senior policy fellow for the middle east north africa program at the european council on foreign relations. thank you so much. let's take a closer look at the powerful organization headed up by qasem soleimani, an organization which has trained up pro-iran militias across the middle east. reporter: established in the wake of the 1979 islamic revolution, the revolutionary guards are often described as a parallel government within iran. tasked with protecting iranian interests at home and abroad, it is also heavily involved in regional politics and conflicts. its foreign arm, the paramilitary al-quds brigade,, has been instrumental in supporting pro-iran militias across the middle east. al quds played a key role in fighting the islamic state organization and is known to have trained and armed groups such as hezbollah in lebanon and hamas in gaza. both are considered terrorist organizations by the u.s. the al-quds forces have been accused by washington of orchestrating attacks against u.s. troops in iraq. surveys have shown that there now late leader qasem soleimani has become s significantly

a hat isn't it reforms to immigration defense trade the european agency to protect democracy european council for interior security european climate bank and the reaction from the rest of europe was resulting silence to these proposals are. i'm not sure we are talking about the same word about my country or about here up your obviously very anti mccrone that's all right that's a surprise because i thought that was fair internal listen but it is not that you're right or right it's my it's my job to put the other side to your micro supporter and putting the other side to ask although the growing that's the way you see things that are necessarily the way other people eternalism but that's alright i don't deny others the road to learn through 1st answer or less or go to reforms in france yes they are working we are the 2nd most attractive kountry in the european union for foreign investors we have one of the highest growth rates in the european union we are the number of unemployed which is the creasing steadily you know street terms there employed a number of germany that's right but we don't ha

from the european council on foreign relations welcome that it a lot of open questions what in your view was the biggest achievement of the conference on libya where you're right there are a lot of open questions but i think the difference 2 conferences that we've seen in the past is that we have some substance we really have is the parties that took part in this conference commits to cease fire to an arms embargo which isn't place effectively since 2011 but they have also talking about concrete measures to control this embargo this is not a one day conference this was a process that was organized by the germans in september and i think we have substance now and definition of a new political process but we also have a lot of open questions ok so let's start and flesh out some of the issues that you've talked about and the 2 main rivals for the general a half that is about as prime minister. but they did not meet face to face what will it take for them to commit to a cease fire because the talk right now is of a truth but not for a cease fire i think it's important to remember that this i

there was barely a drip of publicity pulled out from the european commission and council today. ut of 751 meps saying yes than saying no, and we‘re pretty certain that it will go through. there is a brexit committee looking at all of the text and recommended that it should go forward without any changes. even the brexit party, while they haven‘t come to a decision, the biggest british party in the european there member rupert lowe saying they will also sign this. it is like a turkey voting for christmas. this deal stinks, but it is worth signing so that we are out and borisjohnson says we are out. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with phil. sunday sees quite a radical change. quite a bank stuck to the day across northern ireland and parts of eastern scotland thanks to this weather front. eastern scotland thanks to this weatherfront. brightening eastern scotland thanks to this weather front. brightening skies across northern ireland later on in the afternoon. perhaps a return of some rain into the far west of scotland. some brightness perhaps to the north—east of scotland w

european council the league of nations and also the african union that we all be.

well i'm joined in the studio by hugh lovett who is a policy fellow the european council on foreign relations obviously the issue has always been to create a contiguous palestinian state so we're you know people could move from one end to the state of to the other you look at the map you've seen the plan you know the plan says it does create a path to israel and the palestinians say state side by side would you agree no not at all i think it's quite clear when you look at the map it's clearly a map that is consolidating a one state to reality if anyone's looked at a map of south africa i think that would be quite a few similarities it does allow for the emergence of a contiguous all viable palestinian state despite what the top administration would say and it's also in many ways i would say the fulfillment of the most maximalist tendencies that we've seen in israel since the beginning of the occupation in 1967 which has been very much about how israel can consolidate its control over the west bank absorb a maximum out of palestinian west bank territory but a minimum amount of its of its inhab

international diplomatic effort we've seen the italian prime minister in algeria today and the european council president phoning with vi they may have putin is also a player in this so it's a multilateral effort and germany's leading it our political correspondent simon young so i'm going as always thank you britain's prince harry has made his 1st public appearance since that recent announcement that he and his wife meggan plan to step back from their royal duties harry attended a school rugby demonstration on the grounds of buckingham palace today and while he openly joked with the children mum was the word in regards to his future plans. prince harry's wish to step back from his royal duties has been granted but he still has a few more commitments that means a few more deep breaths. it's taken some time for the dust to settle after last week's surprise announcement but the timing of the rugby world cup is helping to soften the blow after all it's something close to the prince's heart so a rather stiff event turned into something of a show. but not a cooking show he joked. afterwards some sma

british politics the british flag the union jack has been removed from the live show that the european council building in brussels unfolded a way prime minister boris johnson is choose to make a speech tonight but aside from not know if fishel events have been organized in brussels earlier supporter celebrates of the u.k.'s departure or it's the end of an era for both sides. tomorrow they'll be one fewer the british will no longer fly at the european parliament. pease staged a special departure from the building. they've achieved their political goal. this is happening the war is over there's now a battle for the shape of our relationship with the european union the shape of our role if you like with the rest of the world but this is the moment one minute part of that it's the. european leaders acknowledge that after that the relationship with the u.k. will be different if you more on this we are sending a message that is extremely clear simple and strong we the european union hope and want to keep the closest possible relationship with the united kingdom. but of course we must be clear on th

ursula von der leyen and the european council president, charles michel, put pen to paper to the dealliament is expected to approve the bill on wednesday. an nhs trust being investigated for at least seven preventable baby deaths was paid a bonus of £1.5 million for claiming it provided good maternity care. east kent hospitals nhs trust said it had met all required safety standards to receive the money. this week it was subject to an unannounced inspection by the care quality commission. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan reports. shelley russell lost her daughter following a maternity error. her baby was stillborn after a midwife failed to act on a suspicious heart rate reading. they came in, said to me, "yes, everything looks ok. " are you happy," she said to me, and i said to her, "if you're happy, i'm happy." east kent hospital's trust apologised yesterday after the bbc revealed there had been seven preventable baby deaths at the trust since 2016. it was discovered they received almost £1.5 million in 2018 from a service initiative aimed at promoting good maternity

commission or european council the league of nations and also the african union that we all believe that a political solution will be necessary i think it has become a very obvious over the past few weeks and months that it cannot possibly be a military solution to this conflict this will only increase the suffering of the libyan people we agreed that. a comprehensive plan will be outlined and i would like to here in particular recognize and thank you mr salim 820 we believe that we from the german side have also given a contribution the foreign minister and myself but i think i can safely say that all of the participants to this conference have worked very constructively and very diligently on bringing this matter forward i think we can safely say that we are all in agreement that the arms embargo is we want to see the arms about you see respected that it will be monitored more closely and more rigorously than in the past if that does not happen we will see time and again that this military solution is not excluded but that people are trying to use military means and we wer

we have seen the italian prime minister in algeria and the european council has been telephoning withladimir putin who is also a player in this. the hopes for that conference on sunday are very high. the focus on libya particularly for the eu countries is really strong. it libya is an important country, a conduit for migration but also is an oil-producing country. with so many players involved, russia as i mentioned, turkey, the saudi's and europe, it is a very important focus for this issue. brent: thank you. it libya was a divided country back in 2011, the years since then have seen the divisions multiply. increasingly drawing in a mixed bag of international players. at the country and its backers are split now between two rival governments. in tripoli, the u.n. backed government and the libyan government. >> strongmen general once tripoli. together with his libyan national army, he hopes to captpture the country'y's capitl and take full control off this oil-rich nation. it is partly because of oil that russia and turkey have weighed in on either side of this conflict. moscow has de

to the european council in brussels the european parliament is set to vote later to ratify the u.k. withdrawal agreement britain is due to officially leave the e.u. in 2 days' time brazilian media say floods and landslides in the southeast of the country have now killed at least 59 people some 30000 people have been displaced a state of emergency has been declared in more than 100 cities and towns including the state capital what is on to. president trump's legal team has concluded its opening arguments in the impeachment trial with an appeal for trump to be swiftly acquitted of trump's lawyers also try to marginalize former national security adviser john bolton whose testimony should the senate allow it could be incriminating for the president. it's a meanwhile president trump has unveiled his long awaited peace plan for the middle east alongside israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu now under the proposal palestinians would gain statehood but they would also give up largest stretches of land so let's take a closer look at this plan 1st of all let's look at the current map of t

he delivered that to the european council in brussels the european parliament is set to vote later to ratify the u.k. withdrawal agreement britain is set to officially leave the e.u. in 2 days and brazilian media say floods and landslides in the southeast of the country have now killed at least 59 people some 30000 people have been displaced a state of emergency has been declared in more than 100 cities and towns including the state capital but you know what he's on to. you're watching news still to come on our show we go to the philippines where climate change is forcing people to leave home as parts of the country sink beneath the sea. but 1st hundreds of foreign nationals are being evacuated from the chinese city of on the epicenter of the corona virus outbreak more cases of the virus have been confirmed in china the death toll has risen to over one $130.00 australia says its citizens who are being brought home from china will be quarantined quarantined on an offshore island at 1st some airlines including british airways have suspended all flights to and from china. for 206 japanes

ambassador to the european union has delivered a letter confirming britain's divorce from the european council in brussels the european parliament vote later to ratify the withdrawal agreement. officially in 2 days. brazilian media say floods and landslides in the southeast of the country have now killed at least 59 people some 30000 people have been displaced a state of emergency has been declared in more than 100 cities and towns including the state capital. president trump's legal team has concluded its opening arguments in the impeachment trial with the appeal for trying to be swiftly acquitted trump's lawyers also try to marginalize former national security advisor john bolton whose testimony should the senate allow it could be incriminating for the president. meanwhile president trump has unveiled his long awaited peace plan for the middle east at the white house israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu welcomed their proposal last the deal of the century but palestinian president mahmoud abbas swiftly denounce a plan it calls for a palestinian state with a capital in east jerusalem but

commission the head of the european council the e.u.'s chief friend of foreign representative and all the major european west european countries was that what the trouble is that didn't seem so much consensus among them when it comes to when it comes to libya and particularly the friends seems to be like you know playing a role in tendons with intend on with. egypt and u.a.e. that is not very fruitful and that is not very of contributing into the stability of the libya in this regard i think you know particularly germany and italy should assert as much as possible and particle sporter un process and support the legitimacy so in this regard we once again so we should not indulge the maximalist position of after because in there and he was the one that's not the effort in in moscow for a ceasefire and he is right now the one that is there you know or indulging in stubbornness and maximal ism so in this got it should not be just a plea for the sides to abide by the ceasefire but actually there should be a clear mechanism of pressure if any

european union governments have condemned the airstrikes but not the european commission nor the european council at this point so i think that will be something that will be noticed will be noticed by the trump administration now what live under alliance says is that the e.u. has a long tradition of keeping communications open in the region of course they do have direct talks with the iranian regime and that is what she says are going to be the immediate plans of the e.u. . come crisis deeply affect not only the region but all of us and the use of weapons must stop now to give space to a dialogue. we are lucky hold upon to do everything possible to rekindle talks and there cannot be enough of that european union in its own way has a lot to offer. we have established a time tested relations with many actors in the region and beyond to deescalate the situation so that you keeping the channels of communication over open rather that circle of underline the e.u. commission president also former defense minister here in germany should she says that the e.u. can maybe do something what can the e.u. do

the positions he has taken, both in his negotiations with the commission or in his talks with european councilrisjohnson. did you find him easier to deal with than cameron and may? there's irony in that you strike a deal with him that was essentially opening the gateway to a hard brexit, but it sounds like you found him easier to negotiate with than cameron or may? with cameron, we made a good deal, allowing britain to stay. with theresa may, we try to find the terms of a deal allowing britain to leave and allowing the europeans to keep safe their main interests. with borisjohnson, we were approaching the end of a process, so we had to not make concessions but to take on board as many british ideas as possible, as we did with his two predecessors. but he was a fair negotiator. i didn't like him during the referendum campaign, but i liked him as a minister. you accused him of telling lies, as did many europeans. you know that it is true. that must have made it difficult when you walked into a room to you negotiate with a man you accused of being a liar? i said he was using some lies, i didn't s

european union merely harmonized what is necessary but what is necessary is necessary to take that in the result of that but speaking from certain experience i would say the answer your 100 meetings of the council of ministers in the european union i found the value of really these i have the year on were the exact thing over the coming week it reminds the instance in coordinate activities and that is of value in because we're going to move you carry is a smaller country in the world that is very very fast and delivers that particular possibility to be together with european former eastern dress the different judges they're going to have every month i don't see in the countries that are outside of the e.u. and have their poor diplomats you know very well in the door and trying to listen to what is discussed between the european union minutes as every month i think is going to be difficult you carries on who's going to lose solved in terms of influence and weight in political or from everything discussed how many percentage of g.d.p. apart from the economic loss the owner of one of the small that i just want to source helen is going to jump in is right we do need to move on the most of the issue

of european leaders have warned against further escalation in the region the president of the european council charles michel said the cycle of violence provocations and retaliation is which we have witnessed in iraq over the past few weeks has to stop further escalation must be avoided at all costs there breske is a generalized flare up of violence in the whole region and the rise of obstacle forces of terrorism that thrive at times of religious and nationalist tensions the u.k.'s foreign secretary dominic rob said the us had the right to self-defense adding we have always backing allies the aggressive threats posed by the iranian courts force led by a possum so they manny following his death we urge all parties to deescalate further conflict is in none of our interests. while france has raised concerns over what it sees as a power struggle germany husband iran for provoking the us. we are waking up in a more dangerous well you know military this collation is always dangerous that's why france always works to look for conditional stability. what we feed is happening heightening of the power s

one country or another it was the president of the european commission the president of the european council now they need to get together to get to a more formalized and unified approach cyclonus what can the e.u. play in deescalating these tensions which have spiked between iran and the u.s. well thankfully the 2 sides managed to deescalate without the intervention of the european union they did so on wednesday with a more moderate actions that each of them took the united states and iran but now with a view to the midterm the you know the european union would have to get involved to take a role on the regional security side so far the europeans have focused only on trying to save the nuclear deal that's important in and of itself but it's only half of the story we see what is happening in iraq with the possibility of the islamic state becoming more important there so this is the european security interest they need to get involved in that i'm talking about the nuclear treaty that iran has been saying it doesn't feel compared to the debt to the writ of destruction s'posed by the joint comp

brags that europe the presidents of the european commission the european parliament and the european council presented a united front when they addressed the media and the reiterated that the remaining even member states would continue to build a common future and have britain as a neighbor and friend if it perspex the world's. realignment we want to forge the closest possible partnership with our british friends but at the same time it's clear that the e.u. will stand up for its interest and with great determination yes britain will now be a nonmember state and the same rules apply for all non member states only those who respect the rules of the e.u. single market can enjoy the full benefits of that market. and there is following the story for us in brussels he joins us for more hi max that we just heard from the european commission president was enough on the line there what did you make of what she had to say was for me from what i gather the divorce is settled but now the future is open and now it's up to the u.k. to decide how they want this future to play out for themselves the commis

that's been going on today we've seen the tally and prime minister has been in algeria and the european council president show michelle has been telephoning with russian president vladimir putin is also a player in this and so the hopes for that conference on sunday of very high and the focus on libya particularly for the european union countries is really strong libya's an important country is a conduit for migration but also as an oil producing country and with so many players involved russia as i mentioned. the saudis and europe it's a very important focus for this issue or corresponded to the fireman young of the story corps here in berlin so i mean thank you what if libya was a divided country when its longtime ruler moammar gadhafi was overthrown back in 200 love in the years since then have seen the divisions multiply and increasingly drawing in a mixed bag of international players the country and its backers are split now between 2 rival governments in tripoli the un backed government of the raj and in tobruk the libyan national army which is led by general khalifa haftar are. strongman

of inviting your indian foreign minister jawad serif to go and visit and have talks with the european council foreign ministers whatever. in in europe so probably iran is no pushing europe towards the edge in terms of having either to rescue the deal the nuclear deal and part tweeze sort of with america or probably ditch the deal all together but it won't be any reunion call it would be probably a european call we've heard news earlier is will that iran would be ready to deal. escalate if the sanctions were lifted so there are messages that are being sent the way telling still despite all the hoo ha and despite all the threats and countries threats and whatever we're still hearing voices coming out from. the guys we're happy to deescalate and she due to the sanctions and the international community so to speak or he's the you in a very certain situation that they have to act now and not give her any more always great to get your take on the big developing issues of the day i one is most certainly happening today middle east analyst live from london. well it may be escalating tensions just goi

london by skype any given my deputy director of the middle east and north africa program at the european council on foreign relations and here in doha marwan kabbalah director of policy analysis of the arab center for research and policy studies at the doha institute welcome to you or how much mousavi in iran let me start with you if i may how are you assessing the killing of custom still amani by the americans because it now seems that president trump has pushed iran into a corner here. i think it's very significant i mean this is a very dramatic escalation of hostilities between the 2 countries essentially we've entered on charter territories there have been a lot of tit for tat military operations by both sides in the past 3 decades nevertheless what just happened in the early hours of today is very significant in the sense that the public assassination of the most powerful iranian general is essentially putting iran in a corner where it's not a question of if iran will respond but the question of when and where iran will respond to essentially i don't think iran has any choice but to respond

saroj met with european council presidents and old so e.u. foreign affairs chief in brussels germany have been vocal and this is well and they suggested holding a peace conference in berlin in order to find a political solution to the instability in the country. well of course that affair with the latest thanks for those updates. back to our other headlines now in the iranian capital where police have deployed tear gas against anti-government protesters the administration into iran is facing intense pressure right now after admitting that its forces accidentally shot down a ukrainian passenger plane on wednesday killing all 176 people on board mainly a rainy and nationals and widespread mass vigils have been held for the victims which steadily turned into anti-government rallies iran's armed forces admitted the airliner was mistakingly identified as a cruise missile defense systems officials in washington have spent the past 48 hours also throwing their backing behind the protests and donald trump was among those to warn iran over its next mo

brags that europe the presidents of the european commission the european parliament and the european council presented a united front when they addressed the media and they reiterated that the remaining e.u. member states would continue to build a common future and have britain as a neighbor and friend if it respects the rules. realignment we want to forge the closest possible partnership with our british friends but at the same time it's clear that the e.u. will stand up for its interest and with great determination. britain will now be a nonmember state and the same rules apply for all non member states only those who respect the rules of the e.u. single market can enjoy the full benefits of a market. all right you have used brags that analyst rob is with us for more on the story hi rob we heard the european commission president was a last sunday line speaking there what did you make of what she had to say i think is a completely valid position and the only warm the e.u. can say coming it's quite clear if you leave the policy you don't get the same benefits and especially on these you stan

two line saying we consent to the deal and the second line is and we tell the european council that we'vecourse, if he is doing less work on brexit that means he has more time to spend on his lovely vineyard in italy which we saw when they did a documentary about him last year. a controversial documentary. there was a bit of joshing around. we also saw him raising his —— racing his sports car and it broke down. metaphors i go go! time to go go? we are gone gone. by. green goodbye. the weather will go to from one extreme to another with friday being a day of transition. thursday brought more rain however on another deep area of low pressure, notjust more rain but more wind as well as we saw from some of our weather watchers. this was a massive cloud as it rolled its way off the atlantic, the signature curl around the area of low pressure, keeping the area of low pressure, keeping the winds in the night, the rain clearing and eastern areas through the area early hours of friday morning. sunny spells and showers really in the air is pretty cold, so some wintry nest and initially in the north

kanzi and saraj met with european council presidents in brussels now germany is also becoming a vocal in the entire situation as well and reportedly they have proposed to hold a conference in berlin to try and find a political solution to this conflict president circular jets a player the gun spoke earlier on monday and he expressed hope that say he will be traveling to burn in as well on the 19th of january hopefully to try to find a solution there as well. should anything happen here in moscow this monday disorder certainly be another great step towards political stability and finally peace in libya but at the moment that stocks are still taking place so we are waiting for foreign ministers of russia and turkey to come out to the press and give us latest give us the results of how the stocks went and what they have decided on so watch this space and we'll be back with more details for you we appreciate that thank you. iranian police used tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters on 2 wrongs freedom square on sunday as mass demonstrations continued for a 2nd day it follows the

a week on wednesday, two lines saying, we consent to the deal, and the second line, we tell european councile of the european parliament coming to an end. and guy verhofstadt, if he's doing less work on brexit, that means he's got more time to spend on his lovely vineyard that he owns in italy which we saw when they did a documentary about him last year, a controversial documentary. because they were boozing while they were discussing brexit? there was a bit of that, taking it a bit too seriously. we also saw him racing his luxury vintage sports car at silverstone with david davis and it broke down. in an early metaphor. metaphors a—go—go! right, time to go go? and we are gong gong. bye. bye— bye. bye everyone. bye. brexitcast from the bbc. hello. so much of the past week and indeed so much of the year thus far seems friday was a day of sunny spells and some blustery showers, but that weekend is up on us and there is a change. drier and sunnier throughout. some night—time frost is the other face of winter that we haven't seen much of so far this year. still a north—westerly ushering in showe