still going up, just more are still going up, just more slowly, luke, the kind of stuff thaw is going to come out, who do you think that will appeal too? {line is going to come out, who do you think that will appeal too? one of the big challenges _ think that will appeal too? one of the big challenges that _ think that will appeal too? one of the big challenges that rishi - the big challenges that rishi sunak has got is when you look at the 2019 conservative vote, they are holding on to half of it, but the other half hasn'tjust moved in one direction, so, a good chunk has gone straight to labour but another chunk has gone people who say they will vote for reform uk, and an even bigger chief constable has gone from conservative to say i don't know how i will vote or i don't know if i will vote at all. what the conservatives are worried about is notjust they believe those voters to labour, but those don't knows, the core conservatives and if you look at the don't knows they are quite right—wing, they sit on than hands in the general election and that is what turns a defeat into a 1997 style landslide defeat, so lots of the messaging you can see in the

king's speech is aimed at people who should be solly tories, they are trying to bring back the base, get themselves back up to 30, 32% regularly and hope that as the economy improves that brings back some of the switchers, the challenge, though, is that some of the language and the home secretary's remarks are part of it. some of the net zero stuff that might win back conservatives might further push away some of the moderate swing voters and make it harder for people saying they are voting for keir starmer. iis harder for people saying they are voting for keir starmer.— voting for keir starmer. is there 'eo ard voting for keir starmer. is there jeepardy in _ voting for keir starmer. is there jeopardy in anything _ voting for keir starmer. is there jeopardy in anything tomorrow l voting for keir starmer. is there i jeopardy in anything tomorrow for the labour party? nick was talking about the bear traps that are being set by the conservatives. yes. about the bear traps that are being set by the conservatives.— set by the conservatives. yes, so the king's _ set by the conservatives. yes, so the king's speech _ set by the conservatives. yes, so the king's speech tomorrow is i set by the conservatives. yes, so l the king's speech tomorrow is one set by the conservatives. yes, so - the king's speech tomorrow is one of rishi sunak�*s final opportunities, one of those final roles of the —— rolls of the dice to put clear blue water between his tory party and the labour party. we have seen on issues such as the war in israel and in

gaza, that government and labour are united but ahead of a general election, on the domestic front which is so important, rishi sunak is really going to want to separate himself from keir starmer and there are a few ways he will do that. the big one will be net zero, so we are seeing this new law that will enable north sea oil and gas companies to be able to bid on drilling license, now, labour can't come back on this hand policies around net zero with sun reader, they are very much in favour of achieving that but they don't believe that you know, the poorest in society, households struggling with the cost of living crisis should be the ones to pay for it. so policies that reduce sort of expensive burdens on then, whether they are green or not are generally popular, and labour struggled to come back from that.— come back from that. general election may _ come back from that. general election may or _ come back from that. general election may or october - come back from that. general election may or october or . come back from that. general- election may or october orjanuary 25? briefly. the

election may or october orjanuary 25? briefly-— 25? briefly. the difficulty -- difficulty. — 25? briefly. the difficulty -- difficulty. i _ 25? briefly. the difficulty -- difficulty, i mean _ 25? briefly. the difficulty -- difficulty, i mean rishi - 25? briefly. the difficulty -- | difficulty, i mean rishi sunak 25? briefly. the difficulty -- - difficulty, i mean rishi sunak will want _ difficulty, i mean rishi sunak will want to— difficulty, i mean rishi sunak will want to leave it as long as possible to let _ want to leave it as long as possible to let the _ want to leave it as long as possible to let the economy improve. the difficulty— to let the economy improve. the difficulty is the public, we ask the public— difficulty is the public, we ask the public when do you want one and over 70% said _ public when do you want one and over 70% said they wanted it over and done _ 70% said they wanted it over and done with— 70% said they wanted it over and done with before next summer, they don't _ done with before next summer, they don't want _ done with before next summer, they don't want a — done with before next summer, they don't want a year long election campaign. don't want a year long election campaign-— thank you both very much. that's all from us tonight. i'm back tomorrow, do join us then as we discuss rish sunak�*s legislative plans for the time left before a general election. goodnight.

by by an australian prime minister in seven years, the australian prime minister set out the main objective was to meet and to reestablish the direct personal contact that had been broken now for such a long time. broader issues that were discussed, and the reporter that thoseissues discussed, and the reporter that those issues were advanced, and certainly in the run—up to this meeting a number of issues have been cleared away. example, a lot of the chinese, quite unjustified, coal, timber, as well as the release of the australian journalist had all happened in the lead up to this meeting, so there's been quite a lot

of preparation, a lot of outcomes even before the leaders met. indeed, there have been _ even before the leaders met. indeed, there have been some _ even before the leaders met. indeed, there have been some positive - there have been some positive progress, but at the same time some of the sticking points, for example us really asking for that independent investigation on the origin of covid—19, human rights, they haven't really changed have they? so why is the relationship improving now? i4541431111 they? so why is the relationship improving now?— they? so why is the relationship improving now? well i think those issues have _ improving now? well i think those issues have been _ improving now? well i think those issues have been set _ improving now? well i think those issues have been set aside - improving now? well i think those issues have been set aside to - improving now? well i think those l issues have been set aside to some extent. i mean on human rights, that's an enduring issue between australia and china, but what is important, and this is what the australian prime minister is emphasised, is that we would return to diplomacy. and that we find ways to diplomacy. and that we find ways to make out who is clearly known to chinese leadership and the best way is direct one—on—one contact such as we've seen in the last 36 hours. so i think there has been progress in

those areas, something, independent inquiry for covid—19 was something that was very badly misjudged by the australian government at the time and i think that has been set aside. what comes out of this though, i think, is a forward—looking agenda on how to cooperate and consult and chair views in these contentious areas so they don't end up being subject of but rather can be managed through discussion and resolution. australia has also, is also a close ally of the united states. you've worked with chinese officials in your career, can australia be good friends with both the us and china? well that's always one of the great challenges for australian foreign policy, certainly in the last three decades. we've managed to do it pretty well. they went off the rails

for reasons on both sides, the chinese side and the australian side, overthe chinese side and the australian side, over the last half—dozen years. but open, frank dialogue such as we see having been initiated by this visit in the last couple of daysis this visit in the last couple of days is the best way of managing that. but i mean, everyone is very aware and clear—headed about this. we are now in a period of quite substantial us — china geopolitical competition, it's elevated to a level that we haven't seen before and clearly a country where its security is based predominantly in this relationship with the united states. but it's economic interests are derived mainly from china, has a very challenging diplomatic task ahead of them.— very challenging diplomatic task ahead of them. ., ~ . ., ahead of them. thank you so much for 'oinin: us ahead of them. thank you so much for joining us on — ahead of them. thank you so much for joining us on newsday _ ahead of them. thank you so much for

joining us on newsday today. - ahead of them. thank you so much for joining us on newsday today. my - joining us on newsday today. m pleasure, joining us on newsday today. m1 pleasure, thank you. few large countries are as dependent on tourism as thailand. the thai economy was hit very hard by the covid pandemic, and thais had hoped that 2023 would be the year that saw their tourist economy bounce back. that, though, has not happened — largely because the chinese, who made up one—quarter of the a0 million foreign visitors who arrived in thailand in 2019, have not come back — at least not in the same numbers. our south east asia correspondentjonathan head has been finding out why. this is 76 garage, where the waiters do rather more than just serve tables. it's long been popular with chinese tourists. abby, a chinese student attending a thai university, often vlogs to her thousands of social media followers about all the fun to be had here.

say hi to the camera! but these days, many chinese are staying away. negative publicity about scam centres along thailand's borders has put them off. abby says some even believe this restaurant could be luring unsuspecting chinese diners into having their kidneys removed. translation: the comments on my feed used to be very positive. _ many said they really wanted to come to thailand, but after this, rumors started spreading, the comments changed completely. people would ask me, "are you running the kidney harvesting scam? "are you sending people from thailand to myanmar?" the absence of chinese tourists this year has got the thai government worried. it's now waived visas for them. and the new prime minister was at the airport to give

new arrivals a special welcome. but thailand's image took another blow last month after a mass shooting in bangkok's most famous shopping mall. one of those killed was a chinese mother of two children. the day after the shooting, the mood at the grand palace in bangkok, one of thailand's top attractions, was somber. "our government said tourism would recover quickly "after the pandemic," said this guide. "but they're dreaming. "if it was normal, like in the past, this place would be packed, "but just look at it. "butjust look at it." there's always a risk in relying so heavily on chinese tourism that's easily buffeted by rumors or unexpected events. yet the market there is so huge thailand can't afford to ignore it. but it is now seeing new kinds of chinese tourism that could be very lucrative.

these two are on their first visit to thailand and already thinking about living here. both are successful professionals who want to start a family, something that's much easier for a gay couple here than back in china. i think the most important thing is the atmosphere . because it is have a better environment for lgbtq. . yeah. respect for each other. and it is very hard l to imagine in china, maybe many, many years later, but our life is short. _ so could this be the future face of chinese tourism in thailand? in smaller numbers, yes, but more independent, more sophisticated, and with more money to spend. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok, thailand.

let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk... a man has been found guilty of the attempted murder of two elderly men whom he set on fire. in two separate attacks in birmingham and west london, mohammed ab—kuhrfollowed his victims from a mosque before spraying them with petrol and setting them alight in february and march this year. british steel is planning to shut down its traditional blast furnace and replace it with two electric arc furnaces — putting up to 2,000 exisiting jobs at risk in the northern english town of scun—thorp. town of scunthorpe. construction is expected to take between two and three years as part of its chinese parent company's plan for a 'green and sustainable future'. the uk government is to introduce a new law which will intro 'minimum service' rules which they say will ensure 40% of trains will still operate when staff are out on strike. the rmt, a major railway workers' union, has condemned

the move it was 'an assault on the fundamental freedoms of working people' but prime minister rishi sunak says it will stop unions 'de—railing christmas for millions of people'. now, it's been described as the "holy grail of shipwrecks". the spanish galleon — the sanjose — located in 2015 off colombia's caribbean coast. and now the colombian president has said its recovery is a "priority" before the end of his term in office. meghan owen has the story. pictured here is the sanjose, which became what is known as the holy grail of shipwrecks. it was carrying the largest amount of treasure ever lost at sea, including silver from bolivia, emeralds from colombia, and around 11 million gold coins. now, the value of all of this is estimated to be at around £16 billion. now, recently, colombia's minister for culture has said

that there will be a renewed push to bring the ship back to the surface as a priority for the government. but let's just go back to 1708 when the ship was travelling from panama to spain, now in a battle with britain. the ship was sunk and now the wreckage lies off the coast of colombia at cartagena. here's some pictures of it there. but the exact location has never been revealed by colombia's government. for the last few decades, there's been a legal dispute over who actually owns the treasure. here's bbc monitoring. luis farda colombia says it belongs mostly to it. luis farda. colombia says it belongs mostly to it. however, there is a us company that was involved in a previous rescue attempt several decades ago, which is also claiming part of the treasure. the government of spain says it should belong to humanity because of the cultural importance of it and even communities in bolivia where the mines were. many of these treasures

were originally extracted from. they are also saying they have a claim. 315 years after she sank. the wreckage is set to be brought to the surface from 600 metres down. now, colombia's government says that the haul will be put on display in a national museum. but the battle for custody of the sanjose's riches remains. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. after a day of sunshine and showers to start the week, it's not been quite so colourful overnight — there hasn't been as much solar activity. we have seen the northern lights earlier in the night though, across northernmost parts of scotland and with clear skies by the morning in the north east of scotland, temperatures will be close to freezing. it will be a chilly start in the clearer skies in south—eastern parts of england as well. tuesday, though, is going to be a day where we see some sunny spells. we see a scattering of mostly light showers in scotland,

most of the showers in the far west. once again, there may be fewer showers than monday in northern ireland. and though showers will get blown eastwards across england and wales, very few are reaching east anglia and the south—east of england on that westerly breeze and temperatures very similar to monday — so 11—13 celsius — and that's near normal for the time of year. so leave the showers aside, though, i want to take you back into the atlantic. this was a satellite picture from earlier. this massive cloud really looming large there. and that's a band of cloud and rain and that's going to whittle its way eastwards overnight in time for wednesday morning. we're all getting the rain overnight and it may well have cleared away from northern ireland by wednesday morning. windy first thing through the irish sea. the heaviest rain is going to be over the hills of wales and western scotland, but the rain soon moves away from here in the morning following that band of rain as it chases away eastwards, we'll see plenty of sunshine, but then the showers come rattling in on that westerly wind and temperatures may be a bit lower actually in scotland,

8—9 degrees. now, there may not be too much rain in the south east of england, but the rain could linger into the afternoon. and we have seen quite a number of flood warnings across southern parts of england, but river levels have been dropping. the number of flood warnings has been reducing as well. and after that spell of rain on wednesday, we'll get back into sunshine and showers really through the rest of the week as the weather front is out of the way and the rain band as the weather front is out of the way and the rain band out of the way. we see the low pressure areas that are driving it, drifting down from the north west, bringing the showers, probably bringing some stronger winds as well on thursday, as you can see, the bulk of the showers in the west, but also driving through the english channel and some of those showers will move into eastern areas during the day. the showers could be heavy and there may well be some hail and thunder in there as well. back to 8—12 celsius.

this is bbc news. the latest news headlines will follow at the top of the hour, after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. day after day, israel's military assault on gaza degrades hamas's military capacity and kills more palestinian civilians. the operation won't end,

says prime minister netanyahu, until hamas is eliminated. but as the humanitarian catastrophe deepens in gaza, so too does pressure on israel to pause, if not halt, the offensive. my guest is mustafa barghouti, a palestinian doctor and co—founder of the palestinian national initiative. when this terrible round of violence does eventually end, what then for the palestinian people? mustafa barghouti in ramallah,

welcome to hardtalk. thank you. good to be with you again, stephen.