hello, i'm caitriona perry. before we move to events in the middle east, we want to bring you the latest on a story that's been developing in the past hour. the leader of northern ireland's democratic unionist party says his party is prepared to return to powersharing in northern ireland if the uk government delivers on a new proposal, which would include passing new legislation.the party collapsed the power—sharing new legislation. the party collapsed the power—sharing government nearly two years ago in protest against post—brexit trade arrangements. sirjeffrey donaldson says that the measures proposed by the government in london will secure a positive future for northern ireland within the uk. the package of measures in totality does provide a basis for our party to nominate members to the northern ireland executive, thus members to the northern ireland executive, thus seein- members to the northern ireland executive, thus seein- the executive, thus seeing the restoration of the locally elected institutions. we

recognise that significant further advances have been achieved through these negotiations and the details of the new package of measures will be published by the uk government in due course. this package, i believe, safeguards northern ireland's place in the union and will restore our place within the uk internal market. , , ., . , market. this storage is breaking _ market. this storage is breaking in _ market. this storage is breaking in the - market. this storage is breaking in the last - market. this storage is l breaking in the last hour market. this storage is - breaking in the last hour but be —— we can bring you some reaction from northern ireland's main nationalist party, sinn fein leader mary lou mcdonald who says... "i am optimistic having heard jeffrey donaldson�*s public declaration that we will see the northern institutions back up and running before the eight february deadline with a fully functioning assembly and executive and north south bodies." "sinn fein will now engage with the parties and both governments to ensure we now all press on without delay."

live now to bbc�*s ireland correspondent chris page who's on the scene. thanks forjoining us. after nearly two years, the dup taking is quite big decision to be prepared to go back into power sharing based on this proposal from the uk government. just what sort of big changes did the london government propose? well, the details will _ government propose? well, the details will be _ government propose? well, the details will be published - government propose? well, the details will be published over i details will be published over the next few days, according to the next few days, according to the dup leaderjeffrey the dup leader jeffrey donaldson the dup leaderjeffrey donaldson who you heard from there, but essentially, we know that a deal will include a number of elements. one will be legislation which sirjeffrey donaldson said it will be around the issue of trading arrangements after brexit which has been at the heart of all these political problems in northern ireland for the last two years. also, they will be some extra funding for northern ireland. 3.3 billion pounds

sterling that will go towards settling pay disputes involving public sector pay workers. also to help new ministers in northern ireland's regional government here to transform is the political parties would put it, public services, particularly the health service here which is right —— widely regarded as being in a crisis, but really the negotiations that have been carried out by the dup over the past few months have been focused on repairing what the dup has seen as the damage that has been done to northern ireland's place in the uk as a result of a exit trade barrier being placed between northern ireland —— brexit trade barrier. between northern ireland and great britain. it is worth saying that all the other parties in northern ireland said that was no reason for the dup to veto the formation of a power—sharing devolved government and they will say the people in northern ireland have really suffered because of the absence of government but as you have heard there, the

biggest party in the northern ireland assembly, the irish nationalist party sinn fein, giving a welcome of sorts in the last hour or so saying that sinn fein looks forward to the devolved government in northern ireland being back up and running as soon, it says, as next week and if it happens, incidentally, the leader of sinn fein in belfast, michele o'neil, who will become the first minister of northern ireland. she will be the first irish nationalist to hold the position and that in and of itself will be a major moment. it is a moment that now looks like it will arrive with this dup endorsement of the deal that it has negotiated with the british government but sir jeffrey donaldson careful to say the dup would not move to lift its veto to allow the original government to be restored until the uk government in london had passed legislation through the british parliament.— legislation through the british parliament. , . ., parliament. chris page, thanks very much _ parliament. chris page, thanks very much for— parliament. chris page, thanks

very much for that. _ now to events in the middle east, and the us department of defence released the names of three army reserve soldiers killed by a drone strike over the weekend injordan. from left to right, sgt williamjerome rivers, specialist kennedy ladon sanders and specialist breonna alexsondria moffett. all from the state of georgia. the us army says they were killed when an unmanned aerial drone struck their container housing units. this marks the first time american troops have been killed by enemy fire since the start of the israel—gaza war. at least a0 others were injured. the pentagon said monday it could not determine whether iran directed this specific strike but that the attack had the "footprints" of kataib hezbollah — a militia group whose bases the us targeted with airstrikes the previous week in iraq. in washington on monday, us secretary of state antony blinken gave a joint press conference with nato secretaryjens stoltenberg. i was in attendance, and was able to put a question to mr blinken.

you referred to a multistage response to yesterday's attack. do you hold a run directly responsible —— iran. do you consider the us to be at war on the verge of war at this point? we do not seek conflict with iran, we do not siegwalt with iran, we do not siegwalt with iran but we have and we will continue to defend our personnel. —— we do not seek war with iran. we will respond very vigorously to the attack that just took place very vigorously to the attack thatjust took place and as i mentioned, i am thatjust took place and as i mentioned, iam not thatjust took place and as i mentioned, i am not going to get ahead of where the president is and i'm certainly not going to telegraph the response but as i mentioned, that response could well be multilevelled. it could come in stages and it could be sustained over time. our state department correspondent tom bateman was also there — and sent this assessment. what you have now is growing

pressure on president biden to show a forcible response to deter deadly attacks against us forces in the middle east but at the same time, the administration is desperately trying to prevent the israel hummus war from spiralling into a wider conflict in the region. i think it is finding it increasingly challenging to walk that line because you have iran back malicious basically trying to exploit the pressure the us is under and they know that by attacking american forces it adds to the feeling that the us wants to scale things back, that adds to the pressure that israel might be under to try and scale things back and ultimately come to a deal with hamas in gaza. that would be hostage releases for a permanent ceasefire and that is what hamas wants. the american administration needs more than ever to put an end to all this by there being a deal between

israel and hamas in gaza and thatis israel and hamas in gaza and that is why we are seeing at the same time the prime minister of qatar here in washington, high—level talks between the head of the cia and regional spy chiefs in europe to try to make progress on a hostage forced ceasefire —— hostage forced ceasefire —— hostage forced ceasefire —— hostage for ceasefire deal. they are still not over the line but in the end it is only the end of fighting in gaza that will reduce the risk of a regional confrontation and that is what the americans know but in the meantime, they know that here in washington they have to be seen to be —— respond forcefully to these attacks by iran act malicious. —— iran—backed militias. according to a preliminary report, us officials believe no effort was made to shoot down the enemy drone, because an american drone was returning to the base at the same time, and as a result, the attack drone went undetected.

this all happened at a us base known as tower 22, on the jordan—syria border. us bases in the middle east have been attacked more than 160 times by iran—backed militants since the start of the israel—gaza war. after the killing of three soldiers, members of the us congress are applying pressure on president biden to respond. democratic congressman seth moulton sits on the house armed services committee. earlier we asked him what he thinks a strategic response would look like. exactly what it looks like is what the administration is debating right now. but the goals and has to achieve is to send a clear, decisive message to these militia groups and also to their backers that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable and will not be tolerated, but it also has to be politically calculated to ensure that the message of deterrence gets through and what doesn't happen is this response empowers exactly the people who want to go to war. this is particularly relevant with iran. we all know that iran have competing

factors —— factions, factions that want to reconcile with the west and actions that want to start a war. we don't want to play into our enemy's hands. joining me to discuss the attack is michael singh, managing director and senior fellow at the washington institute and former senior director at the national security council. just to take up that point was that —— that was just discussed. what are their options? i discussed. what are their options?— discussed. what are their 0 tions? ~ ~ , options? i think the key thing for the president _ options? i think the key thing for the president is _ options? i think the key thing for the president is there - options? i think the key thing for the president is there has | for the president is there has to be a very clear line when it comes to the killing of american personnel and so whatever responses he may have had in the past two attacks on us facilities, on us interests, any response to the killing of american servicemen, needs to be much more significant so that iran—backed militias in particular but also their

proxies, receive the proxies that they simply will not be tolerated. in the past we have been engaged in this tit—for—tat with ramian proxies and —— iranian proxies. and i know that what happened now will go well beyond those previous responses.- will go well beyond those previous responses. you talk about iranian _ previous responses. you talk about iranian act _ previous responses. you talk about iranian act proxies - previous responses. you talk about iranian act proxies but| about iranian act proxies but —— iranian—backed proxies, who does the us target? is it iran or someone else? i does the us target? is it iran or someone else?— or someone else? i have sat throu~h or someone else? i have sat through many _ or someone else? i have sat through many of— or someone else? i have sat through many of these - or someone else? i have sat i through many of these debates myself and of course there is a temptation to say look, iran is willing to fight any iraqi or syrian militia and that is why they put a gun in their hands and say go fight but probably much more reluctant to take a risk that gregory itself might

be targeted but weighing it against that is —— iran might be targeted. but this could fuel the very regional escalation we are seeking to avoid so that will be the tension inside the white house debate stop i anticipate, though, that yes, this will create a lot of pressure inside and outside to strike back against irani and targets. —— iranian targets or vessels in the region which was already under consideration before this. �* .,, under consideration before this. �* , ., ., , this. and those considerations are all military _ this. and those considerations are all military level— are all military level considerations. there are plenty of sanctions against iran at this point which clearly haven't worked as a deterrent from the us perspective?— deterrent from the us perspective? deterrent from the us --ersective? ., v perspective? that's right. i think that _ perspective? that's right. i think that sanctions - perspective? that's right. i think that sanctions will. perspective? that's right. i| think that sanctions will not be deemed an adequate response. you may see sanctions as part of an american response but i think responding only with non—military measures, whether they be economic or diplomatic, would be taken inside the us as

woefully insufficient, so president biden would come under significant pressure. but there is not to say they will not be a combination of tools utilised here and that they won't be messages, frankly, to iran as part of whatever the us response that comes.- response that comes. what is this all going _ response that comes. what is this all going to _ response that comes. what is this all going to mean - response that comes. what is this all going to mean for- response that comes. what is this all going to mean for the | this all going to mean for the rest of the world, then, michael? we have the situation in ukraine as well and emphasis and focus is now shifting to the middle east.— and focus is now shifting to the middle east. well, it will be uuite the middle east. well, it will be quite complex _ the middle east. well, it will be quite complex because i the middle east. well, it will. be quite complex because those states that are contributing to the us led military engagement in the region, say, those that are participating in operation prosperity guardian, themselves may worry that they could be seen as easier targets for retaliation by iran so they will be a number of states that will be a number of states that will need to be acting now to safeguard the interests, their citizens and so forth and then in that broader picture, yes, we have seen a shift in global attention, no doubt from

ukraine and even from the indo pacific as we call it, back to the middle east which is exactly the opposite of the dynamic end of the flow of attention at american and western officials have been hoping for but i think that hopefully what we will see is that we are able to pay attention both to events in the middle east as well as giving sustained attention to ukraine. secretary blink and's engagements recently, just today in fact, are in part to show that. —— antony blinken. we are hearing reports about a temporary pause in fighting is close to agreement and a release of israeli hostages. conflicting reports as to how close and who has signed up to that but what impact will whatever action the us takes in this instance impact that deal? well, look, obviously iran is not party to those talks, nor are its proxies. i think iran would be very happy to see those discussions fail. because

i think the longer the fighting goes on in the gaza, the better it is for iran. iran feels as though it's making gains as the fighting goes on in gaza, as the attention is off iran and on the fighting elsewhere. but i don't actually think the us response will detract from our ability to get a ceasefire deal done. in fact, you know, you could argue being willing to know a bit of toughness and a bit of resolve may be something that actually — enables us to do a betterjob of getting these types of deals done. because it may make iran's proxies worry "ok perhaps now we have pushed too far." michael singh, thanks for joining us. and one additional note from the region: more countries have halted funding to the largest un agency operating in gaza — unrwa — over the alleged role of some staff in the october seven hamas attacks on israel. japan and austria became

the latest countries to suspend payments, joining others including the us and uk. unrwa had sacked 12 staff members over the allegations. the un secretary general is calling for the ongoing internal investigation to be done swiftly. and us secretary of state antony blinken called the reports deeply troubling but said the agency plays an indispensable role in aid to gaza. the director of communications at unrwa told the bbc that they are extremely desperate. adding, "it has come at a time when the humanitarian needs in gaza are growing by the hour." unwra also warned that if funding is not resumed, the agency would not be able to continue its operations beyond february. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some of the top stories in the uk. britain's king charles is heading home for a period of private recuperation after spending three nights in hospitalfor an enlarged prostate. the princess of wales also left the same hospital

after undergoing abdominal surgery, though no cameras caught her leaving the premises. our royal correspondent daniela relph has more on the royal departures. two very different departures. in a statement, buckingham palace said the king wanted to thank medical staff and all of those who supported them while he was in hospital. it was very different for the princess of wales, she left this morning, but away from the public eye. she was driven from here back to windsor, where she'll now recuperate. it's not known how long the king would be pausing his duties, but it was not significant enough to require any constitutional changes for his role as head of state. you're live with bbc news. police in brazil raided a holiday home linked to carlos bolsonaro, one of the sons of former

presidentjair bolsonaro. the search is part of an investigation into allegations that political enemies of president bolsonaro were spied on illegally by the brazilian intelligence service during his time in office. the former president was staying at the residence with his sons before police arrived. neither carlos bolsonaro nor his father have so far commented. for more on the raid, i spoke with our south america correspondent ione wells. talk us through what happened today with those raids?- today with those raids? today olice today with those raids? today police raided _ today with those raids? today police raided the _ today with those raids? today police raided the home - today with those raids? today police raided the home of- police raided the home of carlos bolsonaro, the son of the former president bolsonaro, into an investigation that's looking into allegations of illegal spying. looking into allegations of illegalspying. now, the illegal spying. now, the allegations illegalspying. now, the allegations centre around accusations the state intelligence agency during bolsonaro's presidency used an israeli software to spy on the

political opponents of president bolsonaro, including tracking, geolocating data on their mobile phones, for example. they had formally raided the offices and homes of the intelligence chief under bolsonaro. now they're centring that investigation onto his inner circle, particularly his son carlos bolsonaro. he's sort of a social media guru for his father, famous for his online campaigns in support of his party's politics, but really fierce online criticism of his father's opponents. they're targeting the raids on him as someone who could've been a potential beneficiary of some of that intelligence. did potential beneficiary of some of that intelligence.— of that intelligence. did they find anything? _ of that intelligence. did they find anything? was - of that intelligence. did they find anything? was jair - find anything? was jair bolsonaro there? he was pictured _ bolsonaro there? he was pictured outside, - bolsonaro there? he was pictured outside, not - bolsonaro there? he was i pictured outside, not during the raid itself, but strongly denied any allegations of wrongdoing. saying he and his family didn't receive any geolocation data, and he would

have refused that, if it was something obtained. he made allegations this investigation is part of a persecution against him and his political cause. pretty firm denials from him and his family around the allegations of wrongdoing. this is part of a number of investigations him and his family are facing.- investigations him and his family are facing. what does this mean — family are facing. what does this mean in _ family are facing. what does this mean in terms - family are facing. what does this mean in terms of- family are facing. what does this mean in terms of that l this mean in terms of that broader context for him? well, this is one _ broader context for him? well, this is one of _ broader context for him? well, this is one of many _ broader context for him? well, this is one of many legal - this is one of many legal battles the former president is facing. carlos bolsonaro, his son, subjected to these raids today, is also accused of running a false fake news operation out of the president's office. he know as well that former president bolsonaro is currently barred from standing for office for eight years, and is facing investigations into whether for example he incited some of the riots that took place last year, after he lost the election in brazil. so there's a number of kind of legal

battles his family are facing at the moment. but that certainly hasn't deterred some of his supporters, who in his words, feel this is part of a stitch—up against him and the right—wing politics that he represented. let's turn to some important news around the world. south africa's ruling anc party has suspended former presidentjacob zuma after he gave his backing to a rival group for this year's national elections. it's the latest sign of strain between mr zuma and current leader cyril ramaphosa. mr zuma's nine years as president were rocked by scandal. an official inquiry said the former president placed the interests of corrupt associates ahead of those of his country. italy's prime minister has proposed a partnership with african countries on energy, investment, and migration. at a summit of african leaders, giorgia meloni said her government will commit $6 billion to the plan initially. her right—wing government has struggled to clamp down on migration.

ms meloni is promoting investment in african economies as a way of reducing the need to migrate. the court of arbitration for sport has banned the russian figure skater kamila valieva for four years for doping violations. the failed test took place before the 2022 winter olympics, where she helped the russian team win gold. this means that russia is likely to be stripped of its gold medal. the international skating union will publish a full statement on the matter on tuesday. french farmers have blocked highways near paris and across the country as part of continuing protests against falling incomes, high inflation, and competition from imports. french authorities say 15,000 police have been mobilised to prevent tractors from entering paris and the big cities. the protests follow similar demonstrations in other european countries, including germany and poland. very little is known about how great white sharks reproduce. however, one youtuber and drone operator may have taken a video of something never seen before. it's thought this could be

the youngest great white shark ever recorded. our reporter in california james clayton has more. he is out — look at that thing. you can see it good. carlos galnet is a youtuber and shark fanatic who is frankly amazing at finding sharks with his drone. at this beach he found a shark within a minute — impressive and kind of scary. so from here, you have no idea there was a great white shark out there, because it almost impossible to see it. and that's why drones are so important because you have to be almost on top of it to actually see them. you're basically viewing for sharks through a magnifying glass that they don't know is watching them. one local marine biologist was with carlos when they stumbled across something they'd never seen before. the female was acting erratically. she dove, disappeared and guess what came up from underneath? this little—bitty white, almost albino looking white shark. it's called a white shark. that's the species —

it's a white shark, but this shark was actually completely white in colour. the fins, they are differently shaped, they're more rounded. i'm like, "that's not an older white shark — that's a younger white shark, this could be newborn." i'm like, "oh, my goodness, this could be a newborn." other experts accept this could be a historic discovery but they need more evidence. the problem that i have as a scientist, it's called a sample size of one. and a lot of people ask, what would it take to convince you that this is a pupping area? and i would say i would need to see babies coming out of a female. but what everyone can agree on is that drones are playing a huge role in our understanding these animals. james clayton, bbc news, california. finally, there's some good news from japan's mission to the moon. scientists say they've re—established contact with their landing craft. after a bumpy touchdown earlier this month, the craft�*s power supply shut off as its solar panels were unable to generate

power from the sun. scientists believe the glitch has been resolved and the lander will resume its search for clues about the origin of the moon, to help pave the way for much longer visits to the lunar surface. thank you for watching, i'm caitriona perry. i'll be back in 30 minutes with more. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. temperatures will continue to fluctuate through the rest of this week. on sunday, of course, we saw temperatures in highland, scotland of 20 celsius. and after a frost, typical temperatures monday afternoon were six celsius. highest temperatures this time were across southern parts of the uk. cloud breaking up here and there to give some sunshine and 14 degrees in cambridgeshire. in between, we had thicker cloud on these weather fronts, an area of low pressure, bringing some wet weather, that's moving away into the north sea. so it is turning drier.

keeping more cloud, though, for england and wales. that'll keep the temperatures up. clearer skies for scotland and northern ireland. it could be a frosty start early in the morning, but the promise of more sunshine for scotland and northern ireland. a cloudy start for england and wales. still a bit dampness in the east, but we'll see some sunshine developing more widely as the cloud retreats back towards east anglia and the southeast. here, temperatures could make double figures, but i think 7—8 degrees is going to be nearer the mark. it could be the odd shower coming into north—west scotland, especially as the breeze picks up later in the day. and if we look to the north, by wednesday, this deep low is pushing between iceland and scotland, really strengthening the winds overnight. very windy for scotland, widespread gales, gusts of 80 miles an hourfora while in the far north. and this squally band of rain sweeps into scotland and northern ireland, picking the winds up here, gusty winds and some rain in the far north of england. further south across england and wales, the winds much lighter. and after a chilly, bright start, the cloud will increase and we'll see top temperatures

of ten or 11 degrees. that weather front bringing that rain move southwards but weakens, so little or no rain coming into southern parts of the uk. and then another weather front following in from the atlantic, eventually towards the northwest. but a dry, bright start with some sunshine for many, a little bit chilly on thursday. we will see the cloud increasing in northern ireland and particularly scotland with some rain arriving in the northwest, but still some sunshine for england and wales, although their temperatures will be a little bit lower on thursday, around nine degrees celsius. but those temperatures rise again for the end of the week. this strengthening southwesterly wind will bring with it some higher temperatures on friday. but because the winds are coming a long way over the atlantic, it will come with a lot of cloud, a little light rain or drizzle, mainly across western parts of scotland. but those temperatures by the end of the week on the mild side, again, widely 13 or 14 celsius.

liquidating the world most indebted developer. we look into the potential follow—up from evergrande.

begins with the embattled developer evergrande and the decision by hong kong court to order its liquidation. the ruling followed another failed attempt by the chinese company to redrawjust —— restructuring deal with its creditors. it is unclear if the hong kong court order will be recognised by beijing. evergrande is headquartered in china but the shares of the company are listed on the hong kong stock exchange. hong kong—based debt analystjackson exchange. hong kong—based debt analyst jackson chung told me his assessment of the unfolding crisis. �* ., ., . crisis. after the announcement ofthe crisis. after the announcement of the winding _ crisis. after the announcement of the winding up _ crisis. after the announcement of the winding up order, - crisis. after the announcement of the winding up order, a - of the winding up order, a liquidator has been appointed to arrange the meeting and secure the disposal. the deck with —— liquidator will try to squeeze the maximum value out of the evergrande assets and it will come the key to determine the value of the bond.- the value of the bond. what is happening _ the value of the bond. what is happening to _ the value of the bond. what is happening to property - the value of the bond. what is happening to property buyers| happening to property buyers who have already put down deposits on potential flats? who have already put down deposits on potentialflats? do you think they will be able to

get their money back? i you think they will be able to get their money back?