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 few hours. 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 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 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. and we're getting some reaction now from northern ireland's main nationalist party, sinn fein leader mary lou mcdonald who says:

and also reaction from the northern ireland secretary chris heaton—harris. he says the move "is a welcome and significant step," adding: "i can confirm that we will stick to this agreement." he also said that parties entitled to form an executive will meet later on tuesday. our ireland correspondent chris page has more. well, the details will be published over the next few days, according to the dup leader jeffrey donaldson who you heard from there, but essentially, but essentially, we know that a deal will include a number of elements. one will be legislation which sirjeffrey says will strengthen northern ireland's place in the united kingdom, particularly around the issue of trading arrangements after brexit which has really been at the heart of all these political problems in northern ireland for the last two years. also, there 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, as the political parties would put it, public services, particularly the health service here which is widely regarded as being in a crisis, but really the focus of the negotiations that have been carried out by the dup over the last few months have been focused on repairing what the dup has seen as the damage that's been done to northern ireland's place in the uk as a result of a brexit trade barrier being placed between northern ireland and great britain. it's worth saying that all the other main parties in northern ireland have said that was no reason for the dup to veto the formation of a power—sharing devolved government. they will say the people in northern ireland have really suffered

because of the absence of government but as you've heard there, the biggest party in the northern ireland assembly, the irish nationalist party sinn fein, giving a welcome of sorts to what sirjeffrey donaldson has said here — 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, it is 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 that position. that in and of itself will be a major moment. it's 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 sirjeffrey donaldson careful to say the dup would not move to lift its veto to allow the regional government to be restored until the uk government in london had passed legislation through the british parliament. now, let's turn to another major story we are following. the us department of defence has released the names of three army reserve soldiers killed by a drone strike over

the weekend in jordan. 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. washington on monday, us secretary of state antony blinken gave a joint press conference with nato secretary jens stoltenberg. i was in attendance, and was able to put a question to mr blinken. you referred to a multi—staged response to yesterday's attack. do you hold iran directly responsible? 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 seek war with iran, but we have and we will continue to defend our personnel and to take every action necessary to do that, including responding very vigorously to the attack that just took place, and as i mentioned, i'm not going to get ahead of where the president is, 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 watching — and sent this assessment. what you have now is growing pressure on president biden to show a forcible response to deter further deadly attacks

against us forces in the middle east but at the same time, the administration is desperately trying to prevent the israel—hamas war from spiralling into a wider conflict in the region. and i think it's finding it increasingly challenging to walk that line because you have iran—backed militias trying to basically exploit the pressure the us is under. 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 — that's 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 that's 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 for ceasefire deal. the americans are talking about progress there but say they're 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. that's what the americans know, but in the meantime, they know that here in washington they have to be seen to respond forcefully to these attacks by 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. earlier we heard from republican congressman don bacon who sits on the house armed services committee. these proxy forces have hit americans 150 times, going back about 100 days. and our response, just to hit proxy forces, it doesn't get the attention of iran. when they see proxy forces get a black eye and latinos, they don't care. —— a black eye and bloodied nose. i'm thinking things like oil terminals where we can maybe shut down the export of their energy or maybe some of their navy targets that are on the coastline stop the main goal is to exact a price on iran. that is the republican view, clearly pressure building there onjoe biden to act. but what about from those inside his own party. earlier we heard from democratic congressman

seth moulton, who also sits on the house armed services committee. well, exactly what it looks like, of course, is what the administration is debating right now. but the goals that it has to achieve is to send a clear, decisive message to these militia groups — but also to their backers — that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable and will not be tolerated, but it's also got 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 in iran there are competing factions — factions that want to reconcile with the west and factions that want to start a war. we don't want to empower the war—makers in iran, that would be playing into our enemy's hands. for more, i spoke with michael singh, managing director and senior fellow at the washington institute and former senior director at the national security council.

what does a response look like here? the president has said there will be one, secretary of state the same, but what are their options? i think the key thing for the president is that there has to be a very clear line when it comes to the killing of american personnel and so whatever and so whatever responses he may have had in the past to attacks on us facilities, attacks on us interests, any response to the killing of american servicemen needs to be much more significant so that iran in particular but also iran's proxies, receive the message that this simply won't be tolerated. in the past we've been engaged in this sort of tit—for—tat with iranian proxies. and i anticipate whatever the us now does in retaliation will go well beyond those previous responses. who do they target, though, michael? you're talking about iranian—backed proxies here, but yet the secretary and the president have said they believe iran trains these individuals, resources them,

may have a role in the planning as well. who does the us target? is it iran or someone else? that's always the crux of this debate inside the us government. i've sat through many of these debates myself, and of course there is a temptation to say look, iran is of course willing to fight the last iraqi or syrian or yemeni militiaman. this is why they put a gun in their hands and say "go fight" — but is perhaps much more reluctant to take a risk that iran itself might be targeted, but weighing against that is the worry that the us response could fuel the very regional escalation we're seeking to avoid. so that will be the tension inside the white house debate. i anticipate, though, that yes, this will create a lot of pressure inside and outside, to strike back against iranian targets. maybe not inside iran but irgc personnel, iranian facilities

or vessels in the region, which was already under consideration before this. and those considerations 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? that's right. i think that sanctions won't 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 that's not to say there won't be a combination of tools utilised here and that there won't be messages, frankly, to iran as part of whatever us response comes. what's 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. 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 and so there 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 blinken�*s engagements recently, just today in fact, are in part to show that. we're 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 —— willing to show 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 "0k, perhaps now we have pushed too far." michael singh, thanks forjoining us. more countries have halted funding to the largest un agency operating in gaza — unrwa — over the alleged role of some staff in the october 7 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. returning to our top story. 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 government nearly two years ago in protest against post—brexit trade arrangements. we wa nt we want to make sure going forward northern ireland has the best possible event to tackle short—term challenges and build longer term prosperity within the union. 0ur prosperity within the union. our goal has been to secure the conditions that allow for the return of devolved government on a sustainable basis. and where it can be, what can make a real and meaningful improvement in the lives of all the people of this part of the united kingdom. you can get the latest on this story on bbc.com/news

you're live with bbc news. the uk prime minister rishi sunak is braced for more challenges to his controversial plans to send some asylum seekers to rwanda — as the house of lords have begun debating the government's bill. more than 1000 migrants have already crossed the channel so far this year. but some who tried never made it. like this 14—year—old boy from syria who was travelling with his brother. they were among five migrants who became the first to die in the channel this year. 0ur paris correspondent, andrew harding, has tracked down the boys�* family to try to discover how they got to the french coast and why they wanted to come to the uk. we've come to the spot where it all went wrong. the first drownings of the year here on the french coast. two survivors are showing me where their friends got into trouble late at night, trying to scramble onto a small boat. one of them was a 14—year—old boy called 0bada. he was scared and not for the first time.

they're pointing to where 0bada, the 1a—year—old, disappeared and drowned just so close to shore. he couldn't swim. 0bada was syrian and this, as far as we can establish, is his story, a story that ended here two weeks ago. french rescuers arriving too late to drag him from the icy waters alive. 0bada, he was only 1a years old... 0bada's name was read out the next evening at a ceremony in calais alongside his older brother, issa, the latest in a long list of migrant deaths. but why and how was a child caught up in such a dangerous journey? we went to london to meet another of 0bada's brothers, nada. he had made the same illegal crossing two years ago and now has refugee status in the uk. he and the family had encouraged 0bada to attempt the same trip.

he told me when he coming here, he want watch... ..football game and arsenal... nada is wrestling with grief and regret. and now do you think maybe he should have stayed in syria? yes. he would still be alive. alhamdulillah. it was last may that 0bada, then aged 13, set off from war—torn syria. his parents sent us footage of the bedroom he shared with them. they'd urged him to make the trip to england, wrongly believing they might then follow him legally. first stop, a flight to libya with his brother, issa. and from libya's capital,

tripoli, a first attempt to cross the mediterranean in a smuggler�*s boat. but they were caught off the coast of tunisia, possibly in this boat or one very like it, and sent back to libya and to a prison controlled by a militia group. by the time they'd bribe their way to freedom weeks later, a traumatised 0bada was talking about going home. instead, his brother and friends urged him to toughen up and arranged a second boat trip. they were rescued by italian coast guards, brought ashore here in lampedusa, registered, then allowed to head north through italy and france to calais. in london, 0bada's brother warned them that england was tightening its rules, that it might be better to stay in europe. i told them, go to germany. because here difficult rules, new rules very hard

for asylum seek. but 0bada insisted he knew no—one in europe. the family was determined to be reunited in england. and so to calais. this was filmed hours before he drowned. 0bada's long journey nearly over. back in syria, his parents reacted to his death, telling us they wanted to see 0bada's body before he's buried. it was left to 0bada's brother in london to acknowledge the family's own role in what happened. he was very young... yes. ..to be making such a long, dangerous trip. yes. do you feel guilty? yes...

in calais, some of those who'd been with 0bada at the end are still waiting for another chance to cross to england. adults judging the risks. not a child who died doing as he'd been asked. let's turn to some important news around the world. italy's prime minister has announced details of a proposed partnership with african countries that covers energy, investment, and migration agreements. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 1a 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 1a celsius.

liquidating the world's most indebted tal afar. we look at the fallout from ever grand's windup. —— evergrande.

evergrande is headquartered in china but the shares of the company are listed on the hong kong stock exchange. hong kong—based debt analyst jackson chan gave me his assessment of the unfolding crisis. after the announcement of the winding up order, the court has appointed alvarez and marsal as the liquidator to arrange the crisis meeting and secure the assets. 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. what is happening to property buyers who have already put down deposits on potential flats?

do you think they will be able to