To bbc world news. President trump has praised a former white house staff member who quit this week amid allegations he abused two former wives. Mr trump said rob porter maintained his innocence and had done a good job. Our north america editor jon sopel has more. He was the clean cut, chisel george, harvard law educated rising star of this white house, in charge of controlling the flow of paper across the president s desk but after three days of confusion and chaos he has quit and missed a swell of Domestic Abuse allegations but today the president seemed to be more concerned about rob porter than his victims. A tough time to him. He did a very good job in the white house are we happy has a i walked president e5553; §§ee§§§e§§§§§f statement the president e5553; §§ee§§§e§§§§§f statement the saint seiezfl tzefiegffifi ein car 5. 22554 £2154 wishes him luck, he has so much he wishes him luck, he has so much talent. That is like saying that a cts talent. That is like saying that acts murderer out there, he is a great painter. Rob porters resignation came after the emergent of this photograph of one of his ex wife and reports senior staff had been aware of these allegations for months. Generaljohn kay, the chief of staff, when the story erupted in the middle of the week initially said that rob porter was. By last night, that had change, sending e mail to white house start saying. All of this is made more public hated by the white house kevin in acacia s direct. She drafted the initial statement supported by rob porter even though she is reportedly romantically involved with him. That brought a wreck in session from the white house podium. Brought a wreck in session from the white house podiumi brought a wreck in session from the white house podium. I think it is said to say that we all could have done better in the last few hours, the last few days, in dealing with the last few days, in dealing with the situation. Donald trump is angry on two counts, angry about the way these has been handled but angry is still that his spokes spokesman admitted as much. Angrier still. The families of some of the victims of two british jihadists have called for them to face justice in court. Alexanda kotey and El Shafee El Sheikh had joined the Islamic State group and were captured in syria. They were part of a team of four british is members. The United States says that group of men killed at least 27 hostages. Our Home Affairs CorrespondentDaniel Sandford reports. They became the most infamous gang of foreign fighters in the self styled Islamic State. Callous torturers and public executioners of hostages. Jihadijohn, his real name, Mohammed Emwazi now dead. Aine davis in prison in turkey. And the two men we now know were captured last months, Alexanda Kotey and el Shafee Elsheikh. The gang are suspected of beheading alan henning, a driver and aid workerfrom eccles, and david haines, a long time aid worker from perth. His daughter now contemplating what punishment his newly captured suspected killers should face. They should die a long, slow, painful death and i think quite a lot of people will understand that, that they should be allowed to live. But, realistically, thats not going to happen, and you have to come to terms with that. The best thing for them is to be locked up and throw away the key. They should never be allowed back in society because they willjust recruit people and they will just do this again. And for the sake of her father, if they end up in court, she will go to watch. If it goes to trial, ill certainly be there. I certainly want to look them in the eye and let them know that i am who i am and they have destroyed a big part of my life. And, hopefully, there will be some sort ofjustice. Some of the gangs hostages were freed, including former french reporter nicolas henin. He wants them to have the fairest trial possible. I would not be happy if they were just sent to Guantanamo Bay because this is denial ofjustice. El Shafee Elsheikh arrived in syria from britain in 2012. Alexanda kotey left the uk on an aid convoy to gaza in 2009 and also ended up in syria. Their gang is accused by the us of beheading at least 27 hostages, including alan henning, david haines and americans james foley, peter kassig and steven sotloff. Theyre also suspected of waterboarding, mock executions, crucifixions and electric shock torture. Alexanda kotey and el Shafee Elsheikh grew up close to each other in quite a small area of west london, near to the a40 flyover. It became infamous as an is recruiting ground. As well as Mohammed Emwazi, jihadijohn, some half a dozen other men from these streets died fighting for is in either syria or iraq. Elsheikh and kotey had already had their british citizenship removed by the home secretary, now a trial, possibly in the United States, seems the most likely outcome. Daniel sandford, bbc news, west london. With is on the run in syria, how useful is the capture of these two british jihadists and what information could they provide . 0ur middle east correspondent Quentin Sommerville reports. They call the home, and rack was the capital but the caliphate is now a ruin. Capital but the caliphate is now a ruin. Raqqa. It is not known how long el Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey stayed here but the munster fighting went on, freeing the city from Islamic State. The corpses litter the alleway but even then we knew plenty had escaped. In a ceasefire deal, hundreds of ideas fighters were allowed to leave the city. Across syria, eye as members began to flee through kurdish regime and a rebel lines. The two british men, part of an eye as cell from the west london, were picked up trying to flee to turkey. The two are significant prize. They may be able to a nswer significant prize. They may be able to answer questions about what happened here. This is where Mohammed Emwazi, jihadi john, murdered people. Bodies never recovered. The west london sell was seen as the worst of the worst, is superstars who add an air of invulnerability but no more, now all at dead or in captivity. They may also have information onjohn cantlie, the also have information onjohn ca ntlie, the missing also have information onjohn cantlie, the missing british journalist, kidnapped by a s, he is seen journalist, kidnapped by a s, he is seenin journalist, kidnapped by a s, he is seen in some of the propaganda video. This was his last appearance from mosul, before it to stake from is. And do they know the whereabouts of the is and leader . Despite repeated claims he is dead, he was last heard from an set tamba last year. The captured men have served one significant purpose, a new front has opened in syria. Turkey is taking kurdish forces, calling them terrorists but the coalition sees the codes as vital allies and once the codes as vital allies and once the world to know those allies have just captured two of the caliphates most wanted. Lets take a look at some of the other stories making the news. The British Government says it is reviewing its work with the aid charity, 0xfam, following reports that 0xfam staff regularly used prostitutes in haiti in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. The department for International Development said 0xfam had serious questions to answer about how it dealt with the abuse of vulnerable people. 0xfam has denied a cover up. An asteroid up to forty metres wide, which was only discovered five days ago, has skimmed past earth at a distance of 64,000 kilometres. This is less than a fifth the distance between earth and the moon. While the pass is relatively close in astronomical terms, its nowhere near enough to be a threat. Researchers at Edinburgh University have grown human eggs in the laboratory for the first time. They say the breakthrough is an opportunity to explore how human eggs develop, much of which remains a mystery to science. The hope is these findings could lead to new ways of preserving womens fertility. Uber has settled its legal battle with the self driving car company waymo. The dispute was over allegations that the ride hailing app stole trade secrets about waymos self driving technology. As part of the settlement, uber has agreed to give waymo shares in its firm worth about 245 million. However, it could have been a lot worse as the bbcs dave lee explains. We were talking in the region of more than 1 billion if the jury ruled all these are trade secrets had been stolen and use. The crucial pa rt had been stolen and use. The crucial part is using them and is what waymo was trying to prove. There is a suggested the reason these two companies have come beneficial. 0n ubers site, they can put this behind them and move on and not have to worry about this case airing any more dirty laundry and on waymo Mahmoud Abbas side, they get an increased stake in uber. They are ready have some and now they have a bit more. So Cutting Technology has been theiraim, bit more. So Cutting Technology has been their aim, fought uber. It is about making sure for waymo staying ahead about self driving cars and self driving fleets of taxis. Accusing them of getting an unfair advantage by stealing these trade secrets. They were not doing a particularly good job convincing the jury. I do not think those trade secrets were used and a settlement like this has benefited both parties. The European Unions chief brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has warned that a transition period for the uk after it leaves the bloc is not guaranteed, unless what he called substantial disagreements, can be overcome. John piennar reports. Brexit is coming and time is running short. Just 13 months before britain is officially out of the european union, and today the eu had a sharp warning sort out key sticking points, or there will be no deal and no transition. Britains brexit secretary met the eu chief negotiator in downing street on monday. Friendly enough, but theres just weeks to thrash out the shape of a brexit transition. Today, in brussels, with a big eu summit next month, Michel Barnier had a blunt message, in terms easy to understand. If these disagreements persist, the transition is not a given. So much to sort out, and talks are getting prickly. 0n the rights of migrants who arrive after brexit day, will brussels block trade if britain breaks eu rules . The brexit secretary called that discourteous. Oh, no, it isnt, said mr barnier. My attitude hasnt been in the least discourteous or vindictive, he said. We never wished to punish the uk. Its foreign to my state of mind. And how to leave the eu without bringing back a hard north south irish border. No one wants that but. It is important to tell the truth. A uk decision to leave the Single Market and to leave the Customs Union would make border checks unavoidable. Its notjust a political problem at this shoe shop in newry, northern ireland. These shoes are meant for walking, on both sides of the border. Customs and tariffs could mean a business like this running into trouble. What we need is easy access from the factory to our shop floor. If there is a hard border, then there will be hold ups all the way along that we cannot predict. Tonight, the brexit secretary is saying he is surprised mr barnier is not clear that britain just wants to go on trading as now during a transition. The government is hoping for compromise in negotiations, whatever anyone says now, but if there is no transition deal next month, ministers will have to prepare britain and British Business for the real possibility of a cliff edge brexit. If theres a transition deal, then comes deciding ambitions for brexit, which split mps and ministers. The next date with potential crisis always closer and closer. John pienaar, bbc news, westminster. Stay with us on bbc news, still to come. The uks most famous dinosaur goes on tour. First stop, naturally, the Jurassic Coast. Theres mr mandela. Mr nelson mandela, a free man, taking his first steps into a new south africa. Irans spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini has said hes passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. The people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president , baby doc duvalier. Because of his considerable value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud farms central block. Shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. There stepped down from the plane a figure in mourning. Elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and of all her other realms and territories. Head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. Hello, im ben bland. This is bbc news. The latest headlines. President trump has praised a white house aide who resigned over allegations of domestic violence. Victims families demand that two british members of the Islamic State group who killed hostages should face courtjustice. Egypts army has begun a major operation against terrorist organisations in several parts of the country. The government said a military campaign involving Defence Forces and the police is being carried out in the sinai peninsula, nile delta and western desert. For years, Security Forces have battled an Islamic State insurgency in north sinai that has killed hundreds of soldiers, police and civilians. 0ur egypt correspondent sally nabil sent this report. Egyptian army has decided to strike harder than ever against islamist militants in sinai. The army has released footage of a full scale offensive targeting insurgent groups operating in the turbulent peninsula for more than five years. Translation egyptian air forces have targeted terrorist hideouts and their arms depots in north and central sinai. The forces have been beefing up their security measures to cut terrorist supply lines. The scope of the military operation is perhaps unprecedented, while it focuses on northern sinai, a military zone with spares civilian population and no media access, it is also intended to cover other parts of the populace nile delta and the western desert, bordering libya. People in northern sinai have told us people in northern sinai have told us highways in and out of the area have been closed, as well as petrol stations. Schools will be shut down too until further notice. The offensive takes place after gunmen killed more than 300 worshippers at a mosque in northern sinai last november. Since then, the president gave his armed forces a three month period to wipe out the deeply rooted insurgency in the area. That line is seen as many insurgency in the area. That line is seen as many by unrealistic a deadline, seen by many as unrealistic, has been set for february. Translation you cannot have a precise timeframe when youre battling terrorists, the operation has started at these developments on the ground that will decide when it is going to end. I do not think you choose will go back to their barracks before they complete their mission and destroy the militantss capabilities. Sinai has witnessed similar military operations before, evenif similar military operations before, even if not that big. Many wonder if this one will succeed in what the past ones fail to achieve. Failed. Now most of us are used to posing for that family photo or snapping a selfie with friends. But what if someone asked you to embrace a complete stranger . Well, for more than a decade, thats just what photographer Richard Renaldi has been doing. The result is a series of intimate photos called touching strangers. He spoke to us about the project. When i walk up to people to make a touching strangers photograph, introduce myself and i tell them that i am a photographer and i am doing a kind of unusual project, a series of portraits. I learnt the practice of making these went on and on, how fire could push people and how much i could ask of people. As the practice. I wa nted of people. As the practice. I wanted to touch on all the different types of relationships that you could imagine. I hope people think when they look at my pictures, i hope that they feel. How they feel how they think is up to them, and i think that is the subjective and interpretive experience of looking at art. The bride and the Wedding Dress image, he is wearing a traditional outfit, so it there is availing kind of happening with that. He has on his bluejeans of happening with that. He has on his blue jeans and of happening with that. He has on his bluejeans and of of happening with that. He has on his blue jeans and of course, of happening with that. He has on his bluejeans and of course, her Wedding Dress. There are these nice little touches. This picture ended up being the most interesting, provocative and complex because there is this sense of both protector and predator. It leaves you, i think, protector and predator. It leaves you, ithink, with protector and predator. It leaves you, i think, with more questions than answers. I think that there are universal truths, humanity, the potentialfor any stranger to become a friend or partner or relative. Its been on display at Londons Natural History Museum since 1905, and now dippy the diplodocus the giant replica of a dinosaur skeleton has begun a uk tour. The original dippy roamed the earth 150 million years ago. The first port of call on the replicas three yearjourney is dorset on the south coast of england. Duncan kennedy reports. Its ta ken about 150 million years. Dippys here. I think were in business now. And five days to bring dippy the dinosaur to dorset. 0k, dippys 292 bones may be made out of plaster, but this iconic replica of a real diplodocus is still palaeontology perfection right up to his head. Hurray a nice moment. It was touch and go to whether it was going to fit in, but its absolutely perfect, so im happy. Dippy has been called the peoples dinosaur, 105 feet of prehistoric inspiration. Wow no wonder these slightly younger visitors were wowed today. Whats the best bit about him . His tail, because it can whack people around. Whats so great about dippy . That hes ginormous. Hes massive, isnt he . Dippy was in the Natural History museum since 1905, but the museum decided it was time for change and to reconstruct him outside london. Now that he is assembled, hes embarking on a huge nationwide tour of england, scotland and wales. They reckon that over the course of the next three years, around five Million People will engage with this project. And where better for dippys first stop than dorsetsJurassic Coast . If dippy was going to choose to go somewhere, hed probably want to choose to come the Jurassic Coast to find out all about the fossils and all the other creatures living in what is now the British Isles around the time that he was roaming what is now wyoming in america. Wherever dippy goes, itll be free to see him. A chance for older visitors to relive childhood memories, and for younger ones to create some. Duncan kennedy, bbc news, in dorchester. All tales say that if you kiss a frog, you could end up with a prince at one young mother in bolivia is hoping for a different result. Meet r,a hoping for a different result. Meet r, a waterfrog, who has been calling for a mate for the past nine yea rs. Calling for a mate for the past nine years. Scientists are searching rivers for female and now a dating website has created a profile to help you look for love. They will have to be quick, conservationists warned that frogs at r only live to the age of 15. Lets hope he does not appropriate before he finds is j. Juliet. That is of course a reference to shakespeares book, that is of course a reference to sha kespeares book, in shakespeares book, in case you have not read it. See you soon. Hello again. Most of the source and shun psion yesterday but also some wintry showers out and about still dominant. The highlands look spectacular. Clear blue skies as well. Looking ahead to the weak ands forecast, not so much sunshine to go around on sunday. Some showers, may become windy for a time this weekend. The satellite picture shows an area of low pressure, cloud racing towards the British Isles in this cloud is going to be moving in, being a band of rain with it. Rain is going to be quite heavy over the next few hours, turning to snow in eastern parts of scotland. The other thing you will notice if you out and about first thing is how it feels. We are looking at a widespread frost on the risk of some icy stretches first thing. Looking at the weather ina first thing. Looking at the weather in a little bit more detail to saturday morning, the snow across scotla nd saturday morning, the snow across scotland 5 ten centimetres, it will tend to transition back to reign as milderair tend to transition back to reign as milder air works in from the west as we go on to the early morning. The South West Wales and South West England, it is cold and frosty. Bright was in sunshine for South West England south east england and east anglia. It is probably one of those mornings when temperatures will be very slow to rise across parts of eastern england. Not really rising significantly until later. Quite a range of temperatures, turning mild in the south west. Eyes up to 11 degrees. We still have the cooler air hanging around scotland. Six nations again this weekend and both in dublin in twickenham, the threat of rain. Probably the rain heavier at twickenham as the evening progresses. Looking at saturday night, a windy spell of weather is on the cards thanks to this area of low pressure. It is thanks to this southern flank of low pressure that we could see wind quite strong. It could be a bit stronger than that across parts of the east, itjust depends how quick this area of low pressure develops. As we get into the day on sunday, that area of pressure will be working across to cause problems in the continent. North westerly winds will drag in plenty of wintry showers, most of them snow. There could be a bit of a mix of rain and sleet. It will feel chilly, highest hires generally around three to five degrees. Hick is this is bbc world news. The headlines us President Donald Trump has paid tribute to a former aide who resigned this week amid Domestic Abuse allegations. Mr trumps remarks come a day after the white house said it could have better handled the accusations. The families of some of the victims of an Islamic State group that beheaded hostages have said two captured fighters should face trial. British fighters Alexanda Kotey and el Shafee Elsheikh were captured by Syrian Kurdish forces. Uber has settled with waymo in its trial over stolen trade secrets. As part of the settlement waymo is getting over two hundred Million Dollars worth of equity in uber. The winter Olympic Games in south korea have begun. Seoul is hoping that sporting collaboration, in which north and south korea march under one flag, will help defuse tension over the norths nuclear and missile programmes. Now on bbc news, its time for inside out