live from singapore, this is bbc news. us lawmakers reject a trump—backed plan to fund the government — voting against a bill that would ward off a looming shutdown. the husband of gisele pelicot is jailed for 20 years

sent shockwaves across france.

the stakes here are high. if a bill can't be voted through congress by midnight on friday, government departments will start running out of cash. hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be sent home — or have to stay on the job without pay — just ahead of the holidays. including transport, postal and border patrol workers. i'm joined now by peter bowes, our north america correspondent. one vote already, peter, what's the latest? it isa it is a wait and see. the hours

are ticking away, the end of friday is the deadline. if there is no agreement the government shutdown will start at the beginning of the weekend. just before christmas it is the last thing the country and the federal workers that would be directly affected need, many required to still go to work, airport security brokers for example, at this extremely busy time of year will still be doing theirjobs but facing the possibility of not getting a paycheck when it comes around to the next payday. and they won't know how long any government shutdown is going to last. there is still some hope that in the final few hours an agreement can be reached. it will no doubt involve some compromise. what has been voted on in the last few hours is the second version of a bill originally had bipartisan agreement so democrats and republicans agreed on it although elon musk famously now and donald trump did not like it and the second

version included a clause that donald trump wanted that involves the suspension of the debt ceiling for two years and thatis debt ceiling for two years and that is of course the amount of money the federal government is allowed to borrow to pay for services. allowed to borrow to pay for services-_ allowed to borrow to pay for services-— allowed to borrow to pay for services. ., ., ., services. you lived through one of these government _ services. you lived through one| of these government shutdowns before, what is it like? of course workers who cannot pay their bills following in homelessness, what is it like in the us when this happens? it was late 2018 and early 29 thing and lasted about a month. initially you don't really notice a significant effect. especially if it is at the start of a weekend but as the days go by you notice the strain on government services and for those of us that don't work for the government, we're not going to suffer as much as those people who depend on the government for their paychecks. in a situation this theyjust

don't stop everything, the country does not ground to a standstill and the essential services, fire, police, emergency services continue but it is things like tax departments and officials who work there and they won't be laid off, officials work in an airport security may be laid off or at least required to work and not receive paycheck. the longer it goes on the more people begin to suffer.- people begin to suffer. thank ou for people begin to suffer. thank you for your _ people begin to suffer. thank you for your reporting. - a court in france found 51 men guilty at the end of a mass rape trial. all but two of them are now in jail for what they did to one woman — 72—year—old gisele pelicot. her ex husband got the longest sentence of 20 years for drugging his wife and allowing dozens of strangers to rape her repeatedly over a 10 year period. gisele pelicot said she waived her right to anonymity during the three month trial so that society could see what was happening. our correspondent andrew harding sent this report from outside the court in avignon.

the accused arrived early at court, faces masked as usual. some with their prison bags already packed. a few showing open contempt for this trial. but the crowd here in avignon and the forest of cameras were not here for the men. this trial has in so many ways now become all about this woman — gisele pelicot. herface at least seemed serene this morning. the rape victim who refused to feel shame. inside the crowded courtroom, thejudge quickly got on with the business of the day. verdicts first, then sentencing for all 51 men. dominique pelicot sat quietly in his glass cage as thejudge turned to address him. translation: the defendants will stand up in turn _ to hear the verdicts.

mr pelicot first. the court finds him guilty of aggravated rape. inside the courtroom here, the verdicts have been coming at a furious pace. guilty, guilty, guilty. dominique pelicot has just stood up to be told that he will be sentenced to 20 years in prison, the maximum here in france for rape. he showed no emotion, nor did his former wife gisele, sitting quietly on the other side of the courtroom. cheering. outside the courthouse, some people celebrated the news. crowd chants. but others were angry that many of the men got lighter sentences than anticipated. "shame," they shouted. back inside, dominique pelicot�*s lawyer told me her client was considering an appeal. i asked what his mood was like. "fatalistic," she replied. "the way he's always been throughout the trial." and then, after a pause, gisele pelicot emerged

to give her reaction. translation: it is with deep emotion that i speak - to you today. this trial was a very difficult ordeal. i think first of all of my three children, david, caroline and florian. i also think of my grandchildren, because they are the future, and it's also for them that i have led this fight. i want to express my deepest gratitude to all the people who have supported me throughout this ordeal. i was overwhelmed by your support and from it i drew the strength to come back each day to face these court hearings. i wanted to open the doors of this trial last september so that society could see what was happening. i have never regretted this decision.

i have confidence now in our capacity, collectively, to find a better future in which men and women alike can live harmoniously together with respect and mutual understanding. thank you. it's half a century now since the pelicots met and fell in love. she described him as a perfect husband. but at a supermarket in 2020, dominique pelicot was caught in this footage filming up women's skirts. police soon discovered computer files, with other videos, proving he'd been inviting dozens of strangers to rape his wife after he drugged her. in prison, he was assessed by a psychiatrist. translation: mr pelicot desired total control over his wife. - he wanted to reduce her to an object, a possession to be used for his satisfaction. then he could lend this object to other people. and to do all of that,

he needed to drug her. and these were not his first crimes. dna evidence soon proved pelicot had begun attacking women years earlier. he's being investigated for the 1991 rape and murder of sophie narme, which he denies. he also took indecent images of his daughter caroline, who was in court today, along with her two brothers. she's convinced her father also raped her. this afternoon, pelicot and most of the other rapists were taken away to begin their sentences. among them — firemen, a journalist, a nurse, all ages, three quarters of them fathers. there was a moment of tension outside when one of the defence lawyers taunted the crowd...

calling them hysterical, then swearing at them. here comes gisele pelicot now, leaving the courthouse for the last time. she has achieved something quite extraordinary here. this courageous public stance — the impact of that will surely ripple through society here, perhaps for decades. she could, like most rape victims, have chosen to remain anonymous at the trial. instead, listen to the reaction she now receives. cheering. she wanted to change attitudes, and perhaps she has. singing. "rise up," they sing. and with that, madame pelicot, engulfed by gratitude, walks on. luigi mangione has been arraigned for first—degree murder in a new york court — as prosecutors submitted evidence they claim, shows his attack was planned months in advance. the 26—year—old is alleged to have shot and killed the chief executive

of the insurance company unitedhealthcare earlier this month. he arrived in manhattan from pennsylvania after waiving his right to contest his extradition. mr mangione is now facing four new federal charges in addition to several other state charges in new york and pennsylvania. our north america correspondent nada tawfik has the latest. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a 26—year—old man accused of murdering three members of the family of the bbc racing commentator, john hunt, has been further charged with raping his daughter. kyle clifford pleaded not guilty to stabbing to death mr hunt's wife, carol, at their home injuly. he has also denied killing the couple's daughters with a crossbow. four teenagers have beenjailed for life for the murders of two friends, max dixon and mason rist, who were killed in a case of mistaken identity. riley tolliver, who is 18, and kodi—shai westcott, who is 17, will serve minimum terms of 23 years

for the stabbing. the other two teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will serve at least 15 and 18 years behind bars. eight people have been hurt after a double decker bus crashed into a railway bridge tearing its roof off in kilmarnock. it comes just days after another double decker bus crashed into a railway bridge in glasgow, leaving one man critical in hospital. you're live with bbc news. us and arab mediators are working around the clock to hammer out a ceasefire deal between israel and hamas. sources close to the talks have said the sides have been able to come to compromises in some areas, but a few sticking points still remained. as the talks continue, so do the idf strikes on gaza. gaza's health ministry said israeli air strikes killed 44 palestinians on thursday. strikes in jabalia and gaza city reduced buildings to rubble, prompting search and rescue operations.

a strike on the maghazi refugee in in deir al—balah camp killed at least five people. footage reviewed by the bbc confirmed children were among the casualties. i'm joined now by amin saikal, emeritus professor of middle eastern, central asian and islamic studies at australian national university. thank you forjoining me. first ever let's talk about the ceasefire deal, why now after months of deadlock i will be seen perhaps some progress? it still has not happened and as you say, they are making progress. all the parties have said they feel close to concluding a ceasefire. but there are as you pointed out important points, israel has some conditions and hamas has conditions. whether they can

really bridge the gap between them within the next few days, that remains to be seen. it comes at a time that probably the israeli leadership thinks it may be appropriate to give presidentjoe biden a parting gift and at the same time also soften the grounds for the incoming president elect donald trump. drum has already said if the hostages are not released by the time he takes office then of course there will be a penalty and dosing the palestinians is well and it will be happy. israel seems to have come to a point where it has decimated in many ways hamas and also now the assigned

regime has gone and in the last 24 regime has gone and in the last 2a hours israel has also been attacking houthis in yemen. and israel still regards this is their archenemy, israel still regards this is theirarchenemy, iran. there their archenemy, iran. there may theirarchenemy, iran. there may be plans on the part of israel is that after all of this is done, the ceasefire with hezbollah and hamas and the situation in syria, they may take actions against iran itself in which case we're going to see more people at a regional level that perhaps we expected at this point. we have been waiting — expected at this point. we have been waiting to _ expected at this point. we have been waiting to see _ expected at this point. we have been waiting to see exactly - been waiting to see exactly what that would look like, the interplay between israel and

iran but lots of conflicts and different domains in which israel is operating. on the people in gaza we are human to human rights watch saying there is inadequate water. how worried are you for the people in gaza? temperatures colder, we hear reports of only 23% of people having enough food to eat. what is the situation like right now? i eat. what is the situation like right now?— right now? i am extremely concerned _ right now? i am extremely concerned about _ right now? i am extremely concerned about the - right now? i am extremely i concerned about the situation in gaza, particularly in northern gaza for the people haven't had the necessary resources for living. for quite some time. the united nations is extremely worried about that. israel seems to be absolutely determined to clear northern gaza and make sure a way is open for building israeli settlements and that has been already voiced by some of the members of mr

netanyahu's government. i think we are already witnessing an eminent starvation in northern gaza. unless there will be delivery of water and food very quickly, i think we are going to see more and more people dying of starvation than under israeli bombs. the israeli bombing are still continuing and killings are continuing in gaza and this is a source of concern for the international community and playing on the conscience of the international community. i think gaza has become the shame of the century. become the shame of the century-— become the shame of the centu . ., ~ ., ., century. thank you for “oining me. my pleasure. h a bbc investigation reveals that the myanmar military now only has full control of less than a quarter of the territory, nearly four years after seizing power ina coup. a patchwork of resistance groups and ethnic

armies now have full control over more than 40% and the rest is mostly contested. for over a year bbc eye has been following one of the rebel units and reveals that spies in the military are helping the resistance. rebecca henschke reports. this pro—democracy rabble unit is preparing to attack. their leader has received intelligence from a spy inside the military, the enemy camp. translation: we the military, the enemy camp. translation:— the military, the enemy camp. translation: ~ ., , ., translation: we have been told where reinforcements _ translation: we have been told where reinforcements come - translation: we have been told where reinforcements come from | where reinforcements come from and which routes they used to withdraw force of our strategy is to mentally pressure the enemy day and night. they keep up the pressure for

nine days. the final strike is made at night using a demand. —— drawing. the next day they survey the damage. the next day they survey the dama . e. ~ the next day they survey the damaue. ~ , ., the next day they survey the damaue. ~ , . ., damage. we started with nothing and now look _ damage. we started with nothing and now look at _ damage. we started with nothing and now look at our— damage. we started with nothing and now look at our success. - damage. we started with nothing and now look at our success. a i and now look at our success. a bbc data investigation reveals while the military still control the major cities, they now only have full control of less than a quarter of me and my territory. a patchwork of resisting groups and ethnic armies now fully control over 40%. armies now fully control over a0%. spies within the military ranks are helping the pro—democracy uprising achieve what was once unthinkable. through them we know the enemy

positions, movements, plans. we prepare our military operations using batch. prepare our military operations using batch-— using batch. these spies are known as — using batch. these spies are known as watermelons, - using batch. these spies are i known as watermelons, green using batch. these spies are - known as watermelons, green on the outside, appearing loyal to the outside, appearing loyal to the military but inside, read, working for the resistance. we gained exclusive access to the opposition watermelon units. one of their agents as they are getting new spies every week. translation: fill" getting new spies every week. translation: our watermelons come from _ translation: our watermelons come from all _ translation: our watermelons come from all ranks _ translation: our watermelons come from all ranks of _ translation: our watermelons come from all ranks of the - come from all ranks of the military. they include senior officers. we have very senior watermelons. ii officers. we have very senior watermelons.— officers. we have very senior watermelons. if caught, they would likely _ watermelons. if caught, they would likely be _ watermelons. if caught, they would likely be killed. - watermelons. if caught, they would likely be killed. this i watermelons. if caught, they would likely be killed. this isj would likely be killed. this is a voice note from one of their frontline watermelons. translation: it frontline watermelons. translation:- frontline watermelons. translation: , ., ., ., translation: it is no longer an arm , it translation: it is no longer an army. it is _ translation: it is no longer an army. it is a _ translation: it is no longer an army, it is a force _ translation: it is no longer an army, it is a force that _ translation: it is no longer an army, it is a force that is - army, it is a force that is terrifying our people. i have witnessed intelligence killing

our people. i am angry, witnessed intelligence killing our people. iam angry, my anger is bigger than my fear. the military is aggressively trying to reclaim lost ground. carrying out a wave of deadly airstrikes. they did not respond to our request for an interview. russia's president putin says he is ready for talks at "any time" with the us president—elect donald trump, who has vowed to bring the war with ukraine to a swift end, but hasn't said how. president putin was speaking at his lengthy end of the year press conference. our russia editor, steve rosenberg was there. it would have been hard not to notice vladimir putin today. his marathon end—of—year event was live on all the main tv channels in russia. it was half phone—in, half press conference. he used it to make his first public comments on events in syria, with a message for those calling the fall of assad a blow to russia.

translation: whoever. would like to portray russia as weakened, i would like to recall the words of a famous person and writer, who once said, "the reports "of my death are greatly exaggerated." a message too for donald trump — putin was ready for talks, any time. after more than four hours, it was my turn to ask a question. "exactly 25 years ago," i said, "when boris yeltsin resigned "and handed you power, he told you, take care of russia. "but what of the significant losses suffered in your "so—called special military operation in ukraine "and the ukrainian troops now in russia's kursk region, "and sanctions and high inflation? "do you think you've taken care of russia?" translation: yes, i haven't just taken care of it. - i think we've pulled back from the edge of the abyss.

with everything that was happening to russia before that, we were heading towards a complete, total loss of our sovereignty, and without sovereignty, russia cannot exist as an independent state. from the public, there were video messages asking putin to fix their everyday problems. from the president, there was praise for russian soldiers fighting against ukraine. so, what did we learn from four hours of live televised putin? that in his mind, he can't put a foot wrong. events in syria are not a defeat. the war in ukraine is going russia's way. yes, putin admits there are problems, but the whole point of this event was to convince russians that he has the solutions. and when it was over, well, it wasn't over for me. i was mobbed by russian media wanting my reaction, and in this case,

accusing me of a provocation. this is what happens if you've managed to ask the kremlin leader a question. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. macau has marked the 25th anniversary of handover from portugal to chinese rule with a flag raising ceremony. china's president xijinping arrived in macau on wednesday to mark a quarter century of beijing's rule over the former portuguese enclave. veteran labour politician lord mandelson is expected to be named as the new uk ambassador to the united states. peter mandelson was a prominent figure during the new labour years, but he has not served in government since 2010. a google street view image of a man loading a large white plastic bag into the boot of his car has helped unravel a murder case in a northern spanish town. police say the google cameras happened to be recording the street at the exact moment the body of the victim was allegedly being removed.

and there's a new record holder in town this christmas. a group of care home residents in the uk, many with dementia, have set a new guinness world record for being the world's oldest choir. the average age of the group of senior songbirds is 94 and they were crowned after performing at a christmas carol concert in stratford—upon—avon. that's all for now, stay with bbc news. hello there. some very blustery weather over the next few days and it is looking particularly windy wherever you are through the weekend. and a whole range of temperatures, too. milder again on friday and saturday, briefly colder on sunday, then temperatures are set to rise as we head into christmas itself — which is not looking white at all. but until then, a lot of weather to get through,

including tonight. there is an approaching couple of weather fronts, bringing some outbreaks of rain and plenty of cloud. also, milder—feeling air as well, marked in yellow. so, rising temperatures for many for the rest of the night but still a chilly start across eastern areas of england. here, some early brightness but it's not set to last. it will cloud over as our fronts continue to push their way further southwards and eastwards into england and wales by the afternoon. blustery showers, brighter conditions following on behind but brisk westerly winds, particularly for western coasts. but because the winds are westerly, the air is going to feel a little milder. again, 8—11 degrees celsius — higher temperatures than on thursday. that front clears away as we head through friday night to be followed in quick succession by more. the winds will really pick up, particularly for the north and the west. this is how we'll start off the day on saturday but what you'll really notice about saturday is just how blustery it is, wherever you are across the uk. a tight squeeze on the isobars here, especially out towards the northern isles,

the western isles, parts of caithness and sutherland. here, we could be looking at gusts of wind of up to 80mph — it's enough to cause some disruption and some damage. gusts widely of 50—60mph across northern ireland, north west england and into northwest scotland. there will be blustery showers, some sunshine in the north, more sunshine across northern england but staying cloudy with outbreaks of rain further south. but here, it's mild — 12 or 13 degrees. however, this is sunday. notice that the winds are now coming down from the northwest — cold arctic air — and there will be some wintriness in those showers, especially over the higher ground. and this time, it's windy, too, in the south with gusts of wind of 60mph, perhaps across western wales and down through south west england, too. there are met office weather warnings in place. also here, the air is cold. there will be some sunshine, however, butjust 6—8 degrees celsius temperature—wise. and it's still rather chilly on monday but a pretty nice day of weather with lighter winds and some sunshine. and then, it all turns milder again on christmas eve and christmas day. bye— bye.

thousands of amazon workers walk outjust days before the christmas rush. and what did you google this year? we'll look at asia's top search trends.

hello and welcome to business today. i'm katie silver. in the us, thousands of amazon's warehouse workers have walked out — starting a strike during the busiest time of the year for the online retailer. the industrial action is happening in key cities like new york, atlanta and san francisco — in what the teamsters union is calling the largest ever strike against amazon. for more on how this could impact holiday shopping let's hear from the bbc�*s ritika gupta. thousands of amazon workers walked off the job at seven facilities on thursday morning to protest against what they say is unfair treatment over pay and working conditions. this comes after the company refused to negotiate with the union over a labour contract. workers in cities including new york, atlanta and san francisco took part in what the teamsters union called the largest ever strike against the firm, with demonstrations at hundreds of warehouses across the country. yet amazon, one of the largest us employers, said its services would not be disrupted during the crucial holiday shopping period.

it also said that they don't directly employ the teamsters' members on strike. the retail giant — which denies the employees' claims of unfair practices — has long faced criticism of its working conditions and been the target of activists. the teamsters union, with more than1 million members overall, is well—known for winning contracts for members at firms such as ups. the union says other sites mayjoin the effort.