but many had wanted a strongerform of words — calling for the �*phasing out�* of coal, oil and gas. our climate editorjustin rowlatt reports from dubai. we waited and we waited and then... hearing no objection, it is so decided. with the bang of a gavel, the deal was done. applause. and it got a standing ovation. so the hammer has just gone down here, and that was the fastest that an agreement text has ever been agreed. the presidency is calling this an historic agreement, but it is hedged around with questions and doubts. it calls on countries to contribute to ambitious actions to tackle climate change. now, i could do a single plate and claim to have contributed to doing the washing up, but would you consider that i had really pulled my weight? the president of these talks was in no doubt how important it was. together we have confronted realities, and we have set the world in the right direction. there was support from many countries, especially richer nations. this is a moment where multilateralism has come together and people have taken individual interests and attempted to define the common good. that is hard. it is the hardest thing in diplomacy, it is the hardest thing in politics. and congratulations from saudi arabia too, which had pushed to weaken the agreement. but many of the representatives of the country's most vulnerable to climate change, the small island states, were not in the room and they said there is a litany of loopholes here. the course correction that is needed has not been secured. what we needed is a step change in our actions and support. but including a commitment to transition away from fossil fuels is a first for these cop conferences, a belated acknowledgement of the central challenge in the climate battle. getting rid of coal, oil and gas, and that is an important step forward. live now to sherri goodman, senior fellow at the wilson centre and secretary general of the international military council on climate & security. sherry, welcome here to the programme. how should we view what has happened there in dubai? significant progress or a major opportunity missed? significant progress or a ma'or opportunity missed?�* significant progress or a ma'or opportunity missed? well, i think it is rouress opportunity missed? well, i think it is progress in _ opportunity missed? well, i think it is progress in the _ opportunity missed? well, i think it is progress in the sense _ opportunity missed? well, i think it is progress in the sense that - opportunity missed? well, i think it is progress in the sense that there l is progress in the sense that there is progress in the sense that there is a recognition now that the security of our planet is indeed at stake. and so from understanding climate change as a threat multiplier, we now have a movement towards creating an opportunity multiplier in the transition away from fossil fuels. multiplier in the transition away from fossilfuels. recognising multiplier in the transition away from fossil fuels. recognising that we could always try to go faster, and we should, given the risks, the risks of climate change that we see every day, i think it is a very strong commitment and it marks an important milestone in recognising the importance of achieving net zero by 2050, the importance of tripling renewables, a milestone commitment in trickling commitment to nuclear energy and doubling commitment to energy and doubling commitment to energy efficiency, and recognising the very real security components that we face in climate change today. that we face in climate change toda . ~ ., ., that we face in climate change toda .~ ., ., that we face in climate change toda . ~ ., ., ~' that we face in climate change toda . ~ ., ., ~ , today. what do you think it tells us, the enormous _ today. what do you think it tells us, the enormous amount - today. what do you think it tells us, the enormous amount of. today. what do you think it tells i us, the enormous amount of effort that had to happen in the last 12 to 18 hours to get that language around fossil fuels, 18 hours to get that language around fossilfuels, and 18 hours to get that language around fossil fuels, and what did you make of the language in the end that they landed on? ~ ., , of the language in the end that they landed on? ~ .,, . landed on? well, there was... we came into — landed on? well, there was... we came into the _ landed on? well, there was... we came into the cop _ landed on? well, there was... we came into the cop with _ landed on? well, there was... we came into the cop with the - landed on? well, there was... we came into the cop with the strong| came into the cop with the strong commitment on loss and damage. although not as fully funded as many would have liked. we ended with this commitment to transition away, which in many ways kind of split the language between phase—out and face down that was much in debate, but calls for a just and equitable, which i think is a commitment towards addressing the needs of those most vulnerable, but also orderly, which recognises that there are some inherent challenges in the transition and the commitment to decarbonise that will require a huge amount of public sector and private investment. and i think that was also very evident at this cop. having sent myself, the first us department delegate to cop three in 1997, this is not your grandmother's cop. this is a whole new world where we see the investment potential that has to rise up to me to the very real challenge that we face of accelerating into the energy transition that will address the climate risks.— transition that will address the climate risks. that is because we are livin: climate risks. that is because we are living climate _ climate risks. that is because we are living climate change, - climate risks. that is because we are living climate change, not. climate risks. that is because we | are living climate change, notjust talking about it in the future. but in terms of the road map, say, to 2050, did you think that enough was laid out about how we get there? we saw the small island states very unhappy about what has been agreed. they describe it as incremental, it won't help them.— they describe it as incremental, it won't help them. clearly, they are on the front _ won't help them. clearly, they are on the front lines _ won't help them. clearly, they are on the front lines of— won't help them. clearly, they are on the front lines of climate - won't help them. clearly, they are on the front lines of climate risk . on the front lines of climate risk every day with sea level rise and a loss of fresh water. we have to put them at the front lines of climate relief and recovery. i think it remains to be seen whether that investment will rise up, that i do think to meet that challenge of the rising sea levels, however, i do think there is a commitment now to do that, wejust think there is a commitment now to do that, we just have to make sure that countries, the most at risk, like the pacific island nations, are among the first to benefit. just like the pacific island nations, are among the first to benefit.- among the first to benefit. just a final thought _ among the first to benefit. just a final thought on _ among the first to benefit. just a final thought on the _ among the first to benefit. just a final thought on the uk's - among the first to benefit. just a l final thought on the uk's position, because for many years it has been seen as a global leader, al gore questioning that at this cop 28, with of course there's new oil and gas licenses, the return of a coal plant, where are you on that as to the uk's influence, whether it has diminished given some of the political decisions of the last 12 months? ., ~ ., ., ~' political decisions of the last 12 months? ., ~ ., ., ~ , months? you know, i do think it is imortant months? you know, i do think it is important to _ months? you know, i do think it is important to lead _ months? you know, i do think it is important to lead by _ months? you know, i do think it is important to lead by example, - months? you know, i do think it is| important to lead by example, and countries like the uk, that even the us, are often challenged in the economic appetites to gain the benefits of producing fossil fuel energy while at the same time trying to decarbonise. and i think that is going to be continuing challenge for the societies, which is why it is important that there are so many non—governmental and public sector leaders pushing for that change, and then increasingly, the private sector seeing that there are economic opportunities available to decarbonise in every single sector of society. irate decarbonise in every single sector of socie . ~ ., of society. we will leave it there, thank ou of society. we will leave it there, thank you so _ of society. we will leave it there, thank you so much _ of society. we will leave it there, thank you so much for— of society. we will leave it there, thank you so much forjoining - of society. we will leave it there, thank you so much forjoining us| thank you so much forjoining us life in washington. israel's foreign minister has said they will continue their war with hamas with or without international support. israel has maintained the intensity of its offensive on gaza, despite growing concern. the israeli army has released this video showing combat operations in the gaza strip. it says it's carried out more than 250 strikes over the past 2a hours. the hamas—run health ministry in gaza says, at least 50 people have been killed in the latest air strikes. this is the aftermath of one strike in the southern city of khan younis. it takes the total killed to more than 18,600 in the last eight weeks. this is the aftermath of one strike in the southern city of khan younis. witnesses say, the heart of khan younis has turned into a ghost town. the head of the palestinian refugee agency, unrwa, has warned that its capacity to render services in gaza is now on the verge of collapse. late yesterday, the un general assembly voted �*overwhelmingly in favour�* of an immediate ceasefire in gaza — the us oppose the resolution but president biden told is starting starting to lose global support. a short while ago i spoke to our gaza correspondent rushdi abualouf who is in istanbul and our middle east correspondent hugo bachega in jerusalem. i asked about what the destruction in the ground is like is in khan younis. yes, it is a very difficult situation in khan younis. i was talking about half an hour ago with a palestinian local cameraman who tried to get into the heart of khan younis to film something and he was surprised by tanks in the street. this is the main street that is leading to the heart of the city, the heart of the city for the last week or so, people were fleeing this area. shops were completely closed. it is the life of the khan younis area, the second biggest city in southern gaza. it is really completely empty, nobody there. shops were closed and i spoke this morning with the owner of this cigarette shop was also trying to get to the city centre. he survived death, as he described to me. in the last 2a hours, according to a doctor in the main hospital in khan younis, around a0 people were killed in khan younis and over 150 people were injured. some were in a very difficult situation, they say the hospital is struggling to cope with the number of people and with the injuries that they are sustaining out of the israeli artillery fire intensifying in the area. some of the air strikes were also targeting some of the areas near the camp. people in khan younis believe that israel targets the camp in khan younis and now the tanks are about 700 metres or less than a kilometre away from the target. people are worried about what type is happening in khan younis being the same as what happened in gaza city before the ceasefire. some of the people of khan younis witness this and live to this before the ceasefire, and they had to leave during the ceasefire to khan younis and now they have to move again either to the western side of khan younis or toward the border in rafa. a couple of questions for hugo. the us national security adviser, news and the last hour or so that he is going to israel tomorrow to meet with benjamin netanyahu. certainly after those product comments from president biden, the pressure is growing on israel, isn't it, in terms of how they are conducting this war? exactly, matthew. jake sullivan will be meeting prime minister netanyahu and members of the israeli war cabinet, and gaza will be the main topic to be discussed. i think there have been some suggestions that they could be talking about a possible timeline for the israeli offensive in gaza. and obviously this visit comes after a number of statements from senior american officials about what is happening in gaza. yesterday there were comments, the strongest yet, by president biden, saying that the israelis are starting to lose support because of the indiscriminate bombing, in his words, of the civilian population in gaza. days ago we had from the secretary of state, antony blinken, who said that there was a gap between what the authorities were saying in terms of trying to do more to protect the civilian population in gaza and the reality on the ground. rushdi was talking about the worsening humanitarian situation in gaza, concerns being raised by aid organisations, by the united nations, that those people who are not being killed by bombs may not survive hunger and diseases. so it is a desperate, catastrophic situation for the population in gaza. and i think these comments by president biden, by secretary blinken, sure growing discontent in the biden administration over the situation in gaza. around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news. in the run—up to christmas, shoppers are being warned not to fall victim to purchase scams, especially when buying items via social media. figures from the main high street banks suggest that nearly £100 million is forecast to be stolen from thousands of victims during the festive period, with 25 to sa—year—olds the most likely victims. the disability charity, sense, says a lack of skilled workers in the social care sector is putting vulnerable lives at risk. in england, the number of vacancies for home carers has more than doubled in the past 10 years. the government says there was a 2% increase in the workforce last year. around eight million eligible households will receive a £299 cost—of—living payment in february, to help with higher bills. the payment for people on means—tested benefits will be made directly into bank accounts without the need to make a claim. a committee of mps recently questioned whether the payments were sufficient. you're live with bbc news. a package of economic shock therapy has been announced by argentina's new president, aimed at fixing its worst crisis in decades. they include weakening the value of its currency by more than 50% against the dollar. the country is battling soaring inflation, with prices rising by around 150% over the past year. it's struggling with high government debt and owes the international monetary fund 44 billion dollars. around 40% of the population is living below the poverty line. live now to katy watson, our south america correspondent. katie, these are extraordinary cuts, i mean, he carried around a chain store in the campaign, so no surprise but it is now being set out and delivered.— surprise but it is now being set out and delivered. yes, he talked about shock therapy _ and delivered. yes, he talked about shock therapy for _ and delivered. yes, he talked about shock therapy for the _ and delivered. yes, he talked about shock therapy for the economy - and delivered. yes, he talked about shock therapy for the economy and | and delivered. yes, he talked about i shock therapy for the economy and he is clearly delivering that. in fact, one of his main messages in his inaugural speech was that there is no money. and this is what he promised, he is clearly delivering that. his economy minister, who is a former central bank governor himself, announced this plan, not just the devaluation of the peso but also cutting energy transport subsidies and slashing the number of ministries in the government. something that he wanted to cut down on, government spending. all of these packages together of course are a complete departure for argentina. and the hope from the new administration and for many people in argentina is that this will make things better for the in argentina is that this will make things betterfor the many millions of argentina is. you yourself said that 40% of argentinians living in poverty at the moment. just that 40% of argentinians living in poverty at the moment.— that 4096 of argentinians living in poverty at the moment. just in terms ofthe poverty at the moment. just in terms of the effect — poverty at the moment. just in terms of the effect that _ poverty at the moment. just in terms of the effect that it _ poverty at the moment. just in terms of the effect that it is _ poverty at the moment. just in terms of the effect that it is likely _ poverty at the moment. just in terms of the effect that it is likely to - of the effect that it is likely to have on ordinary people, take me through that and what is the likelihood of this package getting through congress? because he hasn't got a majority, but will the majority of this get through? well, that is the big _ majority of this get through? well, that is the big question. _ majority of this get through? well, that is the big question. he - majority of this get through? -ii that is the big question. he has got huge ambitions but he has also got a minority in congress. that is the biggest challenge for the new president in the next four years. what this means short term is something that his economy minister has said and he has repeated himself, that these measures will come at a cost to the economy, a cost to people's salaries, to poverty, to the economic growth, it will make things like imports much more expensive, it will cost more to be able to service foreign debt, but the idea being that you can devalue the idea being that you can devalue the peso but it will also mean that domestic goods are more attractive. that might boost the domestic economy. all of these measures, there are two sides to it, the imf, argentina has a huge debt to the imf, they have said this is a bold move but said that it is a good sign toward stabilising the economy. i think it is anyone's guess. people watching carefully will see whether these measures will make a difference to the lives of argentinians.— difference to the lives of argentinians. difference to the lives of araentinians. , ., argentinians. sorry about the sound cominu argentinians. sorry about the sound coming across _ argentinians. sorry about the sound coming across your _ argentinians. sorry about the sound coming across your line. _ argentinians. sorry about the sound coming across your line. thank - argentinians. sorry about the sound coming across your line. thank you | coming across your line. thank you for the latest on that story. the uk's minister for international development told the bbc that it was extremely difficult for the un to argue that rwanda was not a safe country now that the un decided to send 169 migrants from libya to rwanda. well, the head of the un refugee agency hit back, saying that the uk plan with rwanda was a violation of the un convention of refugees. he added that the un operation in libya as an evacuation of a very vulnerable people. well, all of that comes as world leaders meet in geneva to respond to record numbers of refugees around the world. monitoring that meeting is our correspondent who is in geneva. image and, let's talk about this row first, because it was pretty pointed about a central plank of rishi sunak�*s policy. about a central plank of rishi sunak's policy.— about a central plank of rishi sunak's policy. yes, absolutely. i have 'ust sunak's policy. yes, absolutely. i have just come _ sunak's policy. yes, absolutely. i have just come away _ sunak's policy. yes, absolutely. i have just come away from - sunak's policy. yes, absolutely. ij have just come away from talking sunak's policy. yes, absolutely. i. have just come away from talking to andrew mitchell and you do get the impression that members of the uk government are seeking to —— sick and tired of being asked to defend this policy on the international stage. if you come to a big summit on refugees and you have a policy like this, which has garnered so many headlines, you are going to be asked about it. andrew mitchell really hit back saying how can the un say this is unlawful when it's sending refugees, poor migrants, anyway to rwanda to? the un refugee agency very irritated by this, because it points out that the asylum seekers and migrants that it has sent were in libya where there is documented evidence of migrants and asylum seekers being raped, tortured and enslaved and killed. and that's what the un is doing is basically saving their lives, evacuating them to rwanda where they can be screened and then resettled in safe countries. and that all of those people chose to be evacuated. the uk proposal, of course none of it has happened yet, would obviously involve people who don't choose, they arrive illegally via the channel and britain's shores and are sent automatically to rwanda. that is where the un has a big difference with britain. that under the refugee convention, you are required to assess someone's claim for asylum, whether they arrive legally or illegally. and you can'tjust automatically send them somewhere, particularly somewhere that you are not sure is safe.— not sure is safe. briefly, aside from that _ not sure is safe. briefly, aside from that row, _ not sure is safe. briefly, aside from that row, there - not sure is safe. briefly, aside from that row, there is - not sure is safe. briefly, aside from that row, there is of - not sure is safe. briefly, aside i from that row, there is of course the wider problem for refugees, so many european countries battling it, the americas, is there any sort of new idea that is being discussed our strategy? the new idea that is being discussed our strate: ? , ., ., , ., ., strategy? the short answer to that i am afraid is — strategy? the short answer to that i am afraid is no. _ strategy? the short answer to that i am afraid is no. usually _ strategy? the short answer to that i am afraid is no. usually these - am afraid is no. usually these forums are very nice people saying nice things, may be sometimes different from what they say when they're back on the domestic front at home. what is being looked at, what the un would like focus on, is the fact that we have 55 conflicts raging around the world right now, so clearly we are not doing anything at all to try to prevent the situations where people become refugees in the first place. look at that, try to stop seeing migration and asylum are such a negative thing. there are a lot of refugees here in geneva now offering a positive image of what a refugee can become, despite the challenges that somebody who has to flee their country faces. so whether we will get any hard decisions, i don't think so. a lot of fine words, yes, and quite, as we said, quite unusual for a forum like this row breaking out between one un member state, britain, and the un itself.— britain, and the un itself. imaging, thank ou britain, and the un itself. imaging, thank you for— britain, and the un itself. imaging, thank you for taking _ britain, and the un itself. imaging, thank you for taking us _ britain, and the un itself. imaging, thank you for taking us through - britain, and the un itself. imaging, thank you for taking us through all. thank you for taking us through all of that. exactly a year ago the uk prime minister pledged to eradicate the backlog of asylum seekers making applications by the end of the year. the home office has said that it is on track to meet that pledge but to do it, record and a bit of asylum cases have been granted and a record number of people have been withdrawn from the asylum system. let's get more on that, nick eardley is at bbc verify explaining why withdrawals are at a record high. the verify explaining why withdrawals are at a record high.— verify explaining why withdrawals are at a record high. the answer is that they think _ are at a record high. the answer is that they think they _ are at a record high. the answer is that they think they are _ are at a record high. the answer is that they think they are on - are at a record high. the answer is that they think they are on track. i are at a record high. the answer is| that they think they are on track. a minister was asked about this in parliament in the last hour and he said we are on track to deal with all of the cases that can be dealt with, which is slightly ambiguous language. but let's have a look at how we are doing it. just a quick reminder that this was the pledge from rishi sunak, the backlog, the legacy backlog cases beforejune 2022. they would be dealt with by the end of this year. so a couple of weeks from now. this is what it looked like at the start of the year, 91,000 cases also. it falls over the course of the year quite dramatically in the last couple of months, and as you can see, at the start of december here it is around 18,000 cases still to be processed. as i say, the home office thinks it is on track to meet that target, but what is really interesting when we have drilled into the numbers is how the backlog is being reduced. let me show you this. this is a breakdown of how many cases have been dealt with since the conservatives came to power back in 2010. how many cases have been granted, how many have been withdrawn, how many have been refused. we only have the figures for the first nine months of this year. but already you can see there is a record number of cases being accepted. it is the highest so far since 2002. but by the end of the year it is pretty inevitable that it will be the highest number on record. there are a lot more cases being processed as you can see, so it was always likely that more would be approved. what is also interesting is that the government has sped up the system for some countries, people from those countries, people from those countries, to submit their applications meaning that they don't have to have a face—to—face meeting, they can do it on paper. have a look at this section here, the yellow bit, that is people who have been withdrawn or taken out of the system completely. it is also at a record high, it is three times bigger than it was last year and five times bigger than it was back in 2021. exactly on that point, why are withdrawals then at a record high? it is interesting. someone can withdraw the application saying that they don't want asylum in the uk any more, that a key reason seems to be that the rules have changed this year. people are taken out of this number, withdrawn from the backlog, if they don't maintain enough contact with the home or if they failed to attend meetings in the home office. and that seems really important for why that figure is so high this year. why it has made such a big contribution to bringing the backlog down. and then finally, that red figure there is important as well. the number of people that have been refused asylum in the uk. that portion is the lowest proportion of the total ever. the lowest percentage of people ever are being rejected. as the government tries to get the backlog down. it seems that if they do make that target, it is in no small part because there is a record number of cases being approved at great speeds and there are a record number of people being taken out of the system completely. matthew, just one final thing to mention as well. which is this graph here. this is the number of people in the backlog who have arrived since june in the backlog who have arrived sincejune 2022, the ones who the government has not pledged to get rid of by the end of this year. as you can see, it is going up and up and up. and in the last statistics, it was all the way up to 90,000. very similarfigure to it was all the way up to 90,000. very similar figure to that legacy backlog that they are getting rid of. . ., backlog that they are getting rid of. . ~' ., , ., , backlog that they are getting rid of. . ,~ , ., of. nick eardley at the very final. headfines of. nick eardley at the very final. headlines in _ of. nick eardley at the very final. headlines in business _ of. nick eardley at the very final. headlines in business is - of. nick eardley at the very final. headlines in business is on - of. nick eardley at the very final. headlines in business is on bbc i headlines in business is on bbc news. hello there. for eastern parts of england it's been a dull and damp day with some cool winds as well, all rotating around this area of low pressure that's been bringing the cloudy, damp weather that's going to move away into continental europe. we've got the next weather system, though, coming in from the atlantic. in between, things have been turning a little bit quieter with the best of the sunshine earlier on in scotland and northern ireland. but these are the temperatures early in the evening. so they're falling away fairly quickly. and there is the possibility where we keep those clearer skies just for a while into the night, the temperatures could get close to orjust below freezing, but the window of clearer skies is going to be closing because whilst this cloud and damp weather will finally clear the southeast, we've got cloud and outbreaks of rain coming in from the atlantic briefly, some snow over the scottish mountains. the tops of the northern pennines should turn back to rain, though, later because temperatures are going to be rising and those temperatures will be above freezing by thursday morning. the wet weather clearing scotland and northern ireland still to move away from england and wales. it's mostly a light rain and drizzle could linger across east anglia in the south east into the afternoon. but elsewhere we should see a cheering up with more in the way of sunshine around. a few showers for scotland and northern ireland, mainly for northern scotland where it's still going to be quite blustery. but temperatures are going to be higher than today by something like two or maybe even three degrees. it will feel pleasant enough when the sunshine does come out. that weather system out of the way. the next one is going to come in from the atlantic around the top of this area of high pressure. it's going to bring a lot of cloud as we head into friday for northern ireland and particularly into scotland. and that weather front may well bring some outbreaks of rain eventually to northern and western parts of scotland, but elsewhere it should be dry. as you can see, there'll be quite a bit of sunshine for england and wales. temperatures across eastern parts of england about eight degrees, but head further west and those temperatures are rising significantly. we've got milder air coming in from the atlantic here in the west and that will push its way across the whole of the country by the time we get into the weekend. you can see there is colder air to the north of scotland. that's to the north of that weather front there that's going to hang around into the weekend before eventually pushing a little bit further south. but there will be a lot of cloud through this weekend and we're going to find temperatures around 12 or 13 degrees quite widely on sunday. some uncertainty, but it looks like there could be some patchy rain, especially in the north. aljaber welcome to bbc news. let's turn to our main headlines. an historic deal is agreed at the cop28 climate summit — calling, for the first time, for all countries to move away from using fossilfuels. political leaders and climate campaigners broadly welcome the agreement, but express reservations about it limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degrees celsius. israel says it carried out more than 250 strikes on gaza in the last day — as the main refugee agency says it's on the verge of collapse. tesla is recalling more than 2 million cars after the