at ten — the hunt for the killer of one of america's most prominent businessmen. police in new york release this image of a man they're saying is "a person of interest" in the manhunt. brian thompson, head of one of america's biggest insurance companies, was shot dead in the street. we piece together what happened, and look at a possible motive. also tonight — the prime minister sets out the government's "plan for change", afterfive months in office. chris was at the launch. and quite a thing it was too, with many of the hallmarks of an election campaign event — not something many months later. i'll try to unpack why. after an earthquake hits off the coast of california, a tsunami warning sends people fleeing.

large—scale evacuations and panic for a warning that was ultimately lifted. in a nationwide address, president macron says he'll serve his full term, despite the collapse of the government in a no confidence vote. if you pity anyone, pity my poor diary secretary... criticism from abuse survivors, over the tone of the outgoing archbishop of canterbury's farewell speech to the lords. and what's the deal with bitcoin? valued at $16,000 two years ago, now worth 100,000. in london, tower hamlets becomes the latest council to set up and stay with us here on bbc news for continuing coverage and analysis from our team of correspondents in the uk and around the world.

good evening. is this the face of a killer, involved in the targetted murder of one of america's most prominent ceos? well, police in new york have released this image of someone they say is "a person of interest" in the killing of the head of one of america's biggest insurance companies, as their man hunt continues. brian thompson was shot in the street, outside a hotel in the city. ros atkins, of bbc verify, has our top story. brian thompson was shot dead on wednesday morning. he was attacked a few blocks from times square and central park, just outside the hilton hotel in manhattan. police now say this man is a person of interest as they pursue their investigation. the first known sighting of the gunman is by the 57th street subway station. this cctv image, obtained by the washington post, is time—stamped 6.15. the next sighting, according to us media, is 6.17 at a starbucks.

the police released this image from inside the cafe. then at 6.30, we see the same man in this video, published by the new york times. he appears to be on the phone. nearby is the hilton hotel. brian thompson was attending a conference there, and according to police, at around 6.110 the gunman arrived and waited. minutes later, this video shows mr thompson by the hotel. the gunman approaches and takes aim. he ignores a bystander close by, who flees as the shooting begins. also, if we zoom in, after the initial shot, the gun appears to temporarilyjam, and one firearms expert told us the gun may have a silencer. after the shooting, the assailant runs across the street, leaving brian thompson lying on the ground. police say he then walked into a nearby alleyway, and then, using a bike,

headed north toward central park. we have this image from the police showing someone in the same outfit with the same rucksack. according to police he then rode into central park. by this point it's 6.48. the final possible sighting is on west 85th street. our us partners, cbs, reports police are analysing this surveillance footage from just before 7.00. 13 minutes later, 7.12, at the mount sinai west hospital, brian thompson was pronounced dead. across new york, the search continues for his killer. ros atkins, bbc news. so who was brian thompson and why was he murdered? nada tawfik has more. combing through every inch of the crime scene to piece together not just the who, but the y. police

revealed the words deny, defend, depose, were written on recovered sheu depose, were written on recovered shell cases there, the word is a reference to an american saying about the tactics used by insurance companies to try to avoid paying people's health care claims. the evidence has added more weight to the police�*s belief that this was a targeted attack. the police's belief that this was a targeted attack.— the police's belief that this was a targeted attack. they are talking to olice in targeted attack. they are talking to police in his— targeted attack. they are talking to police in his home, _ targeted attack. they are talking to police in his home, talking - targeted attack. they are talking to police in his home, talking to - police in his home, talking to security. in his business there are a lot of complaints and there may be threats. they are doing all of those things. it's a very methodical process false white brian thompson led united healthcare, a successful for—profit insurance company that came under scrutiny from lawmakers for systematically denying people's lot claims, leaving them with large medical bills. he rose through several decades through the company becoming ceo in 2021. he earned more

than $10 million between pay and stock. . , ~ ., ., stock. relatively unknown to the wider public. _ stock. relatively unknown to the wider public, his _ stock. relatively unknown to the wider public, his profile - stock. relatively unknown to the wider public, his profile has - wider public, his profile has already been removed from the company website. at the headquarters in minnesota, flags have been lowered to half mast to mourn his passing, but outside of the company there's been less sympathy over his death. he previously faced criticism and allegations of insider trading, before investors were told about the justice department anti—trust investigation into the company he sold $50 million worth of his company shares. united healthcare told bloomberg at the time that the company approved the sale. the fevered hunt continues for the 50—year—old's killer. new footage shows the suspect exiting a sub or a station half an hour before the shooting, and crucial moment as police build a timeline of this rare and brazen attack in midtown. it seems almost every hour there is new footage or new evidence that comes forward. investigators are now

looking into the fact that the suspect allegedly used a fake id to check into a hostel in upper manhattan, but the suspect was last seen leaving central park yesterday morning, so this hunt continues. investigators keen to speak to as many people as possible and even offering a $10,000 reward for information. thank you for that, nada tawfik, live in new york. sir keir starmer says "britain is broken, but not beyond repair", as he set out what he's calling his "plan for change", with a focus on improving living standards, as well as boosting growth. five months after winning the general election, he's now set out six targets, including building more affordable homes, reducing nhs waiting times, and making streets safer. the conservatives have called it a desperate attempted relaunch. here's chris mason. they filmed mission impossible here. there's plenty of 007 heritage too, but the extras today,

a little less glamorous. as us reporters are ushered in, the supporting cabinet ministers flick through the script. and the main man takes to the stage. if i keep coming back here, i could be the nextjames bond. laughter. this event at pinewood studios in buckinghamshire looked, felt and sounded like a pre—election do, not one five months afterwards. we face an almighty challenge to hit these milestones by the end of this parliament. we're starting from ground zero. a repeated theme today was an impatience to get things done and get stuff built. the nimbys, the regulators, the blockers, the bureaucrats, the alliance of naysayers. well, we say to them, you no longer have the upper hand. britain says yes. and the prime minister had two audiences.

yes, the country at large, but also the civil service. this plan will land on desks across whitehall, with the heavy thud of a gauntlet being thrown down. i do think that too many people in whitehall are comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline. you won't be surprised when i tell you plenty of civil servants don't think much of that remark. this event was all about the prime minister wanting to prioritise and point to what matters to him. but prioritising some things means not prioritising others. you've set out these milestones this morning. immigration isn't one of them, but you have talked about it and it is in the document. and so people might wonder whether it's a priority or not. we'll bring immigration down, both legal and illegal. but i take that as the basic security that any government must deliver, and we build the five missions, the plan

for change, on that. all this — the staging, the promises, the answers — an attempt to talk about things that matter to millions and put their bumpy start behind them. farmers complaining about inheritance tax. chanting: tax the rich and make them pay. i plenty of pensioners complaining because they'll... no longer receive the winter fuel payment from this year onwards. | businesses paying more tax. it's catastrophic. sue gray resigns... and the chief of staff out the door only three months in. perhaps little wonder opponents see today as a relaunch. it's all very well them coming up with a bunch of pledges today, l but they've got a track record of not doing what they say i they-re going to do. — so why should we listen to them now? for the prime minister, he hopes this amounts to a licence to be listened to. the big challenge — turning the script into reality. chris mason, bbc news,

at pinewood studios. so will the government be able to hit these targets? ben chu's been taking a look. those new "measurable milestones" are to be achieved by 2029, which the pm says voters can use to judge the performance of this labour government. they are growing household incomes, building more houses, delivering more neighbourhood police, improving early years education, decarbonising power and getting hospital waiting times down. of these targets, it's the ones on housing, power and hospitals which most expertsjudge will be the hardest to meet. the pm pledged 1.5 million new homes over the course of the parliament — that's defined as net additional dwellings in england. that 1.5 million would equate to around 300,000 per year. 0nly around 221,000 were delivered in 2023—2024, down on the previous year. it's been decades since this number of new houses

was delivered in any year. 0n hospital waiting times, the pm said he will hit the official target that 92% of patients in england waiting for elective treatment should be seen within 18 weeks. in september 2024, only around 59% of treatments people were waiting for had started within 18 weeks. the last time the 92% target was achieved was back in 2015. and finally, to be on track for 95% clean powerfor the uk by 2030 would require big increases in our national solar and wind power generating capacity, as you can see here. the government's independent energy planner recently concluded this is possible, but also warns achieving it will be "at the limit of what is feasible . ben chu, thank you for that, from bbc verify. let's rejoin chris, who is with me. five months on he is

having what looks like a reset. why? it was a launch, no doubt about that even how it looked and it's no surprise critics are calling it a relaunch. what's interesting is the idea that it's hard have been kicked around in government for at least a couple of months and the idea is to have a handful of understandable promises that will matter to millions of people, to give something that ministers can point to talk about and aim for. they call them measurable deliverables. i'll hazard a guess you didn't get up this morning and think i need in my life some measurable deliverables but the strategy from the government's perspective is they are things you can get your head round and if they can deliver on them then maybe you can build some trust, but take a look at this. alastair campbell, who was tony blair's communications man, was on tonight's question time and had a sharp observation in response to something fiona was saying. we observation in response to something fiona was saying-— fiona was saying. i've been looking at thin . s fiona was saying. i've been looking at things that _ fiona was saying. i've been looking at things that have _ fiona was saying. i've been looking at things that have been _ fiona was saying. i've been looking at things that have been going - fiona was saying. i've been looking at things that have been going on, |

at things that have been going on, we've _ at things that have been going on, we've had — at things that have been going on, we've had three foundations, five missions, — we've had three foundations, five missions, six milestones, seven pillars — missions, six milestones, seven pillars its— missions, six milestones, seven pillars. it's myjob to follow this, i pillars. it's myjob to follow this, i couldn't— pillars. it's myjob to follow this, i couldn't tell you what they all are~ _ i couldn't tell you what they all are~ as — i couldn't tell you what they all are~ as a — i couldn't tell you what they all are. as a former communications adviser, — are. as a former communications adviser, what do you think of that? laughter— laughter fee! laughter _ . i can see why there are issues around clarity... _ . i can see why there are issues around clarity... it's _ . i can see why there are issues around clarity. .. it's fair- . i can see why there are issues around clarity... it's fair to - . i can see why there are issues around clarity... it's fair to say | around clarity... it's fair to say most people — around clarity... it's fair to say most people are _ around clarity... it's fair to say most people are not _ around clarity... it's fair to say most people are not close - around clarity... it's fair to say - most people are not close observers of the language that governments used to try to describe their ideas, but they might clock big promises over time and they'll certainly clock feeling of things either getting better or worse and that's the ultimate determinant of whether a government is re—elected or not. incidentally, i should say the prime minister is on bbc breakfast on bbc one in the morning.— one in the morning. mason, our olitical one in the morning. mason, our political editor _ one in the morning. mason, our political editor there. _ and adam will have more on the pm's speech over on newsnight on bbc two shortly. after the prime minister angers civil servants we'll speak to one of

the government ministers trying to calm things down tonight. meanwhile in france emmanuel macron is gearing up in france emmanuel macron is gearing up for a fight with the parties who voted out his prime minister yesterday. join us for newsnight at 10:30pm on bbc two, bbc news, and on iplayer. 10:30pm on bbc two, bbc news, and on ipla er. �* ., ., ~ i. ., 10:30pm on bbc two, bbc news, and on ipla er. �* ., ., ~ ., ., the nhs is facing a tough winter, with flu cases four times higher than at this point last year. more than a 1,000 people have been in hospital with flu every day this week in england, compared to just under 250 at the same time last year. and there are also rising numbers of cases of covid, norovirus and another respiratory virus, called rsv. the bbc has agreed to hold off publishing a report into allegations about the behaviour of the former radio 1 dj tim westwood, at the request of the metropolitan police. an inquiry was begun in 2022, after 18 women accused the presenter of predatory and unwanted sexual behaviour over a period of more than 30 years —

allegations which he denies. in a national television address, president macron told the french people he was determined to stay in office until the end of his term in 2027, and he warned that some political groups had "chosen chaos," by toppling the government in a no confidence vote. he said he'd soon be choosing a new prime minister to replace michel barnier, who's now resigned. the political turmoil comes ahead of a visit by the soon—to—be us president, donald trump, this weekend. from paris, here's andrew harding. a mood of angry confusion across france today. teachers leading nationwide marches against the government and its tough budget cuts, except there is no government any more and no budget either. not since last night's vote of no confidence sent the nation spinning into political chaos. now there's just frustration. france is a big country. should be a big country, 0k?

today it's a mess. everything is wrong. it's all about corruption. this evening, a statement from the man most french blame for the mess. president emmanuel macron, not for the first time, called for unity and lashed out at intransigent mps. translation: some political groups have simply chosen chaos. _ it's the only agenda that unites them. they don't want to build. they want to dismantle and create disorder. it was yesterday evening that mps on the hard left and hard right voted to bring down a fragile centrist government. and with it the former brexit negotiator turned short—lived prime minister michel barnier. the parliament was and still is deadlocked, with no appetite for the sort of pragmatic deal—making france needs. already businesses big

and small are concerned about the knock—on effects. "all i want is a stable situation," says abdul majeed. "so everyone is happy. a lot of us are worried." we know that we have to make fiscal consolidation. but we don't have a strategy now because we don't have a government. any new government may depend on this man's support. signing his autobiography at the age ofjust 29, jordan bardella, leader of the national rally, is the star of france's hard right. asked if he's now demanding president macron step down, he said... "not yet." there is no clarity tonight about the way forward for france. the president looks weak, hardliners in parliament are still sharpening their claws and a new prime minister will surely struggle to break this winter deadlock.

andrew harding, bbc news, paris. so what next for france? katya adler is with me. the president, he called an election he didn't have too, the government has collapsed, he has no prime minister, it is a big mess, is that fair? it minister, it is a big mess, is that fair? , , ., ., minister, it is a big mess, is that fair? , ., ., . ., fair? it is important we are clear. it is fair? it is important we are clear. it is france _ fair? it is important we are clear. it is france in _ fair? it is important we are clear. it is france in a _ fair? it is important we are clear. it is france in a mess? _ fair? it is important we are clear. it is france in a mess? yes. - fair? it is important we are clear. it is france in a mess? yes. it. fair? it is important we are clear. | it is france in a mess? yes. it has beenin it is france in a mess? yes. it has been in a mess since the summer, since parliamentary elections in a parliament divided but is france ceasing to function as a country? no. it doesn't need a new cost saving a budget but with mps divided, they can't agree on one. what they are likely to do as soon as they get a new prime minister is to agree to roll over the current budget and why would they agree on that? because if they don't, voters will punish them and we expect new parliamentary elections in france within a year. so france basically

stumbles on, it is not elegant, it is not a great look for the eu either all euro zone that its two biggest powers, france and germany, are beset by big domestic problems but they stumble on and emmanuel macron is hoping to distract journalists because we have the grand reopening of the notre dame cathedral this week and in paris, which has been restored at great expense. donald trump is expected to attend the opening ceremony and that will be french headlines of another kind. . ,, will be french headlines of another kind. ., ., ~ a powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of northern california. the us geological survey recorded what happened and triggered a tsunami warning, affecting millions of people in the state and in neighbouring 0regon. the warning was then retracted. the earthquake's epicentre hit closest to the small city of ferndale in california, about 260 miles north of san francisco. and lily jamali there for us now.

yes, this was rescinded but it must have sent so many people panicking. it was a 7.0 magnitude earthquake which is pretty substantial. luckily the epicentre of this earthquake was in a remote part of northern california. having said that, we did feel it here in san francisco and in surrounding communities. take a look at these pictures. this video paints the picture of what it was like here earlier today. the picture of what it was like here earliertoday. people the picture of what it was like here earlier today. people in this region are used to earthquakes, they often have a plan as to what to do but they were not prepared for what came next and that is that tsunami warning, which sent communities into a state of confusion, with different municipalities given different guidance as to what to do. just over the san francisco bay, the entire western portion of buckley was told to evacuate and we know at least one

school was also evacuated today. at this point the warning has been lifted but the impacts of all those people trying to seek higher ground for safety and all those kids let out of school, those impacts are likely to still be felt throughout this day. likely to still be felt throughout this da . . ~ likely to still be felt throughout this da . ., ~ i. ., likely to still be felt throughout this da . ., ~' i., ., ., likely to still be felt throughout this da . . ~' ., . , this day. thank you for that. lily jamali in san _ this day. thank you for that. lily jamali in san francisco. - islamist—led rebels in syria have been celebrating the capture of the city of hama from troops loyal to president bashar al—assad. let's speak to our correspondent hugo bachega, who's on syria's border with turkey. hugo. this is another major victory for these rebels in this astonishing campaign against president assad. this is an offensive led by islamist rebels from a group known as hds. they are considered a terrorist organisation in many countries, including the uk. they have their routes in al-qaeda although they have been trying to rebrand

themselves as nationalist forces. what is interesting here is they say they are not going to stop in hama. the next target is the city of homs which is a key hub connecting the capital, damascus, to the north of the country and also the coast. tonight there was heavy traffic as people try to flee the city amid fears of these rebel advances. this is a major blow to president assad. in the past he relied on russia and iran to crush the opposition. both allies are now busy with their own affairs, so we soon don't know how the president is going to react to stop this campaign. it could threaten his regime's survival. hugo bacheaa threaten his regime's survival. hugo itachega reporting — threaten his regime's survival. hugo bachega reporting there _ threaten his regime's survival. hugo bachega reporting there us there. abuse survivors have criticised the tone of a farewell speech given by the outgoing archbishop of canterbury justin welby to the house of lords. he'd announced his resignation last month, after an independent review found that he had "moral and personal responsibility" to have done more to stop the prolific child abuser

john smythe, who ran camps for young evangelical christians. aleem maqbool is here with more on this. what has upset these abuse survivors?— what has upset these abuse survivors? , , , survivors? this is the first we heard from — survivors? this is the first we heard from archbishop - survivors? this is the first we heard from archbishop welby survivors? this is the first we - heard from archbishop welby since he announced his resignation. he started, some suggest, in a frivolous tone, talking about the extensive plans he did have for next year, which was due to be his final year, which was due to be his final yearin year, which was due to be his final year in office. and talking about pitying his diary secretary for all the hard work they had done for nothing, but he did acknowledge then that it was clear he did have to step down. the reality is that there comes a time, if you are technically leading a particular institution or area of responsibility, where the shame of what has gone wrong, whether one is personally responsible or not, must require a head to roll and there is only, in this case, one head that

rolls well enough. the reason he resigned was because of a report into the abuse ofjohn smyth concluded that notjust the church butjustin welby himself could and should have done more. some of the abuse victims ofjohn smyth have said this evening that they are upset, they are dismayed that in their viewjustin welby there seemed to move away from his personal responsibility and not fully acknowledging that. they also complained about the time, saying that there had beenjokes in it for example, he talked about one of his predecessors in the 14th century being decapitated and his had been used as a football by peasants. so in the words of one of those abuse survivors, they said they were disgusted by that and said they felt justin welby was trying to reframe this as an early retirement rather than a resignation in shame. thank

ou. russia has been accused of interfering in romania's elections, ahead of the second round of voting for a new president this weekend. the first round saw a far—right candidate top the poll, boosted by popular nationalist videos on tiktok that have had millions of views. the european union says it will be monitoring the social media platform closely, after receiving information about possible russian interferance. moscow denies involvement, as sarah rainsford reports. in this romanian election, they're shouting for europe but worrying about russia. some protesters tonight carried flags with a hole where they'd cut out communist symbols 35 years ago. now people here fear moscow's influence is returning. that's because this man has come from nowhere to lead the race for president. a candidate with action

hero videos, just like vladimir putin once produced. calin georgescu was a fringe figure on the far right. until an election campaign exploded on tiktok and he won the first round. the authorities here now say it was a massive influence operation linked to russia. so i asked mr georgescu whether he was moscow's man, as they say. i don't care what they said. this is romanian intelligence. it's intelligence or unintelligence? they cannot believe that this has happened. i am independent, i declared very precise that my party is the romanian people, which i serve. but this week, intelligence documents were suddenly declassified to expose the threat. they detail a highly organised, paid campaign to promote mr georgescu on tiktok,

breaking all the rules. people were bombarded with that online contentjust before the first round vote. we vote massively calin georgescu. that was like 50% of my tiktok feed. half of your feed was full of calin georgescu stuff? yeah. nobody actually heard of him outside of tiktok and it was just mind— blowing for everybody. for some, mr georgescu's talk of making romania great again will be appealing. his promise to push for peace in ukraine will be music to moscow's ears. will you continue supplying military support and political support to ukraine? no, zero. so you stop everything? everything. stop. i have to take care just about my people. this election has triggered a very emotional response, but it has security implications far beyond these borders.

the leaders of hungary and slovakia are already sympathetic to vladimir putin. romania could be next. sarah rainsford, bbc news, bucharest. now, if you have any bitcoins, rejoice, because the price has hit a record high, breaking through the $100,000 mark for the first time. donald trump is widely expected to ease regulations around crypto—currencies, when he re—enters the white house, as simon jack reports. bitcoin has baffled some and bewitched others, but few things, if any in history, have risen faster in value. worth next to nothing ten years ago, it's now worth over $100,000 per coin, making some people very rich along the way. investing in bitcoin has completely changed my life. i was given a $1000 cheque from my grandmother back in 2011 and i put that all into bitcoin, back when bitcoin was $10 a pop.

with each bitcoin now worth over $100,000, eric's 100 bitcoin is now worth $10 million. around £8 million. but it's not been a smooth ride, anything but. have a look at this. it was worth next to nothing for years, then it started rising, and then basically gets very volatile. if you bought in 2022 it fell 50% very, very quickly, very uncomfortable. but look, it recovered and here it's risen 50% since donald trump, a big advocate of bitcoin and cryptocurrency, won the us election, and he's proposed other bitcoin fans to key financial positions in the us government. so what is bitcoin? well, for a start there are no physical coins or notes. each coin or fraction of a coin is basically a computer file that you keep in an electronic wallet, accessible via a device like a phone. bitcoins are created when powerful computers solve complex mathematical problems and are rewarded with bitcoin, which they can keep or sell.

this process is called mining.