard furchner, her face blurred by order of the court, a blanket over her lap. almost eight decades ago, she was a typist, a secretary to the camp commandant. but the judge rejected her lawyer's argument that she didn't know about the killings and ruled she was complicit in the mass murder of more than 10,000 people. translation: it is easy to say she wasjust a secretary, - but a secretary had an important role in the bureaucracy of a concentration camp. in all, over the course of the second world war, an estimated 65,000 prisoners died in the stuthoff camp in nazi—occupied poland in horrific circumstances. they were killed in its gas chamber, hanged and shot or succumbed to starvation and disease. irmgard furchner, seen here as a young woman, was only 18 and 19 at the time, so, despite her age, was tried in a specialjuvenile court. manfred goldberg, who's now 92 years old, was held in stuthoff camp for several months as a young teenager. he told me he wouldn't want an elderly woman sent to jail, but... a two—year suspended sentence is what you might expect for perhaps severe shoplifting or an amateur burglar who didn't commit

any serious offence, but not for someone who was found to be complicit in the murder of more than 10,000 inmates. it sounds incredibly insufficient. irmgard furchner had tried to evade any kind ofjustice, calling a cab from her care home at the start of her trial and going on the run. but she was arrested and eventually attended court. international lawyers say her case sends a signal to anyone who commits war crimes anywhere. you need to be aware that forever, for the rest of your natural life, there is a possibility of the tap on the shoulder, an investigation and if necessary, a prosecution, and that applies for example equally in relation to the crimes that are plainly being committed today on the territory of ukraine. i'm thinking of bucha. the young soldiers who were involved in that and the decision—makers know that for the rest of their lives they are exposed to the risk of a tap on the shoulder. modern germany is still grappling

with the darkness of its past. the public prosecutor said this was a trial of outstanding historical importance. at a time when holocaust denial is on the rise, survivors hope it will make it harder for the world to forget the unimaginable horrors which they endured. caroline hawley, bbc news. there's been a heroes' welcome in argentina for the country's victorious world cup football team. the team arrived back in the capital, buenos aires, to huge crowds. 0ur south america correspondent, katy watson was among them. argentina's champions are home to much fanfare and excitement. thousands waited up to greet them in the early hours, not wanting to miss this chance to see the megastars. argentina's never seen anything like it — an estimated 4 million people came out onto the streets of the capital, the country's biggest party in its history. in true argentinian style, the steaks and sausages were slapped on the barbecue from early in the morning. people dressed in messi's no 10 shirt. this world cup has made him

a national hero, standing alongside diego maradona in argentine footballing fame. translation: it's amazing, it's amazing- _ i don't think any country has lived through what we are living now. nobody is partying like we are right now, nobody! it is something that i will talk with my sons and grandsons and forever. the team made its way towards the centre slowly, but had to change route, because of the sheer number of fans. the players abandoned coming to the 0belisk, which has been the focal point of celebrations during the tournament. they ended up having to do a flyover in a helicopter instead. the celebrations on sunday after the final were massive, but today has been even bigger. no—one can deny how much the argentinians wanted this trophy to come home, but i think the outpouring

of pride has even surprised authorities here. while messi is, of course, an inspiration, the whole team is being celebrated. borja batista is alexis mac allister�*s godfather and former coach, proud of the brighton and hove albion player coming home with the trophy. translation: he started - playing here at the age of six. today, english football is the greatest in the world, where the best players are, and thankfully clubs have been coming for argentinian footballers and that is wonderful, because it opens the door to other players. back to the party of extraordinary proportions. a country battered by economic crisis, this has been a world cup to remember, allowing argentinians to park their worries and really celebrate success. katy watson, bbc news, in buenos aires.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @richpreston hello, there. it's remaining unsettled over the next few days. certainly for the rest of this week, low pressure will be in charge, and we've seen quite a lot of rainfall recently across the south, and that's led to flood warnings being issued for south wales and south—west england. so a wet next few days for some of us. there will be a bit of sunshine around, with our air source coming in from the south—west, and it'll stay on the mild side. so we've had low pressure with us through tuesday. as we move through wednesday, it will be to the north of the uk. another ripple brings wet weather to the south of the country on thursday, and then this area of low pressure will bring some substantial wet weather to the country during the course of friday. now we start wednesday off on a wet note for the south—east of england, east anglia. that rain will clear away quite quickly. then it's bright for much

of england and wales, a few showers into the south—west later for the far a few showers into the south—west later, for the far north of england, scotland, northern ireland, it's going to be blustery with sunny spells, scattered showers, and temperatures range from around 7 to 11 degrees across the uk. as we move through wednesday night, it stays blustery across the north of the uk, close to the centre of the low, a few showers here. england and wales will start dry and then we'll see areas of rain and cloud pushing in from the south—west and it'll stay quite breezy, particularly across southern and western coast. another mild night to come in the south, further north, 3 to 5 degrees celsius. we'll start off with some sunshine across the north of the uk on thursday. it'll stay breezy in the far north with a few showers here. but for the rest of england and wales, it looks like it'll turn cloudier through the days, as more rain pushes in from the south—west. some of this, again, could be quite heavy across southern england, south wales. that'll exacerbate already saturated ground here with flooding issues. a milder day to come in the south, a bit cooler further north. then we look to friday. this area of low pressure will bring a band of rain into southern areas. it'll slowly push northwards

through the course of the day. so some areas here really could be quite wet and they'll stay windy in the south, and mild here through friday. but notice across the north, we'll start to see this blue, this colder air starting to push south. so we'll be in a battleground, i think, through friday, with cold air in the north, mild air in the south. but it does look like, as we move through the christmas period, certainly in the north, it'll turn colder, with some wintry showers, notjust hills, even down to lower levels at times. there will be a little bit of sunshine, too, but a very christmassy feeling there. some of the cold air will start to get in towards england and wales as well, as we move through the christmas period. so it will be turning colder with the risk of some wintry showers.

this is bbc news. the headlines: a congressional committee in the united states has voted to release a summary of the tax returns of the former president donald trump, who has long fought to keep them secret. the documents are likely to be released in the coming days after sensitive information is removed. us media say the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, is expected to visit washington on wednesday. it would be his first trip abroad since the war in ukraine began. reports say the white house is preparing for his visit. he will also meet congressional leaders at the capitol. a 97—year—old german woman has been given a two—year suspended sentence for complicity in the murders of more than 10,000 people during the holocaust. irmgard furchner had worked as a secretary at a concentration camp.