hello, i'm sally bundock. we begin with news which broke here in the uk after midnight. the dup, the main unionist party in northern ireland, has agreed to a deal which will see the devolved government in the province restored. it means the power—sharing assembly, which has been suspended for nearly two years, can resume working — although the dup says that is dependent on the uk government implementing the legislation which has been agreed. one of the key parts of that is to "remove checks "on goods moving within the uk and remaining in northern ireland". here's the dup leader sirjeffrey donaldson. we recognise that significant further advances have been achieved through these

negotiations. the details of the new package on measures will be published by the uk government in due course. this package, i believe, safeguards in northern ireland to�*s place in northern ireland to�*s place in the union and will restore our place within the uk internal market. the northern ireland secretary, chris heaton—harris, has welcomed the dup's announcement. he said: and he added: "sirjeffrey donaldson has said "this is subject to the binding commitments between "the democratic unionist party and the uk government — "i can confirm that we will stick to this agreement." the parties entitled to form an executive in northern ireland — including the dup and the nationalist party, sinn fein — will meet later today. the president of sinn fein, mary lou mcdonald, has said she is optimistic that there will be a fully functioning assembly and executive before

8 february. she added she wanted to press on without delay. let's take a moment to explain how the northern ireland assembly works — and why it hasn't been sitting. it's made up by elected members of the legislative assembly — or mlas. it can make laws for northern ireland only, but it hasn't functioned since the main unionist party — the dup — withdrew in early 2022. in may of that year, the main nationalist party, sinn fein, won the most seats — taking 27 to the dup's 25. that would have meant sinn fein appointing the first minister with the dup appointing a deputy first minister. but when the dup walked out, the power—sharing rules meant that the develoved power sharing government could not be formed.

one of the key issues for the dup is the way in which post—brexit trade checks are made along the border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland — the only land border between the uk and the european union. the deal brought in checks at northern ireland's ports for goods coming from great britain. unionists saw this as a weakening of northern ireland's place in the uk. a new agreement, known as the windsor framework, was brokered in february 2023, but the dup said it did not go far enough in addressing their concerns. let's put all of that into context now. our ireland correspondent chris page followed the story as it developed through the night in belfast and sent this update. well, the details will be published over the next few days, according to the dup leader sirjeffrey 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 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. our correspondent they're talking is three what is at stake. we will keep you across the development survey here on bbc news as parliament convenes here in westminster, so we will keep you across every twist and turn on bbc news. the tech billionaire elon musk says his neuralink company has successfully implanted one of its wireless brain chips in a human for the first time. he made the announcement on x — his social media platform — saying that the procedure happened on sunday. he says that the subject is recovering well, and that

initial results show a promising neuron spike detection. mr musk says the product has been given the name �*telepathy�*, and the plan is for it to enable control of a phone, computer, or almost any linked device, just by thinking about them. several rival companies have already implanted what are known as �*brain—computer—interface�* systems in humans after tests were carried out on monkeys. with more, here's our north america correspondent peter bowes. what elon musk�*s neuralink is trying to do was for a number of other companies have been attempting for quite a while now, and that is essentially to create a brain computer interface that will allow a human being to carry out an action through thought alone. it involves implanting a number of microchips into the brain that connect away part of the

brain that is responsible for movement intention, it has the effect that wirelessly you can send a signal that can interpret a person's intentions. it sounds a very futuristic but according to elon musk, he says in a post on x, he elaborates a bit, saying that this device will enable control of your phone or computer and through them, almost any devicejust computer and through them, almost any device just by thinking. he says initial uses will be those who have lost use of their limbs. it seems they are targeting people with debilitating neurological conditions. it should be stressed this study is in the early stages and his company was given the go—ahead only last year by us regulators to carry out this human fraile, which is in the safety assessment stages. clearly there is a lot to assess over there is a lot to assess over the following months and years, questions over whether this device will still be operating

as it is designed after three months, six months, possibly a couple of years. the results will be scrutinised very closely. with that in mind, realistically and practically, it could be several years, if indeed it is going to be successful, before this kind of thing is available on a wide scale. what do you think about the prospect of telepathy, where you can control devices just by thinking about them? let's chat about it on x. do tell me what you think, i would like to get your views. you never know, elon musk mayjoin in as well. let's look at what is happening in the middle east now. the us has named the three soldiers killed in sunday's attack near the jordan—syria border. 46—year—old william jerome rivers, 24—year—old kennedy ladon sanders and 23—year—old breonna alexsondria moffett were all from an army reserve unit in the state of georgia. they were killed — and dozens more were injured —

in the attack at a remote outpost called tower 22. the us says it does not seek another war, but it will protect itself and respond appropriately. here's secretary of state antony blinken. the attacks that have taken place since october on our forces, our personnel, in both iraq and syria, have been conducted by groups that are aligned with a run and are supported by orion, funded by iran. i would supported by orion, funded by iran. iwould note supported by orion, funded by iran. i would note that the presence of our forces in both iraq and syria has nothing to do with gaza, nothing to do with the conflict that is taking place since 7 october, the horrific attacks by hamas, and everything to do with making sure that isis does not

re—emerge. that is why they are there. president biden has promised a response. the white house issued this photo of him in the situation room, discussing what to do with seniorfigures from his administration. what happened injordan is not an isolated incident. since israel launched its military action in gaza, after the hamas attacks, us military bases in syria and iraq have been attacked more than 170 times. the group behind the deaths at the tower 22 base — called �*islamic resistance in iraq' — are part of an iranian—sponsored network across the middle east. known as the �*axis of resistance�*, there�*s a number of pro—iranian militias based in iraq, syria, lebanon, the palestinian territories and as far south as yemen. all are opposed to israel and the united states. iran says it has had no direct involvement in any of the attacks. our state department correspondent, tom bateman, has been following events

and sent this update. antony blinken said the us response would be decisive, he mirrored a lot of the language we have heard from joe biden, that they will respond anytime and in a mannertheir that they will respond anytime and in a manner their choosing. there was some new languages well and it was about saying that the response could come in stages and over a period of time. that does not sound like the kind of thing that some of the kind of thing that some of the most hawkish senators here in washington, republicans have been calling for some of those, putting pressure onjoe biden for an attack on iran itself. the politics of washington is playing into how the administration responds in the middle east and joe biden knows he will have to show this is a decisive and forceful response but will deter further attacks on american forces but at the same time it will not spiral into further war in the middle east. in the end, the fundamentals here are that it

is the war in gaza that is causing this situation to spin further out of control. the administration says that is, they tries to claim there is no connection between is happening in gaza and the attacks against its forces. it is why the same time it is putting a huge amount of effort into trying to achieve a deal. we had antony blinken meeting the prime minister of qatar here today, they are instrumental in trying to get the israelis to scale back and fundamentally to get this framework agreed with hamas, with a hostage release for a sustained ceasefire. the americans are talking about progress with that but so far they say they are not at the finish line. as we just heard from tom there, the white house says negotiations aimed at reaching a new deal with hamas on the release of gaza hostages have been constructive, but much work remains to be done. here�*sjohn kirby, the white house spokesman.

those discussions are ongoing, we believe they have been constructive and i�*m moving a good direction. we do not want to sound sank when he, a lot of work left to be done, we do not have an imminent deal but based on the discussions we have had over the weekend and in recent days, we feel is moving in a good direction. it comes after the qatari prime minister said good progress was made in talks over the weekend. he told an event in washington that talks between the us, israel and egypt had come up with a framework for a phased truce that would see women and children hostages released first. we cannot say that this will make us in better shape very soon but we are hoping actually to get hamas to engage constructively in the process.

meanwhile, the fighting is continuing in gaza, with the israeli military saying it is continuing an operation near the southern city of khan younis. it claims that around 100,000 residents have temporarily evacuated from the west of khan younis — and says hamas has suffered heavy casualties. with me is mohamed taha from bbc arabic. good morning to you. what has been happening overnight? what have you been hearing?- have you been hearing? health authorities _ have you been hearing? health authorities in _ have you been hearing? health authorities in gaza _ have you been hearing? health authorities in gaza said - have you been hearing? health authorities in gaza said there l authorities in gaza said there are to hundred and in gaza from israeli shelling in the last 2a hours. —— too hundred 50 the fighting is concentrated in gaza where most of the operations are. hamas said they fired some rockets towards tel aviv and there is damage reported. the big news happened

in the west bank not in gaza last night, where a special israeli forces entered a hospital injanine and killed three militants that were treated there in the hospital that mounted some scare around the people living injenin. find the people living in jenin. and others in the _ the people living injenin. and others in the hospital. i imagine it was big news as you mention. the conversations are continuing. negotiations to try to reach an agreement on the release of hostages in exchange for prisoners held in israeli prisons etc. what more can you tell us? ~ . ., ., , tell us? we have an atmosphere at the moment _ tell us? we have an atmosphere at the moment similar _ tell us? we have an atmosphere at the moment similar to - tell us? we have an atmosphere at the moment similar to the - at the moment similar to the atmosphere in november when there was a pause in fighting and there was an exchange of hostages versus prisoners. now,

the american spokesman said that the talks are convincing, the deal is convincing, the deal is strong and the country also prime minister who is currently in the us confirming the same. it looks like there will be an agreement on stopping the fighting for two months. during the two months there will be a release for 100 hostages and this would be exchanged with a number of palestinian prisoners that we do not know the number yet. during this two months, stopping fighting, there will be negotiations on a permanent ceasefire and a permanent situation in gaza. all the parties are really keen for this deal to carry on, as a year of elections in the united states and in the united kingdom. what happened recently of attacking american troops in

the middle east might encourage this deal as well.— this deal as well. thank you very much _ this deal as well. thank you very much indeed _ this deal as well. thank you very much indeed for- this deal as well. thank you l very much indeed for bringing us the latest on that. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let�*s look at some other stories making news. shop prices rose at their slowest rate in more than 18 months injanuary, according to the latest report from the british retail consortium. discounts, and lower prices for milk and tea, saw the shop price inflation rate fall from 4% in december, to 2.9% this month. we will have more detail on that in ten minutes in our business coverage. the consumer lobbying group which has called on broadband and mobile phone companies to drop plans to increase their bills this spring. it says customers are set to face price increases linked to inflation, plus an extra charge. new rules are expected to come into force this year which would ban that approach. the conservative mp george freeman says he quit his job as science minister last

november because he would not have been able to afford to pay his mortgage on his salary, of almost 120,000 pounds. he said the amount was rising from 800 pounds a month a month as his mortgage was changing. you�*re live with bbc news. train services on some of the uk�*s busiest commuter routes will be severely restricted today, due to strike action which is being taken by the train driver�*s union, aslef. it�*s the first day of a series of stoppages, which will affect different rail companies over several days. a nine—day ban on overtime began yesterday. the transport minister, huw merriman, says the taxpayer subsidised the rail sector to the tune of 12 billion pounds last year. he adds that union bosses have been offered a deal which would take the average salary of a train driver up to 65,000 pounds, for a four—day week. here�*s the aslef general secretary, mick whelan.

have not had a pay rise since before the pandemic. the anniversary will be fabry this year and then anniversary will be fabry this yearand then in anniversary will be fabry this year and then in april it will be a bulk of company. most of the companies working the deals will have gone half a decade. how many years would you expect anybody reasonably to not have anybody reasonably to not have a pay rise? iii anybody reasonably to not have a pay rise?— a pay rise? if travelling by train today, _ a pay rise? if travelling by train today, listen - a pay rise? if travelling by train today, listen up. - train drivers are striking at south—eastern, the gatwick express, southern, great northern, thameslink, and south western. there will be few trains running — with none at all on most lines early in the morning, and late in the evening. passengers are being urged to avoid travelling if possible. and you can find more details about the strike and its effects on the rail network, plus the companies which will be affected in the coming days, on our website. dozens of major roads around paris and several other cities

in france remain blocked this morning — by farmers who are protesting about several issues. among their grievances, falling incomes, increasing environmental regulations, and growing competition from imports. the farmers say their protests are open—ended — so far, they�*ve rejected concessions put forward by the french government as �*not going far enough�*. again, we will have more on this in business. a woman has been seriously injured in a shark attack in sydney harbour — the first such incident in 15 years. officials say that the woman, named locally as lauren o�*neill, was swimming off a wharf less than two kilometres from the sydney opera house, when she suffered an injury to her right leg. she�*s being treated in hospital. it�*s not known what species of shark attacked her. i heard a soft yell for help just outside the window. i looked outside and saw lauren

propped up on the ladder external to the harbour pool, trying to climb in, and behind her was her leg which was limp and completely open and it poured dark red blood behind her. there are sharks in the harbour and it is only now that it feels very real. i harbour and it is only now that it feels very real.— it feels very real. i want to sa a it feels very real. i want to say a very _ it feels very real. i want to say a very special- it feels very real. i want to say a very special thank, l say a very special thank, thanks_ say a very special thank, thanks to that legend of a bystander who came in and i believe _ bystander who came in and i believe make an makeshift tourniquet. i believe she was a vet, _ tourniquet. i believe she was a vet. knew— tourniquet. i believe she was a vet, knew what to do and actually _ vet, knew what to do and actually stabilised her before paramedics arrived on the scene _ paramedics arrived on the scene. what a legend! thank you so much — scene. what a legend! thank you so much for— scene. what a legend! thank you so much for possibly saving that — so much for possibly saving that young woman's life, after a pretty— that young woman's life, after a pretty shocking incident. she is recovering _ a pretty shocking incident. she is recovering in _ a pretty shocking incident. sue: is recovering in hospital. lily gladstone could make oscars history if she wins best actress at the academy awards — she would be the first native american woman to do so. she starred in martin

scorsese�*s epic western saga killers of the flower moon, which has picked up ten nominations in all. our culture editor katie razzall has been talking with her. killers of the flower moon tells the true story of the systematic murder over years of dozens of members of the osage tribe. that�*s how you are. its lead, lily gladstone, has already won a golden globe and is the first native american ever nominated for a best actress oscar. 96 years of oscars. i�*m grateful. it�*s about time. when i accepted the golden globe that�*s the other thing that came to mind immediately, is it�*s circumstantial that i was the first one to win that in the category, but it doesn�*t belong to me. i�*m standing on so many shoulders. more than a century ago, the osage got rich after oil was struck on their land. lily�*s father recounted that history of vast wealth as she was growing up on the blackfeet reservation.

i do remember him telling me about osage�*s running out of gas and going and buying another rolls royce and, you know, just buying a new car. we're still warriors. but those riches brought a reign of terror. lily plays mollie burkhart, a real osage whose mother and three sisters were murdered. she won�*t last. her husband, ernest, played by leonardo dicaprio, colluded with his powerful uncle — here robert de niro — to funnel the family�*s oil riches their way. the odd person was convicted but so many people got away with it. oh, yeah. yeah, and even the ones who were convicted weren't in for that long. it's supposed to be - a suicide, you dumbbell! martin scorsese originally had an fbi investigator as the main character, but they realised his epic must come from the osage perspective. every aspect of the whole script changed because of osage contribution to it and was made the better for it. you know, i�*ve never seen a film like this before, and marty said recently several times he feels like this is the most important film he�*s ever made.

and a film that could make history, if lily gladstone, who was voted most likely to win an oscar while at high school, triumphs in march. katie razzall, bbc news. there is so much to watch, isn�*t there? currently. including the top business stories here next. i have teased ahead to a few we are covering. uk inflation is included. i will see you soon. 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 degrees. and after a frost, typical temperatures monday afternoon were 6 degrees. 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. the cloudy start for england and wales. still a bit of 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 elsewhere. it could be the odd shower coming into northwest 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 80mph for a 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 10 or 11 degrees. that weather front bringing that rain moves southwards

but weakens, so little or no rain coming in to 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 9 degrees. 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.

live from london, this is bbc news. uk shop prices rise at their slowest rate in more than a year, driven by discounts and lower prices for staples like your morning cuppa. demand for air freight soars as red sea shipping attacks drive companies towards alternative routes. and bittersweet as the price of cocoa soars. chocolate lovers are hit with higher prices and smaller bars. we hearfrom one of the world�*s leading confectioners today.

hello, i�*m sally bundock with the top business stories. we will look at the top business stories. and we start here in the uk with a bit of good news for consumers, as shop prices have risen at their slowest pace in more than 18 months in the year to january. that�*s according to the british retail consortium — who highlight shop discounts and lower prices for some staples like milk and tea driving the slow down. so here are the numbers: annual shop price inflation eased to 2.9% injanuary — that�*s down from 4.3% in december. that is a significant fall. discounts after new year also

helped to slow down the rate