nato says russia's use of an experimental ballistic missile against ukraine will not deter western allies. london's gatwick airport has been partially evacuated following the discovery of a prohibited item in a piece of luggage. the cop29 climate summit releases a new draft climate finance deal that would have developed nations take the lead. donald trump nominates veteran prosecutor, pam bondi, as his new attorney—general after matt gaetz withdraws his nomination for the role. hello, i'm ben brown, welcome to bbc news now, a sixth tourist has died

after drinking tainted alcohol while travelling in laos. the latest death is of a 19—year—old australian woman, holly bowles. her death follows that of a 28—year—old british woman simone white. all those who died stayed in vang vieng, a popular party town in central laos. our correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes is covering the story from bangkok. sadly, we're getting very little information out of laos as to what exactly happened and what is the extent of the investigation. there are some reporters who have made it to vang vieng, including the associated press, and they are reporting that they have spoken to the police in that town in central laos, and that they say they have detained a number of people — we understand that they are mostly bar owners or hostel owners — have been detained for questioning in relation to this case. we've not heard that anybody has been charged yet, but there is some sort

of investigation going on. but laos is a one—party state. it is very secretive. it is not friendly to journalists. and at the moment, it is not really giving very much information about that investigation at all. in addition, you know, as well as being a really tightly controlled one—party state, this place — vang vieng — is famous for being a very wild party town where all sorts of things are available, including homemade liquor, all sorts of unlicensed liquor. and i've heard today or read today on social media people saying that they visited recently and that there were class a drugs for sale in places in vang vieng. so it's clearly a bit of a wild west town where people go to party, and a lot of it is very, very unregulated. consequently, it is potentially very dangerous for some of the young people going there, they don't know what they're drinking. and that's what seems to have led to this tragedy. and this appears to have been methanol poisoning. why is that so deadly? well, methanol is made...

it's a wood spirit as opposed to ethanol, which is what's normally the alcohol base to any alcoholic drink. and methanol can be — in even very small quantities — can be very, very toxic to human beings. i read a report today quoting medical experts who said as little as 25ml of methanol can be fatal, and often it depends on the size of the person and their alcohol tolerance. but, you know, even in very small quantities — as we've seen — people can get very, very sick and can die. and just briefly, rupert, i mean, you were talking about this being a very party town where this happened, but presumably this is going to deter tourists from going to that town, but also to laos in general? yeah, that's certainly the mood here in bangkok. this is on the

backpacker trail. this is sort of the centre of the backpacking trail in southeast asia. people start off here in bangkok, and then they head off up to laos, to cambodia, and on down to other parts of southeast asia. and people here are again being quoted in the media as saying that they're very worried, that people are scared. people who've come back recently have said, you know, "you've got to be really, really careful going there." so obviously this is going to have some sort of impact in the immediate future. but i think the, you know... the issue is people, young people, are coming to southeast asia looking for fun. and often they may not be very experienced in coming to places where stuff like this — alcohol — is not regulated and where there is this sort of very unregulated, very free market in local spirit making. and because of that, they may not be aware of what they're actually drinking and think that it's perfectly safe when it's actually not.

rupert wingfield—hayes reporting there from bangkok. after russia raised the stakes in the war against ukraine by firing an experimental ballistic missile, the nato military alliance has said it won't be deterred from supporting kyiv. nato will hold an emergency meeting on tuesday to discuss russia's launch of the hypersonic intermediate range missile— but says it will not change the course of the conflict. ukraine's president zelensky has said russia's use of the weapon is �*a clear and severe escalation�* which the world must respond to. ukraine says the missile flew for 15 minutes at mach ii. it hit the ukrainian city of dnipro — and with a range of 3000 miles, it is a weapon that would be capable of reaching targets across europe. president putin says russia reserves the right to use missiles against the military installations of any country which has itself fired weapons into russian territory. he said he thought the united states had got the message.

ukraine is believed to have already used british �*storm shadow�* missiles to hit targets inside russia — and american atacm missiles too. steve rosenberg reports. the kremlin leader has upped the stakes in an escalating conflict. in an address to the nation, his reaction to ukraine launching us and british long—range missiles at russia. translate: from this moment, as we have underlined many - times before, the regional conflict in ukraine — one provoked by the west — has taken on elements of a global nature. in response, president putin said, russia targeted ukraine with a new intermediate—range ballistic missile. then, this warning to countries supplying kyiv with weapons. translate: we have the right to use our weapons _ against military facilities of countries that allow their weapons to be used against our sites,

and if there is an escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond just as decisively and symmetrically. i recommend ruling elites of countries hatching plans to use their military forces against russia to think seriously about this. for months, vladimir putin had been warning the west — you allow ukraine to use your long—range missiles to attack russia, and we will view that as nato countries entering a direct confrontation with moscow. but this national address is the starkest sign so far from mr putin that he is ready to hit back. the uk—made storm shadow has a maximum range of around 150 miles. moscow says ukraine fired missiles like these into russia's kursk region, and accuses britain and america of escalating the war. the escalation at every turn, at every step, is coming from russia. they're the ones who

are escalating this. they're the ones who started this war. it is because of their aggression into a sovereign territory — ukraine. and this war can end today — you hear us say this over and over again, it can — if russia would stop the war and stop what they're doing with their aggression. but little prospect of a kremlin u—turn. vladimir putin has delivered his warning. now he'll wait to see if the west believes him. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. melinda haring is a senior fellow at the atlantic council's eurasia centre and expert on ukraine... this is vladimir putin testing the west. and trying to scare is. i think it is important to have a bit of context: this isn't the first time moscow has sent a nuclear capable missile into ukraine. it is really important to stay calm and not overreact. another important fact that has

been missed: ukraine doesn't have endless storm shadows or endless french scalps were endless atacms. the supply is pretty limited also. it is pretty scary for the west when you think that all of this follows, the use of the experimental hypersonic missile with a long range, it comes in the same week that russia lowered the threshold at which they could conceivably use nuclear weapons. so, that decision on nuclear weapons was made back in september and was published this week. vladimir putin is very good at rattling the west. he is brilliant at this. that is what he is up to. he has made numerous nuclear threats since the war began nearly three years ago. he never makes good on his promise. i think that, as your russian editor said, vladimir putin

has no brakes, reverse, and isn't going to get off the road. he is just careening forward and we need to not be deterred or rattled by his empty threats. is he also waiting for donald trump to step back into the white house and perhaps to some sort of deal over ukraine? he absolutely is. vladimir putin knows he has a narrow window to deal with joe biden. joe biden calculated he could finally authorise these atacms and was frightened of escalation. his white house decided he had the ability to authorise these weapons because putin isn't going to begin a nuclear warjust as the us administration changes over. so yes putin is playing a waiting game but he is also trying to get the white house to reverse that decision. he wants to scare the white house and london and get them to reverse their decision

on storm shadows and atacms. satellite imagery appears to show russia has supplied north korea with more than a—million barrels of oil since march in contravention of international sanctions. it comes as north korea is sending moscow weapons and soldiers for its war in ukraine. 0ur correspondent in seouljean mackenzie told us about the remarkable findings on this of a team of researchers. these researchers have been studying north korean oil tankers for years using satellite imagery. what they noticed was that one of these tankers pulled into an oil terminal in the far east of russia in a port. they have them watching since and have documented 43 trips made by north korean oil tankers to this russian port. they have also had images taken of these ships at sea, giving them even more information. what they have noticed is

when bankers go into the port in vostochny, they sit high in the water, suggesting they are empty. when they leave vostochny, they sit very low in the water, suggesting that they have been pretty much filled to capacity. using this information they have worked out that they think russia has now supplied north korea with over a million barrels of oil which is in violation of un sanctions because there are strict controls on north korea. you are only allowed to sell north korea 500,000 barrels of oil per year, and that is essentially to stifle its economy and stop it being able to develop nuclear weapons. if this data is correct then russia has already breached its un cap by more than double in eight months alone. jean mckenzie reporting there. london's gatwick airport, the second busiest in britain, has been partially evacuated following the discovery of a prohibited item in a piece of luggage.

the airport said its south terminal, one of two, has been evacuated while it investigates the incident, adding that passengers are currently prevented from entering the building. train services to the aiport are not stopping. 0ur reporter nick johnson is there. sussex police say they found a suspected prohibited item in some luggage. we don't have any more details as to what that item might be particularly caused significant enough alarm for the authorities to decide to close a large proportion of this airport. gatwick has two terminals, north and south, it is a saudi that is the issue. people at the moment are not allowed to check in at all at the south terminal. i had a look in the north terminal which is sort of operating normally but a very, very busy, lots of passages in the north normally but a very, very busy, lots of passages in the north say they are meant to go to the say they are meant to go to the south and are hanging around south and are hanging around because they don't know what to because they don't know what to do. the inevitability of this do. the inevitability of this incident is the knock—on incident is the knock—on disruption that is likely we disruption that is likely we expect throughout the day, not expect throughout the day, not

only the airport itself, the only the airport itself, the roads around the airport very roads around the airport very busy as very, very busy, busy as well. gatwick airport rail station, train is able to run through the station but not able to stop. 0ne run through the station but not able to stop. one of the main arterial roadways from the m23 motorway into the airport itself very, very busy. signed on the motorway saying at least 30 minute delay trying to get to the airport itself in your car. the moment, this operation is being led by sussex police, no suggestion counterterror offices are involved, the message from the airport is if you are planning to travel from here, do check with your airline and leave plenty of time. that is nickjohnson reporting there from gatwick airport. around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news.

officials in the democratic republic of congo say there's been a notable reduction in new mpox infections since the first batch of vaccines was rolled out last month. but despite that, the world health organization has warned that testing rates in the drc are still low.

0ur senior africa correspondent anne soy reports. this three—year—old is unable to eat. he's had rashes in his mouth and all over his body for over a week now. mpox has hit his community in the south—east of drc hard. his mother says the symptoms developed quickly. translation: his eyes were teary, so they - administered eyedrops. then later his tongue got small sores. after one day, the rashes spread to his face and body. he looked like someone who had been scalded by hot water. the empty beds at the hospital are a testament things are changing. in august, there weren't enough. patients were forced to share them. translation: lately, | it started to slow down, because at the beginning we were receiving 10 or 15 new cases a day. but now we are only seeing two

or three cases a day. we can't confirm that we've totally stabilised the disease because cases are still coming in, but it's not like before. the world health organization says whilst cases are plateauing in the worst affected country, the drc, the overall picture is mixed. it is unfortunately also true that in many places, also in drc, we do see an escalation in the number of cases, much as we did in the bukavu area back in august. so right now, while we deal with these various different pieces of outbreak and different dynamics of outbreak in different parts of drc and also in different countries, we do need to remember that we will continue to see cases cropping up in different places that maybe haven't been affected before. and as long as there are those cases happening anywhere, we need to respond as much as we can _ vaccination has now been rolled out in several countries, but experts warn that it may be weeks before the impact

can be seen. they urge people to remain vigilant and seek treatment whenever they suspect infection. anne soy, bbc news. donald trump has nominated the veteran prosecutor, pam bondi, as his new attorney—general after his previous nominee, matt gaetz, withdrew from consideration for the role. pam bondi was one of mr trump's defence lawyers during his first impeachment trial in 2020. a long—time ally of the president—elect, she previously served as attorney general of florida. cbs correspondent jarred hill has been giving us more details about president—elect trump's new selection. yeah, it's interesting, ben, because pam bondi was someone who was said to have been on the shortlist back in 2018 to fill one of the vacancies for attorney general for then president trump. so again, her name is coming

up one more time here. and as you mentioned, she's someone who was a long—time supporter of president—elect trump. she was a defender of his, in fact, during his senate impeachment hearing back in 2020, the first one that came around. and so she is a person that has close ties to him. also someone with a bit more of a conventional legal background than matt gaetz did, who was in fact a lawyer but was not known for practising law. again, she — pam bondi — is a former attorney general of the state of florida, a state that is friendly to president—elect trump. she also has some connections within the senate, within the republican cohort in the senate, so there's the possibility that she could have an easier time getting confirmed. and just tell us a bit about why the role of attorney general is so important. well, in any us administration, but particularly perhaps for a trump administration. yeah, so generally, this is the person who upholds sort of the legal standing and the legal foundation not only of the country, but also of that president. someone who is going to be in charge of, you know,

deploying the prosecutors throughout the department ofjustice to go after some of the priorities, whether that be civil rights issues or, you know, issues dealing with the environment. we know that president—elect trump is someone who has said that he really wants to focus on tackling what he considers illegal immigration, and so there potentially could be directives for some of these prosecutors, by way of the attorney general, to seek out some of those cases and to continue prosecuting those cases. there's also this conversation that trump has been having around wanting to go after some of the folks that have, he says, gone after him. some of the other prosecutors that have been, you know, at the forefront of some of his legal cases. potentially this could be someone who goes after that as well. we do know that earlier this year, in an interview, actually before the election, jd vance, president—elect trump's vice president pick, said that the attorney general was going to be the most important selection

that the president makes. and so, again, this is someone that is obviously very important for president—elect trump. yeah, and matt gaetz was always a pretty controversial choice, to say the least. is it fair to say, i guess, that pam bondi is a safer bet? i would say she's a more conventional bet, you know. safe ? who knows. i don't want to be wrong on tv, so it's yet to be seen with that one. but she definitely is somebody who has a more conventional background for a typical attorney general pick. someone, again, who's name had already been brought up before a couple of years ago when president—elect trump — or then—president trump — was looking to fill a vacancy. so, again, more conventional. is she safer? we'll have to see. jarred hill from cbs news. in southern china... scientists have discovered ancient forests with animals and plants they thought were extinct in several sinkholes hidden deep in the mountains. the sinkholes — or "heavenly

pits" in mandarin — have formed over tens of thousands of years, and only recently became visible when the land collapsed revealing steep limestone cliffs and caves. they are now being explored with the help of local mountaineers. 0ur china correspondent laura bicker has been to meet to meet some of them. beneath the cloud, hidden deep in the mountain, scientists have discovered a lost world. the ancient forests in china's sinkholes are a haven for rare plants, and the caves harbour species researchers have never seen before. fe ge from the nearby village led scientists here. he used to think the sinkholes were haunted by demons. as we venture deeper, we do notice we're being watched. translation: we often find new things here, . and we ask the experts, what is this?

and the experts say, "we have studied this for decades and we have no idea." we are all very excited to find something new. tourists are also discovering these sinkholes. they want to dangle from the sheer limestone cliffs carved over centuries by flowing rivers, now visible after the land finally caved in. this is one of the best ways down into the tiankeng, or heavenly pits as they are known. it offers a sense of adventure, brings much needed tourism to this poorest province of guangxi. however, scientists are worried and they need to preserve these heavenly pits for future generations. for now, only a few of the sinkholes are open to visitors.

it's very cool. it's the first time i try here and next time i will try to another place. it will be the first time, but not the last time. the discovery of so many sinkholes has changed fe's life. he now guides both tourists and scientists. translation: we should try not to damage the sinkholes - and preserve the ecosystems around the caves. we should limit traces left by human activities as much as we can. researchers hope these unique ecosystems hold clues about how our planet has changed and how rare species can be preserved. now, it's about finding a balance between badly needed research and badly needed revenue. laura bicker, bbc news, guangxi.

the king's coronation cost the country £72 million, according to official accounts. more than two thirds of the money was spent by the department for culture, media and sport and policing the event cost around £21 million. the government described it as a once in a generation moment. quick reminder about gatwick airport, passengers are still unable to enter the south terminal, you can find more details on our live page on bbc online but gatwick airport saying the south terminal remains closed as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident. passengers not able to enter the south terminal while this is ongoing, trains are not currently stopping at gatwick airport, those are some of the scenes there at gatwick. you are watching bbc news, do stay tuned.

hello there. good afternoon. well, it's still very cold today, but the air will turn dramatically milder over the weekend, along with some very severe weather indeed from storm bert. it's a very deep area of low pressure, pushing northwards and eastwards through the weekend. strong winds, some very heavy rain and also some more snowfall, particularly heavy over the hills towards the north. there could be blizzard—like conditions with those strong winds as we head through saturday morning in particular, along with some very heavy rain coupled with the snow melt out towards the west. this is where it could be at its worst, could lead to some flooding. there will be widespread gales too across the uk, but towards the irish sea coast, some north sea facing coast, gusts of wind of 60 to 70 miles an hour. if you're travelling on saturday morning, do take care. the storm out towards the west then, as we head through the rest of this afternoon and the satellite picture, it's a fairly quiet afternoon of weather. there have been some wintry showers around this morning, but they're starting to ease down now. still some more snow showers across parts of western scotland inland and over the hills to lower levels, mostly sleet and rain. there will be some sunshine and temperatures still chilly,

two to seven celsius. the winds are light through the day but they will pick up overnight tonight. it's still going to feel very cold, but temperatures for many out towards the west will rise through the night. but look, —12 or —13 celsius possible tonight. across eastern areas of scotland. and this is where we have an amber warning encompassing perhaps parts of south—east scotland and into the central belt. there could be some very heavy snowfall within these areas. blizzard—like conditions too, as this area of snow sweeps its way further eastwards. by the time by get to lunchtimea lot of the snow will have turned back to rain, but some very adverse travelling conditions, some heavy rain down towards western coastal areas of wales and down through south west england as well. there could be some flooding here. it's a bit drier across south east england, but some rainfall at times and it is going to feel a lot milder but very windy throughout the day. the wind picking up towards the channel coasts. you'll notice though, on saturday night just how much milder it is going to be feeling.

so we're losing that cold air. it's been swept away. we'll start the day off in double figures, but still some very adverse weather conditions. it's still going to be very wet across the far south of england. into south—east england. still gusty winds towards these irish sea coasts. some sunny spells, but some showers following on behind the storm. do take care. bye— bye.

live from new york at the opening bell, this is business today. it's a muted open for stocks, but wall street is still on track for a winning week. another gainer this week is crypto, as its bull run continues. sceptic and chair of the sec, gary gensler steps down as bitcoin nears the $100,000 mark. plus, turbulence for carriers in spain after its regulator fines a series of european budget airlines. we'll explain why and what it means for passengers. and the trillion dollar question. as climate talks come to an end in baku, who will foot the bill to help the world's poorest countries go green? welcome to business today, live from new york, i'm ritika gupta. it could be a lacklustre end to a busy week on wall street, with investors looking to lock in gains. in about half an hour from now, we'll have the latest figures from the purchasing managers index for november,

with analysts expecting a slight bounce back