public service reform and a15% increase in regional rates. the only thing moving round here are people taking their dogs for a walk in this great, verdant space. but that could be about to change. all the mood music is that sirjeffrey donaldson wants to make a big move to re—establish this place. now, why does he want to do that? well, there are principally three reasons. firstly, he believes the best way to secure northern ireland within the union is to have stable government here, even if that means sinn fein as first minister. the second reason is the electoral threat to his party from the middle ground alliance party, all those voters not interested in ancient battles. and finally people across northern ireland are fed up with not having a devolved government. in royal hillsborough, the heart of sirjeffrey donaldson�*s lagan valley constituency,

where talks on the deal have been taking place, support for a return to stormont. i think everybody from an economic standpoint would like stormont back, and that way the money will be released to the services that need them, such as education and the health service. money isn't being allocated to the areas that needed it. so absolutely. so it's a bit of a vacuum. yes, yes. we are almost two years - without a devolved government and it matters to people, - because it feels like there's no one in charge, no one in control, - no one there to make decisions. schools are not functioning some days. hospitals are not functioning any day as they should. there are massive problems across the entire public sector. two commentators on the perils of a power vacuum and, from a leading unionist newspaper, strong forces suggest a return to stormont. i think there are two things that are pushing jeffrey donaldson and his party back into stormont. the first is ideological. they believe in devolution. they pretty much always have been

a devolutionist party. not all unionists are devolutionists. some of them want to get rid of stormont and be run from westminster. but that's not the dup position. the second thing is that he realises that there is this problem here, that the union now hangs on the votes not of people who vote for parties like the dup, but on the votes of those who vote for the alliance party or the greens or other unaligned parties in a constitutional sense. and those people are not impressed by chaos. and it's chaos that he has been delivering over the last couple of years. and he knows that can't go on forever without there being constitutional consequences for the future of northern ireland within the union. an academic sees pressure on sirjeffrey donaldson. really, people have been saying to jeffrey donaldson _ for the last 12 months, "you are the leader. i you must lead. you must tell your party that this is as good as it gets. _ now is the time tojump." and remember, devolution is the only show in town for the dup. _ they have no power in westminster. it's unlikely that they will ever be in the position that they were in, |

in the confidence supply agreement. so if they're not in devolved - government, where will they be? out in the political wilderness shouting from the sidelines. i the vast majority of the political representatives in the dup - want back into stormont. celebrating the season at hillsborough castle. a year winding down with thoughts about new openings. so let's take a look at some of the front pages... the guardian, for held in hamas terror plot. finally the daily mail, where has alex been for the six years, kidnapped boy crosses for to freedom. that is of most night. sleep well. good night.

breaking news from around the world 2a hours a day, this is bbc news. she believed israelis would never have real security until palestinians had their own state. on the 7th, she was at home, in the place where she'd brought up her two sons. the bodies of israelis killed by hamas were still being recovered when we went there to try to find vivian's house. her family hoped she was a hostage inside gaza. as hamas shot their way into be'eri, she texted her son, yonatan, that she feared a massacre. her house was burnt. a month later, vivian silver's remains were identified in the ash left by the fire.

so, you were there, i i was there afterwards, and her bones were in the safe room all the while — yonatan believes the war lacks a political objective. war, if we're not naive, - it should be a means, right? but it feels like this war is - a cause in itself, of revenge, of... ..of making a point. you are still a believer in peace even though these people came over into your country and killed your mother? they came into my country and killed my mother- because we didn't have peace, so, to me, thisjust proves- the point that we need it. after the war, the americans want israel's walls and fences, here between jerusalem and bethlehem, to go from a security measure into an international

frontier with an independent palestine. the current israeli government says the two—state solution will not happen. so, when the war is over, what needs to go right to give peace a chance? well, first of all, a change of leader on both sides. there's too much bad history, and they don't trust each other. next, there has to be even—handed mediation, something the americans have never managed to do. and as well as that, both israelis and palestinians are going to have to accept painful compromises on things that really matter to them, especially territory. so much has to go right to move from war to peace. so much has already gone wrong that peace mightjust be impossible. jeremy bowen, bbc news, jerusalem. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other

stories making news. new figures show improvements in britain's health service compared to this time last year, but patients needing emergency care are still facing long waits in england. the waiting list for treatments fell slightly to 7.71 million from a record high of 7.78 million the previous month. the father, step—mother and uncle of ten—year—old sara sharif, who died at her home in woking in august, have pleaded not guilty to her murder. urfan sharif, beinash batool and faisal malik appeared at the old bailey by video link. they also pleaded not guilty to a second charge of causing or allowing the death of a child. the european central bank and the bank of england have both decided to keep interest rates on hold. in the uk, interest rates have been kept at 5.25% for the third time in a row. the bank of england governor suggested it was too early to say

when rates could be cut. you're live with bbc news. let's head to australia now, where a state memorial for barry humphries is going to be held at the sydney opera house in less than an hour's time. the australian entertainer passed away in sydney back in april, at the age of 89, following a celebrated seven—decade global career. he was known for his iconic characters including dame edna everage and sir les patterson, as well as being a renowned actor, poet, musician and artist. live now to our correspondent phil mercer, who is outside sydney's opera house where the memorial is being held. great to see you. what can we expect from this memorial service?— from this memorial service? family

members, dignitaries _ from this memorial service? family members, dignitaries and - from this memorial service? familyi members, dignitaries and hundreds from this memorial service? family i members, dignitaries and hundreds of fans are gathering here at arguably australia's most famous building to remember a comic genius. it is fitting that this state memorial for barry humphries is being held at the sydney opera house bill which is renowned, excuse me, ford's place in australia's arts community and people have been queuing for quite a while now, they arejust people have been queuing for quite a while now, they are just waiting before they allowed into the main concert hall here. we are expecting a video tribute from sir eltonjohn and sir andrew lloyd webber, and also a message from britain's and charles iii is expected be read by the new south wales state governor —— britain's king. so today is very much a celebration of that life, of that career that spanned seven decades, and as you say, the creation that really did define barry humphries's career was dame

edna everage. it first made an appearance back in 1955, eventually catapulting barry humphries to global stardom, so today hundreds of people gathering here in sydney to remember this, people gathering here in sydney to rememberthis, genius. people gathering here in sydney to remember this, genius.— people gathering here in sydney to remember this, genius. yeah, and as ou sa , remember this, genius. yeah, and as you say. he — remember this, genius. yeah, and as you say. he was _ remember this, genius. yeah, and as you say, he was known _ remember this, genius. yeah, and as you say, he was known for— remember this, genius. yeah, and as you say, he was known for many - you say, he was known for many characters, but there were also some controversies surrounding his career, right? controversies surrounding his eareer. right?— controversies surrounding his career. right?— controversies surrounding his career, riht? , . ., career, right? yes, certainly later in his career. _ career, right? yes, certainly later in his career, he _ career, right? yes, certainly later in his career, he made _ career, right? yes, certainly later in his career, he made remarks. in his career, he made remarks stating that gender affirmation surgery, for example, was the self—mutilation and that transgender identity was sickly fashion and there was quite a backlash in certain quarters to those remarks, and it did upset many people. the reaction upset perry humphreys himself. —— barry humphries. certainly fans who are gathering here in sydney today want to

remember a man whose career spanned so many years. we are at the sydney opera house. this was a building openedin opera house. this was a building opened in 1973, 50 years ago, a very long time ago, but by that time barry humphries was well on his way to establishing his career would make so many people laugh, so very humphreys, born in melbourne, he moved to forge his career in london in the late 1950s, he died in april of this year following complications after hip surgery at the age of 89. so his family really want today not to be a sad occasion but to be a celebration and just a few metres away, people are already enjoying champagne. it is 10:30am almost here, so that will give you an idea that today is a celebration, celebrating a comedy legend. phil mercer outside the sydney opera

house, ahead of perry humphreys's memorial service, house, ahead of perry humphreys's memorialservice, many thanks. —— barry humphries's. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. finland has closed its land border with russia to stem the flow of asylum seekers just days after it re—opened two crossings. finland says russia is deliberately trafficking the refugees to the border in retaliation for helsinki's decision tojoin nato. the french film star isabelle adjani has been convicted of tax fraud. a court in paris found the star had evaded more than $1.5 million in tax by falsely claiming residence in portugal. she also declared a gift as a loan and moved money through an undeclared us account. indonesia's president has ordered the military to help farmers plant rice, as a prolonged drought fuelled by the el nino weather phenomenon threatens crop yields. global rice prices have reached the highest level for 15 years partly driven by el nino. je seung lee has more.

rice is a staple food in indonesia and features prominently in its traditional cuisine, like the one you see up here, nasi goreng. indonesia is the world's third largest producer of rice. but recently indonesia has been reeling from extended drought caused by the el nino weather pattern. now, that warms up oceans and releases more heat into the atmosphere. this fosters drier climate in places like southeast asia, which includes indonesia, as you see here, covered in yellow. and that has an impact on its rice cultivation, which usually is carried out in october, because as you see, rices need consistent irrigation to grow. and now that long awaited rainfall has arrived in some provinces in indonesia, this big, vast country in southeast asia, including the centraljava province.

so that's why presidentjoko widodo, who you can see here inspecting a rice paddy in centraljava province, has told army officers to take advantage of this wet condition and aid with the planting effort. another reason why he's calling in the army to help is because many rice farms across the country are facing labour shortages, as more young people flock to cities to work in factories for better pay and as farmers in the countryside are getting older. the geminids meteor shower, famous for its multi—coloured streaks of light across the night sky, has wowed stargazers across the globe. visible around the world, the meteors can be seen with the naked eye as long as the sky isn't too cloudy or affected by light pollution. in perfect conditions, viewers can spot up to 120 meteors an hour.

nasa has called the geminids one of the year's "best and most reliable annual meteor showers". that is all for now. do stay with bbc news. hello. mild weather is set to develop across many parts of the uk over the next couple of days. that mild air spreading from the west — with it, a lot of cloud. yes, there'll be some sunshine, but i think it will often be cloudy. and the further north and west you are, particularly the north—west of scotland, we can expect strong winds and some heavy rain. but for friday, high pressure dominating to the south of us, keeping things mostly dry in southern parts. this warm front here introducing more cloud, cloud through the morning across northern ireland. that cloud then working its way up into a good part of scotland, clouding over across parts of north—west england, wales and the south—west. maybe the odd spot of rain or drizzle for coasts and hills, but for central and eastern parts of england, we should hold on to some spells of sunshine. not especially windy down

towards the south—east, whereas the winds will be picking up all the while across the north—west of scotland. temperature—wise, eight or nine degrees in some eastern parts, 12, maybe 13 out towards the west. and that mild air in the west continues to push further east as we head through friday night. with it, extensive cloud cover, some mist and murk, some spots of rain and drizzle, particularly across hills in western scotland. very windy in the north of scotland as well, but a milder night in prospect. temperatures generally between 4 and 11 degrees as we start saturday morning. that feed of mild air coming from the south—west and that mild air will be wafting across all parts of the uk as we head through the weekend. saturday will bring a lot of cloud. as you can see, that cloud producing some spots of rain and drizzle. it may be that things brighten up a little bit down towards the south with some sunshine. equally, though, this frontal system here will bring heavy and persistent rain into the north—west of scotland. and those temperatures, 12, 13, maybe 11; degrees, very windy up towards the north.

now, that rain in the north—west of scotland just keeps on coming through saturday night and into sunday. it may be that over some high ground in western scotland, we see up to 175 millimetres of rain. that could well bring some localised flooding and some travel disruption. a bit of rain into northern ireland and northern england. the further south you are, drier, brighter, a bit more in the way of sunshine, highs of 13 or 11; degrees. but after that milder weekend and a mild start to next week, it actually looks like temperatures will then drop away. we may start to see some wintry showers developing over high ground.

bit is an intervention by a different cabinet minister that we will have the headlines of the top of the hour as a continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi. the spiralling death toll in gaza, triggered by the killing and abduction of israelis by hamas on october 7th, has led many to wonder what happens the day after the conflict stops. can palestinians and israelis look to a peaceful future based on mutual respect? or has this painful chapter in their history set back the prospects of renewing the path towards reconciliation? my guest is a palestinian doctor, izzeldin abuelaish, whose three daughters and niece were killed in an israeli tank strike on his

home in the gaza strip in 2009. at the time, he said he felt no bitterness. and, soon after, he published his award—winning autobiography called i shall not hate. now, he has lost 22 more family members in these current bombings. is he still preaching his message of forgiveness and peace? dr izzeldin abuelaish, welcome to hardtalk. now, nearly 15 years ago, you lost three of your eight children when an israeli shell fell on your home in gaza.