welcome to bbc news. i'm anjana gadgil. our top stories: chaos and confusion — the us house of representatives fails to elect a speaker in its opening session, for the first time in a century. plans to restrict travellers from china to europe after a surge in covid cases — beijing threatens to retaliate. the tragedy of a british schoolgirl groomed for extremism — questions are raised over how the security services dealt with her case. and the fans say goodbye — tens of thousands line the streets for the funeral of brazilian football legend, pele.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the first sitting of the new us house of representatives has been full of drama. three attempts to elect republican kevin mccarthy as speaker of the house have failed. he hasn't been able to secure enough support from his own party — a group of right—wing republicans have refused to back him, and the california congressman has refused to drop out of the race. it's the first time in 1000 years that a speaker hasn't been elected in the opening round of voting. 0ur correspondent in washington, will grant, explains the significance of the stalemate. of this is not the way that kevin mccarthy or the republicans wanted the first day in congress is a majority to go. not by a long way. by

the third round of voting, as many as 20 republican colleagues did not vote for him, denying him the chance of taking speaker of the house. why does any of this matter? first and foremost because of that role is particularly important in american politics, it is second in line to the presidency. it is hugely influential in terms of the make up of congressional committees, in terms of deciding the legislative agenda of government. secondly, of course, nothing else can be done until this decision is taken. simply the workings of albury government cannot begin. from here, it looks as if they will be further and further rounds. — — ordinary government. 0n the one hand, mccarthy and his supporters they he will not drop out of they he will not drop out of the race, stay until he's made speaker. 0n the other side, the have said they will not back

down either. many of them call themselves never kevin's meaning would have any other candidate rather than him. it could last days potentially. in 1923, the last time there was an event of this kind, it went on for nine rounds. this time it looks to be equally protracted did and better. —— better. we can now speak to republican strategist, jennifer kerns. kevin mccarthy should have been assuming, why is he not able to get across the line? i assuming, why is he not able to get across the line?— get across the line? i predict after these _ get across the line? i predict after these various _ get across the line? i predict after these various rounds, l get across the line? i predict after these various rounds, i | after these various rounds, i predict the one person that remained standing and will become speaker of the house will be kevin mccarthy but you are touching on a point here which i think is critical in american politics. there is a great debate over power and who is going to hold the power of the republican party. i think

thatis the republican party. i think that is part of it but kevin mccarthy has been unfairly brushed with the same paintbrush that mitch mcconnell has been brushed and kevin is paying the price for things that mitch mcconnell did over the holiday season, kevin mccarthy and i have known him for19 mccarthy and i have known him for 19 years, i have weight in and around his officers, dating back to the california state legislature, he is as the 70s as they get. an a+ rating from the nra, americans from tax yvonne, american foundation and so forth. but this is really about and i am so sad to say about and i am so sad to say about my republican party is about my republican party is aboutjockey about my republican party is about jockey for about my republican party is aboutjockey for positions in the us capitol and as of today, some of the younger, newer up—and—coming stars in the party wanted to have that legal caucus, kind of like a january six commission where they can

call witnesses, sue people and subpoena people and kevin mccarthy said no, that is why we have the house oversight committee. it is important for people to understand that is what this is about, it is a personal petty battle of power and i don't think it is kevin mccarthy's font. but to the outside world _ mccarthy's font. but to the outside world looks - mccarthy's font. but to the outside world looks like . mccarthy's font. but to the - outside world looks like chaos. —— fault. hakeem jeffries has called that confusion and chaos and that is what it is, isn't it? , ., ., ., ., it? it is and i do fear that the gop _ it? it is and i do fear that the gop brand _ it? it is and i do fear that the gop brand will- it? it is and i do fear that i the gop brand will suffer for this elected republicans, they wanted them to go to washington and go to work, creating jobs, lowering taxes and getting past covid—19 and getting gas prices down, a number of things and to the outside focus and i focus on swing women suburban voters,

they are saying, what is this? grown adults acting like children. i think that now that kevin mccarthy has this challenge, he has to put this mutiny down and the reason why you cannot be the party of law, and do, you cannot be if you have a mutiny in your caucus. evenif have a mutiny in your caucus. even if it takes all of tonight, or130 even if it takes all of tonight, or 130 round as it did in 19 26, my money is an kevin mccarthy emerging from this battle and from the republicans will have to pick up the pieces and move forward. you will have to pick up the pieces and move forward.— will have to pick up the pieces and move forward. you are still confident in _ and move forward. you are still confident in ever _ and move forward. you are still confident in ever mccarthy, - confident in ever mccarthy, thank you very much for talking to us. the chinese government says that travel restrictions imposed by several countries on chinese arrivals are politically motivated and has warned that it may retaliate. some countries have already introduced their own measures, but an eu—wide decision is expected on wednesday. china adopted a zero—covid strategy with strict restrictions

for most of the pandemic, but abruptly eased them in december. azadeh moshiri reports. china is opening up again, or at least it is trying to. the countries in almost three years of strict covert restrictions, and mostly close borders. covid. now it is scrapping into travel restrictions from the eighth of january. travel restrictions from the eighth ofjanuary. but travel restrictions from the eighth of january. but with an easing of its street covid policy has come a rise in cases and there are fears the chinese government may be under reporting infections as well as deaths. some aspects predict that could already be more than 2 million cases a day. you that could already be more than 2 million cases a day.— 2 million cases a day. you want to limit case — 2 million cases a day. you want to limit case number— 2 million cases a day. you want to limit case number so - 2 million cases a day. you want to limit case number so the - to limit case number so the virus does not get the opportunity to replicate and accumulate these mutations which may result in a variant that can spread more easily or evade immunity. in response,

more than a — evade immunity. in response, more than a dozen _ evade immunity. in response, more than a dozen countries, | more than a dozen countries, such as the united kingdom, the united states and india, are putting up roadblocks. they are demanding mandatory covid testing upon arrival. china is crying fell and wants it will retaliate in kind. translation: we have noticed that health experts in many countries have recently said the coronavirus strains are currently circulating in china had been seenin circulating in china had been seen in other parts of the world before. china always believes the national pandemic prevention as it should be scientific and appropriate and should not be taken as a chance for clinical manipulation. the world health _ for clinical manipulation. the world health organization is urging china to share real—time information and in the meantime, the european union has offered free covid back to help contain the virus, and offer china quickly rejected, as one of the world's duffus

anti— covid regime comes to an end. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news: russia says a ukrainian rocket strike that killed dozens of servicemen was caused by the unauthorised use of mobile phones by russian troops. moscow says eighty nine servicemen were killed in the ukrainian attack on makiivka. the mobile phone signals meant ukraine's military were able to determine the soliders' location. a man charged with the murder of four college students in the us state of idaho has agreed not to fight extradition to the state following his arrest in pennsylvania. bryan kohberger is accused of killing three women and one man in the town of moscow, idaho, on the 13th of november. he was then arrested in pennsylvania. his lawyer said mr kohberger was confident he would be found innocent and would not fight the extradition to idaho, which retains the death penalty. the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange, ftx, sam bankman—fried, has appeared in court in new york and pleaded not guilty

to fraud charges. he's accused of stealing billions of dollars from ftx to prop up another of his businesses, the hedge fund, alameda research. sam bankman—fried was extradited from the bahamas last month and released on bail. the un and the us have joined international criticism of a visit by a new far—right israeli minister to a contested holy site in jerusalem. the compound, that houses the al—aqsa mosque, is a site that's sacred to both muslims and jews. national security minister itamar ben—gvir was seen touring the area with heavy security. it's currently only open to muslim worship but he tweeted that temple mount, as it's known tojews, was open to all. saudi arabia and the uae have accused the israeli politician of storming the site, whilejordan has summoned the israeli ambassador in protest. the us state department urged israel not to change the status quo. we are deeply concerned by any unilateral actions because,

precisely because, they have the potential to exacerbate tensions or worse, and that's why, you know, we can look backto 2000, you know, we can look back to 2000, we can look back to previous instances, it is also why we call for the preservation of the historic status quo. it is a point we have made to our israeli partners, it is a point we have made to them as recently as recent hours. it is a point they have also heard from their arab neighbours, including the hashemite kingdom ofjordan. again, whose special role as custodians ofjerusalem's holy sites, we deeply appreciate. the american football star damar hamlin remains in a critical condition after suffering a cardiac arrest during an nfl game. the buffalo bills player fell to the ground after colliding with an opponent — watched by millions on prime time tv. his injury has highlighted concerns about the safety of the sport. 0ur washington correspondent, gary 0'donoghue,

has been following the story. something no sports fan wants to see — a player rushed off to hospital following a serious injury. it was in the first quarter of the game that damar hamlin made a tackle and was struck in the chest by another player's helmet. after getting up for a moment, he then collapsed, suffering a cardiac arrest. medics then rushed onto the field. other players clearly distressed at what had happened. the game was soon abandoned. fans gathered outside the hospital to express their concern. you feel like you need to do something. and so this is a way ofjust showing that you care. life's more important than a game and people are more important than a game. i hope he's 0k. his mum is here, buffalo is praying for him. and whatever you believe in, like good vibes and positive energy

towards them and hopefully he's 0k. the club have said on social media that the player spent last night in intensive care and was in a critical condition. they praised the outpouring of support they received. it was during the european championships 18 months ago that denmark's star, christian eriksen, collapsed during a game against finland. he suffered a cardiac arrest as well, but wasn't involved in any collision. fellow stars are all too aware that it can happen in any sport. the safety of our of players in all sports is always the most important. so, you know, it was a terrible thing to see. and i wish, you know, nothing but the best for that kid. american football, like other sports, has become much better at monitoring the risks of head injuries and concussion in particular. but doctors say heart injuries are still a risk. football players, they don't start out having head injuries before they start playing. all of those occur during play, and all of all of the players

are at risk for that. the cardiac screening is a little bit of a different situation because you're looking for people that may have relatively rare underlying cardiac conditions. most athletes don't have any underlying heart conditions. damar hamlin�*s family have praised the actions of the paramedics and doctors and have asked everyone to keep the football star in their prayers. gary 0'donoghue, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a ski—lift, a mountain but where's the snow? the record mild temperatures affecting europe's winter sports. the japanese people are in mourning following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. "good grief" — after half a century of delighting fans around the world, charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling it quits. the singer, paul simon, starts his tour of south africa tomorrow _

in spite of protests and violence - from some _ black activist groups. they say international artists should continue to boycott south africa _ until majority rule is established. . around the world people have been paying tribute to the iconic rock star, david bowie, who sold 140 million albums in a career that spanned half a century. his family announced overnight that he died of cancer at the age of 69. the world tallest skyscraper opens later today. the burj dubai has easily overtaken its nearest rivals. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: an extraordinary day in washington as congress fails to elect a house speaker in the first ballot for the first time in 100 years. china says covid restrictions imposed by several countries on chinese travellers

are politically motivated and warns it may retaliate. to brazil now, where thousands of people have lined the streets to say their final farewells to the football legend pele as his funeral procession made its way though the city of santos. 0ur south america correspondent, katy watson, has been watching events. as the wake drew to a close, the last few people queued to see pele's coffin, to say their final goodbyes. pele was a huge soccer player, here in brazil, we love soccer, but he was also a huge human being. he supported a hospital in our city called hospital pequeno principe, he donated a lot of money to research, and that is why we are here today. he is the brazilian most known person around the world. you know, pele is money. how many times i got into places in the the united states

and stuffjust because i was brazilian, just because people knew pele. teofilo was the first in line at the wake yesterday and he was queueing again to say another goodbye. translation: pele united us all. he was humble as well as being the best player in the world. he was a marvellous human being. and then one last high—profile visitor sped through the gates. sing: # 0le ole ole ola, lula, lula!# lula da silva's first presidential event since taking power at the weekend. he was greeted with cheers and chants against him — the country's united in mourning but deeply divided by politics. but when it comes to pele, he is the man who brings people together. the wake ended and the casket began its finaljourney. samba drumming and singing. and then the carnival started.

what better way than samba to celebrate this brazilian legend? samba drumming and singing. this is a day of mourning but it's also one of celebration, too, wanting to send off their king of football, and they're doing it in style. pele's coffin paraded through the city of santos, passing by his mother celeste's house — she turned 100 last year. the finaljourney now complete and what a journey it was, laid to rest in his beloved city of santos. not a block of flats but an acropolis fit for a king. with an enviable view over his old football stadium, pele's final wishes honoured. katy watson, bbc news, in santos. a bbc investigation has raised questions about how the uk deals with children who are involved in extremism.

it found that evidence showing the grooming and sexual exploitation of a schoolgirl was handed to m15 months before she was charged with terror offences. the case against rhianan rudd was later dropped, after the home office concluded she was a victim of exploitation. she took her own life in a children's home last year. daniel de simoni reports. rhianan rudd was the youngest british girl ever prosecuted as a terrorist, although the charges were dropped ultimately. government found that rhianan rudd had been a victim of exploitation. just a lovely girl, she wasn't horrible in any way. this is her mother's first interview. she was just a little different. aged 1a, rhianan became absorbed by right—wing extremism. neo—nazi christopher cook from his home in the us was grooming and sexually exploiting her over the internet. she met him online. we found that cook was also in contact with a then—partner

of rhianan�*s mother. an american who had previously been in a white supremacist gang in the us. the evidence shows he also influenced rhianan. i was checking on her computer because she was spending a lot of time there. her mother became concerned and she contacted the government deradicalisation scheme. she came down and said mum, i have downloaded a pdf. i asked what of and she said how to build a bomb and i went what?! i said you cannot do that. rhianan was barely involved in prevent because within weeks she was arrested. as a formal terrorist suspect, the deradicalisation programme would no longer engage with her. she told police about being exploited. she self—harmed while on bail and put in care. she was then charged with terror offences for allegedly possessing weapon making guides. at that stage defence lawyers became involved and wanted rhianan referred to a specialist unit here

in the home office that considers whether people are victims of trafficking and exploitation under modern slavery laws. the government eventually concluded she was a victim of exploitation. the prosecution was abandoned. they should have seen her as a victim rather than a terrorist. she is a child. an autistic child. she should have been treated as a child that had been groomed and sexually exploited. we found the authorities had been passed evidence of what had happened. an fbi investigation into chris cook had seized images and messages showing rhianan being exploited. the fbi gave it to the securities service, m15, months before rhianan was charged. rhianan took her own life last year in the private children's home where she was placed. they called and i spoke

to the manager and i said there's something wrong, please watch her she is going to do something. the next thing i know i had three police officers standing in my living room telling me that my daughter took her own life. counterterrorist investigations involving children are complex. a child can be a victim of exploitation and a threat to others. the lawyer in charge of reviewing terror laws thinks changes are needed in the approach to some children. you could almost have an injunction as happens with antisocial behaviour which, for example that with antisocial behaviour which, for example, would limit your mobile phone use, that may require you to have monitoring software and that could be done quickly and keep them out of the criminal justice system altogether. there will be an inquest into rhianan�*s death. no date has been set and it could be some time before case is heard. a government spokesman said

that mis a government spokesman said that m15 takes its responsibility to those who may be at risk of harm very seriously and if it learns someone may be at risk it will be passed on to the relevant authorities. 0ther authorities. other organisations we approached with our findings that they cannot comment until the inquest is concluded. temperatures forjanuary have reached an all—time high in a number of nations across europe. records have been broken in poland, the netherlands, the czech republic and several other countries. the mild weather has brought many people out to parks and beaches, but it's not been such good news for ski resorts as tim allman reports. salzburg in january salzburg injanuary is normally a winter wonderland. but this year something is missing. namely, snow. there has not been much of it and what there has been has mostly melted which makes skiing something of a challenge. translation: it is really weird _ a challenge. translation: it is really weird when _ a challenge. translation: it 3 really weird when you ski a challenge. translation: it 2 really weird when you ski down the pipe slope and on the left and right it is green. it is the pipe slope and on the left and right it is green.- and right it is green. it is a

similar story _ and right it is green. it is a similar story in _ and right it is green. it is a similar story in the - and right it is green. it is a similar story in the swiss l and right it is green. it is a i similar story in the swiss alps where high temperatures are taking a toll on seasonal sport. translation: look, the snow is really — sport. translation: look, the snow is really wet. _ sport. translation: look, the snow is really wet. it _ sport. translation: look, the snow is really wet. it is - sport. translation: look, the snow is really wet. it is no - snow is really wet. it is no longer constant it is like in spring. the snow has to bind and that does not work with a lot of water.— lot of water. this is 'ust part of a larger * lot of water. this isjust part of a larger phenomenon - lot of water. this is just part i of a larger phenomenon taking place all over europe. in many places, january, often the coldest of months is currently among the mildest. here in the czech republic it is practically short sleeve weather, a surprise for locals and tourists alike. in weather, a surprise for locals and tourists alike.— and tourists alike. in my country _ and tourists alike. in my country it _ and tourists alike. in my country it is _ and tourists alike. in my country it is freezing - and tourists alike. in my| country it is freezing cold and tourists alike. in my - country it is freezing cold and snowy and that is why i brought a thickjacket because i expected similar, the weather, but apparently this morning it is really warm.— is really warm. unseasonably warm weather _ is really warm. unseasonably warm weather has _ is really warm. unseasonably warm weather has been - is really warm. unseasonably warm weather has been felt i warm weather has been felt across much of the continent. in belarus they saw a record

temperature of 16.1; c, 11.5 degrees higher than the previous record. it was a similar story in poland where it hit 18.9 degrees, four degrees higher than previous record forjanuary. and in the spanish city of bill bell the temperature reached more than 25 degrees, 10 degrees higher than they have ever seen at this time of year. contrast that with what america has been experiencing in recent days, freezing cold temperatures and a blanket of snow with more severe weather on the way. if, as many suggest, this is down to climate change then it seems that that can take many different forms. tim allman, bbc news. a reminder of our top story. the us house of representatives has adjourned in disarray after three failed attempts to elect kevin mccarthy as speaker. the california congressman did not get the required majority after 20 right—wing republicans rebelled. mr mccarthy said he

will stay in the until he wins. he had served as the house minority leader and was expected to become speaker after republicans won a majority in november's mid—term elections. hello there. wednesday morning will be getting off to an exceptionally mild start given we are in earlyjanuary. mild is a feature of the weather through the rest of this week. it will also be windy, and there will be spells of rain because on the satellite picture we can see various weather systems heading in our direction, various areas of cloud moving our way to bring further rain at times. a very mild start to the morning. double digit temperatures first thing in many places, even in the north of scotland, where tuesday was quite cold, wednesday will dawn on a slightly milder note. some outbreaks of rain here, also some rain in the southeast corner. that tending to clear, then it's really a sunshine and showers day. most of the showers will be found across northern ireland, southern scotland and the far north of england. cloud will thicken in the far

south west of england later with some spots of rain, and it will be quite windy, but temperatures north to south, 7—14 celsius. through the night, we will continue to see some showers through northern ireland, southern scotland and the far north of england. and a bank of cloud will be rolling its way in from the southwest with some spots of patchy light rain and drizzle. clear spells elsewhere, overnight lows, 2—10 celsius. now into thursday, we'll start off under the influence of this very weak ridge of high pressure. so a decent amount of dry weather around first thing, low pressure, though, you'll notice approaching from the west, that low actually deepening as it so we'll see a lot of cloud rolling north eastwards through the day. some patchy rain for england and wales, some heavier rain getting into northern ireland and western scotland through the afternoon with a strengthening wind. but, again, it will be mild, 8—13 celsius. now as our area of low pressure

passes to the north west of scotland, as we go through thursday night, see the white lines, the isobars squeezing together, a swathe of gales likely to affect western parts of scotland, could turn very windy through the central belt for a time on friday morning. still some showers around on friday, but this is a window of somewhat drier weather, some spells of sunshine, perhaps a little less mild, but only a little. still seeing highs between 8—12 celsius. and then for the weekend, saturday will bring outbreaks of rain eastwards. further showers on sunday. it will remain quite windy throughout the weekend.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the first sitting of the new us house of representatives has been full of drama. three attempts to elect republican kevin mccarthy as speaker of the house have failed. it's the first time in 100 years that a speaker hasn't been elected in the opening round of voting. the chinese government says that travel restrictions imposed by several countries on chinese arrivals are politically motivated and has warned that it may retaliate. some countries have already introduced their own measures. an eu—wide decision is expected shrotly. but abruptly eased restrictions in december. has been laid to rest in santos, the city where he spent most of his life. in a family ceremony, pele's coffin was placed

in his tomb at the ecumenical necropolis overlooking the city.