this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm samantha simmonds, our top stories the honourable kevin mccarthy of the state of california, having received a majority of the votes cast, is duly elected speaker of the house of representatives. after dramatic scenes in the us house of representatives, the republican kevin mccarthy is finally elected speaker — at the fifteenth attempt. it's not how you start it's how you finish, and now we need to finish strong for the american people the uk's prime minister is holding talks with health officials in an attempt tackle the ongoing challenges facing the nhs.

a six—year—old boy has shot and injured his school teacher in the us state of virginia, in what police say was not an accidental shooting. president zelensky welcomes the announcment of us military vehicles, as putin's unilateral ceasfire appears to have had little effect on the front line. iran hangs two men for allegedly killing a security official during anti—government protests. it's a huge weekend for the technology industry as the annual consumer electronics show gets under way in las vegas. the us house of representatives has a new speaker. after days of deadlock and dramatic scenes on friday night, the republican, kevin mccarthy, has finally been elected. it took four days, 15 votes, and numerous concessions, but the 20 or so rebels within his own party were eventually persuaded. this is how his election

was announced. therefore, the honourable kevin mccarthy of the state of california, having received the majority of the votes cast, is duly elected speaker of the house of representatives. applause. well, kevin mccarthy addressed the house — and vowed to put the country first. and now, the hard work begins. what we do here today, next week, next month, next year, will set the tone for everything that follows. tonight, i want to talk directly to the american people. as speaker of the house, my ultimate responsibility is not my party, my conference, or even our congress. my responsibility, our responsibility, is to our country.

our north america correspondent david willis has been watching all of this. he says it's been a dramatic night. it's been a breathtaking few hours, hasn't it, and kevin mccarthy has finally got the votes he needed, on the 15th attempt. that was the 15th vote within the space of the last four days, and it was achieved around about midnight, just after the house had voted to adjourn until monday, because there weren't enough votes to secure kevin mccarthy's victory. then there came an intervention from one of the hard liners, matt gaetz, the florida congressman. he has been staunchly opposed to kevin mccarthy's speakership, the prospect of it. he believes mr mccarthy is way too mainstream, and as a trump supporter himself he wants to lead the republican

party in a different direction, along with about two dozen other members of the current republican caucus. so, a vote was then taken to not adjourn the house and to have that 15th vote this evening, friday evening, and that, with matt gaetz�* vote gave kevin mccarthy the majority needed by a single vote. it has come down to the wire, and kevin mccarthy has achieved his ambition, albeit at the risk of considerable acrimony on the behalf of members of his party in congress. he will become the 55th speaker of the house of representatives. it is is a post he had long sought, sought after, and long campaigned for, and one that he, at one particular point he said he deserved, given his record of public service, and his record in the republican party. but it is a poisoned chalice,

because the last few days have revealed just how divided the republicans are in the lower chamber. they have a majority of, what, ten votes there, and it's going to be a very acrimonious congressional session. the next two years could be extremely trying for senior members of the republican party, not least of course, kevin mccarthy himself. here in the uk, the prime minister is holding talks at downing street — to try to tackle the huge challenges facing the nhs. senior doctors say the health service is on a knife edge, with many a&e units struggling to cope with record demand. our health correspondent jim reed reports. the nhs is under record pressure this winter,

with queues of ambulances delayed outside hospitals, rising waiting lists and more front line strikes planned in the coming weeks. sue spent 16 hours in her local a&e, after turning up recently with chest pain. to be honest with you, i was just, i wanted to get out. ijust wanted to get out, because i felt i was safer at home than in the hospital. i didn't feel confident — not that they didn't know what they were doing, there just wasn't enough people to do what was necessary. today's meeting, called the nhs recovery forum, will involve ministers from both the health and treasury departments along with nhs bosses, council leaders and medical experts. downing street said it's been called to discuss four key issues — gp services, emergency care, waiting lists and delays discharging patients into social care. speaking yesterday, the prime minister said the demands on the nhs were currently enormous. in

were currently enormous. in particular, this winter but we want to do is make sure we move people out of hospitals into social care, into communities. that's one of the most powerful ways you can ease some of the pressures on a&e departments and ambulances that are waiting too long. and ambulances that are waiting too lon._ ., . ., and ambulances that are waiting too loni, ., . ., and ambulances that are waiting too lon. . ., ., long. labour criticised the time of the meeting. _ long. labour criticised the time of the meeting, saying _ long. labour criticised the time of the meeting, saying health - long. labour criticised the time of. the meeting, saying health experts had already been sounding the alarm for months while the liberal democrats described it as too little, too late. the latest nhs data for england shows ambulance crews facing record waits at a&e while the number being treated for covid in hospital has also been rising sharply. jim reed, bbc news. earlier i spoke to our political correspondent, damian grammaticas, who is at downing street. it's more a sort of private summit, if you like,... parts of the nhs, the state health sector, the private health sector as well. we have had

people like providers of social care is welcoming and in one of them on the way in was saying that organisation provides 70,000 beds need social care and what they see as a value today is being in the room of end providers who are often not part of discussions about how to deal with the big issues facing the health service. 0ften it's those who control the money in the purse strings who commission and by services so there is going to be in our of exchange in each of the different areas. in social care, emergency care, front line, general practice as well and i think the idea then the government wants to do is to share best practice and try to galvanise ideas about reform but the big question is that this isn't really going to address the current immediate pressures on the health service. the opposition say that

this is a talking shop and that its 13 years of mismanagement that has brought the health service to this point and they say this is too little, too late.— point and they say this is too little, too late. yes, there has been criticism _ little, too late. yes, there has been criticism from _ little, too late. yes, there has been criticism from many - little, too late. yes, there has been criticism from many nhs little, too late. yes, there has - been criticism from many nhs leaders over the past two days that money promised by the government to free up promised by the government to free up beds to thomas to get people out of hospital who don't need to be in there has just come of hospital who don't need to be in there hasjust come in of hospital who don't need to be in there has just come in too late. name of the crisis point now and what can they do in the immediate term address that?— what can they do in the immediate term address that? clearly, that is a crisis that _ term address that? clearly, that is a crisis that the _ term address that? clearly, that is a crisis that the health _ term address that? clearly, that is a crisis that the health service - term address that? clearly, that is a crisis that the health service is, i a crisis that the health service is, sort of, invest deeply in right at the minute. this is more about, sort of, structural and longer—term things and the big issue politically the government faces, apart from being seen to try and tackle the current issue, is the big politics underneath it. the problem that they face with a deeply overstretched discontented workforce in the nhs

who say that conditions are not... they have problems with conditions, problems they say with being overworked, low pay and what they want to have addressed the pay levels. they say the health system simply isn't recruiting and retaining enough staff to do all the things it needs to do right now. this today is not discussing that. the government will sit down with the unions next week but it still says it will not talk about pay right now. it will talk about future terms and conditions and needs. unions of all same strikes due next week the weeks following will go ahead unless the immediate concerns are discussed. —— unions say. a six—year—old boy has shot and wounded a teacher at a school in the us state of virginia. police say the teacher — a woman in her 30s — suffered serious injuries in an altercation at richneck elementary school in the city of newport news. mechelle hankerson, the news director at whro public media in virginia has been following the story.

we know the six—year—old child is in custody. we also know that the teacher has life—threatening injuries, but they are being treated for that, injuries, but they are being treated forthat, but injuries, but they are being treated for that, but nothing else has come from the police department. i think parents are scared, especially initially in some facebook groups, community facebook groups, parents were seen you know, a bunch of emergency vehicles all racing towards the school, going towards there and, obviously, it takes a little bit of time to communicate what is going on so i think there was a lot of fear especially considering our area of virginia just experienced a mass shooting in november. president zelensky has welcomed a decision by the us to supply ukraine with armoured fighting vehicles for the first time. he said they were exactly what the country needed. the americans will also provide surface—to—air missiles, armoured personnel carriers and artillery systems under a package of assistance worth more than $3 billion.

it follows a decision by germany to give ukraine a0 armoured troop carriers. this all comes as ukrainians celebrate 0rthodox christmas, the bbc�*s hugo bachega is in kyiv. millions of people across the country are celebrating 0rthodox christmas, one of the most important days in the ukrainian calendar, and this is an important day here, at kyiv�*s pechersk lavra monastery. this is the seat of the ukrainian 0rthodox church, which has ties to russia, and today for the first time in history the christmas service here is being led by leaders of the orthodox church of ukraine, which is an independent church. it gained independence four years ago. so this is a moment that is being celebrated here, it is a very significant moment. some people have said that this is a christmas miracle. some people who are here today told us they believe this is the day that is marking ukraine's independence from the russian church.

this day is obviously happening as the war continues. president putin announced a unilateral ceasefire to allow people, in his words, to celebrate 0rthodox christmas in parts of the country where fighting is happening. now some ukrainian officials say that russian forces have continued to attack ukrainian positions in some parts of the country, especially in the east of the country, and the ukrainian authorities had dismissed this announcement by president putin as cynical propaganda, but i think for those gathered here today, this is a moment of reflection, to mark an important day, 0rthodox christmas. iran has hanged two men for allegedly killing a security official during anti—government protests. both were convicted of causing the death of a member of the loyalist basij militia near tehran. three others have been sentenced to death in the same case, while 11 received prison sentences.

the trials are highly politicised, and the defendants are not granted choice of their own legal representation. here's more from our colleague from bbc monitoring, the iran analyst khosro kalbasi isfahani. these two men... were executed this morning. their court cases have been described as rushed, sham trial, a... trial by amnesty international that had no resemblance of the meaningfuljudicial proceeding. these two men were deprived of the right to pick their own lawyers. theirfamilies have been campaigning to get them to choose their own lawyers. 0ne to get them to choose their own lawyers. one of these men had gone on hunger strike. he was on hunger strike when he was executed this morning and his family have been pleading tojust get morning and his family have been pleading to just get a chance to meet him before he is executed. his

parents were literally outside the prison when he was executed this morning and they were deprived of this right at the last moment. this is the whole case. the whole trial. we don't have access to the evidence. thejudicial we don't have access to the evidence. the judicial system we don't have access to the evidence. thejudicial system in iran has released some videos of the scene that allegedly shows the killing of the militiamen but we haven't seen any proof showing these men were involved in that incident. in addition to that, the judicial system has used their own confessions but rights group have long documented that the islamic republic uses false confessions and tortured, painted confessions to solicit these confessions against political prisoners. prince harry is facing more

criticism over claims made that he killed 25 taliban fighters during his service as a helicopter pilot in afghanistan. in his memoir "spare", he describes them as "chess pieces removed from the board." 0ur reporter zoe 0'brien is at buckingham palace with the latest. it was late on thursday evening that we began hearing about the content of prince harry�*s memoir, spare. that is due to be published on tuesday and it is fair to say that the comments that he's made about taliban fighters have dominated the headlines today and caused upset and disappointment among the military community. now, we've heard from external to colonel tim collins. he is a retired commanding officer. he told force news that harry has badly let down the side and this just isn't the done thing for people in the army. he said you would never count the notches on the but of your rifle. we've also heard from senior taliban leaders, then saying they may be your enemy but these were

people with families to go home too. we haven't heard anything from buckingham palace. we haven't heard anything from kensington palace so far, though that is not entirely unusual. that may change in the coming days because we know that prince harry has taken part in a number of pre—recorded interviews to promote his memoir. now, the first of those is going to go out on itv tomorrow meaning, evening at 9pm and then on monday morning we will see more on american tv networks. now, i know he said on his tv interview that he wants reconciliation with his family but first he says there must be truth and accountability. he is also cast doubt over whether or not he will be at his father's of a nation in may, saying a lot can happen between now and then. —— his father's combination. of course, when those interviews are the royal family will have another decision to make about whether or not they will comment publicly about what he said.

again, on tuesday, when the memoir is published. at the moment, that is not looking likely. it seems they going to want to have this play out away from the public eye, especially this year in the king's away from the public eye, especially this year in the kings of a nation year. —— coronation year. china is preparing to scrap its covid quarantine rules for travel on sunday, it's been called the great reopening. the relaxation makes travel into and around china a viable option for the first time in three years. it's happening just as the country prepares to celebrate its annual lunar new year, an event which in pre—pandemic times is the worlds biggest human migration, which is raising concerns about tens of millions of covid infections. joe inwood reports. in the world's most populous nation at the world's biggest ice there. they are making final preparations for the world's biggest migration. this is the annual harbin snow festival, the centrepiece of the

regional tourism sector. it is an industry that has been on ice. but with the government amantadine it's zero—covid policy in time for the new year, that is all changing —— abandoning. china is opening for business. translation: compared to the last two years. _ business. translation: compared to the last two years, we _ business. translation: compared to the last two years, we are _ business. translation: compared to the last two years, we are seeing - the last two years, we are seeing far more tourists. after they lifted the covid—19 restrictions, there was a significant increase in visitors. i'm confident harbin�*s tourism will recover. people are still looking forward to coming here. the? recover. people are still looking forward to coming here. they are eerctin forward to coming here. they are expecting nearly _ forward to coming here. they are expecting nearly 2.1 _ forward to coming here. they are expecting nearly 2.1 billion - expecting nearly 2.1 billion journeys to be made of the lunar new year. that's twice as many as in 2022, although still below the 3 billion made before the pandemic. while most of those will be made by people who live in china, with international travel restrictions easing this weekend, there is also expected to be a rising number coming from abroad. people like this

woman. she runs an organisation promoting links between british and chinese film industries and hasn't seen herfamily in more than chinese film industries and hasn't seen her family in more than three years. it seen her family in more than three ears. , . ~' seen her family in more than three ears. , ., ~ ., ., years. it is taking the sole out of me, not years. it is taking the sole out of me. not being — years. it is taking the sole out of me, not being able _ years. it is taking the sole out of me, not being able to _ years. it is taking the sole out of me, not being able to travel- years. it is taking the sole out of me, not being able to travel and| me, not being able to travel and connect with people on the personal level. that is required for myjob and family gathering as well so not being able to be there in person, yeah, is... it is very damaging, i think. i can't wait to see them, to really help them. i mean, i've seen them, videos on the news, people looking at airports and being reunited, but i haven't had the chance yet so i cannot wait to give my mother kiss and hug my brother —— people hooking at airports. the chanie in people hooking at airports. the change in policy was as swift as it was dramatic. since the start of the pandemic, entire cities have been locked down to stop outbreaks, the

so—called zero—covid strategy. but after three years of draconian restrictions, the public seemingly had enough. an unprecedented wave of protests swept across many towns and cities in china. under huge pressure, the government scrapped a policy it had spent three years saying was vital for public health. what is really... the chinese government... it is still largely resting on providing a reasonable income, providing a reasonable level of living standard for its population so economically the economy still privatised over, in this case, pandemic control, so i think the message has been quite clearfor the government think the message has been quite clear for the government in december for the central economic work conference is mostly about saving the economy in 2023. might and the impact of that decision is already being seen in china's hospitals. the

liftini of being seen in china's hospitals. the lifting of restrictions has led to a huge server in —— surge in covid cases, with the world health organization accusing the government are vastly under reporting the death toll. there are fears the virus is out of control and that the coming holidays will make that even worse. we will have plenty more on chinese lunar new year in the next few days. it's a huge weekend for the technology industry as the annual consumer electronics show — known as ces — takes place in las vegas. it's chance for thousands of companies to display their new gadgets in the hope of securing investment — but this year all russian firms have been banned from taking part, while some ukrainian ones have been paid to attend. our north america technology reporterjames clayton has spoken to some of them about the difficulties of trying to start a company when your country is at war. ukraine has spent nearly a year now facing attacks across the country.

bombings, the targeting of infrastructure and blackouts. so how do you run a tech company at a time of war? well, 12 ukrainian companies have come here to las vegas to prove that it can be done. ces is the biggest tech show in the world, a chance for these start ups to attract investment. this is the ceo of g—mac, a home security company. it is a sort of amazon ring on steroids. multi—tone sound siren with an annoying effect not only stops a criminal, but wakes up the neighbours and informs everyone about the intrusion within a 100 metre radius. the device can spray tear gas into a room if it detects an intruder. but, he says, almost all of his staff are now fighting on the front line, and some have have been killed. we lost five people. five people? yes, from our team.

and obviously that must be devastating for you, how does that affect the company? it motivates us to support their families. he is now looking to move production to the us. artem is a programmer who founded a kitchen design set up. based near kyiv, he struggles to find electricity to power his computer. sometimes i am limited by the battery of my computer, so what i do, i go to a gas station, because they have a generator and they allow you to charge your computer or take coffee, so i try to somehow charge my computer. so you were working from a gas station to try and do your start up? actually many people do this. mariana works for a company that makes crockery from old coffee beans. based near kharkiv, they've had to move 500 miles east to lviv after the war started. we had a lot of missile attacks and a lot of rockets, so it was a real danger to be there,

that is why we relocated to lviv. there are no commercial flights out of ukraine. many of these entrepreneurs have taken days to get here, but they are hoping it will be worth it if they can secure investment from western backers. you know, it's very hard in ukraine to do your business. first of all, it is hard to find investors in ukraine because all our investors and big companies, they try to support army, they try to support ukrainian people, so it is very hard to find some investors in ukraine. ukraine is a country that has showed innovation on the battlefield. fighting against a much larger military force has often taken ingenuity. this group of entrepreneurs are trying to show that innovation isn'tjust limited to the battlefield. james clayton, bbc news, las vegas. you can reach me on twitter —

i'm @samanthatvnews for now, thanks for watching. hello, there. the weather's going to stay pretty windy today and it's been quite a wet start as well, particularly across scotland, england and wales. by two conditions are going to spread on from the west later on with a mixture of sunshine and showers more generally is happening. now, the area of low pressure that is here has been bringing the wet weather. this area of cloud is our will rain band sweeping as i will rain band sweeping as i will rain band sweeping is way eastwards across scotland, england and wales. what follows is this brighter, showery conditions but there's also been a very windy start to the day, of south—west england where we've had a gust of 65 miles an hour and berry had made brixton and 5a over the north york moors and so far the strongest winds have just been ahead

of this rain band and that will continue to play through but then we get a second sweep of strong winds working to the north west later on with again gales later in the day across north—western portions. it will stay blustery and there will be lots of showers in the west. not to the north west later on with again gales later in the day across north—western portions. it will stay blustery and there will be lots of showers in the west. not too many for band of rain has played through. quite mild, temperature down to 8-11 at quite mild, temperature down to 8—11 at most. overnight tonight, temperatures continue to feed on and it will stay pretty windy and it is those winds that mean it is a frost free night. temperature is about 4-8 c. free night. temperature is about 4—8 c. tomorrow, the same area of low pressure storm the charts. it has dragged its feet and is just working to the north of scotland. now, again, it will be quite a blustery kind of day. it is another day of sunshine and charm is really so there will be some quite lengthy spells of dry weather but then a few showers around as well. now, for the most part, the show was blow through pretty quickly and the strong winds but again we could have some lengthy spells of rain closer to that area of low pressure because the north—west of scotland, but it's going to be particularly gusty, but

evenin going to be particularly gusty, but even in land coasts around 30 mph and it will be another blustery kind of day. this temperature is not changing too much, highs ranging around seven or 10 degrees or so. into monday's forecast, a low pressure pulls away northward it we a bit as well so it won't be as windy. still a bit of showers around with some lengthy spells of rain across north—western areas. bit of snow over the scottish mountains. mostly above 600 metres elevation and that does mean there will be a bit more snow in the scottish ski results and that is the case of that sheet is as well. generally into the next few weeks as stays on settle so expect rain at times. generally it is going to stay fit him out as well. that's the latest.

this is bbc world news, the headlines... having received a majority of the bouts cast is duly elected speaker the house of representatives. after dramatic scenes in the us house of representatives, the republican kevin mccarthy is finally elected speaker — at the 15th attempt. the uk's prime minister is holding talks with health officials in an attempt tackle the ongoing challenges facing the nhs. a six—year—old boy has shot and injured his school teacher in the us state of virginia, in what police say was not an accidental shooting. president zelensky welcomes the announcment of us military vehicles,

as putin's unilateral ceasfire appears to have had little effect on the frontline.