system, the sa00 missile defence system, the sa00 missile defence system, that has really riled somey are you, a nato member state, buying a russian missile defence system? that seems absolute madness. and president macron is one of those who is very concerned about that, and feels that the turkish leader has gone rogue in some ways, but turkey is an important nato state with a huge defence force, of course. america, though, the usa, dominates this alliance. there is no doubt about that. this is the czech republic, one of the smaller member states, but the united states, in terms of their military spending, it is double, every year, all the rest of the nato states put together. so that just gives of the nato states put together. so thatjust gives you an idea of how us military power really dwarfs all the other nato member states. what president trump has been saying, and he will bang this drum once again today, i'm sure, here in hertfordshire, is that the other nato member states need to spend much more on defence. 2% is the target, 2% of their gdp, and only a handful of those 29 mem

where flood defences are in place.ised to a winning and people are hoping levels do not go higher certainly for the rest of the day but more rain forjune today and overnight tonight. meanwhile, it is busy on the roads today as the christmas getaway begins. the independent‘s travel editor — simon calder — says traffic is expected to be at its worst tomorrow. because of wear on christmas day is, in the middle of the week, this spreads the load. we have already seen spreads the load. we have already seen wednesday, thursday, friday, today will be pretty miserable between ten and three, so right up until three o'clock this afternoon, if you can postpone yourjourney after that, that will be good. the rac is particularly warning of going southbound on the m a0 through bucks and then probably the worst of the whole christmas bell, tomorrow between ten and four with particular warnings going north on the mi and then also on the good old m25, particularly the western section of it. the headlines on bbc news: a ‘catastrophic fir

and he wanted to sort of highlight, i its defence and he wanted to sort of highlight, i think, its defencehe wanted to sort of highlight, i think, some of the concerns around that. having said that, mr mcconnell is a fan of nato, afan of that, mr mcconnell is a fan of nato, a fan of multilateralism, when it comes to france's and defence capabilities, its defence spending has been rising... —— president macron is a fan of nato. he really wa nts macron is a fan of nato. he really wants europe to be a very strong component of nato, having said that, he also wants europe to be strong without the us protective umbrella. he would like the eu to have more responsibility, more capability for its own defence, particularly in areas close to europe. i think that is why some of his partners are perhaps concerned that if there is a rift between europe and america, mr macron's position is slightly adding to it. lucy, thank you very much. let us get the german perspective. damian, one gets the impression that the german chancellor gets a bit fed up with president macron being so provocative. i think ther

. with the ministry of defence. to sell out to donald trump. the government says the agreement with them is legally enforceable. and any breach could be pursued through the courts. the low pound has made british companies attractive to american buyers. and this is a high—profile example of the latest sale. nearly 100 flood warnings are in place across southern and eastern england, the midlands and yorkshire. a severe warning of more heavy rain is in place across southern england until noon on sunday. motorists embarking on the christmas getaway are being advised to check their routes in advance — with warnings of potential travel delays and flooding — with up to 30mm of rain forecast. the met office have issued a yellow weather warning, for the south of england. the environment agency warn of more rain to come. today, we have got a relatively dry period. but we have more rain coming tonight, possibly up to another 20 mm. although the situation is getting better today, we will see it getting worse overnight and into

one of the uk's oldest defence companies.g, critical to the uk military. providing high—tech engineering jobs at their headquarters. for the last six months, the government has been grappling with whether to allow its sale to the american private equity firm advent. which aims to buy companies, improve them and sell them on. borisjohnson, having christmas lunch with uk troops, defended last night's decision. a lot of checks have been gone through to make sure that in that particular case, that all the security issues that might be raised can be satisfied. and the uk will continue to be a very creative and dynamic contributor to that section of industry and all others. cobham started life in the 1930s as a flying circus. shareholders voted for the sale. the daughter—in—law of the founder has been critical. she says... in a heavily redacted document in the run up to the sale, the ministry of defence said this raised national security concerns because of access to information and ongoing defence projects. the home office said th

defence against military defence defence against military attacks so now, as we have heard, it is 29nt disagreements is on turkey and its offensive in northern syria. quite a lot of the countries are quite irritated and angered, especially france, irritated by this turkish demand that they should all call the kurds that turkey is fighting terrorists and president macron is a saying no, they are not terrorists, they have been allies in fighting islamic state. that is a really tricky problem. what do you do when one member act in a way that is very unpalatable and problematic for the other members and yet you can't really, you can't expel them, you can sanction them. you can plead with them to change their behaviour. a p pa re ntly with them to change their behaviour. apparently though, with regards to turkey... if there is one major ta keaway turkey... if there is one major takeaway from this leaders meeting, that might be it. so, this mantra, or one for all and all for one which borisjohnson has or one for all and all for one which boris johnson has been or one for all and all for on

one of the uk's oldest defence companies.eer of air—to—air refuelling, cobham started life in the 1930s as a flying circus. for the last few months, the government has been grappling with whether to allow its sale to the american private equity firmed advent. the daughter—in—law of the founder has been critical. she says this is a deeply disappointing announcement and one cynically timed to avoid scrutiny on the weekend before christmas. borisjohnson, arriving estonia to greet uk troops earlier today. in the run up to the sale, the ministry of defence said it was concerned about the change of ownership because of giving away access to information and risk to existing programmes. to allay those fears, the government says advent has agreed to... defence analysts believe the company is already strongly linked to america, a uk ally. advent have given every protection to the mod, on top of those protections that were already there, so i am not worried about the national security aspect whatsoever. and secondly, cobham needs to gro

why our nato allies we re the defence?o allies were denting more when it comes to us and textures actions in northern syria? us and textures actions in northern syria ? —— us and textures actions in northern syria? —— turkish actions. some of those have been provoked by those controversial comments by the french president. he said it was a wake—up call and one nato denies that, it is clear that it has had an impact. we will hear more soon. back to you in london. two russian diplomats have been expelled by germany following the murder of a georgian citizen in a park in berlin. zelimkhan khangoshvili, a former chechen rebel commander, was shot twice in the head at close range in august. prosecutors have described it as an execution—style killing. the kremlin has denied involvement and says it will retaliate for the expulsions. i'm joined by our berlin correspondent, damien mcguinness. it sounds like a spy film. zelimkhan khangoshvili was walking in the middle of berlin, he was shot by a man cycling pass, twice in the head. t

and it's also worth saying, i spoke to a defence analyst earlier who said, to become a ministry of defences are so absently rigid that in many ways, it doesn't matter who the owner is because as a supplier, you need to behave in a certain way. eric grove is a visiting fellow at the international institute for strategic studies and says it's not surprising the government has said this won't be a security risk.. well, of course, it is an american company, and were so closely integrated with the united states, i mean, the f35‘s carried by our aircraft carriers, in fact, our aircraft carriers will be carrying a us marine corps aircraft as well as raf slash fleet air arm aircraft on the first deployment. so, in fact, having an american company taking over is not really a tremendous security risk because we're so integrated anyway, and cobham in fact have more sites in the us than they have in britain. i was going to say, i think, looking at the figures, it's 10,000 people employed by cobham around the world, 1700 of them in the uk. i think its main base is dorset in this country. but in terms o

one of the uk‘s oldest defence companies. headquarters in dorset. for the last six months the government has been grappling with whether to allow its sale to the american private equity firm, advent, which aims to buy companies, improve them and sell them on. borisjohnson, having christmas lunch with uk troops in estonia, defended last night‘s decision. a lot of checks have been gone through to make sure that in that particular case, all the security issues that might be raised can be satisfied. the uk will continue to be a very creative and dynamic contributor to that section of industry and all others. cobham started life in the 1930s as a flying circus. shareholders voted for the sale. the founder‘s daughter—in—law is critical. she says "this is a deeply disappointing announcement and one cynically timed to avoid scrutiny on the weekend before christmas." "in one of its first major economic decisions, the government is not taking back control so much as handing it away." in a heavily redacted document in the run—up to the

their defence is our defence.hen russia remakes the map of europe the first time since world by —— world war ii by dint of military force and ukraine fights back, it is our fighters well and when the president sacrifices our interests in national security for his election, he is sacrificing our country for his personal gain, that is the grubber men of article one. —— government. article two, obstructing common groups, any document, by telling all of his administration people, you will not appearand administration people, you will not appear and ignore a coequal range of government and what is my defence? it is, why should we care. he is the president of our party, why should we ca re if president of our party, why should we care if he ignores this congress. iremind our we care if he ignores this congress. i remind ourfriends that he we care if he ignores this congress. i remind our friends that he will not be the last resident. there will be another president and you may be, though you do not act like it, you may

i spoke to a defence analyst earlier, he said that to become a military defence contractor, the rulesthat in many ways, it doesn't matter who the owner is because as a supplier, you need to behave in a certain way. very much. eric grove is a visiting fellow at the international institute for strategic studies. thank you for being with us on bbc news this morning. what you make at the government's decision? well, of course, it is an american company, and are so closely integrated with the united states, our aircraft carriers will be carrying a us marine core, on the first deployment. so in fact, having an american company taking over is not really a tremendous security risk because we are so really a tremendous security risk because we are so integrated anyway. cobham have more factories in the united states than in britain. look at the figures, 1700 —— 1700 of them are in dorset. what are the significance of this technology? this airto air significance of this technology? this air to airfuelling? significance of this technology? this air to air fuelling? it is very significant indeed.

security concerns because of access to information and ongoing defence projects. were concerned about access to the uk's emergency services radio systems, which they said could prejudice ongoing operations. to allay those fears, the government says advent has agreed to ensure that sensitive government information continues to be protected, to honour the terms of existing contracts and to give prior notice to the ministry of defence and home office if there any plans to sell the whole or any parts of the business. but critics say the sale is a mistake. this is an amazing british company. a world—leading british company that has very important, nationally sensitive contracts with the ministry of defence. it is taken just a week after the election for conservatives to sell out to donald trump. the government says the agreement with advent is legally enforceable and any breach could be pursued through the courts. the low pound has made british companies attractive to american buyers, and this is a high—profile example of the latest sale. stay with us on bbc world news

the target is for all nato members to spend 2% of gdp on defence by 202a.s 3.4% of gdp on defence — and president trump wants countries to commit to spending 4%. here he is again. nato is becoming different then it was, much bigger than it was a much stronger than it was because people are not fulfilling their commitments bust up there are some countries that aren't fulfilling their commitment and those countries are going to be dealt with, maybe i'll deal with them from a trade standpoint or maybe i'll deal with them in a different way. i'll work something out where they have to pay, but we don't want to have people delinquent. jon donnison is at downing street. what is the format? look, we had a bit of a festive atmosphere down at downing street today. you see the tree behind me and we had some carol singers but as you have been hearing in the start of the programme comes in pretty frosty moments at times between those nato leaders. president trump just left within the last half an hour and that the beast, the only one of the nato leaders to be allowed to

why aren't europeans taking more burden for their own defence after all these years?r of nato rather than a separate european defence, then we will all be winners. very good to talk to you. many thanks indeed for being with us. this let me bring you a line of breaking news coming to us about the attack at london bridge. the family have said they are saddened and shocked by the tragedy. usman khan's family saying they totally condemn his actions. so, usman khan who had beenjailed for terrorist offences and was released from prison on licence, sparking quite a political debate really about prison sanctions, the way terrorists are held in prison and the duration of time that the spend in prison, it's been debated ever since those attacks on friday afternoon, but usman khan, who stabbed to death those two young people, his family are saying they are saddened and shocked by the atrocity and totally condemn his actions. more on that as it comes into us. a man has been arrested by police in essex investigating the death of 12—year—old harley watson — who was killed when a ca

benedicte, can you do the flood defences piece? alas, more misery and woe.warnings issued by... nearly 100 flood warnings issued across england. also, alas, people need to watch the weather forecast because there's more rain on its way on tuesday so more rain on its way on tuesday so more misery. either new homes or existing homes, and people who are enduring this, water seeps into all kinds of places. how do we make our homes more resistant? that is definitely an issue. some areas like around maidstone that have been very badly hit. it is building on floodplains and the pressure of building more homes. this story is about flood defences for the north and places like fish like in doncaster, which suffered during the election campaign, and part of the problem is flood defences are prioritised in areas with greatest population though if you are a village not in a great area of population you tend to be last in the queue for flood defences and here they are calling for something more comprehensive... they want an emergency system. let's go to the times and one

that has been the allegation all along by mr ghosn and his defence team.has taken this very, very dramatic step to flee japan, to this very, very dramatic step to fleejapan, tojump bail, to this very, very dramatic step to flee japan, tojump bail, to get to lebanon, and now he is essentially, he isa lebanon, and now he is essentially, he is a fugitive from japanese justice. as you say, this statement has just been released. justice. as you say, this statement hasjust been released. but justice. as you say, this statement has just been released. but what do you think is going to be the reaction in japan and you think is going to be the reaction injapan and the investigations into how he managed to get out of the country?” investigations into how he managed to get out of the country? i think there are two very large questions that this raises, the first is the red faces here in tokyo of the people who were supposed to be keeping a close eye on mr ghosn. the police, the courts that had allowed him out on bail, but under very strict bail conditions, he had sur

hejust said there was not a defence of the president.aid there is was not a defence of the president. hejust said there is not was not a defence of the president. he just said there is not enough evidence yet to show there was a high crime and misdemeanour. and he also said — left open the possibility that that might happen and urge the process to just go more slowly. that's not a ringing endorsement of trump, and that's the best that they could do. it leaves open the possibility, even on his view, that more evidence would show that this president should be removed. but i was disappointed with that testimony, because we have an enormous amount of evidence showing that there was a trade here, to the ukraine in exchange for personal information onjoe ukraine in exchange for personal information on joe biden. ukraine in exchange for personal information onjoe biden. the president requested that information in exchange for aid to the ukraine, and that to me is clear evidence the other way. is the fact, do you think, that the president's own

is europe going to have its own defence or not?en grappling with for so long. the noises from president macron are as you describe, but from germany different. there's a sense from the ruling party is that they need to support nato rather than replace it in europe. the germans are very clear as well that nato must become more european, so the european pillar of nato is what is going to be the kind of direction of travel. and this is very clear. that was one of the main innovations when the former defence minister now of the commission, when she was at the ministry of defence, this was the clear message that came from germany. i remember i was filming in 2016 in warsaw for the nato summit, and there there was the first joint declaration of nato in the eu, 76 points, a number of points of cooperation in defence. my film dealt exactly with this. europe needs to start thinking about its defence on its own, because it cannot count any more on america, and europeans need to take responsibility. we will have to leave the subject, but befo

at the heart of it is a pledge that we will come to one another's defence, all for one, defence, alle, one for all. while the prime minister hosts the nato summit, his conservative colleagues, and all the other parties, will continue their campaigning for the general election next thursday. the tories are pledging new spending towards public transport, labour is also campaigning on transport, and vowing to end so—called rip—off britain by rebalancing wealth, while the liberal democrats want to improve mental health services in universities. in the us, the intelligence committee investigating whether president trump should be impeached, has voted to approve a report which says there is ‘overwhelming evidence‘ of misconduct. the vote divided along party lines, and the report is now sent to the housejudiciary committee, which will consider formal impeachment charges against the president. mr trump denies any wrongdoing, and has described the inquiry as a witch—hunt. bbc news has learned that the london bridge attacker, usman khan, attended two counter—terrorism programmes that had not b

today was the first day of defence by the rappler team of the defence of cyber—libel.hat alleged article written in 2012 that alleged a filipino businessman called wilfredo keng had connections with the chiefjustice wilfredo keng had connections with the chief justice of wilfredo keng had connections with the chiefjustice of the time. that we re the chiefjustice of the time. that were questionable. and also that was involved with drug smuggling and human trafficking allegations he denies. this case was brought about in 2017 and initially national bureau of investigations rejected the case. a year later, the department ofjustice pushed ahead with it, despite no new evidence coming to rappler say this was shows it was politically motivated and that the 11 cases against them including tax evasion and foreign ownership shows that rodrigo duterte isa ownership shows that rodrigo duterte is a problem with them and has called them at fake news outlet in the past and say that they are american owned. today we see that the prosecution have said that the buck stops with maria re

you might fix the defence. lament play more people.ng people into the team, so then they can get and try harder. they need a strong attacker play, they don't need toothpicks with with -- play they don't need toothpicks with with —— play with the likes of... they don't need toothpicks with with -- play with the likes of... it's quite bare, but really what they now needis quite bare, but really what they now need is a few more quality players bringing it in, whether those players play in the system that they believe in, he's got to buy and what the emirates needs. i think he has reignited the passion back into the stadium. we should be competing for the top six. bolton are like bringing silverware to everton. everton fans need it. spent 200 million in the last two years, is a? top six at least from the top five. they should be at least in the top ten. there you go, give the fans what they want. it's been an illustrious international career for scotland captain greig laidlaw — leading his country 39 times, more than anyone else, and comin

with brexit, there will be european defence damage.g, and europe will organise itself in defence because we can't rely on america. and then there will be franco british entente in defence, because those are the only really armies on the continent really. it is an organisation which is not fit for purpose. i would not necessarily agree that nato is dead. i would agree that spending by various nato countries is going up. we have been hearing, since the fall of the soviet union, that nato was no longer necessary, or doesn't have an identity any longer. and certainly there has been soul—searching about what is the threat and where does it go through now. saying it is dead is a step too far. i suppose it is a matter of expectations. at least in this meeting, trump did not upend of events by calling them obsolete? in the one hand he said it was obsolete, and now he is defending nato. i think it does need to figure out what its purposes is and where the threats lie. one thing it did not address is climate change, and that is a national securi

so lithuanian defence minister joins border. so lithuanian defence ministerjoins us now border.o meeting. obviously it is fractious and argumentative, is it a serious fracture or a storm in a teacup?” will let the letters discuss... since 2014 quite a lot was done in nato. what we had already, it is kind of a breakthrough, adapting nay so kind of a breakthrough, adapting nay so to the new security situation. 0n the other hand, of course, it is nato but nothing is perfect. there is an amount of topics on the table that are being looked into that are going well. but it is the ordinary work we need to do. this is about the meeting of the leaders, ministerial meetings and the work of experts. so i think, speaking about that, . .. experts. so i think, speaking about that,... of experts. so i think, speaking about that, . .. of course experts. so i think, speaking about that,... of course we need to improve a little bit. where do you stand on the row between france and president trump and turki? 0f stand on the row between france and president trump and turki? of course we have heard

we asked the ministry of defence to respond to the 0mbudsman's comments. night out for many of us, but one spell of rain pushing through northern ireland and scotland and another coming on into england and wales as we get deeper into the night. a little bit of a gap between the two, but yet more heavy rain for the south, where the ground is saturated, and we are already seeing some flooding, so that isn't going to help. no frost for friday morning, but there could be some fog patches in northern ireland, which could be slow to clear. the next batch of rain might fringe into easternmost areas of scotland through the day. elsewhere into scotland, once the shower is clear from the west, it looks dry, and for northern ireland as well, a bit of hazy brightness. it might brighten up hazy brightness. it might brighten up in wales and south—west england, but still looking quite soggy parts of the midlands and northern england in the afternoon. not as windy as the past few days, but temperatures down, and across the board we were in double figures today, whereas th

he was the first line of defence, he was the first line of defence, he was the first person to confront. he was inspiring. he had a bright light in his eyes and he was a young kid but he was a cambridge grad so he could have been anywhere, done anything with his elite education, his privileged education and he chose to spend most of the last day of his life... in a statement, jack meritt‘s family said "we knowjack would not want this terrible, isolated incident to be used as a pretext by the government for introducing even more draconian sentences on prisoners, orfor detaining people in prison for longer than necessary." but this story has rapidly become politicised. here's a piece borisjohnson wrote for the daily mail over the weekend — it promised an end for automatic early release for terrorists. and here he is speaking to andrew marr on the bbc yesterday. i think this whole system of automatic early release which was brought in by labour, it was under that system. 0nly been in office... the leader of the conservative party has been in powerfor ten years. the leader of the conservati

by air or by water and the victorian state government has requested the support of the australian defencehey may be able to assist us with that work. so that will be a planned event that will firstly make sure that we have got eve ryo ne firstly make sure that we have got everyone taken care of an immediate supplies are provided, and that will be something not only specific to mallacoota, but a number of other communities across the region who are now isolated because of the significant road closures in the area, and we don't expect to be able to open some of those roads for a number of days due to the sheer volume of trees that have been burnt through the fires that have now fallen across the road, making it u nsafe to fallen across the road, making it unsafe to travel on those roads. luke with emergency management in victoria, thank you so much for that update, and best of luck fighting those fires in east gippsland. thank you. federal prosecutors in new york have filed hate crimes charges against a man accused of stabbing five people at a hanukkah party on saturday. they claim the susp

but if your defence is fatigued, that is not enough.y—handed. well in the day‘s other games, saracens continue to claw back points, from their early season points deduction, with victory over high flyers bristol. northampton‘s loss to sale, allowed exeter to leapfrog them at the top. and harlequins came from 17 points down, to beat wasps, who‘ve lost 5 out of 6 this season. there was late drama in the pro 1a as the dragons beat scarlets. this late drop kick from fly—half sam sam davies was the last kick of the game, and it secured the points for dragons in front of a raucous crowd at rodney parade. wins elsehwere for munster and benneton, 0spreys and cardiff blues are playing right now. let‘s have a look at some more sports headlines now. the two—time world darts champion adrian lewis survived a scare to make it through to the third round of the pdc world darts championship. he came back from two sets to nil down to beat cristo reyes three sets to two. fallon sherrock meanwhile is back in action tonight after her history making antics e

new zealand's director for civil defence has said that while recovering the bodies from the island is has been increased volcanic activity on the island and you can see thicker plumes of smoke over the volcano in the distance. we also heard from volcanologists who said there is a higher risk of an eruption within the next 2a hours. police have also acknowledged the need for families for those bodies to be recovered but said it is still too dangerous for rescuers to go in. we also know the postmortem process has started in identifying those who have been confirmed dead. we also heard from a senior doctor who said the burns that are currently being treated across hospitals across the country have been complicated by the fact victims were exposed to chemicals and gases after the eruption. he said burns units need extra skin for grafts and he said 1.2 million square centimetres of extra skin for replacement which is being ordered in from abroad. we also know an australian citizen is being transferred back to sydney for treatment and that families of of victims have started arriving in new

and donald trump is expected again to push for european allies to spend more on their own defence.is meeting are low. it is very, very important for europe and for the uk and for world peace, i believe, and therefore i think that importance will be reflected in what happens. the summit, i think, will be a bit of a shambles, because it is taking place during an election campaign with a lot of debate going on among people, i'm not sure it will come out with anything useful. some have described nato as one of the most successful military alliances in history. british troops seen here training in the baltic to deter russian aggression. but at this meeting, the questions may be whether the leaders have time to resolve their differences, or merely paper over the cracks. james landale, bbc news. jeremy corbyn has written to president trump, insisting uk public services including the nhs, will not be included in in any future trade deal with the united states. the labour leader has said there would be no post—brexit deal with the us under a labour government, if it insisted the nhs was inc

the watchdog that oversees complaints in the armed forces has called on the ministry of defence to do become only the third us president to be impeached. the democrat—controlled house of representatives late last night approved two charges, setting up a trial next month in the senate. but the senate is dominated by republicans, so the president is almost certain to remain in office. mr trump denies abusing his power and obstructing congress and says the process is a witch hunt. 0ur north america editor jon sopel has the story. on an historic night, donald trump chose to be nowhere near washington. he's 600 miles north in battle creek, and never more ready to do battle. as he's taking to the podium, in a perfect split—screen moment, the votes are being counted in the house of representatives that will impeach him. article one is adopted. but look at that death stare the democratic speaker gives her own members as they started to cheer. solemnity, not crowing, was the order of the day. back in michigan, donald trump was given a note about the vote and was ready to unload on the democrat

as a republican strategist, it makes defence more difficult surely, doesn't it?ld think that. conventional wisdom would lead you to that. i regularly meet with the bush appointees, those who were for president george w bush, and the people are aghast at how the trump administration seems to always act recklessly without any regard, forget the rule of law, just what society would think, forget establishment vote on capitol hill, they almost don't care to conceal their intentions anyway. it is a 50-50 their intentions anyway. it is a 50—50 chance here. was it aikens —— my coincidence or was it orchestrated? it my coincidence or was it orchestrated ? it is my coincidence or was it orchestrated? it is always a 50—50 shot with this white house and i think itjust goes to the nature of how this president operates, no regard for anyone but himself and that speaks to why he went to a foreign power, ukraine, and said, would you mind doing me a favour? when i saw that transcript with a call with the ukrainian president and black and white, i felt a connection with speaker p

we can certainly is the there are already plans in place to utilise members of the defence forces toieve they will be able to assist us believe they will be able to assist us with ensuring that supplies are provided to all of these isolated communities, and potentially may be be able —— may be able to assist us with moving people in communities as we ta ke with moving people in communities as we take on the work of regaining assets through roads and getting those communities back on track —— access. that is something we're working on at the moment but certainly the prime minister has indicated his strong support for the support of the defence forces undertaking those tasks, and that is not just undertaking those tasks, and that is notjust in victoria, that will be continued to be supported into new south wales, who are today having another serious day of fire danger. the weather we experience in victoria yesterday is now moving through new south wales, and so they are seeing their own challenges today. luke, always good to talk to you. that is luke heagarty from victoria state contro

by 2024, 18 will have met the target of spending 2% of gdp on defence.we were treated to the most unexpected role reversal. the president was now standing up for nato. asked about comments from president macron that the alliance was experiencing brain death, mr trump said he thought the comments we re trump said he thought the comments were insulting and nasty. the bromance is over. at a press conference, there was a public sparring over the future of the licence and their approach over ice as prisoners and who should take them. would you like some isis fighters? you can take everyone you want. let's be serious. a very large numberof want. let's be serious. a very large number of fighters you have on the ground. coming from syria and around, you're making a mistake. the numberone around, you're making a mistake. the number one problem is not the foreign fighters. there are more and more of these fighters due to the situation today. this is why he is a great politician because that was one of the greatest non—answers i have ever heard. that is ok. to see

the government approves the takeover of uk defence and aerospace specialist, cobham, by an american companyprince philip has spent day in hospital in london, to be treated for what's being described as a pre—existing condition. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are chief sports reporterfor the sun, martin lipton, and broadcaster penny smith. bringing a little bit of festive cheer. sparkle. many of tomorrow's front pages are already in. on the front of the independent, a photo of footballer martin peters, who's died aged 76. he scored for england in their 1966 world cup victory over west germany. peters has made it onto many of the back pages too, with the telegraph's sport section saying ‘goodbye to england's gentleman'. back to brexit on the front of the sunday telegraph which reports that house of commons speaker lindsay hoyle will let big ben bong to mark the uk leaving the eu at the end of january. the sunday express reports that the us ambassador woodyjohnson has declared brexit will pave the way for the ‘roaring twenties‘

burkina faso's defence chief calls for unity. where bushfires are still causing devastation. prime minister scott morrison, in his christmas message, has praised firefighters, many of them volunteers. the public have also been showing their gratitude. in a moment, we'll hearfrom one family who've lost their home, first this from our correspondent shaimaa khalil. taking a brief christmas break before heading back to the fire front lines. many of these firefighters have been working non—stop for weeks. despite a lull in the weather, with cooling temperatures and predicted rain in some areas, the risk is not over as teams brace themselves for hot conditions later in the week. the new south wales rural fire service is the world's largest volunteer organisation, with more than 70,000 members. most are local volunteers who have taken on the task to protect the rural communities and many have been overwhelmed by how people responded to their work. just overwhelming support, like. 0bviously, all the presents and stuff for the kids. that'

the defence witnesses were either unreliable or sought to reinforce the defence's case which she saidlly with regards to a fair trial... made by the defence, especially with regards to a fair trial. .. what does it mean for her now? sorry, can you say that again? i'm asking what it means for her now. we expect sentencing next week, what do you think will happen? now we are waiting until the 7th of january when the sentencing is expected. we are not expecting an appeal by the defence. we are expecting there to be some prison sentence, maybe not enforced right away but we expect some prison sentence. that will be on the 7th of january. some prison sentence. that will be on the 7th ofjanuary. we shall follow that very closely and bring an update to our viewers. thank you for talking to us. lizzie was in the courtroom today when that british woman was found guilty of the offence. our next guest is a barber on a mission to make the world a better place one haircut at a time. ged king has been cutting hair for the homeless in manchester since 2015, and has featured on bbc three s amazing hu

the government has approved the takeover of uk defence aerospace specialist carbon by a american company. a man who confronted the fishmongers whole attacker with a nobel task has described his deep hurt that he could not save the two people who died. prince philip has spent the day in hospital in london to be treated for what is being described asa treated for what is being described as a pre—existing condition. there have been reports of a tornado in surrey, and almost 90 flood warnings remaining in force after forecast this morning of more rain and bad weather over the coming days. and liverpool have won the club world cup in qatar, with an extra time goalfrom roberto firmino that sealed it for the reds. next on bbc news, our world, and sealed it for the reds. next on bbc news, 0urworld, and a sealed it for the reds. next on bbc news, our world, and a look back at some of the highlights from this yea rs some of the highlights from this years series. russia faces a deadly epidemic on domestic violence. a warning, this programme contains scenes some may find upsetting. russia can be a d

the trump administration has said it is essential for national defence to boost production of rare earthsrare earth technology would be about the same as it was in the middle 60s so we would be dealing with the chinese military on the 21st century and we would be in the mid 60s. it's down's bet on mineral deposits here pays off, it could make his company very, very rich. it could also solve a national security issue for the united states. but mining is a very dirty and risky business. for now, the us only has this one rare earth mine but with no domestic processing facilities, these rough are still being sent to china to get the minerals out. —— rocks. doctor nick pingittori is a scientist and has found in his lab what maybe the secret of getting rare earths out of round top's rocks, but easily and cheaply. no-one else has ever been reported to have rare earth in a mineral called fluorite, which is highly soluble, so we have a unique deposit. and there is nothing else like this? no. but this is still an u ntested like this? no. but this is still an untested operation on a large—scale in t