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. the dup leader sirjeffrey donaldson told bbc radio ulster this morning that power—sharing government could be restored at stormont "within days". let's have a listen. the full details i expect will be published as early as tomorrow, so that everyone will be able to see clearly, once the government has finalised their arrangements today, i expect we will all be able to see clearly what is in this agreement. we also, there are other matters that i will discuss today with the secretary of state that

need to be implemented, and as soon as that is done we will then be able to progress to see the institutions restored and i hope that can happen very quickly. in days? well, that is possible if the government moves with the speed that i believe they can, in terms of what needs to be done. 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 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 have 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 talk about iranian—backed proxies here, but yet the secretary and president have said they believe iran trains these individuals, resources them, they have a role in the planning as well. who does the us target at that point, is it iran or someone else? that's always the crux of this debate inside the us government. i have sat through many of these debates myself. of course there is a temptation to say, look, iran is of course willing to fight to the last iraqi, syrian or yemeni militiaman,

that's why they put a gun in their hands and say go and fight. but it is perhaps much more reluctant to take a risk that iran itself might be targeted. but weighing against that is of course the worry that the us response could fuel the very regional escalation we are seeking to avoid. that will be the tension inside the white house debate. i anticipate, though, that 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. 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 sanctions will not be deemed inadequate response.

you may see sanctions as part of an american response but responding only with non—military measures, whether they be economic or diplomatic, will be taken inside the us as woefully insufficient, so president biden will come under significant pressure. that's not to say there won't be a combination of tools utilised here and there won't be messages, frankly, to iran as part of whatever the us response that comes. what will this mean for the rest of the world? we have the situation in ukraine as well and emphasis and focus is now shifting to the middle east. it will be quite complex because those states which are contributing to the us—led military engagement in the region — say, those who are participating in operation prosperity guardian — themselves may worry they could be seen as easier targets for retaliation by iran, so a number of states will need to be acting now to safeguard their interests, their citizens and so forth. in the 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 and the flow of attention that american and western officials had been hoping for. i think hopefully what we will see is we are able to pay attention both to events in the middle east as well as keep sustained attention to ukraine. i think secretary blinken�*s engagements recently, today in fact, are meant in part to show that. we are hearing reports that a deal on further release of israeli hostages and a temporary pause in fighting is close to agreement. conflicting reports as to how close and who has signed up to that. what impact will whatever action the us takes in this instance impact that deal? 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 gaza, the better it is for iran.

iran feels it is making gains as the fighting goes on in gaza, as the attention is off iran and on fighting elsewhere. i don't actually think the us response will detract from our ability to get a ceasefire deal done. you could argue that being willing to show a bit of toughness and resolve might be something that actually enables us to do a better job of getting these types of deals done because it may make iran's proxies realise that perhaps now we have pushed too far. spain's congress will vote later today on a law which would give amnesty to catalan separatists — a proposal which has triggered waves of protests from right wing opposition parties. the law will apply to those still wanted by the justice system for their part in the catalan independence referendum of 2017. the highest profile person involved is the exiled catalan leader, carles puigdemont, who fled to belgium to avoid prosecution.

our madrid correspondent guy hedgoecoe told me more about the significance of the proposed legislation. this amnesty law is very controversial. what it seeks to do is remove all legal challenges against more than 300 catalan nationalists stretching back a decade, and particularly from that referendum in 2017 that you mentioned. what the government says this will do is it will lower tensions in the catalan region, political tensions caused by the territorial crisis that we have been seeing in catalonia over the last few years. it says tensions will be reduced because the amnesty removes a long—standing grievance of catalan nationalists, which are those legal charges many of them have been facing. the opposition does not agree with that and says this amnesty is unconstitutional. it also says that mr sanchez is only presenting this amnesty law because he needs the support of catalan nationalists

in parliament. however, having said all that, we expect parliament, congress, today to approve this amnesty law, although it will probably be by a very narrow majority. what will it mean for the catalan fight for independence, do you think? the amnesty law will then have to go to the senate and then back to congress for a final vote, so this will not be the end of it. but the feeling i think in the independence camp is that the amnesty is a major gain for catalan nationalists, it's something they have been demanding for a long time. it's something mr sanchez, the prime minister, has said for quite a long time he would never grant. he changed his mind afterjuly�*s general election, he needed the support of catalan nationalists, so he did a sort of about turn and said this was something that could be done within the bounds of the constitution.

there is a feeling that if he has changed his mind on that, many catalan nationalists are wondering whether he might change his mind on other issues, for example the holding of a formal referendum on independence, a bit like the one that scotland held a few years back, and that's something catalan nationalists have been calling forfor a long time. i think they feel this amnesty will help their cause. guy hedgecoe in madrid, there. mps have warned that misogyny and discrimination is "endemic" within the music industry. a report by the women and equalities committee found that not only are there barriers to opportunities, but women are also experiencing bullying, sexual harassment and assault, that is often under—reported. here's our culture correspondent noor nanji. parties, gigs and, in everyday life, misogyny and discrimination are said to be endemic in the music industry. now, the women and equalities committee, which led an inquiry into the issue, is calling for urgent action to tackle it.

i don't think people really understand me. i've been robbed, i've been used. the committee heard evidence from people, including the former x factor contestant rebecca ferguson, who said she feels she was penalised for speaking up. i think i definitely got music blocked because i challenged very powerfulfigures. really? yeah, definitely. yeah. and it got lifted. i...i contacted, like, the head of the record labeland i said, "look, my album isn't available anywhere." and he said, "no, that can't be." then he messaged someone and said, "is this true?" and he went, "oh, yeah, but don't worry, we'll lift it now." yeah, ijust felt like it was important. ifelt like my experience in music had been so toxic, and ijust felt like i wanted to protect new people entering the industry. others warned the industry was rigged against women. the music industry is a boys' club. everybody knows everyone in the top levels.

all the people at the very top levels have the money, thus all the power. the report by mps found that despite increases in representation, women encountered limitations in opportunity, a lack of support and persistent unequal pay. it found these issues are intensified for women who already face racial discrimination. black women are the most disadvantaged in the music industry and we experience over—sexualisation, objectification and we're paid the least. i've had mental health impacted — poor mental health decline since starting the music industry. and this is meant to be a great place to work, right? the mps make a series of recommendations, including...

but it also says that a shift in the behaviour of men at the heart of the music industry is what's really needed. a government spokesperson said "all women should be able to work in a music sector which is free from misogyny and discrimination." it added it would carefully consider the committee's recommendations." noor nanji, bbc news. namywa, who is a singer and ceo of girl grind uk tells us about her experiences of sexism while navigating the music industry. if you break down what misogyny actually is, it's a prejudice or hatred towards women and sometimes those things come from no good reason at all and it's just other people's opinions, and i think that has definitely shaped part of my music career as an artist.

because people's opinions, when you are an emerging talent and you are developing and still finding your voice, those things sway what you sound like, what you look like, what you wear and the decisions you make. i have personally experienced it in that way. i guess through girl grind, i see it quite a lot, people come to us wanting to have a career in the music industry but don't know how to navigate the space or how to disarm some of the things they are experiencing. you see a lot of women confused, feeling gaslit and not sure what's happening, and not really understanding why things are or aren't happening to them. i see it quite a lot. and girl grind supports diverse women in the music sector. tell us about your attitude and response to the report we have been talking about, its findings and recommendations, in particular the finding that it's the attitudes of men that need to change. yeah, i agree with the findings, to be honest with you.

i think that's there. but i think what would be great is that these are strongly held recommendations and the people who can enforce that legislative consequence for being misogynistic in the industry, especially when it comes to freelancers and the way they have completely different rights to other people, and this whole industry is predominately running on freelancers and self—employed people. i hope that they are heavily monitored and they come into action. that's the main thing i want to see, is the actual legislative change that happens that makes life better for people that look like me and other women that don't look like me also. do you find that women, though, are able to speak up more? with the likes of people appearing before select committees, the likes of you coming on tv and talking about your experiences, do you think actually younger women will not put up with this kind of thing any more? absolutely.

i hope all of that visibility that is coming through more does inspire people to speak up. i do still think that there is, similar to what rebecca ferguson was saying before, that there is a risk in speaking up. i think that's a historic thing across all industries, where women's voices are demonised for speaking their truth. i would advise people to really consider that with the people that they love and they work with, and whatever it is you want to say, present it in a way that you are happy with and comfortable. hong kong is to introduce national security laws which will augment the measures introduced by beijing in 2020. the territory's chief executive, john lee, said four new offences would be introduced, including that of insurrection, though he said those who criticised his government without criminal intent would not face punishment. he said the legislation was needed

to counter threats, which were both external and internal. earlier we spoke to bbc news chinese correspondent martin yip. we asked what is the reason behind this legislation. john lee's government claims that if they don't bring in this legislation, hong kong would face what he called a real threat to national security to china, which would then threaten hong kong's internal security as well. that's what he kept saying this morning, and he made reference to threats from british intelligence agencies as well as the united states cia for their recent comments that they would step up their activities against china and hong kong in terms of surveillance. he kept emphasising the threat from foreign governments to threaten china's national security, in his words, very real.

to india now where on thursday the world's most populous nation will outline its spending plan for the year. but with the country set to vote for a new government in a few months, prime minister narendra modi's administration will only present an interim budget. currently the number one source of economic growth on the global stage — investors will have a keen eye on any steps to help the manufacturing sector that makes up i7% of the economy. arunoday mukharji reports. india has big ambitions of becoming the next manufacturing powerhouse. an indian company set up this gleaming factory less than a year ago in the north—western city of dudu after winning a government grant of nearly $70 million. here, nearly 3000 solar panels are made every day as india looks to pivot away from reliance on china, which still supplies 80% of all raw materials in the sector. definitely four to five years down

the line from today, when this financial support stops, i believe the industry will be self—sufficient and will be able to grow on its own. the $25 billion incentive was announced in 2021. it's a five—year plan aimed at powering jobs and encouraging local companies to establish production lines at home. over a dozen sectors were identified and the government says in the last two years the scheme has created over 600,000 jobs. but this comes at a time when unemployment among graduates has hit an all—time high, at over 13% last year. and here in the city ofjaipur, just over 60 kilometres away from that manufacturing unit, young india, fresh out of college, is doing everything they can to try and secure a job. that desperation to find work is visible. thousands of graduates thrumming coaching centres, hoping to find the best advice to land jobs.

in this packed classroom, many of them come from rural india, spending their parents�* life savings on expensive tutorials in the hope that they stand a better chance than the person next to them. translation: the competition has increased so much. - there aren't enough jobs for all of us. translation: peoplel don't have any options. if there were many options, it would not have been a problem. but incentives can only do so much, say experts. only 2% of the $25 billion promised has been doled out so far, and that too should have been spent differently, they say. 6% of the workforce is working in the organised sector, and 94% is in the unorganised sector. so what we needed to do was to boost the unorganised sector rather than the organised sector. and what the scheme is doing is entirely targeted to the organised sector.

india has been identified as a bright spot among major world economies. but will the growth be felt by all indians? in an election year, the upcoming budget mayjust be driven more by politics than economics. arunoday mukharji, bbc news. actor adam pearce was in rehearsals at the young vic theatre in london when he had a stroke in december 2022. he was only 38 years old. whilst recovering, his west end co—stars pulled together to raise more than £50,000 to sustain his family while he was off work. now, nearly 14 months later, adam is back treading the boards, playing the bishop of dean—yay in les miserables. charlotte gallagher has been to meet him. adam pearce returning to the west end, just over a year since he had a stroke, after coming off stage in mandela, the musical. started taking my costume off and hanging it back on the rail. and, as i was going to put my

trousers onto the rail, i was telling my arm to do it and it was going in slow motion, which is the most bizarre thing. and then i could feel my leg going from underneath me. so it was terrifying. a cast member's brother, who's a doctor, was in the audience and rushed backstage to give immediate first aid. never said the word stroke, but kind of said, "you're ok, you're talking, you're... everything's fine." i was sat upright and knowing he was there kind of settled me a bit. adam lost his income overnight, but his friends in the west end rallied around, raising more than £53,000. killian donnelly stars asjean valjean in les mis alongside adam. something like that happens to adam, and everyone wants to be there for one of our own. n-s... — i was so proud to be a part of that.

i was so proud to say, even if you've stepped foot on the west end or even if you work in a theatre in the west end doing anything, you're part of that community, which is very special. after coming out of hospital, adam had months of physio and rehab to learn how to walk again. i think that my first trip that i did was ten metres of walking and then back and then that was it for the day. so... and fatigue—wise, just getting my strength back up together and i think setting goals — smaller goals — in order to get to where you want to go. like, a big goalfor me was walking my son to school. to now be back doing eight shows a week and costume changes and wig changes and quickly getting upstairs to go on stage and coming off, it's incredible — i'm having a ball. # i had a dream my life would be...#

starring in a west end show is physically and mentally demanding. the producers of les mis adapted the musicalfor adam. they looked at the stage and adam identified areas in which he would find it really difficult. we have a rake in the stage, which is the incline at the front of the stage. and adam said that there's no way i can sort of turn both ways, so i'm going to have to walk backwards on to that rake. so we adapted the role to suit him. even adam's costumes have been specially altered. this is adam's paris costume, which we made for his new character. and adam, he's quite slow for getting changed, so we split all of his trouser legs at the side with poppers, so he can get them on over his boots, so he doesn't have to change them. and then when they're on, a dresser snaps them up. ijust can't believe that i'm here, if i'm honest.

this time last year, i wouldn't have expected it. i'm feeling very proud of myself. cheering. after a sold—out show, it's time for adam's curtain call. a standing ovation, of course. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. a man reportedly armed with a crossbow has been shot dead by armed police in south—east london. the metropolitan police said the man was trying to force his way into a building in the surrey quays area just before 5am on tuesday, and was threatening to hurt the people inside. unarmed officers tried to speak to him but were threatened, and when police marksmen arrived he had got into the building and was shot. we will bring you more on that as soon as there are more developments in that story. now it's time for a look

at the weather with carol kirkwood. 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—ii. 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—14, but possibly in the south, 15.

live from london, this is bbc news. devolved government is set to return to northern ireland as the political parties there agree a new power—sharing deal. israel says it's killed three palestinians in an undercover operation at a hospital in the occupied west bank. pakistan's former prime minister imran khan is sentenced to ten years in prison for leaking state secrets. and, elon�*s brain claim — could a new microchip help people control electronic devices with the power of their mind?

hello, 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 hardline 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.