legislative win of his presidency. it sets out the biggest changes to the tax system in three decades. republicans say it will boost growth and revive the economy, democrats argue it benefits america's richest and will inflate the deficit. the president's celebrations may be put off for another day, though, because a technicality with the wording of the bill means the lower house of congress must vote again later on wednesday. the bbc‘s david willis is in washington. they're still waiting on a senate vote on this bill tonight, but it's unlikely all of this will change the outcome and every indication that president trump will sign this controversial measure into law in the next few days, possibly as early as tomorrow. this bill includes permanent tax cuts for corporations and temporary tax cuts for individual american citizens. nonetheless, around 80% of the american population is expected to see some sort of tax—cut starting from next year. democrats, of course, are unanimously opposed to do this bill, they say it's only the wealthy who really stand to benefit from it long—term. and this is what the house minority leader nancy pelosi had to say. this is the worst bill to ever come to the floor of the house, with stiff competition from some of the things they've tried to do, the worst bill in history, because of the number of people it affects, the amount of money it sucks up to the higher income and the impact on our future deficits. republicans, of course, see this as their finest hour. it's their first major piece of legislation passed in this trump presidency, despite the fact the republicans enjoy a majority in both houses of congress. this is what the house leader paul ryan had to say. on january 1, americans are going to wake up with a new tax code. in february they're going to see witholdings go down so they'll see bigger paycheques. april 15 will be the last day they have to comply with the old bad system. this is a good day for america. this is a good day for workers. this is a great day for growth, and we're very excited about this moment. thank you. paul ryan there of course, speaker of the house. david, a lot of this according to the economists depends on whether or not you believe in trickle—down economics, whether something that's good for the wealthiest and for corporations works its way down through the economy. it does seem very likely that it will increase the deficit substantially and it seems likely they will be cuts in welfare, healthcare, veterans‘ benefits to pay for it. absolutely. very interesting you mentioned trickle—down economics, we haven't heard that since the reagan years, but that's right, that's the the hope, despite ballooning the national deficit here, putting an extra $1 trillion on the american debt, that this will boost the economy long—term and pay for itself for precisely the reasons you mentioned there, trickle—down economics. there are those, though, who are very dubious about that and believe this isjust going to put the american economy into even more of a whole. interestingly, given the fact the stock market here is booming, the economy is doing well, president trump's approval rating is at an all—time low. normally a good economy means a good approval rating for a president but not in this particular case. david willis in washington. there's plenty more detail and analysis on the republican tax bill, along with our other main stories, on our website, that's bbc.com/news. in her first broadcast interview, a former colleague of hollywood producer harvey weinstein has told the bbc how she was warned about his behaviour and how she went on to warn other women, that he could behave in an inappropriate manner. but zelda perkins says matters escalated after he sexually assaulted a colleague and she accused him of attempted rape. mr weinstein denies all allegations of non—consensual sex. our entertainment correspondent, colin paterson, has the story. to put this into context, this was 20 years ago, to put this into context, this was 19 years ago, 1998, harvey weinstein is at the peak of his powers, he was just about to release shakespeare in love, which would go on to win him an oscar the following year. now, in september, 1998, his personal assistant in the uk, zelda perkins, who was then 2k, quit. speaking to newsnight, she has explained why. she said she'd endured a number of years of sexual harassment but then came the final straw. and it came to a head for you when he sexually assaulted, attempted rape, on your colleague? yes, we were at venice film festival and he tried to rape her. and what did you do? she was extremely distressed. she was shaking, very distressed, clearly in shock. didn't want anybody to know, was absolutely terrified of the consequences, what would happen and... i spoke with her and tried to calm her for about half an hour and then i went straight downstairs to where harvey was having a business meeting on the terrace and told him he needed to come with me right away. for me to have broken into a meeting like that was very unusual and he did not question me, he got up and came with me straight away because he knew why, why i was angry and serious as i was. you accused him of attempted rape? yeah, yeah. and he denied it? yes. he said nothing at all had happened and he swore on the life of his wife and children, which was his best get—out—of—jail card that he used quite a lot. the two women secured legal representation. they were hoping to bring down harvey weinstein by revealing his behaviour to the walt disney company, who owned his company, miramax, but the lawyers of the two women said this wasn't a realistic option and the only option was a damages agreement. now, this agreemant was to include the creation of procedures at miramax and therapy for mr weinstein. it's not known if these stipulations were carried out. zelda perkins signed a nondisclosure agreement, she received a sum of £125,000. in the interview on newnight, she calls for britain to follow the example of a number of us states and end the practice of allowing sexual assaults to be hidden behind nondisclosure agreements. a spokesperson for harvey weinstein says he unequivocally denies any allegations of non—consensual sex. colin paterson. and just to reiterate, in response to these allegations, a lawyer for harvey weinstein says he categorically denies engaging in any non—consensual conduct or threatening behaviour. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the defeated candidate in presidential elections in honduras, salvador nasralla, has accepted an invitation for talks with the president, juan 0rlando hernandez. mr nasralla has accused his rival of rigging the bitterly disputed elections. at least 14 people have been killed in street protests since last month's vote. the team investigating the amtrak crash in seattle said the brakes we re crash in seattle said the brakes were automatically assigned. the cause of the accident is not yet established. austria's new chancellor has travelled to brussels to reassure eu leaders that his government is committed to the bloc. sebastian kurz, who leads the conservative people's party, has entered into an alliance with the eurosceptic and anti—immigration freedom party, sparking alarm in brussels. at least 12 tourists have died in a bus crash in the mexican state of quintana roo. they were travelling to visit a mayan ruin when the bus overturned. 0ur mexico correspondent, will grant, reports. the group on the bus was comprised of passengers from the united states, italy, sweden and brazil, as well as a driver and tour guides from mexico. the tourists had arrived in mexico on—board a royal caribbean cruise ship and this, a visit to the beautiful mayan ruins of chacchoben, was meant to be a pleasurable day—trip to see a little of the country. however, a dozen people were killed and many more injured when the bus overturned on the highway out to the ruins, south of the popular resort of tulum. some of the injured have already been discharged but others have been treated in four different hospitals in the region. an investigation is underway as to the cause of the crash. many of the coastal roads in that particular state of quintana roo are poor and potholed, especially on the southern road, down to the border with belize. however, for the time being, the authorities have made no comment as to what they think might have caused the bus to overturn. will grant, bbc news. doctors in bolivia have clashed with police after almost a month of strikes by the country's healthcare workers. riot police used tear gas in the confrontation. the walk—outs in bolivia's hospitals have led to long delays for patients, and thousands of cancelled operations. the doctors say new laws overseeing healthcare being proposed by the government are unfair. andrew plant reports. firing tear gas at protesters in bolivia on tuesday, police in riot gear, their opponents wearing white coats as doctors here take to the streets to challenge the government over proposed new laws governing in the healthcare industry. the doctors in bolivia have been on strike since november the 23rd. this clash with police taking place in the capital, la paz. doctors are angry at proposals for a new criminal code they say will penalise professionals. legislation designed, the government says, to protect people from negligence. doctors say it could leave them jobless, bankrupt or even injail. translation: they are trying to create very unfair laws which put our current doctors at risk. they are laws which can put a doctor in prison, take away their assets and take away their title. this was the 26th day of strikes. many thousands of bolivians have been affected, with hospitals struggling with admissions and patients facing long delays and cancellations. doctors, joined by pharmacists too, have taken their protests to the street. two sides throwing gas cannisters at each other over the flames on a public road. meanwhile, the government has organised health fairs in the city, medical events that people can attend to get the treatment they need while negotiations with doctors continue. andrew plant, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: there's left—overs and then there's left—overs. .. we'll tell you about the turkey bones that date back nearly 500 years. after eight months on the run, saddam hussein has been tracked down and captured by american forces. 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, conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of serbia, bosnia 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. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: donald trump's tax reforms look set to gain approval in both houses of congress, despite a last minute glitch over some of the small print. a former co—worker of hollywood producer, harvey weinstein, has told the bbc how she was warned about his behaviour. the united nations high commissioner for refugees has warned that the dadaab camp in kenya may not close soon. filippo grande, who visited the camp on tuesday as part of a regional tour, said refugees are unwilling to repatriate back to somalia because of security and drought concerns. only 32,000 refugees have voluntarily returned to somalia, leaving nearly a quarter of a million people still in need of help at the camp. the bbc‘s ferdinand 0mondi reports from dadaab. these are the shelters that somali refugees have called home for years. many were born and raised here. united nations says it's now time for them to go back to their motherland, but thousands remain hesitant. the commissioner was here for a progress report on the repatriation process, and he was honest in his assessment. i am concerned, because, of course, dadaab is an old camp. has been around for 26 years i think, something like that, from the ‘90s, and you know what happens, unfortunately, is that refugee situations that go on for a long time, it is more difficult to convince donors to support them after so many years. so we are struggling with resources. i think that our appeal to our donors is, don't give up on dadaab now. this camp, the population, the people of the camp continue to need help even if there are some possibilities of repatriation. many people don't want to take those opportunities now. they should be free not to take those opportunities and to continue to be protected and assisted here. the host country wants this camp closed. they argue it has become a hideout from where militants have launched attacks across the country. donors are also increasingly tightening their purse strings as they redirect their funds towards fresher and more pressing needs, like the myanmar crisis, but the un is appealing to world leaders not to give up on dadaab just yet, arguing the need for humanitarian assistance is still very much alive. american scientists predict that before long it will be increasingly normal to start a new career in your 80s and to feel fit and healthy in body and mind, and increasingly normal to take on a new physical challenge in your 90s — walking for miles with no aches or pains. the scientists are working on drugs that could help delay the way our bodies age, meaning we'll be able to do much more for longer. in the second of his reports on so—called super—agers, our medical correspondent fergus walsh has been to san francisco and new york. new york public library, one of the city's grandest buildings, which has one of the city's oldest employees. hilda jaffe is still going strong at 95, so what's her secret to a long life? pick your parents, it really is. it's got to be genetic because both my parents lived long. good morning, fergus, i'm glad you could meet me here in this absolutely beautiful room. hilda gives tours of this historic building when she's not at the theatre, music concerts, opera or her two book clubs. i don't exercise, i walk, i walk a lot. if i had to give anybody advice i would say, just keep moving. samples of hilda's dna are stored in this freezer in the bronx, part of a study into longevity. they found only one in 10,000 people has protective superager genes, but say drugs might be able to help the rest of us. metformin is an old, cheap diabetes drug, but a major trial is planned to see if it can delay ageing. i can get you 690 of those for $60. scientists here believe it may slow the biological processes that trigger key diseases. we have data in humans that metformin would delay cardiovascular disease and will delay diabetes and is associated with less cancer, and seems to delay alzheimer or cognitive decline in people. ageing is an inevitable process which begins as we reach adulthood and continues through the decades as our muscles, bones and organs gradually wear out. this tai chi group in san francisco show that we can delay that decline, it helps with balance, core strength and provides a social network. it makes me feel so young, i have so much fun. i feel like i'm in the kindergarten of the universe. my mother lived to 103. i don't desire to live that long, but i want to be as healthy as i can, as long as i can. that's an ambition we can all share. imagine a future where it didn't hurt to get old, where ourjoints didn't wear out? it would have a huge impact on our quality of life as we age. this biotech company in california has developed a drug to counter one of the key diseases of ageing, osteoarthritis. human trials of this experimental compound should begin next year. this is an area of the cartilage that is now diseased, you can see the cartilage is damaged. it works by clearing cells which build up in the kneejoint, known as senescent cells, which may be a trigger for the painful condition. a single injection that we believe and hope will alleviate their pain and begin the restorative process in their knee to perhaps at least halt, regress and even completely repair the knee in the end is what our wildest hopes would imagine. that would mean more people could age like hilda, free of aches and pains and independent well into their 90s. fergus walsh, bbc news, new york. iamjust i am just having to resort to more make—up — what is a boy to do? the english writer, jane austen, put pen to paper 200 years ago with tales of romance and love. her novels continue to find new fans all around the world and for one book club in pakistan they've now devoted themselves entirely to the author's works. here's their story. really? you would marry mr darcy? ina way! i am the founder of the jane austen society of pakistan. it started off as a facebook page and it was so much fun. hands folded in front is a very regency pose, ladies. we discuss things and analyse things and draw parallels from our own lives. we see mr collins and mr elton, we see mr wickham and willoughby. we don't really see mr darcy very much. we would love to. for lizzie, overcoming prejudice in her life was the biggest hurdle. it's very easy for us, in the commonwealth and with our postcolonial legacy, to sort of draw parallels between the regency era 200 years ago and our society here in south asia right now and it's always very amusing and entertaining, but a darker side as well, the misogyny and hypocrisy and keeping up appearances. i am also married to mr bennett! sometimes he may become mr collins too. we still have a lot of similarities with 200 years ago in england and that's basically, especially for women, our sphere is limited, the power we have over our lives is limited, our financial independence is limited. do i need to go on more? marriage marked. it's the same here. it is over a tea trolley. literally. the woman is expected to pour tea as the in—laws are eating and how she pours the tea and how she hands the cups and all of those things are... she has to be demure, she has to be domestic. that's regency england, isn't it? that's why she is so popular in pakistan. it's a comfort to read austen, i think. that's how i would describe it. the greatest comfort to lose yourself in her works. one, two, three, four. switch, two, three, four. and stop, two, three, four. jane austen, still heard loud and clear in modern—day pakistan. christmas is fast approaching and, for many of us, turkey is the star of the holiday menu. now archaeologists in the uk believe they've discovered the oldest turkey bones ever found in the country dating back almost 500 years. jon kay has the scoop. more on that and all of the news anytime on the bbc website. a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings, but it seems they've been gobbling it up here in devon for much longer than anybody realised. at exeter university, a surprise discovery. at first i wasn't sure because it looks like a giant chicken. in a pile of ancient animal remains, found here in the ‘80s, two mysterious thigh bones and a wing. archeologists have now established they're from an american species of turkey nearly 500 years ago, believed to be the oldest ever found in britain. i started knocking on doors and showing offjust how excited i was by actually telling other people, "look what i found." but, yes, so it is very nice and it's really great for a zoo archeologist to actually have this connection with history. we've got a plate and a bowl. the bones could be dated because they were found with a pile of washing up — crockery from a grand feast in the early 1500s, which is when the first turkeys arrived here. these were an exotic bird, brand new into the country. you know, people wouldn't have heard of it. what did it taste like? you know, what is this giant bird? the first turkeys are said to have been imported by the explorer william strickland in the 1520s after he bought six from some native americans. well, strickland is said to have sold his birds for tuppence each. five centuries later, turkeys are rather bigger business, 10 million of them due to be sold in britain just over christmas. off we go then, turkeys. this devon farmer wonders if the bones found down the road might be from those original birds. potentially these, in some way, are direct descendants of the ones that arrived, and here they are back in devon. so this's quite nice. in what else but a sandwich box, the turkey bones have now been taken to the city museum to go on the display after christmas dinner. jon kay, bbc news, exeter. nut roast is the thing! more on that and all of the news anytime on the bbc website. thank you for watching. hello. 0ur quiet spell of weather continues apace across many parts of the british isles at the moment. that's not to say that it's completely dull by any means at all. a glorious end to the day captured by a number of our weather watchers. but elsewhere, well, it was one of those. the cloud sat there, so did the fog in some locations. but there is a sign of a change on the way. already we're seeing the cloud and rain associated with this weather front moving into the northern and western parts of scotland. it will continue its journey a bit further south during the course of the night. first thing on wednesday, quite a variety to the temperatures. where the cloud pops away, two degrees or so in the east. 0ut towards the west, fully exposed to the moist south—westerlies coming in from the atlantic, well, it's nine, ten or 11 degrees. here we are first thing on wednesday. hill fog to be had if the cloud is broken overnight. there is the chance of the odd patch of fog. so bear that in mind. and enough about some of the cloud across the western facing hills and coasts for there to be the odd bit and pieces of rain or drizzle, especially near that weather front. to the north of that, a scattering of showers, not many of them, by any means at all. much of scotland getting away to a dry start. i think it's here, north of the weather front, that you get the best chance of seeing meaningful sunshine, and eventually that prospect extends into northern ireland, too. all the while, anywhere near that frontal system, you've got the prospect of some hill fog and a wee bit of rain and drizzle. and that goes into the north and west of wales. to the south of it, pretty leaden skies, i'm afraid. the odd bit of brightness, perhaps. and here we are on thursday. the orientation of the front has just changed here somewhat. the westerly portion, having come south, is starting to move back north. the best of the brightness, therefore, away from that, where you get the lowest of the temperatures, but the best chance of sunshine. in the south, again, a lot of cloud, some hill fog around. and, do you know what, not a great deal changes as i take you out of thursday, pushing on into friday. we've still got the remnants of a weather front, still clouding things up and producing the odd bit and piece of rain, especially across western and south—western parts. so, again, get away from the remnants of those fronts out towards the east and up into the north of scotland, the lowest of the temperatures again, but at least you get to see a wee bit of sunshine. here we are into the weekend before christmas and many will still be stuck with that relatively mild flow coming in from the atlantic. but you'll notice, come christmas eve, we're not a million miles away from seeing quite a dramatic change, with some cold and brighter weather coming in. but in the run—up to christmasm generally mild, often really rather cloudy and the chance of some rain, particularly in the north. this is bbc news, the headlines: senators in the us are debating whether to approve the biggest overhaul of the country's tax system in decades. the house of representatives voted earlierfor the changes, and is expected to vote again wednesday morning. if passed, the bill would be the first big legislative win of the trump presidency. in her first broadcast interview, a former assistant to the hollywood producer, harvey weinstein, has told the bbc how she was warned about his behaviour, and went on to warn other women that he could behave in an inappropriate manner. he denies all allegations of non—consensual sex. a bus carrying foreign tourists to mayan ruins in mexico has crashed killing at least twelve people, including a child. the bus had been travelling to the eastern tip of the yucatan peninsula, when it veered off the road and flipped over. local officials said eighteen passengers were injured. now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk.