In this age of streaming . A warm welcome to the Programme Briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. Also in the programme will the Office Christmas party become a ghost of christmas past . Some companies are scaling back celebrations due to hard times, others are choosing to do something alternative. Do you love or loathe the Office Christmas do . Tell us what you are up to just use the hashtag bbcthebriefing. President trump has lashed out over his imminent impeachment in a 6 page letter to top democrat nancy pelosi, accusing her of declaring open war on american democracy. On the eve of the crucial vote in the house of representatives, which is dominated by the democrats, hes claimed hes been denied his most fundamental rights, even though hes turned down an offer to give evidence himself, and have his legal team question witnesses. In his letter to the House Majority leader, mr trump claims the charges he faces are completely disingenuous, meritless, and a baseless invention of your imagination, and also claims the impeachment process, which is set out under the us constitution, is nothing more than an illegal, partisan attempted coup that will, based on recent sentiment, badly fail at the voting booth. Well, regardless of all that, the Impeachment Vote will go ahead in the house on wednesday. Our correspondent Gary Odonoghue explains why its such a huge moment in the history of the United States. Without objection, the committee is adjourned. And with that strip simple strike of the gavel, democrats declared all the political war on one of the most controversial president s in americas history. Todayis president s in americas history. Today is a solemn and sad day. Not one republican has come out in favour of impeaching the president. This is tribal politics at its most raw. They dont like the president , they dont like the president s supporters and they are willing to weaponised the government. So what are the two charges against the president . The first is that he abused his power by pressuring the president of the ukraine to investigate one of his main democratic rivals former Vice President joe biden. The second is he obstructed congress by trying to stop officials from giving evidence and failing to provide documents. If its peace and goodwill to all you are looking forward to this festive moment, in washington is not the place to find it. Barring a political earthquake, democrats will shortly vote to impeach Donald John Trump with their sizeable majority in the house of representatives, making him only the third us president in history to face that fate. Good evening. Sex and the white house to a trial for his political life. Last time it happened was 21 years ago, almost to the day. Those opposed will say no. The republican controlled houtz impeached bill clinton for lying to a grandjury and impeached bill clinton for lying to a grand jury and for obstruction of justice, all relating to his affair with a 22 year old intern, monica lewinsky. But he was cleared in the senate and thats the most likely outcome for President Trump as well. They took a perfect phone call that i had with the president of ukraine, and absolutely perfect call, you know it, they all know it, nothing was said wrong in that call, to impeach the president of the United States for that is a disgrace. Democrats know they wont get the two thirds majority needed in the senate to remove a president under the constitution that they are determined to do as much political damage as they can. The president has offered nothing exculpatory to disprove the evidence that has been put forward. Instead, hes orchestrated a cover up. Its left many in the senate and millions across the country asking, what is the president hiding . This impeachment process will be over in a matter of a few short weeks though its consequences will work themselves out right up to election day next november. Gary odonoghue, bbc news, washington. The medical Charity Medecins Sans Frontieres says a Health Emergency is unfolding as refugee camps on the Aegean Islands see a spike in new arrivals from war torn countries. In lesbos, almost 1,8000 people are crammed into a camp that was originally built for around 2,000 people. 18,000. Yesterday we heard from medics about the impact the conditions are having on childrens mental health. Today we focus on another group of very Vulnerable People pregnant women and newborn babies. Many end up spending months living in what msf call an endemic cycle of human suffering. The bbcs Global Health correspondent Tulip Mazumdar has this special report. Pregnancy can be an anxious time for any woman. But expecting a baby while living in a refugee camp is utterly exhausting. What is it like living here . Like, you live in the hell, you know . Zeinab fled wartorn afghanistan three months ago. She is expecting her first child afghanistan three months ago. She is expecting herfirst child in afghanistan three months ago. She is expecting her first child in a few weeks and wanted to show me where she is living. This is my tent. Zeinab stays here with two other families. You sleep in the floor, in wet floor with a lot of paint when pregnant woman need to a comfortable place, you know, soft place for sleeping. You dont know you are safe or not, when they are fighting here, you dont have any police for to stop them and maybe they attack us. To stop them and maybe they attack us. How do you feel about maybe your baby coming here soon, your newborn . I dont want to be here with my baby because when im thinking about that, i just because when im thinking about that, ijust i am crying, i dont wa nt that, ijust i am crying, i dont want that. The vast majority of people coming to lesbos are playing countries of conflict such as afghanistan, syria and wright. They arrive here at the government run camp which is overflowed into this neighbouring olive grove and thousands and up stuck here for months, waiting for news on their asylu m months, waiting for news on their asylum claims. At the nearby women and childrens clinic, medics are overwhelmed. These families have been waiting out here since early this morning. This is the main clinic for pregnant women, women who recently clinic for pregnant women, women who rece ntly ha d clinic for pregnant women, women who recently had babies and for Young Children who are coming from the camp across the road. Medics you tell me they are seeing hundreds of pigment women every month. If these women are not moved off the island before they have their babies, they will give birth at the local hospital but will then be sent directly back into the dirty and dangerous camp. She is heavily pregnant so she needs to be seen as well. Just take a number and wait in the queue and we will see you. Martina is one of the few midline midwives looking up to women living in the camp. Youve got mum young mums who are going back to living in healthy, sometimes mice, lice infested ten. Cold temperatures with newborn babies coming to me with respiratory tract infection so this is the harsh reality of life here. You know, one toilet for 200 europe 200 you know, one toilet for 200 europe 200 humans. This is europe, so its pretty unbelievable. Even in these desperate conditions, new life brings new hope. Saida and her 3 week old little boy sahail have come for a checkup and they are doing well. But this is not the life saida had envisaged for the family when they let afghanistan four months ago, stuck in limbo with no way out any time soon. Tulip mazumdar, bbc news, lesbos. Lets brief you on some of the other stories making the news. One of frances largest trade Union Federations has claimed responsibility for a series of power cuts that coincided with a nationwide protest against pension reform. In a statement, the cgt said the outages had hit the central bank of france, the port of cherbourg and thousands of homes and businesses in paris and other cities. Australia has experienced its hottest day on record with the National Average temperature reaching a high ofjust under 41 degrees celsius. The record comes as the nation battles an unprecedented bushfire crisis that has prompted public anger about climate inaction. Authorities in new zealand have conceded they may never find the bodies of the last two victims of the volcanic eruption on white island. 16 other people died as a result of that eruption. Recovery teams believe the bodies of Winona Langford and Hayden Marshall inman have been washed out to sea. The Supreme Court in india is set to hear around 60 petitions on a controversial citizenship law seen as granting preference to non muslims. The new law has already prompted massive demonstrations across the country. 0ur correspondent Anbarasan Ethirajan is in delhi. Tell us more about the latest attempts to challenge the new citizenship law in court. A number of vertical parties, Civil Society groups and Islamist Groups have filed these petitions in the indian Supreme Court. They want to challenge the citizenship law which vast tracks indian citizenship for non muslims who have fled religious persecution in countries like afghanistan, bangladesh and pakistan but there is stiff opposition to this law and that is why they now moved to the Supreme Court. They will argue it goes against the fundamental values of india, against the Indian Constitution and indias secular democracy. 0n the other hand the government will say this is passed by both houses of parliament and its become an act and giving refuge to people who are fleeing execution. The issue is why the muslims have been left out of this and why people are protesting in different parts of the country. They said they will implement this law. The protests a re said they will implement this law. The protests are going across the country and this morning at the university of madras in the Southern City of chennai, the University Stu d e nts city of chennai, the University Students were having a city and inside the University Campus and the police went in and arrested two people and the students there are demanding the release of their collea g u es demanding the release of their colleagues and they are also expressing their anger against the citizenship law. Thank you very much indeed. That ongoing story there. Lightsabers at the ready star wars the rise of skywalker is out in cinemas in the uk later today with the european premiere held here in london. Experts are talking about a cinema revival, and the uk industry is banking on the final star wars instalment setting a record for ticket sales in 2019. Fiona cincotta, a Senior Market analyst at the spread betting company city indexjoins me now. My my children, three boys, are already nagging me, we have to go apparently. It is a must in our household but it is great for the cinema, these kind of block roster movies . Definitely and especially 110w movies . Definitely and especially now because obviously streaming with net licks, amazon primed to name two, streaming has become huge so its nice to have something that really ta kes its nice to have something that really takes the focus back to the cinema experience going in there, the lights turning down, the popcorn at the ready, phones off and to actually get that, notjust at the ready, phones off and to actually get that, not just the experience but its good for the economy as well because the spending thatis economy as well because the spending that is involved in keeping the cinema is going. This is that thing, cinema is going. This is that thing, cinema operators, the big ones, imax, the others, they have to think how they make this an experience for the cinema goers because times have been quite tough the people financially and to go to the cinema, it can be pretty expensive. It can be. You do see as well promotions as well that do have days, its a little bit cheaper. Also there is this big question revolving around whats called the theatrical window, the amount of time these films should be in the cinema before they go into streaming, before they live stream. So thats another big debate being held at the moment. I think the averages 90 days. Netflix and amazon are looking to get that time reduced to even just a few weeks but that could be detrimental. Are you going to go . I think my son will wa nt going to go . I think my son will want me to go. He will be nagging you as well. Thank you for now. Fiona is back for news briefing and we will unpack that story, what the challenges are. Stay with us on bbc news. Still to come learning to play with a paper piano how this Award Winning musician became a master of his art. Saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, our women, our children. The signatures took only a few minutes, but they brought a formal end to 3. 5 years of conflict, a conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. Before an audience of world leaders, the president s of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. The romanian border was sealed and silent today. Romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre in timisoara from leaking out. From sex at the white house to a trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed bill clinton his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. Youre watching the briefing. 0ur headlines as the us house of representatives prepares to vote on impeaching donald trump, he lashes out, calling it an open war on democracy. A warning that a Health Emergency is taking place as more refugees make their way to the greek islands. Several people have been injured in protests in the ukrainian capital, kiev. Thousands demonstrated outside the countrys parliament building, in opposition to land reform proposals which some say will only benefit oligarchs and foreign investors. Rich preston reports. Protesters threw rocks and there were accusations of a heavy handed response by police. A journalist for the Afp News Agency reported seeing two protesters unconscious on the floor before being taken to ambulances. Around 2,500 Police Officers were deployed to do with the crowds. 26 people were arrested. Ukraine was once called the breadbasket of the soviet union, home to rich, black fertile soil. After the fall of the soviet union, much of ukraines farmland was shared out and is illegal to sell. But a bill going to ukraines parliament could change that from october of next year. Critics worry the change wont benefit ukrainians, and the land owned by the people will be snapped up by oligarchs and foreign investors. Translation we are protesting against the sale of land. We dont want our children and grandchildren to be slaves. We want our land to be ukrainian and not be on sale. Translation there will be even fewer working places than now. It will be the impoverishment of our village. But the bill is strongly promoted by president volodymyr zelensky, who says it will bring investment and drive economic growth. Ukrainian lawmakers are expected to vote on the land reform bill on thursday. Rich preston, bbc news. Now its time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. Hello, im Gavin Ramjaun and this is your wednesday sport briefing. Rb leipzig are still very much the team to catch, in the german bundesliga. The leaders fought back to draw 3 3 in their top of the table clash with borussia dortmund. Julian weigl helped put dortmund two up at half time, but the leagues top scorer, timo werner, scored two early second half goals to level the match. Jadon sancho put dortmund back in front, before getting injured but leipzigs Patrick Schick popped up with their equaliser, keeping his side four points clear. Flamengo came from behind, to secure their place in the Club World Cup final after beating the asian champions alhilal. They were a goal down at half time but rallied in the second half to win 3 1. Bruno henrique headed the Copa Libertadores winners in front and an own goal made the game safe. I think it was a tough game, especially in the first half. I think the second half, we played better, we were making better decisions in front of the goal, thats why we reach the final and now we keep the concentration and make a good game. Liverpool were beaten 5 0, in the English League cup quarterfinals but they fielded their youngest ever team in the loss to aston villa. The liverpool first team, are in doha, at the fifa Club World Cup. So staying with liverpool and as we mentioned the senior side are in doha ahead of their semifinal against monterrey. The european champions will fly some of theirjunior squad out to qatar, tojoin their big names. So is the trip worthwhile for all the team . We just want to be successful and keep winning trophies. You have to be successful to win in this tournament, so lets hope we can play like we have been an win again and win again. The other three English League cup quarterfinals take place on wednesday. And the wait for the first el clasico of the season is almost over real madrid go to barcelona, for the game that was postponed in october due to fears of violence in the catalonia region over independence. Those worries havent gone away, but amid high security the game will take place. The two teams are on the same number of points at the top, only separated by barcas slightly better goal difference. To a skateboarder, with a growing following on social media. And this is why. Ryusei uchi was born with Perfect Vision but due to a degenerative eye condition is now almost completely blind. He feels his way round the skate park using his stick. Its a new sport at next years Tokyo Olympics and the japanese skateboarder hopes one day it will also feature at the paralympics. You can get all the latest sports news at our website, thats bbc. Com sport. But from me Gavin Ramjaun and the rest of the sport team, thats your wednesday sport briefing. Now, learning to play a Musical Instrument is a great thing for a child to do growing up, especially if theyre keen to learn. But it can be expensive, putting it beyond the reach of some families. Well, when 11 year old Andrew Garridos mother said they simply couldnt afford a piano, he was determined to find a way to follow his dream. My my name is Andrew Garrido, im an Award Winning pianist and musician. Fewer than ten years ago i learnt how to play the piano on pieces of paper. This is my paper piano, the third version i drew. I started learning to play the piano on paper because my mum had just been made redundant, and lacking funds to afford an instrument or piano lessons, i went online and i drew a keyboard. I use the paper piano between grades one and five, after which my mum saw my commitment, so she borrowed money from family and friends to pay for a keyboard that i could have at home. But i still had to continue to practise on real pianos, so often i would go around to local houses who had pianos and i was allowed to practise for an hour or so was allowed to practise for an hour orsoa was allowed to practise for an hour or so a week on those. I began a tour of practice rooms. I am now in my third of four years of my current course at the Guildhall School of music and drama and i am loving it, i really am. I made a mistake on the paper piano it is you make mistakes. I dont think theres ever been a greater challenge than playing on a piece of paper. Looking back, having done that, i am quite ready to face any other challenges that come my way now. Never underestimate what you are able to do, and if you think you are at the limit of what you are able to do, try harder. Laughter. You can always give more, and you will be surprised what you will be able to achieve when you really search inside yourself for that willpower, for that strength to achieve what you really, really want to go for. What a determined person, Andrew Garrido there with some great advice. And tell me what you think about our talking point today Office Christmas parties do you love them, or do you steer clear . We have a story on the bbc online about a company doing something com pletely about a company doing something completely different. We will talk about that later in the programme on the news briefing. Keith says i avoid these parties, people get smashed in their own little cliques, my idea of health. Another person says, i was provided free food and liquor. Thats a repeat, that sounds good for danielle. Mr chandler says the Christmas Spirit is being killed in the name of many companies, they are still making profits, not sparing money for celebrations. It only comes once a year, could they show some gratitude to their employees . Use the hashtag bbcthebriefing. Ill be back with the top business stories in a moment. Hello. Well, if youre driving this morning, this picture gives it away. A word of caution there could be some thick patches of fog around almost anywhere in england and that fog could linger into the early afternoon, particularly across northern parts of england. There is fog out there right now, it could actually get denser as we go through early wednesday. Were in between weather systems, there is actually wind and rain heading our way, that wont arrive until later in the day on wednesday, at least thats the case for most of us. So, in the morning weve got the fog in the south and the midlands, northern england, too, temperatures in some areas well be close to freezing, so that means some icy patches are possible here and there, especially out of town on those country routes. So, take it steady. The weather will go downhill quite quickly across western parts of the uk, you can see the south west, western wales, Northern Ireland some heavy atlantic rain sweeping in, and on top of that some very strong winds as well, gales around the coast. But it will take time for that band of wind and rain to sweep into other parts of the uk, so before that happens there could be some sunshine, given the fog clears away. So, heres the weather, wednesday night into thursday very windy around the west of uk, gusts in excess of 60 miles an hour are possible, not quite so windy inland, but windy enough. And with that, through the course of wednesday night into thursday, look at the direction of the wind and good at straight out of the south, this is very mild air for december heading our way, so were gonna call it warm and at times wet on thursday. The temperatures in the far south east of the country could even hit 14 celsius, how about that for the second half of december . And even in the north there, in scotland, 10 degrees and rain. And thursday into friday, we keep seeing those mild southerlies bringing outbreaks of heavy rain to almost any parts of the uk. So the run up to christmas at least this week is looking very soggy indeed, and and towards the end of the week the temperatures will probably drop a little bit, we arent talking about 13 14 degrees, more likes sort of 11 12 at best. So the end of the week is looking unsettled and mild for many of us. Here is the outlook as we head into the weekend as well, those temperatures dropping just a little bit but the weather does remain unsettled. Thats it from me. Bye bye. This is the business briefing. Im sally bundock. As the latest Star Wars Film bursts onto cinema screens from today what is the future of cinemas in this age of streaming . A high speed train from pune to mumbai Sir Richard Branson wants to convince india the multi billion project is a good idea. And Financial Markets are mixed in asia as investors pause with global stocks hovering around all time highs there is little reason to buy
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