hello, i'm lucy hockings, welcome to bbc news now. authorities in moscow investigating the killing of russian general igor kirillov say they've arrested a 29—year—old suspect. kirillov and his assistant were blown up as they left an apartment block just a few kilometres from the kremlin in the early hours of monday. a warning, some viewers may find the pictures we're about to show you upsetting. the explosives were attached to a scooter parked on the street. moscow says the arrested man is an uzbek, who confessed to having been promised $100,000 to kill the general, and then travel to a european union country. ukrainian security sources have said they planned the attack, saying the general was a legitimate target because he was responsible for russia's use of chemical

weapons on the battlefield. the bbc�*s vitaliy shevchenko has been monitoring the response from the russian authorities. what we know is basically these two statements, one issued by the russian federal security service, the fsb, and also the official investigations committee, they are saying that a man, an uzbek men, aged 29, has been arrested on suspicion of killing general igor kirillov yesterday. and the russian security services issued a video of a man apparently this uzbek citizen, basically confessing to what he did. he's shown handcuffed and saying what those two security agencies said. he is saying that he, several months ago, he bought a scooter, then later he received parts for the bomb, which he assembled and attached to the scooter.

then he parked it outside general kirillov�*s house. and also he apparently rented a car, also parked it outside the house, placed a camera inside the car, which was basically livestreaming from the site. now, importantly, the russian security services and this man are saying that he was acting in the interests of the ukrainian security services, he had been recruited by the ukrainian security services, allegedly, and was livestreaming from outside general kirillov�*s house to his ukrainian handlers, apparently, based in the ukrainian city of dnipro. so yesterday morning when they saw general kirillov and his aide emerge from the house, the uzbek men pressed the button and the bomb went off, killing the general.

now, he also speaks about why he did it. he said he had been promised $100,000 and a place of residence in the eu. now, whether any of that is true is of course another matter, but it's really important that the russian security services are basically saying that ukrainian agents had been able to organise an assassination of a key russian generaljust miles outside of the kremlin. the former ukrainian finance minister 0leksandr danylyuk, says kirillov was a legitimate target. the fact that the senior military, russian military, that launched aggression against ukraine, and who committed, authorised commitment of these terrible crimes in ukraine against the military and civilians, he got what he deserved. and so he was killed.

one way or another, you know, he got what he deserved. that's what's important. lots of reaction coming into this assassination attempt. earlier i spoke to patrick bury. he's a warfare and counterterrorism lecturer at the university of bath. i asked him what he thinks is the biggest impact of the assassination. it's a failure of the counterintelligence system. so it's shown that, even if this 29—year—old uzbek suspect turns out to not be the person who's done it, and just been a round—up of the usual suspects by the russians, which remains a possibility, somebody has managed to kill this general. and that is a counterintelligence systems failure. so all across the security systems, from the border checks, all the way through to the intelligence gathering and understanding of the threat picture to senior russian military

and others, because this is part, actually, of an assassination campaign that's emerging, it indicates a failure there. and i think more tactically, just in terms of the personal security detail around someone like this, this is a fairly sensitivejob, the head of what we call in the uk cbrn, chemical, biological, radiological and in the uk it would include nuclear clean—up as well. but they don't have the same in russia, it isjust the first three there, the radiation. but it is quite a sensitive role and he has been pretty easily targeted over a long period, it looks like, if these reports coming out of russia suggest. so from the idea that you can just, someone is not really checking the environs as they come out of their residents, for a scooter, to the fact that a car may have been sitting there with a camera in it for a good while, to the fact there is no counter measures to stop radio—controlled ieds being detonated etc, i think it is quite worrying. and i think the reverberations around the russian military and around the senior elites will be quite strong.

was general kirillov so influential, though, and so important that this could actually stop the use of chemical weapons in ukraine without him being there to direct them? i don't think so. i think that once that decision has been made, and they are actually being used, for example the tear gas that has been used on the front lines a lot of times, and also chloropicrin as well, which is a choking agent, i would be surprised if that stopped that. the way the russians fight as well, they are not really going to be deterred, "oh, you killed our general, now we are not going to use chemical weapons and tear gas etc on the front line." i would be surprised if that happened. i think the more important thing is the increasing assassination campaign by what is the ukrainian internal sbu security service. there is a wider picture going on as well, lucy, which is that both sides,

and this is happening in an environment where both sides are basically using the gig economy for their sabotage. in the russians�* case inside europe, and in the ukrainian case, if this turns out to be true, in the way they are just recruiting people with the lure of money on short—term contracts and some big win for them. and often they are not that experienced, they don't have, in this case potentially, the escape and evasion techniques to get out of there after they have committed some sort of attack, and get rounded up. so they are essentially pawns which are recruited along gig economy lines. and finally, patrick, what do you think the russian response is going to be now? probably missile attacks on ukrainian energy infrastructure. they will build them up again and then go strong again. i wouldn't be surprised if we saw something like an 0reshnik, those missiles, used, as they were previously. we willjust have to wait and see. concerns are mounting that the cyclone that hit the french indian ocean island of mayotte has caused

great loss of life. a surgeon said the emergency department at his hospital had seen worryingly few patients, given the scale of the destruction. there are reports that many people had disappeared in shanty towns where thousands of illegal immigrants lived. many homes were flattened by winds and mudslides. let's speak to our correspondent mayeni jones who's on the island of reunion which is south of mayotte. this is where the aid effort is being coordinated from. it's really good to see you because it has been so hard to get a full picture of what's going on on mayotte because of the difficulty with the munication sound difficult the island. you are as are as close as it gets, what are you hearing? absolutely, the reason why efforts were set up here is because there is only one airport in mayotte. the runway has been partially damaged by the cyclone. at the moment only military aeroplanes are able to land there. commercial aeroplanes can't get land there. and even military

aeroplanes can only land at night. it has completely cut the island from the rest of the world. authorities have set up an air corridor between reunion and mayotte. they plan to bring 120 tonnes of food today as well as have about 50% of the island back up with running water by the end of today, so they are working hard to try and address this. we have to bear in mind people haven't had food and water for the most part since saturday, particularly those outside the main capital. they have been struggling and nobody knows exactly how many people might be buried under mud. there were fears there were mudslides in some areas where a lot of informal settlements were built. it's a really worrying picture at the moment and authorities say they are concerned and want to try to get in there as soon as possible.— and want to try to get in there as soon as possible. getting the water seems to be _ soon as possible. getting the water seems to be the _ soon as possible. getting the water seems to be the big _ soon as possible. getting the water seems to be the big priority. - soon as possible. getting the water seems to be the big priority. there| seems to be the big priority. there was already a crisis when it came to water on mayotte, and reports of cholera too. we are seeing people

loading bottles of water onto those aid flights. is that what you are being told, the first thing to try to fix there is the water treatment plants? to fix there is the water treatment lants? ~ , , ., , to fix there is the water treatment lants? , to fix there is the water treatment lants? �* , �* ., to fix there is the water treatment lants? ~ , ~ ., ., plants? absolutely. about two of the six water treatment _ plants? absolutely. about two of the six water treatment plants _ plants? absolutely. about two of the six water treatment plants on - plants? absolutely. about two of the six water treatment plants on the - six water treatment plants on the island need to be fixed according to french media. they are working on getting others up and running. they are trying to get wateraid thereby air and they have also set up a sea corridor. water is the big priority because as you say mayotte is an area that audie had challenges with water. it wasn't meant to have the population it currently has. its population it currently has. its population of 300,000, authorities say about 100,000 of those or more potentially are illegal migrants, they are trying to claim asylum. that has made it very difficult for them to know exactly how many people are living on the island, who has been affected by this, so that has complicated efforts to investigate. there is a night—time curfew in place as well on mayotte. what are

we hearing about unrest on the streets and possible, we are hearing some shops may have been looted. i know it is difficult to get a full picture but what about what is happening in the night time with the curfew and some of that disruption on the streets?— on the streets? yeah, the curfew came into — on the streets? yeah, the curfew came into place _ on the streets? yeah, the curfew came into place last— on the streets? yeah, the curfew came into place last night. - on the streets? yeah, the curfew came into place last night. last l came into place last night. last night was the first time it was in place. some shopkeepers on mayotte have been telling french news agencies they had been looted. people are desperate for food and water. food and water have been rationed in some supermarkets. you are only allowed six cans of sardines. some footage has come out of the island showing empty shelves. as the situation gets more desperate there are worries insecurity will increase. authorities are enforcing the curfew from 10pm until faure local time to try to curb this. they hope that with all the aid coming in today and tomorrow it will hopefully help to quell some of this and people get the food and water they desperately need. to

people get the food and water they desperately need.— desperately need. to see you and thank ou desperately need. to see you and thank you for— desperately need. to see you and thank you forjoining _ desperately need. to see you and thank you forjoining us _ desperately need. to see you and thank you forjoining us from - thank you forjoining us from reunion as we keep across the aid effort on mayotte. but it is still difficult to know about the numbers of those who have been killed or injured because of communications with the island. here in the uk — the rate of inflation has risen to its highest level in eight months. the figure jumped for the second time in a row in november — rising to 2.6% — with hikes in the cost of fuel and clothing among the main drivers. 0ur chief economics correspondent, dharshini david reports. 0ne gullible penguin. we've got two cheeses and then one chicken. the countdown to christmas has been under way in york market. but the festive cheer has been mixed for rupert, who imports and sells woollen goods. the costs he pays are settling down, but customers are still feeling the pinch. do you want a wee bag for it? i think i've seen more customers, but certainly a lower spend, lower average spend. and a lot are using cash, a lot more are using cash. and i think that's budgetary, they're budgeting using cash. they're taking the money out

of the bank, and once it's gone, it's gone. a tick—up in petrol prices, higher rents and other housing costs pushed up inflation a bit last month. even though some have seen their incomes rise more quickly, they're still wary. i'm going to be honest, i'm in my overdraft. so like, i still bought my family some christmas presents, but i'm still keeping it... i'm still skint, i'm still keeping it tight. i'm probably still spending just as much. i think it's — i love christmas, i love buying people presents, but it is a lot tighter. like, your money's not going as far. everybody's got to be cautious this christmas because, - you know, things are getting worse, aren't they? - you will have noticed prices for good rising more slowly. that is why inflation, the blue line, has come down a long way from its peak. however, the prices for services — think eating out and concert tickets — are still rising more quickly. so services inflation, the red line, is doubly high. that makes it harderfor the bank of to england do itsjob so services inflation, the red line, is stubbornly high.

that makes it harderfor the bank of to england do itsjob of returning inflation to its 2% target. so while it started cutting interest rates in the summer, it is not expected to do so again tomorrow to give borrowers that pre—christmas boost. instead it is likely to wait until february because of lingering risks. it's lunchtime at david's stall in york market. he's braced for what 2025 will dish up. like many employers he faces a bigger tax bill after the national insurance hike announced in the budget kicks in. that could spell price rises. we're going to wait till we get to that point, see what other prices have gone up, like fat for us, fish for us. we're going to have to take that all into account and then possibly act on that after. yeah, yeah, card's good, yeah. such policies mean it may take longer for inflation to come back to target and so interest rate cuts are expected to be more gradual. 2024 has delivered lower inflation, but there's still some less than appetising leftovers lingering into the new year.

dharshini david, bbc news. coming up... as talks continue to end the fighting in gaza, we'll be talking to the un about how the conflict in gaza is affecting children's education.

the war in gaza has had a profound effect on children's education. since 7th october last year all schools, universities, and training centres in gaza have remained closed. figures released yesterday from the palestinian ministry of education says that almost 13,000 palestinian students have been killed since the start of the war. and 21,000 more students have been wounded in the gaza strip and the occupied west bank. at least 598 teachers have been killed. and on top of that,

425 government schools have been bombed by the israeli military. the idf has repeatedly said that airstrikes on schools are the result of military infrastructure and rocket launching facilities placed in civilian areas. juliette touma is the communications director at unrwa. she said the longer children are out of education the more susceptible they are to becoming victims of violence or recruited by gangs. children and their education, they've been a casualty of this war. for example, at unrwa, we used to provide learning for over 300,000 children, but we had to stop that as the war began. and even if there is a ceasefire tomorrow in gaza, two thirds of our schools can no longer be used because they've been hit. some of them have been bombed to the ground. how will you even start that process as well, juliette? are talks taking place at the moment? if it is seen as being a priority once a ceasefire has been achieved.

the education of children has not been a priority, lucy, it's kind of been lost, if you wish, as people were struggling to survive. however, the second year children are not going to school, we are on the verge of losing a whole generation of children in gaza. and the longer that children stay out of school, the more difficult it is to catch up on their losses, and the bigger the risk for them to fall prey to exploitation, including things like child marriage, child labour, but also recruitment into armed groups. and what about psycho— and emotional support for children in gaza? that must be on the agendas of some agencies somewhere, too, juliette, if we're looking to the future, how we help children recover from what they've been through. 0h, absolutely. every single child in gaza and we're talking aboutjust over a million children in gaza, half of the population. every single child has been

scarred psychologically. these are the invisible scars, what we call, and unrwa has been spearheading for months on end now a programme to address the psychological needs and the huge mental health needs for the children of gaza, but also for adults, because it is safe to say that across the board, 2 million people in gaza — the entire population is emotionally and psychologically scarred because of this brutal war. and the physical infrastructure, juliette, to tell us about the damage that's been done notjust to schools, but to universities and other institutions. i mean, absolutely horrendous. i've been to gaza myself during the war, and i've been doing wars for almost two decades, including in the region, including in syria, by the way, and i've seen it firsthand. nothing compares to the level of destruction that we're having right now in gaza.

and when the ceasefire comes, and we hope that it is imminent, obviously there is a need for huge reconstruction to rebuild the basic services for people. but i think what's really important is the reconstruction of the souls. people have got to reconcile and have got to come back to some sort of normalcy when it comes to the social fabric that was severely torn as a result of this war in gaza. for hundreds of years, residents in one town in northern canada have lived alongside their polar bear neighbours, but scientists are warning that climate change could spell danger. as the temperature rises and melts the ice polar bears need to hunt seals, they are being forced spend more time on land, bringing them closer to people. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill has been in churchill, along with a team of polar bear researchers.

there's a polar bear under our tundra buggy, right now. he's very curious about us. oh, my word! at the height of polar bear season in churchill, manitoba, conservation scientists are out on the tundra monitoring one of the most southerly polar bear populations in the world. so the polar bears are starting to gather in this area because there's going to be sea ice here first. and for polar bears, sea ice means food. the bears are waiting for the bay to freeze so they can use it as a platform to hunt seals. but as the climate warms up here, the bears are having to wait for longer. we had about 1,200 polar bears here in the 1980s. and now we have closer to about 618, so we've lost almost about 50% of these polar bears in the last several decades. and we've tied that to these bears are on land about a month longer than their grandparents were. in the long term, this threatens the survival of this polar bear population. but in the short term it means the bears here are getting hungrier. the longer they're on shore, the longer they're fasting, and the longer they might need to start looking for alternative

sources of energy and food. and sometimes those sources are us. that poses a particular challenge for churchill and the team of rangers who run its polar bear alert programme. i came down this trail and i caught him up on this deck. it was testing the door. what did you do? so at that point, you you haze them, right? you use your vehicle horns, cracker shells, and you chase them in a desirable direction, which in this case would be away from town. this is a place that takes pride in setting an example for how humans can coexist with these big predators. everyone here that we've spoken to is very aware of it all the time. and, uh... distant crack. should we go? i can hear cracker shots over there. that means that they may be moving a bear. there's a bear there.

it's crossing the road. get in the car. we heard crackers going off, and now the polar bear alert team are moving around. so we're going to get back in the car. so you can just see it through the trees there. we could see the polar bear alert team's quad bikes and their trucks moving the bear along. while a loss of sea ice threatens the survival of churchill's polar bears, it could also open up the bay and the town's port for more of the year. the new marine observatory here that opened just this year, is carrying out experiments that aim to better understand what winter conditions on the bay will be like in the future. the bay is open water, essentially, on average, essentially about five months a year, and it's on the trajectory to become all year round. and my colleague right there, and he's actually working specifically on improving the projection of ice conditions to facilitate, to help make better decisions on the shipping season. this is a town preparing for

a future without sea ice in the bay. the town's mayor, mike spence, says that could present opportunities. what do you think this place could look like in ten years' time? it will be a bustling port. the future looks bright. the fate of the polar bears of the polar bear capital of the world, though, depends on us and whether we can rein in rising temperatures and preserve the ice that they depend on. we can keep arctic sea ice in the north and protect the species as a whole. sea ice is so much more than just like frozen ocean. it really is, it's a garden. it's a platform. it's access to food. it's life, really. victoria gill, bbc news in churchill, manitoba. some breaking news to bring you from here in the uk. you will remember the horrible story in august of the three little girls who were killed

in stockport, surrey, southport, at a taylor swift themed event. a 17—year—old teenager has sat not guilty plea is entered on his behalf on charges of murdering the three girls in southport injuly. we will bring you more on this story as we get it. hello. some of us have seen some pretty strong winds so far today. there are further bouts of windy weather to come over the next few days. 0n the satellite picture, one curl of cloud, one area of low pressure moving away northeastwards, but our next frontal system approaching from the southwest. some wet and windy weather with that. we have seen some very mild air tucked up into these weather systems, but some colder air is now starting to dig its way down from the north, so temperatures dropping through the rest of the day across scotland, northern ireland, northern england, some clear spells and some showers to take us into the first part of the evening.

it stays milder for longer further south, but with thickening cloud. heavy rain into south west england, wales, that running eastwards through the evening with a swathe of very strong winds running up through the english channel. those winds easing a touch through the second half of the night, but it's going to stay very windy across the north of scotland. here we will see some wintry showers with that colder air tucking in. and for all of us, well, it's not going to be as mild as last night. into tomorrow, a very different feel to the weather, all of us into the colder air. but we will see quite a lot of sunshine showers blowing in on the strong northwesterly winds. it's going to be windy for all of us. some of those showers wintry over high ground. temperatures down in single digits, 5 to 9 degrees covers it for most of us. but when we factor in the strength of the wind, it will feel even colder than that. now into friday, here comes our next frontal system.

another band of rain pushing in from the west, some showers following on behind. some slightly milder weather tucked in with this frontal system for a time. and then as we head into the start of the weekend. but it could turn very windy once again, a deep low hurtling towards the northwest of scotland. a lot of isobars on this chart. we could well see gales, maybe severe gales across the north and the west of scotland, the north coast of northern ireland gusts potentially up to 80mph — that could cause some disruption. a real rush of showers working in here, some of those wintry up over higher ground. i think we'll see some more of those wintry showers as we go on into sunday. it's going to be a widely windy end to the weekend. things do, though, quieten down on the approach to christmas. christmas itself at the moment looks largely dry and very mild.

bell rings. bell rings. live from new york live from new york at the opening bell — at the opening bell — this is business today. this is business today. from new york, i m ritika gupta. us markets open muted us markets open muted ahead of today's all ahead of today's all important interest rate decision. important interest rate decision. re—modelling japan's car giants — re—modelling japan's car giants — shares in nissan soar over reports shares in nissan soar over reports it's in merger talks with honda. plus — the importance of resilience. plus — the importance of resilience. entrepreneur dean forbes tops entrepreneur dean forbes tops the uk's power list for 2025 — the uk's power list for 2025 — he tells us about his remarkable career. welcome to business today, live