britain's health secretary announces sweeping reforms of the nhs — including league performance tables for failing hospitals. we have an extraordinary story of the runaway beluga whale that's caught up in a russian spying row. president—elect donald trump is confirming who will be joining his white house team for his second term in office. one of those appointments will be elon musk. he will oversee a new "department of government efficiency" alongside mr trump's one—time rival for the republican presidential nomination, multi—millionaire vivek ramaswamy. mr trump has also announced other appointments and nominees. first up, the governor of south dakota, kristi noem has been named as the secretary of homeland security.

she's expected to oversee one of mr trump's key election promises, the planned mass deportation of millions of illegal immigrants. donald trump says he plans to nominate former director of national intelligence, john ratcliffe, to serve as the director of the cia. he's previously criticised the biden administration's middle east policy and called for a tougher stance on china. also on the list, fox news channel host and army national guard officer, pete hegseth, is expected to be appointed as secretary of defence. taking a look at the middle east, the president—elect has nominated new york real estate developer, steve witkoff, to be his special envoy to the region. and he also wants to put forward mike huckabee to be his ambassador to israel. mr huckabee is a former arkansas governor and was a candidate for the republican party presidential nomination in both 2008 and 2016. our north america correspondent, david willis,

says the next administration is swiftly taking shape. donald trump is moving quickly to assemble his cabinet a week after its on—site victory in the presidential election and nominees to several of the key positions, the top positions in the federal government have already been announced. elon musk, a staunch supporter of donald trump in the closing months of the presidential campaign, he is expected been appointed to a high profile advisory position. along with fellow entrepreneur vivek ramaswamy, it was one of mr trump two rivals for the republican presidential nomination. elon musk will oversee the department of government efficiency, that is a body that is being set up to limit red tape to dismantle bureaucracy and induct a more entrepreneurial spirit into the federal government.

government spending in this country is put at around $6.5 trillion a year and elon musk is already on record as saying that he believes he can save about a third of that. earlier mr trump announced the nomination of the former army veteran and fox news commentator pete higseth as defence secretary. he has been openly critical of former leaders of the pentagon and is expected to make good on donald trump's campaign pledge to rid the us military of what some on the right see as progressive policies that have affected diversity within the ranks. meanwhile, a long—time hard line on immigration policy the south dakota governor kristi noem has been nominated for the role of homeland security secretary. she is a long—time hardliner

on immigration policy and one of donald trump's key priorities is to improve the situation along the us southern border with mexico and to deport millions of people who came here illegally. kristi noem is commanding a budget of billions of dollars and a staff of more than a quarter of a million will be key to those aims. donald trump has been holed up at his mara largo estate in florida and is expected to leave their later today to meet president biden at the white house in the run—up to his inauguration as a president injanuary.

let's speak to dan sodergren — a tech and ai expert. what is your thinking behind why he is giving so much power and influence to elon musk? the future work _ and influence to elon musk? lie: future work seems to be that he is, someone say he is almost first lady. i will not go that far but i will say that the department for government efficiency lets him have fingers in many pies and if you are slightly on the left—hand side, and we know that elon musk is very much a right wing thinker, they are going to have to panic a lot because what he did with twitter when he famously bought twitter, now known as x, he fired half the people and got rid of all the left—wing thinkers and moderators in the business. we cannot potentially see for the future of work for many people

the american government what the american government what the future might be. it might be the fact that he is going to be the fact that he is going to be saving lots of that money and maybe that is why donald trump has brought him in, to start culling the workforce. we also have to remember that elon musk bought twitter so he could potentially sway the thinking in america but also to create his own ai so some of those savings might come through the ai that elon musk actually owns. it is going to be terrifying for some but also fascinating what the future of work will be like in america and in the american government. also worth mentioning that when trump won the presidency, elon musk�*s worthjumped up trump won the presidency, elon musk�*s worth jumped up as well. unpacked then, what kind of direction does he go in because we know about his electric vehicles, we know about space x and you mentioned as well and his ability to communicate and

get trump's message across. when it comes to a, where you suggesting possible terrifying? not necessarily terrifying, they might utilise it in government may be quicker than perhaps other governments would have done and maybe the safeguards and rails may come of a little bit with that. i am not presuming that one of the richest men in the world is only concerned with cash but perhaps he might be. money might be quite a big thing for him and therefore he might not be thinking is massively about society as others because you might want to utilise ai and a big way. i am an absolute believer in the utilisation of ai believer in the utilisation of al to save money, to become more productive, to create the fit industrial revolution and i am also concerned about society. we both have to think of both sides and i worry that elon musk does not necessarily think about both sides of the equation, doesn't necessarily think about the poorer people in society, only because of his actions before. think we will be entering a potentially

dangerous world, not because he is going to utilise ai, is how they potentially use ai and then start firing people in the government and some of those people most probably quite useful to stop the rise of fascism in the right wing so i think we have to look at it, look at it is a double—edged sword. look at it is a double-edged sword. . ,. . ., look at it is a double-edged sword. . ,. ., ., i. sword. fascinating to get your side of it, _ sword. fascinating to get your side of it, thank _ sword. fascinating to get your side of it, thank you. - later on wednesday all eyes will be on the white house as donald trump heads there to meetjoe biden. we'll be bringing you live coverage as the current president meets the president—elect. it's due to happen at 4.00 gmt. you can see it on bbc news or on our website. the church of england's deputy lead bishop for safeguarding has said a recent child abuse scandal shows that it still isn't a safe institution. the bishop of birkenhead, julie conalty, told the bbc

that she wanted other senior clergy members tojoin the archbishop of canterbury in resigning. justin welby had been under pressure to quit after a report criticised his response tojohn smyth's abuse of young boys from the 1970s until his death in 2018. meanwhile, the archbishop of cape town thabo makgoba said welby�*s resignation was an important step towards accountability. the anglican church at which mr smyth worshipped in south africa never received any reports about him. the first cases of abuse by john smyth at christian summer camps were in the mid 1970s. by the early 80s church officials were informed, but there was what the report calls an active cover up in 1984 symth carried on his abuse in zimbabwe and later south africa. we know the archbishop of canterbury was definitely told by 2013 but the abuse continued and was exposed by channel 4 in 2017 smyth died in 2018 without ever facing justice.

as smyth's victims call for further resignations, the church's second most senior figure, the archbishop of york, stephen cottrell, told the bbc he doesn't think any more bishops should stand down. 0ur correspondent harry farley, is at lambeth palace. i mean, many within the church of england are reeling from justin welby�*s resignation as archbishop of canterbury yesterday, unprecedented, certainly in modern times, for an archbishop to be forced out in that way. he said he did so for the good of the church of england. he said it hopes it. he hopes it demonstrates how seriously the church understands the need for change. but, as you say, survivors ofjohn smyth, who was described as the most prolific abuser to be associated with the church of england, survivors of his abuse are saying this was never just about justin welby. there were many others across the church of england who knew about smyth's abuse, most particularly and most clearly in the 1980s with the report that was published last week described an active cover up

but also more recently serving clergy four serving bishops in the church of england. julie conaty, who's the church of england's deputy leader on safeguarding, deputy lead bishop on safeguarding, saying this morning that she thinks there may well be others who need to resign over this. more broadly, the church of england is beginning to turn its attention to who might replacejustin welby as archbishop of canterbury. he will be remembered as well as the manner of his departure. he will be remembered as a political archbishop, one who was frequently on the front pages for speaking out on social issues, and his war on wonga, the payday loan lender. early on in his tenure, as well as his frequent criticisms of the previous government over welfare over immigration, particularly the policy to send some asylum seekers to rwanda. in terms of who might succeed him,

it won't be a quick process, but some names which are in the frame this morning, sources in the church of england pointing to the bishop of london, sarah mullally, a possible contender. two names you may not have heard of the bishop of chelmsford, guli francis—dehqani, and the bishop of leicester, martyn snow. sources within the church of england telling me they are possibly in the frame to succeed justin welby. that will not be a quick process. it's a long and drawn out process, expected to take many months before we know the next archbishop of canterbury. let's bring you the lastest from the middle east now — in the last hour we've heard that palestinian islamichhad has released a new video of an israeli hostage in gaza. we've also seen pictures from a strike that hit south beirut, about an hour after israel's army told residents of parts of the southern suburbs to leave. meanwhile, as the number of aid trucks into gaza slows to a trickle and food agencies say gaza is on the brink of starvation, secretary of state antony blinken has given a news conference in brussels, saying from his point of view, israel has accomplished the goals it

set for itself in gaza. israel has accomplished the goals itself for itself. it was rightly determined to make sure, to the best of its ability, that 0ctober seven could never happen again. to do that, it said it needed to dismantle military organisation of hamas and to get the leadership that was responsible for october seven. leadership that was responsible for 0ctoberseven. it leadership that was responsible for october seven. it has done both of those things. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

in the trial of the murder of a ten—year—old girl in woking. the girl as my father has

dramatically accepted full responsibility for her death. he made the admission under cross examination as his wife sobbedin cross examination as his wife sobbed in the dock of the old bailey on wednesday. previously, sharif had sought to blame his wife are killing their daughter but in a dramatic admission, he told jurors, i accept every single thing. sarah was found dead at the family home in surrey last august. the father has denied all charges of murder and causing for allowing the death of child. just to bring you that breaking news from the uk, from the trial for the murder of a ten—year—old girl in woking. sara sharif�*s father has accepted full responsibility for her death and he made this admission under cross examination as his

wife sobbed in the dock at the old bailey on wednesday. previously, sharif had sought to blame another for killing his daughter but in a dramatic admission, he said, i accept every single thing. she was found dead at the family home in woking, surrey, asked august, after the defendants fled to pakistan. the father has denied all charges of murder or causing the death of a child. he also revealed nhs managers who don't improve patient care will be sacked. he told a conference of nhs trusts in liverpool that there could be no more rewards forfailure. we'll publish the results starting from next year. those systems and providers in the

middle of the pack will get support to improve, to bring them to where the best art now. those icy bees and providers doing well will be rewarded with greater freedoms over how to spend their capital with fewer funds. to spend their capital with fewerfunds. we to spend their capital with fewer funds. we want to move to a system where freedom is the norm and central group is the exception to challenge performance. improving services for patients should be rewarded and the quid pro quo is that there will be no more rewards for failure. there will be no more rewards forfailure. the there will be no more rewards for failure. the work you do could not be more serious. when you get it right, lives are serious. when you don't, the consequences can be tragic. if performance dips, i reserve the right to take those freedoms away and for those judged to be persistently failing, we will act, going from zero consequences to zero tolerance. 0ur consequences to zero tolerance. our new pay framework for very senior managers, which has been long—awaited in the system, will be published ahead of the

next financial year and will set out substantial reforms. spanish rescuers have found the bodies of two children who were swept away from their father in the severe floods of two weeks ago. the fate of the young brothers, izan and ruben, had been spanish rescuers have found the bodies of two widely covered by media. they were swept to their deaths when a parked truck that had been picked up by a torrent smashed down an external wall of their family home. their father survived by clinging to a tree. a similar weather phenomenon is affecting spain now, with parts of the east and south under red alert. here in the uk, the post office has announced hundreds ofjobs are to be lost as part of a restructuring. the positions are understood to be going from the head office. the remaining crown sites are under threat of closure too. the new chairman of the post office, nigel railton, wants to ensure subpostmasters get a greater revenue share. we want to enter into

a new relationship with our postmasters and strategic partners in a new deal, now subject to funding from government, and those conversations are very positive. we'll repeat this again. we want to add an additional quarter of £1 billion annually to postmaster remuneration by 2030. and we can do this, and we can do it by maximising our revenue streams, by ensuring value for money in every single pound spent and working in lockstep with government and postmasters. in addition, we want to ensure you are properly supported every step of the way, from onboarding to day to day support with your branches. we will do this by strengthening postmaster voice in the business with representation from the boardroom right through to the front line. former sub—postmaster and victim of the post office horizon scandal lee castleton says he backs changes to the post office business model.

it's an operation that's not very commercial. it relies heavily on the tax payer and it's very top heavy. you know, you've got very, very, very many managers managing small business people, people out there that are trying to earn a living. they're the least paid. they receive the smallest amount of remuneration. so it's time it was turned on its head. it's time that the subpostmasters were paid properly and i'm sure that the restructure needs to take place. and obviously we need to make it so that the commercial decisions are made now to to give strength going forward. but you can't possibly have a company with so many management structures and so top heavy, that relies on the small business person to pay all those wages. you know, we need to make it so that it's more commercial because we need to return to proper payments for proper transactions. and that's not what's happening now. we've got lots and lots of village postmasters and small town postmasters

that are working for nothing, basically for very small fees, tiny penny transactions taking place where they have to do thousands and thousands a day in order to make even a living wage. and lots of them are not making a living wage, and that needs to be turned on its head. we need to pay the people that are doing the work properly. we need to make sure that those people are there this year, next year and the year after. and if that means that the business itself has to change in the management level, let's do it. the actor timothy west has sadly passed away at the age of 90. we are being told by his family. timothy west who was

married to fellow actor prunella scales died peacefully according to his family, with his friends and family surrounding him. he died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 90. he was known for so many roles, both in television and in theatre. he was in various different popular soaps in the uk, coronation street and is gender is to name a few, and is gender is to name a few, and he also starred with his wife, prunella scales, in a channel 4 series, great canal journeys, where they travelled across the uk on canals. the sad news that timothy west has died at the age of 90. he had been married to his wife, fellow actor prunella scales, famous for faulty towers, 461 our condolences. people in india's capital delhi woke up to a thick layer of smog as the air quality deteriorated to severe levels in the city. on wednesday, air pollution

in delhi surged to about 30—35 times the world health organization's recommended daily limit. the air quality monitoring firm, iq—air, assesses air quality by measuring levels of fine particulate matter. these tiny particles can enter the lungs and cause several health problems. according to the iq-air, pollutant levels in parts of new delhi reached hazardous" levels, showing readings over 500 on the pollution index. an index reading of 100 is considered satisfactory for breathing, while levels above 150 are seen as unhealthy. each year, thick smog blankets delhi, mainly because of stubble burning by farmers clearing their fields for planting. toxic emissions are also thought to be coming from a power plant that incinerates the city's landfill waste. world leaders are in baku for the third day of the climate summit, cop 29. these are live pictures from the azerbaijan capital. delegates there have expressed concern about the prospect

of donald trump once again withdrawing the us from a key agreement signed in paris. the white house national climate advisor has told the bbc progress is being made towards a clean energy economy world leaders are in baku for the third day of and that will continue regardless of mr trump's election. the adviser ali zaidi said american businesses and cities were committed to decarbonisation regardless of who was in power, and they would carry on showing leadership. as one samantha harvey has one of the booker prize award, first book set in space to win a prize. it follows a team of astronauts at the international space station. let us listen to the winning moment. i am profoundly honoured to announce the winner of the

booker prize 2024 is samantha harvey for 0rbital. congratulations to her. it is the biggest selling book on the shortlist in the uk, it has also outsold the past three winners combined. thejudges winners combined. the judges described winners combined. thejudges described it 15