:00:08. > :00:17.This is BBC News with me Clive Myrie - the headlines.
:00:18. > :00:28.I'm at the White House where journalists have packed
:00:29. > :00:30.the briefing room for their last chance to question President Obama
:00:31. > :00:34.On a visit to India, Britain's Foreign Secretary warns EU
:00:35. > :00:36.leaders not to penalise the UK over Brexit.
:00:37. > :00:39.If Mr Hollande wants to administer punishment beatings to anybody
:00:40. > :00:41.who chooses to escape rather in the manner of some sort
:00:42. > :00:44.of World War II movie then, you know, I don't think
:00:45. > :00:52.Meanwhile European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker
:00:53. > :00:55.promises to seek a "balanced" Brexit deal - but warns
:00:56. > :01:01.We want a fair deal with Britain and a fair day for Britain
:01:02. > :01:05.but a fair deal means a fair deal for the European Union too.
:01:06. > :01:08.Thousands of Gambians and foreign tourists flee the country
:01:09. > :01:10.due to political unrest after the President
:01:11. > :01:16.Also this hour, record breaking temperatures
:01:17. > :01:25.Scientists say it's due to climate change -
:01:26. > :01:51.Good evening and welcome to BBC News.
:01:52. > :01:53.It's just two days until Donald Trump becomes the 45th president
:01:54. > :01:57.In the next few minutes, the current occupant
:01:58. > :02:00.of the White House, Barack Obama, will be holding his final news
:02:01. > :02:07.President Obama is expected to use the news conference
:02:08. > :02:08.to defend his decision yesterday to shorten the sentence
:02:09. > :02:11.of Chelsea Manning, the former US soldier convicted of revealing
:02:12. > :02:23.Our State Department Correspondent Barbara
:02:24. > :02:33.The front part of the conference is likely to be dominated by the
:02:34. > :02:38.commutation of that sentence for Chelsea Manning. I think so, there
:02:39. > :02:42.have been questions about that and critics in the Republican party have
:02:43. > :02:47.said it was the wrong decision and it was the largest leak of US
:02:48. > :02:51.classified material ever and it put lives and American interests at risk
:02:52. > :02:57.and to shorten the sentence and released Chelsea Manning sent the
:02:58. > :03:00.dangers message for those who also want to leak dangerous or classified
:03:01. > :03:06.material. President Obama will likely be asked about that and is
:03:07. > :03:09.likely to defend his decision. White House officials have said Chelsea
:03:10. > :03:14.Manning went through a trial and was convicted and punished and spent
:03:15. > :03:20.time in jail and has taken responsibility and expressed regret
:03:21. > :03:25.and should therefore be released. Also taking into consideration her
:03:26. > :03:29.emotional and mental health, a transgender woman in a male person
:03:30. > :03:33.trying to go through a gender change for the game critics have said you
:03:34. > :03:41.should not treat a traitor like a martyr. That will take up a large
:03:42. > :03:47.chunk of it and you assume he will also be defending his record. He
:03:48. > :03:51.probably will, although he has done that quite copiously in the past
:03:52. > :03:57.weeks. He had a speech where he did that, a press conference in
:03:58. > :04:01.December, he has given many interviews to US and international
:04:02. > :04:05.news outlets so in terms of legacy issues I think many of the questions
:04:06. > :04:10.from journalists will be about this kind of hard news. But they will be
:04:11. > :04:13.aware that this is their last outing with the president and that tomorrow
:04:14. > :04:16.is the last day that he and his staffers are cleaning up their
:04:17. > :04:21.desks. They have to be gone by midnight. To be ready for the new
:04:22. > :04:27.Trump administration on Friday. So there is a sense of the last moments
:04:28. > :04:30.with President Obama and concerning questions about what they will face
:04:31. > :04:34.in the press briefing room if indeed there will be press briefings in the
:04:35. > :04:41.same way under Donald Trump. The press have been, they have had the
:04:42. > :04:45.ear of the president for the past eight years or so. It seems to be
:04:46. > :04:50.the case that President Trump when he becomes president is not going to
:04:51. > :04:55.be itself forthcoming with his press conferences. Do you expect President
:04:56. > :05:02.Obama two are to that? He might do if he is asked about it. The Obama
:05:03. > :05:10.administration ran a pretty tight ship on information and was not as
:05:11. > :05:13.transparent as promised. But he has held some 163 press conferences. And
:05:14. > :05:18.regular daily press briefings with jealous in the White House, where
:05:19. > :05:23.they are able to speak to senior officials. The Trump administration
:05:24. > :05:27.has been tossed around different ideas, we do not know exactly what
:05:28. > :05:33.is going to happen but we do know that Mr Trump has not liked to give
:05:34. > :05:38.press conferences in the past. His team have said they would perhaps
:05:39. > :05:42.love the press to a nearby location amongst other things. So there is
:05:43. > :05:52.concern. It could come up today, we will see. Thank you for that. We
:05:53. > :06:00.will of course be renewed that conference live. -- bring you.
:06:01. > :06:02.EU leaders meeting in Strasbourg have been
:06:03. > :06:04.giving their first reaction to Theresa May's Brexit speech.
:06:05. > :06:06.The prime minister of Malta, which holds the EU presidency,
:06:07. > :06:09.said any deal had to be inferior to the relationship Britain
:06:10. > :06:13.With both British and EU politicians trying not to antagonise each other
:06:14. > :06:16.Boris Johnson has been blamed for doing the opposite.
:06:17. > :06:19.He's been accused of comparing France's President
:06:20. > :06:23.Our political editor Laura Kuennsberg explains.
:06:24. > :06:25.Watch out chaps, I'm worried about you falling over.
:06:26. > :06:28.Watch out, Foreign Secretary, more like.
:06:29. > :06:30.It is his job to wins friends and influence around the world.
:06:31. > :06:37.But as the delicate process of leaving the EU begins,
:06:38. > :06:39.rather indelicate words about our old friends
:06:40. > :06:47.If Mr Hollande wants to administer punishment beatings to anybody
:06:48. > :06:49.who chooses to escape, rather in the manner of some
:06:50. > :06:56.World War II movie, I don't think that is the way forward.
:06:57. > :07:02.I think it is not in the interests of our friends and our partners.
:07:03. > :07:07.From thousands of miles away, he was slammed as crass.
:07:08. > :07:09.Not exactly what you would expect from a Foreign Minister,
:07:10. > :07:14.Awkward, when back home the Prime Minister is urging
:07:15. > :07:20.The point he made was a reasonable one, but the language has to be
:07:21. > :07:22.extremely careful in dealing with colleagues and friends.
:07:23. > :07:26.He comes up with these extraordinary phrases
:07:27. > :07:31.Boris Johnson's team says he was just making the point thatit
:07:32. > :07:34.makes no sense for the rest of the EU to treat Britain harshly.
:07:35. > :07:37.But only yesterday, Theresa May publicly reminded ministers
:07:38. > :07:40.here at home of the need for discipline and with a difficult
:07:41. > :07:44.deal ahead, Britain needs all the friends it has.
:07:45. > :07:48.Language matters, but it is the words and attitudes of European
:07:49. > :07:54.Yesterday, the Prime Minister appealed to her EU counterparts,
:07:55. > :07:58.urging them to behave as good friends, even as we leave.
:07:59. > :08:00.The arch European Jean-Claude Juncker, who leads the Commission
:08:01. > :08:05.that will manage the deal was suing for peace.
:08:06. > :08:10.We want a fair deal with Britain and a fair deal for Britain,
:08:11. > :08:13.but a fair deal means a fair deal for the European Union.
:08:14. > :08:16.Yet Europe's leaders are in no mood to let Britain divide and conquer.
:08:17. > :08:20.Their goal right now is sticking together.
:08:21. > :08:23.We now have a clearer idea of what Britain wants,
:08:24. > :08:25.Angela Merkel said, the most important thing is that
:08:26. > :08:33.And in public and private, this is the reality.
:08:34. > :08:35.Whatever the UK asks for, the rest of the EU will not do
:08:36. > :08:41.a deal where the terms of trade are as cushy outside as in.
:08:42. > :08:47.We want a fair deal for the United Kingdom,
:08:48. > :08:52.but that deal necessarily needs to be inferior to membership.
:08:53. > :08:58.She may smile, her speech yesterday pleased most of her party,
:08:59. > :09:01.but Theresa May is still under attack for not giving
:09:02. > :09:07.It is not so much the Iron Lady as the Irony Lady.
:09:08. > :09:15.Next Tuesday it is over to the courts, who could force
:09:16. > :09:19.the government to give detail, more detail, to Parliament,
:09:20. > :09:21.before the technical process of extricating ourselves
:09:22. > :09:30.In these negotiations it will not always seem that
:09:31. > :09:48.Our Europe correspondent Damian Grammaticas is in Strasbourg.
:09:49. > :09:50.It is interesting, the comments by Boris Johnson, although some
:09:51. > :09:53.here see them as at best insensitive and at worst offensive,
:09:54. > :09:57.have not made a big impact because here the view
:09:58. > :10:03.is there are serious issues at stake and the important thing to be
:10:04. > :10:06.remembered is what they are saying is the UK needs to understand
:10:07. > :10:12.it is trying to achieve unprecedented things.
:10:13. > :10:17.Theresa May wants a free-trade deal and an unprecedented amount
:10:18. > :10:18.of time within two years and for that she needs
:10:19. > :10:23.goodwill on behalf of the negotiating partners here.
:10:24. > :10:27.What the Maltese Prime Minister who will chair the EU countries said
:10:28. > :10:31.was that Theresa May had made a political decision
:10:32. > :10:35.to prioritise stopping the free movement of people,
:10:36. > :10:38.and the UK leaving the single market would not achieve
:10:39. > :10:47.Angela Merkel clear, saying outside the EU,
:10:48. > :10:52.the UK could not cherry pick because from the EU perspective,
:10:53. > :10:56.any deal would not offer benefits that would make any other country
:10:57. > :11:00.want also to follow the same path outside the EU and from the EU point
:11:01. > :11:09.of view that is what would do greatest harm to their unity.
:11:10. > :11:11.Thousands of British holidaymakers are on their way home
:11:12. > :11:13.from The Gambia after a state of emergency was declared there.
:11:14. > :11:16.The Foreign Office is advising people to avoid all but essential
:11:17. > :11:19.travel to the country, after its President refused
:11:20. > :11:25.to accept that he lost last month's election.
:11:26. > :11:31.It's basically that we are going to evacuate everyone back home today.
:11:32. > :11:37.About half the holiday-makers in The Gambia are British.
:11:38. > :11:39.Most are following Foreign Office advice to leave,
:11:40. > :11:44.Asking us to leave is unnecessary, I think, at the moment.
:11:45. > :11:49.But I understand that we need to do it.
:11:50. > :11:52.To me, it feels stupid, because this will all be over
:11:53. > :11:58.But it's not just foreigners fleeing the capital, Banjul.
:11:59. > :12:00.Many Gambians fear possible violence, as the President
:12:01. > :12:02.tries to cling to power, defying his election
:12:03. > :12:10.President Yahya Jammeh at first conceded that he lost,
:12:11. > :12:12.22 years after seizing power, and facing mounting
:12:13. > :12:16.accusations of torturing and murdering opponents.
:12:17. > :12:21.But then he changed his mind, and refused to step down.
:12:22. > :12:24.The man who won, Adama Barrow, fled to neighbouring Senegal.
:12:25. > :12:28.He insists he will be sworn in as President tomorrow,
:12:29. > :12:30.and other West African states, including Nigeria,
:12:31. > :12:35.are preparing their forces to intervene on his behalf.
:12:36. > :12:37.The Foreign Office stresses that one of its first
:12:38. > :12:40.duties is the protection of Britons overseas.
:12:41. > :12:43.So ministers say they had no choice but to urge those
:12:44. > :12:47.The Americans took a similar decision, more than a week ago.
:12:48. > :12:51.Ministers feel caution has to be the watchword.
:12:52. > :12:55.We have been putting a contingency plan together,
:12:56. > :12:58.should the advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office change.
:12:59. > :13:01.And of course, that happened last night.
:13:02. > :13:04.And the advice, to stop all but essential travel,
:13:05. > :13:09.effectively translates into, you shouldn't go unless you have to,
:13:10. > :13:13.and if you are out there, you really ought to come home.
:13:14. > :13:14.So now, charter aircraft are flying into The Gambia
:13:15. > :13:18.empty, flying out full, as the tourist exodus accelerates.
:13:19. > :13:20.Tonight, Senegal is seeking UN backing for West African
:13:21. > :13:26.Its troops are already massing on the border.
:13:27. > :13:34.Our correspondent in the Gambia, Umaru Fofana, has been to Banjul
:13:35. > :13:36.international airport to assess how holiday-makers on their way home
:13:37. > :13:45.Thousands of European tourists are streaming out of the Gambia,
:13:46. > :13:48.with special flights having been arranged for them.
:13:49. > :13:50.They are mostly from the United Kingdom, which has nearly
:13:51. > :13:53.1000 tourists in this country at present.
:13:54. > :13:56.But there are also others from France and from the Netherlands.
:13:57. > :14:00.Some of them have reacted negatively to having been asked to leave,
:14:01. > :14:03.but others say that it is safety first, therefore they are
:14:04. > :14:05.pleased to go back home, at the insistence of the governments
:14:06. > :14:09.All of this comes just a day after President Yahya Jammeh
:14:10. > :14:12.declared a state of emergency, which was endorsed by Parliament,
:14:13. > :14:14.which also extended its mandates, which should have ended
:14:15. > :14:20.All of this comes amid uncertainty as to what will happen next,
:14:21. > :14:23.with a massive troop build-up by particularly Senegal and Nigeria.
:14:24. > :14:25.To install Adam Barrow as the elected president
:14:26. > :14:27.of this country, something which President Yahya
:14:28. > :14:46.Some news coming in, the former US President George bush senior who has
:14:47. > :14:51.been in hospital in Texas since the weekend, since Saturday, he has
:14:52. > :14:54.apparently been moved to intensive care. He is said to be in a stable
:14:55. > :15:02.condition after being treated for pneumonia. And he is 92 years old.
:15:03. > :15:06.His wife Barbara has also been admitted to the same hospital as a
:15:07. > :15:11.precaution because of fatigue. So the former US President George Bush
:15:12. > :15:15.senior who has been in hospital in Texas since last Saturday has been
:15:16. > :15:25.moved to intensive care suffering from pneumonia. The headlines.
:15:26. > :15:29.President Barack Obama prepares to make a final farewell speech in
:15:30. > :15:33.front of jealous of the White House with two days remaining of his
:15:34. > :15:38.presidency. A visit to India, Britain's Foreign Secretary has
:15:39. > :15:41.warned EU leaders not to penalise the UK over Brexit. Thousands of
:15:42. > :15:44.Gambians and foreign tourists are fleeing the country after political
:15:45. > :15:55.unrest, the president refusing to stand down after the elections last
:15:56. > :16:01.month. Let's show you the scene live at the White House, where President
:16:02. > :16:06.Obama with just a couple of days to go before standing down as
:16:07. > :16:10.president, journalists there gathering for the final press
:16:11. > :16:15.conference of the Obama administration. Hundreds of
:16:16. > :16:19.journalists there. And one of the questions the president will have to
:16:20. > :16:23.answer is why he decided to commute the sentence of Bradley Manning, the
:16:24. > :16:29.soldier who was responsible for the biggest league of classified
:16:30. > :16:37.information in American history. That is Chelsea Manning, she already
:16:38. > :16:41.served seven years in jail but the president decided to commute her
:16:42. > :16:46.sentence. That will be one of the big talking points obviously. The
:16:47. > :16:50.president perhaps will be reflecting on the last eight years and perhaps
:16:51. > :16:56.what he thinks the next four years of the Trump administration might
:16:57. > :17:06.look like. We're waiting for that press conference from the president.
:17:07. > :17:08.It's being hailed as a victory for disabled people.
:17:09. > :17:11.Doug Paulley, who uses a wheel chair, took legal action
:17:12. > :17:12.because he couldn't board a bus in Leeds, when a mother
:17:13. > :17:14.with a pushchair refused to make way for him.
:17:15. > :17:17.Today judges at the Supreme Court ruled that the bus company's policy
:17:18. > :17:19.of "requesting" but not "requiring" other passengers to move
:17:20. > :17:25.Our disability affairs correspondent Nikki Fox reports.
:17:26. > :17:29.It has taken almost five years of legal battles
:17:30. > :17:40.But finally, Doug Paulley had his day in the highest
:17:41. > :17:44.All seven judges agreed the bus company's policy
:17:45. > :17:56.requiring a person to vacate the wheelchair space was unlawful.
:17:57. > :17:59.Today the Supreme Court has allowed the appeal of Doug Paulley, albeit
:18:00. > :18:04.to a limited extent. But it is not quite as clear-cut,
:18:05. > :18:08.because the judgment does go as far as insisting
:18:09. > :18:11.someone move from the space. It has not gone as far as some
:18:12. > :18:18.people would like or it has gone too In the end, this is about disabled
:18:19. > :18:22.people's right to access, to travel on the bus, and,
:18:23. > :18:24.hopefully, today has been a step in It began in 2012 when Doug
:18:25. > :18:29.was unable to catch a bus because the space for wheelchairs
:18:30. > :18:31.was occupied by a mum She refused to move which meant
:18:32. > :18:37.Doug could not get on. First Group admit that
:18:38. > :18:39.following the verdict, they might have to amend training
:18:40. > :18:44.they provide staff, but are pleased drivers will not
:18:45. > :18:47.have to force people off the bus. We really welcome the fact
:18:48. > :18:49.the court confirmed that to remove a passenger from a bus
:18:50. > :18:54.if they refuse to move from the space, which is important
:18:55. > :18:58.for drivers to have that clarity. The impact of the judgment will have
:18:59. > :19:02.much wider implications that Any service provider or company that
:19:03. > :19:09.has a dedicated space for disabled people, which could be
:19:10. > :19:11.a supermarket disabled bay, or accessible toilet
:19:12. > :19:14.in a restaurant, they will have to make sure wheelchair
:19:15. > :19:19.users get priority. I will not go on the bus and take
:19:20. > :19:26.the woman with the pram... I am disabled, but I am still a man
:19:27. > :19:34.and this just feels not right. It is not quite as simple
:19:35. > :19:39.as wheelchairs versus pushchairs. It is better to remain a grey area
:19:40. > :19:43.for people to use common sense. However, nuanced, today's ruling
:19:44. > :19:47.paves the way for a closer look at legislation when it comes
:19:48. > :19:49.to prioritising access 2016 was the hottest year
:19:50. > :20:04.since records began over a century Average global temperatures
:20:05. > :20:09.edged ahead of 2015 - and are now 1.1 degrees higher
:20:10. > :20:11.than pre-industrial levels. In fact, it is the third consecutive
:20:12. > :20:14.year that the record Scientists believe that the El Nino
:20:15. > :20:19.weather phenomenon played a role - but increasing levels of greenhouse
:20:20. > :20:22.gases were the main factor Our Science Correspondent
:20:23. > :20:28.Rebecca Morelle has more. Our planet is warming, fast,
:20:29. > :20:31.and the latest data suggests that This winter, parts of the Arctic
:20:32. > :20:40.have had a heatwave, temperatures were above freezing
:20:41. > :20:44.when they should While Australia's Great Barrier Reef
:20:45. > :20:49.was transformed to this. Vast swathes of coral were killed
:20:50. > :20:52.off, as the waters warmed. 2015 was the warmest year
:20:53. > :20:55.on record up until now, It's beaten it by about 0.1,
:20:56. > :21:01.0.12 degrees Celsius. Which doesn't seem like a lot,
:21:02. > :21:04.but in terms of the yearly Part of this rise was caused
:21:05. > :21:09.by an El Nino event, a warm ocean current that disrupts
:21:10. > :21:13.the world's weather. But scientists say greenhouse gases
:21:14. > :21:17.were the main driver. This shows how global
:21:18. > :21:19.temperatures have increased The bigger the circle,
:21:20. > :21:26.the hotter the year. And the latest data,
:21:27. > :21:28.collected by Nasa and meteorological agencies around the world,
:21:29. > :21:31.suggest 2016 is the third year The global temperature
:21:32. > :21:40.is edging ever closer Scientists say a rise of two degrees
:21:41. > :21:45.Celsius above pre-industrial levels could lead to dangerous impacts
:21:46. > :21:49.around the world. So a lower limit of 1.5 Celsius
:21:50. > :21:53.was set by the Paris climate agreement, a global deal that came
:21:54. > :21:57.into force last year. But with carbon dioxide at record
:21:58. > :22:01.levels, scientists say this is a temperature threshold
:22:02. > :22:08.we are on course to surpass. To tackle global warming,
:22:09. > :22:12.the world is being urged to move away from fossil
:22:13. > :22:15.fuels, like coal. But in the US, Donald Trump has said
:22:16. > :22:19.he wants to revive the industry, and has threatened to pull America
:22:20. > :22:23.out of the Paris climate agreement. The woman who brokered
:22:24. > :22:28.the deal is concerned. If the US chooses to exit the road
:22:29. > :22:33.and the path that has been pursued by every other country in the world,
:22:34. > :22:35.it is only going to damage itself, because it will
:22:36. > :22:38.become less competitive. We are moving toward
:22:39. > :22:41.a de-carbonised society. All eyes will now be
:22:42. > :22:45.on this year's data. Already, scientists forecast that
:22:46. > :22:49.2017 won't be as warm, But they say longer term,
:22:50. > :23:09.unless action is taken, Going back to the White House and
:23:10. > :23:14.pictures of journalists just waiting for President Obama to stand at that
:23:15. > :23:22.podium in the next couple of minutes or so. We expect his final news
:23:23. > :23:30.conference shortly. Our correspondent is just outside. He
:23:31. > :23:35.has had well over 100 news conferences, daily press briefings
:23:36. > :23:39.and so on. But the suggestion has been that this administration has
:23:40. > :23:49.not been as forthcoming as many people had hoped. He is at the
:23:50. > :23:53.moment fashionably late, he has not been as forthcoming as people might
:23:54. > :23:58.have hoped. There has been quite a lot of control of information in
:23:59. > :24:02.this White House even though he promised great transparency. They do
:24:03. > :24:05.send out briefings and notes about decisions they have made but they
:24:06. > :24:10.have also kept the limits and controls about what they release.
:24:11. > :24:16.But they have had fairly good access in terms of a press briefing room,
:24:17. > :24:21.daily press briefings, as we said. Quite a lot of press conferences and
:24:22. > :24:24.when Mr Obama comes to them he tends to talk fulsomely, he not only
:24:25. > :24:29.answers the question but gives an explanation of why he believes what
:24:30. > :24:33.he believes or defends what he did. So we have had a lot of time of him
:24:34. > :24:35.talking to the press. Just to cut you off, we are going to hear the
:24:36. > :24:46.president himself. Let me start by saying I was sorely
:24:47. > :24:50.tempted to wear a tan suit today. For my last press conference. But
:24:51. > :24:55.Michelle whose fashion sense is better than mine tells me it is not
:24:56. > :25:02.appropriate in January. I covered a lot of the ground I want to cover in
:25:03. > :25:06.my farewell address last week. So I am just going to say a couple of
:25:07. > :25:15.quick things before questions. First we have been in touch with the
:25:16. > :25:19.family of President George Bush and his wife being admitted to hospital
:25:20. > :25:23.with morning. They are not only dedicated their lives to this
:25:24. > :25:29.country, they have been a constant source of friendship and support and
:25:30. > :25:38.good Counsel for Michelle and me over the years. They are as fine a
:25:39. > :25:44.couple as we know. And so we want to send our prayer and our love to
:25:45. > :25:48.them. Really good people. Second thing I want to do is to thank all
:25:49. > :25:54.of you. Some of you have been covering me for a long time. Folks
:25:55. > :26:01.like Christie and linen. Some of you have just gotten to know me, we've
:26:02. > :26:08.travelled the world together, hit a few singles, a few doubles.
:26:09. > :26:13.Barack Obama at the White House with the final press conference of his
:26:14. > :26:15.presidency. Even when you complained about