a major milestone in space exploration china lands a spacecraft on the far side of the moon. the change 4 probe has transmitted never before seen images of this part of the moon and marks a major step in china's quest to become a leading power in space exploration. we will be assessing the significance of this new view of the lunar landscape. also this lunchtime... the retailer next reports a sharp rise in online sales for the christmas period, but trading at its shops declined. tech giant apple rattles its investors with a warning that that sales are slowing — its share price drops sharply in response by at least 7%. the trial begins in saudi arabia of the people allegedly involved in the murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi. and why our electricity use is at its lowest levels since the 1980s. and coming up on bbc news... it's set to be the biggest premier league showdown this season as manchester city and league leaders liverpool go head—to—head at the ethiad. good afternoon and welcome

to the bbc news at one. a chinese robotic probe has become the first space craft to land on the far side of the moon. state media in beijing confirmed that the change 4 probe touched down successfully in the unexplored south pole aitken basin, the largest, oldest and deepest crater on the moon's surface. the landing marks a major step in china's quest to become a leading power in space exploration, alongside the united states and russia. our china correspondent john sudworth reports. commence landing, the control room

says. and then comes the extraordinary sight, the first close—up images of the far side of the moon ever recorded. after a few more tense moments, chang'e four safely touches down inside the moon's largest and deepest crater. translation: it's all gone according to plan. this scientist tells chinese state tv. the landing was the most important part. although the most important part. although the far side of the moon always faces away from earth, orbiting spacecraft have photographed its surface, but no attempt has been made to land on it until now. this animation shows how the probe's thrusters were fired to slow it down before its sensor guided it gently to the surface, a surface far more

rugged and obstacle strewn than the moon's nearside. another major challenge has included the need for a relay satellite to carry radio signals from the far side back to earth. well, the moon has already sunk below this smoggy beijing skyline, so there is unfortunately no chance tonight for people to gaze at it in wonder. not that they had much warning, mind you. the landing attempt was accompanied by an almost com plete attempt was accompanied by an almost complete news blackout, giving you the sense of a sensitive propaganda value of this huge leap forward in chinese space race ambitions and the perceived cost of failure. china plans to follow this mission with another that will bring mineral samples back to earth and eventually a reported plan for a lunar base capable of supporting humans. translation: if our lunar

exploration is a success, we can make bigger contributions to mankind and improve china's ability and technology. so i don't think our exploration will stop. it will only go deeper, further and we will invest more. for now, chang'e four's lunar explorer will begin examining the surface of its landing spot, the moon's deepest crater is expected to offer important insights into the formation of our solar system. but beyond the science, china has just signalled that it is a space power to be taken seriously. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. our science editor david shukman is here. pput this into historical and scientific context for us if you will, david in terms of the significance of the significance of the news today. technically it is a great

achievement because the far side of the moon is far more rough than the side we see so landing spacecraft on it without damage is a significant achievement. at the same time they can only do it by having a second spacecraft in orbit already as a relay, the magpie bridge, they charmingly call it. it shows how ambitious they are in space, to have two spacecraft to carry this out. with all the apollo missions the americans carried out in the 60s and 70s, sending i2 americans carried out in the 60s and 70s, sending 12 people to the surface of the moon, an amazing achievement, but they never attempted the far side, considering it to be too difficult, to not have permanent contact by radio with earth. so it marks a step forward. it is only robotic, not people, but it may be on the horizon. on that, will the next boots on the moon be chinese? at the current rate... i was talking to one leading space scientist a few years ago who said if you wanted to be the dominant power in the space on the moon and elsewhere by the middle of the

century, you would do all the things the chinese are doing now. so, robotic spacecraft, getting people into orbit around earth and then further. i interviewed a leading chinese space scientist a few years ago who was very clear that the pathway was more of the missions of the kind we have seen now, robotic and on the moon, with a view to a human base being established there, and possibly also mining the mineral resources of the moon to bring them back to earth. that's a very distant prospect but it's in their mind. back to earth. that's a very distant prospect but it's in their mindm begs many questions that we don't have time for now. but david, thank you for your analysis. shares in the clothes retailer next, have risen after it reported better than expected sales in the christmas period. they were up 1.5% overall with, in particular, a sharp rise in online sales. it's prompted next‘s chief executive to describe the general health of the consumer economy as, "not bad at all". our business corresondent emma simpson reports. the celebrations are over. a new

year and the celebrations are over. a new yearand time the celebrations are over. a new year and time for the celebrations are over. a new yearand time fora the celebrations are over. a new year and time for a fresh start. retailers are also taking stock and starting to produce their all—important starting to produce their all—importa nt christmas trading updates. first up, next. although sales at its shops were down 9%, this was more than made up by online sales which were up by 15%. but next did trim how much it expected to make in annual profits.|j did trim how much it expected to make in annual profits. i think this is a pretty resilient performance from next will stop its managing the shift online well and i'm sure it's picking up competitors' sales because it's so efficient online. it's managed its margins really well, and its profit, because it hasn't been slashing prices like the rest of the high street. what does this tell us about how christmas went for the rest of the high street? i think we will see a mixed performance across other retailers. some will do very well and some will fall well below that standard. like other retailers, november was a bit

ofa other retailers, november was a bit of a wash—out for next but christmas was saved by strong sales in the last few weeks of december. according to its boss, brexit uncertainty is making consumers a little bit more cautious, but he says we are still spending. at this retail park in nottingham we asked shoppers if they had spent more this year? more. i think shoppers if they had spent more this year? more. ithink every shoppers if they had spent more this year? more. i think every year i spend more and more. as i get older and older. i thought, spend more and more. as i get older and older. ithought, it's spend more and more. as i get older and older. i thought, it's christmas and older. i thought, it's christmas and my kids deserve more. i've just bought what they wanted. probably more, to be fair. a hell of a lot more, to be fair. a hell of a lot more than stop and i have a baby now, so more than stop and i have a baby now, so more more than stop and i have a baby now, so more is her. many retailers have had to offer huge discounts to get us to part with our cash, but at what cost to their profits? there won't be much to celebrate this christmas for retail after one of its most challenging years. we will know how other household names have fared in the coming days. emma

simpson, bbc news. meanwhile, apple's share price has suffered a fall, after the technology giant warned investors its latest sales figures will be lower than expected. the company's chief executive tim cook blamed a sharper than expected slowdown in china, and customers not upgrading iphones as quickly as before. our technology correspondent rory cellanjones is here... tell us more first about what apple have said and the significance of this sales warning? it's very unusual for apple to say anything about its finances between its quarterly results. so this letter from tim cook to investors last night was a bombshell, really. apple had in place a prediction for this quarter of revenues of $89 billion. that was already seen as quite cautious with people worried it was lower than they had hoped for. but last night he cut that by $5 billion to 84 billion. so that

caused a shock to investors. he put a lot of the blame down to what is happening in china. he talked about a slowing economy in china, making people more reluctant to spend. significantly, he also mentioned trade tensions between china and the united states and the prospect of a tariff war. that's where he put a lot of the blame. is there a wider problem affecting sales other than china? i think so. the iphone has for yea rs china? i think so. the iphone has for years been the bedrock of the company under the most extraordinarily profitable product for which they have been able to charge extraordinary prices. but there are signs that is beginning to wear a bit thin with consumers will stop looking at the latest price for latest model, the iphone that starts at £999, and going up from there. even the bargain basement product, which is supposed to be entry—level,

the, still £749. there is a sign that customers like the products, but they look at these phones and think, are they that much better? is it worth spending on upgrading? they have been more cautious and it is dangerous for apple. rory, thank you. the environment secretary, michael gove, has told farmers that theresa may's brexit deal will provide certainty for them if it's approved by mps. speaking at the oxford farming conference, he admitted the agreement wasn't perfect but said leaving without a deal would cause farmers "considerable turbulence". the national farmers union is calling for a new law to ensure there is no lowering of food standards after brexit. phil mackie reports. farmers face uncertainty over brexit, just like everyone else. they worry about who will pick the crops and work machinery if there are tougher immigration rules. and they fear cheap imports could undercut british goods and mean poorer quality food on supermarket

shelves. this is what it's all about, the best of british produce grown and raised to the very highest standards. michael gove today told farmers that there would be opportunities once britain has left the eu, but he also warned of the dangers if we leave in less than three months without a deal. the turbulence that would be generated by our departure without a deal would be considerable. nobody can beat blyth or blase about the real impact on the food producers in this country of leaving without a deal. that's one of the reasons i hope my collea g u es that's one of the reasons i hope my colleagues in parliament to support the prime minister prospect deal. it isn't perfect but we should never make the perfect the enemy of the good. the nationalfarmers union fears disruption and delays at border is if a deal is not reached and has urged the government to do more to ensure stability. consumer groups fill shortages and price hikes, especially on imported foods. exporters are worried their goods will not make it to their markets. exporters are worried their goods will not make it to their marketslj

think will not make it to their markets.” think there are 11,000 trucks that come into dover every single day with just food and drink. so come into dover every single day withjust food and drink. so it come into dover every single day with just food and drink. so it is a critical route and we need to make sure that we agree this in an orderly manner otherwise it will lead to friction and challenges in getting food across here. we saw it last year in the snow. it doesn't ta ke last year in the snow. it doesn't take much to take food off the shelves and it creates absolute meltdown. the government has announced a pilot scheme to allow 7000 seasonal agricultural workers to continue to come here after brexit but says in the long term farmers must adapt and use new technology. i am a dairy farm in the south—east of scotland and milking cows using robots, as we have done for a number of years. cows using robots, as we have done fora number of years. going forward , fora number of years. going forward, for productivity and efficiency in agriculture, it will be imperative that we have access to and utilise technology to the best of our abilities. for years we have enjoyed the best produce from around the world at relatively cheap prices. whether that will be the case in april may depend on the deal thatis

case in april may depend on the deal that is done. phil mackie, bbc news, oxford. two men have been arrested on suspicion of arranging the "illegal movement of migrants" across the english channel. more than 200 people have reached the uk in small boats since november. the national crime agency said the 33 year old iranian and 24 year old briton were held in salford yesterday. hospitals in england seem to have coped better with winter this year, as figures released by the nhs suggest. data released for the festive period show fewer a&e closures than last year. ambulance delays were also down but in the past two weeks 3,500 ambulance patients were left waiting for at least an hour before being seen by hospital staff. our health correspondent nick triggle is here tell us more then about what these latest figures show. this is normally the time of year that winter pressures start to bite. last january, routine operations we re last january, routine operations were cancelled en masse and we heard reports of patients stuck waiting in hospital corridors. that's not

happening on the scale it was last year forced instead to the figures published today show that on many measures the nhs is doing better thanit measures the nhs is doing better than it did last christmas. over the last two weeks there were 32 a&e diversions, where ambulances are re—routed to other hospitals because of overcrowding to stop that co m pa res to of overcrowding to stop that compares to 45 in the last festive period. the number of times that ambulance staff faced delays handing over patients to a&e staff have also reduced by about a third. the 3500 patients you mentioned that weighted more than an hour represents less than 2% of patients. add in those who wait between 30 and 60 minutes and its 11% of patients waiting with and its 11% of patients waiting with a long delay. it's not great but not as bad as many expected. however, senior doctors i spoke to today are warning that things could deteriorate if there is a cold snap, or if flu levels start to rise. if you'd like more information

on how the nhs is performing in your area, you can find out more online at bbc.co.uk/nhstracker. the time is 16 minutes past one. our top story this lunchtime... and coming up... china land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon and transmits images never side of the moon and transmits images never seen side of the moon and transmits images never seen before. could tonight's match between manchester city and liverpool become the decisive moment in the premier league? england announce her elite player squad, including women who are going to make the first ever rugby squad. there's continuing deadlock in washington, after president trump and congressional leaders failed to reach agreement on ending the partial shutdown of the us government.

the democrats have promised to put forward proposals to end the dispute when they take control of the house of representatives later today. mr trump is showing no sign of backing down from his demand for 5 billion dollars to build a wall along the us mexico border. laura trevelyan reports form washington. nearly two weeks into the partial us government shut down and here's the scene in washington, dc. iconic monuments are closed, some federal workers are home without a pay cheque. now democrats are taking control of the house of representatives, but the president is warning the government won't reopen unless he gets money for his border wall. could be a long time and it could be quickly. could be a long time. it's too important a subject to walk away from. president trump has demanded $5 billion to build a wall along the us border with mexico. and he hosted democrats at the white house on tuesday

for a briefing on border security to underline how important it is that he gets the money. afterwards democrats said they are going to introduce bills to reopen the government, trying to call the president's bluff. we're asking the president to open up government. we are giving him a republican path to do that. why would he not do it? congresswoman nancy pelosi, the incoming leader of the house of representatives, has little incentive to make a deal with the president, especially after he made this declaration last month. i am proud to shut down the government for border security. nancy pelosi and president trump are now the faces of divided government in washington. their relationship is key to ending this government shutdown and to whether anything is achieved here ahead of the 2020 presidential election. gentlelady from california, nancy pelosi. nancy pelosi was the first—ever female speaker of the house of representatives back in 2007 and she's a highly experienced political operator who learned machine politics at her father's knee when he was mayor of baltimore.

well connected in democratic circles, she even met presidentjohn f kennedy at an early age. although she wasn't elected to congress until the age of 47, this prolific fundraiser has deep roots on capitol hill. she just saw off a leadership challenge from democrats eager for a new generation. the question now is who blinks first over the government shut down and which side feels they have most to lose by prolonging it. laura trevelyan, bbc news, washington. and laura joins us from washington now. a big change in how america's congress looks, laura, and given the democrat control, is this being seen as a turning point for the trump administration? or things as usual? absolutely, a turning point, remember the first two years the trump administration really operated without much

oversight from congress. but now democrats are going to be in control of the house of representatives they have the power to initiate legislation and they also have the crucial control of committees and the power to call persons and papers in proceed of their oversight role. that means democrats could investigate everything from that controversial policy of separating families at the us border to the finances of the trump organisation. they've indicated they will look at whether there was money—laundering in the trump organisation and also critically, when the special counsel robert moller delivers his final report, if there is something in the report, if there is something in the report, remember it that is investigating links between the trump campaign and russia, there's something in their democrats team is impeachable, they could move to start to impeach the president in the house of representatives. that's a lot of ifs, no one knows what is going to happen in washington in this era of divided government but potentially this is quite a perilous

moment for the president of the first order of business of course is can be and this government shut down and both the president and democrats so farare digging and both the president and democrats so far are digging in and one final note, this is the most fibrous congress that has ever been elected in american history. democrats are saying they did not elect a diverse congress to build about what with mexico and the message is clear but the president is saying i was elected to build the ball. we will see why it goes. thank you. a court in saudi arabia has begun the trial of eleven people allegedly involved in the murder of the journalist, jamal khashoggi. the killing sparked outrage around the world, and it led to unprecedented western criticism of the kingdom. prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty for five of the men. our security correspondent frank gardner is here. the eyes of the world will be on this trial, frank, with many asking, is this where we find out the truth? yes, i'm not sure we will come of

the saudi version of events is very different from the turkish version of events. a crime took place in istanbul turkey, the 2nd of october, turkey has asked for the extradition of people they believe was involved in this. saudi trials are notoriously opaque, they'd been heavily criticised by human rights organisations by a lack of transparency, in this particular case, the saudis i think are trying very carefully to play everything according to the letter. they have shown the indictment to the defendants, they had lawyers with them at the hearing today, the defendants asked for more time to study the indictment against them. these are very serious trials, these are very specific punishments in saudi arabia for armed robbery, murder, rape and the like. the prosecution is asking for the death penalty for five of them, one person we will not see is the crown prince

from whose inner circle, allegedly, this plot was hatched. the saudis have denied any involvement by him or the royals in this. thank you. it's being reported that north korea's ambassador to italy has gone into hiding with his wife. they're reported to be seeking asylum there. italy's foreign ministry said it had no record of such a request. laura bicker is in seoulfor us. laura this news comes from south korea what exactly is being reported. what do we know? and matthew was last seen leaving the ambassadors residence in rome in november with his wife. officials in seoul south korea said he hasn't been heard of or seen since. it comes amid unconfirmed reports he was asking wrong protection from the italian birdies to try and seek asylum in a third country. when it comes to defectors seeking asylum, north korea takes a very dim view. in fact

to pyongyang in the past has accused defectors of being traitors to the country and to its people and those who have managed to safely leave the secretive state have told us that the consequences for family members left behind can be severe. we understand that jo left behind can be severe. we understand thatjo song—gil may not have simply just understand thatjo song—gil may not have simplyjust been an ambassador. according to the last diplomat to defect, who was the deputy ambassador to london, he says he worked alongsidejo ambassador to london, he says he worked alongside jo song—gil and that he was responsible for trying to get luxury goods to north korea and he claims, that to may have some knowledge of north korea's new gear plans. as you can imagine this is the kind of intelligence that the united states may well want to get hold of. but where are his heat right now? we are not exact issue and we may never find out what has

happened to jo song—gil and and we may never find out what has happened tojo song—gil and his family until the country that he is in has determined he is safe. laura, thank you. the scale of the dramatic collapse of the indonesian volcano that led to a devastating tsunami is becoming clear as new satelite photographs have been released showing the aftermath. these pictures taken a week after the disaster show how a new bay has formed where the volcano slipped into the sea in a colossal landslide. while this photo, taken a week before the explosion, shows how the volcano used to look, still intact. the amount of electricity we're using is at its lowest level since the 19805 thanks in large part to the humble low energy lightbulb and modern energy saving appliances. according to research by environmental analysts, new product standards which force manufacturers to use less electricity in their goods have proved more important in tackling carbon emissions than wind and solar power. our environment analyst roger harrabin reports. install low energy lighting and you make a negligible effect on cutting carbon emissions

at overheating the planet. butjoin with millions of others to change your light bulbs and with a collective twist of the wrist you're making a small but significant dent in the uk's demand for energy. the same can be said for new appliances like washing machines, dishwashers and tumble dryers. all forced by eu product standards to do the same job whilst using less power and creating fewer carbon emissions. even sucking up the dust from your carpet uses much less energy than before if you've got a new vacuum cleaner. that's thanks to efficiency standards. before the product standards were introduced there was a lot of fear mongering about how we would have dirtier homes and weaker hoovers and other appliances but what actually happened, because of design innovations, we have cleaner homes and the energy use has reduced

as expected, saving us money. product standards for cleaners is a cinderella subject. it's glamorous wind and solar power that grab all the headlines. today's report shows last year they generated a third of the uk's electricity, that's a record. but the report says efficiency measures, coupled with other factors, have contributed slightly more than renewables to cutting carbon emissions. the regulation on efficiency standards for appliances has a huge impact, you know, if you replace your current fridge with a modern a++ rated one you could save half the energy that uses quite easily. and so i think what those standards have done is let each of us do our own little bit which altogether has added up to a huge impact. of course improving electrical efficiency won't on its own solve the massive issue of climate change, that will need sweeping changes right across society. but it seems for today at least, humble energy efficiency can take its place in the sun. roger harrigan, bbc news.

almost nine years after being abandoned in the indian ocean, a yacht belonging to a teenage round the world sailor has turned up off southern australia. abby sunderland was 16 when she attempted to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe but a storm brought down her boat's rigging and she had to be rescued more than 2,000 miles off the coast of africa. premier league leaders liverpool are preparing to take on reigning champions manchester city tonight in what could be the decisive game of the season. ifjurgen klopp's side win they'll open up a nine—point gap at the top of the table. manchester city have failed to win any of their last four meetings with liverpool. joe lynskey has been looking ahead to tonight's game. in great tidal rivalries there are matches that turn the course of the season. the end of 2018 saw liverpool grasp control, tonight they go to manchester city, trying to pull away at the top. these are moderate managers with their own kind of mind games, the build—up to

one of the premier league's rate matches has seen them come into each other. we have to be full of desire, angry again, all that stuff liking of the other games, we have to be that but with the knowledge that the opponent is for me still, the best in the world, that is it. they are the best team in europe in the way they play, consistency, with a control, the details of the game. it is great to play these kind of games, it is when i am more can and relaxed, i know the players are going to try and do the best performance they can do. but this city team have twitched and stuttered through december, they we re stuttered through december, they were defeated by crystal palace and leicester, liverpool surged through the winter, proving to be spectacular. eight straight wins, 23 goals, this club have waited 29 yea rs goals, this club have waited 29 years for a title, it's never straightforward. we have been in this position for a long time, for

them, is at another stepping stone towards the title? the manchester city, if they win the game it's blown wide open again. if they go ten points clear, i don't see them dropping that many points and i think they will control the league from there. after tonight, still 17 games to go but two of football is great inventors knows what momentum can create. these are the matches that can change the mood. and perhaps the direction of the season's trophy. good luck to both. time for the weather with darren bent. not good luck to both. good luck to one of them. last night, was the coldest it wasn't aberdeenshire so far this winter. colder air across other parts of europe.