a very warm welcome, i'm samantha simmonds. the democratic unionist party says it's agreed a deal to restore the devolved government in northern ireland. the agreement signals the end of the dup's boycott of the stormont assembly, which has left northern ireland without a locally elected parliament for almost two years. the party's leader, sirjeffrey donaldson, said the proposals are subject to the westminster government passing laws to address concerns about post—brexit trading arrangements. our ireland correspondent chris page reports. as the democratic unionist party reached a pivot point, protesters tried to increase the pressure. more hard—line unionists have been urging the dup not to agree a new deal to restore the devolved government. 130 party members took part in a meeting, which lasted more than five hours.

but, early this morning, the leader, sirjeffrey donaldson, announced he had won support for a plan to bring back power—sharing. i believe that with the faithful delivery of this package of measures, hard work and dedication, we will be able to look back on this moment as the defining time when northern ireland's place within the union was safeguarded and our place within the united kingdom internal market was restored. unionists have been strongly opposed to trading arrangements, which were brought in after brexit. northern ireland follows different rules to great britain, meaning there are checks on goods arriving here from england, scotland and wales. the dup has said that separates this part of the uk from the rest. it's been negotiating with westminster for measures to remove what it sees as economic barriers. the dup says the question of how quickly the devolved government

will be restored will depend on when the uk government fulfils its commitments, particularly passing legislation. the northern ireland secretary, chris heaton—harris, says he'll finalise the deal as soon as possible. when a power—sharing coalition is formed, an irish nationalist will become first minister for the first time. the sinn fein vice president, michelle o'neill, is in line to take up the position. after two years of uncertainty, frustration and division, it looks like the stalemate at stormont is coming to an end. chris page, bbc news, belfast. and chris page sent us this update a while ago on the timeline of the devolved government returning to northern ireland. weeks, maybe even days, certainly not months. the reason why now the pathway has opened up for northern ireland to have its government back is that the largest unionist party, the democratic unionists, have announced that they have endorsed a deal that they've reached with the uk government

to address their concerns over brexit trading arrangements for northern ireland. it was the dup who in effect brought about the collapse of the regional government here almost two years ago because they believed that an arrangement whereby northern ireland in effect stayed in the uk single market... stayed in the eu, rather, single market for goods meant that northern ireland was being separated from the rest of the uk in an economic sense, so as unionists they said they simply could not accept that. so there have been lengthy negotiations. last night there was a long meeting of senior members of the democratic unionist party. that meeting lasted for about five hours. but at about one o'clock in the morning uk time, the dup leader, sirjeffrey donaldson, held a news conference, announced that he had, in his view, received sufficient support from members of his party to endorse this deal. so we're expecting now legislation

to be brought forward by the uk government in london. the dup say they won't move formally to allow the regional government here to be revived until that legislation is through parliament. but certainly people here in northern ireland waking up this morning to the news that it is very likely that the government will be returning in the coming days after an absence of 2a months. chris page. 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. so the attacks that have taken place since october on our forces, on our personnel, in both iraq and syria, have been conducted by groups that are aligned with iran, and indeed are supported by iran, funded by iran, equipped by iran. and i would note that the presence of ourforces in both iraq and syria has nothing to do with gaza, nothing to do with the conflict that's taken place since october 7th, since the horrific attacks by hamas, and everything to do with making sure that isis doesn't re—emerge. that's why they're there. president biden has promised a response. the white house issued this photo of him in the situation room, discussing what to do with senior figures from his administration. what happened injordan is not

an isolated incident. since israel launched its military action in gaza, after the hamas attacks on israel, 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. meanwhile, the israeli military says it has killed three palestinians at a hospital injenin in the occupied west bank. it said they were members of an armed cell hiding inside the medical facility, and had been planning an attack. live now tojerusalem and our middle east correspondent mark lowen. welcome, tell us more about what has

happened in the west bank. this welcome, tell us more about what has happened in the west bank.— happened in the west bank. this was an attack on — happened in the west bank. this was an attack on three _ happened in the west bank. this was an attack on three gunmen _ happened in the west bank. this was an attack on three gunmen inside - happened in the west bank. this was an attack on three gunmen inside a i an attack on three gunmen inside a hospital injenin in the west bank, and cctv footage shows israeli armed forces going into the hospital, many disguised as palestinians, some in women's clothes, some dressed as medics, and they shot dead three people who they call hamas terrorists inside that hospital. hamas has claimed one of them as their own and islamichhad has identified another two of the victims as members of that organisation, a spin off of hamas. israel says one of them was planning an attack similar to the 7th of october attack on israel. sorry, it is incredibly windy. two others they say were responsible for a previous attack. this is a sign of how the violence in the west bank has

continued to spiral since the gaza conflict began. the violence in the west bank is the worst it has been since the second palestinian intifada or a pricing two decades ago, but it is a real concern that cars are's conflict has spilled over into the wider region and that in order to try to calm what has happened in gaza there is an urgent need to come what is happening in the west bank —— but gaza's conflict has spilled over into the wider region. violence by armed palestinian groups on thejewish settlers has reached a level not seenin settlers has reached a level not seen in many years. in settlers has reached a level not seen in many years.— settlers has reached a level not seen in many years. in the past few minutes a spokesperson _ seen in many years. in the past few minutes a spokesperson for- seen in many years. in the past few minutes a spokesperson for the - minutes a spokesperson for the israeli prime minister has told the bbc they are willing to see a pause in the fighting should hamas return as hostages, more than 120 being held who were taken on the seventh. what is your understanding of how far along they are in these current

negotiations?— far along they are in these current negotiations? talks began in paris on sunday involving _ negotiations? talks began in paris on sunday involving the _ negotiations? talks began in paris on sunday involving the israelis, l on sunday involving the israelis, the egyptians, the americans and the qataris who are said by the qatari prime minister to have been good talks and they made good progress. israel's prime minister's offered said they were constructive but big differences remain. what we understand has been proposed as a halt to the fighting which could be around about a month and a half's pause where there will be a release of 30 to a0 hostages in exchange for palestinian prisoners, but the big sticking point is and has always been that hamas has demanded a permanent ceasefire as part of any hostage relief deal while the israelis, with their stated goal of total destruction of hamas, want to return forces to gaza after that ceasefire. there are still sticking points and i have to say both the israelis and hamas are downplaying the idea of progress while the

qataris and americans are talking it up, so i think these talks will continue this week and we will see if there is any progress, but there is huge pressure on benjamin netanyahu from the families of the hostages in israel who demand they be returned, and there is also pressure on him and his far right members of his government who do not want him to cave into ceasefire talks. he has backed himself into a corner and been full —— pulled in all directions. a court in pakistan has sentenced the former prime minister imran khan and the former foreign minister shah mahmood qureshi to ten years in prison for leaking a diplomatic correspondence. live now to caroline davies in islamabad. just explain what this case is about and what this verdict means? this is relatin: to and what this verdict means? this is relating to an _ and what this verdict means? this is relating to an incident _ and what this verdict means? this is relating to an incident that - relating to an incident that happened in march of 2022, a month

before imran khan was ousted from power in a vote of no—confidence. imran appeared on stage waving a piece of paper he said showed a foreign conspiracy against his government. he detailed day, saying it schedule will be forgiven if imran khan is removed from power. he did not specify which country this foreign conspiracy was coming from but he proceeded to be very critical of america throughout the course of the speech so that people drew the lines themselves. the prosecution said imran khan's actions amounted to leaking state secrets, disclosing state documents and had damaged diplomatic relations. that is a second charge against him, damaging diplomatic relations, which holds potentially long sentences, up to life imprisonment or even the death sentence. we heard earlier that imran khan has been found guilty, as has his former foreign minister shah mahmood qureshi, they have both been sentenced to ten years in prison.

the big question and the big backdrop to this is pakistan is due to have general elections in less than two weeks. imran khan was already not qualified to stand, he'd already not qualified to stand, he'd already been disqualified as a result of a conviction back in august. the big question is what impact this will now have on his party. the people standing for his party, the pti, have had to stand as independent press because of a decision made by the electoral commission here. will this mean there is a break in their morale, knowing their leader, imran khan, and he has really embodied the entire party, is not able to come out of prison, he will be in prison for an extended period, ten years, according to this, or will it be a morale boost, will he find more people will want to vote for him because he is backed by the pti, by imran khan's party. how does this

affect the general elections in pakistan? ~ ., affect the general elections in pakistan? ~ . ., ., ., pakistan? what about imran khan himself, serving _ pakistan? what about imran khan himself, serving a _ pakistan? what about imran khan himself, serving a three-year- himself, serving a three—year sentence, now has another ten years added on. can he appeal? what sentence, now has another ten years added on. can he appeal?— added on. can he appeal? what now for his future? _ added on. can he appeal? what now for his future? his _ added on. can he appeal? what now for his future? his party _ added on. can he appeal? what now for his future? his party have - added on. can he appeal? what now for his future? his party have made | for his future? his party have made it very clear they are planning on trying to appeal this particular sentencing, as they have done with lots of these other cases, against imran khan. over the course of the last few months we have seen some times they will get some form of what appears to be relief, so imran khan in the first case you suggested, you mentioned when he was given bail on that initial case he was kept in prison because he was detained for these other court cases he was meant to be appearing for too. he has other cases against him, notjust too. he has other cases against him, not just this too. he has other cases against him, notjust this particular case. all of these carjohn court cases are taking place inside the jail, he is not being released to appear in court, these are happening inside the jail premises. these are ongoing

cases against imran khan.— cases against imran khan. caroline davies in islamabad, _ cases against imran khan. caroline davies in islamabad, thank- cases against imran khan. caroline davies in islamabad, thank you - cases against imran khan. caroline davies in islamabad, thank you for| davies in islamabad, thank you for updating us. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. some of today's other stories. rail services on some of england's busiest commuter routes are to be affected today because of a strike by train drivers. members of the aslef union are walking out as part of their long—running dispute over pay and working conditions. other parts of the country will be affected by strikes later this week. ministers say the deal on offer to aslef would take train drivers' average pay up to £65,000 for a four—day week. rishi sunak�*s flagship bill which would see some asylum seekers sent to rwanda has cleared its first major hurdle in the house of lords, despite facing strong criticism. peers voted by a majority of 122 against a liberal democrat motion to scrap the legislation. meanwhile, the archbishop of canterbury has again criticised the government's plan, saying

that the nation could do better. patients in england will be able to use the nhs app to view their prescriptions from today. the new service uses a barcode to request medication without the need for a paper prescription. you're live with 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 and that the subject is recovering well. live now to silicon valley to speak with senior reporter at the independent, io dodds. thanks very much for being with us. explain how this works and the significance of a?— explain how this works and the significance of a? thank you for havin: significance of a? thank you for having me- _ significance of a? thank you for having me. the _ significance of a? thank you for having me. the significance, i significance of a? thank you for| having me. the significance, we significance of a? thank you for - having me. the significance, we are not really sure. elon musk and

neuralink have not said very much about the specifics of the test, only that there has been a successful implantation, which is good news, especially considering the chequered history of animal rights this company has in its previous nonhuman tests. brain computer interfaces, that is the general word for the category of devices it is in, is like and read our brain, an implantable device in this case that is able to reach connectivity in the brain and translated into some sort of higher order information. in the past it has been reading an image from the brain, what does a cat see? we have sometimes seen that in the past. or reading signals that would sometimes go towards your lens, so in 2016 there was a person who had no use of his arms, he was able to use the brain interface and a prostatic robot arm to give a fist bump to president barack obama. what neuralink is doing and where it is,

neuroscientists generally say it is not doing anything new in neuroscience terms, and there are lots of the big ideas, big science fiction visions for the future of this technology that have lots of barriers between here and there. they have managed to miniaturise the technology. this they have managed to miniaturise the technolo: . , , ., , technology. this is not the first com an technology. this is not the first company to _ technology. this is not the first company to develop _ technology. this is not the first company to develop this - technology. this is not the first - company to develop this technology, but does the elon musk stamp make a difference for this kind of sector? a hard to say, a lot of the reaction with academia _ a hard to say, a lot of the reaction with academia and _ a hard to say, a lot of the reaction with academia and much - a hard to say, a lot of the reaction with academia and much of - a hard to say, a lot of the reaction with academia and much of the . with academia and much of the previous progress in this area has beenin previous progress in this area has been in academia, although there has been in academia, although there has been corporate stuff going on. people are divided as to what elon musk brings to the table. the hype and controversy he often brings is a

detriment to some people, to others it can only be a good thing to bring such attention, spotlight and money to the field. he is perhaps saying it will one day help us merge with al all keep up with alas it it will one day help us merge with al all keep up with al as it become ai all keep up with al as it become smarter and smarter than humans, or maybe it will be able to cure depression. we don't know whether any of that is possible or will happen through the specific company, but the application of this trial was full, giving more autonomy to people with quadriplegia, that is pretty useful and any amount of money and publicity in that area, i can only imagine is a good thing. really interesting to get your analysis, io dodds. thank you for joining us. dozens of major roads around paris and several other cities in france remain blocked this morning by farmers who are protesting about several issues. let's show you some live pictures of those farmers blocking a road in

paris. 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." this is the scene live in laval, in the north—west of france. we'll keep you up to date with developments here on bbc news. live now to our correspondent bethany bell, who's at the champs—elysees in paris. hi, tell us what impact these strikes are having and what the government is saying about them. a, government is saying about them. number of major roads into paris remain blocked. we were out with protesters last night and many of them said they would stay there for as long as it takes. they were camping out on the motorway which they blocked with large bales of straw and a huge line of tractors

parked all the way along the motorways. this is something so far they have rejected the first authors of concessions put forward by the government a couple of days ago. what we have been told by government spokesperson is another offer, more measures may be announced later today. we wait to see what they are and what the reaction will be from the protesters. farmers say they want to stop delivery to supermarkets, make the point they can't do cheap farming. is this having an impact so far on people's ability to stock up?— having an impact so far on people's| ability to stock up?_ the ability to stock up? reporter: the government — ability to stock up? reporter: the government has _ ability to stock up? reporter: the government has said _ ability to stock up? reporter: the government has said it _ ability to stock up? reporter: the government has said it wants - ability to stock up? reporter: the government has said it wants to - ability to stock up? reporter: the i government has said it wants to make deliveries to supermarkets, they also said they want to keep the roads open between charles de gaulle airport in central paris —— and central paris, so they really insist upon trying to have this, but it

depends upon how long the blockades continue on the motorways, how long the protesters decide to stay out there for. it very much depends on what measures may be announced later today and what the reaction of the protesters says. today and what the reaction of the protesters save— today and what the reaction of the protesters says-— protesters says. bethany bell in paris, protesters says. bethany bell in paris. thank _ protesters says. bethany bell in paris, thank you. _ protesters says. bethany bell in paris, thank you. we _ protesters says. bethany bell in paris, thank you. we will- protesters says. bethany bell in paris, thank you. we will keep i protesters says. bethany bell in i paris, thank you. we will keep an eye on events in paris with the founder is blockading the streets, causing some disruption, and we will see if the government makes any more concessions that satisfies them. rail passengers can expect severe disruption this week as members of the aslef union start their latest round of strike action in a long running dispute over pay and working conditions. today marks the start of six days of action with passengers in the south—east being worst affected. other lines will experience disruption later this week. our transport correspondent katy austin is at waterloo station. hi, kt. what impact are these

strikes having?— hi, kt. what impact are these strikes having? waterloo station behind me is _ strikes having? waterloo station behind me is normally _ strikes having? waterloo station behind me is normally one - strikes having? waterloo station behind me is normally one of. strikes having? waterloo station| behind me is normally one of the country because my busiest railway stations. it has been very quiet this morning because south western railway, which runs services in and out of waterloo, is running only a small fraction of its normal services and parts of its network have no trains at all. five other train companies around the south of england are also affected by the strike action. there are four more strike action. there are four more strike days between now and next monday but different train companies affected each time. tomorrow for example there is northern and trans pennine, and this is in the long—running dispute between 16 train companies and train drivers in the aslef union, it is 18 months since they began this long—running wave of strikes and it does not look like a resolution is near. it is all about aslef saying it has been years since members had a pay rise, on the

other hand the train companies in government say —— and government say there is a difficult financial position and ways of working need to change. the proposed changes would have taken ciervo driver pages £65,000. mick whelan, the general secretary of aslef, said the deal rejected in april to being asked to agree to their condition is being whipped up. there has been no progress since last april, i think the sites are pretty far apart and i would not be surprised if there were more strikes to come. there is now a new minimum service levels law so train companies could decide to require some stuff to work on strike days, and a0% of services. none of them are deciding to do that this time if they did in future, aslef has made it very clear it has put on more strikes but the prime minister has said he is disappointed the train companies have decided to use them this time around. for the rest

of this week there will be a severe impact on strike days, check before you travel because different parts of the country are affected each time there is a strike. kata; of the country are affected each time there is a strike. katy austin, thank ou time there is a strike. katy austin, thank you very _ time there is a strike. katy austin, thank you very much _ time there is a strike. katy austin, thank you very much for _ time there is a strike. katy austin, thank you very much for updating l thank you very much for updating those from waterloo station. some breaking news coming in from aberdeen, two women, we are being told, have died following a fire at a block of flats in aberdeen in scotland. the emergency services apparently were sent to back hylton road at about 6p yesterday and two women were sadly pronounced dead at the scene, this is information from the scene, this is information from the aberdeen fire department. they have set a baby was taken to hospital as a precaution but later discharged. neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution. police say an investigation is being carried out with the fire service into the cause of the place but there don't appear to be any suspicious circumstances. just a reiteration that two women have died following a fire at a block of flats

in aberdeen. just before we go, let's leave you with this. the most detailed map of england's hedgerows shows that they would stretch almost ten times round the earth if they were alljoined up. the images have been produced using laser scanning from the air. researchers at the uk centre for hydrology and ecology hope the data could be used to support wildlife and mitigate climate change. stay with us here on bbc news. hello again. after yesterday's heavy rain, especially across northern england, things are a bit quieter today. we started off with a lot of cloud, patchy light rain and drizzle left over from this area of low pressure which brought us the rain yesterday. it's now pulling away, allowing this area of high pressure to build in. what's going to happen through the afternoon is the cloud continuing to push down towards the south—east where it will linger. but for the rest of the uk, it's mostly a dry day with some sunny spells. could catch the odd isolated shower across the north of scotland,

but that will be about it. these are our temperatures, 6—11, with the temperatures in the south—east going down as we go through the course of the afternoon, to about eight or nine. tonight, across england and wales, we'll have clear skies, light winds, patchy cloud and some frost. but the cloud building in over northern ireland, also northern england and scotland, with some gales likely, especially in the western isles, as the rain also comes in. milder in the north, colder in the south. so this is what's bringing the wet and windy weather across the north of the country, this area of low pressure, this front sinking south through the course of the day, taking its rain with it. but the wind will be the story, especially across scotland, where we are looking at widespread gales, gusts of wind, especially with exposure, of 80 miles an hour in the north and west. but very windy also across northern ireland and northern england. some heavy rain pushing southwards. to the south of that, the cloud will build. the far south—east hanging on to the brightness for the longest with highs here of up to about 11

degrees, and some wintry showers in the hills of scotland following on behind the rain. that weather front sinks south as a weak feature overnight wednesday and clears. and then we've got this next ridge of high pressure building in before the next weather front comes our way. so a cold and frosty start for england and wales on thursday but a lot of sunshine. a dry start for northern ireland and scotland, with the cloud building from the west bringing in some rain. later we could see a bit of cloud and drizzle coming into the south—west. temperatures, 6—11. then on into friday, a fairly cloudy affair, the cloud thick enough for some spots of light rain or drizzle. it's going to be breezy as well with the strongest winds being across the far northwest and temperatures, 9—1a, but possibly in the south, 15.

this is bbc news — the headlines... devolved government returns to northern ireland as the political parties there agree a new power—sharing deal. mps are warning that misogyny and discrimination is "endemic" within the music industry. and, the king of comebacks — the star of les mis who returned to the stage after suffering a stroke.

us media are reporting that the drone which killed three american troops injordan on sunday may have been an iranian—made shahed attack drone. tehran has denied involvement but the us has vowed to retaliate. for analysis on the attack and accusations by the us of iranian involvement, my colleague catriona perry talked to michael singh with the washington institute. he's a former senior director for middle east affairs at the white house national security council. 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 responses he may have had in the past two 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

have been engaged