this is bbc news. i'm ben boulos with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. ukraine's president zelensky tells a joint meeting of the us congress in washington that his nation's struggle for freedom is for the future of the whole world. we don't have to know everyone�*s wish, as we know that all of us, millions of ukrainians, wish the same. victory. only victory. applause meanwhile in moscow, president putin tells the military there's no limit to the funds available for the russian offensive, as everything is going to plan. sam bankman—fried, the founder of the collapsed crypto exchange ftx, is extradited to the us from the bahamas

to face fraud charges. hebron�*s israeli sector prepares to welcome the prime minister—designate�*s new government, set to be the most right wing in the country's history. hello. welcome to the programme. the president of ukraine, volodymyrzelensky, has received the red carpet treatment in washington, dramatically flying in from a warzone to meet president biden at the white house. it's his first overseas trip since russia invaded ukraine in february. america is kyiv�*s most important ally, and president biden told ukraine that the united states "will stay with you as long as it takes," pledging another military aid package worth around $1.85 billion. nada tawfik reports.

ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky was embraced by us lawmakers with a long standing ovation as he entered the house chamber. he wore his trademark military fatigues, coming here on this first trip abroad since the start of russia's invasion with a clear mission to secure america's continued support for the ongoing war in his country. as ukrainians brace for a potential new russian winter offensive, president zelensky told lawmakers the decisions of congress could save ukraine. financial assistance is also critically important and i would like to thank you, thank you very much, thank you for both financial packages you have already provided us with and the ones you may be willing to decide on. your money is not charity. it is an investment in

the global security.— charity. it is an investment in the global security. before he left a gifted — the global security. before he left a gifted congress - the global security. before he left a gifted congress a - left a gifted congress a ukrainian flag from soldiers fighting on the front lines. this figure of the house nancy pelosi presented him with the american flag that flew over the capital on wednesday. president zelensky puzzling address comes as us lawmakers prepare for another era of divided government. in less than two weeks republicans will take control of the house of representatives and some have all expressed opposition to what they call a blank check funding for ukraine. president zelensky no doubt had them in mind during his speech, hoping they would not block the future flow of aid. for now, the aid is still flowing. during his meeting with president biden, one point a 5 billion in additionalfunding was announced. additional funding was announced.— additional funding was announced. ;;:: :: , ., additional funding was announced. ;;:: :: ., ., announced. 300 days, hard to believe. along _ announced. 300 days, hard to believe. along with _ announced. 300 days, hard to believe. along with plans - announced. 300 days, hard to believe. along with plans to l believe. along with plans to send ukraine _ believe. along with plans to send ukraine the _ believe. along with plans to send ukraine the most - believe. along with plans to - send ukraine the most advanced air defence weapon in the us's arsenal, the patriot missile system. and us lawmakers are

preparing to pass an additional $45 billion preparing to pass an additional m5 billion in emergency assistance, the largest amount out. , ., assistance, the largest amount out. , , . assistance, the largest amount out. _ ., , ., out. this year has brought so much out. this year has brought so l much needless suffering and a loss to the ukrainian people. what i wanted to know, president zelensky, i want to know that all the people of ukraine as well, the american people are with you every step of the way and we will with you. we will stay with ou. with you. we will stay with you. president _ with you. we will stay with you. president zelensky i with you. we will stay with you. president zelensky is| with you. we will stay with - you. president zelensky is only the second wartime leader to address congress since winston churchill in i9ai. he will return directly back to ukraine after the significant, if short, visit, to prepare for the next phase of the war. nada tawfik, bbc news, washington. anastassia fedyk is finance professor at berkley�*s haas business centre, and founder of the economists for ukraine advocacy group. it's good to have you with us. one point a $5 billion sounds a lot and it is a lot of money.

what will barta achieved? the most difficult part of that is the enhanced military capabilities with the patriot assistance. but within the last two months as russia has gone even more indiscriminate in the targeting of civilians, going after ukrainian infrastructure. i have relatives in ukraine who sometimes get city for an hour during the day even though they are far from the front lines, next to romania. it's a humanitarian situation that is dire and ukraine needs as much air defence support as possible. the patriot system edition is welcome.- possible. the patriot system edition is welcome. only look at the damage _ edition is welcome. only look at the damage has _ edition is welcome. only look at the damage has been - edition is welcome. only look at the damage has been done edition is welcome. only look i at the damage has been done to ukraine's infrastructure, presumably, that's going to cost even more than one point a $5 billion to start to rebuild the country? for ss billion to start to rebuild the country?—

the country? for sure. the damage — the country? for sure. the damage is _ the country? for sure. the damage is very _ the country? for sure. the damage is very large - the country? for sure. the damage is very large and l damage is very large and hundreds of billions of dollars. it's cumulative and in terms of the fact that we are seeing on the ukraine economy and civilians, that's getting worse after every strike. even though the air defence is getting better, ukrainian forces are shooting down more missiles than drones but the infrastructure is getting more vulnerable because it's been hit so many times. it's going to be a large effort. one thing that we are working on with economists for ukraine with local government in ukraine is setting up emergency incidents of people can access information and aid and after the war there will be an even larger reconstruction effort and something that economists are already thinking about, destruction and do that. ukraine has called russia a terrorist state. there are demands for the us to formally to the needed —— designated as

such. to the needed -- designated as such. ~ ., to the needed -- designated as such. ~ . . such. what were the impact because like _ such. what were the impact because like it _ such. what were the impact because like it as _ such. what were the impact because like it as a - such. what were the impact because like it as a state i because like it as a state sponsor of terrorism from russia as a result of these actions would basically preclude anybody in the us from engaging in financial transactions in russia. that's going to significantly enhance the effectiveness of the sanctions already in place. we have export sanctions, other types of sanctions on russia, but those are sometimes evaded or things get into russia through third—party channels and that will be significantly harder with the state sponsor of terrorism designation. anastassia fedyk, finance professor, thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. thank you. president zelensky�*s trip made headline news in russia too, where news programmes mocked his reliance on western military aid, while president putin made a speech to his top defence chiefs, telling them that the invasion was going to plan. here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg.

"comrade officers," the greeting. the occasion — president putin had come to tell chiefs, "i'll give you everything "you need to secure victory in ukraine "and against the west." translation: almost all the main nato countries l are employing their military capabilities against russia. but our soldiers, sergeants and officers are fighting courageously. confidently, step—by—step, they are tackling the goals they've been set, and these goals will be achieved. meanwhile... ..russia's state media jeered and sneered at president zelensky for flying to washington, claiming he was prostrating himself before america and begging for money. there's a good reason for the bad press. having invaded ukraine, the last thing the kremlin wants is for russians to start viewing president zelensky as much of the world views him — in other words, as a charismatic,

courageous, hugely impressive leader. because if they start doing that, who knows how they'll view their own president. this was vladimir putin on tuesday, at an awards ceremony for his special military operation, in the safety of the kremlin. the same day, president zelensky was visiting the front line. russians are starting to spot the differences. zelensky�*s a modern person, very eloquent, very smart. putin is old, he is old—fashioned. zelensky is an example of the politician for the future. putin will stay in history as a person from the dark past. bells ring

but vladimir putin has no intention of being consigned to history. on his stage, there's no room for rivals, competitors. no—one's allowed to outshine the leader here. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange, ftx, is in custody of the fbi and being flown to the us. authorities in the bahamas agreed to extradite sam bankman—fried to new york where he faces fraud charges. ftx went bankrupt last month. hilaryj allen is a professor of financial regulation at the american university washington college of law, and was an expert witness in the hearing on collapse of crypto currency company ftx last week. she told us more about the case against sbf,

as he's widely known. sam bankman—fried and ftx were basically the golden boy of crypto for a long time, it seemed to be that he was the responsible player in the room, but behind the scenes ftx was lending its customers' assets to its affiliated hedge fund, alameda. and alameda made a lot of very poor bets and the money disappeared, and it suddenly, through some leaked balance sheets, it became clear about a month ago that the money was no longer there and it all unravelled. it has been described as one of the biggest financial frauds in us history, so what has the impact on the victims and those that have suffered in this, and essentially where does it leave them now? the victims are basically in a position where they don't know where they are because it's unclear how many assets the combined ftx—alameda group still has to distribute to the people who thought that their money was safe

with the exchange. what we know for sure is that we won't be seeing money anytime soon because bankruptcy proceedings take a long time. the mt gox, which was another crypto exchange, failed many years ago and it is still distributing assets. hilaryj allen there. and we'll have more on this story in the business section of the programme in about 20 minutes' time. so don't go away. the formation of a new government has been declared in israel, set to be the most right wing in its history. far—right parties, including a leader with a conviction for anti—arab racist incitement and supporting a terrorist group, will partner prime minister—elect benjamin netanyahu. the parties strongly supportjewish settlers in the israeli—occupied west bank, including in hebron, where violence has spiked since last month's election. the bbc�*s middle east correspondent, tom bateman, has been meeting people living in the city, including one palestinian family who've suffered repeated attacks on their home. this family say they feel under siege from israeli settlers.

here we meet children far too familiar with fear and violence. as we found out. can we go out? young israelis are stormed into the garden, followed by the soldiers. get out of here, leave, they tell the palestinian family. the man is kept. an activist tries to help the family.— help the family. they do nothing _ help the family. they do nothing to _ help the family. they do nothing to protect i nothing to protect palestinians! if you don my palestinians! if you don my palestinians do that, you will take on the day or shoot him! in a city like no other, it's the one who stormed in who are protected and the go with a handshake. in late november the home faced an even worse attack. it was barely a month after election which has empowered the settler movement and the ultranationalist far

right. days later an israeli peace activist was beaten. while another soldier hailed the far right and incoming police minister. itamar ben—gvir will sort this place out, he says, telling the left—wing you are done for. he was laterjailed for several days. forthe was laterjailed for several days. for the far right, hebron is a heartland, settlers here voted overwhelmingly for then give your�*s alliance who leads a party espousing racist, anti— arab policies. he was a person who put a framed picture of a mass murderer on his home, describing him as a hero. does that warrior? _ describing him as a hero. does that warrior? he _ describing him as a hero. does that warrior? he has _ describing him as a hero. lire" that warrior? he has apologised for that and said he mature threat but people want and he jihadism, fora family threat but people want and he jihadism, for a family and pro— god. jihadism, for a family and pro- god. , . , god. there will be checkpoints all over. god. there will be checkpoints all over- a _ god. there will be checkpoints all over. a well-known - god. there will be checkpoints | all over. a well-known palatine activist speaks _ all over. a well-known palatine activist speaks to _ all over. a well-known palatine activist speaks to a _ all over. a well-known palatine activist speaks to a gathering .

activist speaks to a gathering of the israeli left. there are dwindling force these days. while they tour, undercover police watch them from the shadows. hebron is a city of checkpoints and a flashpoint of the conflict and occupation. you see the barrier from this side, military tower, watchtower here, fences, and this is a regular street in hebron, close like this for many years. it separates palestinians who live and work on this side, check every time they want to try and get through. back with the palestinian activist, i'm sure on what life is like for him here. you're not allowed to go there? he talks of having been arrested multiple times and then he has pulled away from us. the undercover policeman is back. they tell him he has been

obstructing justice. the activists call the police intimidation to stop the settler movement here being challenged. what's happening to you now? they fear a slide into much more of this and worse as israeli politics sees the far right take centre stage. tom bateman, bbc news, hebron. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: scottish minsters prepare for a final vote on a controvercial gender recognition bill. 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 i 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. the latest headlines: ukraine's president zelensky tells a joint meeting of the us congress in washington that his nation's struggle for freedom is for the future of the whole world. sam bankman—fried, the founder of the collapsed crypto exchange ftx, is extradited

to the us from the bahamas to face fraud charges. the united nations security council has, for the first time, adopted a resolution calling for myanmar�*s military government to end political violence in the country. the security council also called for the immediate release of all political prisoners—including the ousted prime minister aung san suu kyi. tom brada reports. for almost two years, myanmar has been in crisis. in february, 2021, the army seized power. a civilian protest movement opposed the coup, but the regime has been ruthless in crushing opposition. now the united nations security council has approved a resolution demanding an immediate end to violence. with this adoption, the council has responded to the calls of asean leaders for un support for their efforts. the resolution calls

for the cessation of violence. india, china and russia abstained from voting, and the 15—member security council has long been split on how to act, but the situation in myanmar is stark. more than 2000 people are estimated to have been killed since the army took over. and more than 16,000 detained on political charges. among them is the ousted leader aung san suu kyi who is facing more than 20 years in prison. the security council is demanding the release of all political prisonersm and myanmar has welcomed the move, but it is also calling for a stronger response. decisive action by the security council is needed to save the lives of the people of myanmar and prevent further destabilisation of the region. there is an ongoing state of emergency in myanmar, with the military regime there keen to strengthen its grip on power.

the un will hope this resolution can kick—start a dialogue and the possibility of peace. tom brada, bbc news. members of the scottish parliament have been debating plans to make it easier to change gender legally. the scottish government says the legislation will ensure dignity for trans people. but critics say it's a threat to women and girls. the bbc�*s scotland editorjames cook has been following events. yeah, i came out as trans when i was 18. and i was really lucky, all of my friends and family were so supportive. it was a really positive experience for me. ellie gomersall is now 23. she's been trying — and failing — to change the sex on her birth certificate for nearly five years. i often joke that the hardest thing about being trans is the admin, and there is definitely truth in that. i mean, certainly, to apply for a gender recognition certificate can be so costly, it can have so much admin related to it, which can be

really, really stressful. how important is this legislation to you? i think that this legislation is actually going to be transformational. i think, ultimately, the only person who can really describe my own identity, my own gender, is me. i promise you, we will keep fighting. at holyrood, a very different view — from feminists furious and fearful about what will happen if anyone born male can simply declare themselves to be a woman. a lot of this involves the total acceptance of the premise that sex is not real and that it's a feeling, and that sex doesn't matter, and as women's rights campaigners, we cannot accept that. people who would argue in favour of this bill say that this is actually about protecting a group of people who are especially vulnerable. people who would argue in favour of this bill say i think that some of the most vulnerable people are people like women in prison or women

in domestic shelters or women who have been raped — i think they are vulnerable. the passage of this bill has been far from smooth. as the debate began, the minister in charge sought to soothe concerns. the threat to women and girls is from predatory and abusive men and there is no suggestion that such predatory and abusive men have ever needed to apply for a legal gender recognition to carry out their behaviour. the lights will temporarily go out at midnight. as the night wore on, msps were still squabbling about procedure when this happened. day two, and while conservatives have led the charge against this bill, the snp is not without its rebels. i am very, very sad to say that the message sent out to women and girls in scotland today is that you do not matter. i will vote as if women do matter, i will be voting against the bill. applause

when trans people are under attack, what do we do? trans rights activists have been here this week too, fighting for the bill's passage. victory could well be theirs tomorrow, but even then opponents, including the uk government, may try to challenge this new law in court. this is an issue which attracts real passion, real anger, and that may be because, for those in favour and against the legislation, it's notjust a political issue, it's notjust a legal issue, but a moral one. james cook, bbc news, edinburgh. now here's all the latest sports news. hello, i'm tulsen tollett, and this is your sports news, where manchester united restarted their season after the break for the world cup with a win in the english football league cup. it's just three days since the final in qatar but most of their stars were back in action.

and it was denmark midfielder christian eriksen who opened the scoring for them at old trafford against burnley. the game was effectively over when england's marcus rashford made it 2—0 in the second half. that's how it stayed and erik ten hag's side go into the draw for the last eight on thursday. the dutchman was happy with his team, but less happy to still be asked about cristiano ronaldo's departure. i give you all the opportunity, many of them, where it has been, so we make the statement, we look at the future. reporter: it we look at the future. reporter:— we look at the future. reporter: , ., reporter: it is good from your oint of reporter: it is good from your point of view — reporter: it is good from your point of view that _ reporter: it is good from your point of view that the _ reporter: it is good from your point of view that the matter i point of view that the matter is closed? it point of view that the matter is closed?— on thursday, manchester city play liverpool in the final match of the last 16, and city manager pep guardiola has said it'll be a challenge integrating his players who've not played in the world cup, like erling haaland and riyad mahrez, with those who have. he says those who've been competing in qatar are that much sharper.

they come back, we saw them... so good, perfect, so they could beat, they return every day. we had holidays. but that is why it more important, you know, keep the rhythm and for the players who are not in the world cup to gain the rhythm. the 2024 tour de france will start with three stages in italy, for the first time in its history. it'll be the 26th time the tour has started with a grand depart outside the borders of france. florence will be the starting point for the 2024 race, before it heads for rimini, bologna and turin. the fourth stage will begin in italy, before crossing the border into france. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me and the rest of the sport team, goodbye. all the business headlines in just a few minutes. don't go away. in the meantime, you can

reach us in social media. you can reach me on twitter, i'm @benmboulos. the next few days are looking fairly unsettled through the run—up to christmas. we'll keep low pressure nearby. so, i think large parts of the country will see rain at times, a bit of sunshine here and there, and it will be mild in the south, but it'll start to turn colder across northern areas. you can see this conveyor system of low pressure pushing up from the southwest, bringing in bands of rain followed by sunshine and showers. and our air mass coming in from the southwest off the atlantic will always be warmer, certainly across the south of the country. colder air, though, will start to tuck in across the north as we move through the next few days. for thursday, looks like it will be colder across northern scotland — breezy with a few showers, but quite a bit of sunshine for scotland, northern ireland, far north of england. england and wales, though, rather cloudy, misty, murky with some patchy rain and drizzle,

some heavier rain into the southwest later in the day. here, it will be mild, quite breezy. further north, though, a chillier feel to things, but at least we'll have the sunshine to compensate. as we move through thursday night, it stays blustery, further showers across the north, these wintry over the hills. further south, it'll be quieter — mixture of clear spells, some cloud, but then some heavier rain and stronger winds will start to push into the southwest later on, along with some milder air. but a chillier night to come across the northern half of the country. so, for friday, a chilly start, some sunshine across northern areas, a few wintry showers over the hills of scotland, then this band of rain starts to push northwards across england and wales. some of this rain could be quite heavy and persistent for a while as it pushes its way northwards. doesn't reach scotland until we move through friday night. however, there'll be a big temperature contrast — some brighter weather in the south with a few showers, very mild, staying quite chilly despite the sunshine across the north. then, as we move into christmas eve, that weather front pushes northwards, some snow on the hill as it does so. then, for christmas eve, christmas day, we're in a run of milder southwesterly winds,

sunshine and showers. but then, later on christmas day into boxing day, we start to see some colder air work its way southwards across the country from the northwest, and with the winds coming in from the northwest, this is likely to see most of the snow showers on christmas day across the north and the west of scotland. one or two wintry showers getting into irish sea coasts as well. you can see the trend — it turns colder for all areas as we move through the christmas period, but i think it'll be short—lived, as it will start to turn milder once again in the run—up to new year's eve. don't forget, you can check out the bbc weather app for where you are or where you're going. take care.

this is bbc news. i'm ben boulos with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. extradited. fallen crypto king, sam bankman—fried, returns to the united states to face multiple criminal charges over the collapse of ftx. prosecutors say they've charged two of his closest associates who are now co—operating. the southern district of bin yorkers fired charges against the former ceo of alameda research and gary wong, a co—founder of exterior in role in the fraud of ftx which led to the collapse. both allison and mr will have the guilty to the charges and are cooperating with the southern district of new york.

also coming up: the world according to britain's