this is the news live from. taking to the streets to demand that president nicolas maduro give up power flags and calling for free elections protests are increasing the pressure on the president will take you live to caracas also on the program european leaders when they were. prime minister back to brussels. insist the tolls cannot be reopened. to take. them out of the life threatening freeze gripping the american midwest.

i'm bringing life to a standstill for tens of minutes. until gail welcome to the program and as well as political standoff is deepening in the last few hours people across the country have been leaving their homes and workplaces to join the protests against president. here's one in the capital. position leader and self proclaimed interim president. comes a day after the country's supreme court froze must acquire those assets and banned him from leaving the country. straits to rejoin. and to welcome so those process have not started what if you see. well we're seeing that these protests are going on peacefully at the moment people

are walking out going to place of great concentration near their homes or workplace and protesting these protests are geared towards asking or pleading for the government to allow humanitarian aid to enter the country now we've also registered other protests in cut out us regarding food and medicine shortages these are protests that are not political they are for we have indications of services like light in the tricity water yet in our minds in protests in the past year and today is no different so we're hoping that they keep that sounds for most of the violence that occurs during these protests started happening twenty even though we've been looking at a live pictures as you've been speaking there have been reports that a number of foreign journalists have been detained what can you tell us about that

yesterday we learned that four journalists were retained she worked out where for today two of them bill is way that they were venezuelans were. were freed this morning and the chain chalange were deported they're still going to spell out they will be deported they were flying through panamint now there are reports of other general four hundred those there are detained but we have little information about that or their whereabouts or in what capacity they were getting now the journalists that were detained last night were covering and seeing how it looks around the presidential palace and they were detained soon after now what do you make of these russian media reports a president majority is offering to talk to the opposition. well we've seen this before we've seen our president not woodrow open up to talks in the past we've covered at these three open table tops with the opposition in the past five years

and these have failed and they have failed because the government has not. complied to their end of the gauntlet of the bargain and that is to change the electoral council for free elections and a lot of humanitarian aid in minutes where now this could be. part of the pressure that europe is putting on president going to call for elections you just said it's open for new elections in minnesota but for the legislative branch elections for congress to elect a new congress and europe wants presidential elections they do not believe the past presidential elections that reelected him were free and fair so the pressure still continues and i do not think the opposition is going to bite down on this offer of tarps that not going to result for us to go in caracas thank you. britain and the european union appears to be heading for a fresh confrontation as usual make his last night voted to send the prime minister

a back to brussels to reopen talks on the terms of the u.k.'s withdrawal from the european union at issue is the so-called irish backstop this is the plan to avoid a hot border between north and island which is part of the u.k. and the republic of violent but since a british decision a unique does have made it clear. that the deal and the bad stuff cannot be changed . in a surprise move to find already made with e.u. british lawmakers gave the prime minister a mandate to return to the negotiating table terence nearly passed a government backed amendment to renegotiate the controversial irish backstop the us can buy as may some time but the challenges remain clear oh and there is limited appetite for such a change in the negotiating it will not be i thought. i thought in contrast to a fortnight ago this house has made it clear what it needs to approve the

withdrawal of. may's chances of achieving that appear slim the e.u. says the backstop plan to avoid a hard border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland isn't up for renegotiation the german foreign minister said berlin was willing to continue talks with britain but its position was clear. it is highly unlikely that the bracks agreement will be renegotiated let alone the backstop be put into question if we want to prevent everything that leads to a hard border between northern ireland the backstop is already a compromise e.u. leader john told you one that the vote in the british parliament to demand changes had increased the risk of a no deal breaks it. that we've remains the best deal possible. through opinion and set so you know. we said so in december we said so after the first meeting new float in the coming years. the folks in the house

of commons yesterday do not change that so we should all be equally received because we think he was negotiator michelle bundy also defending the existing deal theresa may is poised to travel to brussels on what could be mission impossible she may come back with nothing new to offer parliament which means it breaks it goes back to square one again. so let's pick up that question if teresa mayes that bid to get a new deal from brussels does fail what next correspondent back at nasa has been speaking with the leader of the u.k. opposition liberal democrats defense cable his party wants another referendum. since cable you've been really fighting for a second referendum do you see your hopes going up in smoke today no not at all i think it's as we say on the back burner of the moment but into weeks' time the prime minister will come back i don't think they will have made much progress with

your opinion it's possible but i don't think so and then all of the options will then have to be reopened. and to the exit date the possibility of going to the country for a referendum it may be that the other all options been exhausted it's the only way that the government can get its deal forward by giving it to the public concern fifty fifty challenge she would win at the moment there's relatively little but it doesn't look like treason maze playing to the right of a party to the city is and maybe in the end she would prefer do you really question without it i don't think that will be allowed to happen i mean i know they're talking tough but actually the overwhelming majority of the house of commons say no to no deal half the cabinet say they will not allow it to happen so i think that that option has been talked up to you know for bargaining purposes been i actually the reality is that i don't think we're going that but what can the house of commons realistically do i mean how can you prevent. well i think in two weeks

time the options will be clarified devon it's possible that the government can make some progress with its proposal and i think it's unlikely but it's possible that if they don't then the options narrow and all of the issues we considered yesterday a problem of taking back control persuading bricks that day and even going so the public with a referendum all those things come back into play are you afraid for your country margaret it's not you know i'm optimistic i think people here are basically good and rational and decent and there's a british characteristics and i think we will come through this all right is the same true for the prime minister yes i was sure she i thing. at the end of the day she will sue sam's vince cable thank you very much. let's take a look now at some of the other stories making news around the world german police arrested three suspected islamic extremists on suspicion of planning a bomb attack federal prosecutors say the man iraqi refugees were detained near the

danish border and that they have not yet chosen a target. schools in the thai capital bangkok of closed us all thought to struggle to contain choking air pollution the city's been shattered in a toxic haze for weeks efforts to seed rain clouds and regulated truck traffic and failed to clear the air officials are urging residents to curb the use of incense and fireworks when they celebrate next week's lou the new year. lawyers defending the mexican drug lords known as el chapo have rested their case at his trial in the u.s. after calling just one witness joakim guzman brief defense followed a prosecution case that lasted almost three months at the leader of us in a lower cartel is accused of trafficking massive amounts of cocaine heroin and other drugs into the u.s. . the u.s. and china are to begin a new round of trade talks in washington the latest effort to resolve

a trade dispute that's disrupted business across the globe the u.s. accuses china of industrial espionage and unfairly using a state subsidies. for america's midwest is in the grip of a life threatening deep freeze known as a polar vortex weather colder than antarctica has grounded flights to strop to travel abroad life to a standstill for tens of millions the polar vortex is a mass of freezing air that normally spins around the north pole but somehow slipped southwards into the united states. it's one of the codice blasts of arctic air in recent memory tens of millions of people across the midwest and eastern states are shivering through freezing winds and record low temperatures some parts of the states are thought to be colder than the arctic circle right now it's definitely not the best time to be outside. stay in the house i presume

i'm coming from texas so it's a big difference for you a few brave souls are embracing the deep freeze like this ice wind survey from minneapolis in the winter. i'm actually shredding right now. but wind chills and in negative double digits are dangerous the extreme cold can cause frostbite in a matter of minutes and slippery roads continue to cause accidents. hundreds of flights have been canceled schools are closed and workers have been told to stay at home americans will have to and do similar temperatures over the next few days because the coat air mass shoes new sign of moving on just yet. efforts to free the footballer from a type present have picked up pace faces extradition back to bahrain. than two months ago while on holiday in bangkok have been living as

a refugee in australia since two thousand and fourteen when he asked for asylum back claiming he'd been falsely imprisoned and tortured and his home country. more than sixty days after first being detained in thailand became al-arabiya remains in limbo separated from his wife unable to return to his adopted country astray and his job as a professional footballer. a ten year prison sentence awaits al-arabiya if he is extradited to bahrain even though he was playing in a televised football match when the alleged crime took place. activists have been tirelessly advocating for his release with former footballer craig foster meeting with faith and top officials this week bahrain only in the last few days have escalated this issue in. clearly stated their intention in a brazen fashion to. contravene the international human rights of

the right. on shoes day the asian football confederation white into the issue asking thailand's prime minister in an open letter to ensure mr al arabiya is returned safely to a stray governing body faith has also called for the players release we agree that this is now become an emergency situation we want to say progress along with this week given the immediacy of the situation and we continue to call for. trial and the prime minister. to release immediately and up all these international human rights. with al-arabiya having spent two months in detention foster said he wants the case resolved before friday. is a reminder of our top stories at this hour people across venezuela have been protesting against president nicolas maduro and calling for fresh elections the demonstrations were called by opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim

president one quite. a few leaders are insisting that the deal they made with the u.k. cannot feed me go say to us despite the british prime minister the parliamentary mandate to seek a fresh negotiation. business news is up next have a good day. how about taking a few friends you could even take a chance on. don't expect happy ending. the church. break one hundred years of. and join our competition. of mint impacts you.