welcome to bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: the senate stands adjourned until 10am on monday december 31. the partial us government shutdown goes on after congress meets and adjourns within minutes. it will now continue into next week. confusion and anger in the democratic republic of congo — the election‘s postponed again in some areas. the outgoing president tells the bbc the delay is due to ebola. on the day that people were supposed to vote we do not want this epidemic spreading like wildfire. a huge hunt is launched in austria after five monks are attacked during a robbery at a vienna church and as rescuers race to save 15 miners trapped in india, we report on the deadly conditions in the country's illegal mines. hello.

the us senate and house of representatives have adjourned without taking steps to resolve a damaging shutdown of parts of the government, which is now into its sixth day. both chambers convened for only a few minutes. this was the scene in the senate. in my capacity as a senator from kansas if there is no further business before the senate i ask that it stand adjourned. the senate stands adjourned until 10am on monday, december 31. so that was that. at the heart of the disagreement is the $5 billion that president trump wants added to the federal budget, to pay for a wall along the us border with mexico. here's our washington correspondent chris buckler with the latest. you got a brief sense from that, that very brief meeting of congress

that the two parties are fundamentally not coming to any agreement at the moment over what is essentially a funding deal for 20, 25% of government programmes. in practical terms it is important for a lot of people because there are around 800,000 federal employees affected by that. half of them are told that they will have to go on unpaid leave the other half simply do not know when they will get paid. but while the politicians need to take this seriously, they know there is a danger of this backfiring and being blamed for it. the truth is that here in washington many politicians just did not turn up at capitol hill today. it was an empty chamber for that very brief minutes that both the house of representatives and the senate met. there does not seem to be any suggestion at this point that there is a way through this and the whole funding stand—off is about donald trump's demand for $5 billion to build a border war between america and mexico.

he says he will not agree to any funding deal without that and the democrats say that will not happen. as a result we are now looking at a stand—off that will likely continue into the new year. which are 21. before we get to the politics of all of this can we focus quickly on ordinary americans —— let us quickly on ordinary americans —— let us speak to brett bruen. how big is the shutdown on their lives?m us speak to brett bruen. how big is the shutdown on their lives? it is like a slow burn. you don't notice it might at first, but as the day straight got it becomes more and more bothersome, and ifear, as we now head into january, it will become a big issue for a loss of americans. on to the politics then,

the president, donald trump, said he would own this shutdown a few days ago, now he is tweeting and blaming the democrats. what's going on?|j think i is realising that political gravity also applies to him —— i think i is realising. it does not wa nt to think i is realising. it does not want to bear the brunt of the frustration americans are feeling. 0n frustration americans are feeling. on top of that, i think is trying to play a political game. he was the new democratic house of representatives to be the bad guy in this situation, which is part of the reason they are delaying until january. and what are the risks on both sides? on the president's side, quite frankly, he is playing with fire. this isn't the only fire he has to worry about. there are a number of investigations, other political challenges he is confronting. so he is in hot water, if you will, because of all of those flames. 0n the democratic side, this

disrupts plans that nancy pelosi, the newsbeat of the house, will how to set the agenda and she will struggle to navigate these waters —— the new speaker of the house. what you think is going to happen, how will we get out of this? at the end of the day, i think the democrats will give more than they want. donald trump is going to claim victory, whatever happens, as he inevitably will do in these circumstances. and quite frankly the american people will be the ones left footing the bill. we will wait to see how this is resolved. brett bruen, thank you very much. good to be with you. us stock markets have rallied following a volatile day which saw their european counterparts lose ground as global political and economic uncertainty continued to haunt investors. the dowjones, which fell by 1.8% earlier on thursday, finished 1.1% up. our business reporter samira hussain has the latest from new york. if you were suffering from whiplash watching the financial markets over the last week, you are probably not alone.

what fuels this volatility? investors like certainty and right now there is not a lot of it around. some of that uncertainty is coming from washington. we have the partial shutdown of the us government, the continuing trade tensions between the us and china and us president donald trump's continued criticism of the federal reserve, investors were happy to see holiday sales were strong and that the price of crude oilfor a big jump. but there are still some concerns about america's overall economic growth. the economy is growing but the pace of that growth, that is expected to slow down in the coming months. on thursday, a report on consumer confidence showed that americans were becoming more pessimistic about the economy. so what does all of this means going forward? hold on tight, it may be a bumpy ride. let's get some of the day's other news.

the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, will travel to colombia next week to discuss the economic crisis in neighbouring venezuela. more than two million venezuelans have left the country over the past three years as the crisis has worsened. about half of them have crossed the border into colombia. three british tourists, including a child, have died after their vehicle crashed while crossing a bridge in iceland. four other people in the car have been taken to hospital with critical injuries. the 4—wheel drive crashed through a barrier on a single—lane bridge and then fell eight metres onto a river bank. at least eight people have been killed and more than two dozen injured after a bus crashed into a ravine in peru. the bus was carrying 55 passengers when it went off a highway and turned over, early on thursday. emergency workers rushed survivors to nearby hospitals. according to local media the vehicle was travelling to the capital, lima. there have been protests

in the democratic republic of congo at yet another delay in the presidential elections in some parts of the country. the polls were meant to take place on sunday. authorities in the capital, kinshasa, are blaming security concerns and an outbreak of ebola in the east of the country. the government says it is listening to the advice of the electoral commission. the worst clashes took place in the eastern cities of beni and goma. both are areas which are seen as being strongly supportive of the opposition. this footage was filmed in beni. police fired into the air and used tear gas against the demonstrators. voting there was postponed — with opposition parties saying it was a ploy to stop their supporters from influencing the vote. and these pictures are from goma, where police had to clear barricades set up by angry crowds. 0pposition parties have cried foul, and called for a general strike on friday in protest. translation: the coalition demands

that the electoral commission immediately withdraws this unjustifiable position on the organised elections across the whole of the democratic republic of congo without any discrimination. the congolese people have already been very patient, they have already accepted three postponements and even accepted a two—year wait and they are now saying enough. the electoral commission has just crossed a red line. let's get the latest now from those two areas which have seen the most unrest. in a moment, we'll hear from our reporter in goma — but first, here's louise dewast in kinshasa reporting on events in beni. there was a number of protests today. most of them are over by now as it is one hour ahead and so the day is nearly over. the protest were in beni, one of the main cities affected by a ebola outbreak.

a transit centre was ransacked and that is did or where ebola cases wait for results. the health ministry said that 21 people fled from the transit centre and the angry mob was demonstrating that today, following a decision by the electoral commission to postpone the vote in the city and in three other locations across the country. the tension is high in the street. in goma, masses of people came out on the streets to protest against a new delay of elections by the electoral commission. this morning, people who came in the street barricaded it with stones to block circulation and express their anger. most voters i speak to say they are upset that these towns were removed and they said as a tactic by the current regime to cling to power. so far no casualties have been registered by the we are still monitoring the situation to see how it goes. let's hear now from the outgoing

president of the democratic republic of congo, joseph kabila. he took power in 2001 after the assassination of his father, laurent. he's twice been elected president — in 2006 and 2011 - but elections to replace him which were meant to be held in 2016 were delayed until now. he's been speaking to salim kikeke from bbc africa in kinshasa — and he began by explaining why the poll was delayed in some areas. probably that is the price to pay for elections. how does it make me feel, well, you just have to agree with the electoral commission. the electoral commission has raised fundamental issues. the fundamental

issues are into the regions, in the east, you happy in bowler epidemic, which is spreading —— you happy in bowler epidemic. the intention of the state of the government is to make sure that you have, on the day people are supposed to have this epidemic spreading like wildfire. that is one of the most important reasons. the second reason is issues of security. you are very much aware that in the region now of especially beni we have been having numerous terrorist attacks over the last four or five years, and the other region, in the west, close to hear, it is

because of intertribal fighting or ethnic fighting. i totally understand, but the timing of the announcement, just a few days before the elections, these issues, ebola, insecurity, they have been there for quite a long time. yes, they have been there for quite a long time. but the idea was that ebola as an epidemic, which we have been managing to control, two months after it was declared this time around it has taken much longer than that. and as we speak, right now, it is still spreading. so we have to content with those two major issues, and the choice is to save as many lives as possible —— contends. and the choice is to save as many lives as possible -- contends. with all that has happened, do you still have faith in the electoral

commission to deliver a free and fair election? the electoral commission is an independent commission, an independent electoral commission. and we still have faith in the commission and come the end of this year, meaning the 30th, the elections will be organised. but with 1 elections will be organised. but with1 million, 1.2 million voters being delayed in those areas we just mentioned, how are you going to declare a new president with some of the places that haven't voted? don't worry, the law has catered for such issues. so the electoral commission has, as far as i am concerned, been doing everything according to the book. and i don't think there will be any major issues in as far as the 1.2 million voters you are talking about. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: downward duck or downward glance —

can eye yoga help cure our tired vision? the world of music has been paying tribute to george michael, who's died from suspected heart failure at the age of 53. he sold well over 100 million albums in a career spanning more than three decades. the united states troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. the pentagon said that it's failed in its principle objective to capture noriega and take him to the united states to face drugs charges. the hammer and sickle was hastily taken away. in its place, the russian flag was hoisted over what is now no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth of independent states. day broke slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of pan am's maid of the seas, nose down in the soft earth. you could see what happens when a plane eight storeys high, a football pitch wide, falls from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting

more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass in the town of shkodra, where there were anti—communist riots ten days ago. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the shutdown of parts of the us government will continue at least into next week, after both houses of congress met briefly then adjourned without taking action. there have been protests in the democratic republic of congo, where the election's been postponed again in some areas. the outgoing president told the bbc the delay is because of an ebola outbreak. five monks have been attacked during a church robbery in the austrian capital, vienna. the assailants reportedly entered the catholic church with a gun, forcing the monks to the ground and assaulting them before fleeing the scene. bethany bell has more. police have sealed off the catholic

church in vienna where five monks we re church in vienna where five monks were violently attacked. 0n church in vienna where five monks were violently attacked. on thursday afternoon, assailants entered the church, brandishing a gun. they forced a monk to the ground, tied him up and kicked and repeatedly beating with metal full is. he suffered serious head injuries. for other monks, who entered the church a little later were also set upon, beaten and tied up with cables and rope. —— tools. they were discovered more than three hours later. police say they do not believe it was a terrorist attack. translation: the exact motive is unclear, but i think we can rule out terrorism. there is a large spectrum of possible motives. it might be a robbery, an act of violence, or perhaps an act of revenge. a large manhunt is under

way. the injured monks are being treated in hospital. head of austrian catholic church said he was deeply shocked by the attack. churches, he said, it should be places of peace. —— should be. rescuers in a remote part of north—eastern india are working around the clock to save 15 workers trapped inside an illegal coal mine. limited resources and a lack of information about mines in the meghalaya region are making the rescue extremely challenging, and hopes of finding anyone alive are quickly fading. devina gupta travelled to the rescue site in the eastjaintia hills and sent this report. for these rescuers, hope is buried at 350 feet deep. they are trying to reach 15 coal workers who were trapped when water gushed in this illegal underground coal pit called a "rat—hole" mine. in this remote forest they are struggling with limited

resources and, after 13 days, the chances of seeing them alive are slowly fading. this is one of the first mine rescue that we are going to — we are trying to perform. we do not know the directions in which the labourers have been trapped. the rescue operations have ended for the day, but yet no sign of the trapped miners. india's north—east state of meghalaya is known for abundant coal reserves, but in 2014, india's top court had put a ban on illegal mining, but this is an indication that illegal mining is still rampant in these areas. 0fficials claim locals have dug at least 100 such illegal pits in this area. they're called a "rat—hole" because of the narrow passage where workers go in a vertical pit. there are small horizontal tunnels inside, where they have to wiggle out to dig out coal. more risk means more pay, but in the village of lumthari,

this mother knows what is at stake. her 20—year—old son, salabas thar, sought work in a coalmine to contribute extra money to his church for christmas. he is one of the workers trapped in the flooded mine. translation: i warned him not to go. this was his first time in the coalmine. i don't know what to feel anymore. 30—year—old krishna travelled from the neighbouring state of assam to work in the rat—hole mine as well. for $55 a day, no worker's rights, no safety equipment, and no insurance benefits — he lives to tell the rules of this underground world. translation: i used to go inside the mine wearing a torch and a pair of gumboots. after this incident, i don't think i can go back. there is an estimated 650 million tons of coal reserves in meghalaya. mining it is a lucrative business. activists claim most of the mines

are owned by local strongmen, who are feared more than the law. there are coal mafias. there are people who own those mines who are... yeah, a threat actually. the state government is now fighting in the court to legalise coal mining, but until then these families are praying to keep their sons safe in the unchecked deathtraps. devina gupta, bbc news, meghalaya. the search for a cruiseship entertainment who went missing off a cruiseship has been suspended. he went missing and did not turn up for his shift on harmony of the seas. royal caribbean, which operates the ship, says it was supporting his family. saudi arabia's king salman has announced the creation of a space agency to be led by his son,

prince sultan bin salman. the 62—year—old prince is better known as being the first arab and muslim astronaut to travel to space in 1985, helping to deploy a satellite with nasa. his appointment was announced as part of king salman's first major reshuffle of leadership positions, after the killing of saudi journalist jamal khashoggi in istanbul in october. the saudi foreign minister adel al—jubeir was demoted under the cabinet changes. we're spending more and more time in front of our mobile devices. eye yoga is claimed to help relax and strengthen our digitally—strained eyes, but does it really work? sodaba haidare has been to an eye yoga class to see for herself. you keep it closed until your hands... this is one of the many eye yoga exercises subhan nair is teaching his students today. rubbing your hands rigorously together to generate energy and covering your eyes to block the light getting through he says

helps ease out eye strain. in between the eyebrows... eye yoga has existed for centuries. it began as an ancient practice in india and is mostly taught alongside other forms of yoga. everything we teach is according to the classical tradition... subhan has studied eye yoga in southern india. i've come to his class today because, as a journalist, i spend hours in front of a computer screen, and i want to see if eye yoga can help relax my digitally tired eyes. some of my fellow students suffer from eye problems, others, like me, are here to take a much—needed screen break. so i'm short—sighted in one eye and long—sighted in the other, and so i think my vision isn't very clearand then, after the practice, everything seems much more focussed. it's notjust my eyes, actually, its — you know, i find a relaxation in my upper shoulders, which tend to be quite tense because i spend a lot of time in front of the laptop. it's predicted that half of the world's population will need glasses by 2050 because of screens. can eye yoga really help improve vision or go as far as to cure eye problems?

it's more on anything that's focus, focus issues. so nearsighted, farsighted, anything like this, these things can be corrected. according to regular science, once you get these kind of issues, you can't reverse them, but in the yogic system, they're saying you can reverse them. though subhan and some of his students say eye yoga helps improve eyesight, there isn't actually any scientific evidence to prove this, so i'm going to see amir hamid, who is an eye expert, to talk to him about eye yoga from a medical point of view. they can't correct eye problems in terms of refractive error, so in terms of the need for glasses for distance vision, the need for glasses for reading. there's no way you can anatomically change the shape or the function of your eye by performing an exercise. so you can focus on your index finger... if eye yoga was an alternative to curing or correcting eye problems, eye doctors would have

to look elsewhere for a career, but while eye yoga doesn't do that, it certainly helps your eyes feel more relaxed. sodaba haidare, bbc news. before i go and rest my eyes for a couple of minutes, a reminder of our top story. both chambers of the us congress had met briefly to discuss the government shutdown, but had done nothing to resolve it. the dispute is over the funding of president trump's wall on the mexican border and has left hundreds of thousands of federal employees either on unpaid leave or not knowing when they will get paid. that is it for me. you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. i'm @lvaughanjones. you're watching bbc world news, goodbye. hello there. nothing particularly

dramatic in this weather forecast, it stays pretty quiet over the next few days but that is not to say they will not be some contrast. take a look back at thursday and you can see that across county down, we have had some sunshine and temperatures up had some sunshine and temperatures up13. had some sunshine and temperatures up 13. whereas parts of the west country got stuck on the fog and temperatures in some areas of somerset did not get above four degrees. looking ahead to friday's weather, we have got to start with quite a lot of fog and missed. —— with quite a lot of cloud, mist and fog. it should then turn a little bit brighter for some of us later on and there is a bit of rain around as well through the morning, particularly across scotland — that'll be travelling its way eastwards. now, after such a cloudy, murky, foggy start across some southern areas, it is going to struggle to brighten up here.

but we should see some brightness for the midlands and wales, for northern england and certainly for northern ireland and scotland some decent spells of sunshine expected by the afternoon. those temperatures 9—11 degrees, not bad for the time of year. but bear in mind, any lingering fog towards the south—west could hold those temperatures back once again. then as we go through friday night into the early hours of saturday, it's that mixture of mist and murk and low cloud but another batch of wet weather sliding in across northern ireland and scotland as the night wears on. temperatures typically between three and eight degrees. so saturday starts off with a frontal system starting across northern areas. but high pressure still holding on down to the south. so it is a day of split fortunes on saturday, but one thing that we will all experience is this mild west or south—westerly wind. quite a brisk wind actually at times across the northern half of the uk. outbreaks of rain drifting eastwards as we go through saturday morning. clearing from scotland through the afternoon, something brighter developing and it will stay quite windy here as it will across parts of northern england. generally further south, more in the way of cloud, a lot of dry weather but those temperatures for the time of year pretty impressive, 12—13 degrees.

as we look ahead to sunday, again, there could be a little bit of patchy rain around in northern areas. that could linger for a good part of the day across the northern isles. eleswhere, largely dry but largely cloudy. the best chance of any brightness and some shelter from the westerly winds, maybe to the east of the pennines, the eastern side of scotland, and again, those temperatures 11 or 12 degrees. and then for the final day of the year, new year's eve, again high pressure in charge. a lot of cloud and some fog trapped underneath the high. and we stick with that theme as we go into monday night. so if you are planning to be out and about celebrating at midnight, the weather doesn't look particularly dramatic, it should be mostly dry, but there's likely to be a bit of cloud and some fog patches as well. this is bbc news. the headlines: the us government shutdown is to continue until at least monday after the senate was adjourned until new year's eve. president trump blames the democrats for blocking his amendment to the budget bill, which would add five billion dollars to build a wall along the border with mexico. protesters have clashed with police in the east of the democratic republic of congo, after the election was postponed in several areas.

the outgoing president, joseph kabila, told the bbc the ebola outbreak is one of the reasons for the delay. he said there wouldn't be any major issues with the more than 1 million voters whose participation will be delayed until later. austrian police say that five monks were attacked during a church robbery in a suburb of vienna. the assailants reportedly entered the catholic church with a gun. the monks were beaten and tied up. the suspects fled the scene, after demanding cash and valuables. in iceland, three british tourists, including a child, have died after their vehicle crashed, while crossing a bridge.