08/12/2017 World News Today

transient snow, probably eventually

turning to rain. A lot happening

over the next few days, make sure

you stay tuned to the weather.

Britain and the EU have struck a

last-minute deal, which means Brexit

talks can move onto the next phase.

Getting to this point has required

give and take on both sides,

and I believe the joint

report being published

is in the best interests

of the whole of the UK.

I believe we have now made

the breakthrough we needed.

Today's result is,

of course, a compromise.

Issues over the Irish border, the

divorce Bill and citizens rights are

addressed in the agreement, but

around key points, questioned

remain.

Clashes between Palestinians and

Israeli security forces clash.

And the United Nations says it's the

worst attack on peacekeepers in

recent history. 14 peacekeepers have

been killed in the Democratic

Republic of Congo.

Hello and welcome to World News

Todya. After six months of talks,

finally a break you. 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 relationship, but

Donald Tusk, the of the European

Commission, has sounded a warning.

He says so much time has been

dedicated to the early easy part of

the negotiations, the hard part is

only just beginning.

While most of us slept,

when hardly a soul was stirring,

the residents

of Downing Street were up.

Late-night calls.

Then, at 4:07, 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 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 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,

Mr Barnier,

cracking open the champagne?

Still working.

Still more work to do, no champagne.

No celebrations for either side.

No champagne.

Water.

There have been many

compromises, and more to come.

The agreement implies it

will cost up to £39 billion

to settle our accounts as we leave.

There is no final figure,

and it could be more,

but could be more

paid over many years.

Both sides say 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 their rules and regulations

will be aligned if there

is no big trade deal.

And a time-limited transition

period as we leave.

But what about the DUP,

who'd 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

there that 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,

we are 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, isn't it.

The British Prime Minister flies

through the middle of the night

to meet unelected bureaucrats

who pat her on the head,

and 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 brokers in Brussels

was keen to point out,

reaching the next deal

to shake on will be harder still.

Let us 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.

The Tory divisions

have not disappeared.

But agreeing anything

has been an achievement.

For tonight at least,

a little goodwill.

Laura Kuenssberg,

BBC News, Westminster.

How people reacting to the Brexit

deal across Europe? Let's talk to

the Forum editor of a newspaper.

Think of the joining us. How is

Berlin reacting to this deal?

Initially, the government

spokesperson today just said it is a

step forward, and now they are

looking into the details to make

their own assessment. At an

officially, everybody is relieved

that we do have this before

Christmas, because there were

concerns that talks may fail. That

would have serious consequences for

Germany as the most important

trading partner for Britain.

Could a

change in the German government

cause a change in Brexit policy?

Know, it won't. Surprisingly, there

is a consensus all across the German

political spectrum, when it comes to

negotiation from Brexit, I don't

think there are any political

differences. Even the fact that we

have just an acting government right

now, it will strain the hands of the

German government when it comes to

continuing the negotiation.

Tell us

more about the concerns that German

government, or Germans in general,

might have about Brexit. Are they

focused around trade, or are there

other concerns?

So far, it has

always been a question of the

financial settlement. Germany is the

European Union's most important net

payer. That means, any Bill left

over, it would have to be covered by

the countries. So the relief today,

it is related to the fact that we

now know that the British Government

will not spell it out, but... Of

what they wanted to achieving this

issue. It means for the German

government, they can go ahead now.

Thank you very much.

If you want to find out more about

Brexit and all the latest twists and

turns, download the Brexit cast

broadcast. You can download it on

the website or subscribe to the pod

cast on iTunes.

Breaking news to bring you now,

aides close to the former Georgian

president say he has just been

arrested in Kiev. Our Ukraine

correspondent said details of how he

had been detained have not been

released.

You might remember early in the

week, these extraordinary pictures

of an attempted a rest were

released. Officers went to his flat

and ended up walking him across his

roof before he could be properly

detained, though, his supporters

managed to free him. Prosecutors

accused him of receiving funding

from an ally of Ukraine's former

president. He says he is an

anti-corruption campaigner, and has

made accusations against the

Ukrainian president. We will bring

you more on this as it becomes

available.

The US ambassador to the UN has

denounced the organisation's role in

the Middle East, describing it as a

centre of hostility to Israel. Nikki

Haley was responding to criticism at

the US decision to recognise to rue

celeb as Israel's capital. There

have been clashes between Israeli

forces and Palestinians, protesting

at the decision. And there have been

demonstrations across the Arab

world.

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.

Israelis, who want all of Jerusalem,

are delighted by President Trump's

recognition of their capital.

He said, we're steadfast here,

eternally, since ancient times.

This city was given to Jews 3,000

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.

Jeremy Bowen, BBC News, Jerusalem.

Stay with us on BBC World News,

still to come: we talk to BBC sport,

they are looking ahead to the

Manchester derby and waking up the

chances for City and United.

This is BBC World News Today. The

latest headlines: UK and EU leaders

hail the breakthrough we needed

after Prime Minister Theresa May

makes an early morning dash to

Brussels to seal the deal.

The US ambassador to the UN has

denounced the organisation's role in

the middle east, describing it as a

centre of hostility to Israel.

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. Emergency teams are in the

area, and evacuations are underway.

The UN secretaries-general says it

is the worst attack on peacekeepers

in recent history, and could amount

to war crimes.

I condemn this attack unequivocally.

It is unacceptable and constitutes a

war crime. I call on the authorities

to investigate this incident and to

roughly 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 first

commander is there as well

coordinated a response, and the

medical evacuation of casualties is

ongoing. This is the worst attack on

UN peacekeepers in recent history.

We have more about the UN's role in

the DRC.

This attack happened on Thursday

night. It was an attack on a UN base

where the UN troops of the mission

were. It is believed that suspected

militants from a group that operates

in the DRC but originates from

Uganda, that is who the UN is

blaming or suspecting an element of

this group was involved in the

attack. And it appears to have been

a surprise attack, considering the

number of casualties, over 50

wounded and a dozen killed. Quite a

major incident for the UN in the DRC

where it had been facing challenges.

This is the largest UN peacekeeping

mission in the world. One of the

largest budgets. Over 18,000 troops,

from what we are hearing, the troops

involved were from Tanzania, who

sends over a thousand troops. It is

a major mission there, but it has

been going on for a long time. There

has been criticism about its

effectiveness, and this will be

brought again to the forefront,

brought to the discussion

considering the challenges UN

peacekeeping has been facing in

terms of effectiveness and also in

terms of funding.

A former Catalan minister who was

jailed in Spain for his role in a

legally declaring independence for

the region has told the BBC that he

acknowledges his government may have

broken the law. He has been speaking

exclusively to the BBC's Europe

reporter.

We were with ordinary criminals,

with blood crimes. I mean, murder

and other things. We didn't have a

feeling of danger in our jail, but

there were a lot of hours in the

cell, 16, 17 hours a day in a small

cell. They wanted to steal our

dignity, but they didn't succeed.

But how do you justify what you did?

There were no legal means to have an

independence declaration, it was

against the constitution. You have

the Spanish government who say you

have made a situation deeply

divisive now, thousands of companies

have left, tell me.

To hold a

referendum is not illegal. It's not

a crime in Spain. It is not a crime

in Spain. We wanted the same thing,

the same referendum that took place

in Scotland. We are non-violent in

our movement. This is the most

unfair thing we have to face.

Perhaps we have disobeyed, perhaps,

perhaps. But we haven't committed a

crime to go to jail for 30 years.

Gavin Lee reporting there.

In California, six wildfires

continue to rage out of control,

leaving communities on the Pacific

Ocean, including the City of Santa

Barbara, preparing for evacuations.

James Cooper reports.

For California,

an epic battle continues.

They've been fighting this blaze

in the mountains north

of Los Angeles all week,

and still it devours forest

and brush, and has destroyed

more than 430 buildings.

Yet again tonight, this blaze

is burning with an intense ferocity,

and that means a battle,

because there is property down here,

very close to the fire,

and these firefighters have been

working very, very hard

for the past few days.

They are exhausted,

but they are back here again now

to try and stop this fire

from burning these properties.

The fire is now churning

towards the Pacific Ocean,

where communities as far north

as Santa Barbara are

preparing for evacuations.

To the south, a new blaze

exploded fast in San Diego County,

blowing up gas tanks under homes

and forcing pupils to flee

from their schools.

For those who have not been

currently impacted by the fire,

they need to prepare

as if they are going to be

impacted by the fire.

Where are they going to go?

What are their escape routes?

What is their communication

with their family?

What are they going

to do with their pets?

Do they have their

vehicles loaded to go?

Often, we don't ask people to think

about these things continuously,

but tonight is one of those nights,

today is one of these fires that

people need to be ready.

In the exclusive Los Angeles

suburb of Bel-Air,

the situation has improved.

A handful of homes were destroyed,

but many more were saved.

The musician Lionel Ritchie

and the socialite Paris Hilton

were among those forced

to flee their mansions.

Every firefighting aircraft

in the United States has been

summoned to California,

and they are making

a big difference.

With resources stretched

to the limit, firefighters

from neighbouring states have

arrived in California to help.

They'll be needed.

The extreme weather is forecast

to continue into the weekend.

James Cook, BBC News, California.

It is a game that needs no

introduction, the Manchester derby

this weekend with league leaders

Manchester City taking on rivals

United. City will take some

stopping. If they win at Old

Trafford, they will equal the

longest winning run in Premier

League history, and could extend

their lead at the top 211 points.

Jose Mourinho buying into the

height.

I live a little bit isolated from

society. I don't feel it so much.

It's about training ground and

hotel, and my date off after CSKA

It's about training ground and

hotel, and my date off after CSKA. I

went home, so I really don't have

that communication, but I don't need

that to know that the derby is

something special for the people.

For us, in the end, it's three

points.

There are a lot of points to play,

more than 70, so we are just focused

in the game, on the result. After

that, recovery, and we are thinking

Swansea three Day said. It's simple

like that. It is going there to do

our game. That is what I want to see

from my players.

Want to cricket, Moeen Ali believes

the team can serve in the Ashes

Series around despite trailing 2-0

to Australia. He will captain a much

changed England side against a

Cricket Australia XI in a few hours'

time in power. He won't bowl to

allow a cut on his finger to heal,

but expects to recover in time for

the third test in Perth, which

starts on Thursday.

Because I am a finger spinner, it is

one thing that I really need, which

needs to be 100%. Obviously, I

ripped it in the first game, first

innings, and since then, it has not

been easy. It has been difficult to

bowl and stuff, but the last game

was much better. I still bowled as

well. Hopefully, another 5-6 days,

with no bowling, it will be all

right.

For the first time in 19 years, two

players from the same country have

been named as world champions by the

International Tennis Federation.

Garbine Muguruza picked up a women's

gong after rising to number one in

the rankings for the first time.

Rafa Nadal won the men's award.

And in rugby union, the British and

Irish Lions Captain Sam Warburton

will miss out on playing for Wales

in next year's six Nations Rugby

tournament. He has had surgery on a

knee injury. He was already out of

action after a neck operation and

says he has made a decision with the

Welsh Rugby union, and his club side

Cardiff Blues, to take a proactive

approach, so he is fully fit when

returning to action. It is inspected

he will take 4-6 months to recover.

That is all the sports are now.

Don't forget, get in touch with me

and the team on Twitter. Goodbye.