this is bbc news with the latest headlines: scottish officials say a libyan man suspected of making the bomb that destroyed pan am flight 103 over the town of lockerbie in 1988, is in us custody. a nursing union leader says a planned strike by nurses could be called off, if the health secretary negotiates "seriously" over pay. the one day of action that nurses are going to take on thursday hasn't created the 7.2 million people sitting on our waiting lists. the job of union leaders is to negotiate on behalf of their members, they do an incredibly important — members, they do an incredibly importantjob, but they members, they do an incredibly important job, but they negotiate with their— important job, but they negotiate with their employers. in this instance. _ with their employers. in this instance, the employer is the nhs. authorities in jersey say they are no longer looking for survivors after a explosion that

destroyed a block of flats yesterday. the us space agency nasa is all set to bring home its orion capsule which will splashdown in the pacific ocean — it could deterime if its ready to take astronauts back to the moon later this decade. england's footballers are on their way home after their 2—1 world cup quarter—final defeat against france in qatar. some breaking news in the last hour, the us department ofjustice says a man accused of making the bomb which destroyed pan am flight 103 over lockerbie will soon make his first appearance at a federal court in washington dc. the bombing attack in december 1988 killed 270 people.

bbc scotland's home affairs correspondent david cowan reports. 0n the 32nd anniversary of the lockerbie bombing in 2020, the outgoing us general attorney william barr, announced the charges against abu agila masud. the americans said that masud had confessed to making the bomb, which was smuggled onto a plane in malta, then transferred onto another plane in frankfurt and then ultimately transferred onto pan am 103 at heathrow. it took off and then exploded in the skies over lockerbie in scotland, killing everybody on board, all 259 passengers, passengers and crew, and another 11 people on the ground in lockerbie when the wreckage fell into their homes. the americans allege that masud had made the bomb, only one person has ever been convicted of actually carrying out this operation. that was abdelbaset al—megrahi, who was convicted after standing trial to scottish court in the netherlands. he was jailed for life, but released on compassionate

grounds by the scottish government in 2009 and died in libya in 2012. but the americans and the scots always said others were involved. they're saying that masud was one of the people involved in that operation and they've been pursuing him now for a number of years. he was serving a prison sentence, a ten year prison sentence, for for bombing activities against people who were rising up against colonel gaddafi. last month, the american ambassador to libya, met richard norland, met senior officials from the governments of national unity in tripoli. that was on november the 8th. then on the 21st of november, masud's family reported that he'd been kidnapped in tripoli by armed men. they suggested that the government of national unity might be planning to extradite him to the united states. there was something of a backlash to that possibility in libya. there were people from thejustice ministry and also from human

rights officials were saying that the case shouldn't be over and shouldn't be reopened. libya had accepted responsibility and paid a huge amount of compensation back in 2003. they were saying effectively it had been dealt with. but the americans and scots, of course, have always felt that it hadn't been finished. and today we've had a statement from the crown 0ffice, the prosecution service in scotland, saying that the families of those killed in the lockerbie bombing have been told that abu agila masud is in us custody. scottish prosecutors and police working with uk governments and us colleagues will continue to pursue this investigation, they say, with the sole aim of bringing those who acted along with abdelbaset al—megrahi to justice. the government has said it can't agree to a call by the nursing unions to negotiate with them directly over their 19% pay claim. the royal college of nursing has offered to pause its planned strikes in england — which are due to begin with a walk—out on thursday , in return for direct

negotiations with ministers. the foreign secretary james cleverly said the government wanted to resolve the issue — but it was for the nhs employers to negotiate with the unions. 0ur political correspondent helen catt reports. nurses in england, wales and northern ireland are due to walk out twice this month. the strikes will cause disruption as only care for life—threatening cases has to be provided by law. the royal college of nursing says it is prepared to pause the action if the health secretary will agree to talks on pay. nurses aren't greedy people, they definitely are not, but a nurse £27,000 a year living in central london needs to be able to feed her children, be able to send them to school, look after them in creches so they can go to work and pay their travel to go to work and also pay their utility bills. the government has said it has had talks with the rcn on making the nhs a better place to work, but on pay it won't go there. the independent review body has made a recommendation, the government has accepted it fully, and that of course means there will _ be a significant increase in pay, particularly for nurses at the start of their careers on lower salaries,

and we recognise how tough it is for everybody. medical professionals included. we have to make sure we do this in a sustainable way. the average pay rise given to nhs staff this year was 4.75%, with the lowest paid guaranteed at least £1400. but nurses say years of below inflation pay rises have left them in a difficult position and are calling for a rise of 5% above the rpi rate of inflation, which would currently work out at 19%. labour insist it is the government's fault if the strikes go ahead but wouldn't promise a rise on that scale. i'm not going to make promises i can't keep, plucking things out of thin air, but i would be prepared to negotiate if we were in government today, and i think that's the least we could expect. mr streeting has had his own run—in with a health union, the bma, which accused him of attacking it in the sunday telegraph this morning. he has claimed the doctor's' union treated him like a heretic for saying there should be better standards for patients. all sides say they don't want

the nurses�* walk—outs to go ahead but without the government agreeing to talk about pay they will be on the picket lines come thursday. this is of course just one of many strikes this month as the country faces a significantly disrupted december. helen catt, bbc news. and helen is with me now. is there any likelihood, at all, that this meeting might go ahead and tap on? i that this meeting might go ahead and ta on? ~ , ., ., , ., tap on? i think it is notable that the foreign _ tap on? i think it is notable that the foreign secretary _ tap on? i think it is notable that the foreign secretary didn't - tap on? i think it is notable that. the foreign secretary didn't quite go as completely ruling it out and the government source i have been speaking to did say that the health secretary's story is still open. —— his door is still open. it wouldn't be that surprising if we were dizzy meetings. the key thing is, will those meetings involve talking about pay? that seems to be the red line for the rcn. they have made this offer, but they are very clear that it does have to include talking about pay. is there room within

that? they have said that that the position haven't changed, they want the 5% over rpi, about 19%, it is worth remembering that when the rcn started this, rpi was much lower, so we can see how they might be wiggle room in that too. what might be stopping the government from sitting down and doing this, it is worth remembering that the independent pay bodies, notjust nurses but in other sectors too. i think there is wariness for setting a benchmark or precedent whereby if they sit down with the nurses and agree something, then with many other strikes and many other parts of the public sector happening at the moment, what is to stop them from saying what about us? you did it for the nurses. there is also a concern that the chancellor has expressed about this threat of locking in higher inflation for a longer term if there are a lot of larger pay rises. helen, thank you for that analysis.

so it's notjust nurses who are striking this winter — its ambulance workers, railway staff, bus drivers, postal staff, border officials — so does the government need to intervene? kevin rowan is the head of public services at the trades union congress. thank you forjoining us. first of all, can i get your reaction to what the foreign secretary said earlier this morning to the bbc, he said it is not the government's roll to negotiate pay? i is not the government's roll to negotiate pay?— is not the government's roll to negotiate pay? i don't think even james negotiate pay? i don't think even james cleverly — negotiate pay? i don't think even james cleverly believes - negotiate pay? i don't think even james cleverly believes the - james cleverly believes the government have no role to play in this whole thing, these disputes. the fact is that in scotland the government intervened and they don't have any industrial action there, if the government were even to just accept the rcn's offer in unison's offer to have a conversation about pay, the strikes in the health service would be paused. they are choosing not to do that, yet every

year is government that sets a limit on pay, like the public services, this is down to independent pay review bodies. the independent pay review bodies. the independent pay review bodies. the independent pay review bodies are working within the restrictions that i set by the government, so to claim that they have no role or responsibility, it is frankly laughable. just have no role or responsibility, it is frankly laughable.— have no role or responsibility, it is frankly laughable. just want to ut is frankly laughable. just want to put something — is frankly laughable. just want to put something else _ is frankly laughable. just want to put something else to _ is frankly laughable. just want to put something else to you - is frankly laughable. just want to put something else to you that i is frankly laughable. just want to | put something else to you that he said this morning as well, he said it is for the government to be good custodians of the public purse and, as we have just heard, the health secretary has talked about concerns about locking in at this level of inflation, given that it is potentially going to be lower in due course, and so what are your thoughts on that?— course, and so what are your thoughts on that? there is no evidence that _ thoughts on that? there is no evidence that paying - thoughts on that? there is no evidence that paying public. thoughts on that? there is no - evidence that paying public sector workers a fair rate of pay leads to higher inflation. no evidence at all. in fact the government do make political choices about the economy

and about taxation. if the government were to tax profit at the same level at which the tax wages, they would be enough money to give public sector workers a fair pay rise, but they choose not to do that. capital gains tax and share dividends are taxed at a lower rate to income, to wages that people own. it's ironic, but if workers were paid in share dividends, instead of in wages, their income would be increasing three times faster than it is now and they would be paying lower taxes. so there are political choices that the government needs to make. but the first thing they need to do is actually show some well determination and commitment to resolve the dispute, rather than just shrugging their shoulders and saying nothing to do with me. when every body knows it is absolutely down to the government to help these disputes to be resolved. if

down to the government to help these disputes to be resolved.— disputes to be resolved. if there is no further movement _ disputes to be resolved. if there is no further movement from - disputes to be resolved. if there is no further movement from the - no further movement from the government on this, and there is no indication that will be the case because they have said the department of health and social care have said that the door remains open for talks, have said that the door remains open fortalks, but have said that the door remains open for talks, but if things don't change, what do you see happening? how long could this strike action continue for? its how long could this strike action continue for?— how long could this strike action continue for? its really regrettable that we have _ continue for? its really regrettable that we have got _ continue for? its really regrettable that we have got to _ continue for? its really regrettable that we have got to this _ continue for? its really regrettable that we have got to this stage - continue for? its really regrettable i that we have got to this stage where health workers and other workers across the economy feel like the only action they can take to bring the government to the table is to take industrial action. i think the public see who is responsible for prolonging those disputes and i hope the public support public sector workers in taking action this week and the weeks to come and get behind them and challenge the government. thank you for taking the time to speak to us today, kevin.- thank you for taking the time to speak to us today, kevin.

a world first — a teenage girl's incurable cancer has been cleared from her body using a revolutionary new type of medicine. all other treatments for alyssa's leukaemia had failed. the ground—breaking treatment is known as �*base editing' — it involves making genetic changes to donor cells, enabling them to attack her cancer. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh reports. iwon! no you didn't! yes, idid. i didn't feel like i wanted to give up. it's not the person who i am. no, it don't count. the whole experience brought me so much closer with my family. alyssa is back home in leicester thanks to a pioneering new cancer therapy. all other treatment options for her leukaemia had failed. you breathe in and breathe out. thank you, that's a good one. so in may, she received a world first therapy. it is extremely exciting. so obviously, this is a new field in medicine and it's fascinating that we can redirect the immune system to fight cancer.

and i think that's a revolution in our field. alyssa's immune system couldn't clear her cancer, so she was given donor cells, which had been tweaked using a new technique called base editing. in the lab, three precise changes were made to the cells dna, and they were then armed to fight her cancer. base editing is part of a genetic revolution, which is transforming our understanding of human biology. it is an incredibly precise tool with huge potential to treat and possibly cure a range of diseases, especially disorders of the blood. ten children with t—cell leukaemia will have the treatment as part of a clinical trial. it's a very fast moving area of science. there's enormous amounts of innovation going on in terms of how we can use these new tools to manipulate and change bits of dna. and our applications

are to cure diseases. and i think there's enormous potential to do that across the board. # home grown alligator # see you later # going to hit the road #. alyssa is still receiving drugs to help herfight infection and she'll have regular hospital checks. for now, cancer is undetectable in her blood. last year, we were sort of dreading christmas because we thought maybe this is our... ..last christmas with her. to have had this extra year, even to have this last three months where she's been well and she's been at home and she's been doing what she's wanted, has been... that's like a gift in itself. you must be so proud of her. yeah, without a doubt. when you see what she's gone through and the sort of vitality for life that she's brought to every situation, it's astounding. it's really is amazing. and you're the first person

in the world to have this treatment. how does that feel? it'sjust, it's amazing that i've been able to have this opportunity. i'm very thankful for it because this has given me another chance. and also it's going to help other children as well in the future. so look at all these beads. every one of these beads represents a procedure alyssa has undergone, including two bone marrow transplants since she was diagnosed with t—cell leukaemia, a collection she's hoping to put away for good. one more, when you're having your line out, doesn't want any more surgery. fergus walsh, bbc news. rescuers searching the scene of an explosion injersey in which at least three people died have said they no longer expect to find anyone else alive. specialist teams who spent the night combing the wreckage in st helier said their mission was now

a "recovery operation". there are reports the authorities had been warned of a gas leak the day before. 0ur correspondent danjohnson is on the island says more details about events prior to the explosion are being confirmed. those reports of a fire service attendance at this block of flats on friday have been confirmed by the authorities here on the island, that residents smelled gas, were concerned, called the emergency services and the fire crew did attend that building at about 8:30pm on friday night. now, they've not given any more detail of exactly what checks took place, what action occurred, but the fire crew left that building, presumably declared it safe. no further action was taken, as far as we know. but then, the next morning at 4:00am, there was this huge explosion which completely destroyed that block of six flats, a three storey block of flats, which was completely reduced to rubble. and that is where the search and rescue operation was concluded overnight.

there were frantic efforts yesterday to try to save people, but the rescue teams, some of them brought here to the island from england, search dogs and equipment that's been brought in to assist with that search, they decided overnight that they weren't going to find anybody else alive, and that's why this has now moved into a recovery phase of the operation. well, there was a press conference given here this morning by the chief fire officer for the island and the island's chief of police. here's what he had to say. it is a time to just think briefly about the families. we have deployed family liaison officers to those families. but it's vitally important that we are sensitive to their thoughts, considerations, emotions, as we now begin what is going to be a meticulous and painstaking search of the debris left following the explosion. so, in terms of the forward look, we have now very specialist staff not only in state ofjersey police, but also supported by

colleagues in the uk, to start carefully identifying bodies when and if we find them. that will take time. so the authority said there were about a dozen people who are unaccounted for. they've recovered three bodies already. the hope is that the death toll won't reach that high, that those people may be accounted for in other ways. but the fear has got to be that as this search continues, through the rubble, it will be further bodies that are recovered now the chief of police was warning the families of those missing that the chief of police was warning the families of those missing that that recovery and identification work needs to be done carefully, delicately, with dignity and that may mean that it takes perhaps weeks, not days, to actually recover all the bodies from this explosion. on top of that, there is now an investigation into exactly what caused this explosion. the theory, the most likely cause, seems to be a gas explosion of some

sort at 4:00am yesterday morning. but then also into the background, what was the nature of that call out on friday night? what action did the fire service and the gas company here take? could this potentially have been prevented? england's footballers are on their way home after their 2—1 world cup quarter—final defeat against france in qatar. their captain, harry kane, said it had been a tough defeat to take. england's manager gareth southgate insisted that there was a lot to be excited for in future — but said he hadn't decided whether he will see out the remaining two years of his contract. our sports editor dan roan reports from doha. out of the tournament they believed they could win, england's dejected players left their hotel earlier

than they had hoped this morning. the journey home accompanied by all—too—familiar thoughts of what might have been. it was never going to be easy. france showing why they are world champions as they took the lead. england are made of more stern stuff these days and when the brazilian referee finally found in their favour, harry kane took his chance to equalise. kane scores for england. his team were now on top, but having gone so close to taking the lead, it was france who did so. giroud's deflected header decisive. england needed to dig deep and with time running out this foul on mason mount presented a chance to rescue themselves, or so they thought. this would have put kane clear as england's record goal—scorer and almost certainly take on this epic into extra time, but instead, the cruellest of twists. he's missed it. the shell—shocked england left to rue another missed opportunity. we played well and created chances, we just didn't have the lock. the referee didn't help us. the ball didn't bounce our way. of course, they missed a penalty from harry, which will haunt him for the rest of his life, unfortunately.

we can be proud of our achievements, it just wasn't to be on the night. amid the pain of defeat, england's 56 year long wait for major silverware continues. the manager who has breathed new life into the side now considering his future. these tournaments take a lot out of you and i need time to reflect, and we have done that after every tournament and i believe it is the right thing to do. so it is france who will play surprise semifinalist morocco this week as they bid to become the first team for 60 years to retain the title. england are undoubtedly a growing force in the game but leave town amid a sense of a missed opportunity. that report from our sports editor in doha. 0ur sports editor dan roan reporting. nasa's 0rion space capsule is due to return to earth in just a few hours time, ending a three week test mission around the moon. the unmanned capsule will splash down in the pacific ocean — off the coast of california. if it goes smoothly, engineers could determine that its ready to take astronauts back to moon later this decade.

for more on this — i'm joined by our science editor, rebecca morelle. this return to earth, this is a critical part of the mission? yes, there are to _ critical part of the mission? yes, there are to make _ critical part of the mission? yes, there are to make really - critical part of the mission? yes there are to make really dangerous part of the mission, getting up into space, that took place on 26 days ago on the most powerful rocket nasa has ever built, then the spacecraft has ever built, then the spacecraft has been in his long journey around the moon, the really perilous part after taking us is coming back down to earth, because a spacecraft is travelling at 25,000 miles an hour as it enters the earth's atmosphere. as it comes into it it is going to get incredibly hot, temperatures will reach 3000 celsius, which is half as hot as the surface of the sun. so really hot. the spacecraft has to go in exactly the right speed and the exact right angle to break through the atmosphere, if it doesn't it might buy a once off into space, or it could burn up, both of those are not good thing. but once it comes to the atmosphere it would have slowed down to about 350 miles

an hour and then it opens up 11 parachutes in a different sequence to splash down in the pacific ocean. a lot that needs to go right with this, there are no people on board, so it's not quite as risky as if you have astronauts inside, but they want to show that this spacecraft works and it has been a success. if works and it has been a success. if it is a success, is it then straight forward process ofjust doing the same thing but crude, or is there another step quite like what happens next? , , ., ., , , ., ., next? they will be analysing all of this data from _ next? they will be analysing all of this data from the _ next? they will be analysing all of this data from the 26 _ next? they will be analysing all of this data from the 26 day - next? they will be analysing all of| this data from the 26 day mission, there are also two things they want to assess, they have manikins inside the capsule, they are assessing how much radiation the manikins were hit by, the vibrations coming through the earth's atmosphere. the plan is, for the next step, to get astronauts on board. the next artemis mission will see astronaut going into orbit around the moon and then the third artemis mission will actually see astronauts landing on the moon. first time in 50 years. in a perfect

bit of symmetry it is actually the 50th anniversary of the last apollo mission today, the last moon landing for the apollo landing. it is a long gap, nasa says they want to go back and this is the first step in doing so. , , , , , ,., so. just tell us why is it so significant. _ so. just tell us why is it so significant, of _ so. just tell us why is it so significant, of course - so. just tell us why is it so significant, of course it. so. just tell us why is it so significant, of course it is| significant, of course it is exciting to get people back on the moon, but, in terms of why it is scientifically beneficial, just explain a bit about that? what is different about _ explain a bit about that? what is different about this _ explain a bit about that? what is different about this mission - explain a bit about that? what is different about this mission to i explain a bit about that? what is. different about this mission to the apollo missions, this is more than just about fleeting missions to the moon, showing we can get people down onto the surface, it is about building a permanent base therefore exploration, having astronauts live and work there. there is still loads of science that needs to be done on the moon, understanding mineral resources, but really it is about looking to explore a bit further. we have an eye on getting to mars, perhaps, but you need to test the technology post on the moon is the perfect place to do that. this is really the first step in this big idea of exploring and getting humans

even further. the first stage is to get this spacecraft safely back down to our planet and that is happening later. . , , , to our planet and that is happening later. ., , , , ., ., ,, as the temperatures in the uk drop, mountain rescue teams are bracing themselves for a busy few months. volunteers in cumbria, in north west england, say around 30% of rescue call—outs are avoidable. it comes as the lake district's fell top assessors have restarted their work. every day in winter they walk to the top of helvellyn mountain to provide data about the conditions — warnings which many walkers disregard. jonathan swingler reports. the hills are definitely a lot busier and we are seeing a lot more things that make us wince. seeing something on social media does not necessarily give a whole picture of what it is like to get to that place, what the conditions could be like when they get

there and what could happen if it actually goes wrong. every day from now until easter, the fell top assessors head up helvellyn. we're not fell top policeman, but we are providing information to give people information to keep them safe on the fells. it is very deceptive as well, when we set off today from the car park, you can see the tops of the hills, you could see there quite clearly, then we come up here and you look around here, the cloud is very low and the summits themselves are all in the clouds. unfortunately, 2021 was a record—breaking year. the mountain rescue teams were called out almost 700 times. i think it's going to get worse before it gets better. i think we will have more callouts before we can get the education message out there completely. approximately 30% of our callouts could be avoidable. we are encouraging people to plan theirjourneys ahead. we do see people scrabbling around on steep icy slopes, without grapples and ice axes. there is a steep slope and then a 200—foot cliff at the bottom,

and they're just not... that lack of imagination, about what could happen if things went wrong. we see it all the time. you know, i followed a couple along striding edge in full winter conditions and they were injeans and trainers. a day like this is going to be pretty slick, sort of damp atmosphere. even on christmas day, you will find a fell top assessor making the journey up here. they take vital measurements to give us an idea of what to expect. 0n clear days, at over 3000 feet, they can capture some of these stunning views. i'm notjust going to get my camera out anywhere to take a photo, because i'm looking down a lot, i know places where i can get my camera out and do that safely without risk of falling off. last christmas was described as absolutely chaotic by the mountain rescue teams. know when to turn back. the hill will always be here for another day. if you get into conditions

you're not comfortable with, always turn back. now it's time for a look at the weather with daren bett. that is a beatles picture behind you. we have seen some snow today, that picture was taken in wiltshire early on and this is the radar pictures showing the snow in white that is falling, wintry showers in northern scotland, one or two for northern ireland. this bit of snow is still around across the midlands and we have some snow across hampshire, heading into sussex and kent and across some parts of cambridge are below freezing. colder end to the day and will get cold overnight. we could see some snow developing. main focus of that will be across the parts, perhaps into east anglia, 2—5 centimetres later, some travel disruption, some fog around over

night. it will be frosty, will be very cold, particularly cold in north—east scotland where temperatures could be as low as —13, the coldest we will have seen this year. sunny across most of scotland and dry, similar story for northern ireland, some sunshine tomorrow across england and wales, but that misty low cloud and fog still affecting the south—east for a while and transferring up into the midlands, where they could be still one or two flurries of snow, otherwise most places will be dry, but again, very cold.