08/12/2017 World News Today

been killed in an attack

in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Hello and welcome

to World News Today.

After almost six months of talks,

finally a breakthrough

in negotiations between the UK

and the EU.

A deal was struck first thing Friday

morning on key areas

including the Irish border

and the Divorce Bill.

Now, discussions can move

onto the second phase -

the future trade relationship.

But Donald Tusk, the President

of the European Commission

has sounded a warning -

so much time has been

devoted to the early,

easier part of the negotiations,

and the hard part is

only just beginning.

Our political editor

Laura Kuenssberg has more.

While most of us slept, when hardly

a soul was stirring, the residents

of Downing Street were up.

Late-night calls.

Then, at seven minutes past

four, onto the plane.

Theresa May, travelling,

while Jean-Claude Juncker was

pacing, waiting, in so

many ways, for the UK.

And then, touchdown.

Ready?

Ready if you are.

Taking their places

for the moment, after

three days of cajoling.

Compromise and criticism.

It was a good morning

for Theresa May.

A deal to pave the way

for Brexit, round two, the

jargon she had longed to hear.

Sufficient progress has now

been made on the strict

terms of the divorce.

This was a difficult negotiation

for the European Union,

as well as for the United Kingdom.

After breakdown on Monday,

blocked by her allies

at home, a huge weight off

the government's stressed shoulders.

I very much welcome

the prospect of moving

ahead to the next phase,

to

talk about trade and security,

and to discuss the positive and

ambitious future relationship.

Are you going to be celebrating,

cracking open the champagne?

No.

Still working.

No celebrations for either side.

No champagne?

Water.

Many compromises, and more to come.

The agreement implies

it will cost up to

£39 billion to settle our

account as we leave.

There is no final figure,

and it could be more, but paid over

many years.

Both sides say that Brits who live

elsewhere in the EU,

and European citizens who live here

will have their rights protected.

And, crucially for Tory

backbenchers, the role of the

European Court will be limited.

There is a promise there will be no

hard border in Ireland between North

and South, a vow that rules

and regulations will be aligned

if there is no big trade deal.

And a time-limited

transition period as we

leave.

We are not making any comment.

But what about the DUP,

who had so embarrassed the Prime

Minister on Monday?

She needs their votes

in parliament, and this week

they squeezed some concessions.

But in the early hours,

Theresa May made

the decision to crack on,

even though they weren't quite sure.

There are still matters we would

have liked to have seen clarified.

We ran out of time, essentially.

We think that we needed to go back

again and talk about those matters,

but the Prime Minister has decided

to go to Brussels in relation to

this text, and she says she has done

that in the national interest.

The Leader of the

Opposition, speaking

at the UN today, was

even less impressed.

This could have been

done some time ago.

The referendum took place in 2016

and now, right at the

end of 2017, this is the first time

there has been any sign of any

movement to go on to phase two.

But Tory relief washed over social

media, the Cabinet falling over

themselves to praise their boss,

and notable by their absence,

most Tory Brexiteers.

The ultimate arbiter,

put that in your pipe and smoke it.

The real criticism from this man.

Remember him?

Amazing.

The British Prime Minister

flies through the

middle of the night to meet

unelected bureaucrats who pat her on

the head, they say you have met our

demands, made sufficient progress

and can move to the next stage.

The whole thing is a humiliation.

As one of the Brussels

brokers was keen to

point out, reaching the next deal

to shake on will be harder still.

Remember, the most difficult

challenge is still ahead.

We all know that

breaking up is hard.

But breaking up and building

a new relation is much harder.

But round here, there

is no jubilation, more

like thank goodness, because these

negotiations are intertwined

with the Prime Minister's fate.

The talks stumble, so does she.

The talks muddle through,

and so does she.

Had there not been

this deal at dawn,

there would have been serious

rumblings about Theresa May's

future.

With progress comes breathing

space, but there is

compromise, plenty of it.

And with that comes

winners and losers, and

no real guarantees.

Getting this far and keeping

the peace has strained

this street already.

Tory divisions have not disappeared.

But agreeing anything has

been an achievement.

For tonight at least,

a little goodwill.

Laura Kuenssberg, BBC

News, Westminster.

There have been clashes

between Israeli forces

and Palestinians protesting

at Donald Trump's decision

to recognise Jerusalem

as Israel's capital.

One person has died and over

200 have been injured.

There have also been demonstrations

across the Arab world.

Our Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen

reports from Jerusalem.

The biggest protests were in Gaza.

Plenty of people had warned that US

recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's

capital would lead to bloodshed.

The first person to die

was a 30-year-old Palestinian.

He was shot by the Israeli

army during clashes

on Gaza's border.

Others were wounded.

There were clashes around towns

on the West Bank, too.

The Palestinians want

Gaza and the West

Bank to be their future state,

with a capital in East Jerusalem.

This is our land.

All Palestine is our land.

Mr Trump, you are wrong.

Israel is, want all of

Jerusalem, are delighted

by President Trump's

recognition of their capital.

He said, we are steadfast here,

internally, since ancient

times.

This city was given to Jews

thousands of years ago and the US

has recognised that.

But the golden dome behind him

is part of the third

holiest place in the world

for Muslims, and a few hundred yards

away, several thousand Palestinians

were going home after the noon

prayer.

The reality of this city is that

many Palestinians live here.

Life for them can be hard.

This home has been

demolished twice this year

by order of the Israeli authorities.

Like many Palestinians,

he built without a permit.

Israel gives Palestinians

very few construction

permits, while building

thousands of homes for Jews.

I born in this land,

and my father and my grandfather.

I will die in this place.

Palestinian areas of

Jerusalem were quieter

after Friday prayers

than many expected.

Whenever a crowd formed,

mostly of onlookers, the police

broke it up.

Mr Trump's declaration

is a big challenge for the

Palestinian national movement

and will turn into a big defeat

for it as well if the Palestinians

are not

able to organise a coherent

challenge to what has happened, and

to build on all the international

criticism there has been.

Israel feels on the up.

It has been given American

presidential recognition in

this city, without

mention of occupation,

and without, so far,

a

single concession in return.

Anger at the decision has spread

across the Muslim world.

Our correspondents in Kabul,

Islamabad and Jakarta all sent us

these reports on demonstrations

taking place in their cities.

The voice that has been echoing

in the city of Kabul today

is this, "Death to Israel

and death to America!"

And though for some the stance

of the Government has been firm

enough saying that this

announcement of the American

president will hurt the feelings

of the Muslims around the world

and it could further

to stabilise the Middle East,

but for many people,

that wasn't enough.

-- further destabilise.

They felt they had to come

out into the streets

and give this message.

The message here on the banners

is that Jerusalem is the front line.

It is the red line,

and that it has been crossed.

SHOUTING

CROWD CHANT

This is one

of the Central market in Islamabad

where protesters have gathered

from different areas after prayer.

These protesters are demanding US

President Donald Trump

reverse his decision of recognising

Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Similar anti-US rallies

are also being held in major

cities of Pakistan,

including Karachi and Lahore.

Right-wing political parties

and some Islamist groups are reading

these anti-Trump and anti-American

protests across the country,

but it is also important to note

here that this time it is not only

the traditional adversaries

of the USA and Pakistan protesting,

Donald Trump's decision,

but some political parties

which are known to be allies

of the US are also...

These have also found some

common ground in rejecting

Donald Trump's statement

regarding the status of Jerusalem.

The security situation is on high

alert in sensitive areas,

especially diplomatically

with the US Embassy is situated

and at the US consulate

in Lahore and Karachi,

just yesterday, during a similar

kind of demonstration,

some students unions tried to march

towards the US consulate in Lahore.

Therefore security has been put

on high alert to avoid any

uncalled for situations.

Around 300 people rallying in front

of the US Embassy in Jakarta

after the Friday prayer to protest

President Trump's decision

to recognise Jerusalem

as the capital of Israel

and move its Embassy

to the holy city.

They demanded that the sovereignty

of Jerusalem to be given

to the Palestinians and to make

Jerusalem the capital

of the Palestine state.

However a small group of Jewish

community and Israel supporters

have shown their support

to President Trump 's

have shown their support

to President Trump's

recognition.

Earlier this week, the president

said the unilateral decision

was against the UN a solution

and that it might harm the world

peace and world stability.

It also called the Organisation

of Islamic Corporation to be taking

the issue extensively in the leaders

Summit held next week in Istanbul.

It also called the Organisation

of Islamic Cooporation to be taking

the issue extensively in the leaders

Summit held next week in Istanbul.

Indonesia doesn't have any bilateral

ties with real Israel and a Muslim

majority country has been

on the side of the Palestine

defending the Muslim solidarity.

The United Nations says at least 14

of its peacekeepers have been killed

and dozens injured in an attack

in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Five Congolese soldiers also died

in the assault in the east

of the country in Kivu.

Emergency teams are in the area

and evacuations are under way.

The UN Secretary General Antonio

Guterres says it's the worst attack

on peacekeepers in recent history,

and could amount to war crimes.

I condemn this attack unequivocally.

And these deliberate attacks

against UN peacekeepers

are unacceptable and

constitute a war crime.

I call on the DRC

authorities to investigate

these incidents and swiftly bring

the perpetrators to justice.

There must be no impunity for such

assaults here or anywhere else.

Military reinforcements have

arrived on the scene.

The Force Commander

is there as well,

coordinating the mission's response,

and the medical evacuation

of casualties is ongoing.

This is the worst attack

on UN peacekeepers in

the organisation's recent history.

It is another indication of the

enormous sacrifices made by troop

contributing countries

in the service of global peace.

These brave women and

men are putting their

lives on the line every day

across the world to serve peace

and to protect civilians.

Our Africa security correspondent

Tomi Oladipo has more about the UN's

role in DRC, from Nairobi.

Well, this attack happened

on Thursday night.

It was an attack on a UN base

where the UN troops of the mission,

Monusco, known as Monusco were.

We believe that suspected

militants from a group that

operates in the DRC,

but originates from Uganda.

The group is called

Ally Democratic Forces, ADF,

that's who the UN has blamed

or they are suspecting that elements

of this group would have been

involved in that attack.

And it appears to have

been a surprise attack,

considering the number of casualties

- over 50 wounded and then

over a dozen killed.

So this is quite a major incident

for the UN and the DRC where it has

been facing a lot of challenges.

This is the largest UN peacekeeping

mission in the world.

It is one of the largest budgets.

The troops were over 18,000.

From what we are hearing,

the troops involved were from,

at least the ones killed,

were from Tanzania.

Tanzania sends in over 1000

troops to this 18,000.

So it's a major mission there,

but it has been going on for such

a long time, and there has been

criticism about Monusco as a whole

and its effectiveness.

I think this will be brought

again to the forefront

and brought to the discussion,

considering the challenges UN

peacekeeping has been

facing as a whole in terms

of effectiveness, but also

in terms of funding.

And that was our Africa

Security Correspondent,

Tom Oladipo giving his analysis

into the attack in the DRC.

Let's take a look at some of

the other stories making the news...

As we've heard, the Brexit

breakthrough should now enable

discussions to move on to the next

phase, and focus on what the future

relationship between the UK

and EU will look like.

But what exactly has

been agreed so far -

and what does it mean?

Chris Morris from the BBC's Reality

Check team takes a closer look.

A breakthrough in the Brexit

negotiations for sure,

but it's worth emphasising that this

is only an agreement that sufficient

progress has been made on issues

relating to the UK's withdrawal.

It locks in the progress made

so far, but at the same time

emphasises that nothing is agreed

until everything is agreed.

And the toughest talks

are still to come.

This is not the end,

but it is the end of the beginning.

And we will remain fully engaged

and vigilant throughout phase two,

the drafting and ratification

of the new treaties that will be

required between the EU and the UK,

and their implementation.

So how has the benchmark

of sufficient progress been reached?

Well, on the Irish border,

the hope is that a future free

trade agreement will mean

many of the concerns about a hard

border simply melt away.

But as a backstop, if all else

fails, the UK has promised

to maintain full alignment with EU

single market and customs rules that

govern trade across the border.

Exactly how that will be done

isn't entirely clear,

but you certainly can't have partial

membership of the single market

and the customs union.

On citizens' rights, it's been

agreed that the cut-off date

for an agreement on the rights of EU

citizens in the UK, and UK citizens

elsewhere in the EU, will be the day

Brexit actually happens.

In other words, some people yet

to arrive could still qualify.

There will also be a potential role

for the European Court of Justice,

directly for eight years

and indirectly thereafter.

The number of legal cases it's

likely to cover is very small,

but some Brexiteers

won't be entirely happy.

Nor are some campaigners

for citizens' rights,

because many details have yet

to be resolved.

And then there's the financial

settlement, the divorce bill.

A method for calculating

it has been agreed.

It will be paid in euros.

But technical negotiations

will continue on various aspects,

including when and how

the money gets paid.

How much is the final

amount likely to be?

We'll probably never know for sure,

but UK sources say the equivalent

of up to £40 billion.

While some EU sources

still think it will be higher.

And this is only phase one.

Formal talks about the outlines

of a future relationship on trade,

security and so on haven't yet

started.

The next priority will be to agree

upon the terms of a transition

period for about two

years after Brexit.

The EU says it means the UK staying

in the single market

and the customs union.

The government says that's not how

it understands it at all.

It is very clear that more

challenging negotiation lies ahead.

Chris Morris, BBC News.

With me is Oliver Norgrove,

a political commentator who worked

for the Vote Leave campaign.

What did you make of the compromises

in today's deal?

I am encouraged

that we have progress, especially

given the time frame, but ultimately

we swallowed it a lot. I think on

the Irish border, what we see now is

that if we cannot agree to any

specific solutions, we will have to

remain fully aligned to the rules of

the single market and Customs union.

I don't think we look particularly

strong. I think some of these

concessions will have been

inevitable.

Exactly. Some of these

concessions, if Theresa May hasn't

agreed to them, would we not have

been in for a very hard Brexit

indeed?

I think we would then have

crashed out with a no deal, because

they have approached this with an

unrealistic mindset. I think one of

the main problems with our approach

to negotiations is a mistaken belief

that it is within the interest of

the EU to offer us a good trade

deal. That is why we have struggled

and been forced into position where

we have had to make so many

concessions.

Really what do you

think of the idea that nothing is

agreed until everything is agreed?

Keep this all still fall apart?

It

could, yes. I try not to get too

bogged down with slogans, but phase

two will be difficult. We haven't

got to VAT, agriculture. I think

some of the difficult things will be

about how to avoid customs posts on

the Irish border. We are not there

yet and there are a number of

challenges and bumps along the way.

What would you say to those who

voted remain?

I think they will be

vindicated by it, because I think

some of their warnings about the

balance of power in these

negotiations have come true. The EU

is in a much stronger position by

default, because it cannot undermine

the integrity of its institutions.

If you look at Article 50, there is

nothing about leaving with the trade

agreement. We are forced to talk

about the future relationship, but

we only leave with a withdrawal

agreement. We were never going to

leave any strong position.

Remainders will feel vindicated.

Keyword Freddie Read campaign, but

you have softened your position

briefly, can you tell us why? --

you've worked for the vote Leave

campaign.

I think it helps us to

protect our own constitutional

integrity because it allows all of

the United Kingdom to leave the EU

on the same terms...

And that was

not part of the leave campaign? You

can still support that?

My own view

has always been that vote leave had

a different position on the single

market. Our campaign material and

messaging was also more geared

towards constructive ambiguity. I

don't think the mandate is

threatened by doing so.

We will

leave it there. Thank you very much.

Let's return to the issue

of Jerusalem - soon

after Donald Trump declared

that the US would recognise the city

as Israel's capital he was met

with a wave of condemnation -

not just from across the muslim

world, but also from many

traditional allies.

traditional allies.

The UN Security Council had been

discussing the issue

over the last few hours.

The Palestinian Ambassador

to the UN has urged

the organisation to intervene.

Come before the council today to

urge the council to uphold its

resolutions in light of the

provocations against Jerusalem's

legal, political and historic status

and the Palestinian people's rights

and legitimate national aspirations.

Also speaking at the UN security

council, Nikki Hayley,

the US's ambassador to the UN,

said Donald Trump did the obvious

by recognising Jerusalem

as the capital of Israel

but insisted that he had left

the specific dimensions of Jerusalem

to Israelis and Palestinians

to negotiate.

The President has announced

that the United States

recognises the obvious,

that Jerusalem is

the capital of Israel.

He has also instructed

the State Department to begin

the process of relocating the US

embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

That is what the president has done.

And this is what he has not done.

The United States has not taken

a position on boundaries or borders.

The specific dimensions

of sovereignty over Jerusalem

are still to be decided

by the Israelis and the

Palestinians in negotiations.

Nada Tawfik is at the UN

headquarters in New York.

Thank you for joining us. How were

those comments received? She said

the US still had credibility as a

mediator with the route to attack

Israelis and Palestinians.

-- with

the Israelis and Palestinians. Two

of the US's allies on the council,

the UK and France, they disagreed

with the United States and believed

it was in contradiction of the seven

Security Council resolutions. After

the meeting, you had the European

members of the Security Council, how

to again said he disagreed with the

united States, the disagreed with

her assertion that this doesn't

violate international law and those

Security Council resolutions, and

basically said it is time for the

United States to opine exactly what

their peace process is, what the

details of their plan is now. That

was echoed by other members of the

Security Council, like the Russian

ambassador. The French ambassador

said this undermines the ability of

the Security Council. The United

States was very isolated in this

meeting this afternoon.

Strong words

today at the UN, but word does this

leave us now?

It's important to

remember the United States has a

veto power on the Security Council

and so we didn't have anyone try to

propose a resolution or a statement

out of the Security Council. The

Palestinian ambassador did say to

reporters that after Arab ministers

meet at the organisation for Islamic

Corporation meeting that he will

come back and request the Security

Council act on that, but again, it

would be a largely symbolic move and

gesture because the United States

could veto any move and product they

bid for word. -- papered forehead.

Don't forget, you can get

in touch with me and some

of the team on Twitter -

I'm @celiahatton.

That's all from us for an hour.

That's all from us for an hour.