this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at eight. in syria the evacuation of civilians from eastern aleppo is hit with another set back, as buses due to help people leave two villages north of the city are set alight. it comes as the un security council agrees a draft resolution ensuring un officials can monitor the evacuation of the city. members will vote tomorrow. russia has threatened to veto the measure. the trade secretary liam fox says britain could remain a member of the eu customs union after brexit. ahead of another strike by southern rail conductors tomorrow, the rmt leader, mick cash, dismisses claims his union is using the dispute to take on the government. great britain's real heroes could be infor great britain's real heroes could be in for more success at tonight's bbc sports personality of the year awards with the winner chosen by the public. the result is announced

within the hour. good evening and welcome to bbc news. first, the evacuation of the now government—controlled city of eastern aleppo has hit another stumbling block. it had been due to resume after a pause lasting three days, on condition that the rebels allowed civilians to leave two villages which support president assad. then armed men attacked the buses sent to the villages of foah and kefraya. although some buses have now left eastern aleppo there are still thousands of people there, desperate to leave. in the last hour, the un security council has said it will vote tomorrow on a resolution demanding unimpeded un access to eastern aleppo. but russia has said it will veto the plan.

our middle east correspondent quentin sommerville has this report — you may find some of the images distressing. if only the ceasefire in aleppo hadn't collapsed, then this might never have needed to happen. they are doing the best they can here, but this hospital is barely functioning. these are not surgeons. there are none left in eastern aleppo, so nurses perform the operation. it is a caesarean. translation: the child has a birth defect. we immediately brought the mother here to the operating room for a caesarean, which we are doing now. the mother is in a bad way and her baby boy even worse. but everyone here is at their wits end. eastern aleppo is out of options. translation: as soon as the patient arrived, i told the red cross that the patient needed emergency surgery but there was no answer because the evacuation

is still suspended. some of the sick made it out of here on thursday but not nearly enough. after 2a hours, the ceasefire collapsed. there are now 100 badly injured people trapped here. he has been stuck here for three days, says this man. he has a head injury. we have tried to leave but they stopped us. and here is one of the hold—ups. rival factions attacked buses that were meant to free trapped sick and injured in shi'ite villages. only when they are freed will the regime allow convoys to again leave eastern aleppo. and only after aleppo‘s misery would you consider this salvation. this is a camp in idlib. evacuees are brought here. when they arrive, they have nothing. the buses that bring them

are so crowded there is no room for luggage, but here, there's relief. translation: rockets, russianjets and warplanes all bombing us, barrel bombs dropped over us. we kept fleeing from one place to another. there was hunger, poverty and sleeping in the streets. finally, the red cross got us out. this woman made it here with her twin girls. the camp may be crowded but here the sisters can breathe again. translation: it is better than it was in aleppo, there's no bombing. we have new friends walking and playing together. there was a food shortage back there. but we are eating more here. we hated life but here we are eating biscuits and everything. and that is what is at stake here. every minute and every hour of the ceasefire that is lost, is another moment of life denied to the children of aleppo. we can now speak to fadi al—dairi, co—founder of the aid organisation,

hand in hand for syria — who are assisting civilians evacuated from eastern aleppo. he joins me from the turkish city of gaziantep near the syrian border. thanked you forjoining us. what is the reality of events on the ground? in terms of what happened and who set fires to these buses we cannot say but aid agencies condemn these a cts say but aid agencies condemn these acts that hold the peaceful evacuation of civilians. obviously there were a few incidents three days ago when the militia fighting the syrian government halted the evacuation from the city of aleppo, demanding the free passage. obviously, is that a retaliation or is it something else? it is still to

be confirmed but we heard some opposition, some of those opposing to those people leaving which is wrong. also williams should have the freedom peshmerga all civilians should have the freedom to seek somewhere piece. white there are messages coming from the teams on the ground, it is an ongoing situation. it could be any minute now, it could be delayed to early hours of the morning. conditions are really terrible. there are about 100 on each bus. the red cross were telling people on the buses there are about 50 buses. we don't have confirmation but there are 100 people in each bus so you are 100 people in each bus so you are talking about 5000 people in a really terrible conditions. it's really terrible conditions. it's really cold and they are standing up

on the buses, no toilets and no food stoplight when they are eventually out, where will they go and what will they find when they get there? says they will find some there are some shelters, some tents set up for the purpose. however, the buses are really crowded so they have nothing with them. they will find themselves in the cold with no clothes, no blankets, no heaters. and eight agencies will try to identify their needs and fulfil them. aid agencies are working hard to fulfil their needs but we are struggling with the pressure from the amount of people leaving. there is growing concern about evacuees being sent to a blip, and conditions there. —— being sent to idlib, and

concern about the assad government turning their attention to idlib as well. the syrian government and russian government see this victory in aleppo and obviously will move $0011 in aleppo and obviously will move soon enough. so it is a matter of weeks before they start the operations again. so we are looking between six to nine months, ideally we shouldn't be talking about bad news here on air, but it is a grim picture. they are getting everyone in one area and then they will start closing in and pushing them inside turkey as opposed to syria. so it is not looking good over the next six to nine months. thank you for joining us. andrew tabler is from the washington institute, a middle east think, tank and author of in the lions den:

an eyewitness account of washington's battle with syria. the latest developments, yes, we have got a setback and we have had these attacks on the buses, seems to be some dispute as to who was actually carrying out these attacks. that's right. but i think it's pretty clear, at least from initial reports that the al-qaeda affiliate seems to have been involved in the attacks of the buses going into these villages. these villages to be evacuated are not just pro—government villages, they are sheer villages. so in a way that we 110w sheer villages. so in a way that we now have the evacuation of aleppo which is a predominantly sunni city. being carried out where the attacks on the buses concerned. it could be

tied into the evacuation of the shi'a militias. but it shows how, located dealing with this issue is. you emphasised shi'a, and that brings focus on iran. there has been a lot of concern as to iran's play in these negotiations and agreements. where are we with that? so iran backs president assad much more so so iran backs president assad much more so than russia. russia, which has been carrying out strikes in syria, but want the assad regime to get into talks, it's unclear if iran does. last—minute linkages to the evacuation of these shi'a villages isa evacuation of these shi'a villages is a bit unexpected. but completely in keeping with the increasing role

in syria in and around aleppo. what do you make of the latest movement on the un security council resolution? we understand there is an agreement that a vote will take place tomorrow morning. do you have any confidence in this? i'm not sure what to say. so many of these junctions have come to nothing. i would not hold my breath. disappointing, but thank you very much. you're welcome. and we'll find out how this story, and many others, are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30pm this evening in the papers. our guestsjoining me tonight are martin lipton, deputy head of sport at the sun and martin bentham, home affairs editor at the london evening standard. the international trade secretary liam fox has refused to rule out britain remaining a member of the european customs' union after brexit, which could limit the ability to cut

free trade deals. he told the bbc‘s andrew marr that he was "instinctively a free—trader" and he would have his say in the cabinet. here's our political correspondent ben wright. there's some flash photography in his report. at the moment, british businesses know the score. we are full members of the eu single market with its free movement of goods, services and people. we are also members of the eu's customs union, the biggest in the world. the huge question is, what will brexit bring? this morning, the trade secretary suggested we could remain partial members of the customs union. we want to look at all the different things. i hear people talking about hard brexit and soft brexit as if it is a boiled egg we are talking about. it is a little more complex. turkey is in part of the customs union but not other parts. we need to look at the cost. the customs union includes all 28 eu

nations at but also turkey, monaco, san marino and andorra. all can trade freely with each other. but they must impose the same tariffs on goods from nations outside the customs union. they are also barred from doing bilateral trade deals that other countries. that is why the trade secretary would like a half way house, but there will be trade—offs. the former chancellor, now free to speak without a government script urged ministers to be careful. we should do this on the basis of a hard—headed assessment on what is in our national and economic interests. yes, it is true that the grass may be greener outside of those arrangements, and we may be able to conduct new free trade deals with australia and the united states and so on, but that should not come at a price of giving up the existing free trade arrangements we have with germany and france.

and you think we can keep those? that is where i would be starting from. you cannot say we are a beacon of free trade in the world and then the main thing we can achieve is a huge act of protectionism, the biggest in british history. popping up again to offer his brexit services, nigel farage, friend of president—elect donald trump, the former ukip leader told the bbc he wanted to be a bridge between the new trade department and the new us administration. number 10 said there was no job vacancy. six months on after the vote to leave the european union, everyone in government agrees that brexit will happen but if ministers know how, they are not telling us. at the moment, all options seem to be on the table. remember, this is not a question of the uk asking for a deal, in the spring britain will begin discussions with 27 other countries who are determined to get a brexit that works for them. the general secretary of the rmt transport union mick cash has dismissed claims that it's organising strikes as part

of a conspiracy to bring down the government. he distanced himself from reported remarks by the rmt‘s president, sean hoyle, suggesting trade unions were coordinating industrial action to oust the conservatives. here's our business correspondent, joe lynam. some media reports suggest that trade unions are trying to bring down the gutman. to bring down the government. the rmt national president was pretty clear on the subject. they are talking about the left trying to bring down the government. there was the national shop stewards network, the rmt. other left—wing organisations are coordinating to bring the government down. guess what? we bloofy are. mick cash dismissed the idea. when not about looking at conspiracies to bring down the government. our members are on strike this week because they have concerns about safety and the travelling public. the public might feel caught in the middle as they face

a christmas of discontent. one former conservative transport minister thinks there is a link between his industrial disputes. minister thinks there is a link between his industrial disputeslj don't between his industrial disputes.” don't think it is a coincidence or these disputes are happening now, i think there has to be sunk ordination. it looks like they are determined to bring misery on a lot of people who will be travelling at this time of year. here at downing street they will be more than aware of how annoying christmas strikes are to the public. even though this government has introduced new rules to make it even tougher for trade unions to go out on strike, some ministers want to go even further.

that could be politically tricky. it may feel as though there is a spike in industrial disputes but compared with the 1970s this year barely scratches the surface in terms of total number of days lost to strikes. i will be cold comfort to southern rail customers, though, who will endure a fourth day of disruption in a week. the headlines on bbc news: in syria the evacuation of civilians from eastern aleppo is hit by another set back, as buses due to help people leave two villages north of the city are set alight. the trade secretary liam fox says britain could remain a member of the eu customs union after brexit. ahead of another strike by southern rail conductors tomorrow, the rmt leader dismisses claims his union is using the dispute to take on the government. sport now, time for a full round—up from the bbc sports centre. good evening.

there were three matches in the premier league today, but no doubt about the big one. a heavyweight clash between manchester city and arsenal at the etihad. it was city who took the spoils, coming from behind to win and close the gap behind the leaders chelsea to seven points. here's tim hague. as christmas gifts go, this match is certainly one you'd want on your list. manchester city against arsenal, two teams and two managers desperately chasing chelsea. and with that in mind, things unsurprisingly got physical very quickly. no kiss under the mistletoe for theo walcott and kevin de bruyne. theo walcott illustrated just how to finish. arsenal were ahead, but it shouldn't have been the case for long. straight down the other end. raheem sterling somehow put the ball wide, and that was as good as it got for city in the first half. slow out of the blocks, you could say. unlike the christmas pudding, the home side found their feet

straight after the break, leroy sane slotting them back into the match. petr cech saved his side more than once, but there was nothing he could do to stop sterling. he made up for that miss earlier in the best way possible. city were the victors in a match that you want on your list unless you are an arsenal supporter. they were lucky in the first half. it was a premier league game. it was a good game for everybody. it was quite similar to chelsea. with chelsea, we didn't win, and today we did. we dominated. we created chances. we have problems with important players not being there for a long time. so i am so happy. we conceded two offside goals. that is very difficult to accept in

a game like that. i believe there is not going on the moment that is not serious. it is unbelievable, but every time the decisions go against you, and unilaterally. in the other premier league matches southampton won the south coast derby. 3—1winners at bournemouth. danny rose scored the winner for spurs in their 2—1 victory at home to burnley. onto rugby union, and there's been an upset in the european champions cup. scarlets survived a tense finale to hang on and beat toulon by 22 points to 21. leigh halfpenny missed two late penalties for the french team. elsewhere defending champions saracens maintain their 100% record in the competition, but they were made to work for a 26—10 victory against sale that keeps them top of pool 3. elsewhere, clermont auvergne beat ulster 38—19. england's hope of a consolation victory in the 5th and final test

against india are looking very slim. india batted all the way through the third day in chennai closing on 391—4. that's 86 behind england's first innings score, with rahulfalling just one run short of a double century. he obviously played really, really well. tick his time and got his runs quite well and took the risk when needed. brilliant bit of bowling, on 99, two very slow, wide one. don't think many people on that score would leave that alone. thankfully it went to a fielder. sports personality of the year is underway over on bbc one. there are 16 nominees for the main award. details can be found on the bbc sport website. the winner will be presented at the end of the show.

one award has already been given out. claudio ranieri, the leicester city manager, has been awarded coach of the year. his leicester team, who defied the odds to lift the premier league trophy, were there to salute him. just time to tell you that marco fu is leading john higgins 6—4 in the final of the scottish open snooker. the first to frames will win. more in the next hour. ten people, including a canadian woman, have been killed in a shoot—out between police and gunmen injordan at a castle popular with tourists. four police officers were killed in the attack in the mountainous city of karak. there are reports some people had been taken hostage. richard lister has more. armoured personnel carriers racing through the streets of karak. they are responding to a series of shootings in and around

the town by several gunmen. the security forces desperately tried to establish who is firing and from where. there is panic, confusion and more gunshots. this amateur footage shows police and special forces closing in on the gunmen who have now taken refuge in the crusader castle and are still firing on those around them. the medieval citadel draws tourists from around the world, and there were initial unconfirmed reports that some had been taken hostage. others were able to get out as the battle raged around them. this is where most of the casualties were found. all were jordanian except for one canadian woman who was killed. tonight, the city appears calm although it is unclear what happened to the gunmen. there will be relief the attack is contained but it will be another blow tojordan‘s reputation as a sea of calm in a region of crisis.

a suicide bomber has killed at least a0 soldiers in aden in south yemen. many others were wounded. the islamic state group says it carried out the attack, which targeted a crowd of soldiers as they were queueing up to receive their salaries near a military base. it's the latest in a string of such attacks on army recruits. a week ago, islamic state militants killed 50 troops in aden, which is under the control of the internationally—recognised government of yemen. palestinian police say israeli soldiers have shot dead an arab teenager during a confrontation in the west bank. hundreds of people have attended his funeral in beit rima near ramallah. palestinian officials say the shooting took place when troops entered the village and were confronted by youths throwing stones. the israeli military says security forces were responding after being attacked by rioters. the government is drawing up plans

to make all civil servants and holders of public office swear an oath to uphold british values. the communities secretary sajid javid says he wants people to set an example to newly arrived migrants. but labour dismissed the idea as a "gimmick". taslima ahmad is a fashion designer who runs an inter—community textile workshop in the longsight area of manchester. thank evenjoining thank even joining us. intercommunity textile workshop, what is it exactly that you do?” intercommunity textile workshop, what is it exactly that you do? i do a lot of things, but i do work with ethnic minority women, empowering them. and we like to break barriers when we put different women of different backgrounds, and the only language we speak is english because

i cannot speak another language. so that's the way we help the women to engage and don't english. and also i'm promoting british textiles. so we teach high—end british manufacturing skills. and help them to their own business. and it's all about using british fabric. and not only british fabric but in the community are also told that eat british products, eat less, but eat good, and buy less, by british clothing. if you can't buy new ones, buy second—hand ones. clothing. if you can't buy new ones, buy second-hand ones. and what do you think of this idea of an oath being taken, then? well i you think of this idea of an oath being taken, then? welll don't you think of this idea of an oath being taken, then? well i don't know what it's going to achieve. and if it's going to go ahead then it

should come from the top, our prime ministers should take it first. and thenit ministers should take it first. and then it filters down. because if it comes from the bottom it's just going to be stagnating. would you ta ke going to be stagnating. would you take it? yes. why would you take it? why would i take it? yes. i'm not quite sure. but i would take it because i love being british. i am british. i've been to school. i did my whole education, everything. i've never lived in another country. this is my country. and i would take it because i love britain. i can't see myself living anywhere in the world. idid get myself living anywhere in the world. i did get the chance to live in america but i didn't take the job. from what you're saying, you think one of the major stumbling blocks or barriers that needs to come down is

a language barrier. you say that everybody in your group speaks english. why is this so important and why would it help? well, if you can't speak english how are you going to engage with anybody? and lots of the women that come to me, they can't speaking jewish. —— they can't speak english. but being with us, speaking with us has taught them to pick up english quite quickly. like my mother, for instance. when my little brother was little, she went back to college. but she went to college that was only with different diversity of people. so my mum is able to engage with anybody. she goes shopping on her own. she goes to oxford street, knightsbridge. she goes to, you know, just about petticoat lane on her own, on the tube. just to jump

in quickly, we are running out of time, you can teach people to speak english but how do you break into the idea of a community and a group when people grouped together? well, the thing that the government needs to look at is putting diversity into groups. because it's always funded for groups but it shouldn't be. it should be funding the diversity so that people can mix with each other, learn about each other, be proud. i know these ladies are proud to be british but they can't speak english. and they are frightened. they are frightened of people because they come from villages where they've never seen electricity. 0k. thank you for sharing your story. we are going to ci’oss sharing your story. we are going to cross the newsroom, get across to

the balcony for the weather forecast. have we seen the end of this awful fog? the frog is quite dense across parts of england. —— the fog. somerset, wiltshire, the south midlands, up to 200 metres visibility. that sort of thing, the patchy and dense fog looks like it will linger in these areas, the midlands, maybe south—east wales, going into the morning as well, so problematic for another night, into the morning, maybe affecting traffic. a lot of dry weather. a fuse box close to freezing. some fog in the areas i've mentioned —— a view